by R M Connor
“It’s just that time of the month,” she mumbled, and it was my turn to give her a look. A laugh bubbled out of her and she swatted at the air. “You know, all men get a little weird occasionally.” She secured her lid. “I’ll save you a slice of the red velvet cake.” She waved and hustled back out.
Scratching my head, I decided to piddle around behind the counter to avoid touching things as much as possible. Maisie and Zach were hovering over the customers who had decided to take a seat and wait. He was picking up the menu rather quickly. Maisie was right, it was nice to have another pair of hands around the café, especially since one of mine wasn’t feeling so hot.
The bell chimed, and I looked up to see the mayor walk inside with a long, Burberry vintage checkered coat on, the tie tied tight around her waist, and a lovely scowl plastered on her face. It only deepened when our eyes met, and I wanted to slink away into the kitchen. What could I have possibly done to deserve that? Was she still upset about me sneaking into her vault? I hadn’t even been the one to open it! I wasn’t even sure any magic known to man could.
“I expect to see you at Just Treats later.” She tossed her matching purse on the counter and wiped down the barstool before sitting, even though it was spotless.
“Wouldn’t miss it. Would you like a coffee to take with you?” I grabbed a to-go cup since that’s what everyone else had requested.
“Your lovely aunt dropped by for a visit this morning.” She grabbed a napkin and a wooden stirrer. “It was a good thing I was alone at Town Hall.”
I filled her cup with the hot liquid. “What did she want?” Agatha hadn’t mentioned anything about making a house call, though let’s be honest, Agatha did what she wanted.
“Mostly to just yap my ear off about how I had your family’s grimoire. But—” Esther picked up the ceramic cow and poured enough cream to make her coffee almost white. I mooed in my head, wishing I had bought the noisy ones every time she came in. “All she had to do was ask and I would’ve told her I had it.”
“Why did you have it?” I questioned.
“Until the two of you showed back up, there wasn’t a Wildewood to give it to, and then . . .” She waved her hand in the air dismissively. “I’m a very busy woman, Riley. Things get overlooked. But now you have it.”
“I honestly thought it would be bigger,” I mumbled. Don’t get me wrong, the grimoire was a very large book, but it had been handed down for many generations, and each generation had added to it. There were probably only about five-hundred pages in it. Once unlocked, would we have room to add to it ourselves? Not that I’d have anything to put in there, but Maisie might.
“The grim—” Esther cleared her throat. “The book is bigger than it appears.” She stood and slung her purse over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at the bakery.” She took her coffee and weaved through the crowded café to the exit.
Bigger than it appears? What the hell did that mean? I watched her walk through the café, trying to understand but coming up with a big blank. I would have to ask Agatha about it later. My attention shifted when Pete and John Russell opened the door, waiting for Esther to leave before stepping inside. Pete’s cheeks were rosy as he grinned, his eyes flicking toward the display case, and I couldn’t help but smile. Don’t worry, Pete, we made sure to keep the muffins coming.
I pulled his favorite out and set it on a plate on the counter with a cup of hot water for John Russell with the only tea he had ever asked for. I glanced at Russell and the corner of his lips twitched. Was that a smile? Had I finally won him over? Had he forgiven me for trampling through his crime scene?
“Good morning, officers.” I poured Pete a cup of coffee. “Did you ever find Michael?”
“Thanks for the tea.” Russell placed a five-dollar bill on the counter. He picked up his tea, a packet of sweetener, then moved to an empty two-seater on the far side of the room.
Okay. I had not won him over just yet. But we were getting there, I could feel it.
“He’s not much of a talker.” Pete nodded to his partner. “But he’s a good cop.” He fixed his coffee the way he liked it. “To answer your question, no. Michael hasn’t turned up. Has Ethan mentioned if he’s seen him or spoken to him?”
I shook my head. “Nope.” But right now, Ethan was hiding a lot from me, so who knows.
“Pete.” I slipped another muffin onto his plate as he finished half of the first one. There were too many people around to enchant it so that he’d spill any gossip he’s heard. Leaning on my elbows, hoping the extra muffin would be enough, I whispered, “I heard the sheriff and Eugene were involved in some business venture together.” I dusted the counter. “Do you think that has something to do with his disappearance?”
Pete coughed, patting his chest. His voice was strained as he said, “Wrong pipe.” He cleared his throat. “I can’t say if it has anything to do with it. But have you ever heard of Peaceful Acres?”
“Yeah, Tessa told me there was a tree farm there. Maisie and I were going to go get one later.” It would be nice to have a Christmas tree by Christmas, but we’d see.
“I think the pair were arguing over the land, but I’m not so sure that has anything to do with his disappearance.” Pete took a look over his shoulder. Russel was walking back toward us. “Time to go.” He winked at me and picked up his unfinished muffin.
Peaceful Acres, huh?
I rubbed my chin, wondering why they’d be arguing over a tree farm. It could be nothing more than a coincidence. They could be investing in the property together . . . although I had never seen Eugene and Manuel interact until this week. There had to be a way to find out more about Peaceful Acres and why it would be worth killing over.
And where Sasha fit into all this.
Maisie and I stood shoulder to shoulder. Zach stood behind us. And we were all trying not to freeze as we waited for Mayor Esther to finish her speech about how much “the whole town has missed Just Treats.” It was true, but it was too damn cold for the lengthy speech. I could feel the cold sinking into my bones, and I just wanted to shove a piece of warm cake into my mouth then maybe snag a cup of the hot cocoa I swear I saw Alice making through the window when we arrived.
“Smile for the camera, dear,” Esther said through her teeth as Alice took the pair of ridiculously large scissors and paused for a picture.
The crowd clapped as the red ribbon fell to the ground. Jennifer propped open the bakery doors and we made our way into the building. Thank goodness Just Treats was bigger than the café, but it still didn’t leave much room for personal space with the number of people trying to cram their way inside.
I breathed in the decadent smell of fresh cake. My mouth was salivating in anticipation of the red velvet decadence Jennifer promised me. I had missed this smell. It had a tendency to take over this whole side of Wildewood. Almost two months of the renovations from the fire last Halloween had been too long.
The bakery looked the same as it did before the fire. The walls were a comforting sage green and the flooring a light-stained wood. Endless refrigerated display cases housed Alice’s cakes and cupcakes for every occasion. Donuts, bagels, croissants, and fresh-baked breads of all kinds. Whatever you wanted, Alice had on these shelves. And if she didn’t, she’d make it.
I tucked myself into a corner next to the hot cocoa. Maisie and Zach helped themselves to samples around the store. I poured myself a cup, added a few marshmallows and peppermint flakes, then returned to my spot. Leaning against the window, I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath of the chocolate aroma. Right as I was about to exhale, another scent intruded into my senses and I coughed, spilling the hot liquid onto my hand.
Patchouli.
I grabbed a napkin, looking around to see where the smell had come from, and spotted Jessica Freki walking inside the café. I would never understand why anyone would choose to use that perfume. It was patchouli and . . . something . . . I just couldn’t figure out what the other scent was. I wasn’t a big fan of patchoul
i, but that other fragrance was the real problem.
And then a realization washed over me.
I turned around quickly to hide the expression on my face and stared out the window. That smell. That’s what was lingering in the hardware store. My heartbeat quickened. I dropped my drink into the trash can, my hands too shaky to hold it. She had been nervous as soon as Pete walked into the café. Was it because she was involved? Had Jessica kidnapped, and possibly murdered, Eugene Fletcher?
“Hey, Riley!”
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest and I spun around. Jessica stood in front of me, dabbing at her nose with a tissue. I plastered a fake smile on my face, but I wanted to get as far away as possible. Was she capable of murder?
How could she have been able to drag someone his size?
She smoothed her curls behind her ears. The skin around her eyes red, as if irritated. I straightened my posture. Play it cool, Riley, everything’s okay. There’s no way Jessica could have done this. She didn’t have the physical strength, not to mention she was currently sick. It was just a coincidence. That’s all, just a big, fat coincidence. I shoved my hands in my coat pockets to hide their shaking.
“Hey, Jessica.”
She glanced over at Maisie. “Who’s the new guy?”
“Zach. We just hired him.” I looked past her to see Maisie smile at something Zach said and wished I was standing with them instead of by myself, cornered like a scared animal.
“There’s no way those tiny aprons you two wear are going to fit him. Come by the boutique and we’ll order some new ones.”
Act natural, Riley. “Okay—yeah.”
Absolutely no way she could’ve been involved in Sasha’s murder. They were friends. Friends didn’t usually murder one another . . . right? That would make for a terrible friend. But she had been angry, and whatever she and Vargas said caused Sasha to run off. Come to think of it, I had no idea where Jessica had gone after that . . .
“Try to come by today.” She gave a weak smile before sneezing into her tissue.
While holding the tissue to her nose, she flapped her free hand in a quick wave before moving away to grab a spot in line. I leaned against the large front window, my heart racing. My fingers gripped the windowsill so hard it turned my knuckles white. I did not want to go to Luna’s, but I always ordered custom aprons from her. What if she’d been involved? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Okay—it was possible more people around town were wearing that perfume, though why anyone would was beyond my understanding. It was also possible that the perfume had no connection at all. I needed to focus on the flower petal. I was certain it would lead me to whoever was behind this.
I opened my eyes at the sound of a sneeze. Behind the counter, Jennifer sneezed again. Jessica pulled a tissue out of her pocket and handed it to her. That perfume was so powerful, I’m surprised the whole bakery wasn’t sneezing.
I slipped outside, pulling my jacket over my head, and took a seat on an empty wooden bench. A little sad that I didn’t get the slice of cake Jennifer had promised me, I stared at the hardware store with the police tape barely hanging on in the wind. It was starting to snow again, thick fluffy snowflakes. A couple of kids running around outside had their mouths open, trying to catch them on their tongues.
The door of the bakery opened, the muted noise from inside grew loud, and Maisie and Zach walked out. “Ready to go?” Maisie stepped in front of me, holding a to-go box. She cracked it open to show me a slice of red velvet cake. “Jennifer told me to give this to you.”
Pushing away from the bench, I took the box from Maisie but my appetite hadn’t returned. I needed to find out what the connection was with that damn petal. The flowers had already been in the bathroom at Town Hall. If I could find out who delivered the flowers, maybe it would lead me to who killed Sasha and then, hopefully, who took Eugene.
Connie Fields should know. She was Wildewood’s florist. The mayor very rarely did her own errands, so someone else had surely picked them up for her and brought them to Town Hall before I got there.
I felt a little better now that I had a plan and secretly wished Maisie had grabbed a fork so I could start eating my cake on the way back to the café. I glanced behind me as we crossed the street and saw Ethan in his blue scrubs walk into the bakery.
My heart sank a little. Maisie must’ve noticed because she squeezed my hand. I sucked in a deep breath and pushed it aside. There was nothing I could do about Ethan until he was ready to talk to me. Was it too much to ask him to open up, even a little bit? I didn’t think so.
I unlocked the café, ready to get out of the cold, but Maisie grabbed my arm and stopped me. She pointed toward the counter where a small gift wrapped in gold paper sat with a red bow on top.
“How did that get there?” I whispered. The café had been locked when we left for the bakery.
“I don’t know,” she whispered back.
“Do you want me to call the cops?” Zach squeezed by us, walking toward the gift.
I pushed the kitchen doors open, scanning the room for intruders. Maisie walked out of the hallway, shaking her head, and shrugged. Zach turned the gift tag around, and read it aloud, “To my girls.” He scrunched his brows and looked at me. “It’s not signed.”
“Should we open it?” Maisie asked, standing on the other side of me.
I looked between the two of them and wondered what was the worst that could happen. I reached for the bow, and Zach put his hand on my arm. “Are you sure?” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. No, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to get the cops involved. I had spent too much time with John Russell as it was.
I pulled on the bow and it came loose. Slowly removing the gold wrapping paper, I opened the lid to the brown kraft paper box. Taking out the white tissue paper on top, I reached my hand in and pulled out a heavy, black skeleton key.
“What’s that?” Maisie asked.
“I don’t know.” I palmed the key, trying to understand the intricate design at the top. The teeth at the end looked well-used.
The door chimed and I turned around, holding the key behind my back.
Tessa stood in the doorway; a confused look washed over her face. “What’s going on?” She laid her jacket over the closest chair.
I held the key out for her to see and pointed at the empty gift box on the counter. “We have a secret admirer.”
Tessa looked at the key and slowly reached out to touch it. She pulled her hand back, but her eyes had already begun dilating. She had a vision. “Oh. That is”—she shook her hand and rubbed it on her jacket—“old.”
“The key feels old?” Zach spoke.
Tessa’s eyes widened, her hand caught in the cookie jar.
I mentally kicked myself for forgetting, just for a moment, that Zach had no idea what the three of us were. Tessa’s nervous laughter bubbled around us and she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “Yeah, ya know, it’s old.”
“Don’t you own the antique store in town? I would’ve thought you loved old things.”
“Right.” She snapped her fingers. “That I do. Hey, you know what that key reminds me of?” She walked behind the counter to help herself to some coffee, which was now probably cold. “Something magical, like what you’d read about in a book.”
I raised my brow at her. She was acting weird, not her usual eccentric self. Was she speaking in code? I slipped the key into my coat pocket. “You okay, Tessa?”
She nodded behind her cup of coffee.
“Zach, do you think you could go ahead and get started in the kitchen?” I gave a quick smile and picked up the gift box.
“Sure but—” he started, staring at the box as I threw it in the trash. “I think you should think about beefing up your security. It doesn’t seem to be working.” He pushed through the swinging doors.
I couldn’t argue with him. I picked the box back out of the trash and snatched the tag off the ribbon. The handwriting looked familiar; it wa
s a shame it wasn’t signed. Putting the tag into my other pocket, I turned my attention to Tessa.
“That was close.” She took a sip of coffee. Her eyes narrowed as she stared off behind me. Setting the cup down, she leaned against the counter, her attention back on me. “Ethan asked if I’d seen you at the grand opening. I got there late, but you probably already knew that. He seemed . . . sad. Trouble in paradise?”
“Ethan’s great.” He was amazing and made my stomach do weird flippy things when I caught him looking at me. “We just had an argument.” A very one-sided argument.
Maisie wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pressing her cheek against mine. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m gonna go help Zach get the cupcakes started.”
I wish it was nothing, but I was pretty sure it was something. Maisie pushed through the swinging doors, her laughter soon followed. Trying not to feel sorry for myself, I focused on Tessa. “Wanna go with me to Luna’s boutique? I need to order new aprons.” And I didn’t want to go by myself.
“Wish I could but I’ve gotta get back to the store. Don’t worry,”—she patted my hand—“every couple has arguments.”
Tessa picked up her jacket, and as she pulled it on, she clicked her tongue and sucked in a long breath. “Don’t lose that key. It’s important.”
“What did you see?” I asked, walking her to the door.
“Nothing specific. Just many different hands using that key. Many, many hands.” She gave me a quick hug.
I locked the door behind her, watching her run back to Odds ‘n’ Ends as a customer was looking into the big front window. I slipped my hand in my pocket, feeling the key. What an odd thing to be gifted. No instructions, no way to know what it was for. What lock even used a key like this anyway? And how did it get inside the café? I’m positive the door had been locked and I had a spell over the café that didn’t allow anything in that wished us harm. So, whoever delivered it was a friend. But who?
