Murder Loves a Fair

by Thea Cambert

  “Which means that until Stanley wakes up, we won’t know who they were intended for,” said Franny.

  Owen’s cellphone buzzed and he pulled it out of his quiver, dropping a few heart-tipped arrows on the ground as he did so. “Duty calls,” he said, glancing at Michael.

  “More love note orders coming in?” asked Michael, scooping up the fallen arrows.

  “Yep,” said Owen. “Cupid’s work is never done.”

  “Hey—let’s all meet up on the rooftop after work,” Alice called after them. “I’ll take you out to dinner!”

  “Sounds good,” said Michael.

  “It’s the least you can do!” Owen said over his shoulder. Then he straightened his golden crown resolutely, and they set off.

  Chapter 6

  Alice leaned an elbow on the façade of the building and looked down over Main Street from the rooftop garden. She breathed in the evening air, savoring the smells of summer in Blue Valley. Somewhere, someone was outside grilling hamburgers. There was also a faint smell of freshly cut grass. And of course, delicious smells wafted from the Smiling Hound across the street, and mingled with the faintest whiff of chocolate, coming from Sugar Buzz, a couple doors away.

  “Smells like summer,” Alice said, looking down at Finn, who stood faithfully next to her. Poppy, who was curled up under the café table came stretching and yawning over to them. “I bet you two are ready to head over to the lake, where you can run and play in the yard.” Alice gave Finn a scratch behind the ears, then scooped Poppy up in her arms for a cuddle before setting her down. “Don’t worry. We’ll go back to the cabin on Monday.” She rested her chin on the façade closed her eyes, and smiled, hearing the French doors open and close from behind her, and her husband’s footsteps approaching. A moment later, Luke’s arms wrapped warmly around her.

  “Good day at the shop?” he asked.

  “Busy,” said Alice, stifling a yawn. She turned in Luke’s arms and kissed him. “How was your afternoon?”

  “Good. Lots of little things to do at the office. But of course, Ben and I are focused on investigating what happened to Stanley this morning.”

  “Any news?”

  Luke shook his head. “Not yet.”

  Just then, Michael came out of Owen’s apartment carrying Cupid’s mail bag.

  “How’s Cupid doing?” Alice asked.

  “I think he’s happy to be finished with his rounds for the day,” said Michael, setting the bag on the café table and coming to stand at the façade. “He’s inside, getting changed for dinner.”

  “Where should we eat tonight?” asked Luke.

  “I don’t know,” said Alice. “Let’s go down to the fair and see what looks good.”

  “Or what smells good,” said Franny, as she and Ben came out of their apartment into the garden—Ben bouncing a gurgling Theo. “I’m starved.”

  “Look—there’s Pearl Ann down on Main. And she looks really upset,” said Michael, pointing downward.

  Everyone looked down to where Michael was pointing.

  “What are we all looking at?” asked Owen, coming out of his apartment wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

  “Pearl Ann,” said Alice.

  “Pearl Ann? Why?” Owen came and stood next to Alice. He peered down. “Wow. She does not look happy.”

  And he was right. Pearl Ann was red in the face, her expression frozen in an angry scowl. She glanced up, almost as though she could sense that six adults and one baby were looking down at her.

  They all waved at her, and Owen called out, “You okay, Pearl Ann?”

  When Pearl Ann shouted, “No I am not!” Alice told her to wait right there. Then Alice ran down and unlocked the front door to The Paper Owl and showed Pearl Ann up to the rooftop garden.

  “Thank you, Alice,” Pearl Ann was saying as they emerged from the apartment.

  “Come sit down,” said Alice, pointing at the circle of Adirondack chairs.

  Everyone gathered around and waited for Pearl Ann to blow her nose.

  “Pearl Ann, why are you crying?” asked Michael.

  “You two know why!” said Pearl Ann, looking at Owen and Michael.

  “We do?” asked Owen. He thought for a moment.

  “Yes!” said Pearl Ann. “You delivered the note to Norman!” She blew her nose again.

  “The secret admirer note?” asked Owen. He and Michael exchanged glances. “We assumed that was from you, Pearl Ann. That you were being romantic.”

  Pearl Ann shook her head. “Well it wasn’t from me,” she said. “And Norman says he doesn’t know who sent it either, but what if he does? What if he’s fallen for some other woman?”

  “Pearl Ann, there’s no chance of that,” said Alice.

  “That’s right,” agreed Franny. “Norman is nuts about you. You know that.”

  This seemed to make Pearl Ann feel a little better.

  “He’d never be unfaithful to you,” said Alice.

  “Well, then some woman has a crush on my Norman,” said Pearl Ann. “And I’d like to know who it is—although I do have my suspicions on that.”

  “I’ll call Virginia and check with her,” said Alice, taking out her phone. “She was taking orders for Cupid’s post pretty much all day, except during the lunch rush at the Salad Stop. Hold on.”

  Alice dialed Virginia’s number. When Virginia picked up, Alice asked her about who had ordered the note for Norman, then listened as Virginia answered. A few moments later, Alice hung up and tucked her phone back into her pocket.

  “Very strange,” said Alice. “She said that when she arrived to start processing the love notes this morning, she, Marge, and Barb found an envelope with instructions and payment for Norman’s note. Virginia doesn’t know who ordered it.”

  “Some floozy, no doubt,” said Pearl Ann.

  “Oh, Pearl Ann,” said Franny. “It’s probably just someone with a little crush on Norman. He is kind of charming in his own way.”

  Pearl Ann smiled at this. “True.”

  “And Norman only has eyes for you,” said Alice.

  “Well,” said Pearl Ann, smile spreading wider, “that’s also true.”

  “Why don’t we go find Norman and all have dinner together?” suggested Owen. “We were just headed down to the fair.”

  “Great idea,” said Alice.

  “Well, Norman did receive gift cards from the Salad Stop Café and Sugar Buzz along with his note,” said Pearl Ann with a sniff. “Salad Stop is my current favorite, and chocolate does sound awfully good right now.”

  “We had lunch at the Salad Stop,” said Owen. Alice gave him a quick elbow jab. “But we’d love to have dinner there as well,” he added.

  “Okay,” said Pearl Ann, looking a little happier. “I’ll call Norman.”

  They all trooped down the beautiful old wooden staircase that ended in a hallway that ran along the entire back of the building, then went through Alice’s hidden bookcase door in the Paper Owl and out onto Main Street.

  When Alice stopped to lock the front door, Luke took her arm. “Can you text Virginia and ask her to try to find the envelope the secret admirer left at Community Center today?”

  “Sure,” said Alice, taking out her phone. “Why?”

  “I’d like to check it for prints. Doubtful it’ll lead anywhere, but I’d like to nonetheless.”

  “You think Norman’s secret admirer might be the same person who sent the poisonous flowers?”

  “No. Maybe. I just have a feeling. And it’s odd—the way the person left the money and instructions but no name.”

  “I’ll text Virginia right away.”

  Thunder rolled in the distance as they walked down Main Street. Owen dropped back and leaned toward Alice. “Did you hear that?” he whispered. “Pretty appropriate, considering Pearl Ann’s mood, huh?”

  “What? The thunder?” Alice raised a brow at Owen.

  Owen nodded. “Storm’s brewing.”

  Chapter 7

  Friday mo
rning dawned warm and clear—a welcome relief after the thunderstorms that had raged for much of the night. Alice, Franny, and Owen, along with other Main Street shop owners, rose early and spent the dawn hour tidying up and reattaching loose decorations throughout the historic downtown. By the time they were done, Main Street looked ready for another day of the All’s Fair In Love Fair. Every old fashioned street light was wrapped in garland, swags of lights were strung zig-zag fashion across the street, and front doors and windows were festooned with romantic decorations—everything from garlands of roses to glittering heart medallions, all in the fair’s signature colors of deep burnt orange, rich red, pink, and cream.

  “We definitely get to skip our morning jog,” said Owen, as he led Alice and Franny into Sourdough, where Hilda was already hard at work behind the counter. “How’s it going, Hilda?”

  “Lots of customers,” said Hilda, looking grumpy. “Of course, you’ll be out delivering those Cupid notes all day.” She shifted her testy gaze to Alice. “And Alice, stop thinking of ideas that bring in all of these tourists.”

  Alice grinned at Hilda, unoffended because everyone knew that grouchy was Hilda’s default mood. “Sorry, Hilda. I’ll try to do better.”

  Hilda seemed satisfied with this, and went back to arranging giant, flaky, sweet pretzel pastries in the glass case.

  Owen took Alice and Franny around the counter and into the kitchen. “Don’t mind her. Crabby is her signature look. It works for her.” He snickered. “Hilda and I were in here before dawn, and we baked a giant batch of our sin-amon rolls.”

  “That’s exactly what we need!” said Franny, watching as Owen took out a pair of tongs and carefully chose three giant, yeasty, gooey rolls and placed them in one of his bakery boxes. “I’ll go get the coffee and meet you both in the garden.”

  Franny went through the back door that led into the hallway that spanned the back of the building and ran down to Joe’s while Alice and Owen went up the stairs and through Alice’s apartment.

  “You know, your brother is right—you really have to be better about locking your apartment door,” said Owen.

  “I know, I know,” said Alice, rolling her eyes. “I never lock it because I always lock the downstairs door when I close the shop in the evenings.”

  Owen was right about Ben. He was constantly reminding Alice to keep her apartment’s front door locked when she was out, but having grown up in a town where people still left their keys in the car at night, it was a hard habit to form.

  “What if some customer wanders up here?” asked Owen as they emerged into the garden and took their usual seats around the café table.

  “They’d have to know about my secret bookcase door,” said Alice.

  “Alice, everyone in town knows about your secret bookcase door.”

  “Well . . .” Alice sighed and Poppy jumped up into her lap, while Finn—ever hopeful when Owen brought a bakery box upstairs—sat wagging his tail at her feet. “I’ll try to do better.”

  “Coffee’s hot,” said Franny, setting out three steaming mugs.

  “This is the life,” said Alice, taking a bite of her roll just as her cell phone rang. Alice tried to chew as quickly as possible and swiped the cream cheese glaze off her fingers. “Hello?”

  Alice spent the next few minutes talking to Pearl Ann. When she hung up, she took a quick sip of coffee.

  “Alice, what is it?” asked Franny.

  “Yeah—your face kept getting more and more worried while you were on the phone,” said Owen.

  “Norman’s sick,” said Alice. “Pearl Ann said it couldn’t have been the food last night, because she and Norman both ordered the same salad—the Chef’s Special. And then they shared their chocolates from Sugar Buzz. And Pearl Ann feels fine.”

  “Well, that’s good. Food poisoning is no fun,” said Franny.

  “Then she gave me the second piece of bad news,” said Alice.

  “Uh oh,” said Owen. “Here it comes.”

  “She called Doc Howard. There’s a pretty nasty stomach bug going around.”

  Owen immediately paled. “Oh no. I hate stomach bugs. Oh my gosh.” He wiped his brow “I’m breaking out in a cold sweat! Do I have a fever?”

  “Owen, you don’t have the stomach bug,” said Alice.

  “But we were all around Norman last night!” said Owen. “We were all exposed.”

  “He has a point there,” said Franny.

  “I’m sure we’ll be fine,” said Alice. “And Doc says it’s a twelve-hour bug. So at least if we get it, we won’t be sick for long.”

  “I think I feel queasy,” said Owen, setting down his sin-amon roll.

  “You have deliveries to make,” said Alice. “Better grab your costume and your mail bag.”

  “You have no regard for my delicate stomach,” said Owen, getting up and stomping off into his apartment.

  After he’d gone inside, Alice turned to Franny. “Actually, I feel a little queasy too,” she admitted.

  “Oh, no,” said Franny, laying a hand on Alice’s forehead. “You don’t feel feverish.”

  “Well that’s good. Where’s Theo this morning?”

  “Ben dropped him at your mom and dad’s,” said Franny. “I’m working down at Joe’s this morning, but how about if we go have lunch in the park today?”

  “Sounds great,” said Alice.

  Owen came outside wearing his costume, his mailbag slung over his shoulder.

  “Hey—your bag’s already full,” said Alice, eyeing the bulging bag.

  “Michael and I picked up this morning’s notes yesterday evening before we came home,” said Owen, looking into his bag. “Hey. What’s this?” He pulled out a crisp white envelope, a heart-shaped wax seal holding it closed. He carefully opened it and read the note inside. A smile spread across his face. “Thanks for a wonderful day,” he read. “I would walk beside you no matter where you were going.”

  “How precious is that?” said Franny. “From Michael, I take it?”

  “It says it’s from a secret admirer,” said Owen, but he had a knowing smile on his face.

  “Feeling better now?” said Alice, getting up and giving Owen a kiss on the cheek.

  “Much better,” said Owen. He tucked the note into his pocket and straightened his crown. “Well, I have missives of love to deliver. And I’m on my own today.”

  “Meet us for lunch around one at the park,” said Alice. “I’m buying.”

  “Great. See you then,” said Owen, and with a little salute, he was gone.

  “How about you?” asked Franny, turning to Alice. “How are you feeling now?”

  “A little better,” said Alice, setting Poppy on the ground and giving Finn a pat on the head. “I think I’ll head down to the bookshop. I suddenly feel inspired to set up a display on love poems.”

  “Hey Alice,” Franny called from behind her. “Ben said to remind you to lock your apartment door.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Alice. “See you at lunchtime.”

  Chapter 8

  Alice and Franny walked down Main Street to Town Park at one o’clock, where they met up with Owen, who was already placing his lunch order at the Picnic Patsy’s Picnics On The Go food truck.

  “Can you believe this?” he said when he saw Alice and Franny walking up. “Picnic Patsy has outdone herself yet again!” He waved at the food truck, which was all decked out with hearts and flowers for the occasion.

  “Wow. Look at the Deluxe Romantic-Picnic-For-Two on the menu,” said Franny.

  “It costs a fortune!” said Alice.

  “But look at what it comes with,” said Owen. “A round of brie, gourmet crackers, fresh figs, apples, and berries, and specialty sandwiches—and the desserts are tiny little pies and jars layered with sponge cake, berries, and whipped cream.”

  “It even comes with a bottle of wine and you get to keep the beautiful picnic basket,” said Franny.

  Alice found herself daydreaming of having a romantic
picnic with Luke in the shade of the huge trees by the lake at the cabin. She sighed contentedly.

  “Earth to Alice,” said Owen, snapping Alice back into the present moment.

  “What did you order, Owen?” she asked.

  “The caprese sandwich on rosemary focaccia with a side of homemade potato chips,” said Owen. “Oh—and one of Picnic Patsy’s GHBs for dessert.”

  “GHB?” Alice scanned the menu. “What’s that?”

  “Giant Honkin’ Brownie,” said Owen. “They’re the size of a brick, but I need chocolate before I face an afternoon of deliveries.”

  Just then, Doc and Mrs. Howard walked up, hand-in-hand.

  “Hello, all,” said Mrs. Howard—Blue Valley High’s favorite and longest-standing English teacher.

  “Hi, Mrs. Howard,” said Alice.

  “How are my three favorite students today?” Mrs. Howard asked.

  “Uh, Mrs. H, Owen didn’t grow up in Blue Valley. He was never in your class,” said Franny.

  “I know that, dear,” said Mrs. Howard, patting Franny on the back. “But I decided to count him as one anyway.”

  “Thank you Mrs. Howard,” said Owen, batting his lashes.

  “Oh, brother,” said Alice. “He’s already my mother’s favorite, and now he’s yours too?”

  “Don’t worry, Alice,” said Mrs. Howard. “You and Franny will always be at the top of my list too.”

  While they’d been chatting, Doc—who had delivered half the population of the town—had picked up a deluxe picnic basket from Picnic Patsy.

  “That’s going to be quite a feast,” said Alice, nodding at the basket.

  “It ought to be, based on how heavy it is,” said Doc, setting down his load.

  “We ordered our romantic picnic in advance,” said Mrs. Howard, a twinkle in her eyes. “Tomorrow is our anniversary, and we’re celebrating all weekend.”

  “How wonderful!” said Alice. “How many years have you two been married?”