by Lena Gregory
“How would I know anything?”
She held Cass’s gaze for another few seconds, then shrugged. “I don’t know. Everyone’s been talking about you finding the body.” She lowered her voice even more and leaned close to Cass’s ear. “They say a woman’s ghost led you to it.”
A high-pitched, nervous laugh burst out before Cass could stop it. “That’s ridiculous. Where on earth did you hear something like that?”
“The diner. While I was waiting in line to pay for my dinner last night, pretty much everyone in the place was talking about it.”
Great. There was probably no one left on Bay Island who hadn’t heard the rumors. A dull throbbing started at her temples.
“They were also wondering if you could tell who killed her.”
That brought Cass’s attention back. She waved it off, even though a bead of sweat trickled down the middle of her back. “Of course, I don’t know who killed anyone. I don’t even know if anyone was killed, just that they might have found human remains on the beach. As far as I know, that’s all that happened.” She raised her voice so anyone within hearing distance wouldn’t miss what she was saying. “Beast found a bone on the beach, and I called the police. That’s it. Nothing more sinister happened.” She turned to move up in the line.
Her way was blocked by a thin guy she’d never seen before. He pushed his glasses higher on his nose. “So, are you working with the police?”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you a psychic consultant for the sheriff’s department on this investigation? Is that why you can’t divulge any details of the case?”
Conversation around her died.
“No. I have nothing to do with this case, nor am I working as a consultant with the police. I’m not even—” psychic, for crying out loud. Thankfully, she bit back the words before they escaped. That’s all she needed to say. She wouldn’t have to worry about a serial killer destroying her business. She weaved her fingers through her hair and squeezed, the headache raging full force. She should have just skipped the coffee and been content to let Bee deliver the gossip to her later in the day when he woke.
She was saved from any more grilling about her involvement in the case when Rick called, “Next.”
The man in front of her stared a moment longer, then turned and moved to the counter to place his order.
Relieved to be off the hook, Cass took a couple of deep breaths. Hopefully everyone who’d witnessed the exchange would pass the word that Cass had nothing to do with the case. Somehow, she doubted it.
“Hey, beautiful.” Bee’s arm came around her shoulders and he kissed her cheek. “How’s it going?”
“What in the world are you doing up already? It’s barely ten o’clock. In the morning.”
“Ha-ha.” He waved her away dismissively. “Really, Cass. I do occasionally get up early.”
“When?”
He laughed. “When there’s dirt like this going around.”
“Yeah, well, in your travels, please pass on that I did not follow a ghost to any bodies.”
“Are you sure?” His eyes twinkled with mischief, and he winked. “I bet business would pick up dramatically if you had.”
Hmm . . . she hadn’t thought of that.
“Next.”
Cass moved forward.
Bee leaned close. “Get me a bacon, egg, and cheese.”
“Hey, Cass.” Emma rested her elbows on the counter and leaned forward. “I understand if you don’t want everyone to know what’s going on, but you can tell me, you know.”
Yeah, right. And five minutes later it would be all over town. “There’s really nothing to tell.”
Rick cleared his throat, and Emma straightened up, saving Cass from the uncomfortable conversation.
“What can I get you?”
“Three bacon, egg, and cheeses, on rolls, salt and pepper.”
Bee nudged his way beside her and lifted a finger. “And ketchup on one.” He started to back away, then stopped. “Oh, and a large order of home fries.”
Cass glared at him. “Are you done?”
“You’re right. I forgot the coffee.” He smiled at Emma. “And two large coffees, to go.”
“Three coffees.” Cass stared at him a bit longer to make sure he was done.
“What? I’m starved.” His grin widened. “All this gossip makes me hungry. Who’s the third coffee for?”
“Stephanie is meeting me at the shop to go over the books.” Cass turned back to Emma as Bee moved away. She paid for their breakfasts and moved aside to wait for her order while Leighton stepped up to the register. Thankfully, the guy who’d been harassing her in the line was deeply involved in a conversation with a woman Cass had never seen before. At least he’d leave her alone now. She hoped.
“Wade.” Rick held a bag high, and the man stepped forward to retrieve it without any disruption in his conversation. Whatever the two of them were talking about, he didn’t seem happy. He gestured wildly, flinging his bag around with each motion, but he kept his voice too low for Cass to hear any of the conversation. When he moved to the coffee counter, Cass gave up trying to hear anything else.
Leighton moved to stand beside her. “Are you headed into the shop?”
Cass nodded. “Yeah. I was hoping to get an early start, but I didn’t expect it to be so crowded in here.”
“I know, me neither. I probably wouldn’t have stopped if I’d known.”
“Tell me about it.” If Cass had known what to expect, she’d definitely have skipped the deli stop. She looked around, wondering if it was a good time to ask Leighton about the painting again. She really wanted to know who the woman was. And now that a second body had been discovered, the need to know seemed even more urgent.
“Cass,” Rick called and held up a paper bag.
She stepped forward and took the bag from Rick. “Thanks.”
He nodded and moved on to the next customer in line, banging out one order after another in an effort to keep up with the unusually high volume of breakfast orders. Although Cass couldn’t help but notice many of the customers had only come in for coffee. And presumably gossip.
“Enjoy your breakfast.” Leighton pointed toward the bag. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, sure.” Giving up on trying to find a way to approach the subject of the painting in the middle of the crowd, Cass turned away. The mobbed deli was probably not the best time or place to confront the other woman, anyway. She’d have to make sure to catch her alone later.
“Come on, Cass. We have to go.” Bee grabbed her arm.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just walk.” He guided her toward the door, weaving through the throng of customers, balancing all three coffees in a cardboard cup holder.
When they reached the sidewalk, Cass tried to stop, but Bee shook his head and kept moving, propelling her toward her car parked a few spots down. He got in the passenger seat without looking back.
She shook her head and followed, then slid into the driver’s seat, slammed the door shut, and shoved the bag at Bee. “What is wrong with you?”
“Don’t get mad.”
“Why would I get—”
“It wasn’t my fault.”
“What wasn’t? What are you talking about?”
Chewing on a thumbnail, he peered over his hand at her.
“All right, Bee. Spill it. What happened?”
He cleared his throat, then lowered his hand. “Well . . .” He winced. “I was getting our coffee, and people were gathered around talking about everything, and someone said a ghost told you where the body was, and then someone else said you couldn’t have really seen a ghost, because there’s no such thing as ghosts, which I actually agree with—mostly—so, of course, I said ‘That’s true,’ just meaning there are no such things as ghost
s . . .”
Cass massaged her temples.
“But then this guy I didn’t recognize jumped in and said, ‘So she’s a fake?’ And, well, you know how I get when someone says something about one of my girls, so—”
Cass held up a hand. “Stop.”
Bee folded his hands in his lap and stared out the windshield.
Great. Now she’d hurt his feelings. She sighed. “Sorry, Bee. I have a pounding headache. Could you just maybe skip the in-between and tell me the part I might be mad at?”
He shrugged. “I kind of told them you weren’t a fake, and that you did see a . . . vision . . . and had already discussed it with the police. In my defense, I said ‘vision,’ not ‘ghost.’”
“Ugh . . . Bee, how could you—”
“Hey . . .” Bee pointed toward the sidewalk where a man was walking away from them toward the corner. “That’s him. That’s the guy who kept provoking me until I blurted out the truth.”
“Kept provoking you?”
“Yes.” He harrumphed. “Of course, you didn’t listen to that part.”
Cass sighed again. This is going to be a long day.
The stranger stopped at the corner and looked both ways before crossing the street, giving Cass a clear view of his face. The skinny guy with the glasses who’d been grilling her while she was waiting in line for breakfast. What had Rick called him? Brad? No. Wade. That was it. Hmm . . . why so nosy, Wade?
She thought briefly about following him, but what purpose would it serve? It wasn’t likely he’d lead her to the truth about what had happened to the two skeletons on the beach.
11
Cass unlocked the door to Mystical Musings and pushed it open. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Bee walked past her and dropped the cup holder and bag on the table.
“Hey, wait up.” Stephanie ran across the parking lot and up the steps to the boardwalk. “Sorry I’m late.”
“That’s okay. We just got here. The deli was mobbed.”
Stephanie laughed. “What did you expect?”
Stephanie gestured toward Bee, who was still sulking while he unpacked the bag and set their sandwiches out. “What’s the matter with him?”
After Stephanie entered, Cass locked the door and left the sign turned to CLOSED. “He opened his mouth when he shouldn’t have, and now he’s beating himself up over it.”
“Ahh . . .”
“I can hear you, you know.” Bee shot them a dirty look as they pulled out their chairs and sat down to eat.
Cass sighed. “Are you going to stay in this mood all day?”
He shrugged and flopped onto the chair across from her. “I’m really sorry, Cass.”
“I know. You already told me about a hundred times in the car on the way—”
A loud bang from upstairs interrupted her.
Bee drew his eyebrows together and surged to his feet.
Cass shook her head. She had no idea what the noise could have been. As far as she knew, the upstairs was empty.
“Dang.” The voice definitely came from upstairs.
Stephanie pulled out her cell phone.
“Hold on a sec. No need to call in the cavalry yet.” Moving as stealthily as a better-than-six-foot, two-hundred-pound man could move in platform shoes, Bee crept toward the spiral staircase Emmett had installed in the back corner of the shop. He leaned over the black iron railing and peered up.
“Anything?” Cass whispered.
He shook his head. “Hello?” he yelled up the stairs.
“Hey,” a man’s voice called back.
Bee jumped back at the unexpected answer and pressed a hand against his heaving chest. “That voice had better be attached to a live person.” He pinned Cass with a stare. “Just sayin’.”
Cass couldn’t help but laugh.
A giggle blurted out of Stephanie, and she offered Bee a sympathetic look.
“I’m glad you both think it’s funny.”
That only made Cass laugh harder.
Bee rolled his eyes.
“Don’t worry about it, Bee.” Stephanie stuck her phone back into her pocket and squeezed his arm. “Being afraid of ghosts is perfectly understandable.”
He snorted. “First of all, I do not believe in ghosts. Well . . . not really anyway. And, second of all . . .”
Tuning out their bickering, Cass called up the staircase. “Is that you, Emmett?”
“Yup.” He emerged from the upstairs landing and started down. “Sorry. Dropped a hammer.”
“What are you doing here?”
He reached the bottom and gestured for Cass to go up. “Got a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?”
“Sure. Go on up.”
She smiled and climbed the stairs. As she rounded the top few steps, a view of the upstairs room Emmett had built came into view. “Oh, my.” She looked back down at Emmett coming up behind her with Bee and Stephanie close on his heels. “Is it finished?”
“Yup. It was almost done, and I couldn’t sleep, so I came in really early this morning and finished it up. I wanted it to be done in time for the group reading Saturday night. I still have to come back for a few last-minute touches, but you can start setting it up whenever you’re ready.”
Cass stood in the middle of the huge, open space and turned around. He’d done an amazing job. The walls had been painted a deep maroon with white crown molding. Dark wood floors gleamed in the sunlight coming through the two dormer windows at the back of the shop. Built-in, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves covered the back wall between the windows. “Oh, Emmett. I don’t know what to say. It’s gorgeous.”
Crimson patches blossomed on his cheeks. “I saw stacks of books laying around the back room one day, and I thought these would be helpful.” He gestured toward the shelves. “I built them into the wall, so they don’t take up any room.”
“They’re perfect.” Tears threatened, but she held them back.
“Oh, and look at the office.” He led her across the empty space to a small room in the corner behind the stairs. “It’s out of the way, just like you asked, but you won’t be able to use it when the shop is open unless you hire help.” He opened a set of double, frosted-glass doors.
Cass looked around in the small office. “That’s okay. It’s just right, exactly what I wanted.” A quiet, out of the way space she could go to do her paperwork, which she often did on Wednesdays or early in the morning when the shop was closed. “Thank you so much, Emmett.” She threw her arms around him in a big hug. “You’re the best.”
When she released him, he stepped back and tipped the red baseball cap he always wore. “Glad you like it.”
“Like it? I love it.” She spun around once more, trying to take in every last detail. “Are you and Sara coming to the reading?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” He shoved his wild mane of long, graying hair back and fitted his cap back on.
“This really is amazing.” Stephanie poked her head into the small office and looked around.
“You really outdid yourself this time, Emmett.” Bee ran a hand over the dark wood shelving. “I’d love something like this in the back room at Dreamweaver.”
“Sure thing, Bee. I’d be happy to do it for you.”
Bee clapped his hands together. “Perfect.”
“I’ll stop by one night after you close, and we can work out exactly what you want.”
“I can’t wait. Thanks.”
Emmett nodded and smoothed his goatee. “Anyway, I gotta get going. Gotta get the shop open. I’ll see you Saturday.”
“Okay. Thank you again, Emmett. And tell Joey I said hi.”
Emmett’s grin spread from ear to ear at the mention of his son. “Will do.”
“It really looks amazing, Cass,” Bee said as Emmett head
ed down the stairs.
“I know. I can’t believe how good it looks, and he got it done so fast,” Stephanie added.
Cass made one more circuit of the room, then headed for the stairs. “I can’t wait to get started setting it up. If I’m not too busy today, I’ll start bringing up some of the smaller things.”
“Let me know when you want to start moving the tables and stuff up, and I’ll come help.” Bee sat back down at the table and took the lid off his home fries. At least seeing the new room had helped him get over his earlier funk.
“Thanks.” She sat at the table and opened her sandwich.
“We’ll have to do it one night this week, if you want to have it ready for the reading Saturday night.” Stephanie’s cell phone beeped, and she pulled it out of her bag.
“I could do that.” Bee opened his sandwich and frowned.
“Something wrong?” Cass asked.
Leaving his sandwich untouched, he cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table. “Nah. Just thinking back to that guy in the deli. He seemed really determined to get me to say you were somehow involved in the investigation.”
“Yeah, well, he was hounding me, too, before you came in.” She put a hand over his. “If it makes you feel any better, I almost blurted out that I wasn’t psychic smack in the middle of gossip central. That would’ve ruined my business pretty quick.”
He smiled. “No kidding.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
He shrugged. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am.”
He laughed. “Is that a premonition of some sort, or are you just being cocky?”
She waggled her eyebrows. “I’ll never tell. Now eat your breakfast. It’s already late, and I need to get the shop open.”
“And I need to run.” Stephanie grabbed her coffee and her sandwich and stood. “Sorry, guys. This client is going to drive me crazy.”
“Is everything all right?” Cass asked.
“Yeah, yeah.” She waved off her concern. “Just the same annoying client who thinks I have nothing else to do but cater to him. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
Once Stephanie ran out, the two of them ate in silence for a while, Cass contemplating how to arrange the tables upstairs for the reading, Bee mulling over something—probably still the guy in the deli.