by Jane Hinchey
I took the card, glancing at it. “So I’m really a suspect?” The very idea set my teeth on edge.
“Everyone who attended the party is a suspect. That poison didn’t get into the cupcake on its own.”
“Right. That don’t leave town thing—that’s just a line right? A bit of a joke because that’s what they say in the TV shows?”
“No joke. Why, did you have plans to be somewhere?” He cocked his head.
“Nah. Just curious. I have no plans. I’m usually here or at my shop.”
He nodded. “Thanks for your time, Miss Gates.”
“Call me Kristina. If you’re going to be interrogating me on a regular basis, we may as well use first names. Ben.” I grinned, feeling cheeky. Thankfully, he smiled back instead of slapping me in cuffs and dragging me to the Council.
2
“Oh my God! I saw you on the news!” Paige grabbed me by the hand and dragged me into the kitchen as soon as I stepped over the threshold at Jam. Paige was my assistant manager, my best friend, and a fae. “Are you okay? How awful.”
“I’m fine. Get this, I’m also a suspect!”
“What the hell? The guy choked. You can’t be blamed for that.” Paige stood with her legs planted, fists resting on her hips, her body vibrating with outrage on my behalf. She was such a sweetheart.
“Turns out he didn’t choke. He was poisoned, but keep that to yourself okay? Although the Watcher didn’t tell me not to tell anyone. Maybe I should call him to clarify.” Who was I kidding? I’d drum up any excuse to call him, just to hear his deep voice in my ear, doing crazy things to my libido.
“Wait! Watcher? What Watcher?”
“Watcher Ben Hoffman. Talk about friggin’ eye candy, Paige. This guy is not only built, but seriously gorgeous. And a witch.” My voice dropped at the end. A witch. What a combination.
“The Council,” Paige breathed, clasping my hands, her green eyes pools of concern. “The Council is investigating you? They think you killed that guy?”
“Not necessarily. But I’m implicated because I baked the cupcakes, and they want the Watcher to keep an eye on me, since he’s poking around as part of his job anyway.”
“Jesus, what a mess.”
“I don’t like it,” I admitted, pulling an apron over my head and tying it behind my back. “This is my reputation that’s at stake. And my freedom. If the Council thinks I did it, I’ll be in the witches’ pokey. I can’t sit around and do nothing.”
“What are you suggesting?” Paige went to the two big industrial fridges against the far wall and began pulling out the ingredients I’d need. Milk, eggs, butter.
“I want to talk to the Quinn’s. They have to know something. Katherine was insistent that I infuse the desserts with love and acceptance. Did she know someone there who needed such a thing? Someone who was filled with hate that needed an emotional pick-me-up?”
“What are you making?” Paige indicated the stainless steel bench I was standing at.
“Oh, um, I’ll do a batch of adrenaline coffee cake. And I did some baking at home yesterday. Can you grab the cookies and brownies from the back of the van?”
“Sure.” Paige finished getting the rest of the ingredients I’d need, then left to retrieve the goodies I’d left in the van.
“Hey.” Laura poked her head into the kitchen. “How are you holding up?”
“Oh, hi, Laura. Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
Laura and her boyfriend, Cody, were my main staff. They helped me keep Jam running like a well-oiled machine. Like Paige, they were also fae. Fae were great with the customers and had a wicked sweet tooth, which explained why they were attracted to working in jobs that involved sweets and desserts. Between Paige, Laura, and Cody, I had nothing to worry about when it came to my shop. They organized staff rosters, made sure the cleaning crew were on top of things, maintained my pantry so I never ran out of anything, and passed on useful customer feedback on my creations. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without them. They’d become my family.
“Ummm.” Laura hesitated, and I glanced up.
“What is it?”
“The Whitfield’s just canceled. You were supposed to cater their daughter’s birthday party this weekend.”
“Damn it.” It was bound to happen. I just hadn’t expected it so soon. I needed to get this whole mess resolved quickly, or it could mean the end of my business. I’d built it up through word of mouth, and word of mouth could tear it down just as quickly. Until I could clear my name, I was at risk of losing it all.
“Freeze.” I waved my hand over the coffee cake in progress in front of me, holding it in suspended animation. I’d get back to it later. Right now, I needed to talk to the Quinn’s and clear my name.
“I’m going out. You guys are okay here, right? I did some baking yesterday. Paige is just bringing it in. The coffee cake will have to wait, but you’ve plenty of stock otherwise.”
“Yeah, we’re good. You go, everything is fine here.”
Whipping the apron off, I tossed it onto the counter and grabbed my old bomber jacket, pulling it on as I let myself out the back door of the shop. The seasons had begun to change, which meant layers. Too hot one minute—too cold the next. My usual attire of jeans and a T-shirt worked just fine, and my faded red Chucks were a daily staple, but this morning I’d had to add the jacket to keep the chill from my bones.
“Kristina! What a lovely surprise. I wasn’t expecting you.” Katherine Quinn rose from where she was seated at her glass dining table with an iPad in front of her and a cup and saucer at her elbow. “Thank you, Mary, that’ll be all.” She dismissed the young woman who’d let me in.
“Sorry for arriving unannounced,” I apologized, not really sorry.
“How are you faring after yesterday’s terrible events?” Katherine indicated a chair opposite her and I slid in, taking care not to touch the tabletop and leave fingerprints. Katherine’s apartment—well, it wasn’t really an apartment, since it was bigger than most houses I knew—was beautiful. Though every item in it was expensive, her decorator had introduced an elegance to the home that was unpretentious. Besides the glass tabletops, I loved it.
“Not good.”
“Oh?” This got her attention. She’d gone back to scrolling through the iPad, but now her beautifully coiffed head snapped up and her eyes bore into mine.
“I’ve already had one catering event cancel. I fear there will be more to follow. I cannot afford to have my name and reputation dragged through the mud.”
“Of course not, my dear, but I’m unsure how you think I can help you. The whole unfortunate mess is being handled by the police.”
“And the Council.”
A perfectly manicured brow rose. “The Council is involved? That’s…unexpected. Ted was human, and although he moved in the same circles as a lot of paranormals, as far as I’m aware, he wasn’t made privy to our existence.”
“Wes never let slip that you’re shifters?”
“Well…” Katherine glanced over my head, deep in thought, then brought her gaze back to mine. “Not many people know this, but Wes isn’t a shifter,” she admitted.
“Oh. I’d heard that could happen sometimes.” Though it was rare for two shifters to not produce a shifter offspring.
Katherine cut into my thoughts. “Wes is adopted. Bart and I were unable to conceive. Most likely because I’m a Cougar Shifter and he was a Wolf Shifter. We adopted Wes through human channels.”
“Does Wes know?”
“Yes, Wes knows everything—that his father and I are shifters, that he’s adopted and one-hundred percent human.”
“That was a risk.”
Katherine shrugged. “Bart and I thought it best. We didn’t want secrets in our home. And I’m glad for it. Wes had a happy childhood. Losing Bart was hard on both of us, but we supported each other. We got through it together.”
I nodded. Family almost always supported each other, through thick and thin. I envied
Katherine that, for I hadn’t known my parents. Documents had told me my mother was a witch and my father a fae. For reasons unknown to me, they gave me up at birth. I’d been raised in foster homes until I struck out on my own at eighteen, as soon as I was able to get myself out of the human tangle of bureaucracy that had dictated my life until that point. To this day I still don’t know why the Council hadn’t stepped in and had me placed with a paranormal family.
“I understand, and I don’t expect you to help me. Just…can I ask you some questions? The Watcher has to interview everyone in attendance and that’s going to take some time, time I don’t have. The grapevine is vicious at times like this.”
Katherine nodded. “What you say is true, my dear. Idle gossips can be a dangerous thing. Ask away. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
“Thank you.” I blew out a breath. “Let’s start with Ted. Do you know why someone would want him dead?”
“No, I don’t. Oh, I know he wasn’t well liked in business circles, that he was thought to be cutthroat and ruthless, but to be perfectly honest, that’s just business!”
“He and Wes had been friends for a long time?”
“Since grade school. They’d had their fallings-out over the years, as all boys do—usually over a girl—but they remained close and loyal friends. We considered Teddy a part of the family.”
I nodded. I’d heard enough gossip to know what she said was true. Ted and Wes had grown up as brothers.
“Can I ask, when you hired me, why you requested I infuse the desserts with love and acceptance?”
“Nothing sinister my dear, I can assure you.” Katherine laughed. “I wanted my guests to feel hopeful and happy. After that nasty business at the lake last month, I couldn’t help but notice, at least in my circle of friends, that everyone was fearful and angry. That’s no way to live life, as I’m sure you’ll agree.”
She was referring to the destruction of a luxury yacht on Lake Ceduna, in which seventeen people had died after a bomb went off. The culprit, it turned out, was a deck hand who had been fired the week before. Katherine was right—the mood over Redmeadows had been pretty subdued for a while, and it must’ve been particularly difficult for Katherine. She’d known those people.
“It was terrible,” I agreed. “I’m sure the police have already asked, but did you see anything, notice anything unusual at the party? At any time?”
“No, I didn’t. Just the usual. Oh, wait…”
“Yes?” I leaned forward, hopeful.
“My other caterer, Jodi O’Flannigan, spent a lot of time scowling in your direction.”
I sat back in my seat. “That’s nothing new.”
“She was also in quite an intense conversation with another woman. Rebecca—I can’t recall her last name. Wes invited a lot of guests personally, guests that he knew I wouldn’t approve of.” Katherine waved a hand. “Anyway, I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it looked like a disagreement of some sort. Then it looked like this Rebecca woman and Ted had words.”
“So after you saw Rebecca and Jodi talking, you then saw Rebecca and Ted…arguing?”
“I couldn’t say for sure since I couldn’t hear them, but there were lots of hand gestures and angry faces. That’s when I stepped in and suggested Teddy might like a cupcake, knowing your special blend would alleviate all this tension. Oh!” Her hand flew to her mouth.
Oh, indeed. She’d directed Ted to the cupcakes. He’d done as she suggested and died as a result.
“Does the Watcher know this?” I asked.
“Not yet. I just remembered it while talking to you. But I’m going to call him now. Whatever was going on between Rebecca, Jodi, and Teddy, it could be important.”
“Or it could be nothing.” I didn’t know why, but I felt the need to play devil’s advocate, especially where Jodi was concerned. “Thanks for talking with me today, Katherine. I’ll let myself out.”
I wanted to be gone before she called the Watcher. And I wanted to chat with Jodi O’Flannigan.
3
I was all out of luck. I’d just stepped through the door of Jodi’s shop, Flans and Things, intent on having it out with the woman, when I ran smack dab into Watcher Ben Hoffman. Literally. I bounced off his broad back and nearly landed on my ass in the doorway.
“Ooof.”
“Sorry. Are you okay?” Ben turned, eyes twinkling when he recognized me. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself,” I grumbled, embarrassed to be caught not looking where I was going. “Any reason you decided to stand right in the middle of the doorway?” Straight on the offensive. Good one, I chided myself.
“I’m not. Well, not intentionally. I’m in the queue.” He moved aside so I could see the line of customers waiting to be served. Flans and Things was hopping.
“Checking out the competition?” he inquired, doing that one eyebrow arch thing that I could never pull off. How did he operate his eyebrows independent of each other? Whenever I tried it, both my brows practically disappeared into my hairline.
“Hardly,” I scoffed. I spied Jodi through the pass-through hatch, busy in the kitchen. Doubtful she’d take time out to talk to me, not with a shop full of hungry customers. A little voice in the back of my head reminded me that she probably wouldn’t talk with me anyway, busy or not.
“I had an interesting conversation with Mrs. Quinn.” Ben folded his arms across that impressive chest of his and looked down at me. Not out of disapproval, but because of his height. I craned my neck to try and stare him down. It didn’t work. He was on to me, judging by the twitch of his lip.
“Oh?” I feigned ignorance.
“She told me you’d dropped by, were having a little chat when she remembered Jodi, Ted, and a woman named Rebecca involved in some sort of argument.”
“You probably shouldn’t be telling me that,” I scolded, “Isn’t it part of your investigation? I’m sure the Council frowns on revealing details of an ongoing investigation, let alone the source.”
“Since you already know, because you were there, I’m not breaking any rules. At least that makes one of us.”
“What are you insinuating?” My hand pressed to my chest in mock innocence. I knew exactly what he was getting at.
“That you’re poking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Leave the Watcher work to me. You know. Since I’m a Watcher and all.”
“You don’t understand.” I reached out, clutching his arm. “I’ve already had a catering job cancel this morning. More are going to follow. The longer it takes to get to the truth, the more my business will suffer. And it’s not just me I’m worried about. If my business fails, so does the livelihood of my staff. I didn’t do this. I need to clear my name!”
Ben frowned at me, concern evident on his oh-so-handsome face. Man, he was gorgeous. And a distraction.
“We will get to the bottom of it. Don’t worry.”
“Pfft. ‘Don’t worry,’ he says. You’ll still have a paycheck rolling in, no matter the outcome. This is my life on the line.”
“Er, bit dramatic don’t you think? Your life isn’t at risk, Kristina. Unless there’s something you’re not telling me? Have threats been made?” Suddenly he was in Watcher mode, body ramrod straight, eyes drilling into me, all signs of teasing gone.
“No. Nothing like that. I just can’t sit on my hands and do nothing,” I huffed.
He had me. I was being overly dramatic, I knew it, he knew it. My cheeks heating with embarrassment, I spun on my heel and exited the shop. I’d have to hunt Jodi down later—it had been a long shot to get her to talk to me anyway, and even if she agreed, could I trust anything she’d tell me? I was two steps down the footpath when a strong hand grasped my upper arm, halting me.
“Wait.”
“What?” I was irritated. At myself. At him. At the cards I’d been dealt.
“I know you want this solved…”
I cut him off. “Damn straight I do!”
“But,” he continued as if I
hadn’t spoken, “this is a homicide, Kristina. Someone got murdered. It’s dangerous. If you start poking your nose where it’s not wanted, well, let’s just say you don’t want to get in this person’s crosshairs.”
“So you’re saying now is not the time to develop my amateur sleuthing skills?”
He nodded, face grim. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
I sighed.
“Fine,” I huffed, tugging my arm out of his grip and continuing down the sidewalk. He didn’t need to know I had no intention of stopping.
At the corner, I cast a glance over my shoulder. He stood there, feet planted a shoulder-width apart, eyes on me. My hormones flared to life, and I bit my lip. Man, why did he have to be so goddamn gorgeous? And nice? He was really going to be pissed at me, and that was a shame, because I liked him.
Remembering the half-prepared coffee cake at Jam, I returned to my shop. I was heartened to see all the tables full.
“Lost another,” Paige told me as I waved my hand over the cake mixture, unfreezing it. The wooden spoon began to lazily stir the batter as I sprinkled in ingredients. I didn’t use fancy food processors or beaters. I made everything by hand.
Okay, fine—by magic.
“Who?”
“The Meyer engagement party.”
“Damn it. They were new, we could’ve really broadened our reach with them.”
Paige’s face fell, and I felt bad. This wasn’t their fault, nor should it be their problem. “It’ll be okay,” I said. “The Watcher is making progress, and look, the shop is full. Our regulars who know and love us won’t abandon us.”
Paige nodded, a smile flitting across her face. “They’re great, aren’t they?”
“They are amazing. And with a couple of cancellations, that gives me some spare time.”
“Spare time to catch a killer?”
“Well, I told the Watcher I wouldn’t,” I admitted.