by Tonya Kappes
“Toodles.” She finger waved and air kissed. I noticed she didn’t buy anything.
“She lies. She goes right on over to Lisa Stalh’s house and uses that tanning bed she keeps in her garage.” Crissy rolled her eyes. “Not a bit of Indian in her.”
I didn’t care if she was Indian, Native American or a tanning bed queen. All I knew was that I was going to find out that secret Leslie was keeping once and for all.
Fifteen
Pepper and Sassy need to go out and when I brought them outside Stewart offered to take them for a short walk if I’d cover the adoption table and help a family looking at a kitten.
“Daddy,” the little girl whined and hugged up the stuffed monkey in her arms, “please, please daddy.”
“But you have Skunky Monkey to take care of,” the daddy reminded her.
“I can take care of both, Daddy.” Her bright eyes looked up at her father.
She must’ve melted his heart. His smile reached his eyes.
“We’ll take the kitten.” The dad pulled out his wallet.
I’d just gotten settled with the adoption paperwork for the kitten when I heard a now familiar voice.
“Good afternoon.” Spencer appeared next to the adoption table.
If I’d seen him walking up, I’d have made myself scarce and hid in the kitchen. There were plenty of items to bake and coffees to brew. It was funny how I’d started to find comfort in hiding away with ingredients and the creation of my hands to escape the stress in my life. A coffeehouse was the first place I went after I’d found Kirk with the client in the uncompromising positions, and that was positions with an “s”.
It was the smell that comforted me like a warm quilt. As far back as when my dad had died I could remember feeling a salvation of sorts. Mom and Aunt Maxi had gathered at the kitchen table with the old hand press in the middle of the table as they discussed my father’s arrangements.
“Afternoon.” My greeting to Spencer was brief.
“I’m getting the feeling that you aren’t happy to see me.” He placed the tips of his fingers of both hands on the table and leaned forward.
“I’m busy trying to get this kitty adopted.” I nodded to the couple with the little girl that was holding the kitten.
“Fine.” His lips thinned into a smile. “I’ll go grab a cup of coffee.”
The friction between us was palpable as he walked past the table and into the coffeehouse.
“I bet it’s comforting having a boyfriend that’s a cop with the murder just a couple of doors down.” The dad signing the adoption papers caught me off guard.
“Shh.” The mom covered her daughter’s ears. “Crooked Cat is one of her favorite shops and she loved the owner.”
“I’m just saying.” The man shrugged.
“He’s not my boyfriend.” I played it off with a laugh and eye roll.
“Really?” The mom suddenly took interest. “It sure seemed like the chemistry between the two of you. . .,” she hesitated. “Nothing.” She crinkled her nose.
The irritation seeped up in my blood but I let it go. I didn’t need to lose the adoption nor any business they might give The Bean Hive.
“Here is your free bag. It has a package of litter and kibble to get you started. There are a couple of coupons you can use at A Walk In The Bark,” I gestured down the boardwalk to where the pet boutique was located, “to get a litter box and some more food or any fun accessories you need for the sweetie.” I glanced over at the daughter. She had the kitten snuggled up in the crook of her neck. I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with the parents in fear they’d catch my irritation.
“Louise will be in touch with you this week to do your home visit.” I gave them Louise’s business card. It was one of the things I loved about Pet Palace’s adoption policy. Louise made sure she went to every single house to make sure the adoption was a good fit on both sides.
She’d told me a couple of sad stories where the owner wanted a dog or cat, but never imagined the messes they could make, making the pairing not compatible. Louise has taken many animals back to Pet Palace only to try to rehome them. Hopefully, this adoption was going to be fabulous.
Stewart had come back from walking Sassy and Pepper and had taken my spot at the adoption table. It was time to face Spencer. I’d been stalling long enough.
The Bean Hive was still as busy this afternoon as it was this morning. The soup was a hit as were the doughnuts. In the afternoon, I only served the beverage products. I left it up to Buzz In and Out Diner to feed the visitors their supper.
“How is your coffee?” I asked Spencer when I walked behind the bar and noticed that Bunny was as spry as she’d been earlier.
“It’s great.” He stood at the counter.
“Bunny, why don’t you go on home for the day?” I suggested. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”
“Are you sure?” Her brows dipped.
“I’m positive. I can handle the rest of the afternoon.” I looked at the door when the bell dinged, a little surprised to see Drew walk in.
I looked between Spencer and Drew. Spencer eyed me and looked to see what I was looking at. I cleared my throat and hoped I didn’t bring attention to my suspicion about Drew knowing something about Alexis. It was ridiculous really, but the banned books comment tickled my brain, giving me a little niggling feeling that something was off.
“I’ll be back bright and early.” Bunny wasted no time grabbing her pocketbook and hooking it in the crook of her arm. “I’ll wash my apron too.”
“You don’t have to.” I had contracted with Honey Springs Dry Cleaner to come in once a week and grab the mats, rugs, and aprons. “I’ve got plenty in the back to use daily.”
She untied the apron and hung it on the coat tree that I used for a display next to the register at the end of the counter.
“See you tomorrow.” She waved and took her time leaving the coffeehouse. She stopped at a few tables and talked to the customers.
Spencer had slipped to the front of the coffeehouse and leaned on the window bar using his forearm to prop himself up and the other hand to hold his coffee. His eyes peered over the mug watching Drew’s every move.
“Hi again.” I gulped when Drew walked up to the counter. “You would like a cup of coffee? Or are you a specialty coffee drinker?” My mouth continued; I couldn’t stop. “I mean, you do love books, banned books. People who read love coffee. Well, most people.”
He held his hand in the air for me to shut up.
“I need two tickets for the boat ride to the bee farm for tomorrow. The marina is out of them and Big Bib told me you were selling some.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket.
“Sure.” I pinched my lips together. I bent down and ripped two tickets from the roll on the shelf behind the counter. But not without taking a deep breath. “These are good for today or tomorrow.”
What was wrong with me? I had been in a courtroom with criminals. I’d gone up against some of the biggest crime bosses in NYC and I couldn’t control my nerves from a squirrely little man who approved or unapproved banned books?
“Two tickets are six dollars.” I held the tickets out and waited as he counted out six ones.
He took the tickets. He put one in his pocket and one in his wallet. I found that odd.
“Thank you,” he said in a bold tone, bringing my eyes from his wallet to his eyes.
“Yes. I hope you and Mari enjoy the bee farm.” I smiled.
He gave me a second glance before he turned and walked out of the coffeehouse. He passed Spencer on his way out, but they didn’t make eye contact or acknowledge each other.
Spencer walked over to the coffee bar and refilled his mug while I kept my eye on Drew. The two large front windows on each side of the coffee shop door gave a perfect view of the boardwalk and lake.
“You’re nothing like your aunt.” Spencer set his steaming cup of coffee down. His words were really a blur to my ears as I tried t
o watch Drew.
My head tilted to the right to see past Spencer who’d been rude to block my view. Leslie had approached Drew and my adrenaline roared through my veins. It was a connection between two of my suspects and my banned books tie.
“What?” Spencer looked back and turned around to wave his hand in front of my face.
“What, what?” I asked back, keeping my eyes on Drew as he gave Leslie a ticket.
“You let out an audible gasp and looked back there.” He pointed out the window.
“I did?” I asked looking at him. I didn’t realize I’d done that. “Oh.” I brought my hand to my mouth and saw that Drew and Leslie were gone.
Crap.
“Are you going to tell me what all that was about?” he asked.
“What?” I scrunched my brows together and shoved back a stray piece of my curly hair behind my ear.
“The obvious curiosity you have about Drew Kirkwood.” He tapped the pad of his finger on his temple. “You forget I’m a cop and I’m pretty observant.”
“I can see that.” I looked at his uniform. “I was just looking at the customers. That’s all.”
“Mmhmmm.” He ho-hummed, his eyes narrowed. He gave up on interrogating me. “Your aunt has an alibi for the time of Alexis’s attack. Plus the time of death of around five-ish in the morning. Give or take an hour.”
“That’s good Aunt Maxi is off the hook.” I took the dry bar towel and wiped the counter to clean it, though it wasn’t dirty. I just needed something to keep my hands busy and not seem so nervous. “It hasn’t stopped the gossip that she’d hired a hit man.”
“Hit man in Honey Springs.” He scoffed. “I might still have some questions for her, but I wanted to come by and personally tell you that she’s no longer a suspect. The doughnut came back as just a doughnut and the initial cause of death is blunt force trauma to the head as initially suspected.”
“Thanks,” I responded, then put a big smile on my face when I saw Patrick walk in with the construction hat under his arm. I reached across the counter and grabbed the last honey doughnut. “I want you to have this. Poison free,” I joked.
Spencer perked up and smiled. I kept looking at him, though I could see Patrick listening and staring at me from my peripheral vision.
“Thank you, Roxy.” Spencer reached out for the doughnut. I held it for a second and gave him a flirty look.
“You are so welcome, officer.” There was a hint of tease in my voice. “I appreciate you stopping by to see me.”
Ahem, Patrick cleared his voice.
“Patrick,” my voice escalated as if I’d just seen him.
Spencer looked at him, and rolled his eyes toward me. He grinned an evil grin at me.
“I’ll be by to see you before I go home.” Spencer seemed to play along.
I waved bye without saying anything.
“What was that about?” Patrick asked after he and Spencer nearly bumped shoulders.
“What?” I asked.
“Was he here asking about Alexis again?” Patrick seemed perturbed. “Because he can’t just come in here and harass you.”
“Actually,” I tossed the towel aside and took someone’s coffee bar money who’d held it out for me gesturing toward the bar. “He was here to let me know that Aunt Maxi is no longer on the official suspect list.”
“And you believe him?” Patrick put his hat on the ground when Pepper and Sassy came running up after they’d run inside when a customer left. He bent down and rubbed on both of them.
This was one of the endearing traits Patrick had. He’d always loved any animal. When we’d go fishing, he made me use bread instead of crickets or mill worms. Of course we never caught anything but a few kisses along the way.
“I guess,” I said. “There’s no reason for me not to.”
“If he thinks you are meddling in his investigation, he’d tell you anything to keep your nose out of it.” Patrick stood up and grabbed a couple of the free pet treats out of the mason jar next to the cash register, giving the two dogs one a piece.
Sassy sat down next to his feet and nudged his hand with her nose.
“Say, why don’t you adopt Sassy?” That was a great idea.
“No.” He shook his head and pronounced “no” very clearly.
“But Patrick,” I whined and swung my shoulders like a little school girl and batted my eyes. “She loves you. She doesn’t do that with anyone.”
“No.”
He casually waved his fingers at her so she’d go away, but she didn’t. She pushed her nose harder on his hand. He waved those fingers again. This time Sassy jumped to her feet and rubbed her body all along Patrick’s leg.
Both of us laughed. Sassy didn’t see anything funny. She jumped up on her back feet and placed one paw on each of his shoulders staring him in the eyes.
“Come on,” I encouraged him. “She’s in love. How can you do that to her? Oh wait. You did that to me.” I pinched my lips together. I couldn’t believe I’d just said that.
“What?” He wasn’t laughing anymore. He shoved Sassy off him but she kept bugging him. “Did you just accuse me of dropping you?” His voice escalated.
“Shh.” I put my finger up to my lip and glanced around the coffeehouse.
“There is no way I’m going to let you get away with that,” his voice thundered over the coffeehouse. “You are the one who got mad at me because you thought my family had put your aunt in financial trouble. That’s not the truth. I came to see you in college that fall.”
“What?” The coffee shop faded into the background, suddenly not seeming so important.
“Yeah. I applied to NYU and got in. I was going to find you and make all the dreams we’d talked about come true.” His jaw tensed. His nose flared. “I found you with him under a tree in his arms. You didn’t waste no time.”
He glared at me for a few seconds before he stalked across the coffeehouse floor.
“Come on, Sassy!” he yelled over his shoulder, his chin to the ground and his eyes had followed. “Let’s go home.”
My face flushed, I noticed all the customers staring at me. They all looked as if I should say something.
“Coffee on the house,” I muttered and propped myself up on the counter with my elbows, my chin rested in my hands.
Sixteen
The Bean Hive coffee hours as posted are seven a.m. to six p.m. As soon as the last customer left, I threw some kibble in Pepper’s bowl, flipped the sign and started to clean the coffeehouse. My mind had been gliding through the hours with all the conversations, used loosely, with Patrick replayed over and over in my head.
With each table, I took off the cow creamers, refilled the sugar packets, wiped down the tops of the tables and the vinyl chair covers. Before I knew it, I had the vacuum in hand and was sweeping the floor.
There was no way that Patrick had applied and gone to NYU. He was smart and I was sure he’d had no problem getting in, but he’d never expressed any interest in all the years I’d told him about me going there. He’d always said big city life wasn’t for him and he was happy to stay in Honey Springs working in his father’s business and one day taking it over. Which was what happened. It was me that’d surprised me. After that summer, I vowed never to come back. Again, it wasn’t until Aunt Maxi had given me an offer with the coffeehouse that I couldn’t refuse. Really, I had no where else to go. Mom was off exploring the world with her new husband and any roots I had were with the practice I’d opened with Kirk. I wasn’t about to stay there.
Honey Springs felt like home. As I swept, I imagined how different my life would be if I’d seen Patrick on campus. Would we be together? Would I have gone to law school? What about Kirk? Or even The Bean Hive?
“Nope.” I refused to let myself go dwell on the what-if’s. That was never a good place to go. “Everything is as it was meant to be. Even you Pepper.”
I sat down in one of the chairs and gathered Pepper in my lap. The warmth of his body and soft heartbeat
underneath his curly fur made my hurting heart feel a little better.
There was a light tapping on the window.
Crissy and Morgan waved when I turned around. I put Pepper back on the floor and opened the door. The two giggling ladies tumbled in.
“Come on down to the Watershed. The bar is fabulous.” Crissy plunked down into one of the soft couches I had in a small gathering space next to the tea bar.
“Yeah. Drinks on me!” Morgan sing-songed, plopping down next to Crissy.
“It looks like both of you have already had a couple of drinks.” I walked back to the counter and dumped out any remaining cream in the silver cow creamers.
They had to be cleaned, refilled, and put in the refrigerator so they’d be ready to go in the morning. It was the small things that helped make the early morning work hours so much easier.
“You should have one.” Crissy pointed at me with one eye closed. “You could use one.”
“Can’t tonight.” I went back to the kitchen to pull out the ingredients I needed for tomorrow’s lunch casseroles, a Salsa Verde Honey Lime Chicken with white rice.
The honey theme was a lot of fun. A helping of this casserole was filling and delicious to the taste buds.
The shuffling of feet and giggles let me know they were coming into the kitchen. Pepper had settled himself in the bed Patrick had bought from Morgan’s pet store. I laid out the six large baking pans.
“Did you know Leslie Roarke?” Crissy asked Morgan.
“Don’t get me started on her and her mother. I mean,” Morgan sat down at the kitchen table and shoved one of the baking pans away from her, “I hate that Alexis is dead, but they need to look into Leslie.”
“I heard that Maxi isn’t a suspect anymore,” Crissy shot my way.
I’d already combined all the ingredients and was using the silicone spatula to help mix it all together.
“Yeah, Spencer came in and told me. I’m glad too.” I went down the table and put the mixed ingredients in a few pans. “Aunt Maxi is upset because the people who overheard her and Alexis having words are now spreading the rumor that she hired a hit person to kill Alexis.”