by Неизвестный
Grasping the broom in her hand and dustpan at her elbow, Luna swept the floors with ferocity. The front windows still lay wide open and Luna could hear the two men converse. She sidled up to the edge of the curtain to listen.
“You know, Luna might have a point. She couldn’t have gotten the man in here all alone, no matter how you look at it,” Devin observed. “She’s too slender and not strong enough to carry someone. Besides, the faeries told her there were three humans. The dead man and two live ones.”
A loud snort issued from the sheriff. “The faeries? She said the faeries told her? Have you lost your mind? There are no faeries, not now, not ever, do you hear me? She’s a bit daft and them there daft folks can do anything they have a mind to. No, there aren’t any faeries.” Sheriff Tiddler pounded his fist on the table to drive his point home.
Luna chewed her lip. Devin meant well, but surely he’d known what the response would be. She leaned against the wall, her shoulders bowed. Didn’t anyone believe? Was Devin simply repeating what she’d said? She sighed. Either way, he had stood up for her. A warm fuzzy feeling engulfed her, and she smiled.
“Listen to me a minute…”
“No, you listen, Radford. I won’t have anyone telling me faerie stories or any such rubbish. If I can find proof Luna did this as a publicity stunt, I’ll arrest her.”
Footsteps thumped down the steps and the car cruised from the lot. Luna opened the front door to find Devin Radford standing outside looking at her, a wide grin on his handsome face.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“I think I just pissed off the sheriff.” He laughed. “I’m going to help you find who did this and we’ll prove Tiddler wrong.”
“You will? Honest?” she asked. Worried he might be insincere, Luna watched him closely while trying to tamp down her relief that somebody, especially this good-looking man who raised her pulse with a glance, would step in to help her.
“Yep,” He nodded. “Now show me where you’d like the locks installed.” Lightly draping his arm around Luna’s shoulders, he gave her a slight hug as they walked through the shop.
Again, he won her over despite Luna’s doubts, which rested uneasy at the back of her mind. Could she really, truly depend on him, or was he using her like Thomas had?
Chapter 4
Darkness, sweet and soft, surrounded Luna and Riddles as they snuggled into the comfort of the mattress. Bright yellow numbers on the alarm clock clicked over and Luna knew she had to get up. She slid from under the covers and left Riddles snoring.
Coffee perked in the breakfast nook of the loft while Luna showered and readied for cupcake baking. With a full mug, she headed down the stairs, hesitating at the doorway to the dining room.
Total darkness turned to luminous light when she flicked the switch. The tearoom was neat, just as she’d left it several hours before. No interlopers, no dead bodies, just well dressed tables awaiting the next round of customers.
Relieved, she turned the switch off and traipsed into the basement. She sipped coffee, mixed batter, baked cupcakes and then set to frosting them. At the end of the counter, the giant-sized mixer whipped frosting for a batch of cupcakes. When it reached the right texture, she turned the machine off, switched the bowls and spinners, and started whipping pink, vanilla-buttercream frosting.
A loud thud against the basement window caught Luna’s attention. Heart beating against her ribs, she swallowed hard. The clock on the wall showed she had been at work for three hours. Her gaze swept across the pastry-laden countertop. The day’s cupcakes were nearly finished.
Luna wiped her hands on her apron and turned off the mixer. She crept up the stairs in stealth mode. Her sweaty armpits and dry mouth accompanied her thudding heart as she peered around the shop. Lights blazed as she moved through the building. When she reached the back entrance, she heard the faint sound of fluttering wings.
Peering into the darkness beyond the porch, Luna watched a cloud of faeries hover around the bushes. She stood onto the edge of the top step.
“H-hello? Faeries, are you there?” Luna called, her senses telling her more than faeries loitered in the dark.
Wings fluttered close to her face as a noise like the whine of a hornet screamed in her ear.
“Beware.”
Belatedly, Luna’s eyes swept to the right, but not in enough time to see her assailant. She raised her arm as a glancing blow sent her off the porch, tumbling onto the brick paved walkway.
Subdued and dazed, Luna lay inert with her eyes closed. Faeries swarmed around her, making faint chittering sounds. Her head hurt, scrapes covered her hands and knees from landing on the bricks, but Luna took heart at the softness of faerie wings touching her cheeks.
Night sounds left no doubt her assailant had fled. Was this a warning, or was she supposed to be dead?
“Luna, rise and be well,” a singsong voice said.
Her eyelashes fluttered. Luna peered through them to see if she was indeed alone. Only faeries remained. Luna opened her eyes wide and let out a soft gasp of air. She’d been holding her breath.
“Who did you see?” she asked of the faerie closest to her.
“A human.”
“I know it was a human, but which human?” Her voice tensed and the faerie flittered away behind the bush. Luna forced herself to relax.
No sense in scaring the bejeepers out of the faeries. There’d be no information from them then.
“Faerie, please come out. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Luna pleaded.
Several faeries gathered together and flew in unison toward Luna. Like dragonflies, they darted around her. She waited calmly until they became confident she wouldn’t harm them. Luna extended a cupped hand and waited.
A faerie settled on the edge of her palm, her feet nestled into the cup of her hand. Her toe tapped a rhythm, tickling Luna’s skin.
“I’m sorry faerie,” Luna apologized in a soft voice.
“We know not which human. Only a human,” the faerie twittered.
“Was it one of the humans who brought the man into my shop?” Luna asked.
“You are afraid?” the faerie inquired.
“Nervous, not afraid,” Luna admitted.
Wings flicked and the faerie arose from her palm.
“We know of the truth, and you must, too. Consider your feelings. Let the images come.” The crowd of faeries gathered and swarmed toward the meadow beyond the garden.
After the tiny creatures disappeared, Luna held her head in her hands. With closed eyes she breathed deep and relaxed. Night sounds melted away as images clouded her mind. The sleeve of a denim jacket came into view, a fisted hand reached out to her. In a flash, the image fled as her nerves tightened.
“Damn it to hell,” Luna muttered. She scrambled to her feet and ran inside, locking the door behind her.
Blood trickled from her knees as she cleaned the gouges and scrapes. Her palms tingled where the roughness of the bricks had dug into them. Taking band-aids from the bathroom cabinet, Luna applied them to her knees and returned to work.
Cupcakes awaited embellishments and Luna knew she needed to get a move on or they wouldn’t be ready to serve. A dozen cupcakes was nothing to worry about, but when there were multiple dozens there was a time factor to consider, especially when they had to be adorned with white chocolate butterflies, confectionery roses and flowers with leaves.
Frangipani and lace frosting covered two dozen cupcakes. Luna applied a white five-petal flower on an angle to the top of each one. She moved on to the romantic faerie cakes and topped the glaze with yellow roses. She moved up and down the counter with the plastic container filled with handmade embellishments until she heard a voice from the top of the steps.
“Are you still down there baking, Luna?” Annie called as her footsteps rumbled down the stairs.
“Just finishing up,” Luna replied.
She stood back to survey the cupcakes and turned as Annie entered the room. An inquisitive exp
ression covered the angular woman’s face.
“Do you realize all the lights are on in the building?” she asked.
Contemplating her answer, Luna answered, “I had a visitor while I was down here. When I went to investigate who was prowling around outside the building, I was assaulted and pushed down the back stairs.” She lifted the edge of the apron to show Annie her band-aid covered knees peeking out from the edge of her shorts.
“Gracious, did you see who it was? Did you call the sheriff?” Shock and dismay mingled for space on Annie’s features as she took in the sight of Luna’s bruised hands and knees.
“No, the faeries tried to warn me, but not in time for me to protect myself properly. Whoever did this ran away, though, so I consider myself fortunate.”
“Do you think he, I’m assuming it was a man, was here to hurt you or did you surprise him?”
Luna turned back to the cupcake trays. “It’s hard to say. I just wish I knew why this is happening.”
Rounding the counter, Annie hefted a couple of trays onto the large shelves of the dumbwaiter. She pushed the button, sending them upstairs to be retrieved and loaded into the cases.
“You go upstairs and take some time for yourself, I’ll handle this,” Annie ordered.
“Thanks, but I really need to help you. Besides, what am I going to do, sit around and feel sorry for myself?” She left Annie at the dumbwaiter and climbed the stairs to the shop.
The two women worked in unison as they always did to ready the cupcakes for serving. After loading the glass cases, Luna pulled teapots and cups from the cupboards and placed them on serving trays.
Assured the tearoom was set, Luna removed her apron and strode into the gift shop. Empty spaces needed filling due to sales from the previous day. Boxes of faerie collectibles and books stored in the closet at the rear of the room tumbled out as Luna opened the door. One box at a time emptied as she placed the ornamental porcelain figurines on the shelves and replaced the booklets concerning faerie folk and flora.
Her mind wandered back to the vision of the denim jacket and hand. If only she’d managed to stay relaxed, the image may have become clearer. With a shake of her head, Luna placed the last of the merchandise on a small round table in the reading nook, adjusting each lovely piece to show its best angle.
Lost in thought, Luna jumped at the knock on the door. She peered around the edge of the archway and saw Devin standing outside, his tall silhouette shadowed by the frosted glass of the door panels.
Hurrying to open the door, Luna glanced at the clock and realized the hours had flown and eight o’clock loomed close. His handsome features and blue gaze held a sense of humor which hovered near the surface all the time, causing her to smile when their eyes met.
“Come in, come in,” she said, ushering him into the room.
“I have supplies to bring in through the back, if you’ll unlock the door,” he said. His gaze sped around the room and stopped at the cupcake cases.
“Ready for the day, I see.” His smile widened and his eyes gleamed as he stared at the miniature cakes.
“Uh huh, do you want refreshments before you start? I could just pay you with cupcakes, you know.” Luna laughed and walked toward the rear exit.
Annie’s head popped around the edge of the galley. She smiled and nodded at Devin.
“Did you tell…”
“No, I didn’t. Annie, please make some coffee for Devin and give him a plate for cupcakes.” She tried to warn Annie to remain quiet with her eyes, but to her chagrin, it was too late.
“Tell me what?” Devin demanded.
“Nothing. Really,” Luna replied.
Devin took stock of her. He leaned down to peer at her bandaged knees and then stared at her in silence.
“I fell outside earlier and scraped my knees,” she offered.
“And how did that happen? Did you trip over the faeries?”
Luna’s lips tightened at the jibe. Wrinkling her nose, she mimicked him. “No, I didn’t trip over the faeries. I just tripped, is all.”
His arms folded across his chest he leaned back, waiting for a better explanation. She knew it would be useless to lie.
“Oh, all right, if you must know. There was a prowler earlier. I went out to investigate and he shoved me down the stairs. The faeries tried to warn me, but…”
“You called the sheriff, right? And why would you ever be so bold as to go outside and look for an intruder?” His voice stern, he asked, “You do realize you got off lucky?”
“No, to the first question, and I was curious. And, yes to the last question,” Luna remarked.
“Curiosity killed the cat, Luna.”
Panicking, she gasped. “Oh gosh, I forgot about Riddles. He must be dancing at the door to go outside.” She left Annie and Devin staring after her as she raced up the stairs. Riddles paced back and forth, his growl apparent as she entered the loft. He scooted past her and yowled at the back door. Devin let him loose as Luna reached the landing.
His hand wrapped tight around her arm, Devin led Luna into the tearoom. He pulled a chair away from the table, motioning for her to sit down.
Luna’s back stiffened as she stared into his cold blue eyes. “Do not manhandle me, Devin Radford. I don’t like it. And, don’t nag me either.”
“I’ll do more than manhandle you, if you keep acting stupid.”
“Stupid? You think I’m stupid?” Luna yelled. “You’re fired. Get out.”
His thumbs hitched into the pockets of his jeans, Devin’s voice took on an ominous tone. “I will not get out. Besides, you need me, and you know it. So, get over it, lady.”
Blustering, Luna plopped into the chair. How dare he talk to her and treat her this way. Though, he did have a point. She needed him, if only as a builder and nothing more. She sighed. Well, maybe something more, but she shied away from the thought.
Settled across from her, Devin ate his cupcakes and drank the coffee Annie set in front of him. He toyed with the white chocolate butterfly he’d removed from the top of the frosting.
Hot tea scalded her throat as Luna gulped it without thinking. The dainty cup clattered into the saucer as she dropped it.
“Luna, you need to call the sheriff. If the occurrences continue, you may be injured or worse. Please, consider my suggestion.”
His eyes warmed with something she was unsure of. Luna quickly glanced away.
“I’ll call him later, I promise,” she murmured. Luna jumped to her feet and strode from the room. She heard Devin leave the building. Her glance strayed over her shoulder as she went through the hallway to open the rear door. He had already disappeared from view and she sighed heavily. Leave it to a man to point out the obvious.
Entering the loft, Luna lifted the phone and punched in the sheriff’s number. Her gaze wandered the open space while the call connected. Butter yellow walls with a chair rail running along them soothed her. The color warmed her soul and fed her creativity. She listened as the deputy answered the call.
Chapter 5
“Would Sheriff Tiddler be there?” Luna asked.
“He’s on a call right now, but I’ll take a message if this isn’t an emergency.”
“No emergency, just a call. Have him give me a ring later.” Luna offered the number, her name and then disconnected the call. Having kept her promise, she felt better for it. With a sense of relief, she cradled the phone in the holder and straightened the loft.
Food and water-filled cat bowls enticed Riddles as he wandered in. His silent feet padded across the floor. He rubbed against her ankles and meowed. Luna stroked his healthy coat and spoke to him for a minute or two before she returned to the lower level.
Conversation flowed between Dilly and Annie as Luna passed the galley door. Tools lay stacked against the wall in the corridor and Luna heard Devin lumbering up the stairs from the basement.
“Luna, I’ll hand the lumber in through the basement window if you will stack it up from there,” Devin said. He he
fted the saw and toolbox, returning to the basement without waiting for an answer.
She followed him down the stairs and watched while he propped the window open.
“Is this how you heard the noise last night?”
Luna stared at him for a second. “How did you figure it out?”
“I didn’t, Annie told me. Did you call Sheriff Tiddler?”
“Just now. He’s on a call, but I left a message, okay?” Why she answered to this man was beyond her realm of understanding. He just goaded her into it.
With a nod and a cocked eyebrow, Devin smirked and left her standing at the window waiting for the lumber to come through. In a matter of minutes, she had stacked the long pieces into a pile against a wall. Some of the wood was heavy and thick while other boards were thin by comparison.
Entering the basement, Devin explained the process of framing and such. He shooed her from the room with a request he not be disturbed.
A bus pulled up out front as Luna topped the last stair in the basement and closed the door. She bid the tourists welcome as they wandered the rooms and peered into the glass cases.
Dilly served tea while Annie handled cupcake orders. A few of the customers wandered the aisles of the gift shop making ooh and ah sounds. Luna wrapped purchases, packed books, and rang the register until the last customer left to return to the tearoom.
“Have you given my offer any thought?” A man’s voice whispered.
With a start, Luna turned to find Thomas a mere six inches away from her.
“Not only have I not thought of you, I would be hard pressed to entertain such an offer,” Luna responded, stepping away from him.
“Now, now, it wouldn’t be so bad, would it? I think we could make this place bigger and better than it is now. You know you lack the business savvy that I have. It shows in every sale you make. Get rid of some of this crap and buy from overseas. You’ll make more money.”