“I’m going to be out of the shop all day. Bob and I are going through the numbers for the last quarter,” she said. “I assume you three are going to be fine on your own.”
“We always are,” Leanne said cheerily.
Aunt Debbie waved goodbye to us and passed through the double doors leading to the roaster side of the business where Uncle Bob had the administrative office set up. I went about getting the coffee machine ready for the day while Leanne set up the baked goods Kaillie had made the night before, when I glanced outside and noticed a bit of a ruckus.
“There’s something going on,” I said, motioning to the window.
“Darn,” Leanne replied. “I’d like to see what’s going on, but Aunt Debbie won’t be pleased if we don’t open in time because we got too curious about where people are going.”
“You go, I can have this place ready by opening,” I said. “After all, it might have to do with the murder.”
“You sure?” Leanne asked, and I nodded.
“Yeah. I can handle it. Besides, the only person who comes in during the first ten minutes that we’re open is Janice, and I’m only scared of her when we’re at the yoga studio.”
Leanne laughed then went to the door. “Alright, I’ll be back in a minute.”
I finished setting up the coffee machine, and when Leanne came back, I was busy pouring myself the first shot of espresso of the day, which was about to become a very rich and creamy latte that I planned to enjoy.
“Someone broke into the bank last night,” Leanne announced breathlessly when she came back.
“What? Really?” I asked, my eyes widening. I didn’t know what news I’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that.
“Yeah,” Leanne said.
“What did they take?”
“That’s the thing, the rumor on the street is there’s nothing missing.”
“So how do they know it was broken into? Did they leave the door open or something?”
Leanne shook her head. “No. Whoever did it left glitter everywhere.”
“Glitter?” I asked.
“That’s right. Apparently it’s completely covered absolutely everything. It’s like someone bought an entire garbage bag full of the stuff and let it fly at the bank. They left a note, too. It said that Glitterella was going to get to the truth.”
“Oh man, Kaillie is not going to be happy when she hears this,” I said, shaking my head as I realized who the culprit had to be.
“Yeah,” Leanne replied. “This has Aunt Lucy written all over it.”
“Glitterella really can’t be anyone else, can it?” I asked with a wry smile.
“I wonder what she’s up to,” Leanne said.
“My bet is she’s trying to find out which of the municipal councilors got paid off,” I replied. “I mean, why else would she break into the bank but not actually take anything? She was looking for information, not cash.”
“That makes sense,” Leanne said, nodding. “She didn’t need to leave a calling card, though.”
About two minutes later, Aunt Debbie stormed back into this side of the coffee shop and, without so much as a word to the two of us, rushed out the front door and in the direction of the bank.
“I guess someone told Aunt Debbie,” I said, laughing nervously.
“No kidding. Aunt Lucy’s in trouble,” Leanne replied. “Well, at least we can rest assured that it’s got nothing to do with the murder, probably.”
“True, since as far as I know the killer didn’t cover Barry’s body in glitter. Besides, it doesn’t seem like the sort of thing a vampire would do.”
“Agreed,” Leanne nodded as Janice came in.
“Good morning,” Janice said. “How are you feeling today?”
“Still sore,” I said.
“Maybe you should come for a morning session one day,” Janice suggested. “It’s a great way to get your blood flowing for the day ahead, and you may find it less taxing than after a day of work on your feet. In fact, you could always do both: a more strength-based session in the morning to prepare you for the day and a relaxing session after work.”
I’d rather stab myself in the face than do yoga twice a day, but I wasn’t about to tell Janice that.
“Maybe,” I replied. “When are your morning sessions?”
“They go from five to six,” Janice replied, and if I’d been drinking my coffee, I would have spat it right out.
“Five in the morning?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m afraid I can’t do that anyway. I have to be here at six to open,” I said. I couldn’t believe that meant Janice had already done an hour of yoga every day that she came here to get her coffee.
“I’m sure we could just open a little bit later and be a bit more efficient, if you really wanted to do it,” Leanne said to me with a teasing grin.
“I’ll think about it,” I said, trying not to grumble. I didn’t want to do yoga early in the day. I didn’t want to do yoga late in the day. I didn’t want to do yoga ever, and yet I did have to admit that when I was finished, I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride, and I couldn’t help but notice it did feel easier to drag the big twenty-pound bags of coffee around. And I could make it up a flight of stairs without feeling like I was running out of breath when I got to the top.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than knowing you’ve gotten a great workout in before work,” Janice said, winking at me. “Think about it.”
She left, and Leanne grinned. “I already know what you think about that idea, but I want to hear you complain about it anyway.”
“If I chop off my leg at the knee I never have to do warrior pose again, right?” I replied, and my cousin laughed.
“You’re so dramatic. If you don’t want to go to morning yoga, just say so.”
“Good. I don’t want to go to morning yoga.”
“There you go, problem solved,” Leanne said.
Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to find a text from Ross.
I should be able to sneak away for lunch if you’re available.
Sure. What time? I replied, and a moment later got an answer.
Does 12:30 work for you?
It’s a date.
I still blushed typing those words even though Ross and I had been dating for long enough now that I shouldn’t have been embarrassed by it. Still, this was my first real relationship – I’d had a few flings and a couple of one-night stands like any good college student – and the more I got to know him, the more I found I really did like Ross.
Aunt Lucy flounced in by herself a few minutes later.
“I think Aunt Debbie is looking for you,” Leanne said when she saw our aunt.
“Yup, I’m pretty sure you’re right. I have eighteen missed calls and about thirty texts, all of which are along the lines of ‘what is wrong with you; you’re a grown woman,’” Aunt Lucy replied with a grin. “Can I get a coffee? I had a long night.”
“I heard, Aunt Lucy. Or should I say, Glitterella?” I said quietly so the few customers at the other tables wouldn’t overhear, giving her a pointed look.
Aunt Lucy grinned at me. “Figured that out, did you?”
“Why did you leave the bank covered in glitter? You could have just left and no one would have ever known you were in there.”
“I know, but it’s in my nature to cause chaos. Besides, I was doing them a favor. Their security was lacking, and now they know about it.”
“Most people can’t use magic to break into banks.”
“Please, I barely needed the magic. Security is far too lax at the bank.”
“Did you find out anything?”
“Not anything that I’m willing to divulge just yet,” Aunt Lucy said. “When I’m ready, you’ll know.”
“Glitterella will rise again from the ashes?”
“Something like that. Although frankly, I’d like to keep her identity secret as I’m fairly certain the local police aren’
t especially pleased with the whole situation.”
“I can’t imagine why,” I deadpanned.
“How is your investigation into the murder going, anyway?”
I shrugged. “Kind of stuck. We have too many suspects.”
“Well, I can take one of them off the list for you. Evan Wood, was he one of the people you were looking at?”
“Yes,” I replied. “We haven’t spoken to him yet.”
“Well, you don’t need to bother. It couldn’t have been him. His car broke down in Seattle the day before, so he was on the mainland that night.”
“Was he really on the mainland?” I asked. After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time we eliminated someone as a murder suspect we thought had been off the island when it turned out they were here the whole time.
“He really was,” Aunt Lucy said. “A friend of mine saw him that night after the last ferry had already left.”
“Ok, thanks,” I said.
“It’s kind of too bad; Evan looks a bit like a vampire,” Aunt Lucy said. “But I suppose that’s the whole point; if you’re going to use magic to disguise yourself, might as well go all the way.”
“I’m surprised you’re not trying to frame Ariadne for the whole Glitterella thing,” I replied.
“Where do you think the glitter came from?” Aunt Lucy asked with a mischievous smile before flaunting back towards the door. “If Debbie comes back, tell her I went left.”
Aunt Lucy then walked out the door and immediately turned to the right. I couldn’t help but laugh at my aunt’s antics. She was insane, but her heart was in the right place. Well, most of the time, anyway. Hopefully Ariadne had a good alibi for the night before.
Chapter 14
“I’d be willing to kill someone for a good burger right now,” Ross said, slipping into the booth across from me at Otterly Delicious about two minutes after I’d ordered. “I feel like I haven’t eaten anything in a week.”
“Hello, police, I’d like to report a suspicious person,” I joked, and Ross laughed.
“Trust me, I’d love to have a suspicious person or two reported right about now.”
“The murder investigation isn’t going well, then?”
Ross looked at me carefully. “You’re not looking into it, are you?”
“Of course not,” I lied. “I didn’t even know Barry. The only time I saw him was when Leanne and Kaillie took me to that protest the day before he died.”
Ross nodded. “Right. That was certainly an interesting moment. There was a lot of anger there that day.”
“I think people were feeling frustrated with the hotel going ahead. But it means you must have a lot of suspects.”
“A few,” Ross said, not giving away anything else. “It doesn’t help that the bank was broken into last night; resources were already stretched before then. We’re not staffed to deal with multiple important crimes in a short period of time.”
“That sucks,” I said.
“Plus, there’s the whole fact that Barry’s murder is… weird.”
“Weird how?” I asked as casually as I could. The waitress arrived just then with our food, and Ross took a big bite of burger before answering.
“The body had to have been moved to the construction site,” he said. “There was no blood near the body. But I can’t for the life of me figure out where Barry was before he died. There was a bowl of cereal and a coffee mug in the sink, so he was home, but I don’t know where he went between his house and the construction site. There are no phone calls, text messages, or emails from anyone wanting to meet him. It’s too bad. It would be a pretty solid lead.”
“Yeah,” I replied noncommittally. In part because I didn’t want Ross to realize that I actually was invested in this case – I couldn’t explain to him that my family knew there was a vampire at work – but also because I knew Ross was probably wrong on that point. With a vampire involved, Barry very much could have been killed at the building site and just had his blood drunk. But I couldn’t let Ross know about any of that, obviously.
“I’m just stuck,” he said, frustrated. “Sorry, I’m sure you don’t want to hear about cop talk on our first date in ages.”
“Don’t worry,” I said with a smile. “I’m happy to listen to whatever you need to get off your chest.”
“Thanks,” Ross said. “I just hope we solve this quickly.”
“Are you in charge or is Chief Ron?”
“Technically, he’s the one in charge, but I think we both know how helpful he is,” Ross replied wryly. “At least he doesn’t really get in the way. The other day he was so hungover when he came into work he just locked himself in his office with an entire pot of coffee, and I didn’t see him at all. Of course, seeing as he was a police chief in a town that had just had a murder, it was a little bit problematic, but frankly, probably more helpful than if he’d been out and about.”
“Well, that speaks volumes about his competence level.”
“No kidding. So I’m kind of in two minds about it. I figure the best thing I can do is just investigate this case as best I can. I can’t control what Chief Jones does or doesn’t do, but I can control my own actions, and I’m going to bring this killer to justice. I’m just kind of stuck on where to go from here.”
“What about the bank robbery?” I asked.
“Luckily, Detective Fields, Kevin Fields, is taking over that. I don’t envy him, either. That one’s going to be all over the news. Did you know somehow the security system went down so they don’t have any video footage of the intruder? I can’t even say thief. Who breaks into a bank and then doesn’t even try to steal anything?”
“Beats me,” I said with a shrug. “I haven’t got a clue. Is it true there was a pile of glitter left on the floor?”
“Yes,” Ross said. “Honestly, I was kind of hoping that little tidbit would be kept away from the general public while Kevin works on tracing where the glitter came from, but it was kind of hard seeing as the manager who walked in and noticed the break-in came back out completely covered in pink glitter. Whoever did it left a plastic bag full of it booby trapped above the door so whoever entered first this morning would be covered in the stuff. The manager ran down the street to the police station rather than calling, so the people on Main Street just saw a guy covered in glitter heading towards the police station, and word got out from there.”
I giggled at the mental image. “That must have been a sight to see.”
“Honestly, it was funny enough that we didn’t realize the urgency or the seriousness of the situation at first. I thought he’d just lost a fight with a beanbag chair or something when I first saw the guy.”
“Well, at least nothing was actually taken from the bank.”
“That’s a plus, for sure. I don’t know if it was kids from the school playing a prank or what, but if it was them, they’ve gotten a lot more sophisticated than back in the day when we’d just let a giant ice cream bucket full of crickets loose in the hallway.”
“Did you really do that?” I laughed.
“Technically, no. The class before me did that. In our grade one of my best friends’ family had a pig farm, so we borrowed twelve pigs and painted the numbers one to thirteen on them but leaving out number eight. Then we greased them up, set them loose in the hallway, and watched the principal almost have a complete and total breakdown because he couldn’t find the pig with the number eight on him.”
I burst out laughing. “Who knew I was dating such a bad boy?”
“Well, I eventually came back to the side of the angels,” Ross said with a grin. “Better late than never.”
“That’s a legendary prank.”
“We all thought it was hilarious,” Ross agreed. “Of course, the principal didn’t, and we all got suspended for a few days.”
“He caught you?”
“It turns out we probably shouldn’t have used pigs when there was only one kid in the whole school whose family farm had pigs on it.”<
br />
“Whoops,” I laughed.
“Well, we were seventeen. Thinking things through wasn’t exactly a strong suit at that time. I have to admit, it was worth it though. Anyway, that’s what I initially figured when I saw all the glitter, but if that’s the case, kids have gotten way more sophisticated than we were. Plus, we never would have even considered breaking into a bank to do it.”
Somehow the idea that Aunt Lucy broke into the bank as a prank that a teenager would do didn’t seem all that far-fetched.
“I hope Kevin finds the person who did it,” I offered. I certainly wasn’t going to tattle on Aunt Lucy. I could hear her calling me a narc already, and besides, I figured Kaillie would be apoplectic if Aunt Lucy was actually caught for having broken into a bank. That wasn’t the sort of thing that proved we were a good family.
“Me too. Anyway, I’m going to have to get back to work pretty soon. Sorry for dining and running on you.”
“No problem, I understand. I appreciate that you managed to get away for half an hour.”
Ross got up and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. “For you? Anything. I’ll be in touch. Hopefully things will calm down a bit in a few days. Talk to you later.”
I said goodbye and watched as Ross left the diner then finished off my sandwich and went back to work.
Chapter 15
“You know what we need to do?” Leanne asked when I got back.
“What’s that?”
“We need to go to the crime scene. There have to be clues there of some sort. We just don’t have anything to go on right now. All we know is that Barry was killed by a vampire and his blood was drained. We’re trying to figure this out with no physical evidence, no knowledge of anything.”
“Right,” I agreed. “That’s probably a good idea. If nothing else, it might at least let us eliminate one or two of the people we have as suspects.”
At the end of the day, the three of us closed up the coffee shop and headed down to the building site where Barry Blackburn had been killed.
A Cauldron of Hot Coffee: Enchanted Enclave Mysteries Books 1-3 Page 38