“Thank you, Talako,” she said warmly. “If you’d continue to keep your ears open, that would be really helpful.”
He inclined his head again, and then faded out of sight.
“This doesn’t sound good for Lyndsy,” Kali said.
“No,” Ember agreed. Lyndsy was seeming more and more guilty the more information they got. Whether she was in cahoots with Jeffrey or working alone, it seemed very possible that this essentially nice girl had been pushed by her victims to some kind of breaking point.
She still couldn’t quite reconcile the vicious, cold-blooded nature of these murders with Lyndsy, who seemed so sweet.
Anyone might be capable of that kind of action, if they’re angry enough to the point where they’re questioning their sanity and control, Ember reasoned. And these four were really the dregs of the town. It’s possible they could have pushed anyone to the point where they might do something drastic to stop the torturous, bullying treatment.
Nineteen
The next person to come in the pub wasn’t a customer, either. Instead, it was Kara again, this time carrying a large tote bag slung over the opposite arm as her fuchsia purse.
“I thought I’d tag you back again about those wines you were asking about earlier,” she said brightly, clicking her way officiously up to the bar on her neat little heels. “Didn’t want to leave you in suspense forever.”
“I wasn’t asking about them,” Ember said. “Actually, Kara, before you get started, I just wanted to say again that I really don’t feel like now’s the right time to–”
“Wonderful!” Kara cut her off confidently, leaning against the bar and setting down a brochure. “Here’s the label. Isn’t it lovely? Local to the region, and here’s all the tasting recommendations. Each type they make, the bouquets and undertones and all that fun. They’ve even got a little pairing menu with a couple of recommended recipes on the back, little crudités and so on--now isn’t that fun?”
Ember didn’t spare the brochure a glance. It had all the feeling of a baited hook, and she couldn’t help thinking if she so much as looked down at it she’d be wriggling at the end of Kara’s line until Kara decided to release her.
“Listen,” Ember said, sliding the brochure back toward Kara. “I really appreciate your help. And I do know that you have the Broken Broom’s best interests at heart.”
“Why, of course I do!” She touched her hand to her heart and beamed. “You’re just about my best customer. It would be something terrible for this town if an institution like the Broken Broom had to close up shop because of such a silly little thing.”
Ember wasn’t about to agree that a quadruple murder was a silly little thing, though she was a little grateful to Kara that one person, at least, wasn’t making a huge deal about the pub’s role in the deaths, or Ember’s possible culpability.
“Listen, we can settle this right quick,” Kara said, pushing back into sales mode without taking a breath. She hoisted the tote bag up and onto the bar. It clinked ominously.
“Kara, you don’t have bottles in there, do you?” Ember asked, nervous.
“Of course I do! I would never expect you to order something you hadn’t even taken a taste of, would I? You might think I was trying to push off any awful old swill onto you. I thought we might do a little tasting right here and now, give you a chance to be swept away by the flavors.”
“Kara, I–” Ember began.
“These are my favorite two. An oaky pinot noir, and a gorgeous sauvignon blanc, light and fruity. That blanc is fresh from my cooler. It’s a bit stuffy in here, wouldn’t you say? I bet a nice, perfectly chilled white is just what the doctor ordered.” She kissed her fingers, Italian chef-style.
“No, no, I couldn’t possibly,” Ember said. “I’ve got to work the rest of the night, I wouldn’t be able to do it after I had a drink.”
Kara’s face fell slightly. She had evidently just started to process Ember’s refusal. “Is that so?”
Ember nodded, eager to have finally gotten Kara’s attention. “Oh, yeah. It puts me right to sleep. And besides--listen, I’m really sorry to say this, I do love ordering from you and supporting local business and wineries, but the fact of the matter is that I really cannot afford to bring in a new label right now.” She waved a hand around at the empty pub as if to punctuate her point.
Kara pursed her lips, glancing around at all the empty chairs and tables. “Well, all right,” she said slowly. “If you say so.”
Ember hoped Kara might leave then and there, but she lingered a while longer.
“You don’t think you’ll have to close up because of all this mess, do you?” she asked, sounding surprisingly sympathetic.
Ember shrugged, heaving a sigh. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “It isn’t looking good.”
“It’s just awful,” Kara said. “You’d think the town would be better off without all that hatefulness those ladies brought to it. But we’re certainly not better off if we’re in danger of losing this place.”
“It’s all down to this case,” Ember said heavily. “People in town are suspicious of me, of the pub in general. But I didn’t do anything wrong, and that’ll come out eventually. If it can be resolved soon, I’m sure we’ll be back and booming anytime.”
Kara smiled at Ember. “And then we’ll have a tasting, all right?”
Ember inclined her head, happy enough to relent to that request. Once all this mess was over, hopefully then she’d have enough energy and gratitude to handle even someone as intense as Kara.
“Well, best of luck on figuring out the case,” Kara said, dropping Ember a wink. “I know you’re keeping your nose out of it, and letting the Sheriff do all the heavy lifting, of course, but if you happen to see anything suspicious going on… maybe amongst your own employees….”
Ember blinked, surprised. Kara suspected Lyndsy, too? Did Kara know about something that Ember didn’t, or was she just responding to the same town rumor mill that everyone seemed to be tapped into?
“You just call if you change your mind,” she said again, just as she had that morning.
And, as had been the case in the morning, Ember was almost certain Kara would drop by sometime soon whether Ember did call or not.
Twenty
A couple customers trickled in as the dinner hour approached. None of them chose to dine in the shop, but Ember was grateful, at least, for the opportunity to head back to the kitchen and prepare some food for them. She packaged their order into to-go boxes and then went to meet them at the till for payment.
That was when she noticed Sheriff Jamison lingering near the door, clearly waiting for the customers to finish their transaction and leave.
She blushed, flustered at his sudden appearance. She wasn’t particularly pleased that he was witnessing the Broken Broom in a state like this, almost utterly devoid of business.
“It’s just so awful,” one of the customers said sympathetically to Ember. “You know, I don’t believe for a second that you have anything to do with those horrible deaths.”
“That’s right,” said the other. “Besides, I wouldn’t know what to do without the amazing desserts you sell.”
Just for that, Ember slipped an extra cookie into their bag when they weren’t looking.
Part of her hoped the sheriff had heard the exchange. It might make him a little more driven to clear Ember’s name if he knew there were still people in Cauchemar who believed in her innocence. Another part of her hoped he had stopped in here by mistake and was about to leave.
When they were finally alone together and she couldn’t ignore him any longer, Ember heaved a sigh and turned to give him a tired look.
“Something I can help you with?” she asked.
“I had a short break,” he said, walking easily up to the bar. “Wanted to drop by, check in on you. See how you’re doing with the business, with all these rumors swirling around.”
“Great,” she answered, forcing a smile. “Just great. A
s you can see, we’re absolutely slammed with business.”
He looked around the room wryly. “I was hoping this was just an unpopular hour.”
She groaned. “People think I’m guilty, Cedric. Either of murder or of horrible, deadly negligence. I’m honestly not sure which would be worse for my reputation, either. The pub won’t last much longer like this, you know. Already I’m down to a one-woman operation here.”
“I understand,” he said gravely. “And I’m sorry for it, truly I am.”
“Then please tell me you’re making progress.”
He nodded. “I can’t share all the information with you, but I can say we’re exploring every avenue.”
“Then explore faster,” she pleaded. “What about Lyndsy and Jeffrey? You’ve been looking into them?”
His small, tight frown was answer enough. She huffed in irritation.
“It’s a good lead and you know it.” She started to count off on her fingers. “Motive, means, opportunity. Did you know Jeffrey was being blackmailed by Sheila?”
Cedric straightened up, listening. “Where’d you hear that?”
Ember hesitated, not sure whether admitting she’d heard that information from Kara would do her any favors. So, instead, she simply said vaguely, “Oh, you know. Rumor mill. Everyone’s saying it.”
It wasn’t quite a lie. If Kara was putting it around, then surely everyone would be saying it before long. It was only a matter of time before Cedric picked that intel up.
Cedric was quiet a moment. He was giving Ember a strange look, like there was something he wanted to say to her but he couldn’t figure out quite how to say it. Strangely, her magic wasn’t any help to her in identifying how he was feeling. Usually, she had a powerful magical intuition that allowed her to sense others’ emotions, but all Cedric was giving off right now was unreadable emotional static.
After a long pause, he said, in a slow, measured voice, “All right. I’ve been planning to look into them, and I will. You have my word.”
It wasn’t what he’d been about to say, that much she could tell. She was tempted to ask him what he was thinking, what he wasn’t telling her, but she didn’t want to risk alienating him. Not when there was so much at stake in this investigation.
“Great,” she said. “Thanks. I mean it.”
Despite Cedric’s promise to investigate Jeffrey and Lyndsy more closely, Ember couldn’t help feeling impatient. If she wanted to find definitive evidence of their involvement, she had the distinct sense that she ought to be looking into both of them herself.
She’d already snuck around Lyndsy’s place in the night. Now she felt it was time to get a better sense of how Jeffrey lived.
So that night, after closing up the pub, Ember waited until she was sure Jeffrey and his wife would both be asleep, and then poofed into his house.
She’d assumed that both of the house’s occupants would be asleep in the bedroom upstairs, and therefore that she would be free to roam the ground floor. However, no sooner had she materialized inside the front door than she heard a loud, distinct snore come from the living room sofa.
Carefully, on tiptoe, she edged closer to the sofa.
It was unmistakably Jeffrey sleeping there, half-swaddled in a tangle of spare, mismatched sheets, a stray throw pillow cradled under his head.
Interesting, she thought. If she’d taken Kali with her, her familiar would be cautioning her that perhaps it was best to leave now, so she wouldn’t risk getting caught.
Which was one of the reasons she’d been sure to leave Kali behind for this particular adventure.
Rolling her steps so she wouldn’t make a sound, Ember picked her way through the house, letting herself into the study that led off from the living room. It didn’t take much snooping around to find a stack of envelopes spread out on the secretary-style desk against the wall.
Curious, Ember thought. She inched toward them, trying to be extra careful.
However, at her next step, the floorboard creaked loudly under Ember’s weight, and in an attempt to roll away from the sound before it became worse, she ended up losing her balance and fell banging against the wall.
The harsh, sleepy rasp of Jeffrey George rang out in the darkness, crying, “Who’s there?”
Twenty-One
The sound of Jeffrey’s voice froze Ember to the spot. Her heart was banging in her chest and her tummy did a cartwheel but all the while she stared at the desk.
Ember held her breath as she slowly reached towards the envelopes, which, she noticed, were addressed to Jeffrey’s wife. Her fingertips touched the first envelope but she held still as a shadow began to approach the doorway -- she was out of time.
With a frustrated grinding of her teeth, she poofed out of the office leaving Jeffrey looking bewildered and scratching at his balding head while sniffing the air suspiciously.
Her apartment felt warm as she arrived in the kitchen by the old stove. She moved through each room in the apartment, stretching to her full height, opening windows to let in the cool night air.
“And where have you been, young lady?” Kali meowed as she lifted her behind off her cushion by the fireplace in the lounge.
Ember dropped her body onto the nearby sofa. Her limbs felt heavy; her eyelids felt heavy; her heart felt heavy. “I wanted to see if there was anything I could find to help with the investigation,” she said with dejection in her tone. “If I help find out who did do this, maybe I’ll be able to get my life and reputation back.”
Kali moved off her cushion and crept onto Ember’s lap to allow her to stroke her thick fur.
Ember smiled. “Thanks, Kali. You know how much stroking you helps me to relax.”
Kali gave a guttural purring sound. “I suppose one must sacrifice for those we love.”
Ember sniggered and tapped the cheeky cat on her head.
“So where did you go?” Kali asked with a yawn.
“I went to Jeffrey George’s house to see if I could find anything that would implicate him in the murders.”
“So, did you find anything?”
“Apart from the fact that Mrs. George has relegated Jeffrey to the sofa,” she said looking down at Kali. “So she must know about his affair with Sheila.”
“Maybe it wasn’t Sheila she found out about?”
“Fair point. That man does like to put it about a bit. I can’t see the attraction myself and if you’d seen him all sweaty and disheveled in his pajamas, I think you’d agree.”
“Maybe you can wait for an opportunity to go back; like when he’s at work.”
“I could try, I suppose. There were some envelopes strewn across the desk in the office that were addressed to Mrs George. I wanted to find out what was in them but I slipped and woke him up. He reached the office door before I could snatch them.”
“You know what Sun Tzu says,” said Kali.
Ember sighed. “I should know by now...”
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
Ember made a face. “And naughty witches are seized by the police when they are caught taking advantage of illegal opportunities.”
Kali stood, shook her head and padded her way back to her cushion. “You know for a witch, you have no moxie.”
“I have moxie! I have plenty of moxie,” Ember said defiantly, pushing herself off the sofa and striding towards the kitchen.
She filled the kettle for some tea and sat at the kitchen table. Kali appeared in the doorway.
“Are you feeling alright?” she asked as she leapt onto one of the chairs. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I know you have moxie. In fact, you’re the moxiest person I know--always going for what you want.”
Ember looked at her familiar and smiled. “I’m okay. It’s just been a stressful week. I know that Cedric will find the real killer without me.”
Kali tilted her head. “You do remember that I can sense when you’re lying?”
“Yes, and it’s very annoying,” Ember said with a smile.
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They sat in silence for a moment; Ember’s mind drifted to her earlier escapade until the whistle of the kettle brought her mind back to the kitchen. She placed a chamomile tea bag into her cup and poured the water over it. “I can’t help but wonder if Jeffrey’s wife knew he was cheating, why would he need to kill Sheila to keep her quiet?”
Kali was busy cleaning her face with her paw. She paused and thought for a moment. “Maybe he wanted revenge? She was blackmailing him wasn’t she?”
Ember sipped her tea. “Yes, according to Kara she wanted him to keep seeing her and paying for her apartment.”
“That woman should have more respect for herself.”
Ember laughed and pushed her teacup to one side. She could really use a cup of coffee but it was far too late for caffeine. She eyed the bottle of red wine in her wine rack and dismissed it.
“Do you still think Lyndsy was in on it?” Kali had finished cleaning her face and was now checking her tail.
Ember placed her index finger on her nose and sighed while she thought.
“I hope Lyndsy didn’t have anything to do with killing those people but I haven’t found any solid evidence of her innocence. Although...” she continued, “...there’s no solid evidence that I’m not the one who killed four of my customers either.”
Kali hopped onto the table top.
“You know,” Ember said, her finger still wriggling the end of her nose, “I have a feeling I’m missing something but I can’t put my finger on it.”
“Shame it’s not a cute nose,” Kali mumbled before sniggering at her own joke.
Ember, quickly realizing what she meant, took her finger away and grinned. “I can’t help it! It’s a habit I picked up at school.”
Dramatic Paws (Kitten Witch Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) Page 7