The task of reading carefully through a new recipe was good therapy for Autumn and nearly an hour had flown by before Skye appeared.
“Hey,” Autumn greeted her.
Skye sat down on the counter, sticking her finger into the bowl of pumpkin-colored frosting. “Nikki’s not doing good.”
“I'm sure she's in shock.”
“She's having a hard time believing all of this," Skye commented. "I guess the word is out about the crop circle."
“That’s understandable.”
Mochi jumped up on his hind legs, bumping at Skye’s dangling feet with his front paws. Skye smiled sadly at the terrier.
“I guess Nikki got kind of worked up talking to the police," Skye continued. "They haven’t given her a definite cause of death.”
“They just found the body,” Autumn reminded her. “They need a little time to investigate what happened before they can tell us anything for certain.”
“I know, but it’s just so….” Skye wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. “It’s so creepy.”
“Yeah, it is. Maybe….”
Autumn was cut off by a knock on the front door of her apartment. “Who could that be?”
“Probably the police,” Skye groaned.
“I don’t think so, Skye. We told them everything we know—there’s nothing else they can learn from us.” Autumn carefully unlocked the front door and opened it. “Hi, Wendy.”
Wendy Wright was Autumn’s yoga instructor and friend who owned the studio next to the Harmony Café.
“Autumn, do you have any idea what's happening out here?” Wendy asked, her eyes as large as saucers.
“Uh, no…” Autumn said. “What’s going on?”
“Something crazy is going on at the park," Wendy stated.
“What?”
“I don’t know, but there’s a huge crowd gathered, and I was a little intimidated to go over by myself after dark. Do you want to check it out?” Rain or shine, Wendy always had a permanent smile on her face.
Ordinarily, Autumn would have declined, but in light of what had taken place that afternoon on the biking trail, she decided that looking into anything unusual was a must.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter 4
“Are you crazy?” Skye squeaked, wrapping her fingers so tightly around her sister’s arm that Autumn was sure it would leave a welt when Autumn moved to join Wendy outside.
“Ouch! No, I’m not crazy. But, we certainly will be if we don’t go and see what’s up. It could have to do with the murder.” Autumn grabbed her jacket and Mochi's lease.
“Let the police handle it." Skye shook her head.
“Do you want to help Nikki figure out what happened to Mick?” Autumn asked.
Skye looked torn but finally gave an unenthusiastic nod in response. “I guess we should go. I’ll have you know that if anything goes wrong, I was in favor of staying safely inside.”
“Nothing is going to go wrong,” Autumn said. “Wendy and I will be with you. Come on, before it’s too late.”
“I hope it is all over,” Skye muttered even as she followed Wendy and Autumn outside, holding to Autumn’s arm like a barnacle on a boat the entire way to the park.
When they reached the park, there was indeed a crowd gathered. Autumn strained to see what all the commotion was about. “Come on, let’s move in closer so we can see. Skye, would you give me some space?” she demanded when her sister’s clinging made it hard to maneuver through the crowd.
Skye released her grip slightly but still stayed close to Autumn’s side.
“It’ll be like nothing else you’ve ever seen before. Or even imagined.” The voice came from the center of the crowd. “Extraterrestrials larger than life could be upon us,” the voice boomed, rising dramatically.
“Who is that?” Autumn asked, tapping the shoulder of a woman nearby.
“Don’t you know?” the woman responded, impatient at the interruption. “That’s Guy Horne. He has seen the future, they say.”
“They?” Wendy scoffed. “She must mean the Fathomless Guards or whatever.
“You mean the Cosmic Keepers,” Autumn said. She tapped the woman on the shoulder again, earning a huff in return. “Does he really believe that aliens are coming?”
“Why don’t you listen for yourself?” The woman rolled her eyes.
“This is all a sign,” Guy announced. "A warning!"
Autumn had finally elbowed her way into a spot where she could see the alien believer’s leader. He was a man of medium build with dark hair. She couldn’t tell if his jade green eyes were naturally wild or had been set afire by the thrill of the moment. He had the attention of nearly the entire town, holding every ear captive.
“There will be others….” Guy held up his hands.
A murmur went through the crowd.
“Good gosh,” Skye breathed. “He’s talking about Mick. Does he means that there will be other murders?”
“Keep your voice down,” Autumn said, glancing around. The last thing they needed was to add more fuel to the building hysteria.
“The aliens created a crop circle around the unfortunate victim,” Guy said.
His audience listened, spellbound.
"Oh, no," Autumn muttered to herself.
“The aliens are out for revenge, and only we can stop them,” Guy continued. "Join the Cosmic Keepers and me, and we'll stop these creatures from taking over our town."
“Revenge?” someone in the crowd piped up. “Revenge for what? We’ve never even seen ‘em!”
“They want Earth,” Guy said, his eyes growing wider as he lifted his hands and his voice. “They want to take over, and they won’t stop until they’ve ridden the planet of us one by one.”
Another murmur went through the crowd.
“That’s nonsense,” Wendy huffed.
“Shush,” Autumn said, wanting to hear what else Guy had planned on feeding to the crowd.
“Mick was abducted by aliens,” Guy went on. “Perhaps they are even dwelling among us.”
“How is that possible?” a man asked. “We’d know the difference between a resident of Mineral Springs and an alien.”
Guy waved a finger in the air. “Not necessarily. They are often disguised as regular folk. It’s how they weasel their way into our lives. And then…” he crept along the end of the crowd, making eye contact with members of his audience as he went. “They pick the right moment to strike!”
A few people recoiled in surprise at the emphasis he put on the last word.
“What can we do?” someone shouted.
“Ah!” Guy cried. “Exactly the point I was coming to. The Cosmic Keepers have banded together on a quest to protect Earth from an alien invasion. All you need to do in order to become a part of this effort is join us. Who’s with me?”
“He’s insane,” Skye hissed in Autumn’s ear.
“Help us to contact with the extraterrestrials—become an ambassador for peace.”
“Contact extraterrestrials?” Skye repeated. “Has this idiot been smoking—?”
“You two,” Guy said looking straight at Autumn.
Autumn and Skye jumped, looking over to find Guy walking toward them. “Those two ladies, ones you all know and recognize, know what I'm talking about.”
Autumn’s hands had grown cold. "Excuse me?"
“These two found the first victim,” Guy announced.
“So what?” Skye said. “That doesn't prove anything.”
“Tell us what you saw,” Guy urged, still walking toward them. "Do you deny that the body was resting in the center of a crop circle?"
Autumn fought the temptation to take a step back.
The crowd had grown eerily silent.
Autumn looked from Wendy to Skye. Their expressions were as stunned as she imagined her own to be.
“I don’t deny it,” Autumn said, slowly. “But, the police….”
“There, you see?” Guy interrupted. “She doesn’t deny
it. It’s a sign!” The crowd broke out in whispers.
“I didn’t say that it was a sign," Autumn argued. "There is a logical explanation for what happened, and the police will figure it out.”
“The police,” Guy sneered. “What power does the police wield over the will of aliens? None, I tell you!”
“My gourd,” Skye said. “He’s crazy.”
“I’m not crazy,” Guy retorted, zeroing in on Skye. “If you know what’s good for you, you would heed my cries of warning.”
If the situation hadn’t been so bizarre, Autumn might have laughed at his dramatics.
“May I make a suggestion?” Autumn asked.
The crowd seemed to be holding their breath collectively as Guy studied the one who’d dared to stand up to him.
"Of course." Guy smirked as if he'd already formed a retort in his head.
“Why don’t you wait until the police investigation is completed and then make your judgments about the alien occupation of Mineral Springs? If no explanation of the murder can be found, then rally the troops.”
All eyes were on Autumn and Guy as they waited for his response.
His words were prefaced by a chilling laugh. “It’s always the victim who’s oblivious, isn’t it? It’s why he gets killed, right? Because his eyes were closed to the warning signs.”
“What have you done, Autumn?” Skye said, her voice worried.
Guy swung back around, pointing at Autumn. “You and that little dog of yours need to be careful. The way I see it, you’re the alien's next targets. Beware.”
Wendy let out a little shriek. The rest of the crowd had gone loopy as well, chattering amongst themselves and rallying for Guy’s attention.
“Let’s get out of here,” Autumn said, having to raise her voice above the pandemonium.
Wendy, Skye, and Autumn pushed their way out of the crowd, moving swiftly down the dark street and back to the café.
Autumn released a sigh of relief when she was back home. She had wanted everyone to get hyped about the fall season, but she hadn’t pictured this level of excitement. Between the gruesome murder and the jabbering of the Cosmic Keepers, this was sure to be the most eventful season Mineral Springs had ever seen.
Chapter 5
When Autumn entered Wendy’s yoga studio, Nama-Stay, for an early morning session the following day, she tried her best to conceal the fact that she'd dreamt about Guy Horne and his hysterics. She knew that a yoga class was just the remedy for the imbalanced feeling the previous evening had left with her.
There were already a number of people in the studio stretching on their yoga mats. Autumn picked an open space by the window and started stretching.
“He was really something,” she heard a woman next to her say.
Autumn glanced sideways. It was a middle-aged woman sporting striped leggings and a pink t-shirt. Her eyes were wide with intrigue.
“He sounded looney to me,” the other woman next to her commented.
“He was definitely looney. But, do you think it’s smart just to discount everything he said? I mean, what if the murder does have some significance? I mean, one of us could be next….”
“You’re buying into his ranting?” the other woman mutter. “He’s just trying to stir things up and get attention.”
“I know, but what he said left me really unsettled,” stated the woman in the striped leggings.
Autumn silently seconded that statement. She kept telling herself that Guy was only trying to scare everyone, but the way he’d singled her out hadn't been pretty.
“Good morning, everyone,” Wendy greeted the crowd, now standing at the front of the studio. “Welcome all. Time for some relaxation and the chance to start out your day right. Are we all ready?”
If nothing else, the class helped work some of the kinks out of Autumn’s neck which she assumed she’d acquired from her night of restless sleep. At the end of it, she moved to the front to speak with her friend.
“Hey, Wendy,” Autumn said quietly. “I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay after that ordeal last night.”
Wendy exhaled. “It was weird. I’ll give you that. Guy had nerve singling you out the way he did."
“I was a little surprised by that myself,” Autumn admitted.
Wendy glanced around, lowering her voice. “Doesn’t it scare you?”
“I have to admit that I didn’t sleep too well last night. But, people get superstitious and embrace strange ideas around this time of year. It’s just something about the season. It’ll pass, and everyone will realize that Guy Horne and the Cosmic Keepers are a hoax.”
“I hope you’re right," Wendy responded.
“I am.” Autumn wished she felt as certain as she sounded. “Don’t worry,” she went on, hoping that more confident words would convince her inner misgivings that everything was fine. “The police will find out what happened to Mick and this will all be over.”
Wendy seemed reassured by Autumn’s speech, though Autumn herself was not. She tried not to think about aliens on her short walk to the Harmony Café.
The café was busy from the moment the doors had opened. Autumn and Rowan cranked out even more pumpkin spice smoothies than the day before, and by the afternoon, they were nearly out of oranges.
At noon, Skye walked through the front door.
“Look who decided to show up for work,” Autumn remarked.
“You didn’t tell me what time to come in,” Skye retorted, still holding her phone to her hear.
“Hi, Skye,” Rowan said.
Skye ignored him, plopping down on a stool while continuing to listen to her phone.
Autumn sighed, setting her mind on tidying up the mess from the morning rush.
“Yeah, hi, Becky,” Skye said. After that one sentence, silence followed with only a few uh-hums and yeah’s from Skye. Rowan tried to talk to her, complimenting her clothes and hair and even her personality, but Skye just waved him off.
Though the scene was humorous, Autumn felt for her assistant who had never been quite capable of gaining her little sister’s attention.
Skye proceeded to pay attention to her phone all day, and Rowan finally got bored of trying to talk with her. The café was slow, so he went over to the window with a sci-fi novel while Autumn peeled oranges.
“Hey, look,” Rowan said, peering out the window.
“What is it?” Autumn asked.
“There’s trouble at your ex’s place," he stated.
Autumn rolled her eyes. The last thing she needed was to think about her ex-husband, Dan Butler, owner of Foolish Dan’s, a biker bar across the street. “There’s always trouble where Dan’s concerned. It’s his middle name really…”
“Come see, Autumn,” Rowan urged.
Rolling her eyes again, Autumn strode over to the window. There was a group of people standing in front of the biker bar, but she couldn’t see what had them so riled up. “What is it with this town and crowds lately?” she murmured. “I’m going to go and see.”
“I thought you weren’t interested,” Rowan pointed out.
“It might have to do with the murder. There’s been a lot of hype around here lately. If it’s enough to draw a crowd, I think it’s worth nosing into. Can you mind the café?”
“With our influx of customers?” Rowan said.
Autumn didn’t respond to his sarcasm, and Skye shook her head, making her way to the back to continue texting.
Once out on the street, Autumn walked straight toward her ex’s business. Once she’d arrived, it didn’t take long for Autumn to realize that she’d been right. Sure enough, there was a crop circle painted on the front door of the bar.
“It’s like the crop circle Guy Hornet was talking about,” one woman exclaimed.
“It’s Guy Horne,” a man corrected her. “It’s just vandals.”
“Maybe Dan Butler is going to be the next victim,” the woman speculated.
Just then, Autumn's ex-husband Dan emerged from th
e inside of the bar. “Would you all clear out? You’re upsetting my customers.” His dark hair was ruffled, and the scruff of a beard Autumn had always hated was unkept.
“It looks like you’d better watch your back, Dan,” a man from the crowd called.
Dan ignored him, opening up a can of paint as he prepared to clean up the offensive symbol on his door. When the people continued to talk, he turned around, glaring at them. “I told you all to get out of here!”
The crowd made no move to leave. Suddenly, Ziggy Blue, a street performer appeared in the middle of the group. His silver robot costume gleamed in the sun as he bounced back and forth, miming. A few people got irritated with his up-in-your-face tactics and left. The spectators were almost completely dispersed in a matter of minutes.
“So, what happened to your door?” Autumn asked. She knew that it was better not to antagonize her ex, but they’d always rejoiced in each other’s misfortunes, and she wouldn’t be denied the opportunity now.
“Ah, buzz off, Autumn,” Dan growled, not even bothering to turn around as he slathered paint on the door.
“For a man who put foolish in the name of his establishment, you sure hate being made to look like a fool.”
Dan whirled around, his face scarlet with rage. “Did you have something to do with this, Autumn?”
“Me? Of course not. Why would you think that?” Autumn said.
Dan released a mirthless hoot. “How could I not think that? It’s just the kind of prank you would pull. Well, it’s not funny.”
Autumn could hardly deny that she and Dan were often dropping mischief into one another’s path, most of the time targeting the other’s business.
“I had nothing to do with this,” Autumn said. “I was the one who saw the gruesome nature of the crop circle firsthand, remember? I would be the last to joke about it. Besides, I’ve been too busy with my café and training for the pumpkin run to play tricks.”
Dan stopped his sloppy paint job to face Autumn. “You’re running in the pumpkin race?”
“Yeah,” Autumn said. “Gwen says there’s not much emphasis on how you come in time-wise, but I want to be at my best.”
Pumpkin Smoothie Murder (Harmony Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 4) Page 2