A Sprinkle of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Alaine Allister

  “Since when do you know anything about interior design?” Clarissa whispered.

  “Quiet!” Liana hissed out of the side of her mouth. “I’m trying to branch out, okay?”

  “Thanks!” Jo said, tucking the business card into the pocket of her paint-stained overalls. “Since my father is the actual owner, I need to run everything past him. Between you and me, he doesn’t like to delegate! But I will let him know you two stopped by.”

  “Is he around?” Clarissa asked. “I’d love to introduce myself.”

  Jo looked around. “Uh, I don’t see him. I think he said he was going home to take a nap,” she said with a half-shrug. “Anyway, I should really get back to work. These walls aren’t going to paint themselves. I wish they would!”

  “Okay, well we’ll let you get back at it,” Clarissa said.

  “Nice meeting you, Jo!” Liana chimed in.

  “Bye ladies!” Jo replied.

  Clarissa and Liana strolled out of the building. This time they weren’t in a hurry. They took their time, leisurely making their way down the front walk of the donut shop. Clarissa paused to admire the newly planted geraniums that lined the walkway – she was a sucker for flowers!

  “Jo seems nice,” Liana whispered as they stood there admiring the landscaping.

  “She’s going to give me a discount on donuts!” Clarissa beamed.

  Suddenly the door flew open behind them. Jo came barrelling out of the building. She appeared to be very much lost in thought. She didn’t even seem to notice the two women standing out there in front. In fact, she nearly mowed Clarissa and Liana right over.

  “Is everything okay?” Clarissa asked after narrowly dodging Jo.

  “Yes! Sorry about that! I’m just grabbing the paint I bought from my car,” Jo replied.

  “We’ll help,” Clarissa volunteered, feeing a pang of sympathy for the young woman. It couldn’t be easy trying to singlehandedly whip a new business into shape in time for a looming deadline.

  “That’s very nice of you, but I’ve got it,” Jo replied. “Thanks!”

  “I know how heavy paint cans are. Let us help. It’s no trouble at all,” Clarissa insisted. She took a few steps toward the two vehicles that were parked by the side of the building. “Which one is yours?” she asked.

  Jo suddenly stopped in her tracks and smacked her forehead. “You know what? I left the paint at the store! I wheeled the cart out to the parking lot and then just…got in my car and drove away. I feel so stupid! I’d better get back there before someone runs off with it.”

  “Most folks in town are pretty trustworthy,” Liana assured her. “I bet you anything your cart full of paint is still sitting there in the parking lot, right where you left it. That is, if someone didn’t wheel the cart back inside.”

  “If you can’t find the paint in the parking lot, ask about it at customer service,” Clarissa advised. “Someone probably turned it in. And failing that, check the east side of the parking lot. It’s sloped, so unattended carts tend to roll away.”

  “Ha, you know all about that,” Liana snorted. “Remember the time you accidentally let your shopping cart roll into your car? I still remember the way you screamed and chased after it!”

  “The hardware shop should really level the parking lot,” Clarissa grumbled. “Actually, maybe I should write a newspaper article about it. I can’t be the only person in town whose car has been hit by a runaway shopping cart.”

  “No, but you’re probably the only person in town whose runaway cart hit her own car!” Liana cackled. “The look on your face was priceless. I mean, it’s too bad about the dent in your door, but the way you reacted was so funny!”

  “You would have done the same thing if you were me,” Clarissa said defensively.

  “I wouldn’t have let the cart go in the first place,” Liana shot back.

  “I was looking over my receipt!” Clarissa informed her. “I thought I had been overcharged.”

  “Anyway,” Liana said, turning her attention back to Jo, “I’m sure you’ll get your paint back.”

  “Okay!” Jo replied, sounding and looking frazzled. “Thanks. Bye ladies!” She practically raced to her car – the black sedan that was parked beside a red jeep. Then she got in and sped out onto the street with a screech.

  “Poor girl,” Liana said sympathetically. “She seems so overwhelmed.”

  “Starting up a new business is stressful,” Clarissa replied knowingly.

  “Speaking of business, I’d still really like to talk to Jo’s father,” Liana said. “Do you think that’s his car?” she asked, pointing to the red jeep that was still parked by the side of the building. “I know Jo said he went home to nap, but maybe he came back.”

  “Maybe,” Clarissa shrugged. “It kind of looks like Morris Norman’s jeep, doesn’t it?”

  “Those things are a dime a dozen,” Liana replied. “Let’s go see if we can find Jo’s father.”

  The two women walked around to the back of the building.

  “Hello?” Liana called. “Mr. Moreno? Are you there?”

  There was nothing but silence.

  “I guess he’s not here,” Clarissa shrugged. “That’s probably not even his jeep.”

  “Yeah, maybe not,” Liana agreed. “Well, what now? Should we go get some more coffee?”

  “You just drank a huge thing of coffee!” Clarissa pointed out with amusement. “How can you possibly be ready for more already?”

  “Hey, I don’t give you a hard time about your chocolate chip cookies…or muffins…or cinnamon buns,” Liana retorted. “And I didn’t even make fun of you when you got all excited about a donut discount.”

  “Touché,” Clarissa giggled. “Okay, fine. Let’s go. I’ll buy you another coffee.”

  “Wait,” Liana said, looking past Clarissa. “What’s that?”

  Clarissa turned around and tried to follow her best friend’s gaze. She saw something lying in the alleyway behind the donut shop, right next to a big red dumpster. It appeared to be a shoe. That was weird. It wasn’t completely absurd, but it was nonetheless unusual.

  She walked over to get a better look.

  When Clarissa rounded the corner, her mouth fell open.

  There lying in the alley was an older gentleman of about seventy. He had dark, greying hair, nice clothes and a fancy gold watch on his wrist. He was also wearing only one shoe. On his other foot, he only sported a sock.

  The two women rushed toward him.

  “Are you okay, sir?” Liana demanded, standing over him uncertainly.

  “Hello?” Clarissa asked, kneeling down beside him. “Can you hear me?”

  There was no response.

  “Do you think he had a heart attack or something?” Liana asked, talking even faster than usual. “I’ll call 911,” she decided, whipping out her phone. “Does he have a pulse?” she asked as she frantically dialed.

  “I don’t think so,” Clarissa replied after failing to find one. She feared the worst.

  “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this!” Liana ranted. “911 put me on hold!”

  “I don’t think it matters,” Clarissa told her best friend gently. “I think he’s already gone.”

  “Oh man,” Liana moaned, looking distraught. “What do you think happened to him? It was a heart attack, right? Yes, it was a heart attack. It had to have been a heart attack. It’s always a heart attack, isn’t it?”

  While Liana was panicking, Clarissa was very calm.

  She was a reporter. She was trained to ask questions, to get the whole story. Even though their discovery was alarming, she knew she had to keep her wits about her. So she took a deep breath and tried to pay close attention to detail.

  She looked around and spotted tire tracks in the muddy alley. They drove straight until they reached the donut shop. Then they veered off to the side suddenly, almost as though someone had swerved toward the red dumpster.

  Either the driver had been trying to avoid hitting someth
ing…or aiming for a target.

  Next, Clarissa’s gaze fell on the shoe that had fallen off the man’s foot.

  She jumped as thunder cracked in the not-too-far distance. It appeared Sugarcomb Lake was in for quite the doozy of a storm. Crossing her arms, Clarissa looked back at the shoe. Having a heart attack or some other medical emergency didn’t cause one’s shoe to fall off…

  Clarissa took a closer look at the lifeless man. She saw a trickle of blood coming from his ear.

  She pursed her lips and shook her head in disbelief.

  “What?” Liana demanded, her phone still held to her ear. “What is it?”

  Clarissa stared at her best friend in horror. “I think this was a hit and run!”

  Chapter 05

  The next day when Clarissa entered the coffee shop, the atmosphere was noticeably different. People were speaking in low, hushed tones. Everyone looked somber, and a few folks looked worried. It was clear that something big was going on in the sleepy small town.

  Liana hurried over the second Clarissa walked in the door.

  “It looks like you were right,” she said quietly. “Al Moreno was hit by a car.”

  “Is there a suspect yet?’

  “No, I don’t think so. The police are investigating, but it sounds like they’re grasping at straws. A few minutes ago the police chief himself was in here requesting that anybody who saw anything suspicious go down to the station to give a statement.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Clarissa replied, walking over to her usual booth at the back. She set her giant handbag down and took a seat. “I feel terrible for Jo. She moves here with her father to start a new business and he winds up dead? That’s so awful!”

  “Oh I know,” Liana nodded, taking a seat across from Clarissa. “We should do something for her. I’ll ask around and find out where she lives. We can stop by and take her flowers or something,” she suggested.

  “Poor girl, she’s new in town and doesn’t know anyone,” Clarissa said sadly.

  “She knows us now,” Liana pointed out. “Maybe we should get her flowers and food.”

  “Definitely food,” Clarissa agreed at once. “Something sweet might be nice.”

  “So do you want to handle the flowers, then?” Liana suggested. “I’ll take care of the food. I mean, Jo is grieving. The last thing she needs is for you to give her food poisoning with your terrible baking!”

  “You’re a jerk,” Clarissa retorted indignantly. “I’ll have you know that my baking is not –”

  “Good?” Liana interrupted with a smirk.

  “That’s not what I was going to say,” Clarissa pouted.

  “But it’s true,” Liana insisted. “Your baking is not good. It’s downright vile!”

  “Humph,” Clarissa grumbled. “It’s not my fault ingredients don’t do what I want them to.”

  “Maybe if you actually measured stuff and, you know, followed recipes you would have more luck,” Liana suggested with a giggle. “But hey, it takes skill to butcher recipes as badly as you do. So congrats, I guess.”

  Clarissa didn’t answer. She was staring out the window at the donut shop across the street. The brown paper had been removed from the windows. There were no lights on inside the building, which appeared to be empty. Outside, the only vehicle present was a police car.

  “I wonder if Sam is working the case,” Clarissa murmured, half to herself.

  “Ah, the perks of knowing a police officer,” Liana grinned. “Careful though. If you harass him too much, he and Amy might not invite you to their wedding!”

  “Harassment is a strong word. I don’t harass Sam. I just ask him questions,” Clarissa retorted. It was pretty convenient knowing a police officer. And truthfully, the way Clarissa hounded him probably did amount to harassment. But she wasn’t about to admit that!

  Just then, none other than Sam Swanson emerged from behind the donut shop. He was wearing his uniform and he appeared to be making notes on a notepad as he strode purposefully toward his police car.

  “Speak of the devil,” Liana murmured.

  “Aha!” Clarissa crowed, jumping to her feet. “I’m suddenly in the mood for a walk!”

  She rushed out the door, eager to catch Sam before he got in his squad car and drove away.

  “Sam! Sam!” she hollered as she dashed across the street.

  She was dimly aware of a car slamming on its brakes and honking at her. Oops. But there was no time to waste! She needed to corner Sam now while she still could…she knew if she formally requested an interview for the newspaper, she would be denied. Sam wasn’t fond of reporters.

  “Careful,” he said as Clarissa raced up to him. “You nearly got hit by a car. Plus you were jaywalking. There’s a crosswalk for a reason, you know.” Sam was a real stickler for rules. He could probably afford to loosen up a little, but whatever.

  “Duly noted,” Clarissa replied.

  Sam always seemed to catch her doing things she shouldn’t. He liked to threaten to issue her tickets for various minor offences. But he never actually followed through.

  It could have been that he felt he had to tolerate her, as she was a long-time friend of his fiancée’s. But Clarissa suspected that deep down the newest addition to the Sugarcomb Lake Police Department didn’t mind her nearly as much as he pretended to.

  “Let me guess,” Sam said, cutting straight to the chase. “You want an interview.”

  “Yes please!”

  He scratched his head. “Well this will be real quick and painless. The deceased is a seventy-one year old male. He was struck by a car and died instantly of a head injury. The driver fled the scene. Right now we’re trying to track down who that driver is. That’s all I’ve got for you.”

  “There was a red jeep parked here around the time the body was discovered,” Clarissa said. “Who does it belong to?”

  Sam smirked. “You know better than to ask me sensitive details about an active investigation.”

  “You don’t know, do you?”

  His smirk faded. “Actually, I do know.” He didn’t look happy about it.

  “Come on, just tell me,” Clarissa urged. “This is Sugarcomb Lake,” she reminded him. “It’s a small place. If you don’t tell me who the jeep belongs to, we both know I’m just going to drive around town until I spot it parked somewhere. And I’m not a very good driver.”

  “I know,” Sam replied with a grimace. “Do you have any ideas how many times I could have pulled you over for traffic violations? You really ought to take a refresher course…or just stop driving all together.”

  “Stop changing the subject! Just tell me!” Clarissa pleaded.

  “Okay, fine. The red jeep is registered to Morris Norman,” Sam said.

  Clarissa nearly burst out laughing. “Barbara Norman’s husband?” she asked, unable to hide her amusement. “Did you go question him? Oh that’s rich! Barbara is one of the biggest gossips in town. Once word gets out everyone will be talking about her!”

  “But word isn’t going to get out, is it?” Sam asked pointedly. “Don’t be dragging anybody’s name through the mud, okay? It looks like Morris’s jeep was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I highly doubt he’s involved in any way.”

  “You’re probably right. He’s obviously not capable of murder. I mean, his annoying wife is still alive!” Clarissa snickered. It wasn’t a very nice joke to make, but Barbara Norman really knew how to grind her gears.

  She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw the corners of Sam’s mouth turn upward ever so slightly. But if the stoic police officer did crack a smile at her off color joke, it was only momentary. He quickly reverted back to his serious, rigid self.

  “I should go,” he said, all businesslike.

  “Wait! Were you able to tell anything from the tire tracks?” Clarissa asked eagerly. “There were tire tracks all over the alley, and they veered off toward the donut shop. I pointed them out to the officers who showed up on scene.”

&n
bsp; “You did,” Sam nodded. “It’s all right here in the report.”

  “You can usually narrow down the make and model of a vehicle from tire tracks, can’t you?”

  “If it hadn’t started pouring moments after our guys arrived on scene, we’d have tried that.” Sam scowled. “Luck wasn’t on our side. Neither was the weather.” He glanced up at the sky, where dark clouds were accumulating. “If you ask me, I think we’re in for another downpour.”

  “My weeds will appreciate that.”

  “Your weed?” Sam asked, giving her a disapproving look. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. That isn’t legal here, you know.”

  “What? Oh! No, no! That’s not what I meant at all! Weeds – like the ones growing in my lawn!” Clarissa laughed. “It was a joke,” she tried to explain. “I was saying that the weeds have taken over my yard. You get it, right? It was funny.”

  “Mmm,” Sam replied, not even cracking a smile. “I’ve got to get back to the station. You stay out of trouble, Clarissa. And no more running out into traffic, you hear me?” he said sternly before getting into his police cruiser.

  She waited until he was out of sight before darting back out into the street. This time she looked both ways before she crossed the road. Yes, she was jaywalking again…but progress was progress.

  Besides, that stupid crosswalk light was way too slow, and Clarissa didn’t have time to spare!

  Chapter 06

  “I’m coming!” Clarissa called as her doorbell rang for the third time.

  She hopped out of the shower and threw on her clothes. Her hair was dripping wet, messy and uncombed. She quickly wrapped a towel around it before running to answer the door. When she flung it open, she was pleasantly surprised.

  “Parker!” she exclaimed, instantly lighting up. “What are you doing here?”

  “Would you believe I was in the area?” he asked.

  “Um…no, probably not,” Clarissa replied.

  “Okay, well then how about this: I missed you and wanted to see you. Surprise,” Parker smiled before leaning down to give her a kiss hello.

  “This is such a nice surprise!” she exclaimed when the kiss ended.