Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case

by Kristen Painter

  Which was basically steak and french fries, but I’m sure there was nothing basic about the way they tasted.

  Greyson smiled. “You know me so well, my friend.”

  Jacque gave us a little bow. “Bon appétit!” And then he left us to it.

  The food was amazing, and our conversation became all about just how amazing. We shared bites off our plates, and I was happy my assessment of Greyson’s steak and french fries had been right on.

  I stole another fry off his plate. “I’ve never had french fries like this in my life. He must sprinkle them with crack.”

  Greyson snorted. “Not exactly. But he does fry them in duck fat.”

  “Seriously?” I reached for another one. “Everything should be fried in duck fat.”

  “I’m sure that sentiment will make Jacque very happy.”

  When we’d cleaned our plates and assured Jacque that the meal had been an unparalleled success, we sat for a long time talking. So long, that at least an hour went by before we realized the check had never come.

  Grayson asked the server about it, and was told Jacque had taken care of it. When Jacque came out to check on us, Greyson pressed some money into the man’s hands. Jacque tried to refuse it, but Greyson was insistent.

  “Jacque, take the money. Giving your customers free meals is no way to run a business.”

  “Ah, but my friend, I already owe you so much.”

  Greyson’s mouth set in a stern line. “Take the money or I will never darken your door again.”

  I raised my hand. “I will, though. I could eat here every night. Any chance you deliver?”

  Jacque beamed. “For you, I could find a way.” He clutched the bills but narrowed his gaze at Greyson. “As for you, I will accept the payment. But only because I want to stay on Lilibeth’s good side.”

  I grinned. “All that requires is dessert.”

  Jacque threw his hands into the air. “Dessert! Mais bien sûr! I shall return.” He hurried off.

  “Now you’ve done it,” Greyson chuckled and tilted his head. “There’s no telling what he’ll come back with.”

  “Whatever it is, I’ll eat it.”

  Greyson smiled. “I’m glad we came here. And thank you for your enthusiasm about the food. Jacque needed that.”

  “I was just telling him the truth. That was easily one of the best meals I’ve ever had.”

  His expression softened into something kind and hopeful. “Maybe this should be our Saturday night place.”

  I didn’t know if I’d be here for another Saturday, but how could I say no to that? “I love that idea. But we should take turns paying.”

  “Good. Then it’s done. But we will not take turns paying.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I am old-fashioned about such matters, and a man should pay when he invites a woman to be his guest.”

  “What if I was independently wealthy?”

  He raised a brow. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything. If you were the Queen of England, I would still insist on paying.”

  I grinned and took his words as a sign. Maybe he’d visit me in the NP after all. “Fine, you’ve made your point.”

  Jacque returned with one large plate and two small ones. The large one held four profiteroles the size of tennis balls. Butter-yellow pastry cream overflowed from their stuffed middles, and a dark chocolate glaze zigzagged over their golden-brown tops.

  He put the plate down between us, then gave us each a small one.

  “Those look delicious. Too bad you didn’t bring Greyson any.”

  Jacque laughed. “I hope you like them.”

  “I love profiteroles. They’re one of my favorite things.” Anything with sugar and chocolate was one of my favorite things, but that was a minor point.

  “I am very happy to hear that.” He hesitated. “If I may…”

  I smiled up at him. “Sure, what is it?”

  His expression grew darker. “When I was in the kitchen, I had a vision.” He frowned. “I should explain. I see things sometimes. Glimpses of what is to come.”

  I gulped, hoping hard it wasn’t a vision of me as Jayne. “Greyson told me.”

  “Good,” Jacque said. “I have had one about you. I don’t know what it means, but I must tell you. It’s the only thing that brings me peace.”

  “What was it?”

  “You were in a dark room, and you were in danger. I am sorry to tell you this, but perhaps now you can avoid it. Please, mademoiselle, be careful.”

  “I will. Thank you.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Toly’s office counted as a dark room and I might have been in danger. Maybe his vision had already happened.

  He did his little bow again and left us to eat.

  Greyson frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that at all.”

  Neither did I, but I couldn’t risk making a big deal out of it and tipping Greyson off as to who I really was. I didn’t think he’d care that I was the Winter Princess, but the fact that I’d been lying to him? Yeah, that wasn’t going to be such an easy sell. “Probably nothing. Maybe he had a vision of me in the middle of the night trying to avoid stepping in one of Spider’s hairballs.”

  Greyson was unamused. “I’ve never known one of Jacque’s visions to be wrong.”

  I put on my best serious face. “I promise to be careful, whatever I’m doing.” I pulled the plate of profiteroles closer.

  Seemingly mollified, Greyson cleared his throat and rested his hands on the table. “Will you be sharing those?”

  “Maybe.” I took one for myself then slid the plate toward him, smiling. “C’mon, join me.”

  He didn’t have to be told twice. Between us we made short work of the cream puffs, and after a long goodbye with Jacque, Greyson and I were back out in the night air.

  I looped my arm through his. “That was really nice. Thank you.”

  “The pleasure was all mine.”

  “I don’t think that’s true at all, especially because I had three of the four profiteroles.”

  He smiled. “You do like your sweets.”

  “It’s a winter elf thing.”

  His chest puffed out. “I have been told I am very sweet.”

  “Yes, I’m sure all the women tell you that.” I squeezed his arm. “You are many things, Greyson. Sweet could be one of them, but it’s not the first thing that comes to mind.”

  His gaze slid sideways. “What is?”

  Sexy. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him that. “Generous. Kind. Easy to be around.”

  “Excellent. I sound like someone’s grandmother.”

  I laughed. “How about sexy? I was going to say that first, but I didn’t want you to get a big feeling about yourself.”

  His eyes lit up. “You think I’m sexy?”

  “Oh, come on. You know you are.” I leaned back to take him all in. “You’re like a walking aphrodisiac. You and your manly stubble and piercing eyes. And don’t even get me started on the vampire thing.”

  His lips bent oddly, and I realized he was trying not to laugh. “You are quite the flatterer.”

  “I learned everything I know from you.”

  We bantered the whole way home. I couldn’t remember when I’d been so at ease with someone, or had time go by so quickly. (Well, maybe in college with Cooper.) I’d checked the time on my watch. It was almost eleven. Hard to believe we’d spent nearly five hours together. It seemed so much less than that.

  When we reached the warehouse door, I faced him, and he took both of my hands and stared into my eyes. “My darling elf, when can I see you again? Next Saturday is too far away.”

  “Toly was working on the schedule today. How about I text you as soon as I know what my next night off is?”

  “That will do.” He kissed me, softly at first, then with greater insistence.

  I leaned into him, kissing him back. The man was as tempting as any dessert I’d ever had, but unlike with most desserts, there was no risk of over
indulging. I couldn’t get enough of him.

  We finally came up for air. His smile was as languid and warm as my insides felt. “I regret that I cannot walk you to your door.”

  I tipped my head toward the warehouse. “You sort of have.”

  “Not good enough for me, but what choice do I have? Unless you’d like me to get you up to the fire escape the same way we came down.”

  “No, thank you.” Not with a full stomach.

  He pulled the warehouse door open. “Until the next time.”

  I kissed him once more on the way in, because I could. “Until then.” I made a face at the aftershave aroma that wafted out of the vestibule. “Owen must have just left.”

  Greyson peered inside. “I don’t think so, or I would have smelled that scent out here as we approached.” He wrinkled his nose. “And I would not have missed that particular mix of aromas.”

  “Well, I doubt he was putting aftershave on in the vestibule, so he had to have left this way. Unless…” I stepped inside, put my nose next to the elevator doors and sniffed. “He could have gone down the elevator.”

  To his credit, Greyson did not roll his eyes as he joined me in the vestibule. He did, however, purse his mouth into a placating expression. “Not without a keycard.”

  “Maybe he went with somebody who had one.”

  Greyson shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “I suppose you’d like me to go down and have a look.”

  “Would you?” Especially if I could tag along.

  After a long moment, he sighed. “Yes. But you can’t come with me.”

  Bugger. “I’d be willing to offer you something in return.”

  His brows shot up. “Something?”

  I popped my hip out and put my hand on it in what I hoped was a seductive pose. “I’m sure we could work out a deal.”

  His eyes glittered. “I don’t think you’re ready to give me either of the two things I’d like most from you, and when you are ready, I don’t want them because of a deal.”

  “Two things? I’m pretty sure I know what one of them is, but the second—”

  He bared his fangs at me. “You’ll figure it out.”

  “Oh. You want to bite me.”

  “That’s one.” He shook his head in amusement and pulled out his keycard. “You’re staying here. I’ll only be a few moments.”

  He slid his card through the reader and called the elevator. Seconds later, the doors opened. He got on and left me standing there, thinking about what it would feel like to have his teeth on me.

  In me. Whatever.

  I tried to tell myself maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but what did I really know about vampires? Not much. Except this one was smoking hot.

  There was no way he could turn me with one bite, was there? I needed to find that out first. I did not want to be a vampire. If that was even possible. And I absolutely got to pick the spot. Hmm. I wondered if that would be enough to entice him into finally showing me where that elevator led.

  Maybe I should offer him something else. Something like— Before I could think about it anymore, he was back. He leaned out, holding the doors open. “Get on. You might as well see for yourself.”

  I jumped onto that elevator with all the speed my little elfy self could muster. I wasn’t taking chances in case Greyson changed his mind.

  He kept holding the doors open as I joined him, like he might do just that. “You must swear that you will not tell a soul about this.”

  “I swear. All day long. My lips are sealed.”

  “Swear on something that holds value to you.”

  “I swear on my father’s crown.” Snowballs. I should not have said that.

  His eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

  I shrugged and played it off. “It’s just an elven expression.”

  “You understand this could cost me my job.” His voice held an edge of seriousness I hadn’t heard from him before.

  “I do understand. That’s the last thing I want. I promise, not a word to anyone.”

  He pulled his hand back. The doors closed and the car started down.

  I had no idea what to expect when the doors opened again, but it certainly wasn’t what lay before me.

  Greyson held his hand out for me to exit first. “Welcome to the Basement.”

  “Is that the official name for this place?”

  “Yes. But you shouldn’t know that.”

  “Got it.” I stepped out into an alcove off of a clean, well-lit hallway that was the breadth of an average street. Small signs on the walls marked directions, and lines on the floor divided the space into two throughways. “Looks like a road.”

  “It is. Sometimes.”

  The alcove we were in was darker, but not too much. Two doors flanked either side of the elevator, both with keypads keeping them off-limits. “What’s in those rooms?”

  He shrugged. “Above both our paygrades, but probably just storage.” He lifted his brows. “You smell what I smell?”

  I inhaled. There was a faint chlorine smell, but definitely nothing remotely like sewer. And more distinctively, Owen’s cologne. “The same aftershave. Owen was down here. But he’s not now. Is that why you brought me down here?”

  “Essentially. I thought it would put an end to all the questions if you realized there wasn’t anything to see.”

  I looked around, but there was no way to know where he’d gone or what he was doing down here. “He could have gone down one of the halls.”

  “He didn’t. The scent ends here. I think he came down, looked around and went back up.”

  “Same as I did.”

  Greyson nodded. “You elves are a curious lot.”

  I guess we were. And Owen’s curiosity definitely fell in line with my theory about the town making the elves disappear because they’d snooped. Didn’t bode well for Owen.

  Or me. Snowballs. “Are you going to say anything to anyone about him being here?”

  “Not about you or him. For all I know, he could have been brought here by one of the Ellinghams. He might even be secretly working for the town. You never know about things like that in Nocturne Falls.”

  Which brought me back to my father’s original theory that someone might be poaching workers. And in this case, that someone had to be the Ellinghams. “Understood. And look, I don’t want you getting into any trouble for this. I truly don’t. I know it was a risk for you, and I really appreciate you doing that for me.”

  He gave a little nod. “I trust you, Lilibeth.”

  Which made me feel lousy for not telling him the truth about who I was, but I couldn’t waste too much time on that feeling. Not while I was finally getting somewhere on this case.

  My first impression of the Basement was a little anti-climactic, but at least my curiosity had been satisfied. Sewer and electric. Hah. Wait until I told my father about this. Except, technically, I couldn’t because I’d promised Greyson I wouldn’t say a word to anyone. “Why is it called the Basement? That sounds so official.”

  “It’s just what the place is called.”

  “But why would town employees need to come down here?”

  “I can’t answer that.”

  I sensed I might be wearing out my welcome but I couldn’t stop myself. Not yet. “You know, Owen had a date the other night. I wonder if that date was with someone who works for the town. Maybe that’s who brought him down here. Is there anywhere in this Basement you’d take a date to impress them?”

  Greyson tilted his head as though that question answered itself. “As all town employees sign an NDA, I’d have to say absolutely not. I doubt anyone would risk their job to impress a date.”

  “Oh right, the non-disclosure agreement. Well, it was worth a shot.” I started toward the end of the alcove so I could look down the hall in both directions and get an idea of what else went on down here.

  Greyson’s hand on my arm stopped me. “This is the end of the tour, sorry, my lovely. I know you’d like to spend th
e rest of the evening down here snooping around, but—”

  “Hey, I don’t snoop.” Oh, I totally snooped. “I investigate.”

  “Whatever you call it, it’s over.” He stepped to the side and gestured back toward the elevator. “Please.”

  I walked on without another word. He’d been more than generous to bring me down here. I didn’t want to give him reason to never do it again. Or to be cross with me.

  We rode up and kissed good night one more time in the vestibule, then I went to my apartment.

  As I changed into my pajamas, I thought about what to tell my father. If the Ellinghams were behind this, what would that mean for the store? Most likely, the end. My dad and uncle Kris would shut it down.

  Or worse, the Ellinghams might retaliate for being called on their poaching and kick the company out of Nocturne Falls. (And if they were in the process of poaching Owen, what on earth did they want him for?) If they could take the building away from the company because someone there messed with the elevator, they would definitely take it away if they found out I’d been down here. And how else would I explain what I’d found out?

  Neither outcome was good. And both resulted in no more Santa’s Workshop, which meant Juniper and Buttercup would be out of jobs. Sure, Toly and Owen, too, but I’d feel the worst about the women. They were friends. I had so few of those, I wanted to protect them. Even if they decided they were done with me after my true identity came out.

  I sat on the bed, trying to sort things. Spider jumped up beside me. I scratched under his chin. I couldn’t tell my dad yet. Not until I had proof. Otherwise, I might be starting something that didn’t need to be started.

  Once again, I had more questions than answers. So I did the only thing I could. I went back to the employee files, searching for something I’d missed.

  First, I grabbed a Dr Pepper. Then I fished the fluffy catnip ball out of my evening bag and tossed it to Spider. He leaped on it with great enthusiasm, flinging it into the air and then picking it up and tearing around the house with it. “Your uncle Greyson will be so happy to know you liked his gift.”

  While Spider got further looped on nip, I spread the files on the coffee table and studied them in the hopes that a missed detail would pop out.