Broom and Board

by Sara Bourgeois

  “You’re welcome,” I said.

  Meri and I walked back to my car and got in. “You’re being nice to him,” Meri said once the doors were closed.

  “I’m doing it for Annika,” I said.

  “No, you’re not,” Meri chuckled. “You’re doing it so he doesn’t bust you when you get caught trying to solve this murder.”

  “Trying to solve this murder?” I asked.

  “You’re incorrigible,” Meri retorted.

  “That’s why you love me.”

  “Whatever,” he said.

  “Whatever.”

  Bubble & Brew was just opening when I pulled the car into the parking space in front of the shop. The owner, Oliver Shaw, was inside working by himself.

  “Good morning, Oliver,” I said. “I’m surprised to see you in here.”

  “My girl called in sick this morning, and I can’t get a replacement in until eight, so here I am,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you in here this morning. Word on the street is that you’re running the bed and breakfast now.”

  “That’s actually why I’m here,” I said. “I can’t use my kitchen this morning, so I was hoping to buy a large assortment of pastries and a couple of those big jugs of coffee that you use for catering?”

  “It will take me a bit to pull it all together, but since you’re here before the rush, I can do it,” he said. “Let me get started.”

  “Thank you so much,” I said.

  It was about ten minutes before the first customer came in to interrupt Oliver’s work on my order. He looked over at me, as if to ask if it was okay for him to take care of them. I gave him a nod yes, because while I was in a hurry, I was asking him for a huge favor. A catering order on the spot was courtesy. I should have ordered something like this days ago, so he didn’t have to scramble while short-staffed. He was such a good guy for handling it.

  The interesting thing was the customer that came in. I recognized her, but I didn’t know her name yet. It would be a couple of years before I knew everybody in Coventry. It was a small town, but it was still home to a few thousand people.

  When the woman came through the door, she was practically buzzing out of her skin. I could see the look of anticipation, like a kid on Christmas morning, written on her face. The second she saw me, her shoulders fell, and a frown replaced her bright smile. I knew right away that the woman thought she’d get to share the gossip with Oliver first. She hadn’t anticipated me being in Bubble & Brew.

  What she didn’t know was that I hadn’t told Oliver why the kitchen at the bed and breakfast was out of service. He hadn’t asked, either, because he was in a hurry to complete my order before the morning rush hit.

  As if on cue, Oliver took the woman’s drink order, and while he was fixing her coffee, he turned to me. “So what happened to the kitchen at the inn? I heard that place had been completely remodeled. Did you have a plumbing leak or a faulty appliance?”

  Both of them were watching me. The woman was studying my face like she was trying to get a read on whether I’d tell the truth.

  “I’m sure you’re going to hear it soon anyway,” I said and shot the woman a look. “There was a death in the inn last night. Sheriff Black is there now. That’s why I need the breakfast.”

  “Oh, wow,” Oliver said. “I’m so sorry, Brighton. And on your first day too. Who was it? I hope it wasn’t Jessica.”

  “It wasn’t Jessica,” I said, and Oliver looked visibly relieved. “But I don’t know if I can say who. There might be some sort of privacy law.”

  The woman waiting for her coffee perked right up. “She can’t say, but I can. It was Jack Maynard. The CEO of that one food tech company. Can you believe it?”

  I wondered how she knew who it was so fast, but it was Coventry after all. Maybe there were people who sat around with police scanners waiting for the next tidbit of juicy gossip. That actually didn’t seem that farfetched.

  “Jack Maynard, huh?” Oliver’s face hardened slightly. “That’s too bad, but I can’t say I’m shocked.”

  “That’s right,” the woman said, “the two of you had a falling out when he lived here.”

  “Yes,” Oliver said. “Here’s your drink. Have a great day.” He handed her to-go cup to her and turned to me. “I’ll have that order up in a jiffy.”

  The woman looked crestfallen. She thought she was going to get to gossip more about Oliver and Jack’s falling out, but he cut her off with good customer service. I was a little sad too, though. That topic was definitely something I wanted to know more about as well.

  Chapter Three

  When I got back to the inn, Deputy Lundgren let me in through the front door. I set the pastries and coffee up along the front desk. I was about to try and find something to do with myself when Gunner appeared from the kitchen,

  “I’m going to have to go now,” he said. “We’ve got the guests up in their rooms. My deputies will bring them down a few at a time to get breakfast and then escort them back to their rooms. You can come back when the coroner is done.”

  “You don’t want me to stay?”

  “I think it would be better if you just let us handle this.”

  Oh. He thought I was going to interfere with his investigation. Which, to be fair, I totally was. He could kick me out all he wanted, but I was still going to get to the bottom of the murder.

  “I’m going to go see Annika, then,” I said. “I’ll be at her shop if you need me.”

  “Tell her I said hello.” Gunner smiled warmly at the mention of Annika.

  “Maybe I will.”

  I debated about whether to drive the short distance to Annika’s store or just walk. I had time to kill, and it was a lovely morning. So, I secured Meri’s bag over my shoulder and decided we would walk. Plus, it would have been a nightmare trying to get my car out of the hotel parking lot with all of the sheriff cruisers parked near the entrance.

  “We’re walking?” Meri poked his head out of the bag.

  “Yeah, why? You got something better to do?”

  “Not really.”

  “Me neither.”

  News had spread around the entire town already, and people were staring at me as I walked to the shop. It kind of felt like my first day in Coventry all over again, but I had to remind myself that I was being paranoid. Surely no one thought I’d killed Jack Maynard, right?

  We’d had an altercation when he checked in, if you could call him screaming at me over candy an altercation, but why on earth would I murder someone on the first day of my new job?

  When I walked to Annika’s shop, the front doors were locked. I’d forgotten how early it was. I sent her a text message and waited for a reply.

  Fortunately, even though the shop didn’t open for a while, she was in the back sorting inventory. “I’m actually surprised you’re here,” I said when she opened the back door for me.

  “Not as surprised as I am to see you,” she said. “I thought you had a new job. What happened? You find a dead body in the kitchen on your second day?”

  “It’s not nice to tease me about it,” I said.

  “Wait, what? I was kidding. Did that actually happen?”

  “One of the guests,” I said. “Actually, the CEO of the company that checked in for a corporate retreat. His name was Jack Maynard. I found him dead in the kitchen this morning when I went in to make him breakfast.”

  “Oh, that guy,” Annika said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you know he used to live in Coventry, right? He’s from here.”

  “Yeah, I heard that from Oliver at Bubble & Brew.”

  “Oh, now there’s an interesting story.”

  “So I’ve heard,” I said.

  “You’ve already heard that story?”

  “No, just that there is a story.”

  What Annika told me was that Oliver and Jack had been friends in high school, and they’d gone on to college together. After graduation, both of them had come back to C
oventry, but it wasn’t long before they were ready to bust out.

  They came up with a plan, and that plan turned into Jack’s current company. The problem was that Oliver trusted Jack and they didn’t sign any contracts while they were working on ideas.

  Jack saw the potential for the company, he split town literally in the middle of the night. He took their collective ideas and started the company in the city without Oliver, and there was no legal recourse.

  Oliver was stuck in Coventry, and he took a job at the local coffee shop. Bubble & Brew had been called Black Cat Coffee House, in honor of a mysterious black cat everyone claimed to see around town, before Oliver saved up enough money to buy the place when the former owner decided to retire. Under his ownership and management, Bubble & Brew Coffee House had become one of the most successful businesses in Coventry, but it never took away the sting of his best friend’s betrayal.

  “You don’t think Oliver would have killed him, though? Right?” I asked. “He’s got his own successful business. He’d be risking everything, and he’s always seemed like such a nice guy.”

  “Don’t they always?” Annika asked.

  “You mean killers,” I said. “Because on the news, the neighbors are always saying that he was such a nice young man. So quiet. Kept to himself.”

  “Exactly,” Annika said.

  “I’ll keep it in my mental file, but I’m not going to go to Gunner and accuse Oliver just yet. Speaking of which, if you’re going to stick your nose in this case with me, and I can totally already tell you are, how is that going to affect things with you and our new sheriff?”

  “Puleeease, Brighton. He gets the Annika that he gets. I’m not going to change who I am for any man, even if he is sweet, funny, and completely gorgeous in a mountain man sort of way.”

  “You’re talking about Gunner Black? Sweet and funny? I mean, the mountain man thing is accurate. He’s a mountain of a man, and he’s got the beard.”

  “He is sweet and funny, Brighton. Gunner just takes his job seriously. He may have just moved to Coventry, but he wants to do the best he can for us. For him, that means putting on a stern façade. Plus, he’s got to be that way to keep the deputies in line. You know that Lundgren wanted the job, but the town council didn’t think he was ready. Gunner doesn’t want any shenanigans inside the department because he said that could put people at risk, so he’s making absolutely certain everyone knows he’s in charge and he’s got things under control.”

  “I bet it’s making him super happy that there’s been another murder,” I said.

  Annika offered a shrug. “At least it’s giving him something to do. I can tell he’s the type that likes to stay busy mentally and physically. I wouldn’t want him to get bored in Coventry and want to leave.”

  “Annika, darling, if he’s involved with you, he’ll never be bored.”

  “But she might drive him completely nuts,” Meri said flatly.

  He’d been off exploring Annika’s shop while we talked, but he sauntered back over in time to get a dig in on Annika.

  “You’re lucky you can’t be killed,” Annika teased.

  Chapter Four

  I helped Annika hang dresses in the shop for a while. A couple of hours into the work, Gunner showed up.

  “You can go back,,” Gunner said. “The guests all left, but the search left the place pretty messy.”

  “I figured as much,” I said.

  “The deputies were doing their jobs.”

  Gunner seemed peeved about having to defend them. I wondered if there was going to be a lot of interdepartmental drama.

  “It’s fine. Jessica and I can handle it. You said the guests are all gone?”

  “Yes, we questioned them, did our search, and then we allowed them to get their things. Our search warrant included the guest rooms, so I think a lot of them were unhappy.”

  “Great,” I said. “So much for this job.”

  “It will be okay,” Annika said. “You can handle this, and it’s not your fault.”

  “Speaking of which,” Gunner began, “where were you last night? Can you account for your whereabouts?”

  I shot him a death glare.

  “Whoa,” he said and held up his hands. “I’m just doing my job.”

  “I was at home. Remy Skeenbauer can account for my whereabouts until around ten. After that, I was asleep, but don’t worry. I’m not leaving town.”

  “Thank you.”

  I’d expected a mess, but when I got back to the inn, I was shocked. They’d completely torn the place apart. Even the guest rooms were wrecked.

  Jessica came down the stairs while I was in the office picking up papers that had been strewn all over the floor. She immediately knelt down and helped me collect them all.

  “Do you still want my brother to come today?” she asked softly. “I can tell him it’s not a good day.”

  “No, of course you should have him come. He can start on the landscaping I was thinking about, if he doesn’t mind, and we might need him to move some heavy stuff around in here too.”

  I didn’t need her brother to help me move the furniture and appliances the deputies had displaced, but I couldn’t do magic in front of Jessica. We were in for a long day of actual hard labor, but perhaps I could use a little magic if I split us up into separate parts of the inn.

  “All right, I’ll text him. I’d sent him a text earlier to wait until he heard word from me.”

  “Thanks, Jessica.”

  Once she was back upstairs cleaning the guest rooms, I did use magic to sort the papers. There was no way I was going through all of that by hand. With that task accomplished, I headed into the kitchen.

  The fridge was moved halfway out of its spot, but at least they’d left it plugged in. I opened it up and checked the temperature. It was still cold, and all of the groceries I’d purchased were good.

  While I was scooting the stove back into place, I heard it. A loud thump from upstairs that sounded like a body falling on the floor. It was right above the kitchen.

  “Jessica?” I called out.

  Another thump.

  “What the heck?”

  “You want me to go check it out?” Meri asked.

  “You have to remember not to talk while we’re here,” I said. “Someone could always be around the corner.”

  Meow.

  “You can come with me. I’m going up.”

  I walked up the stairs quickly and found the room that I thought was above the kitchen. There was no one in there, and while it was a mess, I didn’t see anything body-sized that could have been dropped by… the wind? If it wasn’t Jessica, then what had made the noise?

  Then, I heard the thump again, but this time it came from below me in the kitchen. So I ran back down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was empty. After rushing down the basement steps and finding no one in the old rooms, I knew.

  Ghosts.

  A ghost who was making such loud noises was either trying to get my attention or they were angry. It could have been both.

  I was about to go check on Jessica when I heard someone stumbling down the main stairs. Their foot slid across the riser, and then thumped onto the one below.

  Half expecting to see nothing when I went out there, I was surprised it was Jessica. “I wasn’t thinking,” she said. “I don’t feel so good.”

  At first I didn’t recognize what was in her hand, but I quickly realized it was the box of licorice. Jessica held it out to me, and I took it.

  In that short span of time, she went from looking as white as a ghost to a sickly shade of green. Something was wrong with the licorice.

  “Come sit down,” I said and led her over to one of the catawampus sofas in the parlor area.

  As she sat down, I called dispatch. “I need an ambulance at the Coventry Inn. I think she’s been poisoned, please hurry.”

  “Do you know what kind of poison?” the dispatcher asked. “I can get poison control on the line.”

  �
�I don’t have any idea,” I said. “Please send Gunner over here too.”

  The ambulance took almost fifteen minutes to get to us, and by the time they arrived, Jessica was unconscious, and her breathing was very shallow. She would have been dead, but while we were alone, I’d used what healing magic I could. Her brother had arrived just after I’d done my spell, and he ended up going with her in the ambulance.

  “She was eating these,” I said and handed the box to Gunner.

  “Do you need a sample?” Gunner asked the paramedic stabilizing Jessica.

  “They’ll test her blood.”

  “Okay, I’ll have these in evidence lockup.”

  The paramedic just gave him a nod and then closed the ambulance door. I found myself holding my breath as it pulled away. All I could do was hope the magic was enough. Or wait, I could do more.

  “Excuse me for one moment,” I said to Gunner.

  “I need to talk to you,” he responded.

  “I know, just one second.”

  I retreated into the bathroom so he wouldn’t follow me, and I called Remy.

  “Hey, Sweetie. Are you doing okay?”

  “Oh, man. I assume you heard?”

  “Yeah, I was going to call you here in a bit. I knew you’d be dealing with a lot and I didn’t want to interfere.”

  “It’s okay, but I do need something.”

  “Anything,” Remy said.

  “I think the victim was poisoned, and for some reason, the deputies didn’t take the candies that poisoned him when they did the search. My housekeeper here at the inn ate some of them. She said she wasn’t thinking. Anyway, she’s in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. I did what healing magic I could to keep her alive, but I don’t know if it was enough. I might have just bought her enough time to die at the hospital.”

  “I’ll get one of the Aunties to go,” Remy said. “Don’t worry, Brighton. We’ll make sure she’s fine.”

  “Love you,” I said.

  “Love you too.”

  I felt a lot better knowing that one of the Aunties would go work their healing magic on Jessica. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in the doctors, but if the poison in those candies were what killed Jack, it was a gruesome death.