Beat Around the Broom

by Samantha Silver

  Even with the light rain and rather ominous gray skies, it was still a fairly pleasant walk. I had never minded the rain, as I was more of a homebody, anyway. I liked the rain. It was oddly soothing to me, like the perfect amount of white noise to be comfortable. When I reached the Bean, there were still a few minutes before they were supposed to officially open for the day, so I just leaned against the side of the building to wait. Luckily, Elisa came out from the back of the shop and caught sight of me. I gave her a little wave and she came over to open the door, ushering me inside.

  “Hey Arti, you’re up and out early today,” she said, looking as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as always. Elisa was the epitome of a morning person, which was a good thing since her café opened so early.

  “Yeah, I had kind of a rough night, so I didn’t sleep much. Figured I might as well get up and moving rather than just lying in bed all morning,” I replied. “How are you?”

  “Good,” she answered as she started messing with the cash register, getting the shop front ready for a day of business. “So far, nobody seems to have caught wind of the whole poisoned pastry thing. It’s been business as usual.”

  “Oh, that’s a relief,” I said with a smile. “Good to hear.”

  “So, what can I do for you today? You want some coffee? You look like you could use some caffeine, no offense,” she quipped, looking me up and down.

  I nodded vigorously. “Yes, please. Two strong coffees and a couple of croissant breakfast sandwiches. Bacon on one, sausage on the other.”

  “Lara?” she prompted.

  “Yeah. She’s the sausage-lover,” I said without thinking. Elisa snorted at the stupid accidental joke, which made me burst out laughing, too. I would definitely have to tell Lara about that one.

  “Got it. Two coffees strong enough to put hair on your chest, a bacon croissant, and a sausage croissant for your gal pal,” she said, giving me a wink as she disappeared back into the kitchen where I knew Bella was hard at work prepping for the day. Being best friends with the owner here was definitely a perk, since I was going to get my order long before the shop was even open.

  While I waited for my food and drinks, I took out my phone and decided to text Xander about what had happened last night. I had been on the fence about telling him, as I didn’t want to freak him out, but then I remembered that we were officially dating now, so he was supposed to get to know this stuff, even if it was weird to talk about. I didn’t want him to think I was weak or some damsel who needed rescuing, but at the same time, he was a cop. He needed to know if there was some criminal intruder in the area.

  Of course, I got a response within thirty seconds of texting him, and I could tell just through his message that he was definitely freaking out.

  WHAT??? Someone broke into your house last night and you neglected to tell me until the next morning? I’m coming over right now.

  I texted back to tell him I was at the Bean, and either he was already on his way to the neighborhood or he had discovered a way to move faster than the speed of light, because he arrived at the front door of the coffee shop before my order was even ready. He stood there looking very solemn and stressed out, and I got Elisa to let him in.

  Straight away he threw his arms around me, hugging me tight. Then he pushed back, still gripping my shoulders, and began to ramble. “Artemis Mani, you scared the daylights out of me. Why didn’t you call me last night? I could have come over to help look around for the prowler. I could have gathered evidence. I could’ve helped you clean up the mess in your kitchen. I could’ve been there to-”

  I leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips to interrupt him. It worked, even though it made Elisa giggle and smirk at us from behind the bakery counter. I stared into his ocean-blue eyes and replied gently. “I’m fine. Lara’s fine. The cats are fine. And I can handle the clean-up on my own, I promise. The intruder didn’t try to fight with us or anything. They just took off as soon as we caught them.”

  Xander dragged his fingers back through his hair, shaking his head. There was a little muscle twitching in his jaw that betrayed his true feelings, but he managed to calm down a little for my sake. “I just worry about you, that’s all,” he said finally.

  “I know. And I appreciate you for it. But I’m okay. Really,” I assured him with a smile.

  “Your coffees and croissants are ready,” Elisa said, clearing her throat. “And I threw in an extra bacon croissant and a black coffee for our local law enforcement.”

  “Thanks, El. What do I owe you?” I asked, walking over to the register.

  “Nothing! Just enjoy,” she said, grinning. “You guys are doing a great job of investigating the poisoning case, and I want to show my appreciation. So, that’s all on the house. Now, you’ve got to get going before my other regulars show up, see that you’re in here, and throw a fit.”

  “Got it. Thank you so much,” I said.

  “Yes, thank you, Elisa,” said Xander courteously.

  “See you later,” Elisa said, waving as we walked out together. I opened up my umbrella and Xander ducked under it with me, although he had to stoop a little at his height. He carried his broom over his shoulder as we walked back to the Manor in the morning drizzle.

  “This whole intruder thing doesn’t sit right with me,” Xander said after a long pause. “It just feels like really bad timing. I don’t like it.”

  “I’m not a big fan of it, either.”

  “Yes, but I’m seriously concerned, Arti,” Xander said, giving me a poignant look. “You mean a lot to me, and the thought that someone could’ve so easily gotten into your house, that they could’ve hurt you, I can’t stand it.”

  “It is what it is,” I said, shrugging.

  “No, I’ve got to do something to prevent any more harm coming your way,” he insisted. “I’m going to put a ward on your house. Just something to help keep it protected.”

  I blinked in surprise. “Really? I don’t think that’s totally necessary.”

  “I do,” he said firmly. “I really do. And that’s not all.”

  “Uh oh. What else is there?” I asked as I unlocked the front door and we walked inside.

  “I think you should get off the case,” Xander informed me.

  I raised an eyebrow. “No. Absolutely not. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  “I’m serious, Arti. What if this intruder is connected to the poisoning case? What if it was the killer who broke in here last night? You could have been in danger, and I wasn’t here to stop it,” he lamented, looking crestfallen and disappointed in himself.

  “What’s going on?” asked a sleepy voice from the living room. Lara sat up on the couch, blinking slowly at us. She looked like a zombie. A very pretty zombie.

  “I brought breakfast!” I exclaimed with a smile, happy to change the subject. I walked over and started doling out coffees and croissants. But Xander wasn’t finished with me.

  “You need to lie low for a while, I think. Just to be safe,” he said.

  I shook my head. “Not a chance. I mean, come on. Especially if the break-in does have something to do with the Klein case, that probably just means we’re that much closer to solving it. I’ve got to keep investigating,” I reasoned. “Besides, if you put a ward over this place, I’ll be safe here anyway.”

  “You’re going to put a ward over the Manor?” Lara asked Xander hopefully.

  He nodded. “Yes. Definitely. How do you feel about this whole thing?”

  She smiled as she took a bite of her food. “Well, now that there’s going to be a protective spell over the place, I feel fine,” she chirped cheerily.

  I grinned at Xander. “See? All good in House Mani.”

  He sighed in defeat. “Alright, fine. You can keep investigating for now. But next time something like this happens, please let me know immediately. I worry about you,” he said.

  I leaned against his shoulder, smiling warmly. “I know. And I promise I will.”

  Chapter 17
>
  “So, are we actually here to interview her, or are you just getting some extra muscle to help move the stuff you ordered?” Xander asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow at me. I winced, but even so, I smiled. I didn’t mind the idea of Xander helping haul that gigantic table into the Manor one bit.

  “Never. Besides, I’m pretty sure Karrie has workers whose literal job it is to deliver furniture. Probably. But I’m not exactly ready to pay more than the down payment on that dining set, so the point’s moot right now anyway.”

  “Uh-huh,” he chuckled, unconvinced.

  We were landing our brooms just outside the Kleins’ furniture warehouse the next morning. I was dressed a little differently today, with a lavender dress and a warm black cardigan and matching boots. Sure, it was just basically the inverse color scheme I usually ran with, but I just didn’t see the point in fixing what wasn’t broken. And black was never broken.

  Xander and Morgan hadn’t had any luck finding Jordan Orin the night before, but Xander figured if there was even a chance Jordan was the one who broke into the Manor to try to take a shot at me, then having me at his side was better than any alternatives.

  Apparently, Morgan had rolled her eyes at that, but she could see the logic in that too. I was a little worried about how Morgan was going to take our relationship. She was so by-the-books that she made Xander look like a slacker on the worst days.

  “So, exactly how much of the town did you get to search for Jordan last night?” I asked.

  “Not as much as I’d like,” Xander admitted. “Some teenagers decided to have a party down by the beach, and to nobody’s surprise, one of them started a fire that got a little out of control. Nobody got hurt, but I had to get some drunken teens home to angry parents after breaking the party up, which is never fun.”

  “Especially on top of a murder investigation,” I said, frowning.

  “Yeah,” he sighed. “This town is more trouble than the human military sometimes, I swear.”

  “Just on the off-chance, you said you did try Jordan’s phone yesterday, right?”

  “Of course,” he said. “No answer all day.”

  “That’s interesting,” I said as we stepped into the warehouse. I stroked my chin a moment while Karrie looked up from the counter and gave us a wave.

  “Oh! Good morning, Arti! Hey there, Chief. How can I help you two this morning? If you want to go ahead and pick up the dining set, I hate to say my workers are running a little late today, but they should be here any minute now.”

  “No, actually we’re here to ask a few more questions,” I said as we approached the counter. “But before that, I have a different question that might sound a little odd. Do you mind if I borrow your phone for a second? As in, your personal phone?”

  Karrie stared at me a moment, and even Xander raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Um, am I being searched?” she asked a little nervously. “I don’t have anything to hide, but…”

  “No, no,” I said hurriedly, casting her a reassuring smile. “Sorry, I just realized how weird that sounds. I just need to make a phone call, and my phone is dead,” I lied. “Besides, I’m not actually a cop, I can’t formally search your stuff.”

  “Well, sure, I guess,” Karrie said, picking up her cell phone from behind the counter and handing it over to me. I could see Xander out of the corner of my eye looking like he wanted to ask me what I was actually doing, but I was grateful that he knew not to do that in front of Karrie.

  I scrolled through Karrie’s contacts, and sure enough, Jordan’s number was listed as Jordan (Boss). Xander, who was looking over my shoulder, raised his eyebrows in understanding and smiled. I winked at him, hit ‘call’, and put the phone on speaker. While it rang, I held up a finger for Karrie to give us a moment as Xander and I scooted outside to wait and see if he’d answer.

  “Hello?” Jordan’s voice came through the receiver after a few rings, and my heart jumped.

  “Hi Jordan,” I said brightly.

  “Karrie? Are you sick? You don’t sound well.”

  I made a face. My voice wasn’t that deep.

  “Actually, Jordan, this is Arti. I haven’t seen Xander in a few days and happened to be shopping at Arnold’s furniture store when a couple more questions popped into my head, and Karrie was nice enough to lend me her phone.” I hoped he’d buy the story. Ideally, mentioning that I hadn’t talked to Xander in a few days would mean that he’d think I didn’t know there was a warrant out for his arrest now. If I could just keep him on the line, I could keep him talking, and maybe get a hint as to where he was. Xander bit his lip, watching intently.

  “Oh, well, alright,” he said reluctantly. “How can I help you?”

  I grinned. I had got him!

  “I spoke to Florence in the hospital yesterday,” I said, sounding as casual as I could. “She struck me as a little odd, honestly.”

  “Really? How so?”

  “Just a big personality, I’m sure you know,” I said, and I heard him chuckle over the phone.

  “Yeah, she’s alright, but she can be a lot. I bet she was giving the doctors an earful.”

  “You have no idea,” I laughed. “But anyway, while I was talking to her about the business partnership breaking up, she said that you sent Arnold a letter a while back.” I trailed off, waiting to see how Jordan would react.

  “Uh, what’s that?”

  “A letter,” I repeated. “She made it sound like there were some unsettled grudges between you two, and you sent him a letter airing some of your issues with Arnold a few months after you broke up.”

  “You say Florence said that?” he said, sounding confused and surprised. “I don’t know what to tell you. I certainly didn’t write any such letter. If Arnold said I did, that’s very hurtful, because I’d think he knows my handwriting by now.”

  “So you say there was no letter?”

  “That’s exactly what I’d say,” Jordan said, sounding a little irritated. “I wasn’t lying when I said Arnold and I parted on amicable terms, I never sent any scathing letter to him or anything like that. The last thing I sent him was a ‘happy birthday’ text last year, and I didn’t even get a reply from that. He was the one cutting me out, not the other way around.”

  “That’s strange,” I said, doing my best to sound perplexed. “Would you like to meet up and talk about it a little more?”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line, and before I could say anything else, the call ended.

  “Shoot,” I swore. “He must have caught on.”

  “That was pretty good thinking, Arti,” Xander said, smiling despite how guilty I felt about scaring Jordan off. The compliment took me by surprise, and I felt a little color in my cheeks. “You’re good at thinking on your feet.”

  “Well, live with a cat familiar as long as I have, and you learn a thing or two,” I laughed, too awkward to just accept the compliment.

  “Were you talking to Jordan just now?” Karrie called over to us, sounding concerned. Xander and I glanced at each other, then walked back over to Karrie to hand her phone back while she continued. “I saw that letter Jordan wrote,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “Really? It existed?” I said, raising my eyebrows.

  “Florence made sure there were witnesses before she destroyed it,” Karrie said, nodding. “Saw it with my own eyes. Watch out for Jordan, he’s more dangerous than he looks.”

  “Did you know Jordan well?” I asked.

  “Not really,” she admitted, shrugging. “I got hired after the split between business partners. But I mean, I can’t really see a book publishing business really taking off here in Moonlight Cove, so it doesn’t surprise me Arnold and Florence were doing better without that kind of business sense around.”

  I frowned. This was getting complicated.

  “Alright, well, thank you again. I think we actually got all the info we were going to ask about,” I said, looking to Xander, who nodded. “I’ll be back in a few days to
talk about the dining set. In the meantime, I think Xander and I have another stop to make.

  “Have a nice day!” Karrie called after us as we hurried out.

  “Thinking the same thing as me?” Xander asked as we got our brooms.

  “Jordan’s house,” I said, nodding. “I think we’re past the point of probable cause.”

  “Agreed,” Xander said, nodding, and off we went.

  Racing along the town streets with a cop was a little thrilling, I had to admit, even if it meant we were heading for a potentially dangerous murderer. Granted, it wasn’t the last time I’d be putting my life at risk, but I felt a lot better about it with Xander at my side. It didn’t take us long to clear the distance to Jordan’s address. Hopping off our brooms, Xander wiggled his finger, but I winced as soon as I saw it.

  “Shoot, I’m not going to be much help here,” I said. “My magic’s been malfunctioning; I haven’t been able to cast anything right. Lara thinks I have a curse on me.”

  “Really?” Xander said, looking concerned. “That’s troubling. I think someone really might be targeting you, Arti. I have a few ideas, but first things first. Probably for the best I handle this alone, anyway. I don’t want to risk you getting hurt. Hang back here, and I’ll search the house.”

  I stayed by the brooms by the mailbox as I watched Xander race up to the front door and pound on it, holding his finger at the ready.

  “Jordan Orin! Police, open up! I have a warrant for your arrest!” He stood poised with his eyes locked on the door like an attack dog. There was something kind of nice about seeing him in action like this. That probably wasn’t the kind of thing I needed to be thinking about right now.

  But when there was no answer, Xander stepped back and used a spell to unlock it, storming in with his finger raised. I was sure Xander would have been here the day before – after all, the first place to look for a suspect would have been his home – but it was good that he was still following procedure all the same.