A Witchy Bake-off

by Danica Britton

  Suddenly, he looked up. “I’m very sorry, ladies, but I’ll have to take my leave from you now. I need to get back to Boston this evening.”

  “Oh, that’s ever such a long way to travel tonight,” Leslie commented.

  Franklin smiled. “Oh, it won’t take me long I don’t think.”

  He winked at me and headed out into the kitchen. I followed, but when I got there, he had already gone. I guessed he’d teleported.

  I carefully poured the large bowl of water I’d been soaking my feet in into the bath and washed it away.

  Leslie seemed to be very sociable now. She hadn’t been quite so open in the diner. Was that because her sister was with her? We didn’t really know very much about Stacie Sutton at all. And she’d been accused of murder in the past… That was very interesting. Definitely worth looking into.

  As I rinsed away the rest of the yellow water from the bath, I caught sight of Athena staring at me from the doorway.

  “Sometimes I wish you could talk, Athena. I bet you’d have some good ideas who may have killed Adele.”

  The cat meowed in agreement.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The following day, I started my shift as usual at the diner. I was relieved to see that Adele was there with Loretta. Although they were bickering and didn’t seem the best of friends, I was glad Adele had found somebody to go to last night. She was clearly still annoyed with me.

  “I take it you’ve come here for an apology, Harper.”

  “You don’t have to apologize to me, Adele. I know things are very stressful at the moment for you.”

  Adele’s cheeks turned red. “I meant you apologize to me! You and your grandmother were making terrible accusations about my family!”

  I tied my white apron around my waist and said, “You’re right. We should have been more sensitive. I’m sorry.”

  I looked across at Loretta, who was hovering beside the fireplace. “I take it you kept Loretta company last night?”

  “Yes,” Adele said.

  Loretta sent me a beseeching look which I took to mean please don’t leave Adele with me again tonight.

  I guessed Loretta was used to her privacy.

  “I’m glad you two are getting along,” I said, smiling brightly.

  “I wouldn’t say that exactly,” Loretta said. “Adele will not stop asking me about how I became a ghost.”

  I looked up, surprised. For a long time, I’d been intrigued by what must’ve happened to Loretta in her past to cause her to remain a ghost here at the diner, but she’d never so much as hinted she wanted to tell me about it.

  “Oh, did you tell her anything?”

  Loretta shook her head stubbornly. “No! It’s nobody’s business but mine and I don’t understand why everybody is so interested about an event that happened back in 1824.”

  With that, Loretta floated through the wall, leaving Adele and me alone in the back room.

  “I think she’s very upset, Adele. Maybe give her a bit of space.”

  “If she wasn’t so secretive, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. I mean everybody knows how I died. And surely my death is more embarrassing. I was found in a restroom for goodness’ sake.”

  Adele floated behind me as I walked out of the back room and into the main area of the diner. She absentmindedly floated through me and then shuddered.

  The diner was busy this morning already. With a rush from the breakfast crowd pouring through the door, I got to work making a second pot of coffee, as Archie had already made the first.

  Ten minutes later, I was ringing up some items on the till for Mr. Crowther when Adele gave a gasp.

  Although I tried not to react to ghosts when I was in public, I couldn’t help looking over to see if I could find out why Adele had had such an extreme reaction.

  It was her daughter, Olivia, and her son-in-law, Damien. They’d entered the diner with the local real estate agent, Tamsin Southern.

  Once I’d finished serving, I plucked a few menus and walked over to their table.

  “Olivia, Damien, very sorry for your loss,” I said as I handed them the menus.

  Olivia nodded stiffly. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll have a flat white and a stack of blueberry pancakes,” Damien said, pushing the menu back towards me.

  “I’ll just have a black coffee,” Olivia said.

  Tamsin smiled at me. “I’ll have a latte, thanks, Harper.”

  I took the menus back to the counter, gave Damien’s order to Archie, and set about making the coffees.

  “Why are they here?” Adele asked, floating backwards and forwards. “Olivia should be too distraught to be seen out in public.”

  I didn’t respond, but I did think Olivia looked sad, although she wasn’t really the smiling type. I don’t think I had ever seen her look happy.

  “And what do you think they’re doing with that Tamsin woman? Surely they can’t be about to sell my house already? I only died yesterday!”

  They did seem to be in quite a hurry. Unless they were just having a friendly coffee with Tamsin, but Tamsin had got her laptop out and was pointing at different things on the screen.

  When I took their coffees over, I saw they were talking about percentages of payment after the sale, and from a quick glimpse of the screen, I saw they’d already taken photographs of inside Adele’s townhouse. That was pretty quick. I wondered if they were desperate for the money.

  I turned away from the seating area and said in a low voice, “Why don’t you go and listen in on the conversation,”

  “Good idea!” Adele brightened and zoomed over to their table. She hovered above them. I thought it was strange that they couldn’t even sense her presence when she was so close.

  I turned around, only to see Loretta directly behind me. I jumped, and then pretended to get about my business as if nothing had happened.

  “You have to promise to take Adele back with you after your shift,” Loretta said. “I don’t think I can stand much more. Questions, questions, questions. The woman never shuts up.”

  I’ve known Loretta for a long time and she knew the drill. I couldn’t answer her with all these people around so she was just taking the opportunity to let off steam.

  I really wanted to ask her what happened in 1824. Was that when she died? It had to be, didn’t it?

  I wondered what the building was in 1824. I doubted it had been a diner back then. I figured I would look into it later. Jess might have some idea where to start.

  Last night, after Leslie left, we spent some time on Google trying to find out exactly what had happened with Stacie Sutton and her husband in the past.

  We found a couple of articles in the press, but they didn’t hold much detail, only to say that Stacie had been arrested and later released without charge. Other than that, we came up blank.

  Jess had decided that while she was at work today, she would take a look during her break at the local papers. Some of the local papers were not online, but the library kept a record of many of them, going back decades. Now we knew the approximate date from a Google search, Jess said she would flick through the local papers and see if she could discover any more details about Stacie’s husband’s murder.

  It was probably nothing, but after Leslie mentioned it, it certainly got me thinking…

  When the morning rush started to slow down, Archie came out from the kitchen.

  Olivia and Damien were still huddled around the table with Tamsin, and I guess they were still discussing the sale. Adele still hovered above them, not looking very happy.

  “Archie, do you know what this building was used for in 1824?”

  “1824? That’s very specific. Why do you ask that?”

  “Oh just something I read on the Internet last night, and I was wondering what this building was used for before it was a diner.”

  Archie’s forehead wrinkled as he thought. “Well, I’d have to check because I don’t remember. I think it was a hat shop at one time. I can check the de
eds if you’re interested; it’ll tell me at least when the building was constructed.”

  “Thanks. That would be interesting. I’m getting quite into the local history of the town.”

  “Oh,” Archie said, looking surprised. “I suppose it’s a good hobby.”

  “Yes, very interesting,” I said, wishing I hadn’t asked the question.

  I probably could have found out from the town hall when construction started in the area. Maybe after my shift, I could pop in and see Jess and do a little research on the history of the diner.

  Olivia waved me over, asking for the check. When I took it over to their table, they sat back and waited for Tamsin to dig around in her purse for the money to cover the bill.

  Maybe they really were having trouble with money.

  Tamsin came up to the counter, asking for two coffees to go. “I need to take one for Marion back in the office. Our coffee machine’s broken. She’s probably desperate for caffeine now.”

  “Are you handling the sale of Adele’s house?” I asked, pouring coffee in two takeout cups.

  Tamsin nodded. “Yes, it’ll be up on the website later this afternoon. So sad.”

  I nodded. “Yes, really sad. I can’t believe it was only yesterday. Has the will even been read yet? I thought you had to wait for that sort of thing before you could put a house on the market.”

  “Well, technically yes, but in this case, I think it’s pretty cut and dried. So we’re just getting a head start.”

  I nodded and handed her the coffees.

  “Well, it’s a lovely house so I hope it’s a quick sale.”

  “Me too.” Tamsin grabbed the coffees. “Thanks, Harper.”

  After Tamsin left, Olivia and Damien took their time packing up to leave. They looked like they were having an argument. Adele hovered between them, turning left and right as though she were following a game of tennis.

  I was busy wiping down tables and clearing up after the morning rush so I didn’t notice anything untoward until Olivia screamed, “Oh, oh, you are simply unbearable! I hate you!” And she rushed out.

  I looked at Damien. His face was flushed with anger. When he caught me staring at him, he snapped, “What are you looking at? Do you want to take a picture?”

  Charming.

  After Damien left, Adele slowly floated past me, heading towards the back room. She didn’t even look up as she passed.

  She looked very despondent, and I couldn’t help wondering if she’d overheard something.

  Leaving the cleaning cloth on the table, I quickly followed her to the back room.

  I shut the door behind me as Adele burst into tears.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s… Damien…” Adele said between sobs. “He is a horrible man. They’re in terrible trouble with money… He said my death was the luckiest thing that had happened to him in years since he had married into such an awful family.”

  Loretta looked as shocked as me and she floated over beside Adele, attempting to put a ghostly arm around her shoulder. I wondered how that worked. Could a ghost feel the touch of another ghost?

  “I am sorry, Adele. That was a horrible thing for him to say. He sounds like a thoroughly nasty individual.”

  “I agree,” Loretta said. “An absolutely horrible man. You shouldn’t let him upset you.”

  Adele looked up, her ghostly face even paler than usual. “But don’t you see, this could mean that Harper and Priscilla were right. Damien probably did kill me because he wanted to get his hands on my money.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Adele was terribly upset for the rest of my shift. Loretta did her best to comfort Adele as they hovered above the booth that Olivia and Damien had been using.

  The rest of my shift was pretty busy so I couldn’t spare them much time, and I was very glad Loretta was there to help out.

  At the end of my shift, I swung by the booth and gave Adele and Loretta a subtle nod. At least I hoped it was subtle. I didn’t want anyone else to notice and think I was crazy, nodding to myself.

  Adele looked up, eyes brimming with tears, and muttered a very subdued, “Okay, I’m ready to leave when you are.”

  But Loretta didn’t seem to notice me. She was gazing off into the distance with a dreamy smile on her face.

  I turned to see what she was looking at and saw the Taylors from Beach Road with their little girl, sitting at a table in the far corner. Little Marcy Taylor was playing with her doll. She was a sweet little thing, with dark brown hair and big brown eyes.

  I stepped in front of Loretta to block her view and she blinked, looking up at me.

  “Oh, Harper… Is it the end of your shift? Well, I suppose I’ll talk to you tomorrow. You might have time to show me the photographs then.”

  I’d completely forgotten to show Loretta the photographs and short video I’d taken of the spring fair! I really was a terrible friend.

  I shot her a quick apologetic smile and vowed tomorrow, no matter how busy I was, I would definitely find time to show Loretta the pictures and tell her all about the spring fair. Though, of course, it hadn’t gone quite to plan after Adele was murdered.

  After I’d said goodbye to Archie and Sarah, I headed out of the diner.

  Adele hovered along behind me and we hadn’t gone very far when I spotted Leslie Lightfoot and Stacie Sutton coming towards us.

  The two sisters were dressed in very similar styles. Today, Stacie wore a pink skirt, full and flared, and a blouse with tiny strawberries printed on it. Leslie wore a bright blue dress with a thin navy belt tied around her tiny waist. She clutched a matching navy bag purse. Both sisters wore delicate white gloves.

  I smiled brightly at them. After our long conversation with Leslie the other night, I thought they’d been warming to us and prepared to stop for a short chat, but Leslie averted her gaze from me and I realized they were about to walk straight past without so much as a hello.

  “Afternoon!” I called as they passed me.

  Stacie turned in surprise, and then murmured, “Good afternoon.”

  “It’s a lovely day,” I said, gesturing up at the blue sky.

  Stacie looked up as though she had only just noticed the weather and nodded. “Yes, it is.”

  Then she turned and began to walk off with her sister.

  That was odd.

  Leslie hadn’t even uttered one word.

  She seemed very cold and distant today, quite the opposite of yesterday.

  I looked to my right to see if Adele had noticed, but she seemed to be too preoccupied with her own problems and just stared glumly down at the ground.

  I was so preoccupied about Leslie’s strange behavior, I forgot I wasn’t supposed to be speaking to Adele.

  As we crossed the road past Mrs. Morrison, I said aloud, “We are just going to the library on our way home.”

  Mrs. Morrison’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, that’s nice dear.”

  Immediately, I realized what I’d done and felt like an idiot. “Oh, hello, Mrs. Morrison, I meant I’m just going to the library to see my sister. You know my sister, Jess, she works there.”

  Mrs. Morrison gave me a strained smile. “Yes, I know that, dear.” She slowly backed away, keeping her eyes fixed on me.

  Great. That was another one of the locals who now thought I was a nutcase.

  When we reached the library, Jess hustled us into the private reading room, which was currently unoccupied.

  “Any news?” she asked.

  I often used the diner as a way to pick up clues and information. Jess knew that, and I guessed she was holding out hope that I’d discovered a clue to solve the whole case.

  “Adele overheard a conversation between her daughter and son-in-law,” I said awkwardly, choosing my words carefully because Adele was hovering right beside me. “Damien seems very eager to get his hands on Adele’s money. She thinks maybe he could be the killer.”

  Jess paled and she put a hand to her chest. “How awful.”


  I nodded, and then added, “But we don’t have any real proof. And I still haven’t given up on the idea of Stacie Sutton. As we left the diner, we ran into the sisters and Leslie acted very strangely. She barely acknowledged my presence when I said hello.”

  “That is odd,” Jess said. “I thought we’d broken the ice the other evening. That was the friendliest I’ve ever seen her.”

  I nodded thoughtfully. “Every time we’ve seen Leslie and she’s been distant and not wanting to engage in conversation, she’s had her sister with her. Do you think she’s scared of her?”

  The idea had only just occurred to me, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It would explain her strange behavior.

  Jess nodded thoughtfully. “Perhaps. But she didn’t say she was afraid of her last night. She was all too keen to convince us of her innocence when she told us Stacie had been accused of murdering her husband.”

  “Talking of which, did you manage to find out anything?” Jess had promised to look through old newspapers to try and find some more information on Stacie Sutton’s husband’s murder.

  The library had very old newspapers bound in large leather-bound books.

  Jess nodded. “Yes, that’s why I brought you in here.” She pointed at a stack of the large books. “It happened eighteen months ago. I’ve kept the books containing the relevant articles so you can read them for yourselves.”

  As she began to pull out the first book, I asked, “Just how far back do these newspapers go? Would they contain articles from way back, say 1824?”

  “1824? Why do you ask that?” Jess asked, flipping the first big book open.

  “Oh, she’s trying to find out about Loretta. She mentioned that something happened to her back in 1824,” Adele said. The mystery of Loretta’s situation obviously intrigued Adele enough to pull her out of her depressed state.

  For a moment, I forgot Jess couldn’t hear Adele, and it was only when Jess looked up at me expectantly I realized I needed to repeat what she’d said.