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When she entered the kitchen that afternoon, Ed was wiping his work space. “Hey, Lauren.”
“Hi, Ed.” She smiled.
“I think AJ would like another playdate with Annie soon. What do you think?”
“I think it’s a great idea. Let me check with Annie and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thanks.” He flashed a brief smile at her.
Annie had found AJ as a tiny Maine Coon kitten in the back garden one day, and had brought her into the café. Ed and AJ had bonded instantly, and now AJ was a fully grown feline. She and Annie enjoyed regular playdates, some in-person and some online ones, using Lauren’s and Ed’s phones to communicate and show their toys to each other.
“What was Martha doing here today?” He looked at her curiously. “I know it’s none of my business, but I didn’t know you were hiring anyone.”
She filled him in.
He shook his head, amusement on his face. “Martha’s a character, isn’t she?” Then he sobered. “I hope you find out who killed Shirley. I didn’t know her well, but she seemed like a nice lady. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Thanks.”
Heading back into the café, she joined Zoe at the espresso machine. After the bustle of the lunch rush, the afternoon was quiet.
“I’ll think I’ll make myself a mocha,” Zoe said. “I only had a small can of soup at lunch.”
“That sounds good.”
Lauren steamed the milk, while Zoe chose the cups. She presented mugs depicting Annie, Mrs. Snuggle, and AJ on them.
“I love these.” Lauren smiled as she poured the milk. “I think they’re my favorite design, but you know I love all the pottery mugs you’ve made.”
“Thanks.” Zoe suddenly looked guilty. “Maybe I should get started on a new batch to make some extra money for my car fund.”
“Good idea.” She paid Zoe for the mugs to be used in the café, and customers also bought them. Ms. Tobin owned every design.
They sat on the stools behind the counter, sipping their coffee. Lauren wriggled her feet inside her sneakers. It had certainly been a busy day. She glanced over at Annie, dozing in her pink cat basket.
The entrance door slammed open, and Detective Castern appeared. The middle-aged man wore a brown suit that looked slightly rumpled, and a disgruntled expression.
“Oh no,” Zoe groaned.
Lauren’s heart sank. She’d been hoping the detective wouldn’t bother them.
“Have you two got something to tell me?” He stalked over to the counter.
“I don’t think so,” Zoe replied.
“Brrt?” Annie’s head lifted and she stared at the man. She shook herself and trotted over to Lauren, looking up at her from the other side of the counter.
“We’ll be fine,” she assured her fur baby. “It’s okay.”
“Brrt.” Annie didn’t sound too sure and continued to stand there, a short distance from Detective Castern.
“You two were in Shirley’s house on Saturday.” He pulled out a small notebook from his jacket pocket.
“That’s right,” Lauren replied. She didn’t like the man but she tried to be civil with him for Mitch’s sake. After all, he had to work with him.
“Doing what?”
“Didn’t Mitch tell you?” Lauren asked.
“I’m making sure he didn’t leave anything out. You are married to him.” He made it sound like a crime.
“We went to ask Shirley if her great-great-grandfather panned for gold at the creek at the park,” Zoe said. Then she told him how they’d found Shirley.
“Hmmph.” He sounded disappointed. “That’s exactly what your husband has in his report.”
“How is the investigation going?” Lauren asked, despite telling herself not to. Since Mitch was now on a different case, he hadn’t been able to share anything with her last night. Apparently, Detective Castern had been tight-lipped so far.
“I’ll catch the killer, don’t you worry.” He shoved his notebook back in his pocket. “And I don’t want you snooping around in it, either. Otherwise, I’ll arrest you.” On that parting shot, he turned and stalked out of the café.
“Phew.” Zoe flopped onto a stool. “That wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Brrt.”
“Thank you.” She smiled down at Annie. “I’m glad you were there.”
“Brrp.” Annie ambled back to her basket, turned around in a circle, and went back to sleep.
“I hope today wasn’t too much for her.” She crinkled her brow. “She was doing a lot of spying with Martha.”
“She knows she can go home to the cottage whenever she wants,” Zoe said.
“I don’t think she should come with us this afternoon,” Lauren said, “if we are going to Shirley’s house.”
“Of course we are!”
That’s what Lauren was afraid of.
When five o’clock rolled around, Lauren wished it was still three.
“Come on!” Zoe stacked chairs on tables with enthusiasm.
“Brrt!” Annie woke up and sniffed the corners of the room, checking for treasure – or lost items. None today.
“Annie, I thought you could stay home when Zoe and I go out.” Lauren bolted the oak and glass entrance door.
“Brrp.” Annie stuck out her lower lip just a tad.
“You’ve had a very busy day helping Martha. Oh.” A thought just hit her. “AJ wants to know if you’d like to get together for a playdate soon.”
“Brrt.” Annie looked a little happier.
“How about an in-person one – or should I say in-cat one?”
“Brrt.” Yes.
“I’ll organize it with Ed tomorrow.”
They finished cleaning the café, Zoe buzzing around with lots of energy, as if she hadn’t put in a full day of work.
“Chris is working tonight so he won’t even know I’m gone.” She giggled.
“You mean you haven’t told him about our plans?”
“No. Have you told Mitch?”
“No.” Her cheeks heated.
“We can tell them afterward,” Zoe declared.
Lauren followed Annie back to the cottage, gave her dinner, and turned on the TV for her. “Maybe there’s an interesting movie you can watch.”
“Brrt.” Annie hopped up on the sofa, pressed the remote control with her paw, and the picture on the screen changed. The first princess movie started playing.
“Your favorite!” She’d lost count of how many times Annie had watched it – and the sequel. Had it only been three times each for her and Zoe?
“Brrt.” Annie cuddled up to the pink velvet cushion Mitch had given her, looking very comfortable.
“We shouldn’t be too long.” She hoped.
After leaving a short note for Mitch in the kitchen, in case he arrived home before she did, she joined Zoe outside.
“Let’s go!” Zoe shifted impatiently as she waited at the car.
Lauren buckled up. “How are we going to get inside Shirley’s house?”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way.” Zoe waved a hand in the air, as if it was an inconsequential matter.
“We are not breaking and entering,” Lauren warned.
“No, Mom.”
“What if a neighbor sees us?”
“We can tell them the truth – we’re looking for my button.”
“And what if they call the police because they think we’re burglars?”
“We’ll be careful not to be seen.”
Zoe seemed to have an answer for everything.
When they reached Shirley’s house, Lauren switched off the ignition.
Zoe squinted at the pale green Victorian. “I can’t see any crime tape. Not even on the porch.”
“Good.”
They got out of the car, both quietly closing the doors. She looked up and down the street but it was silent, with no one in sight.
“Come on,” Zoe stage-whispered, heading up the path to the house. The sun was sinking, but there was still plenty of daylight.
“See?” Zoe pointed to the front door. “No crime tape. So we’re allowed to go in.”
“If we have a key.” Although, she wasn’t sure if even that was strictly legal. She decided to worry about that later.
“Yeah.” Zoe tapped her cheek. “Let’s see – where would I hide a key if I was Shirley’s age?”
“Or, where would Martha hide a key?”
“Good one!” Zoe grinned. “What about these pot plants?” She lifted up a small pot containing yellow Zinnias. “Nothing. Ooh, can you see a fake rock around here somewhere? That could be a good hiding place.”
Lauren looked around the cute porch but there were no rocks or stones at all. Then she noticed the front doormat.
“Look.” She kept her voice low. Pointing to the curlicues surrounding a square in the middle, she said, “Does this bit here look a little different?”
“Yeah, it does!” Zoe bent down and ran her fingers around the middle section. “Ooh – it’s lifting up!” She brandished an old-fashioned looking key.
“Quick.” Lauren glanced around but didn’t see anyone watching them from the street, or even from a window across the road.
Zoe unlocked the door. It swung open.
They walked inside, Lauren shivering a little. “I don’t want to be too long.”
“I hear you.” Zoe nodded.
“We should retrace our steps to find your button.”
“Good idea. Let’s see, we were in the living room and the desk drawer was open.” They entered the room, Lauren thinking the house had an eerie feel to it – or was that just because she knew someone had killed Shirley in the kitchen? A cold chill touched her spine.
“The drawer is closed.” Zoe sounded disappointed as she stared at the mahogany desk.
“Mitch must have closed it.”
“I wonder when Shirley’s adult kids are coming to town?”
“Mitch hasn’t said anything,” she answered.
Zoe knelt down and crawled under the desk, searching the beige carpet. “I can’t see it anywhere.”
“Where else did you go?”
“The kitchen.”
“We don’t have to do this,” Lauren said. “Why don’t we go home and forget about it?”
“But I really love these buttons. And I don’t have a spare. Besides, we might find a clue as well.”
“A clue for what?”
“Where the gold nugget is!”
“I’m not searching through Shirley’s possessions looking for a clue – or for her nugget. That’s up to her adult children – or whoever inherits her estate.”
“Pooh.” Zoe grumbled.
She sighed. “Let’s have a quick look for your button and get out of here.”
“Okay.”
They entered the kitchen, Lauren thinking if she hadn’t known otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to tell that Shirley had died in here.
“They did a good job of not making much of a mess,” Zoe said, walking around the kitchen table. “Where could my button be? Ooh!” She darted to an oak cabinet and bent down. “There’s a little hole here – sort of.”
“Where?” She joined her.
“See this tiny knot hole?” Zoe pointed to the bottom of the cabinet. “Except ... I don’t think it is a knot.” She stuck her finger in, her eyes shining with excitement. “I think I’ve found my button!”