Ellie bent down to rub Beau’s belly while she tried to think of what to do next. Happily, Beau rolled over to give Ellie full access to the downy fluff that covered his tummy. She always said nothing helped a stopped up brain like a moment of pure tranquility with some tummy rubs.
Dave won’t tell me anything else, she thought to herself while Beau’s tongue lolled out of his mouth and his back leg kicked. And I don’t think Gerald knows anything else. Owen and Dave worked together, but I think he would have told me if he knew more.
Ellie was stumped. She’d wanted to get to know Abbie better, but now she didn’t have the chance. The best she could do was go over the things she did know about Abbie Ainsley and hope there was something that would give her even a thread of a clue to go on.
What she did know was that Abbie was thirty-five years old, married, childless, and a homemaker. Ellie had been working since she was sixteen years old, so it wasn’t the easiest for her to try to figure out what Abbie might have filled her days with. She knew that Abbie came to the bookstore often, and usually had a canvas bag with her and...
A takeout cup of coffee!
With a soft grunt, Ellie pushed herself up and Beau easily hopped back up to his feet to follow her. She didn’t know if Abbie had visited the Grey Dove Cafe, Dundurn’s only café, bakery, and coffee shop, but did know that Abbie almost always carried one of their signature grey coffee cups with her when she visited the store once or twice a week. It might just be the clue to find out what else Abbie had done throughout the day and who else she might have spoken with.
As Ellie walked Beau to the Grey Dove, she slipped the small jewelry bag into her purse. The bracelet was tucked back inside its box and she debated what to do with it. She knew she had to give it to Dave, but wasn’t sure exactly what to say to him when she did. She’d have to come up with something, but that could wait a day or two at least, or so she hoped.
It was nearing noon and the Grey Dove’s morning coffee drinkers had mostly cleared out, but the lunch rush had yet to start. With a small patio out front, large glass windows, and grey paint, the shop looked quaint, modern, and trendy. At least, trendier than most shops in Dundurn.
“Okay boy, I won’t be long,” Ellie promised Beau as she looped his lead around the dedicated post outside the front door for dogs. Being a place that sold food, she knew that no matter how well behaved Beau was, he wasn’t welcome inside and that was fair. The spot outside had a water bowl and was far enough away from the door to keep him from getting irritated by people coming and going. He would be okay, even if deep down she hated leaving him.
A couple people sat at tables typing away at laptops with coffee cups and scones beside them, but other than that the place was empty. A lot of people came to the shop to use their free WIFI and as a cozy place to stay away from the distractions their homes might have. Ellie had done the same once or twice when she wanted a little privacy that Ma’May wasn’t always willing to offer at their shared apartment.
“Ellie, hey,” a familiar voice called out to her as Ellie’s eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting inside the shop. Roni Anderson, the youngest person in the book club, was standing behind the counter. She wore a pale gray apron over a bright red shirt and black leggings and her hair was piled on top of her head in a big, messy bun.
“Hi Roni,” Ellie greeted her as she approached the counter. “How’s it going?”
Roni’s lips scrunched a little and she shrugged. “I’m okay, just a little stressed out by everything. You know, with what happened the other night.”
“I know,” Ellie agreed. “Did you want to talk about it?”
Roni opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. Instead, she looked over her shoulder and Ellie followed her gaze to a young man who was clearing cups in the sink behind the counter.
“Colin,” she called to her coworker. “Do you mind manning the counter for a few minutes?”
“Sure,” he told her with a shrug. “Taking your break?”
Roni sighed. “I guess,” she told him.
Before Roni took off her apron, she moved to the coffee machine and poured some of the rich, black liquid into two of the takeout cups. Ellie went into her purse to get her wallet, but Roni waved her off.
“It’s on me,” she assured her.
“Roni, you don’t need to,” Ellie tried to protest, but she wouldn’t hear any of it. Ellie even tried to leave money on the counter, but the young barista continued to insist that there was no need to pay for her cup.
“Take it as a payment for hearing me vent,” Roni said with a laugh once they were outside. “Between what happened and Colin gunning for my job, I could use an ear for a few minutes.”
“He wants your job?” Ellie asked as she blew on her coffee to try to chill it. Black coffee wasn’t exactly her drink of choice – she was more of a tea drinker – but she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth and politely sipped at the bitter brew. Mentally, she made a note to suggest that The Grey Dove start carrying almond or coconut milk, but she knew this wasn’t the time to bring it up.
“Definitely,” Roni confided in her. “He’s always trying to act like he’s my boss, not the other way around. He keeps giving me these handy little tips,” she told her, putting air quotes around the last bit. “And giving the rest of our staff duties without clearing it with me. I know I shouldn’t care about what should be a temporary job as a coffee shop manager, but I do care. I care a lot.”
“And you should,” Ellie assured her. “Just because it’s a service job doesn’t mean it’s not important. From what I can see, you’re doing a fantastic job running the cafe. Don’t let him get the best of you.”
“Thanks, Ellie,” Roni sighed. “I feel bad for complaining. The only thing I have to worry about is some twenty-one year old kid trying to weasel his way into my job. You’re the one who had a person die in your store. I keep hearing rumors that someone murdered her!”
Ellie sighed. “I’ve heard that too,” she admitted. “I was wondering if maybe you’d spoken to Abbie earlier in the day. I know she often had one of your coffee cups with her.”
Roni’s finger moved toward her mouth and she nibbled at her cuticle without looking at Ellie. “Um, sure, she got coffee here sometimes. She liked our lattes.”
Ellie could see the nerves on Roni’s face, and they were worse than when she’d complained about Colin trying to usurp her. Ellie was on to something, she knew it.
“Did she buy a latte on Wednesday?” Ellie pushed her.
“I don’t know,” Roni said as she nibbled at another fingernail. “She might have, she came in all the time.”
“Roni, it’s okay,” Ellie assured her in a calm, soothing voice. “I’m not accusing you of anything, no one is. I’m just trying to retrace her steps.”
“Okay, okay,” Roni whimpered as she finally pulled her finger out of her mouth. “She did come in. I’m sorry, I’m just... I think it might be my fault she’s dead!”
Roni’s admission came like a hard smack in the face. Could Roni really be a killer? Even accidentally?
“Roni, Roni,” Ellie soothed as she patted the younger woman’s hand. “Just tell me what happened. I’m sure you didn’t do anything.”
“But what if I did?” Roni asked as tears glistened in her eyes. Beside her, Beau whined softly. The golden colored mutt was very good at picking up on emotions and Roni’s fear was radiating from her.
“Then we’ll deal with it,” Ellie told her, her voice a little sterner now. “But if you want my help, you’ll need to tell me what happened.”
“All right,” Roni sniffed. “It was Wednesday morning, just before eleven. Our normal shipment was late and I didn’t know what to do.”
“Shipment of what?” Ellie asked her.
“Our tetra packs,” Roni told her. “We get our soy milk from a wholesaler in Milwaukee and they were late. Abbie always got her lattes with soy milk. She told me once that she’s lactose intolerant, but we didn’t have any soy. I didn’t want to turn her away, not with Colin pushing for my job, so I gave her two percent. It has to be my fault, it has to be!”
Ellie couldn’t help but laugh, but one look at Roni’s panicked face made her stop. “Oh sweetie,” she said, her voice still begging to laugh. “I doubt that did her any real harm.”
“But she couldn’t have dairy,” Roni insisted. The panic on her face was starting to subside, but some still lingered.
“No, she couldn’t,” Ellie agreed. “And giving her dairy was the wrong thing to do, but the worst thing that happened is that she probably spent a little extra time in the bathroom after. It hits you pretty quick, and if she felt that bad she wouldn’t have shown up at the book club meeting at all.”
“You sure?” Roni asked as she wiped a tear on her sleeve.
Ellie was quite sure. She’d been there before herself, but she didn’t think Roni needed the gory details. “Quite sure,” she assured her as she made a mental note to always watch to make sure the baristas at the Grey Dove were careful to use non-dairy milk with her drinks. “But someone did give her something that killed her and I’d like to find out who and what it was. Can you think of anything Abbie did or said while she was here that was out of place?”
Roni thought on the question for a minute before she answered. “Honestly? I was so worried that it was my fault she’s dead that I haven’t really had a chance to think about anything besides that. Oh, but I do remember she mentioned she was thinking of skipping the book club, but she made me promise not to tell.”
“Really?” Ellie asked as she took another sip of the bitter black coffee. “Did she say why?”
Roni nodded. “Uh huh. She told me that Dave was going to be coming home late and she wanted to be there when he got home. Something about making him a celebratory dinner, but she felt bad cancelling a commitment, so she decided they could celebrate later.”
“Did she mention what they were celebrating?” Ellie asked. She didn’t mention the bracelet to Roni, nor what Owen said about him singing to himself at work.
“No,” Roni said with a shake of her head. “Part of me didn’t really believe her though.”
That certainly piqued Ellie’s interest. “Really?” she asked. “Why not?”
“Because of Lilith, obviously!” Roni told her.
Ellie wished she could say that was a shock. She’d only invited Lilith to the group because she’d overheard Ellie telling Simone and Margot about it and not inviting her would have been rude. She figured she’d give her a chance to be involved, that maybe she wouldn’t be quite so crass, but Wednesday night had proven her wrong. There was something to Roni’s insistence that made her think it was more than just general dislike that might have kept Abbie from wanting to be in the book club with Lilith.
“What did she have against Lilith?” Ellie asked, though she couldn’t imagine Abbie being the type to hold a grudge. She had to remind herself that quiet people could often surprise you in that regard.
“I don’t know it was a grudge, per say,” Roni corrected her. “They were more like frenemies. The best of frenemies.”
Ellie sighed. She knew more about being frenemies with someone than she wanted to admit. All through high school she’d let a few girls into her circle of friends who were more apt to cut her down than build her up and then the cycle continued in college, too. It wasn’t until her senior year of her degree that she realized those kinds of friendships just aren’t worth it and dedicated herself to keeping a smaller, more positive group of friends in her life.
“Why do you say that?” Ellie asked. As much as she hated the kind of gossip they were getting into, it could end up being important.
“My oldest sister, Claudia, she was a year behind them in school,” Roni told her. “You know Claudia, right?”
Roni was right, Ellie did know Claudia and she answered with a nod. They’d crossed paths briefly in high school, though Roni’s eldest sister was a few years ahead of Ellie.
“Well, she’s the one who told me this stuff,” Roni said, her voice lowering a bit as to not be overheard by anyone who might walk by. “But Dave and Abbie started dating in their sophomore year, if you can believe it. Lilith, being Abbie’s best friend at the time, was so jealous. She was head cheerleader and thought that meant that she automatically got the quarterback, but he picked Abbie, the girl who’d never held a pompom in her life. Their friendship was never the same after that and from what I remember overhearing Claudia telling her friends back then, Lilith did everything she could to break them up!”
“No!” Ellie gasped. She knew Lilith could be a snake, but trying to actually break up her best friend’s relationship? That was low, too low.
“I don’t want to throw around wild accusations,” Roni went on, “but from what I’ve heard around town over the years, she’s never stopped trying. Maybe she finally took a different route to her goal.”
“Who did you hear that from?” Ellie asked. She needed to know the source of the rumors to be able to validate them.
“Everyone,” Roni whispered. “Come on, Ellie, you work retail. Sometimes people act like you don’t exist and talk freely. You hear things, you know that.”
Roni was right. She’d only been back at the bookstore for a few months, but she’d already heard so much gossip. She knew who was cheating on their taxes, who had just left her husband, and whose son was failing fourth grade. And she’d heard plenty of rumors about Lilith White’s love life as well.
“I think I need to chat with Lilith,” Ellie admitted. “But that stays between you and me, got it?”
“Definitely,” Roni agreed. “I won’t tell a soul, trust me. On that note, I should probably get back inside.”
“No problem” Ellie said. “Just before you go, did Abbie mention anything else that she might have done on Wednesday? Anything I can check out to be sure we’ve covered our bases?”
“Hmm,” Roni pondered as she took a big gulp of her coffee. “I think she mentioned about getting some groceries and if they were actually celebrating something, she might have wanted to get a new dress.”
“It’s worth checking out,” Ellie agreed. “Thanks Roni, you’ve been a big help.”
“So have you,” the barista admitted. “I don’t know how I would have gone on panicking like I was. I could barely eat!”
“You’ll be fine,” Ellie assured. “Just don’t do something like that again.”
“Don’t worry,” Roni promised. “Soy milk from here on out for sure.”
“Maybe try coconut,” Ellie added. “It’s popular and good for people who have soy allergies. Something to consider.”
“I definitely will, thanks,” Roni said as she headed back into the shop.
Beau happily napped beside Ellie, but his mistress's mind was troubled. She had been hunting for a suspect to help take the attention off Dave, but now that she had one, she didn’t think she liked it. Imagining anyone in Dundurn as a murderer, even Lilith White, was not something she thought she’d ever have to consider.
“Maybe I should call Detective Murphy,” she told herself and Beau as she sipped a bit more of her quickly cooling coffee. She pulled her phone out of her purse, but thought better of it. Throwing out accusations without any kind of proof wasn’t going to help anyone. If Lilith, or anyone else, was behind this, she was going to need more than a rumor before presenting it to the handsome detective.
Ellie was about to put her phone away again, but it began to buzz on the patio table. The number wasn’t one she recognized and she almost let it go to voicemail, but thought better of it.
“Hello?” she said as she answered the call.
“Ellie?” a familiar voice answered her. “This is Detective Murphy.”
She didn’t know how he got her number or why he was calling, but she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to either. She had no choice but to wait on the line and find out and she was certain things were about to get a lot more interesting.