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LUKE FOUND THEM A TABLE at the hotel café and they perused the menu. Maddie finally decided on a turkey panini, Suzanne declaring she would have the same, and Luke ordered a cheeseburger and fries.
“I think we should have gone to that “authentic” burger place,” Suzanne said after they’d ordered. “Those burgers and curly fries were amazing.”
“Don’t forget the freshly squeezed lemonade,” Maddie added.
“Now you tell me.” Luke mock-groaned.
“But it would have taken us too long to get there,” Suzanne continued. “Maddie and I are going there again in a couple of weeks – want to come with?”
“I’d love to.” Luke’s gaze held Maddie’s for a long moment, causing her to blush.
Maybe she should have a little chat with Suzanne afterward about her tendency to match-make. She loved the fact that Suzanne was happy Maddie and her brother were dating, but she didn’t need her friend to push them together – did she?
Before Maddie could start doubting herself, Luke’s voice caught her attention.
“Brad seemed sure of himself today.” He shook his head.
“I know.” Suzanne’s ponytail bounced as she nodded. “I’m glad he didn’t win – he was so confident last week as well. He kept boasting about his “lucky” shirt.”
Maddie furrowed her brow. Suddenly, references to Brad’s “lucky” shirt seemed to be popping up all the time. Was there any significance to it?
Brad had worn his gray shirt with the attractive blue buttons rimmed in gold last Saturday for round one, and again today, for round two – the final round. He hadn’t won the competition as he had bragged he would. Maddie assumed it was because his lower score from round one hampered him when the scores for both rounds were taken into account when deciding the winner.
Maddie’s thoughts flitted to Ellie. Fred Beldon had seemed pleased that she had won – very pleased. Was there more to their relationship than just barista/customer? Ellie had claimed there wasn’t. She seemed gentle and sweet – and Connor appeared to be smitten with her. How could that all be an act?
“Earth to Maddie.” Suzanne nudged her.
“Oh – sorry.” Maddie looked from Suzanne to Luke and back again. They’d evidently been talking about something but she didn’t have a clue what it was.
“Are you okay, Maddie?” Luke looked concerned.
She realized that while she’d been thinking about some of the suspects, the waitress had arrived with their orders and she’d eaten every last scrap of her panini – but if she’d been asked to describe the flavors and textures, she wouldn’t have been able to.
Maybe she needed some fresh air.
“I think I’ll go and freshen up.” She scraped back her chair, the sound lost as the restaurant hummed with the customers’ conversation and the chink of cutlery.
“Want some company?” Suzanne offered.
“No, I’ll be okay.” She smiled at her friend. Maybe all she needed was a few minutes to herself.
She walked to the restroom just down the hall from the coffee shop. What was wrong with her? How could she not focus on Luke sitting next to her? Why was she constantly thinking about the murder? Surely Detective Rawson would be able to solve it.
“Enjoy yourself,” she ordered, looking at her reflection in the big mirror in the bathroom. Her amber eyes held a hint of worry, but otherwise she looked normal, apart from a small tangle in her brown shoulder-length hair that she finger-brushed out. She hoped Luke hadn’t noticed that.
She allowed herself one last moment to think about what had been nagging her since the final round had ended.
Brad’s “lucky” shirt hadn’t brought him the luck he’d hoped for – in the first round last weekend, or today’s second and final round.
Maddie closed her eyes, trying to remember the first time Brad had mentioned his “lucky” shirt – last Saturday before round one began. And when she and Suzanne had run into him at the burger place on Thursday. And again today, before the beginning of round two.
She gasped as she realized the significance of that shirt. She had to find Detective Rawson and Detective Edgewater right away and tell them what she suspected!
Maddie hurried out of the bathroom and down the hallway toward the small conference room that had hosted the final round an hour earlier. If the detectives were still there, she could give them her information and get back to the coffee shop before Suzanne and Luke missed her.
Pushing the door open, Maddie rushed into the room. The espresso machines were still there, at the individual stations, and so were the black plastic chairs for the audience members, and the long judge’s table – but the room was empty. And there hadn’t been any sign of the police patrolling the hall, as they had earlier.
Darn! Where could Detective Rawson be? Maybe she should just call the police station and leave a message for him. She reached into her purse for her phone, taking a few steps further into the room. Scanning the room one last time just in case the detective was lurking in a corner – which she knew was a ridiculous thought – she pulled out her cell phone.
“I don’t think you’ll be needing this.” Brad grabbed her cell and threw it across the room before she’d had time to turn it on.
Maddie turned to face him, her eyes wide.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she forced her voice to sound calm.
“Stopping you from calling the cops – that’s what you were going to do, right?” He scowled at her.
“My friends are in the hotel coffee shop,” she informed him, taking a step back. “If I don’t return, they’ll start looking for me.”
“And they’ll find you right here.” He looked around the room. “It’s a shame that idiot Fred Beldon didn’t bring his vat of mocha again – maybe he’d finally get the message that his MochLava is only good for drowning people in.”
Maddie stifled an indrawn breath. She’d been right! But perhaps there was a chance – a slim one – that Brad didn’t know for certain that she knew he was the killer.
That hope was dashed.
“I knew you suspected me after the final round, when that schmuck was teasing me about my lucky shirt,” he growled, taking a step toward her. “You looked at me in a weird way, and I thought, she knows. So I followed you to the café, and since there’s only one way out of there, I waited around the corner.” He laughed.
Maddie’s spine chilled.
“There’s a small lounge area there with a handy wall mirror. I sat in a chair with my back to you, but I could see where you were going thanks to that mirror. And when you headed back here, I knew you were looking for Detective Rawson. Well, tough luck, sweetie, because he and the other detective have gone back to the precinct. I overheard them when I was checking the scores posted out there.” He motioned to the door that Maddie noticed he’d closed.
“Is that why you did it?” Maddie’s heart hammered. “Because you don’t like Fred Beldon’s mocha drink, and you were making a point?”
“No.” He chuckled grimly. “I killed Margot Wheeler because she deliberately marked me low in the first round. See, we used to be a couple, but she dumped me last year, after she promised to fund my new coffee importing and roasting business. She knew getting that off the ground would change my life, but she didn’t care. Just because she overheard me talking to a buddy about it, telling him I was onto a good thing.” He shrugged.
“What about financing it yourself?” Maddie asked in a squeaky voice. If only she could keep him talking, maybe Suzanne and Luke would become worried and look for her.
“I’ve got bad credit from a mistake I made a few years ago,” he gritted. “I tried to get financing after she dumped me, but nobody would lend me the money. So I thought entering this competition would be the solution. I didn’t know she would be one of the judges. Once I won and got a spot in the nationals I could parlay that into finally getting financing for my coffee roasting biz. And since I’d probably win the nationals too, I’d be fending off tons of offers. But she wouldn’t let that happen.” His face changed into a frightening mask.
“I confronted her after round one, demanding to know why she’d marked me so low. She laughed at me.” He paused, as if unable to believe that had happened. “She said there was no way I was going to win the competition. That after I’d treated her like a meal ticket, I deserved to lose.”
Maddie scanned the room, trying to think of a way out of there. But the only exit was the door – the one that Brad had closed when he’d crept in after her.
“I told her that she owed me, but she kept laughing.” His eyes narrowed and his voice hardened. “She shouldn’t have done that.”
Maddie eyed her phone lying on the floor halfway across the room. If she lunged for it, she’d have to pass Brad. There was no way she would be quick enough.
“What happened then?” Maddie asked, not wanting to know the answer. But if she could distract him for a second, she could make a run for it.
“I pushed her into the vat of mocha. And made sure she stayed in there. Then I ran home and changed my shirt because it had a big splash of that disgusting MochLava on it.” He tsked.
Maddie’s gaze strayed to his gray shirt, focusing on the second top button. That button was navy. The other buttons on his shirt were mid-blue. That had been what she’d noticed sub-consciously last Saturday, and again today. Each button, even the navy one, was ringed in gold. At first glance, it was hard to tell that specific button was different. But after she saw Brad again last Saturday after Margot’s death, all the buttons on his shirt had been mid-blue!
“My grandmother gave me this button.” He fingered the navy button on his shirt. “Several years ago, the original one came off and Gram said she’d fix it for me. She found this antique button in her box, and said it nearly matched the others.” He smirked. “The next day I wore this shirt and won a barista competition, so it became my lucky shirt. And whenever I’ve worn it, I’ve either won a competition or placed in the top three.”
“And when you came back for round two last Saturday, you wore a shirt similar to that one,” Maddie breathed. “Except all the buttons were mid-blue – none were navy.”
“Bingo.” He pointed his finger at her, gun-style. “I live near here so it was easy to slip out of a side exit, run like my life depended on it–” he snickered “—and swap shirts at my apartment. This shirt is exactly the same as I bought both of them at the same time – except this one has all the original buttons.”
“And there weren’t any hotel cameras to track you?” Maddie hazarded a guess.
“Nah.” He chuckled. “I’ve been to this hotel before – it hosts a lot of seminars and conventions. It’s got limited security cameras in some of the areas, and I know the side exit I used wasn’t covered. All I had to say to that stupid detective was that I was in the bathroom – nerves.” He smirked. “As if I would have nerves. Coffee is my life. I deserved to win. This wasn’t exactly my first competition, you know.”
“And you’re wearing the same “lucky” shirt again today?” Maddie stared at the shirt. Unfortunately she couldn’t see a tell-tale mocha splash on it.
“Yep. I washed it three times, got that stain out, and decided to wear it today. With Margot out of the way, I didn’t think anyone would stand in my way, and I’d still be able to win the competition.” He scowled. “I didn’t count on you, Ellie, Connor, and that idiot woman who thinks she’s going to get a chain of coffee shops off the ground beating me, even taking into account my lower score from last week.
“It’s a shame that Fred Beldon didn’t bring that vat today.” He glanced casually around the room. “I’ll just have to find another way to kill you.”
Maddie froze.
How to Move an Object.
The words imprinted themselves in her mind. An image of Trixie, her turquoise eyes glowing, flashed before her eyes.
“Maybe I’ll just strangle you.” Brad advanced, his large hands flexing.
Maddie recited the words of the spell with all her might – luckily she’d made herself memorize it.
“With a wave of my hand I bid thee here!” she muttered fiercely.
She gestured to one of the black plastic chairs in the front row, focusing her mind on the chair hitting Brad and knocking him down.
The black chair rose in the air, hovered, and then struck Brad with a glancing blow.
“Arggh!” He fell to the ground.
Maddie stared as the chair dropped on top of Brad, pinning him in place.
Move!
She sprinted to the door, wrenched it open, and raced down the hall, cannoning into Suzanne and Luke.
“Brad – he’s the killer!” She pointed to the room she’d just left, gasping for breath.
“I’ll call the police.” Luke whipped out his phone.
“We need to get security here until the police arrive,” Suzanne said. “Come on!”
Maddie and Suzanne ran down the hall to reception. Maddie cast backward glances toward the hallway, hoping Luke was okay. To her relief, he loped toward them as they explained to the bemused clerk what had just happened, urging her to call security.
“Are you okay, Maddie?” Luke demanded.
Maddie nodded, clutching the edge of the mahogany reception desk for support.
“I pushed some chairs in front of the door so it will take him a while to get out,” Luke said. “And I’ll go back down there to stand guard until security arrives.” He shook his head. “He was babbling about a chair flying through the air and hitting him, and that the chair standing on top of him won’t let him get up. He must be concussed.”
Suzanne looked sideways at Maddie.
Maddie tried to process what Luke had just told her. She didn’t think the spell had included the object pinning a person in place – had she cast it incorrectly, or had Trixie lent her some extra magic?
“Thank goodness you were able to get out of there,” Luke continued.
Two security guards came to the desk, asking about the incident. Luke offered to go with them, telling Maddie and Suzanne he’d be back in a few minutes.
“Let’s sit down.” Suzanne guided Maddie to a vacant sofa near reception.
Maddie sank down into the plush leather, her knees wobbling. Now it was over, everything had seemed to happen quickly and slowly at the same time.
“You cast the How to Move an Object spell,” Suzanne whispered in her ear.
Maddie nodded. “Trixie helped – I’m sure of it.”
“That’s awesome.” Suzanne grinned. “But it’s not awesome you confronted a killer on your own.” She sobered.
Maddie filled in her friend on what had happened, finishing with, “There is no way I would deliberately put myself in danger. I have too much to lose – you, Trixie, my parents, and—” she paused, “—Luke.”
“Good.” Suzanne hugged her. “Because I couldn’t stand to lose you.”
They looked at each other in perfect understanding.
“Okay, ladies.” Detective Rawson appeared in front of them, accompanied by Detective Edgewater, his brow furrowed. “Would you mind telling me what’s going on?”
