Mathew asked where I wanted to eat. Nothing came to mind, so I suggested Tea by the Sea. “We make lovely sandwiches in the shop.”
He didn’t look convinced but seemed content to agree. We were still near the Sunset Apartments when I noticed Helen Cranz stepping out the front door of city hall. This time she had no mop, just an old gray coat she was quickly buttoning. She wore the same shoes she’d had on earlier. They didn’t look like they provided much warmth.
“That woman needs some boots. Her feet must get cold walking in the snow. I’ve learned that already.”
Mathew glanced over at her and added, “She said she lived nearby. I hope that’s true.”
I pulled a small notebook and pen out of my coat pocket and wrote, “Helen Cranz needs boots!” I thought maybe I’d buy a pair for her when I got some for myself.
The tea shoppe was busy, which was a good sign. The air was filled with the pleasant fragrance of cranberry scones. Mathew and I entered from the back into the kitchen, grabbed a plate full of tea sandwiches and a couple of scones for dessert, then headed out front to find a seat. I noticed the Bible Study Ladies at their table too late to avoid them. I was a bit surprised, because this wasn’t their regular day.
Before I could sit down, I saw Savannah waving her hand at me and almost shouting, “Yoo-hoo.” I had the feeling that if I didn’t stop at their table, they would make an even bigger scene.
“Why don’t you sit over there?” I pointed at the table farthest from the Bible Study Ladies and pressed my hand on Mathew’s arm to push him in the direction away from the group. “I’ll join you in just a minute.”
He gave a conspiratorial wink. “I’m glad it’s you that has to deal with them and not me.” He laughed and actually skipped once, then walked toward the table I’d indicated.
I covered my mouth to keep from bursting out in glee and made my way to their table. I saw four sets of eyes light up when I stopped.
“Hello, ladies. What brings you to the tea shoppe today?”
Savannah fanned her hand up and down. “Oh, we wanted to see what would happen next.”
I tilted my head and blinked. I felt confused. “What would happen next? What do you mean?”
Maybelle, a spritely woman in her sixties, answered, “My cousin works at the police department, and he hears a lot of things. Now, I know he’s not supposed to share them outside of the office, but, well … I am his cousin.”
I blinked again, wondering what she was trying to tell me.
“He called me about an hour ago and told me that the detective working on the mayor’s case just got the results from the autopsy. I called the girls, and we headed over here.” She reached out and patted my hand. “You can count on us for support, dear. We know you had nothing to do with it.”
My mouth opened, but no words came out. All I could assume from what I’d heard was that the autopsy had determined, somehow, that the mayor was poisoned by the petit four. I frowned and wondered what that would mean to Gran and the shop. When I looked at the four faces again, they were all nodding, sympathy in their eyes.
Without another word, I spun around, rushed across the room, and bounded into the chair across from Mathew. My actions startled him. He looked up at me. “What’s wrong?”
I opened my lips to speak but stopped when I heard the bell over the front door jingle. I slowly turned my head to face the person I dreaded seeing the most. Detective Rawls was standing in the doorway, swatting at the snowflakes on his shoulder and scanning the room. When his eyes met mine, I saw a frown come on his face, and he began to plod toward me.
Mathew reached under the table and took my hand in his. I wasn’t sure it would help, but I didn’t pull away. It crossed my mind to wonder if he treated all his congregants like this, or if he felt something more for me.
“There you are, Miss Quin.” Detective Rawls’s voice boomed across the room. I actually felt myself shrink back as he approached.
“Yes, Detective?” I couldn’t keep my lips from trembling, and my voice sounded strained.
“I’m sorry to tell you that we have to close down the tea shoppe for a few days. The autopsy has come in, and the mayor was definitely poisoned by your petit four. I’ll need to have my team come in and search the entire building, take fingerprints, and …”
I stood up while he was speaking and let go of Mathew’s hand. “That’s fine, Detective, but could you keep your voice down? I hate to have you upset our customers.” My eyes swept the room, and I realized it was too late. Everyone was watching the scene.
My shoulders slumped. I started to walk from table to table and quietly ask the customers to come back another day. Each of them left quickly, except the Bible Study Ladies. They assured me several times they wanted to stay for moral support, but Mathew finally marched over and had a word with them, after which they got up as a group and swept out of the shop without even a wave goodbye.
I wondered what he said to them, but there was no time even to consider it. The detective had followed them out to invite his team to come in and begin their job.
I could feel tears in my eyes, burning. I pressed them closed for a moment.
Mathew whispered in my ear, “We should get all the baskets out before they tape off the whole shop. The detective may not allow us to have them for the festival if this investigation takes several days.”
I felt my chest tighten with anger. I couldn’t believe his main concern was for the festival, but I agreed to help take the baskets out the back door. I’m not sure if that was considered tampering with evidence, but I felt the tea shoppe would need the positive advertisement the baskets would bring to hopefully overcome some of the negativity an investigation would cause.
We strolled quickly to the kitchen, opened the back door, and began hauling the baskets out to his truck. The ground was frozen, and we had to be careful not to slip. We were each able to carry about five baskets at a time, so both of us had to take ten trips, but we worked quickly and quietly.
Once all the baskets were loaded and we were back in the kitchen trying to get warm, Mathew suggested we go somewhere else for lunch. I was feeling exhausted and worried. I needed to tell Gran what was going on. Mathew must have noticed my hesitation.
“Perhaps we should reschedule. We can do some more investigating tomorrow?”
I felt a wave of relief. Mathew was a pleasant man, and in other circumstances I would have enjoyed spending the day with him. But the events of the day had overwhelmed me, and I just wanted to go home and climb into bed.
“You do want to continue our sleuthing?” Mathew asked.
“Yes, of course. I want to find out who did this. I’m just tired now.”
Mathew took my hand and squeezed it. “I understand. It’s been a long day. I’ll take the baskets to my office at the church. I’ll be there if you need me. I need to spend some time preparing for the mayor’s funeral.”
I felt a bit guilty. Here this man who was needed by a grieving family had been spending the day helping me instead.
Just then the investigation team entered the kitchen. Mathew and I slipped out the back door. He got into his truck and drove away. I slowly made my way back to my apartment. The other businesses along Main Street were decorated with lights and wreaths. The general Christmas aura gave me a sense of peace, even though I was worried about the tea shoppe. I knew the phone call to Gran would be difficult, but it had to be done.
When I was settled at my kitchen table later that evening, eating a ham sandwich, I pressed Gran’s number on my phone and took a deep breath.