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When Mitch arrived home Sunday evening, he looked tired. He sank down on a kitchen chair while Lauren organized dinner – a quick chicken stir fry.
“Thanks.” His expression lifted as he studied his plate.
“I put in chicken breast, carrot, yellow peppers, mushroom, and onions.” She smiled at him.
After forking up a decent amount, he nodded in approval when he tasted it. “It’s good.”
“Brrt?” Annie nudged her elbow. She sat next to her at the kitchen table, while Mitch was opposite.
“I put some extra chicken in gravy in your dish.” She motioned to the lilac food bowl on the floor.
“Brrt!” Thank you! Annie made a dive for it, finishing it quickly.
Lauren shook her head. “She did have dinner earlier.”
“I believe you.” Mitch’s brown eyes crinkled at the corners.
Sharing a meal with him made her think of the next evening.
“Will you still be up for dinner with Zoe and Chris tomorrow night?” she asked.
“I should.” He nodded. “If we can make it for seven-thirty.”
“Done. And I’ll cook.” She reached out her hand to him. “You’ll be tired.” She paused. “Are you in charge of Darrell’s case?”
“For now.” He took another bite. “Castern wasn’t working this weekend, and since I–” he glanced at her “—we – found the bo – Darrell, the boss said it makes sense that I work the case. But no doubt when Castern comes in tomorrow and finds I’ve got a murder to solve, he’ll want to horn in on it.”
“No doubt.” She furrowed her brow. “So, was Darrell killed? Or was it—”
“We still won’t know for sure until we get the ME’s report. But we did find a half empty glass of water in the kitchen, but there wasn’t any residue in it.”
“Could Darrell have taken some sleeping pills or something and then had a bath?” She frowned. “How else could he drown in a bathtub?”
“It’s a possibility. We’re also testing the bottle of vitamins we found on the coffee table. But if you were going to – you know – why get in the bathtub? Why not just lie down on your bed after taking the pills?”
He paused. “Did you notice anything off with him that week? Especially on Friday when he was working with you?”
Lauren thought back. “No,” she finally said. “Oh – he had a meeting with his college professor – so did his tutor friend who came into the café to see him. I asked Darrell how it went and he said okay, but it didn’t sound like it had.”
“Did anyone else come to see him in the café?”
She told him about the two girls – Tanya and Stacey – who were there every afternoon. And the argument the girls had had with Darrell on Friday.
“I had to ask them all to leave. They were starting to make a scene.” She looked at him, stricken. “You don’t think that was the last straw for him, do you? What made him—”
“No.” He captured her hand across the table. “I don’t. It sounds like had more going on in his life than you asking him to keep it down in the café. I’ll try to get in touch with his professor tomorrow and his classmates, including the three he hung out with here.”
“He was being tutored in science,” Lauren remembered.
“Thanks.” Mitch smiled.
They talked about more pleasant things, then watched a movie with Annie, all curled up on the sofa together. Annie chose a movie featuring cats, dogs, and horses, and the evening ended on a happier note.
***
“This is pretty good steak, Lauren.” Zoe dug into her dinner the next night with gusto.
“She’s right,” Chris said after a big bite of his sirloin.
Since Mitch had promised Annie steak with their little dinner party for Zoe and Chris, she hadn’t liked to disappoint her fur baby. Although she wasn’t quite as expert at cooking it as her husband, she thought she could prepare it decently enough.
For convenience’s sake, she’d bought a big bag of green salad at the grocery store, and added cherry tomatoes to it. Since the café was closed on Mondays, after she and Zoe had quickly checked on Mrs. Finch, she’d made a cheesecake that afternoon. It was a change from cupcakes, and she thought everyone would appreciate a nice dessert. She was right.
“Brrt!” Annie had already eaten her share.
“Thank you for taking over.” Mitch smiled at her. His eyes were shadowed – evidence of another full day working the case.
“Of course,” she told him softly.
Zoe cleared her throat. “So yesterday, we were telling Lauren about Puerto Rico.”
“We’ve got photos to show you,” Chris added.
“And we think you and Lauren should go there for your one-year anniversary!” Zoe finished with a flourish.
Mitch nodded. “Why not? We’ve already started discussing it.”
“I – we – have already promised to look after Annie,” Zoe said. “Looking after the cafe will be no problem.”
“As long as we don’t hire anyone,” Lauren said regretfully. “After what’s just happened—”
“I hear you.” Zoe nodded. “I bet Ed wouldn’t mind helping out during the lunch rush – ooh, I know, we could pay him extra!”
“He might agree to that,” Lauren replied thoughtfully. She knew Ed preferred to be alone in the kitchen to work on his pastries.
“It’s a shame AJ and Mrs. Snuggle aren’t trained to be Annie’s assistants,” Zoe continued. “That would be a big help.”
“Mrs. Snuggle?” Lauren’s eyes widened at the mention of Father Mike’s fluffy white Persian and former show cat. She was not known for being friendly – except to the Episcopalian priest who’d adopted her – and it had taken her a while to realize she could rely on Father Mike’s good and kind heart.
“You’ve got a point,” Zoe conceded. “But she does like Annie.”
“Brrt.”
“It’s a shame AJ didn’t like training as Annie’s assistant,” Zoe continued.
“But it seems she likes accompanying Ed to the animal shelter and making friends with the cats there,” Lauren said.
“And she still likes playing with Annie – and even Mrs. Snuggle.” Zoe nodded.
Mitch and Chris looked amused.
Over dessert, Zoe and Chris showed them all the photos they’d taken on their phones. Lauren had to admit the resort did look beautiful – so did the ocean. Looking across the table at Mitch she was glad when she saw him nod decisively.
“We’re going,” he told her. “As soon as I can arrange some time off, and Ed is okay about helping out with the customers.”
“And if it’s okay with Annie,” she said.
“Brrt!” Yes, it is!
They all laughed, then Zoe sobered.
“I was going through the mail this afternoon – I can’t believe we got so much while we were away. Mostly bills, but there was a horrible one from the landlord.”
“What was it?” Lauren asked, surprised.
“We’ll have to start house hunting,” Chris said. “Our lease expires soon, and he isn’t going to renew it. He wants to rehab the house and either sell it or move into it himself.”
“Well, it does need some work done to it,” Zoe conceded. “But the rent was cheap and Chris was already living there.” She smiled tenderly at her husband. “So, it made sense to move in there with him after we got married.”
“I hope you can find somewhere else,” Lauren said. Rentals could be hard to come by in the small town.
“If you can’t, you can bunk in with us until you do find something,” Mitch offered.
“Brrt!” Yes!
Lauren was about to make the same offer – but was pleased he’d beaten her to it.
The evening ended on a pleasant note – Zoe commenting she’d have to continue work on her screenplay. They were hooked on two princess movies – so were Annie, AJ, and Mrs. Snuggle – and Zoe had decided to try her hand at writing a sequel. But so far, she hadn’t shown anyone her pages.
“Oh, that reminds me, Lauren.” Zoe picked up her tote bag as she and Chris were about to leave. “I’ll have to show everyone the handcuff trick tomorrow!”