The last patient was leaving the clinic, leading her German shepherd across the road, as Autumn arrived at a brisk walk, feeling more breathless than she should have after the short stint up the hill. As she headed into the veterinary clinic’s disinfectant-scented interior, she acknowledged the breathlessness was more from nerves than effort.
She hadn’t brought Max with her, because she didn’t want to confuse the issue. This was not a visit where she was seeing the doctor in his professional capacity. Quite the opposite.
Autumn guessed that Ben’s assistant was tidying the back room, because the only person in the front room was Ben himself. He was bent over the computer, tapping keys, his dark hair flopping over his forehead as he glanced down at a book of jotted notes. Updating his patient records, Autumn guessed. But as soon as he saw her, he straightened up hurriedly, and the book fell closed.
“Hello!” he said, a worried expression on his face as he took her in. “I had to rush back to see a patient, but I was very concerned about what happened down there.” He glanced in the general direction of the harbor, and The Local Brew. “Are you and Willow okay?”
“Not really,” Autumn confessed. “Willow is a murder suspect. There were some issues between herself and Trevor, and she sent him nasty messages shortly before this happened.”
Ben grimaced at that. “Terrible timing,” he said. “But does that mean you – well, are you -?”
“I’m going to investigate and clear her name,” Autumn said.
“Do you want any help with that?” Ben leaned forward now, his expression anxious, as he closed the distance between them and spoke in a softer voice.
“I’d appreciate some help.” Autumn took a deep breath. “But there was something else you wanted to tell me when you saw me down at the harbor?”
"Yes." Ben's gaze drifted to the countertop, and his face reddened. "I might have made a faux-pas yesterday night."
What did he mean by that? Autumn felt concern flooding her as she waited for him to clarify.
“I wasn’t aware that if you go out for dinner with your sister-in-law, and she stays over because her husband is stuck in Texas, having a knee operation and she’s really worried about it, it apparently means you’re dating,” Ben said, his cheeks now glowing.
“Oh!” Autumn said. Now, she felt as if she was blushing, too. So that was what it had been all about?
"In fact, it might mean you're officially married," Ben clarified, his blush deepening. "I guess I'm used to big city life, and I didn't realize quite how fascinating this entire scenario would be to the whole of Magnolia Bay. I had five clients this morning asking me what was going on, who the blonde was, and if this was my lady friend from the big city, and if I was planning any announcements any time soon.”
“That must have been – surprising.”
Relief was making Autumn's knees weak. So it had been his sister-in-law. Best possible scenario. Plus, Willow had been correct in soothing her fears. She owed her sister more than ever now.
“I wanted to apologize to you in person because I’m sure you must have heard something, and probably felt very confused, when it was all so – so innocent that I didn’t bother telling anyone,” he said. “If it hadn’t been so last minute, I’d have invited you. But Louisa called me in a panic to say that my brother had fallen off his bicycle while participating in one of those mad ultra-distance endurance races – that’s what Patrick is into. She said he was being rushed to the hospital for an emergency operation, and there were no available flights there until lunchtime today. So, since she’s only about fifty miles away, I said she must come on over. I took her out to dinner, and she was able to FaceTime Patrick and find out that the operation went well. She headed to the coffee festival for a few minutes this morning to buy him some gifts, and now, she’s on her way to the mainland to catch her flight and be by his side.” He breathed out a long sigh. "It was a frazzling experience, and I'm so sorry that you might have gotten the wrong information."
"I did get the wrong information," Autumn admitted. "And I was very anxious to speak to you about it."
“I think – well, I wanted to check with you first, but I think it might be a good idea to tell people that we’re dating?”
“I think it would be,” Autumn replied. Outwardly she was trying to be calm and composed as this discussion showed her that her life was changing. Autumn Ray was dating again. And she loved that Ben had asked her first if it was okay to tell people, with that unsure look on his face, as if there might be a possibility she’d say no.
“Well, good.” He was looking vastly relieved, so much so that those broad shoulders were actually sagging slightly. “I’m – well, I’m thrilled. And next time my family comes over, I’d love for you to meet them in better circumstances.”
“I’d love that, too.”
It felt as if a ten-ton weight had been removed from her heart. It was skipping around as if it belonged somewhere in her head and not in her chest at all. But there was another weight still in place – that one in her mind, thanks to Willow's terrible predicament.
“What are we going to do about investigating?” Ben asked. “If you want my help, of course?”
“I need your help,” Autumn said. “Because I don’t have any idea who could have killed Trevor Brewster.”
At that moment, the practice assistant came through, carrying a broom, and taking off her blue apron as she reached the door. She smiled at Autumn, her eyes warm and blue through the thick glasses she wore, her hair curling around her good natured face.
“I’m off to the festival now. Going to get some coffee and cake. See you later, Autumn and Ben?” she said.
“You’ll definitely see us there,” Autumn agreed.
Now that she thought about it, the coffee festival seemed like a good place to start asking questions. Trevor had been one of the island’s most popular baristas. And if he had treated other people as badly as he treated Willow, somebody would surely know something.
***
The smell of coffee hung in the air, rich and aromatic, as Autumn and Ben entered the town hall. Autumn had to admit, though, that after her coffee overdose this morning, the smell wasn’t quite as enticing as it had been. Her body was saying, “Enough, thanks!” Those hiccups had been painful.
But luckily she wasn’t here to guzzle down tanker loads of coffee, but rather to do some discreet questioning.
The ins and outs of the island's coffee scene were a closed book to her, one that she needed to open. Up until now, she'd been nothing more than a happy customer at whichever of the coffee shops she'd visited.
Now, she needed to probe into the dark, rich, aromatic, and sustainably sourced world of the coffee suppliers themselves.
Walking in with Ben, she saw a few curious glances directed at her. The gossip grapevine had clearly been working overtime, with the fascinating chit-chat about the blond wife-to-be.
“Shall I head one way, and you go down the other way?” Autumn suggested to Ben in a low voice. Ben looked temporarily smitten by the wafting aromas.
“Absolutely.” The trance-like expression of bliss left his face as he refocused on the urgent business at hand. “Let’s do that.”
He reached over, and gave her hand a quick, tender squeeze, causing her heart to skip. And then, she was heading down the left hand aisle, on the hunt for the connections, and secrets, of the late Trevor Brewster.
Her first stop was at a kiosk called Fairly Coffee. The woman behind the counter had hair the color of coffee with cream – a rich, deep brown – and she was wearing a beige smock.
“Good afternoon,” she smiled. “I know you. You’re Autumn Ray, aren’t you?”
“I am,” Autumn said. “I don’t think I recognize you?” She quirked an apologetic eyebrow at the woman.
“I’m new on the island. I’m the back-room assistant at Lakeside Coffees. My boss asked me to help out at this kiosk today as it belongs to one of our suppliers, and they’ve gone back to the mainland to bring over more stock.”
“Oh!” Autumn looked at the woman with renewed curiosity.
Lakeside Coffees was her very favorite coffee shop, and it was the one that was in competition with The Local Brew. “How lovely to meet you,” she quickly continued. “I’ve always loved Lakeside Coffees, and thought you have the most incredible drinks and service. What’s your name?”
“I’m Miriam,” the assistant said, looking pleased by Autumn’s praise.
“I was wondering about that stall.” Autumn pointed a finger at the stall which was now the only unoccupied one in the whole town hall. The Local Brew. Trevor had obviously been intending to man it himself, and hadn’t organized anyone else to help out. Now, with his demise, that stall would stand empty today.
“Oh, yes, that’s our competition. I don’t know where he is, though,” Miriam said. “I expected him to be here, glaring at us.”
“Is there a lot of rivalry between you?” Autumn asked, feeling as if she was already following an important lead.
Miriam nodded. “Yes, unfortunately so. You know, we don’t like to fight. But Trevor is always causing problems and issues with my boss, Antonio. Antonio actually threatened him a while back.”
“Threatened?” Autumn asked.
Miriam nodded, her voice dropping. “I shouldn’t be talking about it,” she said, backtracking fast. “Because I wasn’t really supposed to overhear, I don’t think. You’re very easy to talk to, Autumn.”
“I’ve been told I’m a good listener,” Autumn said, “but it sounds as if this is a real concern, and it might be better for you to get it off your chest. I do keep things confidential if I hear about them. Being a bed and breakfast owner, I can’t exactly start gossiping about other people. If I did, I’d have no customers left.”
That wasn’t brilliant logic. She hoped that it sounded persuasive enough to nudge Miriam into sharing what she knew. She looked like she wanted to. As she handed Autumn a tester cup of coffee, her dark eyes were troubled.
“They had a big fight. Something about pricing,” Miriam said.
Autumn was not exactly surprised to hear that money issues had raised their head. She was expecting that.
“What was the fight actually about?”
“I think Antonio was accusing Trevor of copying their pricing every day. You know, Antonio runs regular specials, and he does so very thoughtfully.”
“Is that right?” Autumn sipped the coffee, feeling her heart instantly accelerate. It was as if her body was saying, “More coffee? Really? Well, we’ll see where we can put it!”
“Yes. He considers the pensioners, and that’s why we do Half Price Wednesday for anyone with a pensioner’s card. And students – well, before exams, he does Study Special Offers for anyone with a student card. Then, he does lots of fun, interesting specials throughout the year, we have Mother’s Day promotions, and in the summer, we have the Early Bird cups for people who go for early morning walks. They’re designed to draw in customers and make sure everyone feels they’re getting value,” Miriam said proudly.
“That does sound clever.” Autumn meant it sincerely. It would be wonderful to sit down with Antonio sometime when he wasn’t busy – which admittedly was hardly ever – and chat to him about business. He seemed to have a wealth of knowledge and to be a creative person.
But had this passionate man snapped in a moment of anger? If so, they needed to have a different conversation.
"The problem was that whatever discount he implemented, Trevor would immediately copy. He'd usually take a couple of extra cents off his prices so that he was constantly undercutting us, but in a petty way. Not even in a competitive way. It felt like an insult, really," Miriam explained.
“I can see why that would have made him mad,” Autumn sympathized.
“In the end, I think Antonio had enough, and he was ready to break, because it was just so annoying. So he charged out of his coffee shop one day, when he saw Trevor approaching, ready to open up, and they had the most massive fight, right there in the street. They were shouting at each other furiously. I thought it would get physical at one stage.”
“What, exactly, was Antonio threatening?” Autumn asked.
She thought that Miriam didn’t want to tell her, but that she was now committed to talking about the episode. As a compromise, she lowered her voice still further.
"He's Italian, obviously, and very hot-blooded. He was yelling that this had gone too far, that Trevor was trying to destroy him, and that he'd destroy Trevor in turn. I actually think Trevor looked quite scared, Antonio was so mad.”
“And did it work?” Autumn put her cup down after having had just one polite sip, and leaned her elbows on the counter, closing the distance between herself and Miriam still more, so that Miriam would be encouraged to talk.
“It seemed to work for a few days. But then, just yesterday, he was back to his old tricks again,” Miriam said. “Antonio looked as if he was ready to explode. So, that’s the reason why I’m glad he’s not here yet.” She glanced once more at the empty stall.
Autumn’s mind was racing with what she’d learned. This was valuable information. The anger, the frustration, the deliberate positioning of The Local Brew to undercut Lakeside Coffees and to try to erode their business – it had all been maliciously done.
Had Antonio delivered that killing blow?
“Where is Antonio now?” Autumn asked. Finding him seemed like a priority.
"He's outside somewhere." Miriam indicated the direction of the door. "He has been in and out because he's been organizing a few kiosks along the coffee route. When I went out to get stock, I saw him, busy arranging things in one of the buggies, ready to head up to the forest kiosk,” she said.
“I hope you have a successful day,” Autumn said. With other customers crowding in, Miriam’s attention was distracted, and that was all to the good. Autumn needed to head outside because the tempestuous Antonio had just become a prime suspect in his rival’s murder.