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Pumping her arms, Blake tried not to gasp for breath as she kept up with Rachel. She wondered what on earth had made her think power walking was a good idea. Looking down, she was quickly reminded of the five pounds that had been added to her waistline since she’d added chocolate-chip-pumpkin bread to the menu.
“I wish you’d consider staying with us like Ryan said.” Rachel glanced back at her and slowed her pace to give Blake a chance to catch up.
The fall foliage in Wilton City Park was a colorful backdrop for their morning walk. Too bad Blake was too hyperfocused on attempting to breathe to appreciate the beauty as she wound around the mile-long walking path with Rachel.
“Oh, please,” Blake said between gasps. “Everything was fine last night when I went home. No calls or anonymous threats, no boogeymen hiding in dark corners.” She thought of Ninja curled up in the middle of the latte-colored quilt on her bed. “I’m pretty sure that whoever the bad guy is, he’s afraid of my attack cat.”
“You could have taken Adam or Sean up on their offers to sleep on your couch. Personally, I would have loved to see what would have happened if you’d let both of them sleep over.” She gave Blake an exaggerated wink, making her huff out a laugh.
“They would have started smacking each other around in my living room is probably what would have happened.”
Rachel grinned, walking at Blake’s pace as she lifted the hand weights she held. “Come on. Two guys fighting over you? That is totally hot!” When Blake rolled her eyes, she laughed. “I’m just teasing. I know you’re stronger than the guys give you credit for, my husband included. They’re just worried about you.” She bobbled her head. “I have a feeling that Ryan thinks if you’re staying in our guestroom, maybe I can talk my mother out of coming for a visit.”
Blake felt herself light up. “Mama Bustos is coming to stay?” Even though Rachel’s mom only lived an hour away, she liked to come to stay for an extended period every few months to spend time with the kids. Blake nearly started salivating at the thought of her homemade enchiladas.
“Send your mama over my way,” Blake encouraged. “She can stay with me anytime if Ryan doesn’t want her at your house.”
“It’s not that he doesn’t want her.” Rachel slowed as they approached her house. “He loves her. He just doesn’t get why she likes to come to stay when she doesn’t live that far away. And you know, she’s pretty high-energy.”
Blake laughed as her sister-in-law jogged in place, punching the weights above her head. “Yeah, I wouldn’t know what that’s like at all.”
Rachel made a silly face and giggled.
When a car passed them and parked across the street, Blake’s smile faded. Rachel turned, and they watched an older woman wearing black exit the Buick Lucerne and make her way up to Sabrina’s house. At least eight cars were parked in front of the home—four in the drive and several more lined up on the street. Sabrina and Todd’s family, no doubt.
“Do you know who told her the news?” Rachel asked as they made their way up her front steps.
“Kyle said Chief Raimy was going over there after he left the crime scene.” Blake cast a glance back at Sabrina’s before they went inside Rachel’s house. “I can’t imagine what she’s going through. It was obvious when I talked to her that she’s still in love with the jerk.” Blake gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth. “Ugh, what’s wrong with me. That’s so disrespectful.”
“It’s okay.” Rachel handed Blake a bottle of water, and they both sat down at the kitchen island. “Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean he wasn’t a jerk. He was sleeping with half the women in town under the age of thirty.” She shook her head slowly. “If you ask me, Sabrina was way better off without him.”
Blake gulped her water and wiggled her legs, which felt like jelly after their power walk. “That makes me wonder... Kyle was asking about anyone who would have the motive to kill Todd. I should go talk to Pepper again and see if I can find out anything.”
Water spewed out of Rachel’s nose as she coughed, lowering the bottle to set it on the counter. Blake slapped her sister-in-law’s back as she coughed and gasped for breath. When she could finally speak, she glared at Blake as if she’d just sprouted horns. “Have you lost your ever-loving mind?”
“I want to find out if she was capable of something like this. I mean she’s a bit—a not very nice person,” she corrected. “But is she a murderer?” Todd’s face encased in plastic had floated through her mind every time she’d closed her eyes the night before. She knew she would never in her life be able to forget that image. “What if they were sleeping together and he tried to dump her?”
Rachel got up from her chair and got a box of steel-cut oatmeal out of the cabinet. “You said she was kissing Whit. She must have rebounded pretty fast. But you need to focus on keeping your own butt safe.” She held up the box. “Breakfast?”
She crinkled her nose. Oatmeal? Only if it’s in cookies. “Nah, I’d better get to the café. I have Giselle and Eli working this morning, and you never know what their dynamic’s going to be at any given moment.”
Rachel smirked as she ripped open a packet of oatmeal and poured it in a bowl. “Wasn’t Eli’s double date last night? That should give you some drama to deal with this morning.”
A groan escaped Blake. “Next time I hire anyone, I need to make sure they’re not attracted to anyone on my staff. I just want Eli and Giselle to be happy, but jeez, I’ve seen enough googly eyes and furtive glances in the last month to last me a lifetime.”
She headed for the door as Rachel smirked. “Welcome to my world. Now you know what it’s like for me every time Sean or Adam walk into Mystery Cup. Payback’s a bitch.”
When Blake’s jaw dropped in an expression of righteous indignation, Rachel couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Okay, well, have fun with your lovestruck staff. I’ll be in around noon. Oh, and Blake, don’t forget dinner. Tamales!”
She almost started drooling at the thought. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here!”
“That’ll be incentive to get through the self-defense class,” Rachel said as she walked to her coffeepot and started to measure spoonfuls of coffee grounds into the basket.
“The self-defense class.” Blake smacked her forehead with her palm. “Crap. I completely forgot that was today.” She looked up at her sister-in-law. “Maybe we can skip it, you know, since we have plans for me to come over and do the twins’ makeup.”
“Nice try.” Rachel shook her head as she shoved the basket back into place and pulled the carafe off the burner to fill it with water. “Ryan specifically told me to make sure both you and I went. With your lead-footed admirer from last night, your brother wants to be absolutely certain you know how to defend yourself. Me too.” A smile twitched her lips. “In fact, he’s so determined that we both go, he’s volunteered to be the bad guy at the class.”
“The bad guy?”
After pouring the water, Rachel shoved the carafe back under the basket and hit the switch on the front of the coffee maker. “Yeah, the bad guy.” She turned to Blake. “You know, the one who pretends to be the attacker, and we get to try to flip him to the ground.”
“Seriously?” Blake’s face lit up. “Okay, I might be wrong about this class. Now, I’m thinking it sounds super fun.” And she did need to learn some self-defense moves. She’d always told herself she was going to take a self-defense class, but she’d never gotten around to it.
Rachel laughed. “All I ask is that you don’t hit my husband anywhere that will harm his ability to have future children.”
They both giggled as Blake thought of flipping Ryan to the ground. “So is the class for guys, too, or just ladies?”
Rachel wiggled her eyebrows. “Why? Are you thinking of inviting one of your two hot men?”
Blake gave her a droll look. “Two ex-military guys? I’m thinking they’re probably good on the self-defense. Besides, both of them are crazy busy with work, I don’t even know when I’m going to see either one of them.”
“You might have to bite the bullet and—gasp—actually ask one of them out.” Rachel waved her hands around her head as if that were the craziest thought in the world.
“You’re quite the comedian today, aren’t you?” Blake hiked her purse over her shoulder, not ready to evaluate her love life quite yet. “Okay, I really have to get going. See you in a little bit, Rach.” She waved goodbye to her sister-in-law, ready to tackle her to-do list. And the first thing on that list was to figure out a reason to go to Crossbones and question Pepper that wouldn’t make her look super obvious.
***
AS SOON AS SHE TURNED down the alley behind Mystery Cup, Blake saw Derek’s delivery truck blocking her way. Dang it, she’d completely forgotten it was delivery day.
She put her Civic in reverse and backed out of the alley, continuing on to Main Street, where she turned in front of Mystery Cup... and immediately slammed on her brakes. People. So many people were everywhere. Blake was quickly reminded of the increase in foot traffic after her barista had been murdered in the café last spring. People certainly did seem to have a yearning for the macabre around here. The second there was a hint of crime, especially a murder, the crowds came en masse. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that. Half of her brain rolled its eyes, while the other half just kept hearing “cha-ching.”
It looked as though Micah was getting the brunt of it today. She knew the cops had the apartment above Sliced taped off, but that didn’t seem to be stopping people from heading inside and, most likely, searching for gossip. At least Micah would get the financial boost from it all.
The Civic crept slowly down the street as Blake looked for a parking spot. Finally, she saw reverse lights go on. What luck! She was able to snatch the spot right in front of Mystery Cup. When she got out and looked in the front window, she saw that Micah wasn’t the only one who seemed to be experiencing an increase in business. From her vantage point, she could see that most of the tables in the café were filled, and the line of people stretched from the register almost to the front door. Whoa! If that kind of traffic kept up, she was going to have to think about hiring more staff.
When Blake was about to go inside, she heard someone calling her name. “Blake! Miss Harper!” Orlando was running down the sidewalk, his hand outstretched and holding something.
“Orlando.” She smiled as he caught up with her.
His black muscle shirt was stretched tight across his broad chest and had the word Buttkick printed across the front. For a brief moment, she wondered if the man owned any shirts with sleeves.
“I’m surprised to see you here this morning. I thought you’d be home resting. Are you sure you’re okay?” Orlando asked.
It didn’t surprise her at all that he knew about the events of the night before. She would give anything to be able to follow the chain of gossip just once to see how it spread so fast. “I’m fine, Orlando. But thank you for asking.”
“Good. Good. Hey, I wanted to ask if you’ve seen Mr. Hamilton this morning?”
Blake furrowed her brow. “Uh, no, I just got here, but he usually comes in after he opens up the chamber of commerce every morning.”
Orlando gave her a confused expression then smiled. “Oh no, no. Wrong Mr. Hamilton. I mean young Mr. Hamilton. Whitley.”
“Oh! I haven’t seen him unless he’s inside.” She motioned to the café. “Why are you looking for him?”
Orlando held up the black wallet. “He dropped this on the floor of the locker room after his workout. We’re improving his quads,” he said with a proud grin.
Blake raised her eyebrows. “Quads. Great.”
“I have innovative quad exercises. You really should come by. Maybe when you come to the self-defense class, I could show you our new weight-lifting machine.”
“Thanks, Orlando, but I haven’t really been dying to work my quad muscles. My arms are fine. See?” She made a fist and flexed her bicep, a little confused when Orlando laughed.
“Quads, Miss Harper”—he bent at the waist and patted his thigh—“are in the legs.”
Oops. Wait a second, is he saying my legs need work?
“Blake, my dear. There you are! We’ve been waiting to ask you some questions.” Ruby Cross stood in the doorway to Mystery Cup, frantically motioning her inside. “Come in, come in.”
“We?” Crap, it was book-club day. And the day after a dead body had been found... by her. There was no doubt in Blake’s mind that she was about to experience an inquisition. She supposed she could try to beg off, but that would only delay the inevitable.
“Come on, Orlando, you can look for Whit while I entertain Ms. Cross.”
Orlando followed her inside and headed directly to Giselle at the counter, who was helping a customer.
Eli lifted his head from where he was pulling an espresso shot and nodded in Blake’s direction, his lips twitching as he noticed that Ruby had tucked Blake’s arm into both of hers and was leading her to where the book-club ladies had a table reserved in the corner.
“Here she is!” Ruby all but pushed Blake into a chair at the table. She was surprisingly strong for a tiny woman.
As Blake sat, she looked at Ruby’s normally white hair, unsure if she should say anything. Ruby had obviously been to her weekly salon appointment already that morning, and the aqua tint to her hair was evidence that she’d tried that “fandangled rinse” she’d been considering.
Ruby took her seat in between Red Montgomery and Penny Driver, who looked at Blake with enthusiastic expressions. Penny’s eager violet eyes were lit with excitement, and Blake wondered if her new gig as Jax’s assistant had gotten her more interested in true crime.
Elaine Page sat across from her and rolled her brown eyes, tossing her dark-auburn hair as she let her head flop back on her chair. “I don’t know what you all are so excited about. She’s not going to tell us anything.”
“Oh, hush it,” Red told her. “You’re just in a bad mood ’cause that boy dumped you. I’m telling you, Elaine. You’re better off without him.” The woman’s fiery red hair didn’t move as she swung her gaze back and forth between Elaine and Blake.
Blake arched a brow in Elaine’s direction and watched the divorcée’s face redden. It looked as though she and Whit were history. Probably a good thing by Blake’s estimation. Elaine seemed to be happier when she was with a man she could control, and that was not Whit Hamilton.
“He did not dump me, Red,” Elaine said emphatically. “I told you—I didn’t want to see him anymore. It was my decision.”
Penny piped up, “But you said he was sleepin’ with that pink-haired girl. If he was sleepin’ with the pink-haired girl, that means he was pretty much done with you first, right?”
Blake pressed her lips together, not wanting to be anywhere near that conversation.
A sound that was a cross between a groan and a growl came out of Elaine, and she stood up so fast that she nearly knocked her chair over behind her. “I don’t know why I hang out with you all. I’m getting a brownie.” She stomped off in her high heels and just about mowed down Jax Talon, who was rushing to their table.
“Ooh, what did I miss?” He took the seat Elaine had just vacated and looked at Blake with the same hungry expression as the rest of the ladies. “We have Angela Lansbury in our midst, I see. Do tell, Blake. We want all the details.”
“Uh, I don’t know, guys. We’re awfully busy. I might have to help out behind the counter.”
They all looked behind the counter, where Blake’s staff had a streamlined system that was moving with quick precision.
“Nope.” Jax turned his attention back to her. “Looks like they’ve got it under control. So dish.”
Her sister would kill her if she gave out details of the investigation—not that she really wanted to. The book club was the one singular way to guarantee gossip was spread all over town. She decided to take a different tactic. “Well”—she leaned in closer and looked around—“I was in such shock last night that it’s all kind of a blur really.” She massaged her temple. “I can only imagine what you all must have heard.”
Red patted her arm. “Oh, you poor dear. I’m sure it was such a shock.”
“If you ask me, that Todd Lang got what he deserved.” Ruby sniffed and lifted her head. “You can’t go diddlin’ around with that many women and not expect for it to catch up with you in the end.”
Penny’s eyes widened. “Do you think that’s what happened? He got on the bad side of one of ’em, and she came at him with a knife?”
“Uh, well...” Todd was a big guy, but a woman in shape could have definitely dragged his body up in the attic. Oh, how she desperately wanted to talk to Pepper and see if she could find out if the two were involved. But she needed a reason to go over there and a way to get Pepper to open up.
“Well, I wouldn’t doubt it.” Red looked at Blake for confirmation. “You said the killer was wearing a clown mask, right? So you don’t know that it was a man. See, that’s the problem. You’d think after last spring, everyone would have learned their lesson. Just ’cause someone’s a killer doesn’t mean they have to be a man. In fact, I think that’s pretty chauvinist, if you ask me.”
Blake almost laughed at the vibrant seventy-year-old woman.
“What’s that look for? I’m all about equal opportunity. A woman can do anything a man can do. Even be a killer. Why, look at that one actress with the blond hair, got herself an award for playing that one serial killer.”
Ruby bent forward slightly to put in her two cents. “I’ll tell you what I think. I think there’s more women killers out there than men. The difference is that the men get caught.” She shook her finger at the group. “Not the women. No sirree. The women are smarter.” She tapped a bony finger against her temple. “We have the brains.”
Blake turned her amused expression on Jax. “That’s not a bad theory. Jax, maybe you should look into that. The Red Rose Killer was never caught. Maybe that’s because it was a woman. Maybe she was too smart. You should totally look into that.”
Divert attention—that had been Blake’s strategy. And it was working. But Jax wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what she was doing. The older women excitedly shot questions at him about the Red Rose Killer, and he tipped an imaginary hat to Blake. She used that opportunity to slide her chair back and make her escape. She gave him a little wink before she hustled behind the counter.
“Hey, Boss Lady.” Eli put a lid on a to-go cup and set it on the bar. “Ellen!” he called out.
Elaine Page snatched it up. “Elaine, you moron!” she grumbled before she tromped off.
Eli turned to Blake as if he hadn’t heard anything, and she bit her lip to control a laugh. “Busy morning, but we’re rocking it. No worries. It’s a good thing you made extra brownies last night, but I think we’re going to need some more cookies.”
“No problem. I have batter in the freezer. I’ll go bake some up so they’re ready by lunch.”
“Great.” Eli’s cheerful expression darkened as he spotted something over her shoulder.
Blake turned her head to see Orlando with his ever-present smile. “No luck.” He held up the wallet.
“Why don’t you just call Whit?” she asked as Eli went back to busying himself with making coffee.
“I don’t have his number. I suppose I can head to Crossbones later to give it to him after I’m done with my training sessions. Or maybe I can catch his dad. I think he has a workout scheduled today or tomorrow sometime.”
Surprise caused Blake’s eyebrows to shoot up. “His dad? Mr. Hamilton has a workout scheduled?” The most intense exercise she’d ever seen Mr. Hamilton do was walk from the commerce building to Mystery Cup. She wondered if Whit was pushing his dad to exercise more.
“Oh yes, he’s been working with one of our personal trainers. I just have to check the books and see when he’s scheduled.”
Light bulbs began flashing in Blake’s head. Kyle had said she was headed over to Crossbones that morning to question Pepper. So if Blake went over there later, she most certainly wouldn’t run into her sister. Besides, no one could fault her for going over there when she had a legitimate reason like returning a wallet. And if she happened to ask a few questions to see if Pepper had been involved with Todd Lang, well, there wasn’t anything wrong with that. She had to stop herself from pumping her fist. The wallet had to be a sign that she was supposed to go to Crossbones. “You know, I have to run over to Crossbones at lunch. I could just bring it to Whit then. So you won’t have to worry about it.”
Eli shot her a glance. “Since when do you have to run over to Crossbones?”
“Since now,” she said through clenched teeth.
Orlando breathed a sigh of relief. “Great, thanks, Blake.” He slid the wallet to her across the counter. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”
“No problem!” She smiled as he turned and walked out, then turned to Eli, who was narrowing his eyes at her. “I’m just going to return Whit’s wallet and get a burger.”
“But didn’t your sister tell you not to—”
“Well, what my sister doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?”
Eli smirked and shook his head in amusement. “Right.”
***
AFTER SHE’D MADE SIX dozen cookies and three loaves of chocolate-chip-pumpkin bread, Blake raised her arms above her head and stretched to the side. The morning had flown by. She’d been so busy with her new recipes that she’d barely had time to think about the new case. Luckily, Eli and Giselle had kept things running smoothly, so she was able to keep the baked goods coming out on schedule.
It wasn’t until Rachel came through the back door that she realized it was already noon. “Sorry I’m late! Aiden forgot his lunch, so I had to run it by the school. Did you see how busy they are over at Sliced? It’s really popping, Batman. You should get a cut of that profit.”
Blake walked to her desk and sat, bending to touch her toes. “If discovering dead bodies is the best way to pick up extra business, count me out. I don’t want the credit for that. I’m more worried about how Micah’s doing.” She picked up the wallet Orlando had brought by, which she’d tossed on the desk by her purse.
“Yeah, Sliced seems to be the center for everything murdery, doesn’t it? Maybe we can take him out for drinks or something.” Rachel glanced up as she slipped her apron over her head. “What’s that? You stealing men’s wallets now too? Adding that to your repertoire?”
“Very funny.” She fingered the wallet as she thought about what the book-club ladies had said earlier. Killers didn’t always have to be men. They were right about that. She visualized the pink-haired beauty at Crossbones and tried to guesstimate if she was tall enough to pull off the clown costume. The billowy outfit had made it impossible to make out any sort of body type, so she really only had height to go on.
Grabbing her purse, Blake stood up. “I’m heading to Crossbones for lunch.”
“Wait, what?” Rachel looked at her as if she’d sprouted tentacles. “What do you mean you’re going to Crossbones?”
“I need to return Whit’s wallet.”
Rachel stepped in front of her as she headed for the door. “Whoa, there, Miss Marple. You know your sister is going to Crossbones to question people. She’s going to flip a gasket if you go over there.”
“There’s no need for gasket-flipping. Kyle will be done with talking to Pepper anyway because she was going to go this morning. So she won’t even know. Besides, I have to return Whit’s wallet. That’s like a real reason and everything. She can’t argue with that.”
Rachel scoffed. “Wanna bet?”
“Since when are you the voice of reason?”
Rachel crossed her arms. “Take that back. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. I have way too much invested in my matchmaking efforts.”
“Oh God.” Blake’s eyes rolled heavenward. “Who did you invite to dinner tonight?”
“What? I said nothing.” Rachel waggled her eyebrows. “But don’t get yourself into too much trouble. As soon as the self-defense class is over, I’m heading home to make tamales. And I don’t want you to be late.”
She started to argue as Rachel walked into the café but realized she wasn’t quite sure what she was arguing about. If she had to dodge one more blind date, she might have to smack her sister-in-law, but Rachel had been so focused on shoving her at Adam that Blake would have been surprised if she brought someone new into the picture. But she would think about that after she went to Crossbones.
The crowd in the café had died down, but there were still quite a few people both inside and on the sidewalk as she made her way out. As she made a beeline to her car, Blake was stopped by a voice calling her name. Sean was jogging out of Macabre Reads, coming her direction. She couldn’t help but smile as her eyes fell to the tattoos that roamed upward on his arm. He should really wear short-sleeve shirts more often. I miss summer.
“Hey, Coffee Goddess, I was just going to come see if you wanted to get lunch.” He eyed the purse on her shoulder. “Where ya headed?”
Before she was even finished explaining about Whit’s wallet, Sean was climbing into the passenger side of her car. “Wait a second. Sean?”
But he was already slamming his door shut. With a sigh, she slid into the driver’s side next to him. “What are you doing?”
His eyes raked over her, smiling as he took her in. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m going with you. I’ve long since learned it’s near impossible to try to talk you out of anything, so...” He reached for his seat belt and stretched it across his muscular torso. “I’m hungry. Crossbones serves lunch.” The seat belt clicked shut. “I’m good with that.”
“But—” Her mouth opened and shut like a fish out of water. “I was just going to return Whit’s wallet.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Right. You’re not going to track Pink Hair down and ask her any questions at all.”
She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Getting info out of Kyle can be like pulling teeth. I never know how much she’s going to tell me. If I knew she would let me in on any information, I wouldn’t have to do my own investigation.”
“Blake.” Sean shoved a hand through his hair and fisted it. “Look, Kyle’s job is not to—you know what?” He held his hand up. “Never mind. Let’s just go.”
Realizing he wasn’t going to get out of her car, Blake started the engine. Fine, if he wanted to come with her, then he could help her ask some questions. But if he started arguing with her, she was totally kicking him out the next time they slowed down.