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At Martha’s dramatic announcement, they peppered her with questions, Martha admitting that she’d left the police station yesterday and gone home.
“I think I definitely need a hot chocolate right now, though.” She sank down at the four-seater table Annie had shown her, sitting on Martha’s walker seat as the senior wheeled them toward that particular table.
“With lots of marshmallows?” Zoe grinned.
“You betcha.”
Annie sat at the table with Martha.
“Do you think she needs a cupcake?” Lauren whispered to her cousin.
“Definitely,” Zoe agreed.
Lauren plated a raspberry bonus cupcake and brought it over to Martha.
“On the house.”
“Thanks.” Martha’s eyes lit up at the raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries decorating the pale pink frosting. “You girls are good to me. So was Mitch.”
“He was?” Lauren sat down for a second. She’d left Zoe cramming a ton of marshmallows into the cocoa-laced foam.
“He gave me a cup of coffee and chocolate chip cookies,” Martha mumbled around a mouthful of frosting.
“I’m glad.” Lauren smiled.
“The coffee wasn’t nearly as good as yours,” Martha told her. “You know what police coffee is like.”
Lauren didn’t, actually.
“But he’s a good one all right,” Martha told her. “You hold onto him.” She pointed her frosting-laden fork at Lauren.
“I will,” Lauren promised. I hope I will.
“So of course I had to tell Mitch all about my gnome operation,” Martha continued. “And he said he understood. So this morning I went around and apologized to everyone who had a gnome taken, because it was my idea, and Mitch said he’d make sure my friends will apologize to the people they appropriated a gnome from.”
“Here’s your hot chocolate.” Zoe brought over a large mug crammed full of pink and white marshmallows.
“You’re the best.” Martha beamed at her. “You too, Annie. And Lauren, of course,” she added hastily.
As Martha drank her hot chocolate, Annie’s attention was drawn to the entrance door.
“Brrt!”
Lauren turned around.
“Mitch!” She hurried to greet him, Annie by her side.
“Brrt?” Annie tilted her head as she looked up at him.
“I think Annie wants to know if you’d like to join us at Martha’s table.” Lauren smiled at him.
“Why not? I’ve got a few minutes.” He returned her smile, looking cool and unrumpled even though it was quite warm outside.
“I’ve just told Martha that Lauren and I ordered a gnome each for her friend who’s housebound,” Zoe told them when they reached the table.
“At least she’ll have two gnomes to look at,” Martha said. “I know! I can ask my friends if they want to buy a gnome with me. There are six of us so that might only cost us seven dollars each or less with shipping if we pool our money together.”
“Would these be the same friends you committed the crimes with?” There was a touch of sternness in Mitch’s voice.
“Yep. I’ve contacted them and explained why I ratted on them. They said they understood.”
“I think that’s a good idea, then.” He nodded.
“So that’s three gnomes,” Zoe said in satisfaction.
“Four.” Mitch smiled slightly. “I’ve already asked the department and they said we can donate the one used in the sting operation.”
“You are a good one.” Martha beamed at him.
Lauren noticed a faint flush of crimson on his cheeks.
“Brrt!”
***
LAUREN AND ZOE STARTED cleaning up at the dot of five o’clock. Their last customer had left a few minutes ago.
“What should we do tonight?” Zoe asked them as she started stacking chairs on tables.
“Have dinner and watch TV, I suppose. Or is that too predictable?” Lauren remembered Martha’s comment from the day before when they’d caught her attempting to steal the gnome.
“After today, I wouldn’t mind putting my feet up and watching something good,” Zoe admitted.
“It turned out to be busy, after all.” Lauren smiled as she thought of the day’s takings. After Mitch had come in, there’d been a steady stream of customers.
The sound of the entrance door opening caught her attention and she swung around.
“I forgot to lock it,” she murmured.
“It’s Donna.” Zoe placed another chair on the table and hurried to greet her. “We’re closed now. Sorry.”
“Did you forget something?” Lauren came over. Sometimes Annie discovered something left behind by a customer, which they called Annie’s Lost and Found, but the feline hadn’t alerted them that she’d unearthed anything unusual today. Apart from occasionally moving her squeaky toy around the café, although she’d resisted the temptation to make it squeak.
“Yes,” Donna replied. “I need one of your pottery mugs, Zoe. I meant to buy one earlier today but I forgot.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Sure!” Zoe rushed to the counter. “I can put it in a paper bag for you. That will be fifteen dollars.”
“I think they’re very cute,” Donna continued. “And Annie’s portrait is beautiful – just like she is.”
“Brrt,” Annie seemed to agree, standing near the counter.
“Thanks.” Zoe rang up the sale on the cash register.
“Zoe,” Lauren said in a warning tone. There had been something niggling away at the back of her mind since Donna and her sister had visited earlier that day, and now that Donna had returned, she thought she knew what it was.
“It’s okay, we haven’t closed the register yet,” Zoe told her.
Donna opened her purse. But instead of pulling out her wallet, she pulled out a gun.
“Eek!” Zoe’s eyes widened.
“You killed Edna,” Lauren said in shocked awe.
“Come behind the register.” Donna waved the gun in Lauren’s direction. “The cat, too.”
“Her name is Annie,” Lauren told her.
“Brrt?” Annie’s green eyes rounded as she stared at the three humans.
“We’d better do what she says,” Lauren told her, scooping her up and hugging her close. Her heart pounded as she joined Zoe behind the counter.
Donna’s mouth tightened as she surveyed the three of them down the barrel of the gun.
“I probably didn’t have to do this,” she muttered. “I thought you two had figured it out, but I don’t think you did.”
“Figured what out?” Zoe tapped her cheek.
“She’s not a widow,” Lauren told her.
“She’s not?” Zoe scrunched her nose.
“Two clues. You missed two clues and didn’t even know it. Gah!” Donna shook her head in disgust.
“The guest register,” Lauren said slowly. “You said that night we were all at the B&B that you were a widow.”
“And Edna made me write in that stupid book,” Donna remarked. “Then you, Zoe, told me right here, today, that you’d read the names in the guest book. I thought you were letting me know you knew I was the killer when you said you had problems reading my handwriting. Like a test to see if I would react. I wrote my name as messily as I could in that guest book so it wouldn’t be legible, even though I used my sister’s last name instead of my own.”
“But didn’t Barbara want to know why you used a different surname in the guest register?” Lauren asked.
“I told my sister I didn’t think it was any of Edna’s business what my last name was, or if I was married.” Donna shrugged. “I’m a pretty private person, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to Barbara that I did something like that.”
“And the other clue was when Barbara said today that you both were living with her,” Lauren said.
“Very good,” Donna said in grudging approval. “Maybe you’re not too stupid to live, after all.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t really want one of my pottery mugs,” Zoe said sadly.
“That’s right.” Donna nodded. “They’re not bad for an amateur, but they’ve got a bulge near the handle. Although, I must admit that your portrait of Annie isn’t half bad.”
“Thanks – I think,” Zoe muttered.
“Brrt?” Annie asked softly. She was still scooped against Lauren’s chest, her muscles tensing, as if bracing for action.
“Don’t worry about your cat. My sister can’t stop talking about how pretty she is. I’ll take her home with me, and tell Barbara the police insisted I give her a good home.”
“So Barbara doesn’t know anything about this?” Zoe guessed.
“No. And it’s going to stay that way.”
“Why did you kill Edna?” Lauren asked softly.
“She had my husband fired.” Donna scowled, the gun wobbling in her hand. “He was a high school principal and she caught him doing something that technically he shouldn’t be doing.”
“What?” Zoe asked.
“He took some pens home to save money.”
“That’s all?” Zoe frowned.
“It’s still stealing,” Lauren reminded her.
“Yes, it is, but how many people do something like that? A lot, let me tell you.”
Lauren thought of Martha, who’d defended her plan to steal gnomes because she’d wanted to cheer up her friend.
“He got fired for stealing pens?” Zoe queried.
“Yes. The board wanted to let it go, and just give him a warning but Edna made such a big fuss about it, that in the end, they had no choice but to fire him.”
“I’m sorry,” Lauren offered.
“Me too,” Zoe added.
“Brrt.”
“But Edna had an ulterior motive. She wanted a full-time position at the school, but none of the teachers liked her. Neither did my husband.”
“How come?” Zoe asked.
“Because she was a bit nosey?” Lauren guessed.
“Yes. A real busybody. She got into everyone’s business. How do you think she knew my husband took some pens home? Because she spied on him. Just like she spied on everyone else. My husband said he used to hear the kids groaning down the hall when they walked into class and saw Edna substituting. So when a full-time position came up, Edna applied for it but my husband didn’t grant her the position. That’s why she reported him for stealing.”
“What happened after she got your husband fired?” Lauren asked, intrigued despite herself.
“She still didn’t get the full-time position,” Donna said in remembered satisfaction. “Ha ha!” The gun shook slightly. “And the last we heard was that she retired not long after.”
“So the first time you saw her after that was at the B&B?” Zoe asked.
“Yes. It was actually the first time I’d met her but I knew it was her for sure when she made that crack about my messy handwriting. I knew all about her from my husband, including what she looked like, how she acted, and what her husband used to do for a living. Edna loved talking about herself when she was at the school. After the stolen pen incident, my husband couldn’t stop complaining about what had happened. I heard about Edna every day. So I knew it was the right woman.
“I couldn’t believe it when we arrived at the B&B and met Edna and Harry. That morning before we left Sacramento my husband had been complaining again about how Edna had ruined his life, and there she was, in the flesh! I was confident she wouldn’t know who I was because my husband isn’t one to talk about his family to work colleagues, and he’s not a soppy sort of man who would have a photo of me on his desk.” She sounded as if she wished her husband was that type of man.
“Barbara won the weekend at the B&B and invited me so we could have a break from our husbands and have some fun. Luckily I didn’t enter the contest myself or Edna might have recognized my surname, although I don’t know how they picked the winners. Maybe they tossed all the entries into a bag, closed their eyes and picked out two envelopes?” Donna shook herself. “Anyway, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to even the score with Edna.”
“Stealing pens and killing someone are two totally different crimes,” Zoe observed.
“Yes, they are,” Donna replied. “But Edna ruined my life – and my husband’s. He wasn’t able to get another job as a principal – or even as a teacher. The pen incident branded him a thief on his school file and no other schools will take him. He had to get a job as a dog groomer after doing a training course, and I have to work as a greeter in a department store. Do you know how tired my feet are at the end of a shift?”
“I can guess,” Lauren replied softly. Sometimes her feet ached by the time they closed at five, and she and Zoe had stools behind the counter they could sit on for a few minutes during the day.
“I didn’t have to work before,” Donna replied. “Now I have to make my lunch – and my husband’s – and go to work and pin a big cheery smile on my face as I greet customers. And, the reason we’re now living with my sister and her husband is we lost our house.”
“How come?” Zoe asked.
“Because we couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage any longer now my husband was out of work. Even with both our new jobs, we can’t afford to make the repayments. And it’s not only that.” She sighed, lowering the gun for a second before realizing what she’d just done and raising it again. “I didn’t realize how over-extended we were. We were able to make our monthly payments for our cars and credit cards, and the house while my husband was school principal but now ...”
“It’s all come tumbling down?” Lauren guessed.
“Exactly. And it’s all Edna’s fault.” Donna stiffened her spine and glared at them. “I don’t know how we’ll ever buy another house again. We have no money and we still have to make our monthly payments on our cars and credit cards.”
“But if you bought the house a while ago, wouldn’t you have some equity left in it after you paid back the bank?” Zoe asked.
“Not when you have a second mortgage – and a third,” Donna admitted. “I had no choice. Don’t you see that?”
“But how did you kill her?” Lauren asked. “I haven’t heard that the police found the weapon.”
“An old silver candlestick that was in our room – no, suite, Edna called it, didn’t she? Of course, I was very careful to wipe my fingerprints off it.” She laughed. “It was so easy. After I hit her with it, I ran down the stairs, swapped it for an identical candlestick in the foyer, wiped my prints using the velvet drapes in there, then returned the foyer candlestick to my room.”
“But how did you do it without anyone seeing you?” Lauren asked.
“My sister was taking a shower. I heard footsteps in the hall outside our door and I was curious, so I quietly opened it and saw Edna. She was trying to open your door, Lauren, but you must have locked it when you and your boyfriend went out to dinner. Edna mustn’t have had a master key with her because she was tutting away. She did have a couple of fluffy towels with her, so I don’t know if you’d asked for some and she was delivering them.”
“No, we hadn’t,” Lauren told her. “Edna had already given us plenty.”
“Ha! See, she just wanted an excuse to snoop around while you were out. I think I did you and your boyfriend a favor. Who knows what she might have found in your room?”
“Nothing.” Lauren cast her mind back but her conscience was clear. What did Donna think she got up to in her spare time? “Just enough clothes for a weekend away. That’s not a crime.”
“Hmm.” Donna looked disappointed. “Oh, well. She got what was coming to her, anyway. That will teach her to meddle in other people’s business and tattle on people.”
“But what about Harry, her husband?” Zoe asked. “He seems like a nice man.”
“Yes, he does, doesn’t he?” Donna agreed. “I’m sure I did him a favor as well. He was probably hen-pecked. Once he gets over the shock of losing her so suddenly, he’ll find he can do whatever he wants and have no one to be accountable to. I’m sure he’ll learn to love the single life.”
Lauren and Zoe glanced at each other. Donna seemed to have totally justified her actions to herself.
“And now, explanation time has come to an end.” Donna raised her hand and leveled the gun at their faces.
“But won’t your sister wonder where you are?” Lauren asked desperately, her hands tensing on Annie’s furry body.
“I told her I had to go into work and cover an urgent shift.” Donna laughed. “I pretended I had a text message from the store. She won’t be expecting me home for a few hours.”
“Oh.” Zoe sounded disappointed.
“But wait!” Lauren glanced down at Annie. “You don’t want to shoot me while I’m holding Annie. What if you accidentally get Annie, too?”
“Yes, you don’t want the death of a totally innocent and gorgeous cat on your conscience – do you?” Zoe added, widening her eyes for an ingenue effect.
“Fine.” Donna huffed. “Put the cat down and then I’ll shoot you. It is a shame in a way – your coffee was excellent and so was your latte art. But I guess you’re used to customers telling you that all the time.”
“Sometimes,” Lauren admitted.
“It’s nice to hear,” Zoe added. “But what did you really think about Lauren’s new raspberry bonus cupcake – the one with the raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries?”
“It was really good.” Donna nodded. “It’s just my luck you’re not running a café in Sacramento so I could go there all the time – except I couldn’t even if I wanted to because I can’t afford to buy treats like that very often now – because of what Edna did!” she bellowed.
“Oops.” Zoe muttered, glancing at Lauren.
“Yeah.” Lauren nodded slightly.
“Time to go, you two. Put the cat down so she doesn’t get hurt.”
“Brrt?” Annie asked softly, glancing up at Lauren.
Lauren’s heart clenched. If she and Zoe didn’t come up with a plan fast, she’d never see Annie again.
“I want you to run home when it’s safe to do so, and stay there,” she whispered into the silver-gray tabby’s ear. “Through the private hallway.”
“Brrp,” Annie murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Lauren didn’t know whether her fur baby approved of the hasty plan or not. But it was the best she could think of.
Her gaze fell on the few cupcakes that hadn’t sold that day. She’d been able to sneak away for a few minutes at a time and whip up a new batch of raspberry bonuses to serve to the steady stream of customers.
Lauren flicked a glance at Zoe, who caught it, her eyes widening slightly. Zoe tilted her head at the pottery mugs lining the counter.
“Get on with it!” Donna barked. “Put the cat down!”
“I love you.” Lauren kissed the top of Annie’s head.
“I love you too, Annie.” Zoe gave the cat a smile, which Lauren suspected was a trifle forced. “Do what Lauren says.”
“Brrt,” Annie replied, as if in agreement. She snuggled in Lauren’s arms for another second, then hopped down to the ground, between Lauren’s feet and the base of the solid counter.
Lauren hoped she had enough time to grab some cupcakes before Donna shot them. Her legs wobbled and her heart thudded.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
“What was that?” Donna looked around, startled, the gun swinging wildly in her hand.
“Justice!” Zoe hurled a pottery mug at Donna’s gun hand. It hit her hand but the older woman didn’t drop the weapon.
“For Edna and Harry!” Lauren snatched two cupcakes and hurled them at Donna’s face.
Zoe threw another pottery mug at Donna’s hand. This time it squarely connected.
“Ow!” Donna dropped the revolver. “Ow! You’ve broken my hand!”
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Zoe took over pelting Donna with cupcakes while Lauren ran around the counter and kicked the gun away.
“Stop!” Donna begged them, sinking onto the floor. “Call an ambulance! Owww. My hand hurts so bad!”
Lauren pulled out her phone and called for the police – and the paramedics – keeping a wary eye on the deadly weapon, now a good distance away from Donna.
“Brrt!” Annie trotted out from behind the counter, dangling a little furry toy in her mouth.
“It’s your squeaky mouse.” Lauren smiled, proud of her fur baby. “That was a great idea, Annie! Thank you.”
“You distracted Donna at just the right time, Annie.” Zoe pelted Donna with one last cupcake. “And my pottery efforts have helped save us twice now. Maybe I should continue with it for a bit longer – or even a lot longer. Even if my mugs do have bulges in them.” She turned to Lauren. “It’s a shame you had to waste those cupcakes on Donna, though. I was thinking we could have them for dessert tonight!”
“Me too,” Lauren said ruefully.
“Brrt!”