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“Mrrow!” Trixie looked like she was agreeing to Jill’s request.
“I don’t know,” Maddie said slowly. It was one thing to try and clear Suzanne’s name, but were they capable of also clearing Jill and Bob? And what if ... she didn’t want to even think it ... but what if Jill or Bob weren’t innocent? What if one of them – or both – were guilty?
Suzanne looked sideways at her. Maddie knew she was thinking the same thing, despite her bestie just telling Jill she believed in her innocence.
“Please.” Tears track down Jill’s cheeks. “I’ll pay you whatever it takes to clear our names.”
“There’s no need for that,” Maddie said.
“What Mads said.” Suzanne nodded.
“It’s not as if we’re qualified,” Maddie cautioned.
“But you’re going to investigate anyway, aren’t you?” Jill asked. “To clear Suzanne’s name? After you left last night, Kevin kept telling us he was sure you were the killer, Suzanne. Even when I told him you wouldn’t do something like that.”
Suzanne turned pale, and she sank onto a stool.
“You’re right,” Maddie said when Suzanne remained silent. “We are going to ask some questions and see if we can make sense of what happened last night. Because Suzanne is innocent.”
“Then you’ll do it?” Hope brightened Jill’s expression.
“Yep.” Suzanne rose. “We’ll do it.” Color returned to her cheeks.
“And you’ll let me know what you find out?” Jill pressed.
“Definitely.” Suzanne nodded.
“Thank you,” Jill said, relief crossing her face.
“How well did you know Vanessa?” Maddie asked.
“I didn’t.” Jill shook her head. “Last night was the first time I’d met her – or even heard of her.” She tutted. “I don’t know what Bob was thinking. He’s a good man, but ... I don’t know.” Her shoulders sagged for a second. “I can’t believe he couldn’t tell Vanessa was making a play for him.”
“Some men are clueless,” Suzanne replied, her voice loaded with meaning.
Maddie wondered if she was referring to her brother Luke and the fact that he hadn’t kissed Maddie yet.
“What about Genevieve?” Maddie asked curiously.
“She’s a good egg.” Jill laughed. “We go back a long way – since college. She’s a landscape gardener – in fact, she designed my garden, making it a nice space to relax, and for Boyd to play in.”
“She was certainly helping out last night,” Suzanne observed.
“I’m sorry about that.” Jill gnawed her lip. “I invited her as a guest but she insisted on helping – not that I thought you two needed any extra assistance.” She looked at them worriedly.
“It’s okay,” Maddie said.
“I know she can be bossy at times, but she means well.”
“I guess we should talk to Genevieve as well,” Suzanne said thoughtfully.
“She lives just outside Aunt Winifred.” Jill reached into her purse and pulled out a small notepad. “I’ll write down her address. She has a large garden there where she tries out new species of flowers and plants before she recommends them to her clients.”
Maddie tucked the piece of paper into her jeans pocket.
“We’ll go there today,” Suzanne promised. “And we’ll speak to Bob as well.”
“He’s at the Redbud Glen store right now,” Jill replied, her expression glum. “He said he didn’t want to lose any customers by closing.”
Maddie and Suzanne exchanged a look, Suzanne’s eyebrows raised.
“I think he needs to keep busy.” Jill forced a chuckle. “So do I. But I don’t think trying to pretend this never happened is the answer.”
“Mrrow,” Trixie seemed to agree.
“Would you like a coffee before we set off?” Maddie asked Jill. “Or I could make you a hot chocolate or even a cup of tea.”
“No thanks, girls.” Jill summoned a small smile. “I’ve taken up enough of your time already. I just can’t believe this has happened.”
“I know.” Suzanne’s voice was heartfelt.
They waved goodbye to Jill, then locked up the truck again.
“We can take my car,” Maddie said, pulling Trixie’s harness out of her purse.
“Why don’t we just take the truck?” Suzanne asked. “It will save us walking back to your house and getting your car.”
“Mrrow!” Trixie agreed.
Maddie wondered if the Persian didn’t feel like wearing her harness right now, and that’s why she approved of Suzanne’s idea.
“Okay.” Maddie climbed into the driver’s seat. “Let’s go!”
On the way to Redbud Glen, Maddie and Suzanne discussed what they were going to ask Bob.
“We’ll have to find out his whereabouts when the – murder happened,” Suzanne said.
“Definitely,” Maddie agreed.
“Mrrow!” Trixie joined in from the back seat.
“And I want to know if he really was clueless about Vanessa’s intentions toward him,” Suzanne continued.
“Do you think we should ask him that?” Maddie crinkled her brow. “Isn’t that being a bit ... snoopy?”
“But we are snooping.” Suzanne sat up straight in her seat. “I don’t think any questions are off limits if the outcome means clearing my name – as well as Bob’s and Jill’s.”
“Mrrow!”
Maddie looked in the rear-view mirror. Trixie looked like she was nodding in agreement.
“I guess I’m outnumbered.” Maddie gave in. “But just try to be tactful when you ask him questions. He’s our friend – remember?”
“Okay,” Suzanne acquiesced. “But we need to make sure he didn’t do it, Mads.”
***
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES later, they pulled up outside Bob’s café in Redbud Glen. It was painted in the same color scheme as Jill’s café – cream, with accents of yellow and almond.
“It doesn’t look very busy,” Suzanne observed as she stared out of her window.
Maddie had been able to snag a parking spot directly outside the café. There wasn’t much traffic in the small town, and there were empty parking spaces near them.
“Maybe today is a quiet day,” Maddie suggested.
“Let’s go and find out.” Suzanne opened her door.
Maddie put Trixie’s harness on her, and they walked over to the front entrance of the coffee shop.
Suzanne cupped her hands around her eyes and peered in through the glass door.
“Suzanne,” Maddie hissed.
“Just checking how busy it is,” Suzanne replied airily. “Not very.”
“What if Bob sees you doing that?” Maddie asked.
“I’ll think of something.” Suzanne waved a hand in the air.
Yes, Suzanne seemed to be ninety-nine percent back to her old self, and Maddie was grateful.
Suzanne opened the door, a little rattle emitting from the door handle, and they walked inside.
Soft jazz played in the background, the main space dominated by tables and chairs – most of them empty.
“Hi, girls.” Bob hurried over to them. “Are you okay after ... last night?”
“We’re fine,” Maddie said, casting a quick look at Suzanne. “We thought we’d visit you and see how you’re doing.”
“Yep.” Suzanne nodded.
“Mrrow.”
“Hi there, Trixie.” Bob smiled down at the Persian. “Would you like a bowl of water?”
“Mrrow.” Trixie made it sound like a good idea.
They followed Bob to the counter, where he filled a stainless-steel pet bowl and placed it on the floor for Trixie.
“There you go.”
They all watched as Trixie lapped at the water.
“What can I do for you two?” Bob asked. He tapped the espresso machine. “Coffee?”
“I told Mads I wouldn’t have any more caffeine today – but water would be good.”
“I’d love a mocha,” Maddie said. She enjoyed drinking decent coffee that was made by someone else – and Bob’s coffee was pretty good. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all.” He smiled at them as he set to work at the machine, a loud brrrrr filling the air.
“I didn’t get a chance last night to apologize to you, Maddie. Jill and I planned to relieve you so you had plenty of breaks in between making espressos, but somehow we lost track of the time and—” he shrugged his shoulders in an ‘I don’t know what happened gesture’ “—it didn’t happen.”
“No worries.” Maddie accepted her mocha, looking at the cocoa colored foam with appreciation, the chocolatey scent tantalizing her senses. “Suzanne spelled me for a few minutes and I checked on Trixie and Boyd. They were asleep in his kennel.”
“Yeah, I saw that for myself.” He chuckled as he handed Suzanne a bottle of water.
“You did?” Suzanne asked.
“Yep. I went out to the garden for a few minutes. Vanessa had gone outside, and I thought I should check on Boyd and Trixie. Jill loves that dog – and she likes Trixie as well. So do I.”
Maddie smiled.
“I hadn’t realized Jill had just done the same thing,” Bob continued. “I think she was in the kitchen when she went outside to check on them, while I was in the main space, talking to Vanessa and Kevin. Then Vanessa wanted to smoke, and I knew Jill would be furious if she smoked inside the café – and anyway, it’s not allowed – so Vanessa went outside.”
“And that’s when you went outside too?” Suzanne probed.
“Yeah.” He flushed. “But I didn’t see Vanessa – I swear. I went around to the left to check on Boyd and Trixie, and Vanessa must have turned right to have a cigarette, because that’s where she was ... found.”
Suzanne nodded slowly, her face paling. Maddie gently touched her friend’s arm to offer support, wondering if she was thinking of the moment when they’d found Vanessa’s body.
Suzanne gave Maddie a reassuring smile and took a sip of water, which seemed to fortify her.
“Should we sit down while we talk about this?” Maddie suggested. It might help Suzanne.
“Sure.” Bob gestured to the vacant tables. “Take your pick. As you can see, I’m not busy.”
“Do you think people are staying away because of ... last night?” Maddie asked.
“I guess so. It’s usually a lot busier here on Friday mornings.” His mouth twisted. “Redbud Glen is fifteen minutes away from Aunt Winifred, so I wouldn’t have thought my regulars would have heard about it already.”
“Maybe it was mentioned on the radio,” Suzanne commented.
“Jeez.” Bob looked even more downcast.
Maddie and Trixie walked over to a secluded table. Suzanne and Bob followed.
“Did you know Vanessa had the hots for you?” Suzanne asked as she set her water bottle down on the table.
“What? No,” he protested.
Maddie wished she could cast the Tell the Truth spell – that way she’d know for sure if Bob was lying or not. But she hadn’t brought the spell with her, since it could only be used once per full moon. She’d already used it during this lunar cycle, when she and Suzanne had investigated the death of a judge at the Seattle barista competition.
“Really?” Suzanne raised her eyebrow.
“No.” He flushed. “When Jill said yesterday Vanessa was after me, I thought she was exaggerating. I thought Vanessa was just being nice. She usually pops – popped – in every day to grab a coffee and have a chat. I had no idea Vanessa had other ideas in mind.”
Maddie studied him. He seemed to be sincere.
“What else do you know about Vanessa?” she asked.
“She was single. She used to say it was hard to find a good guy these days.” He hesitated. “I thought she was just talking in general, but now after what happened, maybe she was hinting she was interested in me?”
“Maybe,” Suzanne said dryly.
“She lives in Redbud Glen, but I’m not sure where.”
“What does – did she do?” Maddie asked.
“She said she was divorced.” Bob shrugged. “She didn’t say where she worked or that she even had a job so I assumed she didn’t need to work – that she’d received a generous divorce settlement.”
“How did you invite her to the party?” Suzanne asked.
“I had a bunch of flyers under the counter.” Bob gestured behind them. “I handed them out to my regular customers, and my favorite ones. Jill did the same.”
“Hmm.” Suzanne looked deep in thought.
“Since I met Jill – well, I haven’t been interested in anyone else,” he said in a low voice.
“That’s good.” Suzanne sipped her water.
“Last night after I got home, I thought about everything that had happened, and saw it from Jill’s point of view,” he said slowly. “And I have to be honest, Vanessa was monopolizing my attention at the party. I wasn’t very attentive to my grandmother, or my other guests. Or to you and Maddie. Thanks for doing a great job with the catering, by the way.”
“Genevieve pitched in too,” Suzanne said in a mischievous tone.
“Oh, Genevieve.” Bob rolled his eyes.
“You don’t like her?” Maddie asked. “We were going to visit her today.”
“It’s not that I don’t like her. I don’t think she likes me.”
Maddie looked down at Trixie, who sat on the floor. She didn’t know what Bob’s few customers would think if the cat sat on a chair. Trixie’s ears were pricked, as if she was listening to the conversation.
“Why is that?” Suzanne asked.
“Beats me.” Bob tapped his finger on the wooden table. “She and Jill go way back – I think she might be worried I’m going to steal Jill and she won’t have anyone to hang out with. The two of them go out to dinner every Wednesday night. When Jill called her to arrange another night as she and I got caught up in redecorating her Aunt Winifred café, you would have thought Jill was asking something totally impossible.” He shook his head.
Trixie rubbed her head against Maddie’s leg. Maddie looked down at the feline who gave a soft, “Mrrow.” Did Trixie think it was time to leave?
“Maybe we should visit Genevieve now,” Maddie said, taking one last sip of her mocha. “That was a great mocha, Bob, with the dark roast.”
“Thanks, Maddie. And thanks for stopping by, girls.” Bob rose. “We know you didn’t do it, Suzanne. Jill and I didn’t—” he looked around the quiet café but lowered his voice anyway “—kill Vanessa either.”
“We didn’t think you did.” Suzanne nodded.
“I hope business picks up,” Maddie said, gathering Trixie’s harness lead.
“Me too,” Bob said.
They waved goodbye to him as they left the café.
“I’m sure he didn’t do it, Mads,” Suzanne said as they got back into the truck. “I totally believed him.”
“So did I.” Maddie started the ignition.
“Mrrow,” Trixie agreed.
“And Trixie must know, mustn’t she?” Suzanne twisted around to smile at the Persian. “Because she has magical familiar powers, don’t you, Trix?”
“Mrrow!” Trixie seemed to nod her head in agreement.
“Since you didn’t kill Vanessa, and Bob didn’t, and I don’t think Jill did,” Maddie said she pulled away from the curb, “who did? Genevieve?”
“Let’s go and find out,” Suzanne declared.
“Mrrow!”
