Chapter 5

The police lights flashed, illuminating the storefronts along Main Street. Blake wrapped her arms around herself, but still she shivered in the spring night air as she stood in front of Sliced, staring across the street at her café. A young police officer wound crime scene tape around the perimeter of Mystery Cup, and Blake found herself morbidly wondering if the coroner would bring Nikki’s body out through the front or the back door. Even worse, her mind kept drifting back to the times when Nikki had frustrated her so much that she’d visualized herself smacking the girl upside the head with a coffee mug. Part of her thought the whole scene was a nightmare, and at any moment, she was going to wake up on the couch in front of her TV with Ninja asleep on her chest.

But it was all too real. A murderer had walked into the Mystery Cup and killed Nikki while she was doing inventory—a task that Blake herself would have been there doing if Nikki hadn’t volunteered. An involuntary shiver shook her, and she hugged herself a little tighter.

The top floors of most of the old two-story buildings downtown were deserted, and Blake could feel the dark, empty structures closing in on her. Their foggy windows looked like vacant eyes gazing down upon on the chaos.

As it was, she had enough human eyes studying her movements. Some of the other shop owners and residents had begun to gather along the sidewalk. Mrs. Lawson who owned Fatal Shot Gifts shoved a cup of weak coffee into Blake’s hands, and she quickly choked it down. Mr. Manson who owned and operated Final Destination Hotel patted her on the shoulder in an awkward gesture of empathy, and Mrs. Russell who ran Crime Time Library and Museum kept squeezing her in hugs so tight that her ribs screamed for relief.

Even though Blake was surrounded by a crowd of people, she’d never felt so alone. The open scrutiny was poorly disguised as pity on their faces, and she couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact. She just wanted her alarm clock to go off so she could wake up from the nightmare.

The friendly attempts at conversation were dispersed by whispers so loud, they seemed to echo in Blake’s ears. She firmed her quivering lip, determined not to cry. Blake’s chest loosened a little when she finally saw her sister emerge from the front door of Mystery Cup, her mouth a grim line. Kyle crossed the street and held out her arms to Blake, and they embraced in a long hug. The crowd of people stepped away, yet remained within earshot so they wouldn’t miss any big news Kyle was ready to share.

When Blake pulled away, she searched her sister’s face. “Who would have done this, Kyle? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know. But we’re going to find out. The forensics team is dusting for prints right now.” Kyle cast a glance over her shoulder at the café before looking back at Blake. “My first thought was that it was a burglary and maybe the perp didn’t expect anyone to be there so late.” She shook her head. “But Nikki wasn’t killed quickly, which would be the usual MO in that situation. And nothing was taken. There’re just bags of coffee beans busted open all over the floor. Unless…”

Blake wound her arms back around her torso, holding herself together as if she might otherwise fall to pieces. “Unless I interrupted them before they could take anything.”

Kyle reached out to squeeze her shoulder reassuringly. “No. Listen, I’m going to figure this out. As soon as forensics is done, we’ll know more.”

Blake had seen all the officers enter her café thirty minutes ago. She knew the forensics “team” consisted of one guy, some black powder, and a duster. That didn’t make her feel super confident.

“I need to ask you some questions,” Kyle was saying. “You said you heard the perp when you walked in. Can you elaborate?”

She nodded as she searched the growing crowd. Her eyes landed on Kyle’s boyfriend, Jason, who was standing on the sidewalk in front of Macabre Reads, interviewing Sean Larson. Mr. Book Hottie had a serious scowl on his face, and he kept shoving a hand through his disheveled black hair. His face had tightened into hard lines, which made him look dangerous. Unfortunately, the tough exterior just cast a brooding look over the total package, making him look like a sexy bad boy.

“Blake!” Kyle jarred her back into focus. “Are you paying any attention to me at all?”

“He was here.” Blake nodded in Sean’s direction.

Kyle followed her gaze, and her sister’s eyes narrowed as she turned back. “What do you mean he was here? ‘Here’ where?”

“He was at his bookstore. The light was on when I left to go home. He was still there when I came back tonight.”

“Okay.” Kyle’s voice sounded as though she were forcing patience. “That’s not news, Blake. He’s getting the bookstore ready to open. Working long hours to clean and stock inventory is normal. Jason’s questioning him now to see if he heard anything.”

“He knew her.” As if Sean knew she was talking about him, his head snapped up at that moment, and he turned to look directly at her. Blake felt her eyes flare briefly, and she looked down. Did he look like a killer? She couldn’t tell. Did killers have dimples?

“Knew her?” Kyle asked. “Knew Nikki?”

Blake nodded but didn’t lift her gaze. “He came in the café this morning. He was all charming and cute. But then, when he saw Nikki, his whole composure changed. He looked kind of… I don’t know… scary.”

Kyle opened her notebook and began to scribble in it. “How did they know each other?”

“I don’t know.” Blake chewed on her lower lip. “They said they didn’t.”

Kyle looked up from her notebook and sighed. “So you’re guessing?”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, they definitely knew each other. You should have seen Nikki this morning. She was so flustered. When he came in to get coffee, it was almost like she was scared of him. She ran and hid in the kitchen. But when I asked her if she knew him, she said no.” Blake caught herself speaking with her hands, her arms waving around in a flurry of explanation. “I don’t know what was going on, but they knew each other. And for whatever reason, neither of them wanted to admit it. And then, there was Todd Lang.”

“Todd Lang?” Kyle’s brows drew together then shot up as she remembered. “Oh God, he was arguing with Nikki this morning.”

“And he was arguing with Sean tonight. I only caught a piece of their conversation, but I think they were talking about Nikki.”

Kyle cast a glance over her shoulder at Sean and Jason as Blake relayed what she had heard between the two men.

“So Sean and Todd know each other, and Nikki was somehow caught up with them.” Kyle was mumbling to herself, the wheels in her head spinning almost audibly. After a moment, she turned and looked back at her sister. “Let’s focus on you for a moment. I want to know exactly what you saw and heard from the time you pulled up in front of the café.”

Blake blew out a breath and closed her eyes, remembering. “I pulled up and got out, and I remember thinking how quiet it seemed. I didn’t hear anything. Then I went into the café and noticed immediately that the kitchen light was still on.” She opened her eyes and looked at Kyle. “I was so annoyed. Nikki and I had a talk this afternoon about how she needed to be more responsible. I thought she’d left and didn’t bother to turn out the light. But then…” Blake shivered in the still night. “Then I heard a cup breaking in the kitchen. It scared me to death. So I started calling Nikki’s name. I wondered why she would still be there so late. I called her name a couple of times, and then I heard footsteps in the kitchen, and the back door slammed shut right before I opened the kitchen door.”

Kyle’s lips turned down in a frown as she jotted information in her notebook. “So you didn’t actually see anyone?”

She shook her head slowly as she searched the memory, analyzing it for anything she’d missed. “I may not have seen them, but I heard them. I know someone was there.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Kyle, I really think it could have been Sean.”

“It wasn’t me.”

Both women startled at the deep voice, and Blake jerked her head up. Sean stood two feet away from them, his jaw clenched tightly, his eyes shooting darts directly at her. She blanched, swearing she could physically feel the jabs.

Kyle looked around. “Where’s Detective Hart?”

“I don’t know.” Even as Sean spoke to Kyle, he didn’t take his eyes off Blake. “He was done asking me questions, told me he’d be in touch, then went back into the café.”

Kyle looked between the two of them. “Blake, I need to go find Jason. But I’m not done talking to you yet, okay? So don’t go anywhere.”

Before Blake could protest, her sister was jogging across the street, heading into Mystery Cup, leaving her alone with Sean. At least with the growing crowd of onlookers, she didn’t feel completely alone. Still, she’d basically just accused the man of murder. She didn’t imagine he would be thrilled about that.

Blake took a shaky breath before turning to face him.

His green eyes looked dark in the night. “You think I’m a killer, Blake? That’s not very neighborly of you.”

“Uh, I never actually said that. I just said you were at your shop when it happened.” Her excuse sounded lame even to her own ears.

“No,” he snapped. “I believe your exact words were, ‘I think it could have been Sean.’ Unless there’s another Sean around here that I don’t know about, I’m pretty sure that was you calling me a murderer.”

His voice was harsh, making Blake wince under his firm gaze. Her chest tightened as a fierce intensity burned through her. “You really have some nerve. I’m supposed to give you the benefit of the doubt when I only met you a few hours ago? I don’t even know you, Sean,” she bit out.

“My point exactly,” he said matter-of-factly. “And I don’t know you, either. But I certainly don’t think you’re a murderer, Blake.”

She shook her head. Living in murder central, she had become familiar with quite a few famous cases in addition to the Red Rose Murders that had occurred in town. Not only that, but she’d read a few famous mystery novels from the mystery book club that met weekly at her café. It really gave her a new perspective on the subject of murder.

“You don’t know that,” she finally said. “One thing I’ve learned from living in this town is that anyone’s capable of murder, given the right circumstances. Including me.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And you.”

Sean eyed her curiously. “I can’t imagine that there are any right circumstances for someone to murder a twenty-three-year-old girl.”

Now it was Blake’s turn to study him. “So you did know Nikki?”

“Nooo.” He drew the word out. “I didn’t say I knew her. In fact, I believe I’ve already told you that I didn’t know her.”

Liar. “Then how did you know she was twenty-three?”

Sean gave what could only be described as an exasperated laugh and raked a hand through his disheveled hair. “So you’ve gone from Coffee Goddess to Amateur Sleuth? Look, I don’t know how I knew that. Someone must have mentioned it. The point is, I didn’t kill anyone. Maybe I should ask you what you were doing here so late. You say anyone’s capable of murder, so how do we know you’re not the killer?”

Her mouth popped open. “Me? Have you lost your mind? Let me tell you something. You can’t just waltz into town and—”

“Blake!” Kyle walked up and put her arm protectively around her older sister’s shoulders. “Look, emotions are running high right now.” She glared at Sean. “I know everyone’s upset, so why don’t we just take everything down a notch. Mr. Larson, we don’t have any more questions for you right now, so you’re free to go. Just make sure you—”

“Don’t leave town. Right. Detective Hart already told me.” He took a few deep breaths and made his face carefully blank. “Well, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you ladies around.” He nodded at Kyle. “Detective.” Then he turned and gave Blake an intense stare that lasted a bit too long. “Blake,” he finally said and jerked his chin at her before he turned and walked away slowly.

When she was sure he was out of earshot, she spoke in a low voice. “He’s hiding something.”

“I know,” Kyle said as they both watched his retreating back. “But I’m the detective, sister. So stay out of it.”

Blake just nodded, but she was pretty sure her sister already knew that there was no way she was staying out of it. In fact, she was determined to find out exactly what Mr. Book Hottie was hiding.