Chapter 23 #2
“It worked, guys. We fooled him.” Sable laughed and held her hand up to the guy sitting next to her. He high-fived it.
“They’re on their best behavior today. Don’t expect it to last.” Gideon shook his head, but he was smiling.
My phone pinged, announcing a text.
Unknown number: This is Paula. Meet me at Lily’s. On my way there now.
I looked up at Gideon, who was watching me. “Paula wants to meet at Lily’s.”
Everyone around the table groaned. A few muttered, “Poor you.”
“Hey, Lily’s concoctions aren’t that bad,” I said.
“Yes, they are.” Sable shivered. “When she first opened, I tried her sweet and spicy latte. I don’t think my taste buds ever recovered. Pureed strawberries and jalapenos do not belong together in a coffee.”
I snorted. “Well, I don’t need any more coffee this morning, so I should be safe from her strange and unusual creations.” I eyed the mess of empty bowls and plates scattered across the table. I couldn’t believe we’d actually finished all the food. “But I need to get this cleaned up first.”
Gideon shook his head. “We cooked, so they clean.”
Everyone hopped out of their chairs and started clearing the table. No one even complained. As they passed me, they all thanked me for a delicious breakfast and begged me to do it again. I promised I would.
“Okay. Let’s see what Paula found out,” Gideon said, holding his hand out to me.
We made it as far as the door before someone rushed in.
“Alph–I mean, Gideon…” The stranger tilted her head to the side, like she was exposing her neck to him. “I need your help.”
Gideon glanced at me.
“Do what you need to do,” I said, squeezing his hand.
“I don’t think this will take long. Paula probably wants to meet at Lily’s so she can grab a coffee and head straight to work.
Although, depending on what Paula has to say, I might stick around and ask Lily some questions.
She might have seen something the night of Winston’s murder. ”
Gideon brushed his lips over mine. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’m just going over to Lily’s.” I patted his chest. “I’ll be fine.”
I smiled all the way to The Witch’s Brew. Nothing was wrecking my mood today. The bubbly sensation in my chest that I was starting to suspect might be connected to my magic fluttered through me.
At the end of the street, vendors chattered to one another as they hauled more merch to their stalls at the festival site. Birds chirped overhead. The sun warmed my face. And the taste of Gideon’s kiss lingered on my lips.
I felt ready to take on the world.
Maybe I’d even give another of Lily’s brews a try.
Sure, I’d had a lot of coffee already, but I could always drink more.
I yanked open the door to Lily’s coffee shop and inhaled deeply. The rich aroma of coffee swept over me. There was a slightly floral or leafy smell, too. It reminded me of a spring morning.
The fluttery feeling expanded to skitter up my spine. That was new, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. Hopefully, it was temporary, like magical growing pains. I wiggled to make it go away.
The place was empty. Lily wasn’t even hanging out behind the counter.
A cardboard box with a few bags of coffee tucked inside sat beside the till like Lily had been in the middle of packing up more supplies for her booth when she’d been interrupted.
That was promising. This festival could be a turning point for her business.
Something banged in the back room. Then someone grunted. The feeling along my spine was less fluttery and increasingly scratchy by the moment. Was my magic trying to tell me something?
Huh, maybe it was.
I hadn’t realized it until now, but Lily’s name had popped up several times during our inquiries into the murders. Leon had said she was out the night Winston died. Of course, she’d also pointed her finger at Leon. Except he’d had an alibi. So far, I didn’t think Lily did.
I thought back to the night of the festival meeting. She’d been flirting with Winston… which, ew… but what if he’d let her believe she might have a chance? He’d told Tulip he loved her, even though he didn’t.
And I was sure she’d walked out of the festival meeting on her own.
It would’ve been dead simple for her to pocket a crystal on her way through Elwood’s shop.
She’d also known all about Leon’s daggers.
Oh… and hadn’t Jim glanced in Lily’s direction when we’d asked him if he had any other information?
Holy crap. Was I right about this?
I gulped.
Maybe I should go back to The Den. Gideon and I could call Grady together. But I didn’t really have any evidence, did I? Just a hunch.
And what if Paula arrived at the coffee shop after I left?
Oh… was that why Paula wanted to meet here?
There was another grunt. If Lily was injured, I should help. Even if she might possibly be a murderer.
“Lily?” I called out. “You okay?”
No answer. Shit. I moved toward the end of the counter, but before I could duck around to the back, Lily darted out. Her hair was in disarray, and her suit–this one in a rather dull mustard yellow that did nothing for her complexion–was askew. She was smoothing down her collar when she saw me.
“Declan?” She narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“Is everything okay? I thought I heard a strange noise.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She glanced over her shoulder, then her gaze dropped to the floor by the back doorway.
I couldn’t see what she was looking at from where I was.
I rose up on my toes to look over. She must have seen me move out of the corner of her eye, because she stepped between me and whatever she’d been looking at.
“I was moving some boxes around in the back,” she said as she motioned to the box on the counter. “I needed to grab some stuff for my tent. It’s the last day of the festival.”
“It’s been great, hasn’t it?” I shot her a smile as I scrambled to make normal conversation. I probably sounded way too cheerful. Was I acting suspiciously? I smiled wider. Smiles were good, right? “We’re getting a lot of engagement on the pictures I’ve posted on social media.”
Before I could say anything more, there was a shuffling sound. Lily frowned.
“Oh, is your staff here already? I guess they must be, hey? You’ll want to head over to the festival soon.”
“Marcy doesn’t get here until ten,” she said. “What do you want? I need to get back to packing up my boxes.”
“Oh, right. Sorry,” I said.
The shop was still empty. I probably needed to order something since Paula wasn’t here yet.
What if I retreat to the street and intercept Paula before she got here?
Would leaving without ordering make Lily suspicious?
What would she do if she was suspicious?
If I was right about this, she’d already killed two people.
I glanced at my phone, but Paula hadn’t sent another message. Damn it.
Lily stared at me.
“How about a Meadowland Mocha?” I ordered the first thing on the menu.
That sounded pleasant, right? Meadows were lovely. Peaceful. Not sinister at all.
“Sure.” She splashed some chocolate syrup in the bottom of a cup, dropped in a few dried leaves of some kind, then fiddled with the espresso machine. As the machine hissed and growled, I tapped the counter.
“You haven’t seen Paula yet, have you? I’m meeting her here.”
Lily’s hand jolted, and steaming hot espresso sprayed over her fingers. She shouted out in surprise. Her reaction wasn’t worrisome at all, right?
“Oh no,” I said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she bit out. She wiped her red fingers on her apron. “You’re here to meet Paula, you said?”
“Yeah. She texted to say she was on her way.” I glanced out the window at the street. “Wait, isn’t that Paula’s van across the street?”
I hadn’t noticed it when I walked over, but it might have been there. I’d been too lost in my own thoughts. Huh. Maybe Paula needed to get something more from Winston’s old shop.
Lily didn’t answer. She was using a small pair of tongs to add more floral and leafy-looking things to my cup. These appeared fresher than the others, but that was a lot of greenery for a coffee, wasn’t it?
“I think my grandfather grows something like that flower in his herb garden,” I said, pointing at the delicate white flower added to the top. I really, really hoped that wasn’t the moonbane he’d warned me about. “So, what’s in the mocha to make it a meadowland?”
Lily swallowed. Her cheeks were pinker than they had been a minute ago. That blast of espresso must have hurt. She wasn’t flushed for any other reason, right? “Oh, you know. A little of this. A little of that. All organic. I pick everything myself.”
She topped off the drink with a dollop of whipped cream and a few more flowers and green leaves sprinkled over it.
“That looks pretty as a picture.” I snapped a picture of it with my phone and put it up on my socials.
If I was right and this was moonbane, everyone would see she’d tried to poison me.
Having evidence was good, right? Or if I was completely wrong about her, I could pretend I posted it to promote her business.
“Edible flowers are such a showstopper.”
“What are you doing?”
“I posted a picture of it. Don’t worry, I tagged your shop.” I smiled and flashed my screen at her.
“What? No…” She grabbed for my phone.
“Lily? What are you doing?” I jerked my phone away from her. Well, crap. She didn’t seem happy with the publicity, so did that mean–
A deep groan cut through the quiet coffee shop.
“Is someone hurt?” Icy cold dread had replaced the fluttery sensation. I shivered.
Lily rubbed her forehead. “Listen, Paula didn’t want you to see her like this. She got sick almost as soon as she got here. Asked to use the bathroom at the back, so she didn’t mess up the public toilets.”
Oh God. Paula. I hurried around the counter. Paula was sprawled across the floor just inside the back room.
“Paula, what happened?” I dropped to my knees beside her. Her face was sweaty and gray, she’d been sick on herself, and bits of green leaves were stuck to her lips and teeth. “She must have had an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients. We need to call for help.”
God help me, but I knew this wasn’t an allergic reaction. Paula had been poisoned.
I glanced at Lily, half-expecting to find her swinging a coffee carafe at my head. Then something bizarre happened. Lily pulled out her phone. A second later, she said, “I need help at The Witch’s Brew. Someone is in medical distress.”
What a relief. Lily must have had a change of heart. She was getting help. As much as I wanted to yell at her for putting Paula in this situation to begin with, I didn’t want her to swing back around to wanting to kill her again. So, I clamped my mouth shut.
When Lily finished her call, she smiled at me. I smiled back. Yep, we’ll all pretend this is just a little mix-up. No one tried to poison anyone. Nothing is rotten in the state of Denmark. Not one little thing.
I could absolutely fake it until help arrived. No problem. So easy.
“Let’s get her into a chair while we wait,” Lily said, jostling me as she moved to Paula’s other side. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do until help arrives.”
Paula flailed as we manhandled her over to the nearest chair.
As soon as Paula was seated, Lily went to the counter to retrieve my drink.
I sat beside Paula and wrapped my arm around her waist, so she wouldn’t fall off.
She clung to me so tightly I couldn’t move.
She mumbled something, but I didn’t understand what she was trying to say.
“Here. This will help calm your nerves,” Lily said, setting my mocha in front of me. Then she detoured to the front of the shop. “I’ll go and lock the front door until the paramedics get here. We don’t want anyone coming in when Paula’s like this.”
I eyed the drink. Had I been wrong about the flower? It couldn’t be moonbane if she was suggesting I drink it, right? She wouldn’t try to poison me if help was coming.
I glanced over my shoulder toward the street. I doubted anyone would notice us sitting over here unless they were looking for us. It was a dark corner. But Lily had called for help. They would break in if they thought someone was hurt.
Where were they? It hadn’t taken very long for the police to respond when we’d found the dead bodies. They should be here any minute now.
A few seconds later, Lily returned with a wet cloth. She brushed it over Paula’s forehead. “There, there. You’ll feel better soon.”
Paula moaned, but she was quieter than she had been. That wasn’t a good sign.
Where on earth was the ambulance? Was there a pileup on the highway or something? I bet Gideon could get someone over here right away. I patted my pockets for my phone. It wasn’t there.
“Do you see my phone anywhere?” I must have dropped it beside Paula when I’d found her. I didn’t want to jostle Paula to go look for it. She was so frail and vulnerable. I also didn’t want to leave Lily alone with Paula. Just in case.
Wait. What if Lily had only pretended to make the call?
“No. I don’t know where your phone is.” Lily shook her head as she fussed over Paula. “You should take a drink to calm your nerves.”
I reached for the coffee with my free hand. As soon as my fingers brushed against the cup, it was like a thousand bees stung me at the same time. My hand spasmed. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Lily was trying to kill me, too, with a smile on her damn face.
I bet she swiped my phone when I was distracted with Paula. Even if I did go looking for it, I doubted I’d find it.
I felt the weight of Lily’s gaze on me. I lifted the cup. I couldn’t drink from it, but I didn’t know what else to do.
As if sensing my rising panic, Lily lifted her eyebrow. Metal glinted in one of her hands. Fuck. When had she grabbed a paring knife? Had she used that knife to chop up the moonbane? Was it covered in poison, too?
Gideon had said once that all I had to do was shout his name, and he’d come. Unfortunately, I doubted I’d make it past the first syllable of Gideon’s name before Lily stopped me. What else could I do? Run for the door? Nope, not that, because I couldn’t leave Paula.
What if I screamed in my head as loudly as I could? Would that work instead? I had to try. Last night, when Gideon and I were together, I felt a connection. What we’d shared was more than just sex. I was sure of it. But would that connection work outside bed, too?
GIDEON!
I poured all my panic and fear into his name. I prayed my magic was as strong as everyone thought it was and that shouting for him that way would work. If my magic was limited to baking, I was screwed.
The shriek of an angry raven was the only response.