Chapter 12
DERYN, COCONUT STRAWBERRY JAM SANDWICH BARS & TWINS (THE DIFFICULTY OF BEING)
B&E AT CROW’S BLOSSOMS!
Sources at the sheriff’s department confirm that after years of calm on Dragons, the town is facing a crime spree.
Yes, a spree.
Unlike our esteemed law enforcement, the Caw has not forgotten the arson at the Crow & Cat. And now another Crowhart property is at the center of a crime.
According to our sources, nothing was stolen, and Ceridwen Crowhart was seen sweeping the broken glass of the front window of the flower shop, which the would-be burglars shattered to gain entry.
Whether something spooked the bandits, or they found the register too light, the Caw is on the case—hopefully along with Sheriff Redding.
We asked the front-runners of the mayoral race to comment on the first breaking and entering in Crow’s Nest in years.
John Moss dismissed the situation as “some kids probably playing ball and breaking the window.” While Paloma Allende corrected the report that the property crime was the first in many years, stating, “In fact, not even the first for this particular family, since the Crowharts experienced several similar misfortunes a few months ago when the Atelier was broken into.”
Ouch. There goes the credibility of the sheriff’s department.
We are back to watching the Market Square. And you should probably start locking your doors again, kids or no kids, ball or no ball.
—Crow’s Caw
“Ouch, indeed.” Ceridwen set the tabby kitten down on the carpet and stood up effortlessly, hand not touching the floor, to turn off the whistling kettle.
“Show-off,” Deryn muttered.
Ceridwen threw a smile over her shoulder.
“I’m in my Carol Aird era, baby sister.”
Deryn didn’t respond to the tragic character comparison and decided to rejoice in the fact that her sister chose someone who did have a happy-ish ending, at least.
Ceridwen soon returned with two steaming mugs. “Peppermint. I have a feeling you might need it.”
Deryn almost dropped the mug, “Me? I’m not the one whose business was broken into.”
She took a sip, but it settled heavily in her stomach.
Deryn felt like climbing out of her skin.
Restless, on edge. There was only one thing for her to do, her hands already warming up with intention.
She walked into the kitchen and reached for the first cupboard, pulling out items arbitrarily, deciding on what she’d make.
It was the fridge that decided for her. The strawberry jam jar stared at her from its place on the side of the door. She looked around some more, and the coconut all but winked in her direction.
Coconut and strawberry jam sandwich bars it was, then.
At the wave of her hand, the oven blinked to life. Deryn adjusted the temperature by hand before lining a tray with parchment paper. A few steps away from her, Ceridwen was quiet, turning the cup in her hands.
“I’m fine. No, don’t even start. I am fine. They didn’t take anything. And maybe John Moss was right.”
Deryn blew out a breath and set up the stand mixer.
“You don’t really believe this was some kids playing baseball.”
Ceridwen smiled, but it didn’t reach her mossy-green eyes. She got up and took a spoonful of the jam before handing the jar back to Deryn.
“No, because I don’t know any kids who’d play baseball in the snow, Der. Also, they were clearly looking for something. They didn’t break much, nor did they take anything, but several drawers in my office in the back were opened, and some were ransacked.”
Deryn allowed her to sidle up next to her, back propped on the counter, as she gently folded butter, flour, and baking powder into the bowl, letting the Kitchen-Aid turn it all into a crumbly mixture. As the machine stopped, she turned to Ceridwen.
“What are we going to do about it?” Deryn asked quietly, and Ceridwen smiled.
“Trust you to be my baby sister who is always ready to stand in front of me.” When Deryn wanted to protest, Ceridwen kissed her on the forehead.
“I’m not Rhiannon, baby. If I need help, I’ll ask for it.
I won’t insist on being the brooding, stoic Jane Eyre doing it all alone.
If there’s anything to be done, we will do it together.
But it means the world to me that you’d offer. ”
Deryn felt tears prick the backs of her eyes and chose to change the subject.
“Any guesses what they were looking for?”
Ceridwen reached for a new spoon and scooped up more jam before throwing the second spoon in the sink.
“There was money in the till. Not much. But it looked to me like they didn’t even check.
Which is why John Moss could be right? Not a burglary.
Or you and I could be right, and they weren’t looking for money at all.
Since I don’t even have a safe in the shop, I’m not certain what they thought they could find there. ”
“So, Paloma was right, then. The Caw should’ve been clearer about it. They’re too hard on her.”
As Ceridwen moved to give her more space, she separated two egg yolks from the whites, then added a few spoonfuls of water into the bowl with the other ingredients.
She stepped back as the mixture took on a uniform consistency and drank another sip of her tea.
This time, the tea was too cold. She let her fingers glide up and down the side of the mug, freeing her magic to warm up the contents once again.
When the liquid started bubbling, Ceridwen shot her a warning look.
“Break that mug, and I’ll make one out of you. It was a gift.”
“From a toddler? It looks hideous,” Deryn teased, but blew on her tea before tasting it. When she burned her tongue, Ceridwen just sighed.
“It was Seren’s first attempt at pottery. She’s much better now. But I kept this one.”
Deryn heard melancholy in the words. She wanted to make a joke, to lighten the mood, to make Ceridwen smile, but nothing came to mind, so she let silence settle in the corners of the kitchen.
“I kept your first drawings too, you know.” Ceridwen was the one to break the détente.
“I do know. There’s one on the side of the fridge. I might not eat here, but I do notice some things.”
Deryn upended the dough on the clean counter surface and took a few minutes to knead it by hand. It didn’t need the additional mixing, no, but she always did it anyway. Just a few more times. Just enough to feel the dough on her fingertips.
Ceridwen watched her closely as she laid the thin layers on a sheet pan. She hummed as Deryn closed the oven door and set the timer for fifteen minutes, then she stumped her by changing the subject.
“So, ‘Paloma,’ huh? No more ‘Ms. Allende’? You looked good together on Market Square. Something you want to tell me?”
“Ugh…” Deryn looked around for some kind of escape hatch. The house held none but the phthalo door, and it was locked.
She desperately snatched the little saucepan from the rack and the jam. But the coconut and sugar filling did not save her. Ceridwen was determined.
“I mean, I did read about it in the Caw, so it must be true. Seeing you together, holding hands and looking very cute, was still a surprise.”
“I was going to tell you,” Deryn grumbled.
She tried to focus on the task at hand, folding together coconut, sugar, and eggs, but her fingers felt foreign to her, heavy and limp.
Surely this was the moment to come clean.
With Ceridwen looking at her with those kind, expectant eyes, now was the moment to say—
“We just hit it off, and well, she’s not looking for anything permanent, so I thought, why not? It’s not serious or anything. Just…hanging out.”
“Is that a euphemism for sex?” Ceridwen wrinkled her nose. “Because there seemed to be a lot of sex in the mix there.”
“In where, Ceri?” Deryn almost swallowed her tongue.
What the hell was happening? She tried not to look up at Ceridwen from the boiling saucepan.
She stirred the thick paste for a few minutes before setting it aside.
Ceridwen seemed undeterred by the baking process, or by the air of a busy baker that Deryn tried to project.
Ceridwen didn’t even blink an eye when Deryn began to whisk the whites by hand.
Yes, they had a mixer. No, Deryn never used it for beating egg whites.
Sue her, she was picky about the texture of her whisked egg whites.
Ceridwen clearly didn’t care about the eggs at all.
“The aura the two of you projected, the energy. Like you were burning up the sheets and had just rolled out of bed before strolling around Market Square. Everyone noticed, I guarantee.” Ceridwen stole a tiny bit of whisked egg whites after Deryn added sugar and coconut to them, bringing her finger to her lips.
She smiled, then reached for her tea. When she grimaced, Deryn simply extended her free hand and warmed the tea again.
This time, she stopped before the boiling point.
“Thanks. I just mean you looked hot and heavy, that’s all. And I’m not even going to ask anything about your intentions or whatever. This is you we’re talking about.”
“You’re very snacky tonight, Ceri. And what’s that supposed to mean?” Deryn suddenly felt offended. She couldn’t quite explain why. The coconut mixture and the egg whites were left to rest, while the oven whirred quietly. With nothing else to do, Deryn finally gave her sister her full attention.
“I’m just…nervous, I guess, hence the snackiness. Plus, these are your pastries, so I’d have to be dead and buried not to get excited about them. As for the other thing, it’s nothing bad, silly. You never stay. You told everyone as much. And why would you even consider doing so anyway?”
Ceridwen wrapped her hands around the mug, warming them. Deryn let the power run to her rapidly chilling fingers. She could swear the room was being sapped of warmth, and not by her.