Chapter 6
Rocco woke to a loud thumping on his front door. Still half asleep and in no mood to rise and shine, he plodded to the door to find a disgruntled Cookie on the other side.
‘Reg’s car broke down on Rose Petal Lane,’ she announced at once. ‘It’s a classic.’
Unsure why he was being fed this information, he said the only thing that came to mind. ‘Maybe that’s why it broke down.’
‘And Mabel’s cat is having kittens. Again. She didn’t want any more.’
‘Perhaps she should take it to the vet.’
‘The pipes at the primary school burst, the Mathersons are getting divorced, Florrie lost her favourite hat, and one of Len’s alpacas got out the paddock.’ She gave him a look that said he should know what she was talking about. ‘See!’ Waving one arm to the driveway, she huffed. ‘Bad luck.’
Suddenly, it all made sense, except the part where she’d got him out of bed at silly o’clock.
‘Well, don’t just stand there, Beck. We have a fairy to find.’ She turned on her heel, heading to the B&B. ‘Coffee’s ready,’ she called over her shoulder.
Scratching his head, he went off to get washed, as clearly his day had started.
He was still yawning when he entered the dining room to see Iris laying out breakfast.
‘Ooh, you look tired.’ She passed him a plate as he slumped to a chair.
‘Is your aunt always such an early bird?’
Iris chuckled. ‘Only when she’s on a mission.’
Cookie came out of the kitchen, coffee in hand for Rocco. ‘You and Iris can leave in ten minutes.’
Rocco was glad to sip the hot liquid, not that it woke him fully. ‘Ten minutes?’
‘The marquees start going up tomorrow, ready for Sunday’s food event. We need to check the park once more now the snow has melted.
It hadn’t melted everywhere, as he’d seen on his way over, but most was gone from the grass, so he figured the park would be clear.
‘Why me?’ asked Iris.
‘Beck is new. You can’t expect him to know where everything is just yet. You can show him the way.’ Cookie left them to it.
Iris sat opposite Rocco. ‘I was going to get ready for my run in a minute.’
‘It’s all right. I’ll go up there once I wake up, which will probably be in another two hours.’
‘Helping out in your spare time is what gives this place community spirit,’ came Cookie’s voice from somewhere.
‘You know, I jog too. We could kill two birds with one stone by exercising and searching at the same time,’ he added.
Iris smiled. ‘I like that idea.’
And he liked the idea of them hanging out together.
Iris spotted Magnus in the hallway as she headed to her room to get ready. He was shaking his head at Cookie, who had her innocent face on.
‘You off?’ asked Cookie.
Iris narrowed her eyes at her aunt. ‘What are you up to now?’
Cookie simply shrugged. ‘Just trying to bring back our luck.’
‘Then why aren’t you at the park, searching?’
‘Magnus needs me to help with a wonky shelf.’
Magnus raised his eyebrows.
Cookie darted to the main door. ‘Ooh, is that Norma I hear calling me?’
Iris couldn’t hear anyone so ignored her aunt and went upstairs to her room to put on her running clothes.
All she could think about was the couple run she was about to go on with Rocco and his full-on fitness. She took a moment to assess her own muscles. Not too bad.
Rocco was warming up outside by the time she was ready. ‘Shall we take my truck up to the park, or do you run that far?’
Iris motioned towards the parked vehicle. ‘I’d rather us drive there, then jog around the pond.’
They walked to the truck, and Rocco opened the door for her, adding a smile. It was nice and toasty inside, making her grateful for his thoughtfulness at pre-warming the space in case she had wanted the ride.
‘Do you think we have a chance of finding Lady Vic?’ he asked, pulling out of the driveway.
‘Well, it might have blown off in the blizzard, but there is also a chance someone took it so we’d lose points for a damaged statue in our park.’ She glanced his way. ‘Not the best impression, and the judges are pretty strict about who they give their award to.’
‘Shenanigans, eh?’
Iris giggled. ‘Village wars.’
‘At least it’s just one award.’
Iris snorted a laugh. ‘That happens twice a year, then there are other competitions, even the bake sale can get a little fierce.’
‘Bake sale rivals?’
‘Who can raise the most money for their charity is a big deal.’ Iris laughed once more. ‘You should see Cookie and her mates then.’
He quirked an eyebrow. ‘Are the police needed?’
Iris patted his arm, telling herself to ignore how solid his biceps felt. ‘You’ll be safe.’
His laugh was as sexy as the rest of him.
After a long run around the crescent-shaped pond at the park and no luck finding the missing fairy, Iris suggested popping into the tearoom on their way home for blueberry muffins as a small pick-me-up, which Rocco happily agreed to, as his stomach had started to rumble.
Josie was inside, clearing tables, and Rocco wondered why she wasn’t in her own shop. ‘I’m helping out in here because there’s a small flood in my shop,’ Josie explained.
‘Oh no, what happened?’ Iris pulled out a yellow chair from a nearby table and sat with Rocco as Josie placed a little glass vase upon a yellow-gingham coaster in the middle of the table, then fluffed up the pink flowers poking out the rim.
‘Not sure. The plumber is in there now with Magnus. Luckily, no damage to my stock, but I don’t have much on the floor anyway,’ she told the last bit to Rocco. ‘Just some large standing crystals, quartz mainly, but I do have some baskets holding candles, so they’re currently drying out.’
‘Bad luck,’ a man shouted from the other end of the tearoom. ‘We’ve all got bad luck.’
Iris went to respond when Joel entered with a builder from his shop.
Norma turned from the stainless-steel coffee machine and frowned at once. ‘What are you doing in here?’
Joel gestured at the workman. ‘He just wants to get some coffee for his men, and it’s bad business to turn customers away.’
Norma folded her arms. ‘I don’t care. You’re the enemy.’
The worker flashed puppy dog eyes. ‘But I’m not, and they say your coffee is the best around here.’
Joel cleared his throat as Norma’s facial expression softened considerably.
‘Really?’ she asked, reaching for a disposable cup at once.
Joel rolled his warm brown eyes, which Norma totally ignored, and Rocco found the whole exchange interesting. ‘Well, if that’s settled, I’ll be on my way.’
Norma looked as though she had more to say but closed her mouth and took the workman’s order. Although Rocco noticed she had one eye on Joel’s tall athletic figure leaving the premises.
‘Nice in here,’ said the worker. ‘Quaint.’
‘Thank you.’
Iris nudged Rocco’s foot with her own, taking him out of surveillance mode. ‘Improvement,’ she whispered.
Josie chuckled. ‘I’m glad I don’t have any drama in my life.’
‘Except your flood,’ reminded Iris.
‘Cookie’s already been on the phone, calling it the curse.’
Rocco shook his head at the superstition. ‘More like the cold weather cracking old pipes.’
Josie homed in on him. ‘Lady Vic.’
‘How about blueberry muffins?’ he asked with a grin.
Josie headed for the glass counter showcasing delicious sweet treats. ‘Coming right up.’
Iris nudged his foot again. ‘You have to admit, there has been a run of bad luck.’
Rocco disagreed. ‘The alpaca probably got loose because of a faulty lock on the gate, Mabel’s cat is pregnant because it hasn’t been neutered, and Reg’s car is ancient, by all accounts, and that’s my police work done before I’ve even put on my uniform.’
Iris flashed her perfect smile. ‘No one likes a show-off.’
He leaned a little closer, feeling the twinkle hit his eye. ‘And I’ll tell you something else, Miss Castle… I will find Lady Vic and save the day, because that’s the kind of officer I am.’
Iris laughed. ‘And a lovely gentleman too.’
Rocco was quite sure he blushed.