Chapter 12
I pushed through the door to the bakery, breathing in the scents of vanilla, rising bread, and warm sugar.
I held the door open for a chubby, winged cupid messenger wearing a toga, who flew over to a group of teenage girls and delivered a heart-shaped box to one of them, setting the whole table giggling.
I smiled at the group as I passed, which only made them giggle harder.
Mary stood at the counter, reading, but looked up from her book as I approached. “Hi, Charles. What can I get you?”
“Hey, Mary. I’m here for Jane, actually, though I wouldn’t say no to a cinnamon roll.”
She turned toward the back kitchen. “Jane,” she called, “Charles is here.” She took a large cinnamon roll from the display, plated it, and handed it to me.
I breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that I was able to watch her the whole time meant that it was unlikely to be spiked with any potions.
One could never be too careful with these Bennet sisters.
I pulled out my wallet, but Mary shook her head. “It’s on the house.”
“Thanks,” I said, leaving a fifty in the tip jar instead. “How’s your father feeling?”
The skin around her eyes tightened. “He’s okay. He did really well at first after the healing you did, but now he’s back to baseline.”
“I’ll stop by tonight and see if I can give him another reprieve,” I promised.
Mary’s expression brightened. “Thank you. We’d appreciate that.”
“Darcy will be here soon for the Saints and Sweethearts Festival. I have full faith that he’s going to find the cure.”
She took a steadying breath. “Good. I hope he finds it soon.”
Jane walked from the kitchen, dusting her hands, and it was a struggle not to kiss the smudge of powdered sugar off her face. That would really get those teenagers giggling.
“You have a bit of sugar on your nose,” Mary said.
Jane wiped it off quickly, blushing.
“It was cute,” I said. “I mean, I liked it there. Not that I don’t like your nose without sugar on it.”
Mary patted me on the shoulder in encouragement, or perhaps sympathy, and turned toward the next customer.
I turned back to Jane. “I have some updates. Do you have a minute?”
“Of course. I have an update too.” She removed the white apron from around her slim waist and joined me at a table, where she stole a bite of my cinnamon roll. “I’m too excited to wait so I’ll tell you first. I got the go-ahead to adopt the winged cat!”
Her smile was infectious, and I found myself grinning too. “That’s fantastic.”
“Thanks. I’ve always wanted a cat, and that one was a sweetie. I’m going to name him Hermes.”
“I like it. Not that you need my approval.”
Her cheeks colored. “But I want it. Now—your turn. What updates do you have?”
“First, I visited Louisa.”
Jane rested her hand on mine. “How did that go?”
“Really well, honestly. I’ve missed her, despite everything. I’m going to start visiting her regularly.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Did you feel like you got some good resolution?”
“I did. I hope that I would have forgiven Louisa regardless, but seeing her contrition and knowing she feels sorry for what she did made it a whole lot easier.”
She squeezed my hand. “Good. I feel like that’s an important step for you two.”
“Agreed.” I took a big bite of the cinnamon roll. It was warm and soft and delicious. I’d intended to only take one bite, but it was so good I took three more before wiping my mouth and continuing the conversation.
Jane waited patiently through it all, a bemused smile on her face. “I baked those this morning. If you hadn’t come by, I was going to bring you one later.”
If I hadn’t already been in love with her, that would have done it. “That’s very thoughtful of you, as always.” I pushed forward, forcing myself to get to business first. “I have a theory about the case. I think we should look into Bill.”
Her eyes widened. “Bill? Bill Black?”
“Yes. I don’t know how he’d have done it, but he knew about the meeting and had access to the coffee machine.”
“True, but the coffee pot was empty before I took it to the shelter. He couldn’t have poisoned it before I took it.
” She tapped her lips thoughtfully, and I almost kissed her right there, but the knowledge that she might suspect another love potion restrained me.
When I kissed her again, I wanted her to know how much I meant it.
“He might have been able to do it afterward,” she said.
I blinked, dragging my mind back to our conversation. Right, the murder—Bill. “Did you see him at the shelter that night?”
“No, or at least I didn’t think I did at the time. But I know something about Bill from my fae power.” Jane lowered her voice. “I don’t think it’s right to share someone’s secret like this and normally I wouldn’t, but under the circumstances I think it might be important. Bill is a shifter.”
A shifter would be able to blend in at the shelter. “What kind of shifter is he?”
She tore off another chunk of my cinnamon roll and popped it into her mouth. “A magpie.”
A magpie. Of course. I thought back to when I’d seen him at this desk at the rec center—surrounded by shiny objects and munching on seeds.
“Do you think he might have been able to get into the building in his bird form?”
“I think it’s worth checking out.”
“I do too.” I thought back to the night of the murder. I hadn’t seen any birds, but… “Hey, do you remember Herb talking about seeing an unusual bird that night?”
“Yes, but I don’t remember which bird he saw.”
I pulled out my vocabulary notebook. “I may have written it down. I remember he used a word I didn’t know.” I flipped the book open. “Yes, here it is. Herb said he saw a magpie that evening, which was unusual because they’re diurnal.”
Jane straightened. “I think we should check out the animal shelter again. I told Brittany I’d head over there to pick up Hermes.”
“Sounds great.”
Terence was manning the front desk when we arrived. He wore his signature black clothing and eyeliner, and today he’d drawn a teardrop under one eye. “Good afternoon. What brings you two back so soon?”
“I’m here to adopt the winged cat,” Jane said, beaming.
Terence’s face broke into a smile. “That’s wonderful. I’ll go back and get him ready.”
“Can we wait in the meeting room?” I asked.
Terence looked from me, to the chairs in the front area, and back again. “Uh, sure.” He was too polite to ask why we wouldn’t just sit in the waiting area.
“Thanks.” We followed him to the first door and went inside while he continued down the hall to the room with the enclosures. Once inside, we hurried over to the window.
“I don’t think anyone could have gotten through here,” Jane said, testing the latch. “Unless it was already open. I don’t remember it being chilly inside when we came into this room after finding Jeanine.”
“Me either. It seems like everything is the same as before, except that the room has been cleaned.”
Jane’s brow furrowed. “How do you know it’s been cleaned? Other than the fact that the papers have been moved from this desk.”
“Because on the night of the murder, there was kitty litter on the floor.”
“Kitty litter? That doesn’t make sense. Why would they have a litter box in their meeting room? All of the cats in here have separate enclosures with litter boxes.”
“True. That is strange. Maybe it wasn’t kitty litter.” I turned to the fireplace, an idea forming in my head. “Maybe it was ash.”
Jane’s eyes widened. “Do you think Bill could have flown in through the chimney?”
I stuck my head inside and looked up to the sky. Sure enough, the flue was open and there was no chimney cap on top. “I think he could have.”
I grabbed a poker from a rack next to the chimney and poked at the ashes and soot, uncovering a black feather. I pulled it out and handed it to Jane. She shook her head. “It seems Bill is the killer. But why would he do it? What did he have against Jeanine?”
“I don’t know, but I think we should talk to him and find out.”
She nodded. “Okay. Do you want to head over to the rec center now?”
“No. I don’t think we should confront him while he’s at work. Maybe I could get him to come to Netherfield afterward.”
“Okay.”
I sent Bill a text, and he agreed to come to Netherfield at 5:00 when his shift ended. That would give us a few hours.
Soon, Terence returned with the cat. Jane jumped up and he placed the cat in her arms. She made some adorable cooing noises, and the cat purred as she filled out some paperwork.
When everything was finalized, we walked out to my car.
I opened Jane’s door, trying to block her from the wind as she settled the kitten in her lap.
“Do you want me to drop you off at your place or would you like to come to Netherfield?”
“Netherfield sounds great, if you don’t mind Hermes tagging along.”
“I don’t mind one bit. I’d love to introduce him to Jaro.” I started the car, and Hermes sat up straight on Jane’s lap to see out the window. My mind jumped way ahead, picturing Jane and Hermes living at Netherfield, and I almost ran a red light. I shook myself. Time to concentrate.
“Do you feel up to interrogating Bill?” Jane asked.
“I hope so. I still hate the idea that he could have done it, but my talk with Louisa left me feeling a little more grounded.”
“Good,” she said. “But if you’d like a little assist, I was thinking we could swing by Cupid’s and grab a truth potion.”
I made the turn that would take us to Cupid’s. “Great idea. I think I’m going to need all the help I can get.”