Chapter 13
With the rehearsal dinner menu in hand, Mia headed to the kitchen to see if Finn was ready to go home. She waved at her from the line.
“Sorry, I’m stealing your cook.” James came up behind Mia and handed her a bag of cookies. “For your trouble and your friend. My staff says she’s loving the food we’ve been delivering.”
“Christina has always loved your food, James. But thank you for the cookies. Let Finn know if she doesn’t have a ride home to call me and someone will come pick her up.” She took the bag. “Her van is still being fixed. I think she’s paying for a part and service after every paycheck.”
“It’s hard to be broke. Good thing she’s young so working so many hours isn’t wearing her down. Although as talented as she is, I don’t think she’ll ever want for a job. Has she considered culinary school?” James adjusted his watch as he glanced at the time.
“She’s starting in the fall. She talked to Christina about the details, and if she stays with me at the academy, she should be able to afford it.”
“I’m in a group of chefs that offers scholarships to promising students. I’ll put her name in. Is she going to Twin Falls Tech?” James put a note on the planner he kept in the kitchen.
“I think that’s the plan. You should tell her you’re putting her up for the scholarship. It would mean a lot.” Mia turned to leave, but James stopped her.
“I’m putting her in, which means she’ll get one. Whether or not she gets another one is up to her. I’ll drive her home after this shift. Thanks for the loaner.” James watched the kitchen as he talked.
“You should be thanking Abigail, not me. I’m surprised Mia’s Morsels didn’t have an event today,” Mia admitted.
“From what I hear, you’re booked every other weekend this month.” He shrugged when Mia turned to look at him. “I check on things. Especially things regarding one of my favorite substitutes.”
“Well, you’re more on top of the schedule than I am.” Mia frowned as she said the words. She needed to know these things. Abigail may be Mia’s Morsels’s manager, but Mia was the owner.
“I’m just glad you’re back to work. I guess you didn’t have measles?” Now James was looking at her, and probably looking for spots.
Mia had forgotten their cover story. “Not according to the blood tests. I probably was allergic to some skin cream or something.”
“As long as you’re not looking for another job, I don’t care what your excuse for missing work is.
I need you here.” He sighed as one of his chefs tried to get his attention.
“George needs me on the line. See how that all works? I’ll be here tomorrow for the start of the reception dinner, then I’m going home to watch football. ”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that.” Mia stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at James.
“What? My new beau is a fan.” He waved her off. “Go have a life.”
Christina spied the cookies as she met Mia in the hallway. “For me?”
“Sure.” Mia handed over the bag. “Finn’s still working, so James will bring her home. When do you think you’ll go back to Portland?”
Christina stopped so suddenly, Mia thought something was wrong.
“What? Are you okay?” Mia scanned her friend from head to toe.
“I just realized that I don’t want to be pregnant six hundred miles away from my friends. My mom, maybe. But you and Abigail? How on earth am I going to deal with everything?”
On the way home, they stopped at Magic Brews again. Marsha Fieldstone looked up as they walked in the door. “Second visit in as many days, what did I do now?”
“Maybe we just love your coffee. I want a large coffee to go. Christina?” Mia turned and let Christina order a large hot chocolate with whipped cream and two cookies. Mia didn’t even look at her as she paid the bill. “I forgot to ask you about Suzanne Parker. When did she come into town, Monday?”
Marsha smiled as she made the drinks. “Now you’re trying to trick me.
Suzanne came in on Friday night. She often came in on weekends to spend time at her house.
Of course she didn’t socialize with the coven because she didn’t want to seem partial, but she had friends who would visit. At least that was the rumor.”
“Friends? Or friends with benefits?” Christina asked.
“Both. She had a very active social life for someone who lived in two different towns. I couldn’t do it. Once I leave here, the only face I want to see is my cat’s. I get too much peopling in the shop.” Marsha wiped her hands on a towel.
“Was she friends with anyone we’d know?” Mia pushed as Marsha set down the coffee and hot chocolate by them and went to get the cookies.
“I’m not sure I know. Suzanne and Cleo were friends.
Cleo doesn’t have a lot of them; most people she’s known have passed on.
I think it would be hard to make connections, then watch those people age and die.
Suzanne and Dorian dated for a while, but that had to be a century ago.
I’m surprised your grandmother didn’t mention that.
Regarding her current lover, I heard rumors that she and Brandon were close.
He can’t trust most witches not to use his coven status for their own gain, but Suzanne was far beyond that.
So he didn’t have to worry why she was seeing him.
Besides the sex. He’s just average in that department. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”
The bell over the door rang and a bunch of tourists who looked like they just got off the ski runs entered the shop. “Come by anytime to chat,” Marsha said as she turned her attention to the tourists.
As they left the building, Christina started giggling, and Mia joined in. “That was odd,” Christina said.
“Odd is a polite description. So, what did we learn?” Mia settled into Christina’s car and thanked the Goddess for the heated seats. “Suzanne Parker came to town a lot, and she might have been sleeping with Brandon. Is he the one who asked for my testing to be redone?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. He’s being weirder than usual. But then again, I don’t know him very well.” Christina pulled the car out on the street. “Home?”
“Yeah. Coven headquarters is closed until Monday, and I don’t know how else to contact Cleo.
There’s something we don’t know about Suzanne Parker, but I’m not sure it has anything to do with her death.
On the other hand, if her murder didn’t have to do with her past here, then we’re back to my testing.
I know I didn’t kill her.” Mia closed her eyes as Christina drove home.
“What does Mark say?”
“He thinks she was lured out to the cross-country trail, then drugged so she’d be stuck there. They covered her with water to make the hypothermia worse.” Mia looked over at Christina, who looked horrified at the description. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have been so blunt.”
Christina swallowed hard before replying. “No, I asked. Does he have any suspects?”
As Christina pulled into the parking lot, Buddy landed on her favorite tree. “No, but I’m glad Trent is out of the picture this investigation. Now we just need to see why someone would try to frame me for the killing.”
“Sure, easy peasy. Then we can figure out who killed JFK.” Christina waved to Buddy and headed into the academy.
“When there is an obvious answer and a convoluted one, maybe the simple one is right,” Mia muttered as she made her way into the house. “Night, Buddy.”
That night, after dinner and when she was alone in the living room, Mia took out her Suzanne Parker notebook and added the few things that she’d learned.
She sighed. It wasn’t much. If Suzanne Parker had lived that many lives, maybe the library could access some sort of written record.
Grans hadn’t had time to get into the coven’s archives yet, but if Brandon was involved in this, that information would probably be classified. She really needed to talk to Cleo.
The security alarm went off, and Mia didn’t look at the monitor, assuming James was dropping off Finn. When the doorbell rang, Mia looked up, surprised. Cleo stood at the front door in a black cape and fedora.
Mia hurried downstairs with Mr. Darcy following close behind. She swung open the door. “Sorry, I thought you were Finn coming home.”
“It’s freezing out here. May I come inside?” Cleo didn’t look like the snow had even touched her woolen cape, hat, or black boots.
“Of course, sorry. Would you like some tea? Or coffee?” Mia held open the door as the caretaker for the coven’s headquarters came inside.
“I’d love some tea. May we take it in the library?”
“Upstairs? My library?” Mia was flummoxed.
Cleo looked amused. “Does the academy have a second library?”
“No, I mean, I keep some books in my apartment and in the potions lab, but no, there’s only one library. I have to warn you, it’s haunted and unpredictable.” Mia followed Cleo, who was already on the stairs.
“Of course it is, dear. It’s the academy’s library.
It’s been haunted for years. Good thing you rescued the building from being torn down.
Who knows what would have happened to the ghosts and all of the knowledge if the building was destroyed.
I guess I would have had to move the books to headquarters, but that could be problematic when leadership changes policies.
” She paused on the second-floor landing.
“The remodeling seems to be going well. Having Dorian’s books here will be an asset to the building, and to your society.
Knowledge is always power. You just need to make sure it stays readable. ”
It wasn’t lost on Mia that Cleo had used Dorian’s real name and not the cover name of Damien. When they reached the third floor, Mia opened her apartment door. “Do you want to come in while I make tea?”
“Just give me the library key. I’ll wait in there. I’ll do some looking around while I wait. It’s been a while since I visited. Is Buttercup still there?”
Buttercup was a yellow cat who liked to sleep in the sunlight. She was also a ghost. Mia smiled as she gave Cleo the key. “Yes, she was there the last time I visited.”