Chapter 12 A Cup of Chamomile
Penny didn't go to the police.
Not immediately.
She knew she should.
The financial records were important. The payments to Daisy's family were important. George's intention to stop the arrangement was important.
But none of it explained everything.
There were still too many unanswered questions.
How had the poison reached the cake?
Where had Daisy obtained it?
Why had her earring been near the cake?
And what exactly had George threatened to reveal?
Penny needed to think.
So she did what she always did when the world became too loud.
She made tea.
Magnolia Cove's waterfront was quiet that afternoon.
The little park stretched along the water, with benches beneath old oak trees and a narrow walking path winding beside the shore.
Penny sat on her favorite bench.
A paper cup of chamomile tea warmed her hands.
Mochi sat beside her.
For several minutes, neither of them moved.
The water rippled gently.
A gull cried somewhere in the distance.
A breeze stirred the Spanish moss hanging from the trees.
It should have been peaceful.
Penny didn't feel peaceful.
She stared at her tea.
"Daisy."
Even saying the name hurt.
She had liked Daisy.
That was the worst part.
Penny had believed her.
When Daisy had walked into the bakery with tears in her eyes, Penny had felt sorry for her.
When Daisy had praised the wedding cake, Penny had felt proud.
When Mochi had rubbed against her legs, Penny had relaxed.
She had thought:
She's a good person.
Penny closed her eyes.
"I was wrong."
Mochi looked at her.
"I trusted her because you trusted her."
The cat blinked.
"And now I don't know if I can trust you either."
Mochi's ears twitched.
Penny gave a small, sad laugh.
"I'm sorry."
She looked down at him.
"That's not fair."
Mochi walked closer.
Penny stroked his head.
"I wanted your instincts to be perfect."
She sighed.
"But you're a cat."
Mochi looked mildly offended.
"An excellent cat."
He blinked.
"A brilliant cat."
Another blink.
"But still a cat."
Penny smiled.
The smile faded quickly.
She looked back toward the water.
The problem wasn't Mochi.
It was Penny.
She had wanted certainty.
She had wanted someone to point toward the guilty person and tell her everything would make sense.
Instead, every answer had opened another question.
Nelson hated George.
But hatred wasn't murder.
Francine loved George.
But heartbreak wasn't murder.
Tess was hiding something.
But secrecy wasn't murder.
Daisy had a motive.
A serious one.
But motive wasn't proof.
Penny wrapped both hands around her tea.
She thought about the financial records.
George had been paying Daisy's family's debts.
Why?
Was it guilt?
Love?
Fear?
Blackmail?
Or something else?
Penny didn't know.
And until she knew, she couldn't simply accuse Daisy.
She needed evidence.
Real evidence.
Something that connected Daisy to the poison.
Something that would survive questions.
Something Detective Patterson couldn't dismiss.
Penny looked at the water.
"I'm going to have to prove it."
Mochi climbed onto the bench beside her.
She watched him.
"You know what scares me?"
Mochi stared.
"She threatened me."
Penny's voice became quieter.
"Someone threatened me because I was getting too close."
She swallowed.
"And I think it was her."
The thought made her chest tighten.
Daisy had stood inside Penny's bakery.
Daisy had touched Mochi.
Daisy had smiled at her.
All while potentially knowing that Penny was beginning to uncover the truth.
Penny shivered.
"What kind of person can do that?"
The question wasn't really for Mochi.
It was for herself.
Because Penny realized something she hadn't wanted to admit.
Murder wasn't always committed by monsters who looked like monsters.
Sometimes it was committed by people who smiled.
People who cried.
People who hugged you.
People who offered to help.
People who made you feel safe.
Penny stared at her reflection in the water.
She felt tired.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
The kind of tiredness that came from having your understanding of people shaken apart.
She thought about George.
She barely knew him.
But she couldn't stop thinking about the moment he'd fallen.
The wedding had been supposed to be the beginning of a life.
Instead, it had become the end of one.
And somewhere beneath all the secrets was a woman who had decided that protecting herself mattered more than another person's life.
Penny looked down at her tea.
It had gone cold.
She hadn't noticed.
Mochi climbed into her lap.
Penny automatically wrapped an arm around him.
His body was warm.
Solid.
Familiar.
He began to purr.
The sound was small but steady.
Penny closed her eyes.
"Thank you."
Mochi rested his head against her stomach.
For several minutes, Penny simply sat there.
No suspects.
No clues.
No police.
No theories.
Just the water.
The cat.
And the quiet.
Her breathing slowly steadied.
She realized something.
She couldn't control what other people had done.
She couldn't undo George's death.
She couldn't force Daisy to tell the truth.
But she could choose what she did next.
Penny opened her eyes.
She looked across the water.
"I'm not going to be afraid of her."
Mochi purred.
"I'm going to be careful."
His tail moved slightly.
"And I'm going to find the truth."
Mochi lifted his head.
Penny smiled.
"No matter how charming she is."
The words felt different when she said them aloud.
Stronger.
Certain.
She picked up the cold tea and took one final sip.
It tasted terrible.
Penny grimaced.
"That was supposed to be calming."
Mochi blinked.
"I know."
She laughed softly.
Then she looked down at him.
"Come on."
Mochi remained comfortably in her lap.
Penny sighed.
"You've decided we're staying?"
The cat closed his eyes.
"Of course you have."
She stroked his fur.
For the first time in days, Penny didn't feel completely alone.
She still had questions.
She still had fear.
She still didn't know how dangerous Daisy truly was.
But she had something else now.
Resolve.
The truth mattered.
George mattered.
Her bakery mattered.
And so did the life she had built.
Penny stood carefully, lifting Mochi into her arms.
The cat settled against her shoulder.
She looked back at the water.
The afternoon sun had begun to turn the surface golden.
For a moment, Magnolia Cove looked exactly as it always had.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
Safe.
But Penny knew better now.
Secrets could hide beneath beautiful things.
Just like poison could hide beneath frosting.
She turned toward home.
"Let's go find the truth."
Mochi gave a soft purr.
And together, they walked back toward The Frosted Petal.