Enchantments and Espresso Page 10

  “I think when you kiss me,” Maddie said, feeling daring, “the moment will be perfect, no matter where we are.”

  “Mrrow!”

  “Then maybe I should kiss you right now.” He walked toward the kitchen table.

  “Maybe you should.” Maddie held his gaze, excitement quickening inside her.

  She pushed her chair back, just as he rounded the corner of the table.

  He bent his head and brushed his lips across hers. It was everything she’d dreamed of. Luke kissed her again, and again, until Maddie didn’t know which day of the week it was. When they finally broke apart, she stared at him, a stunned smile on her face.

  “You were right,” he murmured. “The moment was perfect.”

  “Mrrow!”

  ***

  The next morning, Maddie hummed as she drove herself and Trixie to the town square. She hadn’t stopped smiling since Luke had kissed her last night. It had been the most wonderful kiss – kisses, to be precise – ever.

  Every time she noticed Trixie staring smugly at her, she laughed. If it hadn’t been for her cat’s insistence on finding out how Luke felt about her, she – they – might have been waiting forever for their first kiss.

  “Hi, Suzanne,” Maddie sang out as she parked the truck and jumped out.

  “Mrrow,” Trixie called out from the passenger seat.

  “Someone’s in a good mood this morning,” Suzanne observed, as she walked up to them.

  “Yep.” Maddie grinned at her.

  Suzanne looked from Maddie to Trixie and back again. “Have I missed something? Do you two know something I don’t? I know – you’ve won the lottery!” She looked excited.

  “Better.” Maddie giggled.

  “Don’t tell me,” Suzanne said. “I want to guess. Ooh – you’ve discovered you’re able to cast a new spell from the book!”

  “No.” Maddie shook her head.

  “Mrrow.” Trixie seemed to shake her head too.

  “By that smile on your face, it must be something to do with my brother then.”

  “Uh-huh.” Maddie nodded.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense any longer!”

  Maddie looked at Trixie. Should she tell Suzanne?

  “Mrrow,” Trixie encouraged.

  “He kissed me,” Maddie confessed.

  “Yes!” Suzanne punched a hand in the air. “About time! Tell me all about it!”

  “Maybe later,” Maddie replied, as she saw a sweaty jogger approaching. “It looks like we might have our first customer.”

  Although she was excited about her and Luke’s romantic development last night, she wanted to keep some of the details to herself. She’d already had an audience last night – Trixie. Although, without the cat’s encouragement, Luke’s kiss might not have happened.

  When the early morning rush finally subsided, Suzanne swallowed a gulp of bottled water.

  “Okay, now you can tell me all about it. And after that, I think we should close up and give Jill an update.” She looked over at Trixie, sitting on her stool. “I bet Trixie would like to see Boyd again.”

  “Mrrow,” Trixie said demurely, but her eyes sparkled.

  “Ooh – you could use the Tell the Truth spell on Jill – do you think?”

  “That’s not possible.” Maddie blushed.

  “Why not?” Suzanne crinkled her brow. “We’ve just had the full moon, so you can use it once before next month’s full moon.”

  Trixie’s whiskers twitched, as if she were trying not to giggle. Maybe cats did laugh, after all.

  “Um … I might have already used it,” Maddie admitted.

  “On who?” Suzanne scrunched her brow even more. “You haven’t been investigating without me, have you?”

  “On Luke,” Maddie said in a rush.

  “Mrrow!” Trixie said importantly.

  Suzanne laughed. She covered her mouth, as if by doing so, she could stop her giggles from spilling out. It didn’t work.

  “Now you really do have to give me all the details,” she finally gasped.

  Maddie briefly filled her in on the events of last night – except how she felt when Luke kissed her.

  “Awesome!”

  “But is it?” Maddie’s voice held a hint of worry. “I mean, yes, it’s totally awesome that he kissed me, but what about the personal gain thing?”

  “Trixie wasn’t worried about it, was she?” Suzanne glanced at the feline.

  “Mrrow.” Trixie seemed to say no.

  “There you are then. Trixie should know about this stuff – after all, she is your familiar.”

  Maddie nodded slowly, wanting to be convinced. Last night, the ends had seemed to justify the means – but had they truly? She suddenly realized she hadn’t told Suzanne about Trixie moving Wytchcraft for the Chosen from the bookcase to the sofa – if Maddie hadn’t imagined the whole thing. Maybe she hadn’t hidden the ancient book from view before Luke had arrived. Maybe she’d meant to but she’d forgotten because she’d been so focused on looking her best – or primping, as Suzanne would call it.

  “Don’t worry about it, Mads.” Suzanne touched her shoulder. “Maybe it’s something you were meant to do – you never know, maybe whoever – or whatever makes the spells work – besides you, of course – or whoever gave you your witchy ability in the first place – wants you and Luke to be together – forever.” Her eyes shone.

  “You know I want you guys to be happy together,” Suzanne continued. “Maybe this power – entity – whoever – wants that too, and doesn’t mind that you used the spell to move your romance along.”

  “Mrrow,” Trixie said in agreement.

  “Two against one, Mads.” Suzanne grinned. “Just enjoy everything good that happens to you.”

  Maddie nodded, wondering if she could let go of that tiny niggle of worry that had started this morning. But her bestie was right – why shouldn’t she enjoy her relationship with Luke? She paid her taxes on time, attempted to think the best of everyone – maybe not Claudine, although she had tried to in the past – and so far hadn’t used any of the spells she’d been able to cast for personal gain.

  Except for the Coffee Vision spell which she’d been able to do since she was seven. Did that count? Suzanne would say no.

  “Come on,” Suzanne urged, closing the serving hatch. “Let’s go and visit Jill – and Boyd.” She winked at Trixie.

  “Mrrow!” Trixie sounded impatient to get going.

  “Two against one,” Maddie repeated. She couldn’t help smiling at the two of them. “Okay.”

  “Let’s take the truck again,” Suzanne suggested. “Then we won’t waste time going to your place to get your car.”

  “Okay.” Maddie and Suzanne jumped into the front of the truck and drove out of the town square.

  “We don’t have that much new information for Jill,” Maddie said as they drove along the highway.

  “We can tell her we’ve spoken to Kevin and Genevieve – and Grandma Pat,” Suzanne said. “Besides, our visit might cheer her up. I have some idea of what she’s going through.” Suzanne’s tone was serious for a change.

  They arrived at Aunt Winifred thirty minutes later. Maddie managed to find a space near Jill’s café and parked the truck.

  “I hope business has improved for her,” Suzanne said as they got out of the vehicle.

  Maddie put the harness on Trixie, and they walked along the pavement to the coffee shop.

  Suzanne pushed open the door. Some of the tables were taken by customers, Maddie was pleased to see.

  “Hi, girls.” Jill looked up from the espresso machine. “Hello, Trixie. How are you?”

  “Mrrow,” Trixie replied, staring up at Jill.

  “Would you like to visit Boyd?” Jill asked.

  “Mrrow!”

  The three women laughed.

  “Let me finish making this cappuccino and then we can go outside for a minute.” Jill poured the frothy steamed milk into the cup, dusting it with chocolate
powder, before carrying it over to a table in the corner, occupied by a man in his sixties.

  They followed Jill through the side door to the garden.

  “Woof!” Boyd raced over to the fence, his black shaggy face looking excited as he spied Trixie.

  “Look who’s come to visit you, Boyd.” Jill opened the gate for them.

  Once they stepped inside the garden, Maddie unclipped the lead from Trixie’s harness.

  “Woof!” Boyd came up to Trixie and dipped his head, as if saying hello to her.

  “Mrrow.” Trixie looked up at him coyly, and then took off, running around the garden.

  Boyd followed, and soon he raced side by side with Trixie as they ran in a wide arc around the lawn.

  “I could stay here and watch them play all day,” Jill said, a smile on her face.

  “Me too,” Maddie replied, glad Trixie seemed to be enjoying herself.

  “We came to give you an update as well,” Suzanne added.

  “That’s wonderful.” Relief flickered across Jill’s face.

  “We haven’t found out that much,” Maddie cautioned.

  “I’m sure it’s good news,” Jill insisted. “Maybe we should go back inside – so I don’t miss out on any customers.”

  “How is business?” Suzanne asked.

  “Better,” Jill replied, heading toward the café. She looked back over her shoulder. Boyd nudged a ball toward Trixie, who put a paw out to push it away. The dog fetched the ball and rolled it back toward her.

  “How are you and Bob?” Maddie asked delicately. “Are you still going ahead with your chain?”

  “Yes.” Jill entered the café. “We’ve talked it over and decided we’re not going to let the killer ruin our business plans.”

  “That’s great,” Maddie said encouragingly.

  “Yeah!” Suzanne looked like she wanted to high five Jill.

  “How about I make you girls a latte?” Jill got two glasses ready.

  “That sounds great,” Suzanne replied.

  “We’ve spoken to Kevin, Grandma Pat, and Genevieve,” Maddie said as Jill made the coffee, the machine grinding and burring. Luckily the noise wasn’t too loud so Maddie didn’t need to shout.

  “And?” Jill looked up expectantly from the machine.

  “And I don’t like Kevin,” Suzanne confessed.

  “Me neither.” Jill laughed. “I don’t know what Bob sees in him – maybe it’s some manly bromance. Bob keeps telling me he’s a great accountant as well as a great friend, and we should use him to do our books now we’ve started the chain.”

  She shrugged. “I’ve always done my own accounts – it’s saved me money – but I wouldn’t have time to take care of the books for two cafes. And Bob doesn’t expect me to. So I agreed when he suggested that Kevin should take of everything for both locations.”

  “Did you know Grandma Pat saw Kevin about her finances?” Maddie asked.

  “Yes, Bob mentioned it the other day,” Jill replied. “I don’t know if I’d be keen to do my own tax returns or whatever it is Kevin’s doing for her, when I’m eighty-something, so I can’t fault her for hiring someone. Bob said he recommended Kevin to his grandmother.”

  “And we’ve seen Genevieve,” Suzanne said.

  “Trixie loved her garden,” Maddie added.

  “It’s great, isn’t it?” Jill poured the lattes and nodded to a nearby table. “Let’s sit over there until I have more customers.”

  Jill scanned the room, but there didn’t appear to be anyone needing her to serve them.

  Maddie sat down on the cinnamon hued wooded chair and sipped her latte. Jill had made a light roast, and it was just right.

  “Genevieve’s landscaping business is doing pretty well,” Jill said, leaning back in her chair with a sigh of relief. “It’s good to sit down for a bit,” she said with a wry smile.

  “I hear you.” Maddie nodded.

  Jill tapped her chin. “Although, I remember Genevieve telling me not long ago about a client in Redbud Glen who wouldn’t pay up. Genevieve did the work, but the client – a single woman – said she wasn’t happy with it and refused to pay Genevieve’s invoice.”

  “What happened?” Suzanne asked.

  “Genevieve was mad as hell.” Jill nodded, remembering. “She said she’d designed the garden just as the client had requested, and couldn’t get over the fact that another woman tried to rip her off. She said she’d experienced that sort of thing before with a couple of male clients over the years – but not with a member of her own sex.”

  “Do you know who the woman was?” Maddie asked.

  “Nope. Genevieve didn’t tell me her name. But she showed me before and after photos of the garden. Genevieve redesigned the front and the back. It was a lovely piece of landscaping. I could understand why Genevieve was so angry about not getting paid for all her hard work.”

  “So the client got away with not paying?” Suzanne asked.

  “As far as I know. Genevieve talked about taking her to court and even went to the courthouse to find out what she had to do and what sort of papers she had to fill in, but she didn’t tell me anything more.” Jill shrugged. “So I assumed that Genevieve hadn’t done anything official about it.”

  Maddie and Suzanne looked at each other. Was it possible … that this client was Vanessa?

  “Vanessa lived in Redbud Glen, didn’t she?” Suzanne asked.

  “I believe so,” Jill replied, her mouth tightening. “According to Bob, anyway.”

  “Does he know exactly where she lived?” Suzanne pressed.

  Jill hesitated. “I don’t think so – he hasn’t told me, anyway.” She forced a laugh.

  Maddie and Suzanne exchanged a glance. Was Jill doubting Bob’s café owner-customer relationship with the dead woman?

  Maddie wished they’d thought of asking Bob previously if he’d known where Vanessa lived.

  “Has Detective Edgewater given you an update?” Maddie asked.

  “No.” Jill sighed. “So we’re still under suspicion.”

  “Don’t worry.” Suzanne drained her latte. “Maddie and I will get to the bottom of this – I want to make sure my name is cleared, too.”

  “Don’t forget Trixie will help,” Maddie said with a smile.

  “How could I?” Suzanne grinned. “I think she’s just as much into this investigation as we are.”

  “It’s a weight off my mind that you girls think Bob and I are innocent.” Jill got to her feet as a harried mother with a toddler entered the café. “Let me know if you find out anything else.”

  “We will,” Maddie promised, waving goodbye to their friend.

  They stopped at the garden and retrieved Trixie, who was sitting next to Boyd under the shade of a cottonwood tree.

  “Time to go, Trix,” Maddie called.

  The cat slowly got to her feet, nudged Boyd’s cheek as if to say goodbye, then strolled over to Maddie and Suzanne.

  Boyd trotted after her.

  “Woof!”

  “We have to go now, Boyd,” Maddie told him. “I’m sure Trixie had lots of fun playing with you.”

  “Mrrow.” Trixie turned to the dog and seemed to smile at him.

  Boyd looked disappointed that she was leaving.

  “I’m sure she’ll come back soon for another playdate,” Suzanne told him.

  The dog’s pink tongue lolled out in what looked like a smile as he looked at Trixie.

  “Mrrow,” Trixie sang as Maddie clipped on her harness lead and they walked toward the truck.

  “Woof!”

  “Let me know when you want to come back and see Boyd,” Maddie told Trixie. What was she saying? But she knew, somehow, that her familiar would tell her when she wanted another playdate.

  “Mrrow.” Trixie looked pleased at the idea.

  As Maddie opened the truck door, she glanced down at the curb. Metallic silver glinted in the sunlight. It looked like it might be a cap to a pen.

  “Next stop Genevieve
,” Suzanne called out, already in the passenger seat.

  “You’re right.” Maddie hopped into the truck. “What if Vanessa was the client she had the dispute with?”

  “She told us she’d never met Vanessa before, remember?”

  “Why would she lie to us?” Maddie asked.

  “Because she has something to hide!”

  “Maybe we better not jump to conclusions,” Maddie cautioned. “The client who didn’t pay her might not be Vanessa.”

  “But it all seems to fit, doesn’t it?” Suzanne asked. “A single woman who lives in Redbud Glen, refusing to pay for a beautiful garden—”

  “That’s what Jill said.”

  “Well, it sounds exactly like Vanessa,” Suzanne continued. “Don’t forget how she acted at the party, as if we were her personal servants.”

  “I’m not likely to forget,” Maddie replied with a shudder.

  They drove along the main street for a few seconds.

  “Stop!” Suzanne suddenly shrieked. “There’s Genevieve!”

  “Where?” Maddie hit the brakes as her eardrums pinged from Suzanne’s shrill tone.

  “Over there!” Suzanne pointed to the left side of the road. “She’s working in someone’s garden.”

  “It could be her,” Maddie replied, pulling over to a parking spot nearby.

  “Of course it’s her, isn’t it, Trixie?” Suzanne said.

  “Mrrow.” Trixie stared at the overall-clad gardener out of the back window of the truck.

  Maddie turned off the ignition.

  “Don’t go rushing off and accusing her,” she warned Suzanne.

  “Of course not.” Suzanne unbuckled her seatbelt, looking like she was about to jump out of the truck and tackle the woman she thought was Genevieve.

  “Come on, Trix.” Maddie helped the cat out of the van and clipped on her harness lead.

  “Genevieve!” Suzanne called out, striding over to the gardener.

  The front yard consisted of green lawn with holes dug in it at various intervals. Maddie presumed Genevieve – or whoever the gardener was, if Suzanne was mistaken – was going to plant the brightly colored flowers that were lined up in pots against the edge of the lawn.

  “Hi, girls.” The woman straightened up. Suzanne had been right. It was Genevieve.