Easy Bake Coven: Book One of the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries (15 page)

He
ducked inside and gave a little whistle. “Wow. You’ve really made this store
something special.”

She
shut the door and turned to face him. “Thanks. I tried to make it comfortable
and cozy.”

He
walked around the perimeter, his black boots echoing on the tile floor. “I’m
sorry I’ve been so busy with work. Everyone at the department seems to be on
edge lately.”

“Given
the circumstances, you’re forgiven.” She walked over to the bistro table and
sat down facing him.

He
joined her, his knees barely fitting underneath as he set his hat on the
tabletop. “I’m awful sorry that your business was caught up in this.”

“It
wasn’t your fault.” She sighed. “Just bad luck I guess.”

“I
wanted to thank you for not breaking your promise that morning about telling
everyone.” His steel-blue eyes zeroed in on her. “It really means a lot that I
can trust you.”

She
folded her hands together on the table. “I don’t like keeping secrets.” She
loved how neatly he kept his goatee manicured. Probably a regulation for
wearing the uniform, she guessed. “But in your case, I made an exception.”

“I’m
sorry that I couldn’t be in the room when Sheriff
Rigsbee
was asking you questions.” He swallowed hard. “If he had found out that I had
been talking to you that morning he would have hit the roof and I might have
even lost my job.”

She
nodded in response. “It’s okay. It was easier than I thought it was going to
be.”

His
posture relaxed a bit. “It’s just a protocol thing.”

She
remembered how Sheriff
Rigsbee
has classified them as
being in a relationship and she wanted to ask him which of them had said that.
But she lost her nerve and just kept nodding at him. “I understand.”

He
reached over and placed his hands over hers. “How are you holding up?”

She
shrugged. “Well, I’ve delayed the opening until after Mona’s funeral out of respect.”

“I
meant, personally.” He added.

“Oh.”
She thought for a moment about all the business with the
grimoire
and Nana Mary. “I’m taking things day to day.”

“Is
that good or bad?”

“Good.”
She answered. “My life can get surprisingly complicated for a small town girl.”

“I
could say the same for a small town boy.” He replied.

She
couldn’t believe her ears. He had opened one of his closed doors and she simply
had to take action. “You’re from a small town too?”

“Sure
am.” He nodded.

She
waited as a moment of awkward silence passed and she could take no more. “So
where is that?”

“A
little town in the Adirondacks called Indian Lake.” He finally revealed. “It’s
also known as the moose capital of the Northeast.”

“I’ve
never heard of it.” She admitted.

“I’m
not surprised. The population is less than fifteen hundred people.”

“So
are there really lots of moose around Indian Lake?” She pressed on. “I mean,
when you hear something described as the moose capital, you’d expect them to be
as common as squirrels.”

Joshua
grinned. “Well, I’ve seen plenty of them but probably not as much as
squirrels.”

She
snapped her fingers. “Hey, I almost forgot your gift I made.” She stood up from
the table. “Stay right there while I get it.”

He
rubbed his hands together. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving.”

She
hurried into the back room and pulled the apple blossom she had made for him
the night before Mona’s death from the fridge. With a perfectly browned crust
dusted with sanding sugar, it still looked as perfect as the moment she pulled
it from the oven to cool. She placed it in one of her logoed cookie boxes along
with a plastic fork and a few napkins and carried it out to him. “It’s nothing
special.”

“If
you made it, it is special.” He corrected as she set it down in front of him.

“You
have the honor of getting the first Nana Mary’s famous apple blossom.” She
beamed with pride.

“Hey,
that looks spectacular.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her
close to him. “I love apple pie.”

“It’s
a very old family recipe.” She explained. “I’m sure it will become one of my
best sellers.”

“Gosh,
I wish I could dig in right now and try it.” He smiled at her. “But I have to
get back to patrolling.”

“It
travels like a dream.” She enjoyed how his arm felt around her. It restored her
sense of protection that had been shattered. “I even threw in a plastic fork
and some napkins.”

He
reached into the box with his free hand and speared a piece with the fork. He
popped it into his mouth and closed his eyes as a little moan of ecstasy
escaped his lips. “Vivienne, this is the best apple blossom I’ve ever had.”

“There
is a little trick that’ll make it taste even better.” She leaned forward and
kissed him.

He
gave her waist a little squeeze. “Everything tastes better when your lips are
warmed up? Yeah, I know that trick.”

She
giggled and pried herself away before things got too steamy. “I wouldn’t want
to interfere with an officer of the law on duty.”

He
winked at her and stood up from the table with the box in his hands. “So, what
about that second date I was promised?”

“I’m
free tonight.”

He
scratched his goatee for a moment in pretend thought. “Well, there was this
ultimate fighting match I was going to watch…”

“Well
don’t let me interrupt your time with nearly naked men writhing around inside a
cage.” She put her hands on her hips in mock protest.

“How
about seven thirty at your place?”

She
scratched at her chin in response. “Well, I was going to watch these half-naked
men fight each other tonight…”

He
raised his right hand in the air. “I promise I’ll be on time.”

“Are
we going out for dinner?” She asked.

“Sure,
if that’s what you’d like?”

She
saw another opportunity to get to know him better and decided to jump at it.
“How about we have dinner at your place tonight? You provide the table and
dishes, I’ll provide the dinner.”

He
was silent for a moment. Then, he looked into her eyes and nodded. “I won’t
have much time to clean up the bachelor pad for company.”

“That’s
okay.” She smiled and raised her right hand. “I promise not to judge.”

“604-B
Meier Lane. It’s a green duplex. My door is on the right.”

“See
you then, Deputy.” She handed him his hat from the table which he dutifully
donned.

“I’ll
be counting the minutes.” He grinned and left the shop.

She
scooted over to the phone and dialed Kathy’s number. “Guess who just got a
second date with Deputy Dashing?

“I’m
glad you called because I’ve got the perfect outfit for you to wear.” Kathy
sounded rushed. “Stop over to the store and pick it up on your way home. I have
to go now.” She hung up leaving Vivienne to wonder if perhaps her friend was
just a little bit jealous about her new relationship. No, she reasoned. If the
outfit turned out to be a used potato sack with a piece of hemp rope as a belt,
then she’d have to start worrying.

The
Trade Winds Clothier
was busier than
usual with customers. There were several women, all dressed in varying degrees
of fashionable attire, clustered near the dressing room area. Each one looked
similar to the other. The haircuts were all variations on the same theme with
wispy bangs and soft angles. The blond color, shared by the women, again was
variations with only subtle highlights and lowlights for any sort of actual
difference. Vivienne failed to recognize any of them, but they were keeping
Kathy quite busy running piles of clothing over to them, chattering amongst
themselves, and simultaneously texting on their smart phones.

Spotting
Vivienne standing near the front counter, Kathy gave her a wave and left the
armful of new outfits with a strikingly beautiful blond who seemed to be in
charge of the others.

“Looks
like things are going well here.” Vivienne smiled at her friend who returned to
her post near the register. “Is there some big sale going on I’m not aware of?”

“You
have no idea.” Kathy said slightly out of breath from her frantic pace.
“They’re all here for Mona’s memorial service.”

“I
hadn’t heard anything. When is it?” Vivienne hoped it wasn’t tonight.

“It’s
tomorrow afternoon over at Our Lady of the Lake.” Kathy began to spin one the
displays of earrings and bracelets around, pulling a select few pieces of
jewelry from the racks. “It’s only for close friends and family I’m told.”

“Are
they close friends or family?” Vivienne pointed discreetly to the group of
women who were all giving their opinion to one of their own about the simple
black dress she had tried on. The blond leader draped a crimson scarf over the
woman’s shoulders and nodded her approval.

“Damned
if I know.” Kathy shrugged. “But they’ve got money and they’re spending it
here. I’ve got no complaints.”

The
blond leader left the group and joined Kathy and Vivienne at the counter. “Did
you find some earrings like I described?”

Vivienne
caught a whiff of the same heavy floral perfume that Mona had worn. She stepped
aside to allow her easier access to Kathy.

“These
have Swarovski crystals.” Kathy handed her a pair of silver drop earrings.
“They’re limited edition too.”

Vivienne
admired them sparkling in the store’s overhead track lighting. “Those are just
lovely. Look how they catch the light.”

The
blond woman turned toward her and smiled. “You get so used to
Barney’s
and
Saks
.” She gave the earrings a little shake. “It’s a nice change of
pace to shop at little mom and pop places out in the sticks.”

Kathy’s
smile transformed into a frown at the last comment. “We do what we can to keep
up. Our social calendar is just crammed with all those fancy barn dances and
potluck church dinners.”

Vivienne
suppressed a chuckle and extended her hand. “I’m Vivienne Finch, by the way.
I’m opening the
Sweet Dreams Bakery
on Main Street in a few days.”

The
blond woman regarded her coldly, ignoring her handshake offer and instead
concentrating on the earrings. “Fiona Meadows.”

“Are
you family members of Mona Clarke?” She asked.

Fiona
set the earrings down on the counter and waved to the group of women. “We’re
her friends from New York.”

Kathy
scooped the earrings up and returned them to the display. “I’m afraid I don’t
have anything fancier in stock. You might want to visit Meeker Jewelers down
the street.”

“I
have so many pairs I’ve never even worn.” Fiona yawned. “I’ll just dig through
some of those.”

“I’m
so sorry for your loss.” Vivienne offered.

“Thank
you.” Fiona barely raised an eyebrow. She pulled out a platinum charge card and
handed it to Kathy. “I’ll take the silk ensemble and those two darling
scarves.”

The
group of women approached the counter with their selections of mourning
outfits. Most were variations on the little black dress, but a few had chosen
burnt reds and warm browns. Fiona smiled at them. “Next stop is the florist,
ladies.” She glanced at a gold wrist watch on her delicate arm. “We must fill
every corner of that drab little church with flowers.”

Kathy
rang up her purchase to the tune of three hundred and fifty dollars. She swiped
the card and then handed it back to Fiona. “Tell Brian I said hello.”

“Whom
did you say?” Fiona sniffed.

“Brian
Amberry
, the owner of
Hummingbird Floral
. He’s a good friend.” Kathy explained as she
pulled a plastic garment bag over the silk dress.

“Indeed.”
Fiona clutched her purchases and stepped aside for the other members to
complete their shopping. She turned to face Vivienne. “Are you one of Mona’s
local friends?”

“Uh,
not exactly.” Vivienne stumbled with her words. “We knew each other casually.”

“I
see.” Fiona’s voice was soft and well-controlled. “Can you recommend someplace
charming to have lunch?”

Vivienne
doubted Fiona and her fashion clique would find
Clara’s Diner
or even
Shanghai
Sunset
to be high enough class for their taste. “Have you tried the
Bistro Parisian
?”

“I
don’t believe so.” Fiona arched a finely plucked brow. “Is it very far? These
heels aren’t made for long walks, especially on those dreadful sidewalks. I
think some of those cracks are large enough for a small child to fall in.”

Vivienne
shook her head. “It’s only four stores down from the florist. They have a nice
lunch menu.” As much as she hated to admit it, Fiona was right. The sidewalks,
subjected to the snow and ice of Northeast winters, had not fared well over the
years. They were the bane of many a mother pushing her stroller along Main
Street.