Easy Bake Coven: Book One of the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries (8 page)

Kathy
finished the message and sent it along. “I’m glad you agree.”

“I
better get back to the bakery before Nora decides to try her own recipes.”
Vivienne glanced at her watch and was surprised it was still only ten minutes
to two. The day was cooperating for once.

“See
you at seven.” Kathy waved as Vivienne left her store.

*
  
*
  
*

As
Vivienne pulled open the glass door to the Cayuga Cove library, she inhaled the
scent of old books that always conjured images of trips with her mother for
story hours. Nora had instilled a love of books and reading from an early age
in her daughter. As an only child, much of her social interaction outside of
the school yard had happened in a seated circle on a large braided rug in the
common room of the library.

 
The librarian would read a book to the
children, usually acting out the parts with funny voices and asking the
children to provide the sound effects. After a snack of cookies and fruit
punch, she and the other boys and girls were allowed to browse the rows of
colorful books and choose one to check out. It would transport her to different
worlds where dogs could be red or rain clouds could drop scoops of strawberry
ice cream.

Her
moment of sweet nostalgia was interrupted when Clara
Bunton’s
voice startled her from behind. “This had better be worth closing down early
tonight.”

“Stephanie
isn’t quite ready to be left alone yet?” Vivienne followed in step with Clara
as they breezed past the circulation desk and headed for the set of double
doors that led to the conference room. She was still dressed in her pink
uniform, but had put a simple white sweater over it to keep the evening chill
away.

“Don’t
get me wrong, Harold is a capable cook and I trust him like a member of my own
family.” Clara explained as she waved to Harriet Nettles, the town librarian.
“But his field of vision rarely leaves the grill.”

“So
how did you find out about the meeting?” Vivienne could smell the faint scent
of fried food as she followed Clara. “Was it through
Social Butterfly
?”

“What’s
that?” Clara asked as they approached the doors which were thrown open
revealing the oak-paneled walls that had oversized lithographs of famous novel
covers framed like art prints hanging haphazardly. Harriet Nettles was a great
librarian, but her interior decorating skills left much to be desired.

“It’s
this social networking program on the computer.” Vivienne could hear the murmur
of many voices from the conference room and it sounded rather crowded.

“Me
use one of those infernal devices?” Clara laughed. “Kathy came in for lunch and
told me all about it.”

As
they stepped into the room, Vivienne surveyed the scene with disbelief. There were
ten rows, split in the middle with five chairs on each side. The first eight
rows were full and several more patrons slipped in behind them and claimed more
space. “We better find a place quick and save a chair for Kathy.”

Clara
guided her to the second to last row on the left and removed the white sweater
from her shoulders. She placed it over the aisle chair and then sat down next
to it. “Done and done.”

Vivienne
sat next to Clara and began to scan the crowd of faces for people she knew. She
recognized Tony
DiSanto
who owned
The Leaning Tower of Pizza
shop two
doors down from her bakery. He was talking to Evelyn Hart, who ran the
Lakeside Gift Emporium
, his hands a
flurry of gestures that seemed quite emphatic.

Two
uniformed police officers stood watch at each end near the front of the room
where several folding tables had been placed. Vivienne had hoped one of them
would be Joshua so she could say hello again in person, but it wasn’t meant to
be.

 
A swath of burgundy cloth had been draped over
the tables, giving the entire scene a look of official business. At the center,
a tabletop podium of light oak was adorned with a golden placard that had the
image of the town flag ringed with the words ‘Cayuga Cove Historic Commission’
around the edge. Atop the podium, a small wooden gavel rested waiting for a
hand to bang it to call the meeting to order.

There
were small name cards arranged in front of the four chairs that flanked the
podium, along with small microphones. Vivienne squinted to read the names, but
was too far away to make them out. She knew that Mona Clarke would be seated at
the center podium, ready to lay out her plans to the town. Would she use her
charm like this morning at the bakery? Or would she take a more aggressive
approach like she had with Joshua when he wrote her the ticket?

“So
does this count as a second date?” Joshua tapped Vivienne on the shoulder from
the row behind her.

She
craned her neck around in surprise. He was dressed in civilian clothing again,
this time a blue flannel button down shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans and
tan cowboy boots. “I was just thinking about you.” She gushed and felt her
cheeks burn slightly.

Clara
turned slightly to face him with a smile. “What brings you here, Deputy
Arkins
?”

“
Social Butterfly
had a notice about a
big meeting tonight concerning the future of the town.” He answered in his
matter-of-fact voice that refused to give up the location of his accent. “It
sounded like something important.”

“Isn’t
that the computer thing-a-ma-jig you were talking about earlier?” Clara asked
Vivienne.

“Yes.”
Vivienne answered. “I haven’t had a chance to use it much.”

“That’s
a relief.” Joshua added with a smile. “I thought maybe you were avoiding me.”

Vivienne
felt her jaw drop slightly in shock. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“I
sent you a note about going to this meeting together but I never heard back.”
Joshua feigned a sad face. “I thought maybe getting ignored online would hurt
less?”

“I
was waiting for your friend request to be accepted.” Vivienne was quick to the
defense.

“I
did this morning.” Joshua waggled his eyebrows at her.

The
heat from her cheeks seemed to radiate to the rest of her body. She had been so
busy with baking and getting the store ready she hadn’t checked her computer at
home at all. Heck, she hadn’t even been home since she left early in the
morning. “I’ve been busy down at the shop.” She stammered.

He
reached over and placed his hand back on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I know how
busy you’ve been and I was just teasing.”

She
loved the feel of his hand on her body. It was warm and she wished he would
leave it there for the entire meeting. “Tomorrow is the big day. I hope you can
make it for the ribbon cutting at ten.”

He
pulled his hand away and scratched the goatee on his chin. “I’m pretty sure
that I’m free, unless someone in town decides to act up and break a law.”

“Like
Mona Clarke?” Vivienne regretted the comment the moment it passed her lips.

Joshua’s
eyes narrowed a bit and he took a deep breath. “Don’t remind me.”

She
hated bringing the subject up, especially when Mona was going to be speaking to
the room in a few short minutes. “I thought you handled the whole deal like a
real professional.” She tried to smooth the awkward moment over. “Frankly, I
don’t know what the big fuss was about.”

He
nodded politely and leaned back against his chair. “Thank you.”

“And
this doesn’t count as a second date, by the way.” She gave a nervous laugh.

His
demeanor softened for a moment. “I’m glad to hear that.”

She
turned back around as the Historic Commission officers filed into the room and
marched up the middle aisle with purpose. As Kathy had explained at the diner a
few days ago, the board was composed of five women. First to appear was
Victoria Clemens, a tall brunette who had never actually worked a day in her
life. She had married well to Stephen Clemens, whose family operated the
Harvest Glen Winery
on the West side of
the lake. She wore a high-end designer outfit that made her look like a model
strutting down the fashion runway.

Suzette
Powell followed next in line, a petite woman with a dark brown pageboy haircut
who looked nervous at the amount of people in the room. Having the misfortune
to follow behind Victoria, her modest outfit looked rather frumpy and she kept
biting her nails only to catch herself and drop her arms rigidly at her sides.
She ran a small catering company out of her home named
The Formal Affair
. More than a few people had gossiped about the
unfortunate coincidence with the name, as her husband Brad Powell was a
notorious ladies man who had his share of affairs over the years.

Third
in the line that proceeded down the aisle, Mary Ellen Bryce was composed and
confident. As the assistant principal at Cayuga Cove Elementary, she frequently
clashed with parents when their children violated any of the school’s policies.
She was a strong supporter of conformity and many parents in the town still
seethed over the pricey school uniforms they were required to buy each school
year thanks to her expertise at intimidating the school board and its weak
superintendant.

Cassandra
Pembroke held tightly to a large yellow notepad as she marched up the aisle.
She was a rather plain looking Mother of four grown children who seemed content
to keep company in her large home with several pampered cats. She seemed out of
place amongst the other officers on the board, but Vivienne knew that back in
her glory days she had been quite a social climber with stunning looks to
match.

She
had married and later divorced a chief financial officer for one of the big
banks in Manhattan during the boom of the eighties. Although she had secured a
generous amount of alimony, the tempestuous separation had taken its toll on
her looks and eventually she just stopped trying to re-capture her youth. Yet,
she was the one to call whenever you needed an important contact for anything,
and most certainly Mona Clarke wanted to keep in her good graces for needed favors
down the road. After all, she had provided several big names for Mayor Clarke’s
election campaign that opened their checkbooks for generous donations that
practically all but assured his election the previous year.

Last,
but certainly not least, Mona Clarke kept several paces behind the others and
frequently stopped to nod hello and shake hands with some of the members of the
audience who wished to do so. Like her husband, she had learned the fine art of
the firm handshake and sincere look. Even when someone had shouted ‘Queen Mona’
in the crowd, she ignored it and continued to the podium with her usual grace.
Taking her place behind the podium, she tapped the gavel five times and brought
order to the room. “Order please.”

The
general murmur of conversation died off as people hushed each other. Kathy
glided into the room just as Harriet Nettles closed the doors. She slipped into
her chair and shoved her purse down by Vivienne’s feet. “Sorry I’m late.
Something came up that I couldn’t put off.”

Vivienne
moved her legs awkwardly to the side as Kathy’s oversized handbag took nearly
all the floor space below her. “You’re just in time.” She whispered back as the
members sat down at the table to face the audience.

“I
call this meeting of the Cayuga Cove Historical Commission to order.” Mona
spoke firmly as the microphone amplified her voice over the speakers in the
ceiling.

The
other board members looked a bit flustered at what to do next. Some fidgeted
with pens and paper. Others poured glasses of ice water and looked out at the
crowd nervously.

Mona
took charge immediately. “I’d like to start this first meeting by thanking all
the members of the community who have taken time out of their busy schedules to
attend tonight. We look forward to hearing your valuable input this evening.”

“We
need to defend our businesses.” Someone shouted from the crowd to which Mona
banged the gavel three times in response.

“Please,
I must ask that all comments and concerns be raised at the appropriate time.”
Mona scanned the room with her eyes, defying another outburst. Satisfied with
the quiet, she set the gavel down and continued. “As I said, I appreciate
everyone’s time and I’m sure that you’re all going to agree that our plan will
benefit the entire town.”

Clara
gave Vivienne a slight poke with her elbow. “Do you think Julius Caesar started
his last speech that way?” She whispered.

Vivienne
smiled and gave her a wink. “Et
tu
Brute?”

Over
the next half hour, Mona proceeded to explain her plan for the refurbishing of
Main Street. She utilized a computer and projected several artist renderings of
what the building style would look like onto a large screen behind the board
members. “As you can see, our design will give all the businesses on Main
Street a cohesive look that will entice shoppers to explore and discover. Our
inspiration for the design started with Market Street in Corning, New York.”
She displayed a series of images as she spoke. “Which when combined with
elements from downtown Salem, Massachusetts and the coastal charm of Ogunquit,
Maine, will add up to a unique locale irresistible to tourists.”