Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) (23 page)

“Yeah, those both might melt before I can finish them. The Big Scream it is.” I stepped up to the counter and placed my order, going mostly in a chocolate direction while including a few of the crazier flavors just for fun.

Greyson ordered his—a rather sedate sundae of Irish coffee ice cream, hot fudge and candied hazelnuts, then we took a little number on a stand so the server could find us when our order was ready, and picked out a table.

I pulled napkins out of the dispenser on the table and slid one over to him. “You want to help me look through the pics I took when we get back? Maybe see if you recognize any of the names?”

“Happy to. You really think it was someone in town and not one of her mail-order clients?”

“If it was a mail-order client, why have the imp delivered here and not directly to them? I don’t know for sure, but my gut feels like there’s more to this than she’s saying.”

“I believe that too. And at this point, anything more we can learn about the imp might be useful.”

“True. Mostly I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt, you know? Especially if I can prevent it.”

He nodded. “Agreed.” He looked past my shoulder and grinned. “Here it comes.”

Two servers approached our table. Two, because the sundaes were just that large. The woman carrying mine actually grunted when she set it down in front of me. Then she added a single spoon, which was sort of like offering someone on a cruise ship a solitary oar. “There you go. Enjoy!”

“Sweet fancy Christmas.” I stared at the mountain of ice cream before me. I almost couldn’t see Greyson across from me. The scoops of ice cream had been stacked pyramid style, then rivers of hot fudge, salted caramel and marshmallow sauce had been drizzled over them. A variety of cookies had been stuck into the crevices, and then the whole thing had been liberally doused in chocolate sprinkles. Of course, there was also whipped cream and a cherry, which had been dipped in chocolate, because why not?

Greyson peered around the frozen atrocity with a gleam in his eyes. “Told you.”

My mouth watered. This was a North Pole-worthy sundae for sure. “Challenge accepted.”

Half an hour later, I’d gotten through only half of it and I was full. Like, Christmas dinner full. I dropped my spoon in defeat. “That’s all I’ve got in me.”

“You did valiantly.” He’d finished his sundae well before me.

“Don’t tease.”

“No, I’m serious. I have a brand new respect for you. Watching you eat that was actually a little sexy.”

“You’re an odd man.”

“So I’ve been told.” He wiped his mouth. “Ready to go?”

“Yes. But you may have to roll me.”

He laughed. “The walk will do you good.” He got up and tossed a few bills on the table for a tip.

I stood. “I’m sure you’re right.”

He took my hand again, and we headed back to my place, happily quiet until we were at the warehouse door.

“I’ll have to go into the apartment first to see if the imp is there.”

“I can check for you right now.”

“You can?”

He nodded and jumped, landing on the fire escape above us as silently as Spider. He looked through the window, then leaped over the railing to rejoin me on the sidewalk. “Nothing.”

I sighed and unlocked the door.

“Maybe by morning,” Greyson said.

I nodded, but I was losing hope. Right now, having those pictures to focus on was a good thing. As soon as we got into the apartment, I grabbed my laptop and settled onto the couch, Greyson comfortably beside me. Then I fired up my computer and opened the photos that had automatically upload to my cloud so we could see them on a larger screen.

We studied the first picture, which was remarkably clear considering how rushed I’d been in taking them. “Recognize anyone?”

He pointed to a couple of them. “All of these, but the dates are from three years ago. None of these would be the imp. Hmm. Three years ago. Means she’s been running this mail-order business for a while. I wonder if Roger knew.”

“Maybe she was putting money aside? Who knows? Let me scroll to the last pic.” I went forward in the gallery until I got to the last one. “How about from this list?”

He stared at the screen, his eyes skimming the names. “No. Nothing.”

“Hang on.” I went back a page. “Any of these look familiar?”

More reading. Then he shook his head. “Looks like she kept her business strictly out of town in the last year.”

“She might have had to, given her prickly reputation.”

He nodded and sat back. “I don’t know everyone in town. I could definitely be missing someone. You should still run these by Birdie.”

“I was planning on emailing her the pics before I go to bed.” I looked at the time. “Which I should do immediately, seeing as how it’s almost midnight and I have work tomorrow.”

He smiled. “Cue taken. Glad I got to see you tonight.”

“I’m glad I got to see you too. And thanks for taking me for ice cream. That was epic.” I put the laptop on the coffee table. “I really appreciate you letting me talk out the whole relationship thing, too. I don’t want this to get weird, but promise me that if anything ever changes for you, as in how you feel about us, you’ll tell me so we can discuss it.”

“Promise.” He stood and offered me a hand. “I’ll take the door. Just in case the imp is hovering out by the window somewhere, waiting to devour the bait.”

I took his hand and let him pull me up. “Very thoughtful of you.”

He tugged me into his arms, then threaded his fingers into my hair and kissed me hard. “See you soon, my darling Jayne.”

I nodded. “Night, vampire.”

He smiled and slipped out the door. I locked it behind him, the dreaminess of his kiss still filling my head.

That dreaminess remained until the next morning, when I woke up to discover the box was still imp-free. That put me in a chilly mood. In fact, I almost uttered a few choice words, but seeing as how Spider could talk now, I wasn’t sure I wanted him picking up those sorts of things from me.

I grabbed a Dr Pepper from my never-ending supply and stood by the window, looking for any sign of the imp. There was a small green smudge on the outer sill, but that was it. Had he been here and turned his nose up at the molasses? That seemed the only logical answer.

So the molasses was a no-go. I sorted through the box Delaney had sent, trying to decide what to try next.

Maybe the woman was psychic, but as I was doing that, she called. I grabbed my phone as soon as I saw her name on the screen. “Hello?”

“Good morning, Jayne. It’s Delaney. Am I calling too early? Hugh said I should at least wait until the store was open.”

“No, it’s fine. What can I do for you?”

“I’m dying to know if any of the samples worked.”

I sighed. “Not yet.”

She groaned. “Which ones have you tried?”

“Just the molasses so far.”

“Was there any sign of the imp?”

“Just a smudge of green dust on the sill. Nothing like yesterday when he actually took a bite out of the fudge. Although I found that bite on the floor, so he obviously didn’t care for it either.”

Delaney gasped. “He spit out your aunt’s eggnog fudge?”

“Yep.”

“Blasphemy. But he did at least take a bite of that, which gives me an idea. Can you spare an hour this morning?”

“Will it help me catch the imp?”

“It might.”

“I’ll work it out. What time?”

“Not sure. I need to make a call first. Can I text you with the info?”

“Sure. And thanks for the help.”

“You got it. Talk soon! Bye!”

“Bye.” I hung up, curious about what Delaney was up to, but happy and willing to take any help offered. I took my Dr Pepper into the shower, deciding to get to work early to make up for the time I would need to take off.

Twenty minutes later, I had Spider fed, myself clothed and made up and was in my office. Breakfast was fudge, cookies and the last remaining truffle from the box Delaney had brought yesterday. The evening crew had decimated the offerings, but I didn’t begrudge them the snacks. They worked hard.

I popped that truffle into my mouth, then headed into the store to get the bank bag that Buttercup would have left in the drawer under the register. She was in charge of closing every night, and thankfully, she was meticulous about it.

The shop was so quiet. In another twenty minutes, it would be hopping, but right now, with the lights and music off, it had a serene feeling to it.

I took the bag back to my office and sat down to go through the receipts from yesterday. My phone chimed before I could start. It was a text from Delaney.

Pick you up at the store in half an hour?

Sure
, I texted back. I couldn’t wait to see what she had planned.

Great!

I put my phone aside and dug into the receipts. As usual, everything was in order. I wrote up the day’s report, added it to the bank bag, then dropped it into the Santa’s Bag to send it to headquarters.

As I walked back to my office, Juniper came out of the elevator. “Hey, you’re early,” I said.

“I was about to say the same thing to you. What are you doing down here already?”

“I have to head out for about an hour today.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s imp-related.”

She nodded. “No problem, we’ll cover things. I take it that means the bugger is still at large?”

“Yep. So why are you here so early?”

“I’m going to Mummy’s for cinnamon rolls.”

“Rolls? Plural?” I grinned. “Did Pete stay over?”

She swatted my arm playfully. “No. I’m getting one for me and one for Kip.”

“That’s very nice of you.” I waggled my brows. “So…does Pete know he has competition?”

She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not like that.”

“Maybe not for you, but how does Kip feel?”

“We’re just friends and he knows that.” She narrowed her eyes. “Now quit teasing me or I won’t bring you one.”

I held my hands up. “My lips are sealed. Thank you! If I’m gone when you get back, I’ll eat it when I return.”

I went back to my office and knocked a few more things off my daily to-do list before another text from Delaney arrived.

Stanhill and I are outside.

I grabbed my purse, locked my office and headed to the sidewalk. A sleek black sedan was parked and waiting.

The rear window buzzed down, and Delaney grinned at me. “Hop in.”

But before I could take another step, Stanhill got out and opened the door for me. “Morning, Your Highness.”

I smirked at him. “Morning, Stanhill.”

He shut the door and got back behind the wheel. As he pulled away from the curb, I leaned toward Delaney. “Where are we going?”

“To see the woman who I think could be the answer to our imp troubles.” She set a paper bag between us. Her shop name and logo were emblazoned on the side. “Salted caramel peach muffin?”

Was she actually unsure if I wanted one? Eager to answer, my stomach rumbled. “Absolutely, thanks.”

She offered me a napkin. I took one, spread it on my lap, then pulled a muffin out of the bag and dug in. It was heaven. “This is so good,” I mumbled around a mouthful. “That was really thoughtful of you to bring them.”

“My pleasure. I might be a vampire, but I still believe there are very few occasions that can’t be improved with something sweet.”

My girl crush on her deepened. “Can we be best friends?”

She laughed, showing off her cute little fangs. “Happily.” She took the second muffin out of the bag, and before long, we had them both polished off.

We put the wrappers and napkins in the bag as Stanhill turned onto a long gravel drive.

Delaney inched forward excitedly. “We’re almost there.”

I still had no idea where we were going, but we weren’t in town anymore. Instead, countryside spread out around us. “Where are we exactly?”

Delaney nodded toward something beyond the window.

The car slowed, and I glanced that way to see for myself. A small cottage was up ahead, something that would have been right at home in the English countryside. Flowers of all kinds, even flowering bushes, were everywhere. And at the back of the property were rows of white boxes.

A sign outside the door read Matilda Sharpe, Mistress of Bees.

“Bees?” My brows knit as I looked at Delaney.

“Not just bees. Magical bees,” she said. “And, more importantly, their honey.” Then she bit her lip. “That is, if Matilda decides to share it with us. Which I’m sure she will. She basically said she would on the phone, but she wants to meet you first.”

“Decides? She controls the bees?” And no pressure on me or anything.

Delaney bobbed her head. “Sort of.”

“Is she a supernatural? A bee shifter or something?”

“Not a shifter, but sort of a magical bee whisperer. She can speak to the bees and has the ability to imbue magical properties into the things she produces with the honey and the wax. I’m hoping she can provide us with some spelled honey to lure the imp in and keep him in the box until you can get the lid closed.”