Sweet Taffy and Murder: Sweet Taffy Cozy Mysteries Book #1 (14 page)

The thing about death is that life carries on right around it. That had happened after Taffy’s mom died. It had happened after Janet died. And it was happening again now.

Of course, everyone had been shocked to hear about Swain’s drowning, and yet they really couldn’t do much but carry on with the daily business of living.

Including attending a local business’s grand opening.

The Vallee brothers’ coffee shop ribbon-cutting drew a big crowd.

Taffy didn’t think Ethan would show up, in part because of their earlier argument but mostly because of his irrational dislike for the Vallee brothers, but when she looked around, from within the midst of the gathering crowd, she saw his navy-blue pickup truck parked across the street. He climbed out of the cab and leaned against the hood of his truck, watching from a distance.

Taffy gave him a small wave. A peace offering. He hesitated and then gave a small wave back. But he didn’t come any closer. Taffy let it lie. She’d told herself on the drive over that she would try to forget about the case, forget about Ethan, just be in the moment, and enjoy herself for a while.

After leaving the sanctuary and driving around a bit longer, Taffy had returned home to change into a cute outfit: slim jeans, a cropped blazer, and a small, fedora-style hat. She wasn’t feeling so hurt about the things Maria had said before. She did need to take a break from thinking about the case. She’d let it color everything these days. She could put her attention on other things for a while. Like romance. She had an eye on Mick as potential date material for Maria, and she was going to do what she could to get them to talk to each other today.

Taffy watched Mayor Gifford slip under the red ribbon to stand next to Austin and Mick, who looked nervous and shy standing next to his brother, who was all smooth confidence and charm. With a broad, bright smile, Austin handed the mayor a large pair of scissors.

“If you would do the honors, Sir.”

Mayor Gifford beamed. And then he bellowed, “It is with great pleasure that I preside over the official opening of the Vallee brothers’ new coffee shop, BrewHaha, the first of many small, and
large
, business ventures these industrious brothers have in store for our sleepy little town.”

What did Mayor Gifford mean about small and large business ventures? Did they plan to make BrewHaHa a chain? Taffy looked across to Ethan, to see if he’d noticed the mayor’s words.

Ethan had his arms crossed, and he was frowning.

The speechifying continued, and then Mick ripped the paper off the inside windows. Everyone leaned forward to peer inside.

“Before we go in,” Austin said, waving his arms in a welcoming gesture. “We get to choose our first customer, who not only gets first choice of any specialty coffee on our menu, they also get a six month’s supply of free coffee beans.”

Everybody smiled and clapped. A few people raised their hands, hoping to be chosen. Taffy saw Aubin Terkle’s wedding ring waggling around, and Ellie's pudgy fist punched the air with enthusiasm. Mick pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Austin.

“We’re going to toss this coffee bean, like a bride’s bouquet, and whoever catches it will be our first customer.”

As soon as the bean was lobbed in the air it was too tiny to be seen against the bright sky. People looked this way and that, but there was nothing to focus on. Taffy heard a tiny
pit-pat
near her ear. Ellie pointed. “It’s Taffy! It landed on the brim of her hat!” Taffy felt the rim and found the hard, bead-like bean balanced on the felt rim of her mini fedora.

The crowd parted so she could make her way to the front doors. Taffy glanced over her shoulder and saw Ethan, still frowning, climb into the cab of his pickup truck and rev up. What a party pooper he was. She wasn’t going to let him spoil her fun.

When Taffy approached Austin at the front door, she held out the bean like a ticket.

“It’s okay,” he said with a wink. “You can keep it as a souvenir.”

He took her elbow and guided her into the shop. “I’m glad it was you,” he whispered in her ear.

Taffy inhaled a whiff of his expensive cologne. “Me, too.”

Behind her, Mick called out to the crowd, “Come on in everyone! We have free samples of coffee and cookies!”

For the rest of the afternoon, half the town hobnobbed together in the new coffee shop. Taffy finally got her skim-milk double latté with vanilla syrup, and it was actually pretty good. She stood at the corner of the counter watching Aubin, who took every chance she could to display her wedding ring while talking to Mayor Gifford. Gravely had given up his policing post on the street corner, leaving it to Maria, and was sipping espresso while trying to hold Ellie's attention, which seemed to be distractedly wandering between himself and Clint, with the occasional glance at Austin, who was doing all he could to keep Taffy interested.

For a brief moment, Taffy wished Ethan hadn’t left. She also wished she hadn’t said those things to make him mad. But then she put him to the back of her mind. He didn’t seem to be interested in her more than as a friend, and even as a friend he didn’t want to open up to her and tell her the whole truth, which hurt her feelings. Besides, in
this
moment, she was standing across a counter from a set of blue eyes solely focused on hers, and that was feeling pretty sweet.

Austin’s white teeth gleamed as he smiled hopefully and said, “Third time lucky?”

“What was that?”

“I just asked you out for dinner again. I was hoping you’d say yes this time.”

“Um, can you hold that thought? Where can I find the restroom?”

He pointed.

“I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Taffy wove through the crowd, wondering what she should do. Was there any harm in saying yes?

Taffy ran into Ellie in the rustically stylish bathroom. She was applying sparkly lip gloss in the mirror as Taffy emerged from a stall.

“Nice boots,” Ellie said to Taffy’s reflection in the mirror.

“You and Allan are looking pretty tight,” Taffy said, as she washed and dried her hands.

Ellie smiled, slipped her arm through Taffy’s, and they walked out together, reentering the friendly din of the busy coffee shop.

“Clint’s off the list. I guess technically he didn’t qualify anyway.” They both looked over to see Clint laughing with Rob from jujube packaging.

“You’re probably better off with Allan anyway.”

“He’s pretty sweet to me. But what about
you
! It’s so obvious that Austin is totally boner-crushing on you.”

“Ellie!”

“Don’t tell me he’s not undressing you with his eyes.” Taffy glanced his way, and though he was handing out coffees and chitchatting with other people, he had his eye on the back of the shop, and on Taffy.

“He asked me out for dinner.”

Ellie raised an eyebrow. “And you said?”

“Well, there’s Ethan to —”

“Park Ranger Dude? Come on, Taffy. He’s not even
here
. And you should at least give Austin a chance. What I wouldn’t give to ride sidecar in that ’vette, if you get my drift.”

“Ellie, you’re incorrigible!”

“Well, what? It’s just a date. It’s not ’til death do us part or anything.”

“So you think I should say yes?”

“Yes! Go have fun! I bet he’ll take you to the resort restaurant. Or that fancy French place,
Suite
, over in Blancheville.”

“But what about Ethan?”

“What about him? Maybe it’ll be the prod he needs to get out of the friend zone. A little well-timed jealousy might up his game. It’s worked with Allan.” She blew him a little kiss from across the room. He stood a little taller as he winked back.

“But don’t forget to come by my place before your date.” Ellie slipped her arm out of Taffy’s and went off to join Allan Gravely.

Taffy noticed that Maria had come in from outside. Apparently traffic no longer needed directing. She and Mick were standing near the door, chatting awkwardly.

They looked so cute together.

So did Allan and Ellie. They were now huddled together on the banquette near the window. Taffy made her way back to the coffee counter.

Austin had topped up her coffee, and it sat steaming next to a plate of fresh biscotti. She picked one up and dipped it past the foam and into the sweet, milky coffee.

“The restrooms are pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you,” Austin said, winking. Then he caught himself. “Not that I was comparing you to a restroom.” He looked slightly mortified as he poured himself more dark-roast blend.

Taffy laughed it off. “You and Mick have created a nice atmosphere here.”

“Made all the nicer by your presence.” He seemed satisfied with that compliment.

“Your brother seemed quite taken by Maria the other night at the bar. Think he might ask her out?”

Austin looked across the coffee shop for his brother, who was giving Maria one of the biscotti he’d been in the process of handing out to the crowd. She took it shyly and smiled. There was definitely something between them. When Taffy turned back, she saw Austin frowning, but then he shrugged and smiled.

“I’m not my brother’s keeper. You never know where or how love will bloom.”

He turned his attention back to Taffy. “So? Answer?”

Taffy deflected again, saying, “What was the mayor hinting at? What kinds of large ventures are you and your brother up to?”

Austin glanced away with false shyness, as if Taffy had just asked what he benched at the gym and he was self-conscious yet proud to tell her.

“You’ve probably noticed the town needs a facelift here and there.”

Taffy nodded as she sipped her coffee.

“Well, my brother and I have been in construction and development for a long time, mostly in Texas, Utah, and a bit in Colorado and Nevada, but when we came out to the coast for a camping trip a couple of years ago we just kinda fell in love with this place. We both wanted to settle down here, Maybe start families.” He tried to catch Taffy’s eye, but she was scanning the coffee shop crowd as she listened.

“Yeah, and then what?”

Austin cleared his throat. “So then we saw some opportunities for improvement. We talked to some of the business owners, the mayor, and a few councilors, and they liked our ideas.”

“Like the coffee shop?”

“I’d say it’s just a
small
taste of what’s to come.” His lips curled into a half smile.

“You’ve got
large
tastes, too?”

“Most definitely.” He leaned over the counter, closer to Taffy, and whispered. “And not just for business.”

She felt a blush begin to warm her cheeks, and a fluttery feeling attacked her stomach, but that might have been from the coffee, which was strong.

Austin pulled a little flask from under the counter and splashed a little something in his mug.

“Want some?”

He tipped a shot into Taffy’s drink before she had a chance to answer.

“A little something to heat up the afternoon.” He winked again.

Taffy’s next sip was pretty fiery.

When she put her cup down, Austin leaned toward her again, and she caught another warm whiff of his cologne.

“So are you ready to give me an answer?”

Taffy hesitated again. She looked across the room and saw Maria laughing with Mick. She assessed her situation:
red-blooded American female getting asked out by red-blooded American male
.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay what?”

“Yes, I’ll go to dinner with you.”

The crescent of his smile was a bright flash. “That’s my girl.”

He held his mug up to ‘cheers’ hers.

As they tapped cups, Taffy wondered what kind of trouble she was getting herself into now.

When Taffy got home from the opening she was all jacked up on caffeine and wondering how she’d ever let Austin Vallee talk her into going on a date with him. Ellie hadn’t helped. Now the date was settled for tomorrow night, and she was supposed to go over to Ellie’s in the afternoon to borrow some bangles and bling, according to Ellie.

It was plenty enough to distract her from the case, but Taffy still couldn’t help dwelling on certain things. The truth of what happened to Janet Harken was like an itch on her instep swaddled inside a boot she couldn’t take off.

Midnight was waiting on the top step, a blaming look in his eye. As Taffy unlocked the door, he wove between her ankles and started to purr.

She pushed into the front hall, taking careful steps to avoid kicking Midnight, who was preceding her toward the kitchen.

As she passed by the closet, unbuttoning her coat, she caught a faint whiff of roses. She wondered if it was coming off of her lapels after hugging Ellie at the coffee shop opening.

Flicking on the lights in the kitchen, she noticed a coffee cup drying in the dish rack. She didn’t remember washing one. She usually left her cups sitting in the sink for a few days. Maybe in her hurry to leave in the morning, she’d absently rinsed it.

She opened the fridge and removed the can of cat food sitting next to the carton of milk. Huh. She always stored the milk in the door of the fridge. Had she set it on the shelf without thinking?

Midnight sat on her left foot while she doled out his dinner. His fur felt warm on her foot. She liked having someone to come home to, even if he had four legs and a tail.

She sighed as she set down the chipped plate. She wished she hadn’t gotten mad at Ethan. And now she’d agreed to a dinner date with Austin. How was she going to explain that to Ethan?

Despite feeling some daunt at the impending dinner date, Taffy was pleased that Maria and Mick had been talking. There seemed to be a tiny spark there. Taffy intended to fan it to see if she could produce a flame.

As Midnight gobbled up his dinner, she rubbed his long, licorice-black back. He purred while he ate.

Taffy found a box of macaroni and cheese in the pantry. She successfully boiled water and cooked the pasta. When she ate it straight out of the pot it was rather chewy and got stuck in her teeth, and the powdery cheese clumped into balls. Overall it was too soupy. Was she supposed to strain the water out?

After filling the hole in her stomach, she went upstairs to run a bath. The bathroom smelled like the rose bath salts. She hadn’t used them for several nights and thought it curious that the fragrance had lingered so long. Maybe that’s what she’d smelled in the hall.

While the water filled the tub, Midnight followed her from the bathroom to the bedroom. He pushed against her legs and seemed to be nudging her down the hall.

“What is it?”

He trotted toward the attic door, where he sat for a minute and scratched at his collar. Then he returned to Taffy’s bare legs and pushed against them.

“You already led me astray with the firewood. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that. You’re supposed to be on my side, you know.”

He pushed against her more insistently. She didn’t want to go into the attic. The thought made her shudder. Just like the basement. But now Midnight was attacking her toes, and in order to avoid being scratched, she sidestepped this way and that until he’d maneuvered her to the attic door.

“Fine. I get it. I shouldn’t be such a scaredy cat.”

Taffy stood in front of the door to the attic. It’s just a room, she told herself. Just a place to store stuff. She put her hand on the doorknob and turned.

It was locked. Strange.

There was an old-fashioned keyhole but no key. She felt around the edge of the doorframe. Nothing there. She wondered if one might be stored in the drawers in the kitchen or the parlor.

She was about to go look when Midnight meowed. She turned to see him standing by the bathroom door, and she realized the bath was nearly overflowing. After twisting off both taps, her phone started ringing.

The caller ID, which she’d changed the day she left New York, said “Hell raiser.”

Her Nana was calling? After all this time?

“Hello?”

“Taffy? Oh my goodness, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Are you?” said Taffy. She’d gotten used to her Nana not returning her calls, and so now she wondering if she was calling with bad news.

“Oh my, no! I’m not all right! I just found out about Janet Harken’s murder. It’s awful! You must come home immediately.”

Taffy stared at the phone. Home?

“You want me to come back to New York? Now?”

“You’ve got to get out of that awful town. I had no idea—”

“It’s not awful.” Taffy felt surprisingly defensive all of a sudden. “Wait, who told you about Janet?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll wire airfare money to Mr. Davenport.”

“You don’t need to—”

“If you’re not ready to come back to New York yet, that’s fine. I’ll send you wherever you want to go. Where do you want to go?”

A week ago she would have had a list as long as her arm. St. Croix, Maui, Santa Barbara, Paris. Anywhere but Abandon, Oregon. But as she stood in Janet’s steamy, rose-scented bathroom, she heard herself saying, “You don’t understand, Nana. I’m staying here. I’m going to
find
the murderer.”

There was a small gasp on the other end of the line.

“Pardon me?”

“Don’t send any money. I’m fine.” Taffy hung up. And then she stared at her phone. Had she really just told her grandmother not to send her any money? And that she didn’t want to go home?

She was about to call back when she heard a knock at the door. She looked down from an upstairs window and saw Ethan’s truck in the driveway.

Tightening up her bathrobe, she went to open the door.

Ethan looked contrite. “I came to say sorry.”

“I’m the one who should apologize. I just jumped on you.” And not in the way she’d been fantasizing about.

“Can I come in?”

“I was about to have a bath but—”

“I have a few more things I’d like to say.”

“All right.”

She let him in, and they sat together on the couch.

Ethan started. “I wasn’t myself this afternoon.”

“Neither was I.” Taffy sighed. “I’ve been letting the investigation get in the way of everything.”

She told him about her conversation with Maria earlier that day, about how she’d made a fool of herself with the firewood, and even implicated him.

“I’ve only been trying to help, but it seems I just mess everything up.”

“I know you really care about this.”

“I do. But maybe for the wrong reasons.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins. “Maria thinks maybe I’m stirring things up because I miss New York.”

“Do you?”

“My grandmother called just before you got here. She told me to come home.”

“And?” He looked like he didn’t want to hear the next part.

Taffy felt a wave of emotion rise up from somewhere deep inside. “I don’t want to go home, because I don’t know where home is anymore. Ever since my mom—”

The wave inside kept growing. Was she going to cry?

“After she… was gone, I just kind of froze. I mean, I went to twice-weekly shrink appointments, but no one could get through to me. I got through school on autopilot, and even though my friends and I did so many things to stand out, all I ever felt was lost in a crowd. As if I was angling for some attention that I didn’t really want but thought I should have, thought I needed to be a whole, complete person. But I felt so lonely. And lost. So lost.”

She was riding this emotional wave, feeling as if she might crash against a rocky shore any moment. Ethan stayed quiet, his eyes on her, attentive, caring.

“I never admitted that to anyone. I told myself I had to be strong, carry on. I watched my grandmother’s heart break and didn’t think there was room in the family for a second broken heart.”

“What about your father?”

Taffy looked away, a different kind of emotion arising as she thought of her father. Anger.

“Back then, he didn’t seem to care about anything but his fading stardom.” She’d been angry with him for a long time.

“Have you ever talked to him about your mother’s death?”

She shook her head. “After she died he went on bender after bender. Started sleeping with all kinds of musical celebrities. Just lost it.”

“Sounds like a family of broken hearts if you ask me.”

Taffy couldn’t talk about it anymore. She pushed her feelings down, pushed away from Ethan, forcing the wave to recede. “Well, I didn’t ask you.”

She straightened up, tried to regain her composure.

“Hey, you don’t have to be tough with me.”

“Maybe I do.” A part of her always had to be tough. It was the way things had to be, but it was getting harder and harder to maintain.

She let out a helpless sigh. “I don’t seem to belong here either, Ethan. I don’t belong anywhere.”

The depth of that realization cracked her heart in a new place. If she wasn’t careful, her torrent of tears, held back for years, might burst the floodgates.

He reached out and slid an arm around her shoulder.

“Maybe you do.” He gathered her into an embrace. “Maybe right here is exactly where you belong.”

Did he mean what she hoped he meant? Her lower lip trembled. His lips were so close. She could feel his warm breath against her forehead. Then he leaned back slightly.

“I’m your friend, Taffy. I’m here for you, but there’s something I need to explain.”

Friends
? Again? At this vulnerable moment he was rejecting her
again
? Anger and grief tangled, first fighting for territory and then mingling, until they started weaving together another shield of protection. Before she could speak—to say what exactly she wasn’t quite sure—she felt a vibration between them. Her phone, buzzing in her robe pocket. Ethan shifted to the side so she could reach it.

“It might be your grandmother again. You should talk to her.”

He leaned back to give her space. Clearly, he had no intention of kissing her.

When Taffy pulled out her phone, the display revealed Austin’s name and number.

Ethan saw it and stiffened.

“What’s that about?”

“Nothing.”

He raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t going to say anything, but frustration and self-protection won out as Taffy recalled Ellie’s advice about a little well-placed jealousy.

“Why is Austin calling you?” Ethan pressed.

“It’s about a date actually.”

“You’re going on a date with Austin Vallee?”

Taffy shrugged. “He asked. You didn’t.”

Ethan got up from the couch. He started pacing. He clenched his jaw. His fists tightened and released.

He said, “You have no idea who he is. What he’s really like.”

“I hardly know anything about you either. That’s why going on dates helps.”

Ethan shook his head in disbelief.

“I thought we were beyond this. I thought we were friends.”

That word again.

“As my
friend
maybe you’ll be happy that I’m going on a date.”

That hit him like a coffin nail.

“Now you’re making jokes about this? I wonder if you’ve changed at all.”

“Changed from what? A high-society princess? Well maybe I haven’t. And maybe I need a guy who’s more my type.” She was on a roll now. She didn’t even know where the words were coming from.

“A flashy guy with a flashy car? A guy as deep as a desert puddle?”

“Maybe you’re too deep for all of us, Ethan. Too earthy and obscure.” He even had a smudge of mud on his cheek. “Clearly I’m not
your
type!”

“Stop acting like a spoiled brat. I want us to be friends. I want us to hang out and get to know each other more. I want us to take our time, not be in such a— ”

She held up a hand. She’d had enough. “Ethan,
you can’t always get what you want
.”

He blinked.

“This is unbelievable.” He started toward the door and flung it open.

Taffy stormed after him.

“You can take your coffee contraption with you if you’re leaving. I don’t need it anymore either! I can get my coffee on the outside from now on!”

He yelled from the steps. “Keep the damned thing. Smash it to smithereens if you want. Pretend it’s my heart.”

He got into his truck and slammed the door.