Deadly Surprise (The Early Bird Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Read online

  “I was hoping you’d ask. I just got the perfect dog for you—she’s four, so a little older, but friends with everyone. It was an owner surrender. I know you keep saying you’re not ready, but I’m telling you, this dog is for you.”

  Kori looked down at her feet. She wanted to adopt a dog so badly but had been putting it off because she worked such long days and didn’t want to leave a pet home alone all day. She didn’t think that was fair to the animal.

  “And the best part is that she used to go to a retirement home as a casual therapy dog, so you know she’d be fine in the café with customers.” Vera’s face was full of hope.

  “I’ll think about it,” Kori finally managed. And she would. “What can I get you started with?”

  The rest of the morning proved as busy as it started with the wait getting as long as twenty minutes. Kori knew she was almost in Betsy’s position of needing to hire help—at least for the summer—and possibly even expand. The café only seated twenty people, so she could usually keep up with the rush. But if she didn’t have to, why was she still pushing herself?

  Midway to lunch, Kori’s heart started fluttering when she saw Zach Gulch walk in with who she assumed was his new detective, Lani Silver. She tried to study her from afar and was disappointed to see that she was gorgeous: at least six feet tall, soft features that were easy to look at and a smile that got men turning their heads away from their breakfasts. Could Zach possibly be attracted to her? Had he hired her because she would be nice to look at every day?

  They took a seat at the counter in front of the window where she worked and Kori was suddenly speechless.

  “Morning Kori. I thought I’d give Detective Silver the grand tour of Hermit Cove this morning and we’re finishing up here.”

  Kori managed to croak out a reply, “You’re already finished? It’s not even noon yet. There’s got to be more to see in Hermit Cove.”

  “Well, we stopped by Red Clover Farm, Furry Friends, the market, the rec center, the auto body, post office and school—even though they were closed for Sunday—and now we’re here.” Zach’s smile this morning had the same reaction in Kori’s knees as it’d had last night. Only this time she was standing so had to look away before they buckled right beneath her. But was the smile only for her or was part of it reserved for the amount of time he was going to be spending with Detective Silver?

  “Welcome to Hermit Cove,” Kori managed to sputter to her new competition for Zach’s heart. She tried to keep her voice calm and friendly but wasn’t sure she’d managed completely. “Can I get you both something? On the house. As a welcome-to-Hermit-Cove gift,” she added quickly, not wanting Lani to think that she always treated Zach that way. Or maybe she should let her think that; make sure she knew he was off limits. But was he? Had she really staked enough claim after just one date?

  “I’ll take one of the smoothies,” Zach said. “Thanks.”

  There was that smile again that left Kori’s knees weak and her heart skipping a couple of beats.

  “Thanks Kori. Just a coffee. Black,” Lani ordered.

  Kori was relieved and disappointed that she couldn’t stay to chat with Lani, but especially with Zach. Last night had been such an eye opener for her that she wanted it to continue right away but she also wanted to be sure that she was going down a path she was ready for. She wasn’t quite sure how to balance those two emotions—and keep Lani at bay if there was any interest there.

  At one, Kori finally sat down. She didn’t even have the energy to close and lock the door first but everyone in town knew she was closed. It was only tourists she’d have the chance of having to turn away.

  Suddenly the door opened. She looked up from the discarded newspaper she was reading, ready to apologize to whoever had entered, and saw her brother’s worried face. “What is it?” she asked.

  “It’s Heidi. She’s dead.”

  CHAPTER 2

  “Heidi? Who’s Heidi?” Kori asked, confused and not yet panicked.

  “Heidi Fischer.” Jay was breathing hard and the look of fear on his face hadn’t diminished at all.

  Kori waited for him to continue, still not understanding his concern.

  Jay sat across from her in the booth and told her more. “Heidi Fischer,” he repeated to no avail. “Remember how I told you I was using online dating websites?” Kori nodded. “She was the first woman I contacted. And she was killed yesterday morning.”

  “Oh.” Kori was speechless. She wasn’t sure if Jay had continued having a relationship with her from his initial contact, or when that even was, and wasn’t sure how she should react. “How did you find out?” She knew it was a stupid question but couldn’t stop herself from asking.

  “Facebook.”

  “Facebook?”

  “Yeah. We were Facebook friends. I didn’t think anything of it when she requested to be my friend years ago. We didn’t keep in touch. But I guess when everyone started posting on her wall—things that she won’t ever see—it made it on to my news feed.”

  “That’s bizarre.”

  Jay nodded.

  “So someone you used to date is dead—”

  “Let’s just be clear about one thing: we never actually dated,” Jay interrupted her, his hands moving wildly to further make his point.

  “Okay. Someone you used to—what? Online date? What’s the proper term?” Kori asked, trying to be more sensitive but still unsure of why Jay felt like he was in trouble.

  “I don’t even know. I never saw her either. Sure, we online dated.”

  “So someone you used to online date is dead. Killed. But what does this have to do with you?” she asked.

  “From what’s been posted on Facebook, it was someone she had met through the dating site we both used. The dating website keeps getting thrown around like they didn’t do a proper vetting process for their users. I don’t know how many people she online dated—or dated—through there, but I know I’m one of them.”

  “But that seems like a long shot. Where did she even live?”

  “Not far. Scoter Circle.”

  “And you never met her?” Scoter Circle was only an hour away so it would have been plenty easy for Jay to have met Heidi if there had been anything in their online relationship to build upon.

  “I know. She was the first person I contacted online so I wanted to see how that worked first,” Jay said, clearly defending himself.

  “Okay, well I won’t be like Mom and give you a hard time about your relationship choices. But I don’t really know why you’re worried. Check out her online profile—if it’s still up—and calm down. You know you didn’t do it.” Kori didn’t add the final word she’d wanted to—right?

  “I know. I just panicked and knew you’d understand.”

  “What, because I was a suspect in a murder case?”

  Jay looked at her sheepishly and nodded.

  “I’m here for you if that happens, don’t worry. I’ve gotta get things cleaned up. You eat lunch yet?”

  Jay shook his head and followed Kori into the kitchen. There, she looked through what was left and whipped up huevos rancheros for both of them. Then they sat back down in the same booth.

  “How’s Mom lately?” Jay asked after he’d taken a few bites in silence. Kori wasn’t sure if he was still worrying about Heidi or if he was actually starving.

  “Good. I haven’t seen her this weekend. She usually comes in Monday before her spin class so I’ll see her tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh, she actually told me she was gonna be out of town for the weekend. You’ll never guess where she was going.” Jay put his fork down noisily and the fear returned to his face. Kori waited. “Scoter Circle.”

  Kori refused to believe that her mother’s visit to Scoter Circle could possibly be connected to Heidi Fischer’s murder. “I have to assume that she never met Heidi so didn’t even know she existed.”

  Jay nodded.

  “So you’re just putting two completely unrelated people
and events together and thinking they are suddenly connected.”

  Jay nodded again. “I know. It’s ridiculous. I just can’t stop thinking that I might be a suspect.”

  “Well, stop thinking that. Because you just might make it come true.”

  ***

  After Jay left, Kori got to work cleaning up the kitchen. Since she wasn’t swamped with other things to do, she decided to get the menu ready for Monday and maybe even give herself an extra ten minutes of sleep in the morning.

  The smoothies had been a huge hit so she knew she’d have to start offering them regularly and she left them on the menu. She checked on the leafy greens she used and saw that she had to restock her kale supply. She started a list that she would take to Nora’s as soon as she was finished with the menu.

  Next, she added breakfast casserole. She’d make two—one vegetarian and one with bacon. She knew the bacon one would sell faster, and completely, but there were always plenty of vegetarians who wanted something eggy.

  She hadn’t made bread in quite a while, so she paused in her menu planning to get a batch of dough going. She always made enough for two loaves and they sold out every time. A thick piece of toast loaded with butter and jam or honey was one of the best starts to the day she thought.

  It only took her a few minutes to get the ingredients weighed and laid out to add to the bowl in increments. She started with the warm water and dough, mixing it by hand just until it was combined. Then she had to let it rest before adding the salt and yeast. She kept her bread simple and baked it in Dutch ovens so they had nice crisp crusts and soft fluffy centers.

  Kori always had at least one option of waffles, French toast or pancakes—something to cure the morning sweet tooth. So she added cinnamon French toast and banana or plain pancakes, they started with the same batter and she just added bananas later to those specific orders. She found that fruity pancakes sold much better than plain ones but it was easy enough to offer both. And she always had too-old bananas around that needed to be used.

  When she had the menu completely planned, she returned to her bread and added the rest of the ingredients, folding them in until everything was combined. She set it aside, ran upstairs to change her shirt and came back in time to fold it again and let it rise. She knew she had a few hours before she’d have to separate the dough into the two loaves and stick them in the fridge overnight, so she headed outside to her car to refill her vegetable and egg supplies from Red Clover Farm.

  “Hey Kori,” Nora said, standing up from her kneeling position next to one of her raised beds. “I thought you might stop by this afternoon.”

  “I couldn’t wait for tomorrow morning’s egg delivery. There was other stuff I needed so thought I’d come by. How’s your weekend?”

  “Boring. Tell me about yours. How did the date go? I can’t believe you made me wait all day to hear the details and didn’t call as soon as you got home.”

  “It was late,” Kori said lamely and Nora rolled her eyes. “But it was so great.” Kori couldn’t hold in her excitement anymore. She let out all of the details of what she loved about the evening—how special she felt getting dressed up; how every time she got Zach to laugh she got butterflies in her stomach; how his deep blue eyes never got old looking at across the table; how she was constantly reminded of growing up alongside him and wasting all those years they weren’t together.

  “I don’t want to say it, but I told you so!” Nora said, showing as much excitement as Kori was feeling. “You guys are perfect for each other. When’s the next date?”

  “We didn’t make plans,” Kori realized with regret. “But I saw him today at The Early Bird. And his new detective, Lani Silver, is a bombshell. Either he stopped by because he wanted to see me or because he wanted to show me that I had competition.”

  “Oh please. That man hasn’t stopped loving you since high school. You think that some out of town beauty can steal his heart? Are you kidding me? You’re the one I had to convince to go out with him, not Zach. He’s been waiting for that day for more than half his life. There’s no way you have competition.”

  Kori felt only a little reassured. “Yeah right. You think he was always obsessed with me but he’s dated plenty.”

  “That was just to fill the time until you came to your senses. Now that you’ve finally done that, no one is going to get him to turn his head.”

  “Okay. Whatever. I’m here on business you know,” Kori teased.

  “Sure. What do you need?”

  Kori followed Nora to the kale and spinach that had been growing outside for over a month and they started picking the best leaves and putting them in a box.

  “Vera stopped by today,” Nora said, both women hunched over and sifting through the greens.

  Kori wasn’t surprised. “Oh yeah? What’d she want?”

  “She told me about a retired service dog that just came in. Owner surrender.”

  “That’s not quite what she told me.”

  Nora looked up and smiled. “I should have known she’d come to you first. What was her story then?”

  “She wasn’t a therapy dog but used to go to retirement homes unofficially.”

  “Okay, I might have embellished that part. I just thought maybe you’d be ready for a four legged friend.” Nora’s eyes looked like those that Kori imagined the dog must have—pleading.

  “What about you? Don’t Milo and Otis need a young friend to keep them active?” Kori knew she was digging.

  “Hah! Those dogs are more active than most four year old dogs! They’d be keeping her active I think. Besides, I promised myself I wouldn’t get another one until they’re gone,” Nora whispered so the dogs wouldn’t know what she meant.

  “Fine. You guys are breaking me down. I’ll go look at the dog on my way back to The Early Bird.”

  “Great! We knew you’d cave eventually. And it sounds like this is a dog worth caving for.”

  Kori knew her friends were right—she was ready for a dog. And from what Vera said, this would be the perfect dog to add to The Early Bird Café family.

  “Now what about those eggs?” Kori asked, her box full of fresh greens overflowing in her arms.

  “I’m so glad you got more chickens for me. I don’t think I’d be able to keep up with the demand!”

  Nora was now up to 32 hens, thanks to Kori buying 14 retired layers. They were only a couple years old so didn’t produce quite as much as Nora’s young birds, but they still had plenty of eggs left in them.

  “Just let me know if you need more. It sounds like they’re always looking for homes for the hens when they stop laying an egg a day.”

  “If they’d just give them a better environment they’d get more eggs out of them. I’ve been getting five eggs a week from some of the new girls. I think that’s pretty good for a retired layer.”

  “You have different standards I think. I’m your only customer,” Kori joked.

  “Well, you do make it that way.”

  “Hey, what are you saying? That you’d like to sell elsewhere?” Kori was laughing.

  “Nope. Just that you’re good enough business to keep me out of eggs to sell anywhere else!”

  Kori and Nora, followed by Milo and Otis, made their way to the chicken coop and started checking the nesting boxes. Then they headed to the barn where more eggs were waiting for them in the fridge. Altogether, there were eight dozen—enough for about half the week. And Kori knew she could always just plan her menu accordingly. But with the late May air, she also knew the chickens would soon be at their peak productivity.

  “You have the farm stand open yet?” Kori asked once her arms were free and all of her fresh food was loaded into the car.

  “Planned for this week. I’m really excited about it. Come by for the opening Wednesday night.”

  “Great. I’ll see you then, if not sooner,” Kori said, and jumped in her car.

  She got back to The Early Bird, unloaded her produce into the walk-in fridge and, as prom
ised, headed across the street to Furry Friends.

  “I’m so glad you came!” Vera exclaimed before the door was even closed behind Kori.

  Kori gave a sheepish smile. “I saw Nora,” she said simply.

  “I just know this will be the dog for you. Come.”

  Kori followed Vera obediently past cages of dogs. For a small town, Kori was always surprised how many dogs came and went through Furry Friends. They were mostly shipped north from states and cities that were overrun with mistreated pets and strays who were given a second chance in and around Hermit Cove.

  “Here she is.”

  Kori stopped next to Vera and looked into the cage. She saw a short haired white dog with a few black markings. She was the only dog not adding to the racket, but instead was sitting patiently, confident that she’d soon be taken to her new home.

  The dog looked up at Kori’s face and turned her head to the side like she knew Vera was trying to send her home with this new person.

  “Let me get a leash and you guys can meet outside.”

  Kori was unable to deny her this request. She wouldn’t admit it but the dog had already won her over.

  Vera led Kori to a small enclosed area outside and then left her alone to collect the dog. When she returned, the dog walked directly next to Vera, not pulling on the leash at all, and trotted straight to Kori.

  “She came in with the name Bella but she doesn’t seem to respond to it specifically,” Vera explained.

  Bella sat at Kori’s side and looked up at her face. Kori couldn’t keep her hand from stroking her head. “What kind is she?”

  “A good old fashioned mutt. We think some shepherd. Maybe some pitt. But don’t let that scare you off. Like I said, she used to regularly visit a retirement home.”

  “Why was she given up?” Kori asked, thinking there must be a dark spot in her past.

  “No idea. Could have been an elderly person’s pet and the kids didn’t want to keep her. Or someone moved. Or they just didn’t commit long term. Hard to say. But she’s going to go fast. So I knew I had to get you in today to see her.”