Rise and Die (The Early Bird Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) Read online

  “I thought it would be a puncture from a rock. I got it at Nora’s house. How’d that happen?”

  “Only way I can see it happening is if someone took a knife and intentionally slashed it. You make any enemies recently?”

  Kori knew the answer to that question but didn’t want to tell Jay. She hadn’t told anyone about Tessa’s visit that morning. In fact, she’d forgotten about it until this moment and didn’t really want to think about these two events being connected.

  They couldn’t be, she told herself. Tessa wouldn’t do this. But then, Kori didn’t know what Tessa thought she was guilty of and had nearly accused her of doing that morning.

  Finally, Kori shook her head. “No one I can think of.”

  “Well, unfortunately I can’t repair this. And given that the tires are old, you’ll have to get a whole new set. Sorry,” Jay told her, studying her face. Kori looked away, knowing he would be able to read her like a book and know she had someone in mind as enemy number one.

  “It was time anyway, so maybe this is a good thing.”

  “Kor, it’s never a good thing if your tires get slashed. You said you were at Nora’s farm when it happened? Was anyone else there?”

  “No one that I know of. I was in the greenhouses with her the whole time.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you,” Jay said, getting up. “I’ll get you a new set and give you a ride back to Nora’s. But it’ll be a lot easier to put everything on here.”

  “Just drop me off and I’ll put the donut on. I’ll meet you back here after.”

  Jay walked out back to get his car and Kori headed out the front door to meet him in the parking lot. She was replaying Tessa’s visit over and over in her head. She had been angry but hadn’t actually accused her of doing anything specific.

  And she was sure that Tessa had called Derek needing something. To the best of her knowledge they weren’t an item and she’d been angry so she likely needed something fixed. Derek fixed everything from plumbing to wiring to windows, so Kori couldn’t really narrow that down.

  Did Tessa think Kori had broken whatever it was that needed fixing? Maybe she would swing by Tessa’s café once she had her new tires to see if she could answer any of her new questions.

  And maybe Jay was wrong. Maybe her tire hadn’t been slashed. These two events hadn’t even been connected yet, so Kori was jumping to conclusions. She knew she had to slow down and not assume the worst.

  Jay and Kori talked about their mother on the drive out to Red Clover Farm. Again, Kori avoided asking why she might have thought Jay was a father suddenly. They agreed that the best thing for their mother would be a boyfriend to distract her from her kids. But they also knew that was a long shot. She loved being alone.

  At Nora’s, Jay dropped off Kori and she quickly got to work. The jack was still holding up her car, so she found her spare and put it on. Instead of interrupting whatever Nora was undoubtedly in the middle of, she left the jack by the front door and then drove back to the Auto Body.

  “All weather tires?” Jay asked her, having already picked a set out for her.

  “Whatever you think is best. I have winter tires that I just took off last week, so all weather sounds perfect.”

  “Great. You can sit out front if you want. It should take me no more than fifteen minutes.”

  “Thanks.”

  Kori got comfortable in the front lobby and took out her phone. She figured she should make good use of this downtime and decided she would plan the next day’s menu.

  She would offer two kinds of eggs: leek and potato quiche or an egg sandwich with either fresh arugula or pesto. She could make all of that in the morning. There were still plenty of English muffins for the sandwiches and she could offer it as a wrap. With bacon wrapped leeks a side option.

  Instead of biscuits and gravy, she would make country fried steak. And her sweet options would be stuffed French toast—not nearly as much as usual had been eaten this morning because of the goat cheese omelets—and banana or lemon pancakes.

  And finally, she would make overnight oats in the crock pot. With chunks of apples, plenty of cinnamon and maple syrup, it was the best thing to get through a busy morning. She would make a fruit syrup from frozen blueberries and strawberries that the maple syrup could be substituted for. She knew not many people would make that change but she could save it for plain pancakes and French toast later in the week.

  She’d also offer warm, spiced, local apple cider. It had been a hit last fall and she was sure she’d sell out fast.

  By the time she’d made her final decisions and written everything down so she’d know what to do tonight and early in the morning, Jay had finished and was walking back toward the lobby.

  “All set?” she asked him, looking up.

  “Yup. But bring it in again in the next week and I’ll change your oil for you.”

  “Oh right. Good thing I have you to remind me to do that or I’d never remember. Thanks for all your help today.”

  “No problem. And watch your back for whoever did this.”

  Jay handed the keys back to Kori and she headed to the counter to pay for everything. Jay always gave her a break on the labor, which she appreciated immensely.

  Kori settled her bill and then went outside to her car. She knew she should check in on Tessa and try to smooth things over—there was no sense in having a fight over something she didn’t even know about—but she needed to get things going for the morning at the café. So instead she turned left out of the Auto Body and drove the short distance home. She parked in her normal spot and let herself into the café.

  First, she washed the fresh produce she’d just picked with Nora and then put away what she didn’t need today. Then she got the steaks out of the freezer to thaw so she could cut them down to the correct size in the morning. She put oatmeal and fruit in the crock pot and whipped up a batch of pesto. She still had French toast and pancake batter leftover from the morning and would make the quiche and bacon wrapped leeks the next day.

  Just as she was putting things away and getting ready to finally go upstairs to relax, she heard the front door open.

  I need to remember to lock that when I don’t want company, she thought to herself. She walked out of the kitchen expecting to find her mother there but instead she saw two uniformed police officers.

  CHAPTER 4

  Kori knew one of them—Lieutenant Zach Gulch. They’d grown up together and gone through grade school together.

  Nora had teased Kori about Zach as kids. Nora was sure that Zach had a crush on Kori. At first she just wasn’t interested. But when boys started becoming an interest, she lost all of her confidence and thought he was out of her league so she’d kept her distance. Because of that, they’d run in different circles and that hadn’t changed when she’d come back to Hermit Cove. But she never forgot about him.

  The second officer she didn’t recognize.

  “Zach, what can I do for you?” Kori asked, motioning for them to take a seat in a booth.

  “Kori, I’m sorry to interrupt your evening. This is Detective Gunn,” he said, indicating his partner. Kori smiled inwardly at the irony of the name, much like she saw others do about her own when they learned of her profession.

  “Please, have a seat,” Kori said, again pointing to the booth they were standing beside.

  “Actually, we’d like to take you down to the station to ask you a few questions if that’s okay,” Detective Gunn said, taking charge.

  “Am I under arrest?” she asked. She was itching to get in the shower and out of her dirty clothes. She had dirt under her fingernails and she could smell herself after the long morning she’d put in behind the stove.

  “If you don’t come on your own you will be,” Detective Gunn answered in a much less friendly tone.

  Kori didn’t see a way out of that trip. “Alright then. Can I drive?”

  “We’ll escort you in our vehicle.” Detective Gunn moved to handcuff her bu
t Zach stopped him. Kori was getting mixed signals from them and wondered if she truly was being arrested but Zach was trying to do her a favor.

  The drive to the police station was in reality less than a mile but it felt like hours to Kori. She was going through every possible scenario that could have landed her in this car. If she wasn’t being arrested, could they be investigating her tire slashing? But she hadn’t even reported it. Had something happened to her mother or brother? But she’d seen both of them today.

  And if she was being arrested . . . well, she had no idea what that could have been.

  Once they reached the police station, Kori had to wait to be let out of the back of the vehicle. She couldn’t hear what was being said but from their body language she could tell that the two officers were arguing. They stood in front of the car, just out of earshot, and kept their voices low. Finally, Detective Gunn walked to her side of the car and opened the door while Zach let himself into the building. She hoped that Zach would be the one to ask her the questions. Detective Gunn made her nervous.

  “This way, Ms. Cooke,” Detective Gunn said as he roughly held her arm and led her in the front door. Once inside, she couldn’t spot Zach and she started getting nervous.

  Detective Gunn led her down the hall and into a room with mirrors that she assumed were really windows she couldn’t see out of. “Have a seat. I’ll be with you shortly,” he said and left the room. She heard the door click but she thought that was unnecessary as she wouldn’t have even considered leaving.

  Again, Kori felt like time slowed down. Her brain wouldn’t let her rest. She couldn’t come up with anything she was involved in other than the tire slashing but she wouldn’t have been questioned for that—she had been the victim!

  Finally, Detective Gunn came back in carrying two paper cups of water. He offered one to her and she was thankful for that. She took a sip and he sat across from her at the table. She continued to wait while he studied her.

  “Do you know why you’re here?” he asked.

  She shook her head, unable to form the word no.

  “We received a complaint this morning from Tessa Doyle—you know her? She’s new here.”

  “Yes, I know her.” She was starting to calm down, against all logic, and was finally able to speak.

  “It appears that a rock was thrown through the front window of Sunrise and Shine this morning just before she was set to open and she thinks it was you. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Detective Gunn seemed to relax further into his chair but Kori had the opposite reaction. She sat up straighter and frantically thought through her conversation—if she could call it that—with Tessa that morning.

  “No, I don’t know anything about it.” Kori couldn’t look at Detective Gunn and she worried that she looked guilty because of that.

  “Well, a few funny things came up in our investigation of the crime.”

  He paused and Kori finally looked at him. Was he going to share those funny things he’d uncovered or was he just going to make her sweat?

  He continued, “We found that the two of you went to school together. So we looked into the school’s records. There were complaints filed against you from Tessa.”

  That was news to Kori. And it certainly didn’t make her look innocent. But she couldn’t think of a single time that she and Tessa had clashed in such a way that a report had been filed. Sure, they’d been competitors, especially when it came to getting a job since they were both at the top of their class and interested in the same types of jobs. But that came with the territory.

  “You don’t have anything to say in defense?” he asked.

  “I’d like a lawyer.”

  Detective Gunn got up and left the room. Kori could feel herself starting to sweat. How had she gotten to this point—to this room? Why was Tessa trying to drive her out of her home town when Tessa could work anywhere in the country. Kori was sure that the only reason Tessa was here was because Kori was. She had some kind of sick obsession with competing with her and Kori had to figure out how to stop it.

  It felt like hours later that Zach finally walked into the room. “I understand you’ve asked for a lawyer.”

  “I didn’t think I had any other option. I don’t know why I’m here and I don’t want to get myself into any more trouble by saying something that can be twisted. I shouldn’t have even told you that.” Kori slouched forward and dropped her forehead to the table, her arms stretched out in front of her.

  Zach touched her hands and whispered, “Don’t worry, I turned off the mic. No one can hear us. But I shouldn’t be in here. You’ll go home soon. We can’t hold you overnight. But be careful.”

  Kori hesitantly looked up. Had Nora been right all those years about Zach?

  She didn’t get a chance to think about it anymore in his presence. Zach quickly got up and left the room. Only seconds later, Detective Gunn returned. “You’re free to go. But don’t leave Hermit Cove or you’ll be in even more trouble,” he cautioned her. “I’ll get an officer to drive you home.”

  Kori didn’t say anything and hoped that Zach would be the one to give her a ride.

  ***

  Back at home, Kori wanted to call someone, anyone, but especially Nora. But it was already past ten and both of them had early mornings. She couldn’t put this new concern on Nora when she didn’t even really know what was going on. Instead she jumped in the shower and let the hot water wash away the work and challenges of the day.

  She slept fitfully, waking every few hours from dreams she couldn’t remember. Finally, at four her alarm went off and she awoke even more tired than when she’d gone to bed. She threw on jeans and a t-shirt and headed downstairs to make coffee. She was going to need it even stronger this morning.

  As the coffee brewed, she checked on the oatmeal and got the quiche started. Sometimes she spent the time making her own pastry crust but this morning she could only muster a grated potato crust. When the first quiche was in the oven, she poured her first cup of coffee and started washing and preparing the leeks she would wrap in bacon.

  The whole time she was working, her brain wouldn’t stop going through all of the events from Monday; Tessa coming into her café in a huff, her mother thinking Jay was a father, her tire getting slashed, and finally being questioned about vandalism at Sunrise and Shine. How many of those events were connected?

  She knew the only way to find out was to start asking questions.

  So as soon as the quiche was finished and the second was ready to be put in later, the leeks were wrapped and ready for grilling and the steaks were coated and ready for frying, she downed the last of her coffee and headed out the door.

  It was only five in the morning and Kori had a half hour before opening. And she knew that if she was a few minutes late, that would be okay. If anyone showed up that early, they would stick around or come back.

  Instead of driving down Main Street, Kori walked as fast as she could. She knew the exercise would help calm her brain before she arrived at her destination. She tried to compose her thoughts into coherent sentences but everything kept running together.

  How had her life gotten so messy? She’d moved back to Hermit Cove to slow down and get out of New York City’s rat race.

  Kori passed the Thai restaurant, HC Auto Body and then came to Sunrise and Shine. The lights were on and she could see that Tessa was inside. She could also see that Detective Gunn had been right about the front door. It was covered in plastic where there used to be a glass window. She wondered if Tessa was going to open today.

  Without knocking, Kori opened the front door. “Hi Tessa,” she called, hoping it sounded friendly. She wasn’t coming to accuse her of anything, only to find out what was going on.

  “Kori? What are you doing here?” Tessa’s voice had a hint of anger, but more of fear.

  “I wanted to see how you were doing.” The lie slipped out before she could stop it.

  “I don’t believe that for a second. If yo
u really cared how I was doing you wouldn’t have sabotaged my business and just let competition play out.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kori said, glad the subject had been brought up without her having to accuse Tessa of accusing her of vandalism.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tessa mimicked. “I can’t believe you’re even here!” Her voice rose in volume and her body language became more threatening.

  Kori was suddenly on the defense and didn’t want to spook Tessa into anything physical.

  Tessa stormed past her toward the front door. Kori thought she was going to throw her out. “This, this is what I’m talking about!” Tessa nearly shouted as she pointed to the plastic covering the window on the front door. “I was getting things ready yesterday morning and a rock came flying through here!”

  Kori saw a couple of people on the street, likely tourists up early to catch the sunrise from a peak or the lake’s edge. She couldn’t make out any faces.

  “I’m sorry that happened but I don’t know anything about it.” Kori still didn’t want to let Tessa know she’d been questioned by the police about it.

  “You don’t know anything about it?” she mimicked again. “I can’t believe that, Kori. You haven’t wanted me here since I opened Sunrise and Shine two weeks ago. You think I don’t know the rock came from you?”

  “Tessa, I promise you—”

  “You promise me? What? That you didn’t break my window? That you haven’t been trying to drive me out of town since day one? What, Kori?” Tessa fumed.

  Kori recognized that this wasn’t a tact she could win. She’d have to leave, let Tessa cool off and attempt to talk to her later when she had settled down. Maybe another day even.

  Kori held up her hands in defeat.

  “That’s right. You don’t have a defense because you know you don’t want me here. Well guess what, Kori. I’m here to stay. So deal with it. May the better café win.”