BlueBuried Muffins (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (3 page)

Annie stuck her hand in her pocket, rubbing her fingers on the paper from Max’s pocket. “I need to go to the bathroom,” she said to whoever was listening and went into the hallway to find the restroom.

As she pushed through the door, the automatic light filled the room with a harsh fluorescent glare. Annie leaned on the sink. Her body was suddenly too heavy for her legs to support. What was happening? With shaky hands, she pulled the pink paper from her pocket, unfolded it slowly and read the words written in Max’s neat printing—
A. Don’t trust anyone! M
.

The bathroom door flew open. “The police need to talk to you,” Leona said to Annie’s back. Annie could see Leona’s reflection in the mirror as she carefully refolded the paper and slid it safely back into her pocket.

“I’ll be right out,” she answered, but the door had already slammed closed.

Annie sucked in a deep breath of air, letting it fill her lungs before exhaling. Max must have had information for Annie that he wanted to deliver in person. And now he was dead.

The café was buzzing with people when Annie walked back in. Tyler, in his uniform, tried to manage the chaos—giving instructions, ordering people where to wait and talking on his cell phone. When he saw Annie, his face softened and he motioned with his finger for her to come over. He nodded toward the counter stool as he finished his conversation on the phone.

“Quite a morning for you,” he said with his head tilted. “Want a glass of water or anything before you tell me what happened?”

Annie shook her head. “I’m fine.” She leaned on the counter with her hands folded under her chin.

Tyler waited for Annie to offer her story but she said nothing. Getting the ball rolling, he asked, “Was anyone here when you came in this morning?”

“I didn’t see anyone.”

“What time did you arrive?”

“Around seven, I guess. I walked from my apartment. The door was open and something didn’t feel right, but I didn’t see anyone.” Annie swiveled to look at Tyler. “It wasn’t until I walked to the window with my coffee. That’s when I saw him.” She quickly glanced at the booth where Max was still slumped over.

“You said something didn’t feel right? What do you mean?” Tyler said quietly as he moved closer to the counter next to Annie’s stool.

“I can’t explain. Just that when I walked in, something wasn’t right, like a chill in the air.”

“Okay, anything else?”

“I know who he is.” She turned and stared at Tyler.

Tyler’s eyebrows shot up. “Max Parker. We found an ID in his wallet. Did you check in his wallet too?”

“No. I mean, I know him. He’s my ex-boyfriend. I left his apartment yesterday morning to drive back here to Catfish Cove.” She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

Tyler pulled a napkin from the holder on the counter and handed it to Annie. “Did he come with you?”

“No. I guess he followed me here.”

Tyler leaned closer to Annie. “Was he stalking you? Are you in some kind of danger?”

Annie rested her forehead on one hand. “I don’t know what’s happening. I left because I thought Max might be in trouble and I didn’t want to get sucked into his drama, but I didn’t think it involved me. Not yet anyway.”

She turned away as Max’s body was carried out.

“If Max followed you here, maybe someone followed him and will be after you next. Be careful, Annie,” Tyler said with concern in his voice. “Where are you staying?”

“Leona found me an apartment on the lake. I’ll be fine.”

“The Cobblestone Cottage by any chance?”

“Yeah,” Annie said, surprised. “How did you guess?”

“Lucky guess.” Tyler smiled. “Leona and Jason Hunter, the owner, have been friends for a while. Listen Annie, take care of yourself. I’ve got to get to these other people now.”

Tyler walked to where Jake sat, jittering his foot and chewing on his thumbnail. Roy and Leona were arguing on the far side of the room. Roy grabbed Leona’s arm but she pulled away, heading toward Annie.

On an impulse, Annie picked up her camera and clicked a few photos. She didn’t know why, but when she looked at her photos, she could see a moment in time more clearly than in real life. It always helped her analyze a situation. She thought something might become more important or a clue might stand out when it was frozen in time.

Leona nudged her with an elbow. “Hey. Want to take a walk? Tyler said he’s closing the café for the day so I thought you might like to do some sightseeing, have some fun before we get back to baking tomorrow.” Leona’s eyes moved behind Annie to the café entrance and her lip twitched up in the start of a grin. “Don’t turn around now, but a real hunk is watching this drama. About six feet tall, dark, almost black eyes, probably late thirties.”

“A little young for you, don’t you think, Leona?”

“I’ve been called a cougar before, but if you want dibs, let me know.” She lowered her voice. “He’s coming over to us.”

“Is one of you Annie Fisher?” a smooth deep voice asked.

Leona smiled her coy, flirty smile. “Why yes, my friend is Annie Fisher, and who might you be?”

A hand settled on Annie’s shoulder. “Come with me, please. We need to talk.”

Chapter 4

Annie twisted her body away, remembering the words on Max’s note—don’t trust anyone. “Who are you?”

“Detective Neil Jaffrey.” He pulled his badge out and flicked it open for Annie to study.

Annie glanced toward Tyler, wondering if they were working together, and she saw a frown on his face but he didn’t interfere. She nodded at the detective. “Alright, but I’m not leaving the café.”

He cocked one eyebrow. “You seem nervous Ms. Fisher. What are you hiding?” He took her arm again and led her away from everyone else to a corner booth. “Sit there.” He pointed to the left side and he slid into the right. He methodically took a pad and pen from his jacket pocket, placing it on the table between them as he continued to stare at Annie. “Are you acquainted with Max Parker?”

Annie looked away. “We met at an art show in Cooper, New York, where I lived.”

“Are you an artist?” he asked, pointing his pen at her camera.

“I’m a photographer.”

“And Max?”

“He owned the gallery in town.”

“Was Max involved in something illegal?” Detective Jaffrey put his pen down and stared at Annie with his elbows on the table and his fingers intertwined in front of his chin.

Annie stared back into those dark eyes without flinching. “No.” She slid to the outer edge of the booth getting ready to leave.

Detective Jaffrey held her arm. “Are you sure? How well did you know him?”

Annie fidgeted and looked away from his searching eyes. “How well do you know anyone?” she muttered more to herself. “I wasn’t aware of anything.”

He tucked his pad back into his pocket. “You can leave for now, but we aren’t done.” He lowered his voice so only she could hear him. “Be careful who you trust.”

Annie blinked when she heard those words and a coldness clamped around her spine. “What?”

“Be careful who you trust. I have reason to believe Max was involved with some dangerous people and they may think he shared information with you.”

She slid back into the seat. “I don’t know anything. I left because I didn’t feel safe and I thought I could come back here to get away from his mess. Max was a good guy, always trying to help new and promising artists. Everyone liked him.” She glanced back toward the booth where he had been slumped over earlier. “At least everyone he introduced me to.” She dropped her eyes until the wave of sadness passed.

“Okay, Ms. Fisher. Here’s my card. He tucked it under her hand and his touch lingered. Call if you think of anything else you want to tell me. Anything,” he repeated with emphasis. The dimple in his cheek when he smiled softened his stern look.

Annie slid from the booth, pulled her camera over her shoulder and searched the café for Leona. She noticed her father staring at her but he averted his gaze as soon as their eyes locked. Leona was talking to Tyler so she walked to the doorway and waited, frowning when Roy approached her.

“Your mother knows you’re back in town. Are you going to show her some decency and stop by for a visit?”

“Decency? That’s what I owe her? I’ll visit when I’m ready.”

“Listen, Annie, I’m sorry you were the first one here this morning to find the body.” She flinched when he put his hand on her shoulder. “Did you see anyone or anything else besides the dead guy?”

“Like what?” she asked with her guard up. Her father wasn’t nice to her unless he needed something from her.

“A weapon? Papers? Maybe he dropped something when he came in.”

Her hand slid into her pocket to find strength from the paper she’d taken from Max’s pocket and to remind herself of his warning. She couldn’t let her guard down, not even with the people she thought loved her. “No. Nothing.”

Leona took Annie’s arm, rescuing her from Roy. “Let’s go, Red. We need to make the most of today before work gets in the way.”

Annie couldn’t help but smile at her aunt. No one had called her Red since she left two years ago and she liked the nickname, when Leona said it. It reminded her of the special bond between the two of them. “Where are you taking me, Nani?”

“You know, your mother was furious when that name popped from your mouth before you said Mama. Don’t forget to grab your camera. I have a special friend I want you to meet.” Leona had a glint in her eye that made Annie suspicious of this adventure.

Leona drove them in her bright yellow convertible mustang. “You still don’t have a shy bone in your body,” Annie teased.

As they drove on Main Street through Catfish Cove, Annie willed her body to relax into the car seat. “There’s nothing like coming home to realize how much you missed something,” she said, more to herself than to Leona. “Hey, what’s that shop? A tattoo parlor? Catfish Cove finally entered the twenty first century?”

Leona inched up the hem of her jeans above her brown leather ankle boots to reveal the top of an intricate tattoo. Annie’s eyes popped. “What’s the design?”

Leona shook her pants back down. “A mystery for another day. How about you and I get matching tats sometime?” Leona laughed out loud at Annie’s horrified expression. “Still not into piercings or other body modifications?”

Annie shook her head. “No. I’m not quite there yet. So tell me more about this mystery man you’re taking me to visit.”

“Who said anything about a man?” Leona said as she swerved into the parking lot of the Second Chance Animal Shelter. “I volunteer here. Grab your camera and let’s go. And close your mouth, Red, don’t act so shocked.”

As Leona and Annie opened the front door, dogs barked and howled. Cages filled with cats lined the front room, some curled up in soft beds, others climbing on cat trees. A gray haired woman put her papers down and turned her attention from her desk piled high with folders and smiled at Leona. “How nice to see you. You brought more help.”

“Karen, this is my niece, Annie. She adopted a stray kitty we found at the café but I think she’ll like to meet the dogs too. She’s always been a dog person.” Leona winked at Annie.

Karen nodded toward the swinging doors leading to the back room. “You know your way around. Baxter is already howling out back. He recognizes your voice.”

Leona gestured for Annie to follow her through the door to the back where the kennels were located. Pandemonium broke out with the dogs jumping on the front of their cages to see who came in to visit. Leona stopped in front of a cage with a big golden dog. His feet reached chest high on the cage and his head tilted backwards as a happy howl came from his mouth. He took a few breaks to add in a couple of woofs.

“This is Baxter. I’ve been walking him every chance I get. I guess you could say we are kind of bonded to each other.” Leona lifted the leash from a hook and carefully opened the door to hook it on Baxter’s collar. “Do you want to walk someone too?”

“Of course. I’d like to walk them all. Heck, I’d take them all home if I could, you know that. Any suggestions?” Annie’s eyes took in the long row of kennels filled with dogs, not having a clue how to choose just one.

“This is Roxy, a real sweetheart. I think she’s a lab-pit mix, and . . .” Leona grinned at Annie “. . . she loves cats.”

They went out the back door to a large fenced in field with Baxter and Roxy. “First, we’ll walk around the perimeter before we let them off to have some freedom.”

As they walked side by side with the dogs dancing on the leashes or stopping to sniff the bushes and pee, Leona asked Annie, “Why did you come back to Catfish Cove?”

Annie shrugged. “The guy at the café? He was why I left.”

“What? That was Max?”

“Yeah. We were together for most of the last year. He was a decent guy but there always seemed to be something in the background that I couldn’t put my finger on. The day I left, I heard a disturbing message on his answering machine and it wasn’t the first one, but I promised myself it would be the last one. I had to get away but I think he followed me.”

“What was the message?”

Annie hesitated before stopping and looking directly at Leona. “Your time is up.”