Tea Shop Cozy Mysteries - Books 1-6 Page 18

  Willow followed along behind, Mavis trailing in her wake like a fluffy shadow. Bricks with whirls and swirls baked into the clay formed a path that cut along the side of her house. Willow wanted to create an atmosphere of intrigue and mischief right from the start.

  “I love these,” Harmony said, pointing at the images decorating Willow’s formerly cream timber walls. She’d hired a local artist to paint them in the style of the seventies so that a wave of color and movement compelled visitors to move forward.

  “Well, apart from showing my age, I love it.” Willow gave a hesitant laugh. Like everything else connected to the tea rooms, she second-guessed her own decisions.

  The path led in a round-about way to the back of the property, where the double doors for the conservatory now formed the entrance for her new shop. When Willow stepped forward and tried the handle, she frowned. “I’ve left them locked from the inside.”

  “Well, go around and open it up then.” Harmony stamped her feet, miming impatience. “You’ve got a guest waiting out here, you know.”

  With a laugh and a toss of her head, Willow ran back through her house to open the doors. She had two blackboard signs perched against the doors—a reminder to put them outside to hook potential customers.

  “And what would you like to drink?” Willow asked, pulling out a napkin and fluttering it down to cover Harmony’s lap.

  “I’ll have today’s special.”

  “Well, then. You’re out of luck!”

  Harmony gave a snort of laughter and peered up. “Do you want me to give you a bad Yelp review?”

  “I’m afraid that the kitchen is closed for the evening and I haven’t worked out a special for the day before opening.” Willow tried to project the image of a huffy waiter. “Water is the best we have to offer.”

  Harmony laughed and got to her feet. “It went so well until the last part. I recommend that you leave the service to your new staff.”

  Willow nodded, closing the doors and locking them against the encroaching darkness. The new kitchen for the tea rooms was spotless, and she couldn’t resist dragging a finger along the aluminum bench just to check it remained dust-free.

  “Wendy has all the patter off by heart already,” Willow said, following Harmony back through into the living room. “And Tiffany is well on her way to learning. I think they have a lot more experience at this job than me.”

  “That’s what makes a good employee,” Harmony said, plonking herself down on the couch so quickly that it expelled air from its cushions with a squeak. “Knowing more about their job than the boss does. It also stops you from micro-managing them.”

  “Let me guess,” Willow said with a smile, “You’ve been reading up the business section books lately?”

  Harmony was a consummate book hog, devouring everything and anything put in front of her. When she sought a special interest, she could read the library out of all the related books in a week flat.

  “Something like that,” Harmony agreed with a small chuckle. “But we both know you will be wonderful, in any case. Now, where’s that check-list got to?”

  Willow picked it up from the table and quickly scanned through the items. Apart from the ones impossible to do until tomorrow, she felt confident that everything got a solid tick.

  “I know that this should reassure me.” Willow flapped the notepad at her friend. “But it makes my stomach wind up in more knots. Every time I’ve managed to sleep this week, I wake up after a few hours with some new nightmare playing out in my head.”

  “Like what?” Harmony leaned forward, her eyes bright with interest.

  “There was one where I forgot to open the doors, and the customers were piling up outside, crushing each other.”

  “Well, that’s good, isn’t it? That’s a sign you’ll have plenty of people banging down your doors.”

  “Another one, all the wait staff were naked, and when I asked them to put on clothes, they said I’d been the one to tell them to strip off.”

  Harmony put a hand to her mouth, but it was too late to stem the giggles that erupted. “I never knew you had that particular perversion, but I’m sure that would bring a lot of customers to your door, too.” She pulled her lip down on one side. “Though, perhaps not the clientele you were aiming for.”

  “The worst one is when everything seems to go perfectly. I’ve served everyone in the room, and the customers are all eating and drinking. Then, one by one, all my clients drop dead!”

  “So they’re dying to get in. Honestly, if that’s the worst your imagination can conjure up, I think you’ll do fine.”

  “Why? What has your imagination cooked up over the years?”

  “Mainly spiders,” Harmony said with a moue of disgust. “I don’t even mind them that much when I’m awake, but at least once a week I have a dream where they’re abseiling into my face.”

  “Ugh.” Willow wiped herself down surreptitiously, almost feeling the cling of spider’s silk about her person.

  “See? Unless you’ve had dreams of your kitchen being invaded by creepy crawlies, I think you’re doing fine.”

  Willow shook her head, laughing despite the panic still gripping her midriff in a tight fist. “Perhaps your bar is rather low. Success will be assured as long as no nightmares involve spiders.”

  “It’s a famous fortune cookie saying, don’t you know.”

  That made Willow giggle all the harder until she struggled for breath.

  Harmony grabbed the remote from the table. “How about we watch mindless telly for the rest of the evening? That should take your attention away from everything that could go wrong.”

  Willow settled in beside her friend, the predicted effect not working. She could still imagine a host of terrors—all her fault—taking place tomorrow morning. Even though she sat and watched a whole cop show play out in front of her, Willow couldn’t concentrate enough to follow the storyline. When the police arrested a killer in the penultimate scene, she couldn’t remember having seen the character before.

  “How about a walk?” Willow suggested as the closing credits rolled. Her body was jumping with so much energy she couldn’t imagine ever falling asleep. “Just down to the end of the road and back.”

  “Sounds good,” Harmony said, stifling a yawn on the back of her hand. “Then I’d better get home.”

  Willow grabbed her friend’s forearm. “Can’t you stay the night? It’d make me feel a lot better.”

  “Of course, I can. If Mavis doesn’t mind?”

  They both glanced at the kitten, more involved in licking her nether regions than their discussion.

  “Which way?” Harmony asked on the sidewalk. “Toward town or away?”

  Willow’s street was a long one, perched close to the edge of town. Given how small Aniseed Valley was that wasn’t much of a feat.

  “Let’s head down toward the hotel and then back.” Willow strolled off in that direction, not giving her friend much choice. “I need to do something to convince my body it's tired.”

  “These days, I struggle to convince my body it’s not!”

  The moon had swiveled into the sky above them, casting enough light that the lampposts were an added feature rather than a necessity. The early spring air was still quick to cool when the sun went down, and lazy tendrils of mist rose from the overheated ground on either side.

  “No wonder Reg believes that there’re alien creatures out there,” Harmony said in a musing tone. “On nights like this, I half believe him.”

  “I’d say don’t encourage him, but I don’t think he cares what anyone thinks.”

  Harmony tipped her head back, staring straight up at the heavens. The light pollution on the edge of town crowded the sky too much to see anything. Further out, the night was truly dark, and the array of stars on view was spectacular. On the few occasions that Reg had asked for company, the difference that driving away from a few lampposts or house lights could make had stunned Willow.

  The Bonaventure Hot
el stood at the entrance to town, a crossroads where you could continue up the main street or veer right onto Willow’s road. Even though it was one of the busier intersections, the area was tranquil as the two women approached.

  As the ladies walked under the main sign, a pebble bounced down onto the footpath just behind them. Willow jumped. Given the current state of her nervous system, she was pleased not to cry out, too. They walked a step further, then she turned her attention back to the stone. No cars were passing. It must have dropped from above.

  “What are you doing?”

  Willow craned her head, trying to see into the hotel windows on the second and third stories. “I’m looking for signs that someone dropped that stone deliberately.”

  “It’ll just be knocked off the roof by a bird, or something.” Harmony hooked her arm through Willow’s. “Don’t worry about it.”

  They continued on for another block until the residential area of the road ended. From here on out, it led straight into open country. That might take the pleasant stroll to a new level. Willow turned around, and they headed back.

  “Just think,” Harmony said. “By this time tomorrow, all your worries about the shop will have come to nothing.”

  “Or they’ll be fully realized,” Willow muttered, foreseeing an entirely different future.

  “In which case, you can close up your business and pretend this whole venture never happened.”

  Willow’s anxiety grasped onto that concept with glee. “I could do that now. Just put out a sign saying, ‘Sorry—closed,’ and let the whole thing go away.”

  “I don’t think your staff would appreciate that.”

  “Probably not. But my insomnia might welcome the opportunity.”

  This time, as they passed by the hotel, a silver spoon clanged down onto the sidewalk a step in front of them. Willow bent down to inspect it while a titter came from above their heads.

  “It must be kids,” Harmony said with an exasperated tone of voice. “They’ll be playing a silly game.”

  “A dangerous game, more like.” Willow spun on her heel and headed into the hotel lobby, battered spoon in hand.

  “What are you doing?” Harmony’s voice lowered into a whisper as she pulled at Willow’s hand. “Don’t make a scene.”

  “This could really have hurt us,” Willow said, her voice packed full of indignation. “I’m not letting whoever dropped it get away with it, so the next person out walking gets a head injury as a result.”

  Chapter Two

  There was no one at the front desk. Not surprising since, given the hour, many of the hotel guests must be in their rooms already, preparing for bed. Unlike an operation in a more urbanized city, there would be no late check-ins or surprises for the night staff at the Bonaventure Hotel.

  Willow leaned far over the counter to check that no one was concealed there before dinging the bell. Harmony still looked hesitant, wincing as the noise pierced the stillness of the lobby. When no one responded within a minute, Willow dinged the bell again. Then again.

  Finally, a harried-looking man came through from a back room. Given the yawn with which he greeted them, it seemed he’d been catching up on his sleep in the back.

  “Good evening,” he said, peering at Willow and Harmony through bleary eyes. “How can I help you?”

  “One of your guests threw this teaspoon at our heads,” Willow said, placing the offending piece of cutlery down on the counter. “We’d like you to sort matters out so it doesn’t happen again.”

  The man stared at the spoon with a puzzled expression, swaying back and forth. “Sorry,” he said after a minute, “but who threw this at you?”

  “I don’t know. We didn’t see if they were a man or woman or just kids playing a prank.” Willow tapped her fingers on the counter. “But whoever did it was aiming right for us. We both heard somebody in your upstairs room giggle right before it fell down.”

  “An accident?” The man touched the spoon with the tip of his finger as though it might bite if he got too close.

  “The same person or persons threw a pebble down at us on our first walk past. This wasn’t an accident.”

  Willow’s firm voice seemed to instill a sense of urgency in the hotelier. He nodded and picked up the silverware, moving it over to a ledger. “I’ll just have a look and see which of our guests is staying in the upstairs rooms tonight.”

  “Are you full?” Harmony asked, looking around the otherwise silent lobby.

  The man snorted as he shook his head. “Not likely. It’s been a long time since we’ve had guests up to our full capacity.”

  “Have you worked here long?” Harmony looked interested in the conversation for the first time. “I bet you’ve got a host of fantastic stories about the comings and goings.”

  “Not interesting ones. It’s not as though we book rock stars in the penthouse suites and have them wreaking havoc.” The man stared at the ledger, shaking his head. “In fact, we don’t appear to have anybody staying on the upper stories at all.”

  “You must have.” Willow turned the book around to face her before the hotelier could stop her. “And even if I only heard one, I’m betting there was more than that.”

  “You’ll get me in trouble.”

  Willow glanced up, surprised. “Why, I don’t even know your name! How am I meant to get you into trouble?”

  The man patted his uniform, right on the chest pocket, then frowned. Harmony gave a soft laugh.

  “Looks like you forgot your badge.” She leaned forward and gave him a wink. “Don’t worry. We can’t tell on you if we don’t know who you are.”

  “It won’t take management more than a few seconds to find out. S’not like we have more than one doorman on duty at any one time. My name’s Gary Riley. If you’re happy taking care of yourselves for a minute, I’ll just pop in the back and see if I can find my badge.”

  Willow’s eyes lit up with glee, and she stared back down at the records of the hotel’s guests. “You take your time.”

  Unfortunately, Gary’s skimming assessment of the ledger had been right. According to the records, there was no one staying in the upper floors. Willow wondered if some kids had snuck in while the doorman was resting his eyes. If so, they might still be up there, ripe for the catching.

  “Let’s go,” Willow said, taking hold of Harmony’s elbow. “We can knock on the doors we think most likely and see who answers.”

  “I don’t know.” Harmony stayed put, resisting Willow’s attempts to pull her along. “The thought of sneaking up there behind the doorman’s back concerns me. Besides, if there’s someone upstairs who shouldn’t be, I’d rather confront them with permission. Otherwise, we’re just as bad as they are.”

  “Except, we’re not dropping stuff on people’s head as a dangerous joke.”

  The minor disagreement became a moot point as the doorman came back out of the back office. “Still here, ladies? What else did you need help with?”

  “The same thing.” This time Harmony took the lead, knocking her knuckles on the counter. “We want to go upstairs and stop whoever is up there from dropping things down on pedestrians’ heads.”

  “I’ve already—”

  “Yes,” Harmony interrupted. “They’re not guests. Surely, that’s even more reason to get upstairs and put a stop to it.”

  When Gary Riley bit his lip in hesitation, Harmony slapped her hand down flat. “You can’t stand there and let this dangerous situation continue. If somebody walking by your hotel gets hurt, you’d never forgive yourself.”

  At that thought, the doorman’s expression changed. Just as Willow thought he’d escort them up to find their villains, a ruckus started in an office to the side.

  A man shouted, “You can’t leave us in the lurch like this. Remember your contract. It states that you need to give us two weeks’ notice if you’ve leaving your position.”

  “Don’t you throw my contract wording back in my face.” The respondent was also a man, his
voice deep-throated and gravelly. “If you can find a section in there that deals with how you’ve behaved, I’d like to see it.”

  A second later, the door to the office careened open—a tall man with hunched shoulders stepping through before he slammed it closed with almighty force. The glass inset rattled, and Willow exchanged a nervous glance with Harmony as the man then stalked over to the front desk.

  He slammed a hand down on the counter, then pushed away, his face mottled with fury. After he was across the lobby and headed out the entranceway, Willow looked at the object he’d left behind. A badge. The title Janitor was on the top line while smaller type underneath showed the name Lyndon.

  “What’s all that about?” Willow stared after the janitor, feeling her chest loosen as she saw he was now outside.

  Gary cast a quick glance over at the slammed office door and shook his head. “You’ll have to leave me to deal with this.” He pulled the ledger back into its place on the counter. “If there’s someone upstairs doing something they shouldn’t, I’ll address it directly.”

  “But if we come with you,” Willow suggested, “we can identify the assailants.”

  At her words, Gary hitched one eyebrow halfway to the heavens. “Mm-hm. Are these the ones you couldn’t say were male or female, young or old?”

  Harmony bristled beside Willow. “It doesn’t matter if we saw them or not, we’re the ones with the beef against the culprits.”

  “If I find anything amiss, I’ll report it to the sheriff’s office, and they can be in touch. What I can’t do, is take you upstairs for a tour of the hotel in search of trouble. I have your names and addresses, so please—” he waved his hand toward the exit “—be on your way.”

  The doorman’s face set in such a way Willow knew she and Harmony wouldn’t be able to talk their way around him. As they backtracked out of the hotel’s entrance, she had to settle for a sniff to voice her displeasure.

  Before stepping outside, she also took a quick look above her head. Only when she’d observed that no hands hung over the side, did Willow venture through the door.