A Sprinkle of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 4) (3 page)

“I really like donuts too.  And Cathy doesn’t serve donuts at her coffee shop.  She has muffins and cookies, but no donuts.  It’s not our fault she doesn’t sell donuts,” Clarissa pointed out.  There was no way she wanted to boycott donuts!

“Isn’t it our constitutional right to have access to donuts?” Liana asked.

“Um, where in the constitution does it say that?”

“I don’t know.  Okay, well it probably doesn’t say that.  But it should!” Liana insisted.

“Oh, I completely agree.  Maybe a little healthy competition isn’t such a bad thing,” Clarissa mused.  “Cathy has been running that coffee shop for a long time.  She’s basically had a monopoly.  And…and…”

“And…?”

“Yeah, I’ve got nothing.  I don’t know where I was going with that.  I just want donuts!”

Suddenly the door banged behind them.

“Can I help you ladies?” a voice asked, startling them both.

“Whoa!” Clarissa gasped, spinning around. 

She bumped into Liana in the process. 

“Ouch!” Liana hissed.

A young woman of about thirty-five stood there staring at them.  She wore paint-stained denim overalls and a red flannel shirt that had the sleeves rolled up.  Her curly black hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.  She looked every bit as surprised as Clarissa felt.

“Sorry!” Clarissa blurted out immediately.  “We didn’t mean to just wander in but…”  She took a step forward.  “I work for the local newspaper,” she said, extending her hand.  “My name is –”

“Oh,” the woman interjected, looking conflicted.  She stood there for a moment as if she was trying to decide whether to throw the intruders out or welcome them with open arms.  After some brief hesitation, she seemed to opt for the latter.

The woman looked at Clarissa’s extended hand.  “My hands are filthy,” she said apologetically as she wiped them on her overalls.  “I’m covered in paint and sawdust!  In fact I was just out picking up a few more cans of paint.  Sorry for the mess!”

“No problem,” Clarissa said, withdrawing her hand.  “Sorry for interrupting you.”

“No worries, I could use a breather,” the woman said.  It seemed she had warmed up to Clarissa and Liana, because she had suddenly become very chatty.  “I’ve been in here all day painting, cleaning and moving furniture around.  I’m exhausted!”

“That sounds like a lot of work for one person,” Liana observed.

“It is.  I wasn’t supposed to be doing it all on my own.  The guy I hired to help me up and quit with no notice,” the woman said with a disgusted shake of her head.  “But I’m almost done,” she added, brightening a little.

“Are you the owner of this place?” Clarissa asked. 

There certainly didn’t seem to be anyone else in sight, so it was a fair assumption.

“Yes.  Well, I’m the future owner,” the woman corrected herself.  “Technically my father is the owner.  But he prefers fishing to being behind the counter! So I’m going to be working here and essentially running the place.  My name is Josie Moreno, but everyone calls me Jo.”

“Nice to meet you,” Clarissa smiled.  “I’m Clarissa and this is my friend Liana.”

“Hi!” Liana said, giving a small half-wave.

“Are you from around here?” Clarissa asked, already quite sure of the answer.

The population in Sugarcomb Lake never really changed much.  Kids grew up and occasionally moved away, but most folks stayed put.  Newcomers were rare – and the town gossips
always
took notice of fresh faces!

Jo didn’t look the least bit familiar to Clarissa.  Furthermore, the surname Moreno wasn’t common in Sugarcomb Lake.  That almost certainly guaranteed that Jo Moreno was new in town.

“My father and I moved here from the east coast,” Jo said, confirming Clarissa’s suspicion.

“What brings you to Sugarcomb Lake?” Liana piped up.

“Opportunity,” Jo told her.  “Well, that and my father likes fly fishing.  His family had a cabin near here back when he was a kid.  He’s always wanted to retire to Minnesota.  But instead of retiring, he’s opening a donut shop.  Go figure!” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“My parents retired to Florida a while back,” Clarissa chimed in.  “I kind of wish they had stayed here and opened a donut shop instead.  But it probably wouldn’t have been very lucrative because I would have gobbled all of the inventory right up!”

“Ah, so you’re saying I should keep an eye on you once we open, hmm?” Jo teased.

“I’m saying I will be a regular here,” Clarissa grinned.

“Nice!  I’ll be sure to give you a discount,” Jo promised.

“Awesome!  So I know you’re very busy, but I wondered if we could talk to you for a few minutes,” Clarissa said hopefully.  “I’d love to write a piece about the donut shop for the newspaper – in fact, I could make it a front page article.”

“You would feature it on the front page?” Jo asked, sounding surprised.

“A new donut shop is big news for a small town!” Liana joked.  But she wasn’t really joking.  It was the truth.  In Sugarcomb Lake, news of a donut shop opening was enough to get the whole town aflutter with anticipation. 

Clarissa nudged her best friend, silently reminding her to give her sales pitch.  Liana looked momentarily confused.  Then she seemed to recall what they were doing there in the first place.  She scrambled to pull out her business card.

“I’m a graphic artist,” Liana announced as she thrust her card at Jo.  “If you need any help with branding or logos, I’m just a phone call away.  And I do interior design consultations as well,” she added quickly.

Clarissa gave Liana a puzzled look.  That was news to her.

Liana ignored her.

“Since when do you know anything about interior design?” Clarissa whispered.

“Quiet!” Liana hissed out of the side of her mouth.  “I’m trying to branch out, okay?”

“Thanks!” Jo said, tucking the business card into the pocket of her paint-stained overalls.  “Since my father is the actual owner, I need to run everything past him.  Between you and me, he doesn’t like to delegate!  But I will let him know you two stopped by.”

“Is he around?” Clarissa asked.  “I’d love to introduce myself.”

Jo looked around.  “Uh, I don’t see him.  I think he said he was going home to take a nap,” she said with a half-shrug.  “Anyway, I should really get back to work.  These walls aren’t going to paint themselves.  I wish they would!”

“Okay, well we’ll let you get back at it,” Clarissa said.

“Nice meeting you, Jo!” Liana chimed in.

“Bye ladies!” Jo replied.

Clarissa and Liana strolled out of the building.  This time they weren’t in a hurry.  They took their time, leisurely making their way down the front walk of the donut shop.  Clarissa paused to admire the newly planted geraniums that lined the walkway – she was a sucker for flowers!

“Jo seems nice,” Liana whispered as they stood there admiring the landscaping.

“She’s going to give me a discount on donuts!” Clarissa beamed.

Suddenly the door flew open behind them.  Jo came barrelling out of the building.  She appeared to be very much lost in thought.  She didn’t even seem to notice the two women standing out there in front.  In fact, she nearly mowed Clarissa and Liana right over. 

“Is everything okay?” Clarissa asked after narrowly dodging Jo.

“Yes!  Sorry about that!  I’m just grabbing the paint I bought from my car,” Jo replied.

“We’ll help,” Clarissa volunteered, feeing a pang of sympathy for the young woman.  It couldn’t be easy trying to singlehandedly whip a new business into shape in time for a looming deadline.

“That’s very nice of you, but I’ve got it,” Jo replied.  “Thanks!”

“I know how heavy paint cans are.  Let us help.  It’s no trouble at all,” Clarissa insisted.  She took a few steps toward the two vehicles that were parked by the side of the building.  “Which one is yours?” she asked.

Jo suddenly stopped in her tracks and smacked her forehead.  “You know what?  I left the paint at the store!  I wheeled the cart out to the parking lot and then just…got in my car and drove away.  I feel so stupid!  I’d better get back there before someone runs off with it.”

“Most folks in town are pretty trustworthy,” Liana assured her.  “I bet you anything your cart full of paint is still sitting there in the parking lot, right where you left it.  That is, if someone didn’t wheel the cart back inside.”

“If you can’t find the paint in the parking lot, ask about it at customer service,” Clarissa advised.  “Someone probably turned it in.  And failing that, check the east side of the parking lot.  It’s sloped, so unattended carts tend to roll away.”

“Ha, you know all about that,” Liana snorted.  “Remember the time you accidentally let your shopping cart roll into your car?  I still remember the way you screamed and chased after it!”

“The hardware shop should really level the parking lot,” Clarissa grumbled.  “Actually, maybe I should write a newspaper article about it.  I can’t be the only person in town whose car has been hit by a runaway shopping cart.”

“No, but you’re probably the only person in town whose runaway cart hit her own car!” Liana cackled.  “The look on your face was priceless.  I mean, it’s too bad about the dent in your door, but the way you reacted was
so
funny!”

“You would have done the same thing if you were me,” Clarissa said defensively.

“I wouldn’t have let the cart go in the first place,” Liana shot back.

“I was looking over my receipt!” Clarissa informed her.  “I thought I had been overcharged.”

“
Anyway
,” Liana said, turning her attention back to Jo, “I’m sure you’ll get your paint back.”

“Okay!” Jo replied, sounding and looking frazzled.  “Thanks.  Bye ladies!”  She practically raced to her car – the black sedan that was parked beside a red jeep.  Then she got in and sped out onto the street with a screech. 

“Poor girl,” Liana said sympathetically.  “She seems so overwhelmed.”

“Starting up a new business is stressful,” Clarissa replied knowingly.

“Speaking of business, I’d still really like to talk to Jo’s father,” Liana said.  “Do you think that’s his car?” she asked, pointing to the red jeep that was still parked by the side of the building.  “I know Jo said he went home to nap, but maybe he came back.”

“Maybe,” Clarissa shrugged.  “It kind of looks like Morris Norman’s jeep, doesn’t it?”

“Those things are a dime a dozen,” Liana replied.  “Let’s go see if we can find Jo’s father.”

The two women walked around to the back of the building. 

“Hello?” Liana called.  “Mr. Moreno?  Are you there?”

There was nothing but silence.

“I guess he’s not here,” Clarissa shrugged.  “That’s probably not even his jeep.”

“Yeah, maybe not,” Liana agreed.  “Well, what now?  Should we go get some more coffee?”

“You just drank a huge thing of coffee!” Clarissa pointed out with amusement.  “How can you possibly be ready for more already?”

“Hey, I don’t give you a hard time about your chocolate chip cookies…or muffins…or cinnamon buns,” Liana retorted.  “And I didn’t even make fun of you when you got all excited about a donut discount.”

“Touché,” Clarissa giggled.  “Okay, fine.  Let’s go.  I’ll buy you another coffee.”

“Wait,” Liana said, looking past Clarissa.  “What’s that?”

Clarissa turned around and tried to follow her best friend’s gaze.  She saw something lying in the alleyway behind the donut shop, right next to a big red dumpster.  It appeared to be a shoe.  That was weird.  It wasn’t completely absurd, but it was nonetheless unusual. 

She walked over to get a better look.

When Clarissa rounded the corner, her mouth fell open.

There lying in the alley was an older gentleman of about seventy.  He had dark, greying hair, nice clothes and a fancy gold watch on his wrist.  He was also wearing only one shoe.  On his other foot, he only sported a sock.

The two women rushed toward him.

“Are you okay, sir?” Liana demanded, standing over him uncertainly.

“Hello?” Clarissa asked, kneeling down beside him.  “Can you hear me?”

There was no response.

“Do you think he had a heart attack or something?” Liana asked, talking even faster than usual.  “I’ll call 911,” she decided, whipping out her phone.  “Does he have a pulse?” she asked as she frantically dialed.

“I don’t think so,” Clarissa replied after failing to find one.  She feared the worst.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this!” Liana ranted.  “911 put me on hold!”

“I don’t think it matters,” Clarissa told her best friend gently.  “I think he’s already gone.”

“Oh man,” Liana moaned, looking distraught.  “What do you think happened to him?  It was a heart attack, right?  Yes, it was a heart attack.  It had to have been a heart attack.  It’s always a heart attack, isn’t it?”

While Liana was panicking, Clarissa was very calm. 

She was a reporter.  She was trained to ask questions, to get the whole story.  Even though their discovery was alarming, she knew she had to keep her wits about her.  So she took a deep breath and tried to pay close attention to detail.

She looked around and spotted tire tracks in the muddy alley.  They drove straight until they reached the donut shop.  Then they veered off to the side suddenly, almost as though someone had swerved toward the red dumpster.

Either the driver had been trying to avoid hitting something…or aiming for a target.

Next, Clarissa’s gaze fell on the shoe that had fallen off the man’s foot.

She jumped as thunder cracked in the not-too-far distance.  It appeared Sugarcomb Lake was in for quite the doozy of a storm.  Crossing her arms, Clarissa looked back at the shoe.  Having a heart attack or some other medical emergency didn’t cause one’s shoe to fall off…

Clarissa took a closer look at the lifeless man.  She saw a trickle of blood coming from his ear.