A Taste of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 1) (12 page)

“Okay, so no summer flings with lying cheating scumbags,” Chase said, pretending to write it down on an invisible pad of paper.  “Duly noted,” he grinned. 

“So where are you thinking of going?” Clarissa asked.  “I can confirm California is nice this time of year.  Actually, California is nice pretty much any time of year, assuming you don’t mind the heat.  Disneyland is always fun!”

“Actually, I had my sights set on Europe.  Backpacking through Europe really is the oldest cliché in the book, isn’t it?”  Chase joked.  Then he surveyed Mrs. Meddler’s front garden.  “I hate to cut our conversation short, but I should probably get back to work.”

“You probably should,” Clarissa agreed.

“She’s watching us from the window, isn’t she?”

Clarissa glanced toward the house and saw the living room curtains flutter. 

“Yep, she sure is.”

***

After leaving Mrs. Meddler’s house, Clarissa went to the grocery store.  Normally she wouldn’t run errands in her work clothes, but it was an emergency:  she was running low on chocolate chip cookies.  Clearly that took priority over vanity!

As Clarissa walked across the parking lot, she glanced over at the alleyway next to the store.  Thankfully, there was no sign of Nora the town weirdo.  Technically Clarissa still considered her a suspect in Jed Black’s murder – but that wasn’t why Nora was so creepy.

The fact that Nora seemed to know about Clarissa’s paranormal inclinations was chilling.

“Hmm, speaking of potions…” Clarissa whispered under her breath after tossing several packages of cookies into her shopping cart. 

She was already at the grocery store, plus she had earned a nice chunk of change from landscaping Adam’s overgrown yard.  Why not pick up some of the ingredients that were frequently referenced in that weird magical cookbook of Matilda’s?

Truthfully, Clarissa had probably never ventured into the spice aisle before in her life.  What need did she have to buy seasonings when she pretty much never cooked? 

But, there was a first time for everything…

“I should have made a shopping list,” she grumbled to herself.

She half-expected to hear Cat meow in response.  That usually seemed to be what the little beast did, as if it was trying to point out how crazy Clarissa sounded talking to herself.  But she wasn’t at home.  She was at the grocery store, clear across town from her four-legged foe.

In a weird way, Clarissa missed her whiskered companion.  Though she would never admit it, she was kind of looking forward to going home and having a bit of a snuggle – assuming Cat would allow it. 

“Ooh, parsley!” Clarissa exclaimed as she noticed a little jar of the stuff on the grocery store shelf.  “I’m pretty sure that was mentioned in the book!”  She tossed it into her cart. 

Technically, the potion book had called for
fresh
parsley, but what difference would it make?  Parsley was parsley, right?  Besides, this stuff was cheaper.

Clarissa wandered around the supermarket for some time, filling up her cart.  She ran into a few people she knew, often pausing briefly to chat.  By the time she was ready to leave her cart was piled high with cookies, croissants that had looked too tasty to pass up and various random spices. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Clarissa murmured as she walked past a large display.  “Pies on sale for a dollar apiece? 
Yes please
!” Eagerly, she grabbed three – strawberry rhubarb, apple cinnamon and blueberry.  She set them into her cart and then looked at it guiltily.

To appease her conscience, she swung by the pharmacy area and picked up a bottle of multivitamins.  There, that was better. 

“I should get out of here before I spend even more money,” Clarissa decided. 

She walked over to the checkout and saw there was quite a lineup.  It never failed to amuse her that every resident in Sugarcomb Lake seemed to turn up in the supermarket checkout line all at once.  It was almost like they were plotting to delay her! 

Unfazed, Clarissa grabbed a trashy tabloid from the magazine rack and began idly flipping through it.  It wasn’t until she heard a loud, increasingly agitated sounding voice at the front of the line that she glanced up.

Nora the panhandler was standing there looking as unconventional as ever.  Once again, she appeared to be wearing no less than six dresses all at once.  She must have had at least half a dozen bracelets on each wrist, and she was holding a sparkly velvet satchel that looked like something a teenage girl might take to prom.

As Clarissa looked on, Nora turned the satchel upside down.  A startling number of coins and bills spilled out onto the counter.  A few even tumbled to the floor.  Nora had a smug half-smirk on her face as she stared expectantly at the cashier.

After a moment’s hesitation, the cashier sighed wearily and began gathering up the money.

“She must do well for herself,” a pretty blonde woman in line ahead of Clarissa commented.

“Oh, she does,” a balding middle aged man standing nearby confirmed.  “I hear panhandling – at least here in Sugarcomb Lake – can be surprisingly lucrative.  I just wish she wasn’t going to make us all stand here waiting while she counts out her nickels and dimes!”

Clarissa looked at Nora’s cartful of groceries and grimaced.  It was evident they were all going to be waiting in line for a long time.  But that wasn’t the worst news considering she now had the perfect opportunity to find out a bit more about the town’s most mysterious resident.

Sure, eavesdropping was impolite – but it could also be incredibly informative!

“What are you talking about?  These coupons are so good!” Nora insisted, her shrill, angry voice violently piercing the air.  She slammed her first down on the counter forcefully as if to emphasize her point. 

“Oh!” the attractive woman in front of Clarissa gasped as Nora exchanged heated words with the cashier.  She looked around anxiously.  “Where’s a security guard when you need one?”

The middle aged man grinned.  “Who are you calling security on?  Not me, I hope!”

“That woman!” the blonde whispered, gesturing discreetly toward Nora.  “Is she mentally ill?”

“You’re an out-of-towner, aren’t you?” he asked good-naturedly.  “That’s Nora.  Most people in town know her or have at least seen her on occasion.  And no, she’s not mentally ill.  She’s just a bit eccentric, that’s all.”

“And causing a scene!” the woman chimed in.

“You call that a scene?  Try working in outreach – then you’ll see what a scene is.  I used to be a social worker,” the man added.  “As for Nora, she has a temper but her bark is worse than her bite.  She’s completely harmless, so don’t worry.  Nora wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

The young woman breathed a sigh of relief.  “That’s good to hear.  And yes, good guess about me being from out of town.  I’m just passing through Sugarcomb Lake – I have to say, overall it’s a charming little place.”

“Well welcome.  What brings you here?” the man asked curiously.

“I’m just visiting someone in Green City,” she replied.  “He needed to come here today for work, so I tagged along.”  She looked over at Nora curiously.  Then, in a hushed voice, she asked, “I take it you know that Nora woman well?”

“Well enough,” the man nodded.  Then he explained, “I’m the director of Sugarcomb Lake’s outreach program.  In a town this size, there’s not a lot of need for assistance.  So we’re kind of the one-stop-shop.  We operate a food bank and safe house.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” the attractive blonde nodded.  “So you’ve come into contact with her when she’s stopped by the food pantry or has needed a place to sleep, huh?”

“What?  No,” the man replied.  “I know Nora because she volunteers.”

Suddenly someone tapped Clarissa on the shoulder, interrupting her eavesdropping.

She spun around and came face-to-face with none other than Parker Tweed.

“What are you doing here?” she gasped, stunned to see him.

“The same thing everyone is doing here,” he grinned, gesturing to his shopping basket.  Then he glanced into Clarissa’s cart.  His eyebrow shot up as he took in the contents.  “Are you having a party?” he asked conversationally.

“What?”

“You…have a cart full of pies and pastries,” he pointed out. 

“The pies were on sale,” Clarissa informed him defensively as she felt her cheeks redden.  “They were too good of a bargain to pass up.  Besides,” she added matter-of-factly, “I’m also buying multivitamins.”

“Ah, that makes perfect sense then.  Pie and multivitamins, when combined, make for a healthy, well-balanced meal,” Parker declared.

“Exactly,” Clarissa agreed, secretly delighted that her arch enemy had turned out to actually be kind of cool.  Maybe her first impression had been wrong.  Maybe he was a good guy and there was no need for them to be rivals.

She was doing her best not to stare at Parker, but it was difficult.  Even standing in line at the supermarket, he looked incredibly handsome and put together.  It was almost as though he got better looking every time she saw him.

That was when Clarissa remembered she was wearing her ratty work clothes and she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup.  To make matters worse, she hadn’t even had time to brush her hair!  Of all the days to run into gorgeous Parker Tweed!

“Excuse me for one second,” Parker said, stepping past Clarissa.

As she watched him, he walked over to the pretty blonde woman she had been eavesdropping on only moments early.  He put a hand on the woman’s shoulder to get her attention.  Then he leaned down and quietly spoke into her ear. 

She nodded and took his shopping basket from him.

Parker pulled out his wallet and retrieved some cash.

The woman snatched it from him playfully in a manner that suggested they were completely at ease with one another.  The two of them laughed amongst themselves, sharing a private moment and perhaps an inside joke.

Clarissa’s heart sank. 

Parker was the person the blonde woman was visiting.  She was probably his long distance girlfriend, Clarissa reasoned.  Sneaking another look at the woman, Clarissa felt a flash of jealousy when she saw how tall, leggy and stylish the woman was.  How on earth could she ever compete with that?

Parker, now empty-handed, returned to Clarissa’s side.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

“You mean besides eating pie?” Clarissa joked, trying to conceal her disappointment.

“Yes, besides that.  I was thinking dinner around seven o’clock,” Parker said.  “You know, so you actually eat some nutritious food in addition to all the pie and croissants.”

“I wasn’t going to eat
all
the pie and croissants tonight,” Clarissa informed him indignantly.

“Even if you did, I wouldn’t tell,” he winked.  “So is that a yes to dinner?”

Clarissa furrowed her brow.  “What about her?” she asked, nodding toward the blonde.

“She’s planning to do some shopping and then head back to my place,” Parker said.  “She wants to call her boyfriend tonight,” he added with a mocking roll of his eyes.

“Wait…her boyfriend? I don’t follow. Isn’t that your girlfriend?” Clarissa asked in confusion.

“Yuck, no,” Parker laughed.  “That’s my sister Elise.  She’s visiting from out of state.”

“Oh,” Clarissa managed to say as her irrational hatred of the woman immediately faded. 

“So about dinner,” Parker said again.  “You have to say yes.  My sister already ditched me so she can call her boyfriend.  If you turn me down too I’ll start to develop a complex!” he joked.  “Besides, you owe me.”

Clarissa blinked.  “I do?”  Then she remembered he had paid for her gas that day she had found herself low on cash and with an empty tank.  With all that had been going on lately, it had slipped her mind.  She smacked her forehead.  “I’ll pay you back right away,” she promised.

“I don’t want your money,” Parker insisted.  “I just want you to come to dinner – my treat.”

“Your treat…?  Are you sure you understand how payback works?” Clarissa teased.

“Apparently not,” he grinned.  “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“You don’t know where I live,” she pointed out.

“Yes I do.”

“How?” she demanded.

“You’re not the only one with investigative skills,” he announced, giving her a subtle, playful wink that made her heart skip a beat.  “Besides, you’re listed in the phone book.”

There was a monster in Clarissa’s closet.

It wasn’t the gigantic, terrifying kind with sharp teeth and pointy horns.

It wasn’t even the fuzzy, harmless type typically seen in children’s storybooks.

No, this monster had long loosely curled dark hair, a face full of makeup and a terrible potty mouth.  It seemed intent on trashing the room considering how it had pulled nearly every item from the closet and tossed it on the floor. 

Come to think of it, the monster resembled Clarissa an awful lot.

“Where is it?!” Clarissa wailed as she dug through her closet in search of her favorite little black dress.  It was old but awesome.  She loved the way it gave her the illusion of having a perfect hourglass figure and because of that, it was her go-to date outfit.

The problem was Clarissa hadn’t been on a date in so long that she had
no idea
where she had put the dress.  And considering it was a quarter to seven and she wasn’t even dressed yet, that wasn’t her only problem!

“Okay well…what about the blue one?” Clarissa reasoned, defaulting to Plan B. 

She didn’t love the blue floral wrap dress quite as much as the black one, but it still looked nice enough on her.  Or at least it had when she had tried it on last spring.  How many cookies had she consumed since then?  She didn’t dare do the math.

“Aha!” Clarissa declared triumphantly, pulling the blue floral dress from the very back of her closet.  She held her breath, sucked in her stomach and wiggled into it.  Then, crossing her fingers, she walked over to her full-length mirror.

She cocked her head to the side as she scrutinized her appearance.

“Not bad,” she decided when she realized she didn’t have time to be irrationally picky.

Parker was going to show up any minute!  She took a few deep, calming breaths…which did absolutely nothing.  Her heart was pounding like a drum.  When had she become so infatuated with the man she despised?  When had she stopped hating his guts and started wondering what it would be like to kiss him?

“Oh, perfume!” Clarissa remembered. 

She was so flustered that she had to pause and sniff the inside of her wrist to make sure she hadn’t already spritzed some on.  The last thing she needed was to smell like she had marinated in it!  She hurried over to her dresser where she kept her favorite scent.

The cat lunged out at her from beneath a pile of clothes.

It was so unexpected that Clarissa let out a shriek.

That seemed to be exactly what the cat had been hoping for.  Looking extremely proud of itself for nearly giving Clarissa a heart attack, it gave a self-satisfied flick of its tail and then pranced out of the room. 

“Jerk,” Clarissa muttered right as the doorbell rang.

She practically flew to the door.

“Is everything okay?” Parker asked the second they came face-to-face.  “I heard a scream.”

Clarissa blushed.  “Everything is fine,” she said, opting not to offer an explanation.  She wasn’t sure that admitting to being outsmarted by a devilish black cat was very becoming.  Besides, she was too nervous to even think straight never mind blurt out more than a few words at a time!

“Okay, good.  And hello,” Parker said, grinning.  “You look really nice.”

“Thanks.  So do you.”

Parker was wearing a black button-up shirt and expensive looking jeans.  He looked…well, he looked like someone who was about to go on a date.  At least Clarissa hoped they were both on the same page about that. 

After much agonizing and second guessing,
she
had assumed they were going on a date.  So she had dressed accordingly – and then changed her mind approximately five million times.  That was why her bedroom presently looked as though it had been hit by a hurricane.

“Hurricane Clarissa,” she breathed.

“Sorry?”

“Oh, nothing!” she said quickly, embarrassed that she had spoken out loud.  “Should we go?”

“Yes.”  Parker paused and appeared to mull something over.  Then he leaned in closer. 

For a moment Clarissa was certain he was going to kiss her!  In fact, she batted her eyelashes and nearly started puckering up in anticipation.  This was going to be fantastic.  She couldn’t believe their date – if it was a date – was off to such a wonderful start.

Then Parker spoke.

“Uh, I don’t know if I should say this,” he cautioned, looking nervous.

“You can tell me anything,” Clarissa purred, making a point of batting her eyelashes.

He cleared his throat, suddenly seeming very unlike the overly confident, self-assured heir to a newspaper empire that Clarissa had come to know.  He took a deep breath.  Then he reluctantly informed her, “I uh…I’m pretty sure you’re only wearing eyeliner on one eye.” 

***

“I think you’ve got it all wrong,” Parker said as he set his fork down and pushed his plate aside.  He looked at Clarissa intently.  “You mean to tell me you’ve discounted Bonnie, William and Nora already because of…what, a feeling?”

“Don’t do that,” Clarissa protested.  “Don’t act like I’m stupid for trusting my gut.”

“I don’t think that,” Parker insisted.  “But help me understand.  From my perspective, Bonnie had all the reasons in the world to want her husband dead.  Maybe she didn’t want to be married anymore.  Who knows, maybe she wanted to get remarried,” he shrugged.

“She wasn’t seeing anyone,” Clarissa said with certainty. 

“How do you know?”

“If she had been dating someone, the town gossips would be blabbing about it nonstop.  Trust me on that.  So no, your theory doesn’t hold water.”

“She could have had a secret boyfriend,” Parker theorized.

“No,” Clarissa shook her head.  “You’re from the city so you don’t get it.  It doesn’t work that way in small towns.  It just doesn’t.  If she’d had a boyfriend – even a secret boyfriend – everyone would have known.  Bonnie is without a doubt innocent.  I’m positive about that.”

“What about her dad then?” Parker asked.  “He hated Jed’s guts and he’s a gun-lover.  I mean, the gun that killed Jed is even one William gave him.  That’s pretty compelling evidence, wouldn’t you agree?”

“William has an alibi,” Clarissa reminded Parker. 

“Yeah, a receipt from a gas station hundreds of miles away.  Maybe that’s his cover.  For all we know, his wife could have traveled to visit their daughter alone,” Parker pointed out.  “Maybe William stayed behind and killed his son-in-law.”

“No,” Clarissa said immediately.

“What makes you so sure?” Parker asked. 

“You didn’t hear the way William talked my ear off about his grandson,” Clarissa explained.  “Not even an award-winning actor could fake that kind of adoration.  There’s
no way
William stayed behind while his wife went to see the baby.  He was out of town the night of the murder,” she concluded with conviction.

Parker was leaning forward as if he was hanging on Clarissa’s every word.  His focus was solely on her as though they were the only two people in the restaurant.  The attention was rather flattering, as was what he said next – at least on its face.

“The way you read people is pretty impressive,” Parker remarked.

“But…?” Clarissa prompted, sensing he was holding back.

He hesitated.  “Maybe I’m a cynic, but I’m just not convinced we can rule Bonnie or her father out quite yet.  I’m not trying to disrespect your investigative skills,” he added quickly.  “I’m simply trying to consider every possibility – like you’ve mentioned before, I have an uphill battle when it comes to restoring the Chronicle’s reputation as a trustworthy source of news.”

The mention of The Green City Chronicle hit Clarissa like a ton of bricks.  For a moment there she had nearly forgotten she and Parker were rivals, at least professionally.  It had been nice to pretend they were simply two curious people intent on getting to the truth…while on a date.

“Is that why you asked me to dinner?” Clarissa asked with a smile as she picked up her water glass.  “You’re trying to pick my brain about the Jed Black murder so you can write about it in the Chronicle?”

“What?  No!”

“It’s okay,” Clarissa assured him while simultaneously trying to mask her disappointment.  “Actually, it was pretty clever of you.  And a reporter’s gotta do what a reporter’s gotta do, right?  I get it.  No hard feelings.”

“I
am
trying to fact check and leave no stone unturned,” Parker admitted.  “And I do admire your work a lot.  It might come as a surprise to you, but I used to read your columns back when you wrote for the Gazette.  You were good.  You
are
good,” he corrected himself.  “But that’s not why I asked you out tonight.”

“So then why did you?” Clarissa asked as she locked eyes with him.

Parker immediately seemed bashful.  He looked away and then grabbed the dessert menu.  “How about we discuss that over dessert?” he suggested.  “The chocolate cheesecake sounds amazing.”

Dumbfounded, Clarissa watched him carefully.  It wasn’t like him to act so nervous.  What was going on with him?  If he didn’t know better…well, if she didn’t know better she’d think he had a massive crush on her! 

Her cheeks burned at the realization.

She never would have taken successful, stylish, fast-talking Parker Tweed to be the shy type.  But all the signs were there.  He had asked her out to dinner and chosen a nice quiet restaurant with plenty of privacy and a romantic atmosphere.  He was alternating between being unable to look away from her and completely avoiding eye contact. 

Oh!  Ohhh!  He was interested in her!

Clarissa grinned so broadly her face felt like it would crack.

“Are you okay?” Parker asked.

“Yes!” she chirped brightly as she tried to scale her smile back a bit so she wouldn’t look like a mentally unhinged psycho.  “I’m fantastic!”

Parker caught the attention of their server and ordered cheesecake for them both. 

Then he turned back to Clarissa.  “So who do you think did it?” he asked point blank.

She hesitated. 

She knew exactly who she thought was guilty:  Adam Burke.  He had been Jed Black’s business partner at the investment firm, he was in the middle of a contentious divorce
and
he had a gambling problem. 

The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place – but the picture still wasn’t quite clear.

“I’m still working that out,” she said.  Technically it wasn’t a lie.

“Ah, playing hard to get – that doesn’t surprise me,” Parker joked.  Then he grew serious.  “I hope you won’t play quite so hard to get about this next bit,” he told her earnestly.  Sheepishly, he admitted, “I’m nervous to even bring this up considering our history.”

This was it.

This was the part where Parker Tweed was going to declare his undying love for Clarissa.

Well okay, maybe that was slightly over the top.  But he was at least going to tell her he had feelings for her…feeling so intense he couldn’t ignore them a moment longer.  She could hardly stand the anticipation!  Her head felt like it might explode.

Clarissa felt like she had fallen right into the final scene of a romantic movie – and she really couldn’t complain.  She was going to get the guy and then live happily ever after as the credits rolled.  What wasn’t to love about that?

“I really do admire you a lot,” Parker began.  “I know we got off to a rocky start, but I hope that’s all behind us now and that going forward, things can be different.  We have a lot in common and at the end of the day we both want the same thing.  I think we make a good team, don’t you?  Well, I know that technically we haven’t really been working together.  But I think we
could
make a good team, don’t you?”

Clarissa nodded enthusiastically, her eyes still locked on Parker’s.  She wished he would stop talking and kiss her already!  She leaned across the table and pursed her lips slightly, hoping he would pick up on her not-so-subtle cue.

“So here’s what I’m thinking,” Parker said.  He took a deep, steadying breath before speaking.  “I want you to come to Green City and work for the Chronicle.  It makes perfect sense – you’re a skilled reporter with no newspaper to write for and I’m looking for fresh talent.  Come work for me.  What do you say?”

At first she couldn’t speak.  Clarissa stared at Parker blankly, her mind reeling.  This wasn’t what she had expected at all.  Even more mortifying was the fact that she was still sitting there with her lips puckered in expectation of a kiss!

“Clarissa?” Parker was giving her a funny look.

She sat back.  Then she tried to collect her thoughts. 

“You’d be my boss?” she asked.

“Well, yes, technically speaking I guess so,” he confirmed. 

She said nothing, because she couldn’t speak.

Sensing her disapproval, Parker rushed to placate her.  “But let’s not get hung up on formalities.  I would be your boss in name only.  I can help you find an apartment in the city and we can offer a competitive salary.  I think this could be a mutually beneficial arrangement.