Lyndsey Cole - Lily Bloom 02 - Queen of Poison (10 page)

“No later than usual. I got so caught up in my cooking and getting everything ready that I didn’t notice the time. Can I get you some coffee to start?”

Jenna and Kyle sat across from each other in a booth by the front windows with a view of Main Street.

“Black coffee for me. Kona,” Jenna said, glancing at the menu to see what was available. Kyle held up two fingers to indicate he’d take the same.

Kori headed back to the kitchen and ground some beans, put them in a French press and poured hot water over them. She brought that to their table with two mugs.

“What are you putting in your smoothies?” Jenna asked when Kori set everything down on their table.

“There are plenty of options for you to choose from. I have kale or spinach for the greens, apple juice, orange juice or coconut water for the liquid, and bananas, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, pineapple and mango for the fruits. And a yogurt base. Do you think you want one?”

“Not sure yet. Give us a couple more minutes,” Jenna requested, looking at her husband and seeing that he was nowhere near knowing what he wanted.

“Sure.” Kori turned and headed to the oven to check on the popovers and biscuits. Both were ready so she took them out and got seconds of both ready to be popped into the oven once more customers arrived.

The door opened just then and Kori looked up to see who had entered. A group of three adults came inside, looking slightly lost—tourists, she assumed—and Betsy Scoop was with Vera Joy, the owner of Furry Friends, the animal shelter across the street from The Early Bird. Kori didn’t wait for anyone to order popovers or biscuits and gravy; she put the second trays of each in the oven and headed back out to make the rounds.

Kori started an easy conversation with Betsy and Vera, two people she had known for a long time. “Good morning. How’s the move for Scoop’s Scoops going?” she asked Betsy who looked up and smiled.

“All moved in! Can you believe how late I’m opening? I can’t believe it took almost two months since the whole disaster with Tessa for things to get finalized,” Betsy told her, visibly more relaxed now that she’d be able to open her business

Two months ago, Hermit Cove had seen its first murder in years—something that everyone was worried would put a damper on the summer tourist season. Tessa Doyle, the owner of a second café, had been murdered and Kori had been the prime suspect given their unfriendly past as students and near colleagues in New York City. Instead of landing in jail, Kori had cracked the case and Betsy had been able to move her ice cream shop, Scoop’s Scoops, into the larger area that had been occupied briefly by the café.

“That’s great to hear. Are you opening today?”

“I am. I can’t wait. I have two high school sophomores working for me and I’m so excited to be able to expand so much this year.”

“Congratulations!” Kori said with genuine excitement. She was happy for her friend and also for Hermit Cove’s growing popularity. “And how are the cats and dogs?” she asked, turning to Vera.

“I was hoping you’d ask. I just got the perfect dog for you—she’s four, so a little older, but friends with everyone. It was an owner surrender. I know you keep saying you’re not ready, but I’m telling you, this dog is for you.”

Kori looked down at her feet. She wanted to adopt a dog so badly but had been putting it off because she worked such long days and didn’t want to leave a pet home alone all day. She didn’t think that was fair to the animal.

“And the best part is that she used to go to a retirement home as a casual therapy dog, so you know she’d be fine in the café with customers.” Vera’s face was full of hope.

“I’ll think about it,” Kori finally managed. And she would. “What can I get you started with?”

The rest of the morning proved as busy as it started with the wait getting as long as twenty minutes. Kori knew she was almost in Betsy’s position of needing to hire help—at least for the summer—and possibly even expand. The café only seated twenty people, so she could usually keep up with the rush. But if she didn’t have to, why was she still pushing herself?

Midway to lunch, Kori’s heart started fluttering when she saw Zach Gulch walk in with who she assumed was his new detective, Lani Silver. She tried to study her from afar and was disappointed to see that she was gorgeous: at least six feet tall, soft features that were easy to look at and a smile that got men turning their heads away from their breakfasts.
Could Zach possibly be attracted to her? Had he hired her because she would be nice to look at every day
?

They took a seat at the counter in front of the window where she worked and Kori was suddenly speechless.

“Morning Kori. I thought I’d give Detective Silver the grand tour of Hermit Cove this morning and we’re finishing up here.”

Kori managed to croak out a reply, “You’re already finished? It’s not even noon yet. There’s got to be more to see in Hermit Cove.”

“Well, we stopped by Red Clover Farm, Furry Friends, the market, the rec center, the auto body, post office and school—even though they were closed for Sunday—and now we’re here.” Zach’s smile this morning had the same reaction in Kori’s knees as it’d had last night. Only this time she was standing so had to look away before they buckled right beneath her.
But was the smile only for her or was part of it reserved for the amount of time he was going to be spending with Detective Silver?

“Welcome to Hermit Cove,” Kori managed to sputter to her new competition for Zach’s heart. She tried to keep her voice calm and friendly but wasn’t sure she’d managed completely. “Can I get you both something? On the house. As a welcome-to-Hermit-Cove gift,” she added quickly, not wanting Lani to think that she always treated Zach that way. Or maybe she should let her think that; make sure she knew he was off limits. But was he? Had she really staked enough claim after just one date?

“I’ll take one of the smoothies,” Zach said. “Thanks.”

There was that smile again that left Kori’s knees weak and her heart skipping a couple of beats.

“Thanks Kori. Just a coffee. Black,” Lani ordered.

Kori was relieved and disappointed that she couldn’t stay to chat with Lani, but especially with Zach. Last night had been such an eye opener for her that she wanted it to continue right away but she also wanted to be sure that she was going down a path she was ready for. She wasn’t quite sure how to balance those two emotions—and keep Lani at bay if there was any interest there.

At one, Kori finally sat down. She didn’t even have the energy to close and lock the door first but everyone in town knew she was closed. It was only tourists she’d have the chance of having to turn away.

Suddenly the door opened. She looked up from the discarded newspaper she was reading, ready to apologize to whoever had entered, and saw her brother’s worried face. “What is it?” she asked.

“It’s Heidi. She’s dead.”

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