Hallow Haven Cozy Mysteries Bundle Books 1-3 by Mara Webb (hardest books to read TXT) 📗

14

Effie had brought a huge paper bag of café food to the police station and was clearly winning all sorts of popularity contests with the officers behind desks that were almost glowing at the sight of her. Miller didn’t look at her like that though, he wasn’t looking at anyone. His head was still buried in the boat logbook, but he was sat in his own office now, I had been dismissed.

I didn’t feel like it had gone well, our conversation about last night, but it hadn’t covered all the topics that I wanted to discuss. Miller hadn’t asked many questions about the wolf; he was focused on the man that had been lurking outside my window. I supposed that, if we set the ‘werewolf’ option aside, it was just a story about a wild animal coming into my home. It happens all the time in some states, bears or racoons or snakes.

“Did lover-boy give you much to go on then?” Effie teased.

“No, he didn’t,” I replied, not acknowledging her mockery. “I was so sure I saw Simon on the beach last night, but he said that the boat logs don’t have him on record as travelling here any time over the past couple of days.”

“Boat logs, shmoat logs,” she scoffed. “You do realize the islands are close enough to swim between, right? I mean, I know what dwells in that water so you wouldn’t catch me dead in there, but other folks might be willing to risk it. For real, if you see me kicking off my shoes and wading into the shallows then just shoot me because I’ve clearly been taken over by aliens.”

I wasn’t sure if she was still joking, and considering my house was right on the beach I felt like it would be stupid of me to ask for her to elaborate as I would never sleep again.

“You think he could have swum across just to spy on me?” I asked.

“Was he dripping wet?” she asked.

“No,” I replied.

“Ah, probably not then. Come get some lunch in the café, I can show you around the kitchen, explain our ordering system, introduce you to the chefs and, well I can’t think of anything else right now but I’m sure there’s more to it.”

We walked back down the main street, waved to Kate through the window of Pete’s Za and smiled encouragingly at the folks scrubbing graffiti from their store front. It wasn’t in the same place that I had seen it the day of the storm, there had been more vandalism since then. It was likely under my remit to deal with that too.

The cafe was swarmed with the lunch rush and I spotted Oliver again, waving wildly as he saw us enter. I wondered if he was here to harass me for a statement about the stalker. Effie ushered me into the kitchen and whistled to bring the activity there to a halt.

“Guys, this is Sadie, she is the new owner and you’ve probably seen her already,” Effie announced. “Sadie, this is Tara and Fern.” The two women waved in response to their names and I tried to make a quick note of physical attributes that would help me distinguish between them, as, in their uniforms, they looked strikingly similar.

“Hello,” I smiled. Tara, or at least I thought it was Tara, brought a meat clever swinging down onto a chunk of butcher board and I gulped nervously.

“I liked Greta,” she stated. Ah. I had expected some hostility given that I had bought a business as an outsider and requested that the staff stay on, people generally don’t like change. That seemed to ring true for the magical island community too.

“Now, Fern, we talked about the importance of being polite to the new boss,” Effie advised.

“I’m not Fern, I’m Tara. How many times do I need to tell you?” the woman snorted.

“How many times do I need to tell you to wear a name badge?” Effie hissed. This might be my cue to leave, or I should be stepping up as the owner of the café and resident peacekeeper to calm the situation. Effie, Tara and Fern all started laughing and I realized that this might just be the way that they communicate, slightly hostile but with tongue-in-cheek.

“Could I take a sandwich to go?” I asked. “I feel like exploring.” Effie gave me a look as if I had just recalled Pi to fourteen decimal places, awestruck and proud.

“Of course, you should always follow your gut,” she beamed, hurrying out of the kitchen to the front of the café. I was standing alone with Tara and Fern now; they had taken themselves back to work and were performing an intricate ballet around each other as they threw various herbs into a large pot. The cook in me knew they were making a casserole, the new witch in me suspected some other concoction.

“Do you want to be our taste tester?” one of them asked. They had moved around so much that I couldn’t remember who was who.

“Err, do I want to be your taste tester?” I grinned. This prompted loud belly laughs from the pair of them.

“Just a taco casserole, nothing sinister today.” I walked over to grab a spoon from a pot of utensils and scooped up a mouthful. Before it had even touched my lips, I could tell it was going to be good, the smell of the spices made my mouth water.

I closed my eyes as the flavors played on my tongue. Even if it turned out to be a sinister witch’s brew, I would probably go back for seconds. “Hey, don’t ruin your appetite,” Effie scolded from the doorway. Tara and Fern seemed pleased by my reaction and hopefully that was enough to put me in their good books.

Effie handed me a paper bag that was weighted with food she had prepared for my impromptu wanderer’s picnic. “Where are you feeling drawn to?” she asked.

“Just the sand,” I replied. I didn’t