Faerie Cake Dead Read online

  “I’m not having this conversation. You can forget it and leave, now.” Luna’s hand shook as she pointed toward the door.

  “You’ll come around. You always have.” Arrogance filled his every word as he leered at her, confident that she would give in.

  “Luna, could I see you for a moment?” Devin’s voice interrupted her as Luna moved angrily toward the door, ready to push Thomas through it.

  In mid-stride, Luna turned on her heel and glared at Devin. “What?”

  “I need to see you in the basement for a minute.” He cocked his head and walked away.

  As she followed his lead, Luna wondered how much he’d heard. Devin had appeared at the opportune moment again, it seemed. She trundled down the stairs. Two-by-fours framed the space, allowing for an entry door. The man worked fast, there was no doubt about it. She gazed around the basement until her eyes met his. He leaned against the cloth-covered workstation, his face filled with concern.

  “Who’s the man, Luna?”

  “My ex-husband. He’s making a pest of himself and it’s annoying as hell. Why do you ask?”

  “You appeared as upset today as you were yesterday, when he showed up. Is there anything I can do to help you out?”

  “Like what? Run him out of town? Choke the living shit out of him?”

  A bark of laughter left Devin. “You sure do have it in for him, don’t you?” he asked. “I suppose I could do those things, but why don’t we just beat him at his own game instead?”

  “What do you propose?” she asked.

  Folding his arms, Devin stared down at the floor for a moment. When he glanced up at Luna, he said, “We could get married.”

  She choked, gasping for air and felt light headed all at once. He must be joking. Married? Not a prayer in hell of that ever happening twice in this lifetime.

  “You mean‌—‌me and you?” Astounded at his suggestion, Luna gawked at him for a moment at a loss for words. Finally she gathered her nerve and said, “I think not. Not now, not ever. Thanks for the offer, though.”

  His laughter rang out, filtering around the room, softened by the brick walls.

  “It was just a thought. Maybe we should look into your ex-husband’s business and see why he’s so interested in you all of a sudden.” He shrugged though his eyes gleamed. “Not that you aren’t interesting, Luna, but you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. Thomas just keeps popping up out of nowhere, when I least expect him. He was mean when we were married, a real Gestapo Commandant if you get my drift. When he left me, I swore I’d never set eyes on him again, but here he is just like the proverbial bad penny. Cripes, could things get more complicated?”

  “Yes, they could, but we won’t go there right now. Let’s figure out how we can get the better of him. What do you say?”

  Luna stared at him for a few seconds, chewing her lip and thinking fast. Devin offered her a chance to beat Thomas at his own game. As crazy as it was, she’d be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity. And it wasn’t as if either of them would get hurt, would they? Her pulse quickened as their gazes locked. Her inner voice whispered for her to trust her instincts. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Why not? Let’s do it.” She reached out to shake hands.

  His hand folded around hers and he drew her to him. His lips met hers and they melded together for a brief moment. Luna’s stomach jittered, a buzzing feeling taking over, and her senses swam. Thoughts flew from her mind as the kiss deepened. They drew apart when the door opened and Annie called to Luna.

  “I need your assistance up here, if you can spare me a minute.”

  A bit breathless, Luna stepped back from Devin’s embrace and called in a shaky voice, “I’ll be right there.” Her glance strayed toward him and she murmured she needed to go. The feel of his lips remained on hers as she scrambled from the room.

  “Sure, we can talk later when the shop closes.” A smile lingered on his face as Luna fled the basement.

  A knowing look in her eyes, Annie turned away as Luna stared at her. Together they walked toward the tearoom. While Luna tried to gather her wits, she distractedly asked what the problem was.

  “No problem, but I have a large order to fill for tomorrow if you can manage it. The customer is over there.” Annie pointed to the heavyset woman staring into the front of the cupcake cases, her eyes glazed over while she salivated and licked her lips.

  “May I help you?” Luna asked.

  The woman snapped to attention, licking her lips she replied, “I need five dozen cupcakes for tomorrow. Each dozen needs to be different. Can you handle the order?”

  “Certainly. I have a book right here. You can look through it for the type of confection you’d like.” Luna handed her the book, but the woman brushed it away.

  “I don’t have time for that. I like what I see, and if you can supply them and deliver to my home, then we have a deal. I need the order by one o’clock.”

  A lined pad sat to the left of the cash register. Luna wrote the information as Mrs. Gregory gave it. She rang up the order and took the cash, verifying the time of delivery again.

  The bulky woman left the counter, wandering into the gift shop. She turned and crooked her finger at Luna to follow her.

  “This affair I’m having tomorrow is an impromptu get-together for a group of old friends. I’d like to offer them a gift at the same time. Do you have any recommendations?”

  Before Luna could open her mouth, a familiar voice from behind offered assistance. Her back stiffened as she turned to stare at Thomas, who took the woman by the arm and strolled her around the room, pointing out various delicate faerie figures available for purchase.

  The woman smiled and giggled as they walked. Taken in by the handsome man’s suave behavior, Mrs. Gregory picked a basket from the pile and began filling it. Luna stood dumbfounded as Thomas waltzed around the room, his hand guiding her back toward the register.

  “That should take care of your friends, Mrs. Gregory,” Thomas murmured with a flirtatious smile.

  “Thank you, Thomas. You can go now,” Luna said, her voice devoid of emotion.

  With a nod, Thomas melted into the tea room and settled at a table for a cup of tea and a cupcake served to him by Dilly. Luna’s eyes narrowed as she watched him work her help with his charm. The slimy bastard.

  Turning to Mrs. Gregory, Luna smiled and wrapped each gift with care. Placed gently into a large shopping bag, the handles tied with a variety of brightly colored ribbons, Luna handed the purchase to the woman and accepted her money.

  “Thank you for shopping at Faerie Cake Junction, Mrs. Gregory. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiled while seething with anger over Thomas’s interference.

  “That gentleman is a wonderful asset to your shop, Ms. Devere. He’s very handsome, too.” The woman giggled like a schoolgirl.

  “Mmm, he is handsome,” Luna acknowledged with a tight-lipped smile.

  Shoppers stood in line with purchases. Annie wrapped and bagged while Luna rang the register and the bus driver waited with barely concealed impatience. Many of the tourists held small to-go cupcake boxes along with the gifts. Luna smiled until she thought her face would crack. When the last customer left, she sighed in relief.

  The two rooms were empty, the tables in disarray. She hurried around, straightening up with the two women in tow, just as a couple carloads of customers parked in the lot.

  “How many cupcakes are left?” Luna asked.

  Dilly’s gaze roamed the case. “We’ve got a few dozen left, but we’ll run out at the rate we’re going.”

  “Better none left than to have leftovers,” Annie remarked.

  Luna chuckled at the woman’s tone. A leftover cupcake meant the loss of a customer as far as Annie was concerned, but Luna felt differently about it. A few cupcakes weren’t a problem. A lot of cupcakes meant a quick donation trip to the nearest senior center and some financial loss.

  When she’d
first opened for business, Luna had often gone to the senior center with the leftovers at the end of her workday. Now, the majority of cakes were gone before the day ended and, with luck, she got one for herself. Life was good that way.

  The women cleared the debris from the tables, sweeping the crumbs into the crumb catcher in time to begin the serving process once again. A lively crowd of customers who seemed to know one another clustered at the tables after they chose their cupcakes. Lady Grey, Earl Grey, and Lemon Herbal tea flowed like rivers. Luna left the two women to handle customers while she restocked gift items.

  Shelves had been picked bare and looked forlorn as she entered the room. Luna opened the closet, pulling stock from the boxes. Flowered faerie statues, nymphs and gnomes filled the empty spaces. She added several gold-edged books on faerie folklore from under the counter and propped them up alongside the figurines. Stepping back once the job was done, she gazed around the room with satisfaction.

  Thomas had disappeared as quickly as he’d appeared, leaving Luna with a sense of apprehension. He’d come in without her noticing and she didn’t like the way he sprung his presence on her. How could she rid herself of the man? The question lingered as she left the room.

  The teashop emptied as fast as it filled. The tables were cleared once again and reset for the next round of tea drinkers. Luna left the help and wandered into the basement with a cup of coffee and a cupcake for Devin.

  “I thought you could use a break,” she said smiling.

  “Ah, cupcakes, the sustenance needed to finish the work.” He bit into the soft cake. Frosting covered his upper lip in a milk-mustache fashion.

  Chuckling, Luna handed him a napkin and settled onto the only stool near the end of the counter. Her chin rested in her hand as she leaned an elbow on the counter edge.

  “The work is coming along nicely. It won’t be long before the room is complete,” she said, studying the man’s workmanship.

  “It may take less time than I originally anticipated. You won’t mind, will you?” he asked.

  “Not at all.” Luna glanced at him. “Thomas returned and took over a customer in the gift shop. He convinced her to spend a couple hundred dollars on her friends to make a point to me.”

  “What point would that be?” Devin asked in a soft voice, his eyes holding a cool gleam.

  “That I can’t do without him and that he’s a better sales person than I am.”

  “Is either one of those things true?”

  “Not in the least. I’ve managed superbly without him in my life these past couple of years, and I could have sold additional merchandise to her, but I didn’t have the chance. You see, I look at it this way…I do well on my own and don’t need the hindrance of a man.”

  He sucked in a deep breath and stared at her. “You’ve made yourself abundantly clear. Now, how are we going to keep dear Thomas out of your life?”

  “We could pound the snot out of him,” Luna responded hopefully.

  “There you go again with that violence thing.” Devin smirked. “We need to figure out what’s behind his actions, Luna. Not do him in and dispose of the body.”

  “You’re right. He just annoys the crap out of me, that’s all. I wouldn’t really harm anyone, I just get really mad.” She chuckled, admiring Devin’s striking features. “How about we lock him up with Riddles for a day or two. He’s allergic to cats.” Her sense of humor brought a grin to Devin’s face.

  “Now, that’s doable.”

  The door opened and Annie called down the stairs. “The sheriff is here, Luna. Do you want me to send him down?”

  “Please do. I don’t want to speak with him in front of customers.”

  “Great, since the tea room is half full, that’s a good idea.” Annie glanced at the framing and turned her smile to Devin. “This is moving along nicely.” Her eyebrows waggled, and she chuckled before returning to the upper level.

  “Is there something I should know about here? These two women and the sheriff, as well as Doc Hardy, seem to have a secret,” Luna said, with a sarcastic slant. Was there a conspiracy of sorts to have her and Devin hook up? She rolled her eyes.

  “I think they’re all matchmakers at heart.” He turned away from the counter where he’d been leaning. “I lost my wife several years back and have lived alone since then. They keep telling me I should find a good woman and get married.”

  “Marriage isn’t the answer to everything,” Luna remarked and wandered into the newly framed room.

  “How long were you married?”

  “Not long. She crashed the car on an icy road and died instantly.”

  Luna shot a glance over her shoulder. He sounded so matter of fact about the whole thing, it aroused her curiosity.

  “You’ve dealt with her death, then?”

  “It took some time, but she’s been gone several years now. My wife wouldn’t have wanted me to remain alone.” He shrugged.

  With a nod of understanding, Luna paced the boxed-in space and glanced around. Plastic sheets protected the baking area from the fine sawdust covering all else. The circular saw sat atop a pair of sawhorses covered with a few boards, making a simple workspace for easy building. Hammers, drills and handsaws lay scattered around the floor along with buckets of nails and screws.

  The sheriff stomped down the stairs, his hand grasping the rail. He peered around the basement and then acknowledged Luna and Devin with a dip of his hat.

  “You called earlier?” he asked in his gritty voice.

  The sound grated on Luna’s already frayed nerves. How could things have gotten out of hand so quickly? She nodded.

  “I did. There was a prowler here early this morning.” She explained the events, leaving out the faeries, of course. “Devin and Annie thought I should call and report the incident.”

  “A prowler, huh? Sure it wasn’t those bothersome faeries you have hanging around here?” His tone sarcastic, his spiky eyebrows flicked up and down as his eyes opened wide and then narrowed.

  “Sheriff, you know you don’t take stock in faeries, which means you don’t believe me.” Exasperated, Luna flipped her palms up for him to inspect and then pointed to her band-aid covered knees.

  He peered at her injuries before giving a slight nod. “No, no, it isn’t that,” he said. “The situation has become quite unusual. First there’s a dead man in the tearoom and now you’ve had a prowler. What do you make of it, Luna?” Suspicion covered his face as he waited for her to answer.

  “I wish I knew. The problem is getting worse instead of better. My ex-husband has started showing up, you think I am guilty of kidnapping the dead man for publicity I don’t need, and now I have a prowler.” A hefty sigh left her as she slumped against the two-by-four framed doorway.

  “It is a mystery.” The sheriff took the pad of paper and pen from the shirt pocket of his uniform. He made a few notes and then snapped the pad closed.

  “I’ll look into things and be in touch.” He hesitated a moment and then asked, “Could I have a couple of cupcakes to go? Cindy, the dispatcher, is miserable today, and I need to bribe her with one to brighten up her mood.”

  With a mental eye roll, Luna said he should tell Dilly to package them for him. A crooked smile covered his mouth as he left Devin and Luna standing in the room.

  Chapter 6

  Alone at last, Luna sat on the rear porch listening to the dining room clock chime six. The customers and help had gone for the day, the front and side doors were locked and silence reigned. Luna leaned back in the wicker chair and sipped a cup of hot tea, enjoying the moment.

  Riddles had snuffled around under the tables for stray cupcake crumbs, swallowing them in an instant. He strolled across the room and inspected the gift shop before joining Luna on the porch. His portly countenance hung over both sides of the railing like small sacks of grain while his whiskers flicked every now and then as scents tickled his nose. Luna smiled at his actions.

  The fur on Riddles back bristled as he caught sigh
t of fluttering wings. Luna left the chair, grasped him around his wide girth and deposited him inside the building. When she returned to the porch, a small cluster of flower faeries poised at the edge of the rail near the hydrangeas.

  “Good evening, faeries,” Luna’s voice a whisper, she greeted them.

  “The images are clear, Luna?” the blue faerie asked.

  Luna smiled. “Not quite, but almost. Things are still a little confusing.”

  “Relax to see. They will become known.” The faerie flittered onto the edge of the rail and stared at Luna. Her diaphanous wings folded closed against the back of her body.

  The beauty of these creatures never failed to fascinate Luna, and her heart warmed in their presence. She smiled and nodded in acknowledgment of the singsong words.

  “You are aware of what these intruders mean to our peace and tranquility?” Luna asked. “I need help so I can sustain our lives in this fashion.”

  “Only you can know. We must not interfere.” The faerie’s wings spread, and she hovered in mid-air for a moment. Her features alight with a soft blue glow, she and the cluster moved off toward the meadow.

  As they disappeared from sight, Luna thought about the faerie’s words. She left the porch and approached the flowers edging the brick walk. Certain faeries were responsible for flower colors and structure, and Luna had heard that primroses held a unique power. Eating them assured the ability to see faeries, though it had never been so with Luna. Her ability had always been present, from the early stages of her childhood. Her mother had insisted the correct number of primroses in a posy would open the door to faerie land and faerie gifts, but if the wrong number were posied, the result would be the door to doom. Her mother, however, had never enlightened Luna on the exact numbers.

  Luna touched the smooth yellow primrose blossoms and inhaled their sweet scent. She bent to admire bunches of velvety soft pansies said to be used as a love potion by Oberon, a character in William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

  Having read several books on the Language of Flowers, Luna remembered that bluebells, the flower filled with danger, was noted as the strongest and most potent of the faerie flowers. The book had mentioned that hearing the ring of bluebells was to hear a death knell.