The Deadly Dust Bunnies Read online

  "And there you have it. The world's deadliest dust bunnies."

  "Ha-ha," I said in a tone lacking any hint of joy. "You know, when I wished there was a way to stop this silly dance-off, murder wasn't what I had in mind."

  Hazel turned to stare at me, her eyebrows narrowing across her forehead. "Wait. You what?"

  "Earlier, when I was getting coffee, I told Ivy and Joe that I wished I could find a way to stop this silly dance-off from happening."

  "Girlfriend, you stop it right now. As your unofficial therapist, I'm advising you not to say another word. Please, do not repeat what you just said in front of my brother, the police officer. The last thing I want is for you to be the first person he ever arrests."

  A groan escaped my lips, and the morning's coffee churned in my stomach. "Why would Gavin arrest me? I didn't kill—"

  "Shush! Not another word." Hazel whipped out her phone. Within seconds, her thumbs raced across the digital QWERTY keyboard.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I'm sending Topher Wickhardt a message on the Reel Life app because you're not going to answer any of my brother's questions, or any other member of law enforcement's questions without an actual lawyer present."

  As Hazel contacted our mutual friend-slash-lawyer on the popular social media app, my thoughts raced. Oh, this is bad. Really, truly bad. When I wished for a way to prevent the dance-off from happening, did someone overhear? And worse, did they make my wish come true?

  CHAPTER 4

  Hazel glanced from me to the dumpster and back again. "Will you sit still? You're making me nervous, and I haven't wished anyone dead."

  "Gee, thanks." I stopped bouncing my heels on the ground and took a sip of my coffee.

  The rear door of the shop opened from the inside, and Rune leaned against the jamb.

  As I admired the way Rune filled out his t-shirt and jeans, he took one look at me and asked, "Are ye all right, lass?"

  Rune's brogue was a balm for my frazzled nerves, and, for the first time since seeing Warren lying in the dumpster, I was able to take a normal breath. "Honestly? No. When I was getting our coffee, I wished Warren was dead, and now his corpse is in the dumpster."

  "Don't be daff. Ye can't wish people dead."

  "Except I might as well have," I insisted, following up my claim with a quick recap of what I'd said at Mocha Joe's. It couldn't have been more than an hour, but it felt like days.

  "So, you didn't literally wish anyone dead. You just wished there was a way to end the dance-off," Hazel summarized.

  At the same time, Rune raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Did ye think I could not out-dance him, lass?"

  "What, Rune? No! Of course, I knew you could. Oh, wait! How can you joke at a time like this?" I threw my hands in the air before crossing them over my chest.

  The twitching corners of Rune's lips preceded a full grin. "You're all right, lass."

  "I'm anything but all right."

  Hazel sighed. "Tori, from that rotten smell, Warren had to have been in that dumpster all night. Maybe even since sometime yesterday. Either way, it was long before you 'wished him dead,' all right?"

  Topher rounded the corner and made a beeline for us without drawing attention from law enforcement, much to my relief.

  "Good morning, ladies, Rune. Before we discuss anything, I need one of you to give me a dollar." Topher removed one hand from the pocket of his hoodie and thrust it in our direction, the motion causing the wings of the owl logo on the front to ripple across the maroon fabric.

  Hazel dug a dollar from the front pocket of her jeans and laid it in his palm. While she paid him, Rune moved to my side.

  "Why did ye need payment if ye haven't done anything?" Rune challenged.

  "It's so if anyone asks, I can tell them you've retained legal counsel." The single bill disappeared with Topher's hand back inside his pocket.

  Hazel's eyes grew wide. "Do you think we'll need your services?"

  "That's what I'm here to find out, but I hope not. As briefly as possible, please tell me what happened."

  I ran through my morning activities up to accepting a ride from Hazel, at which point she continued, "And I drove straight here. The smell hit us when we got out of the van. Tori went to put our coffee on the table, and I searched the source of the smell. When we realized what, erm, who, it was, I called nine-one-one. Then when Tori said she'd wished him dead, I called you."

  Topher tsked-tsked at me and admonished, "Tori, darling, I'd have offered to help you move that corpse if only you'd have called."

  Rune moved to my side, and his arm slid around my shoulders. If he had still been a cat, I'm sure he would have hissed his displeasure at Topher's harmless term of endearment. In an attempt to rein in the discussion, I rushed to say, "Thanks, Topher. You're a real friend. Back to more urgent matters, though, do I have anything to worry about?"

  "From what I can tell, you haven't killed anyone. Wishing someone dead isn't a reason for an arrest. Well, unless you're in a court of magic, but those are so few and far between." If Topher meant for the staccato burst of chuckling that punctuated his reply to put me at ease, then his attempt missed its mark by a mile. "So, someone stabbed Warren? Not surprising. Too bad that the town hasn't fixed the cameras in these alleys. We could have watched the whole thing play out. Did you know that 71% of people who attack with a knife lead with their empty hand?"

  A ray of sunlight hit a spot of oil on the ground and created tiny rainbows that shimmered across the slick. I welcomed the distraction and stared at the brilliant display until movement on the sidewalk broke my concentration. An impeccably dressed man stood across the street.

  "Who is that guy?" I asked upon spotting the unrecognizable gentlemen.

  "Which are ye tailing about, lass?"

  I looked at Rune then back to the street. "The ones, oh, well, they're gone now." I gave a dismissive wave of my hand.

  Rune pressed, "Who were they?"

  "Never mind. Probably just some nosy tourists in town for the festival."

  Topher patted me on the shoulder but moved his hand when Rune gave him a pointed glare. "Listen, Tori dearest, call me if anything happens. I'm sure you won't need my legal counsel, but on the off chance that you do, you'll be in good hands."

  "Thank you for rushing over when we called." Although I tried to sound more relieved than I felt, I was too keyed up to pull it off, and I added, "It was super kind of you."

  Topher was halfway across the parking lot when Officer Davis Sterling rushed over. "Morning, all. Please don't tell me you got a lawyer because one of you had something to do with this."

  "Are you for real, Davis? You've spent so much time with my brother that you're starting to sound like him. Topher was out for a jog when he saw the commotion and stopped to make sure we were okay." Hazel's words slid as smooth as silk off her tongue. "If we needed a lawyer, don't you think we'd meet them at their office?"

  Before Davis could reply, Gavin joined him and asked, "You aren't arresting these folks, are you?"

  "No, I just saw—"

  Hazel cut the other policeman off and addressed her brother in a teasing voice, "Really, Gavin? You haven't questioned us, much less read us our rights. All the cops on television say you have to read people their rights first."

  "Like that would matter. Even if I did read you your rights, you'd never give up your right to remain silent." Gavin pulled his cellphone from his pocket and opened the voice recording app. "Anyone mind if I make a recording of this convo?"

  We agreed that we didn't mind and took turns giving our statements. Gavin asked surprisingly fewer questions than the last time Hazel and I found a corpse on the job.

  "Can anyone prove you were inside the building all night?" Davis asked Rune.

  I piped up, "Yes! We have CCTV and cipher locks that record all comings and goings. Every time the door opens, the Reel Life app sends a staff-wide alert."

  "You can do that on Reel Life?" His eyes widened.
r />   "Oh, yeah. Reel Life has everything I need. And the CCTV devices live-stream to the cloud where it stays for thirty-six hours."

  "Well, that will help clear your names from the list of suspects. Please send me screenshots and video captures as soon as possible."

  The radios on the officers' shoulders crackled to life, and a female voice alerted, "Attention all units, we have a report of a B&E. All units in the area respond." The voice crackled, making it difficult to

  "This is Officer Sterling. Officer Rjasko and I will be en route momentarily."

  "Copy."

  Suddenly serious, Gavin tapped the screen on his phone and tucked it into his pocket. "Look, if you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, call me immediately. You all have my cell number. I've got to check on Marci and make sure she's okay. Sterling, let's move out." He strode away without saying another word. Davis tipped his hat before following along like an obedient puppy.

  The police car's lights and sirens came to life, and the shrill alarm filled the air, fading as Gavin drove toward the Cooper's Cove Museum and Visitor's Center, formerly known as the Livingston Mansion.

  After discovering who murdered her aunt, Marci Livingston bought out her cousins’ share of the mansion and decided to open the property to the community. Her hard work with the town council paid off, and although it had only been a few months, the ribbon-cutting was to be one of the highlights of the Beach Plum Bay Days Festival.

  When the sirens fell silent, Hazel suggested, "Well, I guess we should tell the people there's no dance-off."

  "I could dance for the lasses if ye would like." Rune waggled his eyebrows. "And if they like it, they could tip the performer."

  "I'm sure that won't be necessary. Besides, if the old lassies like it too much, then they might try to put a ring on it." I ignored Hazel's snort-giggle from the other side of the table. At Rune's expression of confusion, I added, "Besides, we need your help in the shop."

  "All work and no play will make me a dull Irishman, lass."

  "Trust me, Rune. No one could ever describe you as dull." I stood and carried my coffee into the shop. A din of conversation from the street echoed through the display window into the building's front room. I hoped against hope that it was shoppers and not people who'd heard about Warren, but when I saw Mrs. Benefield's nose pressed against the glass, I knew I'd have no such luck.

  CHAPTER 5

  "Tori? Tori, I have something that belongs to you!" my neighbor called from the other side of the front door.

  I flipped the sign from "closed" to "open," turned the key and stood back as I opened the door. A crowd of people from the street filled our tiny shop as I joined Hazel and Rune behind the counter.

  Mrs. Benefield stepped right up to the counter and deposited a black cat on its polished surface. "Tori, I believe this, this, this creature is yours. It's been in my yard every morning this week, and it still has its boy parts intact, as you can see. If you're going to have a pet, will you please be responsible for it?"

  While this cat wasn’t mine, I did have a cat at one time. Of course, that particular cat was Rune under the curse of an Irish fairy after he flirted with her sister. I can't say that I blamed the mythical woman. If I were a fairy and Rune had flirted with my sister, I'd have put a wicked evil curse on both of them.

  In proper feline form, the cat batted at a dozen or so pens inside a Cooper's Cove Visitor's Center mug Marci gave us to celebrate our grand opening. It was more to promote the visitor's center than to mark our milestone, but a free cup was a free cup, and it held an overabundance of writing utensils.

  Before I could wonder about any secrets this cat held, Hazel cooed, "Ooh, I bet it's because he missed you so much. He can be our shop cat!"

  If I challenged my neighbor over my responsibility as a pet owner, then I'd have to come clean about Rune. My only choice was to stay quiet, so I stared at the cat. The similarities between it and Rune's former form were uncanny, the primary difference being that this black cat had a swath of white on its chest.

  "Hazel, dear, be sure to remind Tori to be a responsible pet owner and neuter this thing. If you need a veterinarian, Kitty City can recommend one. That's how I found someone to alter my fur baby, didn't I, Puff Daddy?"

  "Thanks, Mrs. Benefield. I'll look into that. Can we help you with anything else?"

  "No, thank you. My house has enough knick-knacks to dust. Ta-ta!" Mrs. Benefield turned on her heel and pushed her way through the others in the shop.

  I sighed with relief when the door closed behind her. Keeping my voice low, I asked, "What are we going to do with it?"

  "For now, we'll keep him in the back room. Do you still have the stuff from Kitty City at your house?"

  "Yep. It's in the cabinet under the sink in the guest bathroom."

  "Do you mind if I duck out to grab it? It will be super helpful if the cat's going to be here for any length of time."

  I dug my house key from my pocket and handed it over to my bestie. "Be my guest."

  "Thanks. I'll be back in a flash." Hazel scooped the bundle of black fur into her arms and disappeared into the employee-only area.

  True to her word, she returned within fifteen minutes. After we set up the cat's litter box and food and water station, the rest of the day passed quickly. The three of us took lunch in shifts, enjoying a smorgasbord of appetizers we ordered from Tony's Intergalactic Pizza.

  During my break, I made it a point to check on the cat before diving into the food. Our new furry friend ignored its orthopedic pet bed and instead nestled inside a cardboard box that once held reams of copy paper. I hoped its resemblance to our resident Irishman was a mere coincidence and that it would, in fact, remain a cat. If nothing else, the cat's lack of transformation into a human, or any other form, was a huge plus.

  The feline slept through my lunch break, not even stirring when I discarded my paper plate and napkin in the nearby trash can. Kneeling beside the cardboard box, I stroked the cat's side and whispered, "Don't go turning into a human or anything, okay?" It yawned, stretched, and curled into a ball without ever opening its eyes.

  "Are ye all right, lass?"

  Rune's voice startled me, and I popped into a standing position. He put his hand on my shoulder to steady me, and I turned to face him. "Hey. I'm okay."

  "Are ye sure?"

  "Yeah, thanks. I thought the most exciting thing about today would be your tiff with Warren. I never guessed that he'd wind up, well. You know."

  "We'll puzzle out what happened, lass. Me, you, and Hazel."

  I re-did my messy bun and asked, "Do you think you're safe staying here, above the shop?"

  "Of course! Gavin didn't say where the murder took place, did he?"

  "Huh. That's a good point. Gavin never mentioned that to me, and Hazel was with me the entire time."

  Rune drew me into a hug, and I laid my head on his chest, shamelessly listening to the sound of his heart for a few extra seconds.

  I wriggled out of his embrace with great reluctance. "Okay. I have to rescue Hazel. It sounds like we have a gazillion customers."

  "Oh, yes. It's at least a dozen."

  The note of sarcasm in Rune's tone had me shaking my head and laughing as I returned to the shop proper. As I made my way to the counter, I paused to straighten items handled but not purchased by customers, re-fluff pillows on the sofa in the staged living room area, and general tidying up duties so the shop would look top-notch for the after-lunch crowd.

  "Oh, thank heavens you're back. What were you and Rune doing, canoodling in the break room?"

  Although I knew that canoodle didn't mean what Hazel implied, I rolled my eyes and stuck out my tongue. "What if we were?"

  "Ha! I'd say it's about time."

  "Of course, you would. I'm not rushing anything. If it's real, like what you have with Sven, then it's worth the wait, right?"

  "Oh, you bet it is!" Hazel grinned that spread from ear-to-ear, and I found myself shaking my head for a second
time.

  The word of Warren's death spread throughout the festival by early afternoon, which saw twice as many customers as we'd had that morning. Much of our low-priced knick-knacks and household goods flew off the shelves as customers snatched them up in hopes of using their purchase as a bribe to hear details about our early-morning adventure in the alley.

  "Sorry," Hazel apologized to Mandy Leigh, who ran the local Careless Whispers gossip blog. "Gavin ordered us not to talk about it."

  Mandy Leigh slipped her purchase into her oversized purse and pouted. "No! I was hoping for an exclusive that I could post tomorrow morning alongside the recap of the festival's opening events!"

  "There's nothing we can do," I added to Hazel's reason. "Gavin made it very clear. You could go ask him for information."

  Hazel coughed to cover a chortle until tears ran down her cheeks. When she calmed down enough to speak, she said, "Going for coffee. BRB."

  "Um, like, who speaks in acronyms? That's so last year," Mandy Leigh grouched once Hazel was out the door.

  I wanted to point out that saying something was so last year was also outdated slang, but instead replaced my snark with a plastered-on smile. "Don’t forget to attend the ribbon-cutting. Thanks for shopping at the Treasure Trove and come back soon!" The bells on the door jingled to announce Mandy Leigh's exit before I could finish the sentiment.

  "Would you ye wish her to return, lass? I thought ye did not like her gossip rag?" Rune dumped a handful of individually wrapped mints into the crystal dish on the counter to replace some of the ones taken by morning customers.

  "It's not my favorite tabloid, but there's no such thing as bad publicity, is there? If Mandy Leigh l bought one thing and liked it enough to mention it on her blog, then it's like free advertisement for the Treasure Trove."

  "Makes sense. Ye are a wise woman, Victoria Solitaire Madison."