Hearth Baked: A Cozy Culinary Murder Mystery (Hearth & Cauldron Mysteries Book 3) by Shawn McGuire

Author:Shawn McGuire [McGuire, Shawn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brown Bag Books
Published: 2023-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Sixteen

After Bee left at two o’clock, a steady stream of customers flowed through my shop for the last four hours of the day. They were a welcome distraction from the worry of whether Treat Me Sweetly and the pub actually had been attacked—by one of the Instigators?—or if it was just bad luck and coincidental timing.

“Are you ready?” I blinked to find Ruby standing by Hearth & Cauldron’s front door. “Keiko already went home. She said she wanted to do yoga before dinner. Why are you just sitting there like that?”

I’d gotten so lost in thought after seeing the last customer out that I hadn’t closed out my till or done my evening blessing yet. “Guess I’m contemplating the state of the village.”

“Well, kick it into gear, sister. I figured that was what we were going to talk about tonight anyway.”

I put the contents of the register into the safe and then took the candle from its shelf.

Like I normally did, I walked with the candle in a slow widdershins circle through the building, envisioning a protective mist flowing from the flame. Instead of simply passing through the rooms, though, I paused for a few seconds in each one tonight and envisioned the mist filling every inch from corner to corner, floor to ceiling. Then, standing in Hearth & Cauldron’s kitchen, I altered my prayer slightly.

“In the name of the five elements and under the light of the sun, moon, and stars, I ask you, Hestia, blessed goddess of hearth and home, to protect my shop from negativity this eve until I return on the morrow.”

“You are uncomfortable with these events,” Ruby stated when I’d finished. “I haven’t heard you call on Hestia in a long time.”

“Let’s get to my cottage. We’ll talk there.”

“You’re scaring me a little, Reeva.”

I checked that the dining room door was locked, then dug my keys out of my bag and locked the front door. “There’s no reason to be scared. I’ve been thinking about something, though, and don’t want anyone to overhear.”

As we rode home, Ruby chatted about her day and what a great job Keiko had done organizing her stockroom. “It’s needed that forever. And she filled the shelves in the paint section as full as they can get. Seriously, she was like a tornado today.” She paused, then amended, “Well, no, a tornado would knock things off the shelves. She was like whatever the opposite of a tornado would be.”

It was nervous chatter, but it kept her from talking about the problems at the bakery and pub.

Once home, we heard Tibetan music coming from the former garden shed that Keiko now used as a yoga studio.

“Oh good,” I said with a sigh. “We can talk for a minute without Keiko overhearing.”

“Without Keiko? What’s going on?”

“Inside, please.”

As soon as we stepped through my door, Sanny flew over and landed on my shoulder. Dot ran to us and rubbed against my leg again and again. Could they sense that something was off too?

We went into the sunroom where I stood by the windows and could see if Keiko was coming in.

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