Peppermint Barked by Leslie Budewitz

Author:Leslie Budewitz [Budewitz, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Peppermint Barked: A Spice Shop Mystery
ISBN: 9781645060703
Publisher: Seventh Street Books
Published: 2021-12-31T23:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

Seattle was the first city in the country to put police officers on bikes, during the 1987 construction of the downtown bus tunnel. A regular squad was formed the next year.

IT ISN’T FAR FROM THE CORNER MARKET TO MY SHOP, BUT when you’re running late, a hundred-yard dash can feel like an obstacle course in slow motion. I scurried down Pike Place carrying the precious bakery box and my insulated coffee cup, Arf’s leash in hand, while I fished for my keys. Between the shopkeepers and delivery folks, I could see two heads bobbing outside my door and knew the phone pinging in my tote was either Reed or Cody. No doubt they feared a replay of Sunday morning when tragedy derailed Matt.

After giving Detective Tracy the scoop, I hadn’t had a chance to ask Misty what she knew about Beth’s conflict with her stepmother. Or about her plans.

Later.

“Sorry, guys. I know it’s cold.” I handed Cody the leash and box and fiddled with the lock. It always gives me fits when I’m in a hurry.

Inside, I unhooked Arf and gave him one of Misty’s cookie bones.

I decided to take Nate’s advice and get direct.

“Hey, guys,” I said. “Before we get busy, let me ask. Have the detectives spoken to you about Matt and Beth?”

They exchanged looks I couldn’t decipher. Reed was young and earnest. He’d spent of lot of time in the Market as a kid, hanging out in his father’s acupuncture clinic. Cody had joined the staff parttime last fall, expanding his hours for the holidays, and tended bar for Edgar on weekends. He’d be a great choice to help Vinny, but I didn’t want to lose him—I’d just gotten him trained. Those who have never hired don’t understand the time and energy involved. Time and energy are the essence of retail. You can’t do it well if you don’t love it. That made me think about Matt’s freedom to do the work he enjoyed because of the financial security born of loss.

“What?” I said, looking from one to the other. “Ahh, the guy code. Impenetrable as always. What aren’t you telling me?”

“Oh, we know all kinds of things we aren’t telling you,” Reed said.

“If you’re talking about Matt and Misty, I figured it out.”

Reed’s face fell and Cody snorted. “Told you. She’s got eyes in her head.”

“What I don’t know is what really drew Beth to the Market. Everyone says she had plans, but no one seems to know what they were. Do you?”

They did not. She loved wine, she was intrigued by the Market, she wanted to reconnect with her brother. Beyond that, they were clueless.

I hate feeling clueless.

The rest of the gang arrived. The circles under Matt’s eyes were deepening and darkening. He’d ridden the bus with Sandra, after a late night sitting vigil at Beth’s bedside. It was still touch and go, he said, and I wondered how long this state of suspension would go on before they had to make the decision Tricia Yardley feared.

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