Nefarious Nine: A Cozy Mystery (Teas and Temptations Book 9) by Cindy Stark

Author:Cindy Stark
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2019-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

Hazel and Peter entered the small coffee shop Samuel had mentioned during his interview, located a few blocks from the center of Salem, and Hazel glanced around. The walls emanated a friendly, hip vibe, and most of the people in the shop seemed relaxed and happy. She was grateful to be out of Stonebridge for a few hours, in a place where no one knew her, and she wasn’t under scrutiny for every move she made.

She and Peter discussed what they wanted to order, and she let Peter take the lead when they reached the counter at the coffee shop. A friendly, red-haired barista, whose nametag read Suzy, greeted them.

“We’ll have one turkey pesto panini, a ham and swiss panini, and two cups of coffee. To stay,” Peter said.

Suzy smiled and took Peter’s credit card for payment.

Peter leaned against the counter. “I don’t suppose you were working last Thursday around eight in the morning?”

Suzy narrowed her eyes and paused. “Thursday? Yeah, I was here. Why?”

Peter flipped the opposite side of his wallet open to show his police badge as if his uniform wasn’t a big enough clue. “I’m following up on an investigation. A person of interest stated he was here with one of his friends. He had a receipt for two coffees, but I’d like an eyewitness to corroborate his statement.”

Suzy stepped to her right and grabbed two paper coffee cups from beneath the counter. “If you have a picture of them, I’ll take a look.”

She poured coffee while Peter pulled out photos he’d stuck between the pages of his notebook. He held them both out. “Look familiar?”

Suzy snapped lids on the cups, wiped her hands on her apron, and then took the pictures from Peter. She glanced at them and nodded. “Yeah, for sure. I remember seeing them.”

Hazel sensed Peter’s suspicions flare.

He jutted his hip like he always did when he was trying to act casual. “You seem pretty certain. Are you sure you don’t want to take a closer look?”

She waved her hand in dismissal at the photos he held. “Don’t need to. They were definitely here. One tall and older. The other shorter and a little chubbier, no?”

Peter nodded in agreement. “That sounds like them.”

She smiled. “I remember them because the older one insisted they both get decaf, but the younger one demanded he could handle his caffeine, and then he went on to order an extra-large cup of our brewed coffee. Reminded me of a father and son, though they didn’t look alike. Adopted, maybe.”

Peter tipped his head in acknowledgement and then glanced upward. “Sounds like our guys. Can you give me an estimate of the time?”

Suzy shrugged. “It was morning.”

Peter gave a casual nod. “I don’t suppose you have video surveillance.”

Hazel searched the ceiling and found a black-glassed dome in one of the corners.

Suzy leaned close to whisper. “It’s not real. Too expensive. But fake ones look the same and deter troublemakers. It’s easy to order them online.”

“I guess that’s better than nothing,” Peter agreed.

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