“I’d like just a black coffee, if you don’t mind,” Blake added. “No whip.”
Corrie did seem to mind, but she nodded all the same.
“Sure thing. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
Liam waited until he was sure she was out of earshot. He fixed Blake with a narrow-eyed look.
“I thought you said to order something fancy-sounding or we’d offend them,” he pointed out.
This time, Blake did sigh.
“I wanted you to order something fancy soyouwouldn’t offend them.” Her gaze fell to her hand. She was rubbing her thumb along her index finger. It was like her focus shifted with it to something else entirely. Still, she finished explaining. “Me simply being back in Seven Roads has already offended them enough. There’s nothing I can do to fix that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”
It happened then, as he watched her walk away.
Liam realized that his singular mission to solve the circumstances behind Missy’s death had picked up another mission along the way.
Finding out who exactly Blake Bennet was.
Chapter Six
“I lied to the sheriff for you.”
Blake was sitting on the edge of the back office’s desk and trying to find a candy from the candy dish that she wanted to eat. Cassandra West was watching the attempt from her office chair, no doubt frowning.
“That’s a bad habit to start,” Cassandra replied. “I’d think someone like you, who held the same title in the past, would avoid such mistakes.”
Blake grinned. She found a golden-wrapped toffee and went to work peeling back the paper.
“I lied saying I was going to the bathroom for your benefit, not mine,” she said. “So save your judgment for the end of his program, thank you very much.”
Cassandra let out a breath that wobbled. She was stressed. That didn’t stop her from trying to cover up that fact.
“I didn’t ask you for anything. Especially lying.”
Blake waved the comment off with her hand and popped the candy in her mouth. It tasted like visiting her grandmother’s. She rolled her neck around and met Cassandra’s eye.
“No, but I figured I’d buy you some time to tell me why you’re avoiding the sheriff out there,” she said. “I heard he’s been trying to talk to you, and you’ve been doing anything but.”
Cassandra was the same age as Blake, which made her twin, Corrie, the same age as well. Yet Cassandra had always seemed older. Maternal, a worrier. She was also practical and leaned more conservative, especially in comparison to her sister. If Blake had to guess, she was the one who kept the coffee shop running, the workers paid, and she dealt with the day-to-day stresses of owning a business.
Cassandra was a straight shooter.
Which was why Blake didn’t understand her hesitance with Liam.
“I’m not avoiding the sheriff,” Cassandra defended. “I’m just not seeking him, or any sheriffs, out. It’s not like I’m under investigation. I don’t have to chat with him.”
Blake sucked on her hard candy for a few beats. Cassandra’s gaze didn’t waver.
She apparently had grown up into a straight, stubborn shooter.
“Listen, I’m only here because the sheriff helped me out,” Blake started. “And he seems to be really in need of talking to you. You don’t have to say anything to him, but at least tell me what’s going on, and let’s see if I can’t get him off your back.” Cassandra didn’t look too sure. Blake flashed her a smile. “You know me, Cassie. The good, the bad, the ugly. Whatever your personal feelings are for me, you have to know I’m not here to cause trouble. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime. Now tell me why Sheriff Weaver thinks you’re the answer to whatever question he has.”
Blake’s smile dissolved.
Cassandra looked like she had aged ten years within the last minute. She shook her head but spoke all the same. Blake put her hand back in the candy dish and twirled the candies around while the other woman explained.
“Missy Clearwater,” she said, defeat in each syllable. “The reason for her death is what he’s after. Did you manage to hear about it? Or has your seclusion only let in food delivery and Walmart runs?”
