I could attest to the lure. The ordinary cookies were melt-in-your-mouth delicious, but my tastebuds tingled just by thinking of the special batch.
There’d been no huge announcement about the reopening. Word spread fast enough on the local grapevine, and we wanted small, easily managed groups of visitors.
Reina dropped in to help me (and to keep her ears open). Harper had already sacrificed enough working hours, and she’d be the listening post at theBlue Moon. Ange was taking care of gossip control atSweet Surprise.
Sarah, the young mother I’d met at the café, was first through the door, holding her small son by the hand. Noah limped a little. I’d consulted Aunt Violet’s notes, so I knew he’d had surgery a couple of times, starting two years ago, when he was four.
His face lit up as he spotted Cosmo, who lounged on the counter, where he could keep surveillance on the biggest part of the room, and guard the cookie jars.
Cosmo’s ears flicked and he rolled over, to allow Noah to pet the soft belly. His mother watched with a guarded expression.
“It’ll be fine,” I assured her. “Cosmo’s the sweetest cat.”
“I’m not worried about him,” she confessed in a low voice. “Noah loved your aunt, and I think being here without her might hit him hard. He’s already been without his dad for a while, so …” Her voice trailed away.
According to Aunt Violet’s notes, Noah’s father had done a runner when the ugly truth hit him that his boy needed a lot of medical attention and extra care. “My dad couldn’t cope either,” I said. Then I bit my tongue. Since when did I blurt out the story of my life to strangers? Was that a side effect of the change or of witchcraft? Losing all inhibition?
Sarah grimaced. “Then you understand that I want to protect him.”
“You said this was Noah’s happy place. We’ll see to it that it stays that way.”
Cosmo thumped the counter twice. “How about a cookie for your son?” I asked. “My aunt’s special recipe.”
Noah stopped stroking the cat. “Can I, mom? Please?”
I took a pair of silver tongs to select a cookie and place it on a napkin for him. “Why don’t you sit on the sofa, and I’ll see if I can find a book you’ll enjoy?”
He grinned, a heart-warming smile that went from ear to ear. “Thank you.”
“Let me guess. You like cats, and dragons, and treasure hunts.”
“I’d like to see a dragon, for real.”
“So would I.” We both chuckled.
“Do you think there are any dragons left? People were mean, to hunt them.”
I’d said exactly the same thing, when I was his age. “Maybe they were afraid of them, because they didn’t understand.”
“I like them.” He nibbled his cookie.
My aunt had prepared a list of reading suggestions for him, so it only took a couple of minutes to return with two books for Noah. His mother smiled at me. “Do you mind if we stay a little?”
“As long as you like.”
I left them, with their heads stuck in a book together. Those two didn’t count towards my sleuthing efforts, but I was sure that looking after that little boy was exactly what my aunt would have prioritized.
Louisa came next, together with a sour looking woman who sized me up without so much as a hello.
I gave her a professional smile before I greeted Louisa. “I’m flattered to see you. Isn’t this during your business hours?”
Reina took over the sour woman, while I pulled Louisa into a corner, after giving her another of our magic cookies. “Is everything alright? I’d have thought you’d be super busy, with my probate, and Jake’s. Or was he using another law firm?”
“We have everything under control.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I hope he had a decent will, not one that left all the major decisions to a cat. Although I assume he’d have chosen a bird.” My laughter, which I’d intended to sound lighthearted, came off like cackling. I stopped.
Louisa nibbled her treat. “All straightforward. His cousin inherits. She’s nice.”
