I yanked the front door open, already composing my excuse for why we looked like sleep-deprived raccoons.
Instead, there they were. Beth in her favorite sage green cardigan, arms folded like she was about to take on the Supreme Court. Carol with wild hair, wearing three clashing scarves even though it was warm. And Deva, looking more awake than anyone ought to look after such a rough past few days, her bangles already at full chime.
“Um,” I said, before the rest of my brain caught up. “What are you guys doing here?”
Beth was the first to muscle in. “You texted about Alice. Obviously, we came.” She scanned my face, eyes narrowing. “You look like hell, by the way. I love it.”
“Thanks?” I shot a glance at Carol, who just grinned.
“I made muffins,” Deva announced, as if they were a life-or-death solution. “Chocolate chip, which cures all known ills. I also brought a backup banana nut, in case you’re in a health-foodmood.” She shoved a plastic container into my hands like her magical muffins might just solve this mystery.
Beth looked past me into the entryway, eyes landing on Daniel. “We’re not interrupting anything spicy, are we?” Her eyebrow quirked almost high enough to touch her hairline.
“Only if you count existential dread as spicy,” I said.
Daniel hid a smile, and Beth snorted. “What’s the plan, Emma? We’re here. Use us.”
It took me a second to catch up. “You guys dropped everything, just like that? What about the fabric store? The restaurant? The psych business? Deva, weren’t you slammed today?”
Deva shrugged. “Lucas is running the kitchen. Trust me, he’d rather I not be there micromanaging the milk frother. Besides, you get one missing friend per year—might as well make it count.”
Carol chimed in. “Yards and Yarns won’t burn down without me. Hazel is there running things, and I left a hex bag by the register to keep everyone honest. And I told the regulars there’s a sale on discontinued yarn, so the place will be emptied of wool by dinner.”
Beth just rolled her eyes. “There wasn’t any pressing business at the psych shop. Python and Buster were fighting again, that damn cat is convinced that Python is trying to take over the world, just because he’s a mouse. I can investigate Leo’s missing, talking, bike another day. The conflict among the gnomes is always there. I get another request for help from them every few months. There’s a shapeshifter stealing pies from the bakery, I think. Basically, all my little cases aren’t more of a priority than this.”
I tried not to get emotional, but it was like someone had wrung out my insides. “Thank you,” I said, staring at their faces, even if my sight went a little blurry. “You guys are just so–”
“Don’t say thank you,” Deva cut in. “Say what we’re doing, because I’m burning daylight standing here and my shoes aren’t made for standing.”
Right. Focus. Time to put my big girl pants on and approach this like all my other cases.
“I have the list,” I said. “Hang on.”
I ducked back into the kitchen, grabbed Henry’s note from the table, and returned to the entryway, where everyone had already migrated to the bench by the door and pushed their way inside. I scanned the scribbled lines.
“So, this is everywhere Alice was supposed to go two days ago. Library, then Vale Provisions, the gaming store, maybe the movies, book club, coffee shop, and helping Krissy with her collectibles.”
Beth plucked the page out of my hand and squinted at it. “Library seems like the obvious starting point. But,” She tapped the paper. “Gaming store?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Apparently there was a new figurine release. Wicked Widow, or something. Alice never misses those. If she made it anywhere, it’s probably there.”
Deva nodded. “Okay. We hit these spots in order, see if anyone remembers her actually showing up. Maybe someone saw something weird.”
“I like weird,” Carol said, rooting around in her tote and producing a pair of sunglasses that looked one step away fromElton John cosplay. “Do we need disguises? Or is this more of a face-forward operation?”
Beth, ever the pragmatist, rolled her eyes. “Let’s just get in the car and go. If anyone’s going to spot a clue, it’ll be Emma’s crew of middle-aged lady commandos.”
Daniel, who’d been lurking in the background, finally spoke up. “I’m swinging by the sheriff’s office to check on security footage. I’ll text if I find anything big.”
“You’ll do more than the current sheriff,” Beth muttered.
He gave us a salute and headed out, but not before pausing at the threshold and catching my arm for a second. “Call me if you get anything?” His tone was gentle, but the steel underneath meant business.
I squeezed his arm back. “I will. Thanks, Daniel.”
He ducked his head, and then he was gone, the thud of his boots echoing down the front walk.
Back inside, I looked at my friends. “Ready?”
