Every day, every coffee she made,every single one, made the same question flicker in her head—was this for the killer? It could be. Based on the to-go cup in the abandoned mansion, the killer drank her coffee.
“Polly?”
She jumped and looked up to see Deputy Eli Cox on the other side of the counter. “Hi. Sorry. I didn’t see you come in.”
“That’s okay. Everything all right?”
“Just thinking about those poor women.” The door opened and Maureen stepped into the café. Polly glanced back at the deputy. “I heard the cup was lost.”
Every part of her rebelled at the sentence. Lost. Like it was a shoe or a hat, not critical evidence in a murder investigation.
Cox cringed. “Ward took it to the station in his car but doesn’t know what happened to it after that.”
It was hard to keep the scowl off her face. It wasn’t bad enough that he rarely did his job properly, now he was actively losing evidence.
“The usual?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Thanks.”
He stepped back as she slipped the tab onto the coffee machine, where one of her girls was already making coffees.
Maureen smiled at her as she took Cox’s place. “Good morning, Polly.”
“Hi, Maureen. Ginger tea?”
“Yes, please.”
Polly wrote the order on the slip before looking up again. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Do you know if Jenna Hampstead was seeing anyone?”
Maureen didn’t flinch at the question. “I heard rumblings of a new relationship. But she was very private and didn’t share that kind of information freely.”
Great.
Maureen leaned closer. “Polly, I’m not saying this as a psychic but as your friend. You need to drop this. Sometimes, the price of an answer is too high to pay.”
Yeah, curiosity was not her friend, but she’d never been someone who could just leave things alone. “I appreciate the advice. But until they actually find her killer, I’m going to keep digging.”
Maureen sighed before stepping away.
She truly had to force the smile for her next customer. “Need something else, Jonah?”
He stepped up to the counter. “I just came over to say that your coffee is divine.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“And not just your coffee, this café. Your mother told me you built this with no help from her.”
“It’s my baby.”
“That’s truly amazing.”
Well, wasn’t he complimentary today. “I appreciate that.”
He smiled before lowering his voice. “Your mother and I would love to have you over for a meal. I hope you’re not staying away on my account.”
