Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti: A Magical Bakery Mystery by Bailey Cates Page B

around to a few houses, but always seemed nervous. Now I suspected it was because
     on Halloween—or Samhain—the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was
     supposed to be thinnest. Given Mama’s tendency to overprotect me, she’d probably been
     afraid of something dire happening.
    They never let me wear that witch costume I’d always wanted, either. This year I’d
     been determined to finally dress up as a real badass: black pointy hat, hooked nose
     with a big wart, broom and all. Until, of course, Lucy had admonished me for being
     so willing to perpetuate stereotypes that gave our kind a bad name.
    Sigh. Sometimes you just couldn’t win. Now I had no idea what to wear. Maybe gear
     up as a ghost, since Mimsey had told me that in the old times villagers would dress
     as spirits on Samhain in order to guide the dead to the edge of town at the end of
     the night.
    Traditional, but a wee bit boring.
    Croft left a little before noon, holding the door open for three uniformed firemen
     to enter as he exited. Declan came in last, flashing a grin as soon as he saw me.
    “Thought I’d bring in some new customers,” he said. “Neither of these guys has been
     in the famous Honeybee Bakery before.”
    “Famous, huh?” I rolled my eyes and pointed to a table as I slipped out from behind
     the register. “Have a seat, and we’ll see if we can live up to this one’s hype.” I
     gestured toward Declan with my chin.
    Declan gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.
    “I’m Scott,” said the older man. His skin was dark and his short hair was threaded
     lightly with gray. He moved with an easy grace as he took his chair.
    The younger guy was stockier, his face chiseled in planes that reminded me of my father,
     who was part Shawnee. His uniform did little to hide the muscles underneath. As he
     sat down he smiled at me with his eyes. I couldn’t help smiling back. “I’m Randy.”
    I bet you are
, I thought, but said, “Hey, guys.”
    “You’ve got to be Katie,” Scott said. “No wonder Deck won’t shut up about you.”
    I ducked my head, but not before seeing Declan’s face flush.
    Ignoring both of them, I asked what they wanted to order. “Today we have some cranberry
     coconut cookies that aren’t on the regular menu. Or you might want a cupcake—carrot
     with cream cheese frosting, chocolate cherry topped with chocolate ganache, or lemon
     on lemon, seasoned with black pepper?”
    “Black pepper?” Declan asked.
    “We mix savory and sweet a lot around here.” Not to mention that from a magical perspective
     black pepper promoted energy, alertness, protection, and courage—right up a fireman’s
     alley, I’d think. And lemon was good for health in general and healing in specific
     whilegiving an energy boost. “You should try the lemon cupcakes. They’re really delicious,”
     I urged.
    They thought for a moment, then shook their heads.
    “How about a scone, then? Lime and ginger, maple cardamom, or blueberry cinnamon.”
    “Yeah, that last one sounds good,” Scott said.
    “Maple for me,” Randy said. “And drip coffees all around.”
    “Okay. Deck?” I asked. “A couple molasses oatmeal cookies?” His usual.
    He nodded. “Perfect.”
    The cinnamon in the blueberry mix was good for luck and prosperity, but the cardamom
     in the maple scones was all about love and sex. It figured that Randy would choose
     that. I brought their food and went back for the coffees. A group of loud tourists
     came in, and Cookie took over the register. Coffees delivered, I moved toward the
     kitchen to restock a few things in the display case just as the door opened again.
     I glanced over my shoulder and saw it was Detective Taite.
    “Oh!” I said. “Are you here for coffee or for me?”
    Oh, no. Did I really say that out loud?
    All three firemen and the pack of tourists turned their heads. Declan saw Taite and
     shot a puzzled look at me.
    The detective quirked up one side of his mouth