Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse (A Cape Bay Cafe Mystery Book 1) by Harper Lin Page B
Authors: Harper Lin
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I was joking. I clearly wasn’t doing a good job of looking serious.
“We’ll call tomorrow,” he said.
“Oh-kay,” I said dramatically. I had gotten relatively little sleep the night before and was getting a little slap-happy.
Matty chuckled again. “I think you might need to get home and get to bed.”
“Yeah, probably,” I admitted.
Matty started to put the phone away.
“No, wait!” I put my hand on his arm to stop him. My investigator brain had kicked in again. I reached for my purse, which I had dropped on the floor when we came in. “I want to copy that number and the call times down.”
I pulled out my notebook and wrote it all down as Matty held the phone patiently, rubbing his finger on the screen every few seconds to keep it from going to sleep. There were only a few calls, so it didn’t take long to get it all.
“Okay, thanks,” I said, slapping the notebook closed and stuffing it back in my bag.
“Can I take you home now?” Matty asked.
“It’s just two doors down. I think I’ll be okay.”
Matty just looked at me.
“Okay!” I said, giving in. “Are you trying to make me feel helpless or something today?”
“I’m trying to be a gentleman,” Matty replied, shepherding me out the door and locking it behind us.
“Well, I can’t really argue with that, can I?” I was used to being independent, but it’s not as if he was patting my head and telling me a pretty girl like me shouldn’t be worrying her little head about something as big and complicated as a coffee shop. I just wasn’t used to someone—a man especially—being so considerate. My ex-fiancé certainly hadn’t been.
We cut across the neighbor’s lawn on the way to my house on the other side. I unlocked my door then turned to look at Matty.
“Well, thanks for dinner,” I said.
“It was my pleasure,” Matty replied.
“You want to get together tomorrow and try to call that number?”
“Sure. Do you have to work?”
“Only a couple hours at close.” The next day was Saturday which, weirdly, was one of our slowest days, at least during the summer. Since all the rentals rolled over on Saturdays, not many people had the opportunity to come in. The renters from the previous week were too busy packing up and heading out of town, and the next week’s renters hadn’t found us yet. As a result, we usually broke the day’s shifts down so Sammy and I only had to worry about opening and closing, and some of the more established part-timers shared duty during the day.
“So maybe we can grab some lunch then see if we can figure out who my dad was calling?”
“Sounds good!” I replied.
We stood there, looking at each other awkwardly, for a few seconds, as if we were both waiting to see if the other had something more to say.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said finally.
“Yeah.” Matty stood there for a second then hugged me.
It was… strange. Hugging him wasn’t unusual, but the nature of that hug seemed out of the ordinary. It seemed as though he held me maybe a little bit tighter and a little bit longer than normal. It wasn’t bad, just… different. When he let me go, I opened the door and stepped inside. Matty gave me a little wave.
“Good night,” he said before he headed back across the lawn to his car parked at his dad’s.
“Good night.” I watched him walk away then closed the door. I stood there for a minute and wondered if maybe there was something more to that hug than simple friendship.
Chapter 12
I knew I was tired , but I didn’t feel like going to bed yet. I went into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. The house was quiet. So very, very quiet. I wandered through the first floor, flipping lights on as I went. The lights made the stillness feel a little less ominous.
I opened the door to my grandparents’ bedroom. I had never thought of my mother as a particularly sentimental person, but I supposed she had been since she’d never moved into
“We’ll call tomorrow,” he said.
“Oh-kay,” I said dramatically. I had gotten relatively little sleep the night before and was getting a little slap-happy.
Matty chuckled again. “I think you might need to get home and get to bed.”
“Yeah, probably,” I admitted.
Matty started to put the phone away.
“No, wait!” I put my hand on his arm to stop him. My investigator brain had kicked in again. I reached for my purse, which I had dropped on the floor when we came in. “I want to copy that number and the call times down.”
I pulled out my notebook and wrote it all down as Matty held the phone patiently, rubbing his finger on the screen every few seconds to keep it from going to sleep. There were only a few calls, so it didn’t take long to get it all.
“Okay, thanks,” I said, slapping the notebook closed and stuffing it back in my bag.
“Can I take you home now?” Matty asked.
“It’s just two doors down. I think I’ll be okay.”
Matty just looked at me.
“Okay!” I said, giving in. “Are you trying to make me feel helpless or something today?”
“I’m trying to be a gentleman,” Matty replied, shepherding me out the door and locking it behind us.
“Well, I can’t really argue with that, can I?” I was used to being independent, but it’s not as if he was patting my head and telling me a pretty girl like me shouldn’t be worrying her little head about something as big and complicated as a coffee shop. I just wasn’t used to someone—a man especially—being so considerate. My ex-fiancé certainly hadn’t been.
We cut across the neighbor’s lawn on the way to my house on the other side. I unlocked my door then turned to look at Matty.
“Well, thanks for dinner,” I said.
“It was my pleasure,” Matty replied.
“You want to get together tomorrow and try to call that number?”
“Sure. Do you have to work?”
“Only a couple hours at close.” The next day was Saturday which, weirdly, was one of our slowest days, at least during the summer. Since all the rentals rolled over on Saturdays, not many people had the opportunity to come in. The renters from the previous week were too busy packing up and heading out of town, and the next week’s renters hadn’t found us yet. As a result, we usually broke the day’s shifts down so Sammy and I only had to worry about opening and closing, and some of the more established part-timers shared duty during the day.
“So maybe we can grab some lunch then see if we can figure out who my dad was calling?”
“Sounds good!” I replied.
We stood there, looking at each other awkwardly, for a few seconds, as if we were both waiting to see if the other had something more to say.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said finally.
“Yeah.” Matty stood there for a second then hugged me.
It was… strange. Hugging him wasn’t unusual, but the nature of that hug seemed out of the ordinary. It seemed as though he held me maybe a little bit tighter and a little bit longer than normal. It wasn’t bad, just… different. When he let me go, I opened the door and stepped inside. Matty gave me a little wave.
“Good night,” he said before he headed back across the lawn to his car parked at his dad’s.
“Good night.” I watched him walk away then closed the door. I stood there for a minute and wondered if maybe there was something more to that hug than simple friendship.
Chapter 12
I knew I was tired , but I didn’t feel like going to bed yet. I went into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. The house was quiet. So very, very quiet. I wandered through the first floor, flipping lights on as I went. The lights made the stillness feel a little less ominous.
I opened the door to my grandparents’ bedroom. I had never thought of my mother as a particularly sentimental person, but I supposed she had been since she’d never moved into
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