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Chapter 1

A month ago, the weather in Sugar Briar was cold and there was snow on the ground. Lots of it. That weather had quickly cleared, and the sun had come out, warming the town and melting the snow. Today was no exception. The huge golden ball in the sky put me in a happy mood. It was one I hadn't felt lately with the goings on in the town. It still bothered me that Donna had died in the sheriff's jail before they had a chance to question her.

Penelope and I thought she had a partner. We also never found out what George had seen that got him killed. So, who Donna's partner could be, we hadn't found out. The good citizens of my small town were shocked and dismayed by what had happened. I was frustrated that we didn't have any answers.

I walked in front of my café, Coffee Bean. There were flowers in white planters under the windows, and I checked to see if they were doing well. The splashes of color from the petals looked lovely against the white window frames. I smiled as I stepped back and admired my business. It hadn't been easy getting what I wanted because my parents thought I was "playing" at being a business owner. I certainly was not. I enjoyed my work and looked forward to getting up in the morning. In fact, I would soon be living above the coffee shop.

I lifted my face and grinned when I saw Jessop Hallen leaning out of the third-floor window. He grinned back. Jessop ran the construction company I had hired for the renovations. He'd done an excellent job as well. The kitchen had been installed last week. The painting and tiling had been finished yesterday, and the carpets would be laid in a few days. The butterflies in my stomach flapped their wings with nervous excitement. I couldn't wait to have a place of my own. It would be nice not to be judged by my father every day or have my mother trying to marry me off.

She hadn't stopped after the fiasco with Trevor. I wish I could say it was over, but it wasn't. Trevor told me that he considered me his fiancée whether I liked it or not. I figured the best thing to do was ignore him. At least I had the support of my brother, albeit silent support, as he was best friends with Trevor.

The weather had brought out an abundance of tourists, earlier than expected. The businesses in the town square enjoyed the tourists because they spent money. However, they clogged the roads into town, which was a constant complaint of mine. "You can't have it both ways, Tallulah!" Pen would say.

The red, purple, yellow, and pink flowers swayed gently in a light breeze as I gave up my fussing and stepped into Coffee Bean. I smiled over at Bernie, who was a full-time employee. I had two other employees who worked part-time, Sam and Jessica. They were both twelfth graders at the local high school.

As I was about to head behind the counter to my office to finish the dreaded paperwork, I spotted Lionel Bloom with a small cup of coffee in front of him. I smiled and headed his way. "Lionel, it's good to see you out and about." The poor man had been sick for a few weeks with a bad chest.

"The sun warms me." He waved his hand toward the opposite chair. I sat down and he continued, "To tell you the truth, Tallulah. This is the first time I have left the house in two weeks. It feels good. But I am nervous."

I frown. "Why are you nervous?"

"I'm old, what if someone wants to kill me?" His eyes flitted around the café before meeting mine.

"Oh!" I sat forward. "The killer was arrested, remember? It was Donna. There hasn't been another incident since."

"I suppose."

"Mr. Bloom, is there anything else on your mind?" I asked with a thought. "Is everything okay with Ms. Larson?"

The older man blushed, but his eyes were downcast. "She says I'm too set in my ways to move in with me." He lifted his eyes. "I'm old, Tallulah, and I don't want to be alone. I thought Mildred felt the same way."

"Did you tell Mildred that when you asked her to move in with you?"

"Of course I did."

"Well, maybe Mildred would like to know that you care about her and that you enjoy her company. Tell her that's why you want her to live with you. I mean, you do care about her?" The man in front of me looked embarrassed by my question.

He nodded.

"That's good. I'd take a bouquet of flowers to Mildred and tell her that you made a mess of asking her to live with you and that you'd like to explain. This time be sure to tell her that you care about her." I smiled. "I can't guarantee she'll agree because I just don't know. But it certainly sounds better."

"Hmph, maybe." Lionel sat and stared into his cup of coffee.

"I'd better get home." He stood and pushed his chair under the table. "It was good to see you."

Bernie gave me a look I couldn't quite decipher. Before I could ask her, the door to the cafe burst open. Four men in their twenties walked in. They were all well-dressed, and from what I could tell, one of them was getting married that weekend. Staff from The Iris Hotel and Spa had been gossiping about an upcoming wedding.

I hurried behind the counter and waited while Bernie took their orders. They sat at the corner table in the window. It was my favorite table because you could see the town square as well as the flower lined street leading out of town. It was nice to look at.

"Did they order food?" I asked Bernie.

"Four pieces of the lemon tart with whipped cream."

"I'll take care of it." I washed my hands and put on gloves. When I had everything plated and, on a tray, I took off the gloves and very carefully carried the tray to the table. The guy with the red hair stood up and took the tray from me. I smiled. "Thank you." I emptied the tray. "Enjoy."

"Oh, I'm sure we will," the guy with the dark curly hair said, followed by a wink.

He was a flirt.

"Is there anything to do around here at night?" This time it was the guy with the dark straight hair who asked. The one I thought was the groom.

"Depends on what you're looking for. There is an Italian restaurant that serves great food. La Cucina Italiana is to the right. Then you have the Roadhouse, which is on the west side of town. They have good food, drink, music, dancing and pool. If you want a good time, that's the place to go."

The groom swept his eyes over me and grinned. "Do you hang out there?"

I grimaced. "Not since I hit a pool ball on the table, only to have it escape and hit a guy in the crotch. Not one of my finest moments."

They laughed. The groom said, "That really happened, huh?"

"It did."

They chuckled.

The guy who hadn't said anything held out his hand. "Lyle Green." I hesitated, but shook his hand, thanking God I had not had a vision of death.

Ginger held out his hand. "Barry Cooke."

Again, no vision.

Dark curly haired next. "Jason Lambert."

No vision.

The groom scanned my body again before extending his hand. "Marshall Westcott," he said as I slid my hand into his. He grinned as I stared blankly. The vision of death shot into my head. I also saw more than I wanted to of the man whose hand I held.

He pulled his hand free and said awkwardly, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I just remembered something." Pull yourself together! "It's nice to meet you all, I'm Tallulah James, the owner of Coffee Bean."

"Well, Tallulah, it was certainly nice to meet you." Marshall grinned.

Irritated by the grooms' flirting, I said, "I hope you have a great wedding."

His friends burst out laughing, while Marshall's eyes filled with glee.

I hastily retreated. I passed Bernie and shot down the hall and into my office.

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