A Sprinkle of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 4) (2 page)

The next day, Clarissa found herself back at the coffee shop.

She had been planning to work from home, but her cat had made concentrating impossible.

The spastic little beast had been running around in circles, chasing after invisible foes.  It had crashed about from room to room, gracelessly knocking over houseplants and slamming into walls.  The cat had caused quite the commotion. 

It wasn’t the first time it had happened, either.  The fluffy-furred brat got all worked up over things Clarissa couldn’t see on a pretty regular basis.  In fact, lately it had been happening more and more often.

For a time Clarissa had assumed the cat either had an overactive imagination or was violently attacking dust particles.  Either possibility seemed likely.  The cat was, after all, rather odd.  And Clarissa’s house could really use a deep cleaning.

But her Aunt Matilda had a different opinion on the matter.  When the subject had come up, Clarissa’s aunt had been incredibly nonchalant about it.  Matilda had matter-of-factly informed her that when the cat behaved that way, it was chasing evil spirits away.

Matilda had a lot of very peculiar beliefs.  She was probably the most eccentric woman Clarissa had ever met.  But she knew an awful lot about the paranormal.  She was a bit of an expert on the subject, really, what with being a witch and all.

Even though the things Matilda said were frequently outlandish, they were usually correct.  Experience had taught Clarissa not to be too quick to write off her aunt’s zany claims.

Talk of ghosts made Clarissa uncomfortable – especially when said ghosts were apparently in her house!  The thought that Matilda might be right about the evil spirits was certainly alarming!  So whenever the cat started acting weird, Clarissa usually found an excuse to leave the house.

Today she was seeking refuge at the local coffee shop. 

Tuning out the background noise in there was a little tricky.  But even listening to Barbara and Patricia gossip was less distracting than the sound of the cat crashing into walls and growling.  At least there were no evil spirits at the coffee shop.  At least Clarissa didn’t think there were.

“Hey you!” a familiar voice called out.

Clarissa looked up from her notebook to see her best friend Liana hurrying over, all smiles.  She and Clarissa had gone to school together.  They had been inseparable for years.  Clarissa was elated she and her best friend had both returned to Sugarcomb Lake after college.  It felt right.

Today Liana’s blonde hair was pulled back in a high ponytail.  She wore a pink track suit and she had a bounce in her step.  But then Liana usually had a bounce in her step.  That woman had more energy than a kitten on catnip!

Liana had her bubble gum pink laptop tucked under her arm.  As usual, she was holding a gigantic cup of coffee.  Liana did freelance graphic design work, and she was pretty much
always
at the coffee shop.  In fact, she was probably the best customer.  She had a serious caffeine addiction!

“Hi,” Clarissa smiled as Liana plunked her stuff down on the table and slid into the booth. 

“What are you doing?” Liana asked curiously.

“Oh, the usual,” Clarissa sighed, closing her notebook.  “Work stuff.”

Liana wrinkled her nose.  “You need a life,” she declared before taking a big swig of coffee.

“I have a life!” Clarissa said defensively. 

Rather than reply, Liana gave Clarissa an incredulous look.  It spoke volumes.

“Okay, so it might not be a very exciting one,” Clarissa relented.  “But still, I have a life.”

“You’re a workaholic,” Liana announced in her characteristic blunt manner. 

There was no point in trying to deny that very accurate observation. 

Clarissa knew it was true.  And she also knew it was pointless to try to argue with her best friend.  Liana would never let her get away with that!  The outspoken blonde was honest to a fault, and she was always more than happy to call Clarissa out when necessary. 

While some people might find that sort of brutal honesty off putting, Clarissa appreciated it.  With Liana, she always knew where she stood.  It was part of why their friendship worked so well and had endured over the years.

“I know I’m a workaholic, but the newspaper isn’t going to write itself,” Clarissa sighed.

“Most newspapers are run by entire teams,” Liana pointed out as she opened up her laptop and pushed the power button.  She looked at Clarissa curiously.  “Are you ever going to hire someone to help you?”

“Actually, I think I might,” Clarissa replied.  “My aunt suggested someone to me.  She took a history class from my aunt last semester.  She just finished her degree and is looking for a job.  I’m going to meet up with her later this week to see if she’s a good fit to come work for me.”

“That’s awesome!” Liana exclaimed excitedly.  Then she smirked and added, “I never thought you would actually do it, you know.  I figured you were too much of a control freak to let anyone else touch your precious newspaper!”

“I am not a control freak!” Clarissa retorted indignantly.  “I am a perfectionist!”

“Same thing,” Liana shrugged, unwilling to back down from her assertion.  Then she picked up her coffee cup.  She paused mid-sip as she remembered something.  She set her coffee down, her eyes flickering with excitement.  “Hey, did you hear we’re getting a new donut shop in town?”

“Yes, but keep your voice down,” Clarissa urged, looking around anxiously.  “Cathy got into a screaming match with the owner of the donut shop last night when I was in here.  She got so angry she threw her phone at the wall and broke it!  It was unreal.”

“Oh, I heard all about that,” Liana nodded. 

“You did?”

“What can I say?  Word travels fast in this town.”

“That it does,” Clarissa agreed with a wry smile.

“Is Cathy here today?” Liana asked, looking around.

“I haven’t seen her,” Clarissa replied.  “I think she just had an employee come in today.  That seems strange, doesn’t it?  Cathy is usually here every single day.  She only takes holidays the first week of July.”

“Maybe she’s sick,” Liana suggested.

“Maybe,” Clarissa agreed doubtfully.  Cathy rarely missed a day of work.

Liana, however, was more interested in discussing other things.  She bounced up and down in her seat as though she couldn’t contain her excitement.  “I can’t believe you’re actually going to hire someone to help you with the newspaper!  That’s awesome!”

“Speaking of the newspaper, I should probably get back to planning next week’s issue,” Clarissa said, opening her notebook back up.  She pulled a pen from behind her ear.  Then she stuck the end of it in her mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully.

For a moment, the two friends fell into a comfortable silence.  They sat there in their little booth at the back of the coffee shop, both working on their respective projects.  Clarissa became so engrossed in her work that for a moment, she forgot about everything and everyone else.

“Humph!” Liana grumbled suddenly as she read something on the screen of her laptop.

Clarissa glanced up.  “What’s wrong?” she demanded.

“My biggest client dropped me,” Liana sighed.  “It’s nothing personal – he just decided to work with someone local to him.  He said he’d rather work face-to-face than video chat, which I get.  But the graphic design work I did for him made up over half of my income.  That’s a huge hit.”

“Ouch,” Clarissa winced, giving her friend a sympathetic look. 

“You can say that again.”  The pep was gone from Liana’s voice.  She seemed defeated.

“What now?  Can you take on some new clients?” Clarissa asked hopefully.  She didn’t quite understand the nature of her friend’s work.  She just knew Liana designed things like logos and banners for various businesses.  Surely there was always someone in the market for that, right?

“Believe me; I’ve been trying to find more work!” Liana confided.  “My field is getting more competitive and demand has been decreasing lately.  If things don’t soon turn around, I’m going to have to find something else to make ends meet.”

“That’s rough,” Clarissa frowned.  “How can I help?”

“Do you want to hire me to write your newspaper articles?” Liana joked.

Clarissa stared at her best friend blankly, unsure of how to respond.  She wanted to be tactful, but she had no idea how to handle the situation delicately.  Finally she stuttered, “Um, you do realize actual
writing
would be required, right?”

“Relax, I was kidding,” Liana assured her with a wink.  “You and I both know I barely passed English class.  I’m the last person on Earth who should work for a newspaper!” she giggled.  “You’re the word-Schmitt, not me.”

“I’m the…what?” Clarissa asked in confusion.

“Word-Schmitt,” Liana replied matter-of-factly.  “You’re the word-Schmitt.”

“Oh, word
smith
!” Clarissa exclaimed, understanding finally setting in.

“Oh.  That’s what I meant,” Liana said sheepishly.  “See?  I’m not newspaper material.”

“It’s okay,” Clarissa assured her.  “Maybe I can find something else for you to do…”

“No, don’t put yourself out.  You’ve got a good thing going; I don’t want to mess it up.  Hey, maybe the donut shop guy will want me to do some work for him!” Liana exclaimed excitedly.  “He’s opening a new business – he might need help with advertising!”

“It’s worth a shot,” Clarissa said encouragingly.  “When does the shop open?”

“Next week, I think.  But I’ve seen some activity in the building already.  Actually,” Liana said, peeking out the window, “I see a couple of vehicles parked there now.  Want to walk over there with me?”

“Okay,” Clarissa agreed, gathering up her things.  She had a ton of work to do, but she wanted to be supportive of her best friend.  Besides, she was curious about the newcomers who were going to hook her up with donuts.  Maybe she could even write an article about them for her paper!

“Do I look okay?” Liana asked nervously.  She tugged at the waistband of her pink track pants.  “I would have dressed up had I known I’d be making a business call today.  Do you think I should run home and put on something more professional looking?”

“You look great,” Clarissa replied, even though she was really the last person who should be offering advice about fashion.  “Do you have a business card with you?”

“Yes!” Liana exclaimed triumphantly as she pulled it out of her wallet.  “I’m all set!”

“Alright, then let’s go,” Clarissa said.

The two women walked out of the coffee shop, moving with purpose.  They were on a mission.

There was virtually no traffic on the street that separated the coffee shop from the soon-to-open donut shop.  There rarely was.  But despite the lack of traffic, Clarissa and Liana still had to stand on the corner to wait for the world’s longest “don’t walk” sign to change over.  It seemed to take about a million years.

Clarissa didn’t understand why the town needed a streetlight at that intersection…or at any intersection, for that matter.  It was the only streetlight in town and there wasn’t nearly enough activity on the street to warrant it!  Sugarcomb Lake really wasn’t the type of place that needed anything more than a few stop signs.

“Hmm,” Clarissa murmured thoughtfully. 

She whipped out her notebook and jotted down a note.  Maybe she would write an editorial piece about the lone streetlight.  But she would only do that if it was an especially slow news week.  Then again, slow news weeks were kind of the norm in Sugarcomb Lake. 

The two women eventually were able to cross the street. 

Clarissa noted the windows of the soon-to-be-opening donut shop were covered in brown paper.  She assumed it was so that snoopy townspeople couldn’t peek inside before the grand opening.  But Clarissa wasn’t about to let that deter her.  After all, it was sort of her job to be snoopy.

When she tried the door, she found in unlocked.

The two women walked into the donut shop.  It was empty inside.  The tables and chairs were all covered in plastic, most likely to protect them from getting paint on them.  Various rollers and plastic trays were scattered about, and there was a tall ladder propped up against the far wall.

“Hello?” Clarissa called out.  “Is anyone here?”

“It looks empty,” Liana observed.

“Maybe they’re in the back.”

“Maybe,” Liana nodded.  She looked around.  “It’s nice in here,” she remarked.

“It’s very nice in here,” Clarissa agreed as she took in their surroundings.  “Once all the painting is finished it’s going to be a great looking place.  And look at how many tables there are!”

“They must be expecting to do a lot of business,” Liana predicted.  “But I mean, it’s a donut shop so that makes sense.  Who doesn’t love donuts?  I bet this place is going to be completely packed on opening day!”

“Cathy won’t like that,” Clarissa said.

“True.”  Liana gave Clarissa a horrified look.  “We don’t need to boycott this place when it opens, do we?” she whispered.  “I mean, Cathy won’t think we’re traitors if we come here for a donut every so often, right?  Because I really like donuts…”