“HOW LONG DID MOM CODDLE you last night?” Milo asked after I arrived at work the next morning.
“Longer than I thought.” I figured she was going to hang around for an hour tops, but she stuck around for four hours. “We watched a few chick flicks to soothe her nerves.” Which meant that she was still there when Elijah’s truck rumbled into his driveway. Did he wonder who was visiting? Did he care? Stop it, Maegan.
“You could’ve called me. I had nothing better to do on a Friday night,” Milo whined.
“And whose fault is that, Milo?”
“Memphis had plans.”
“I wasn’t talking about Memphis and you know it.” I pinned him with a dark look. “Andy had to cancel the week before, but I seem to remember him calling to tell you that he was available last night to look at the upstairs space.”
“Well, it wasn’t convenient for me. I had made a commitment to you—”
“Save your breath, Milo. It’s okay to admit that you’re afraid to be alone with Andy. You don’t trust yourself around all that hunky flesh.”
“The fuck you say. I’m not remotely interested in him, so Andy’s ‘hunky flesh’ is completely safe from me,” he rebutted, but I noticed that he avoided my penetrating gaze when he told that big fat lie. Instead, he placed pastries and donuts in the cases.
“Anyway, had I known she was going to stick around for four hours then I would’ve called you. I had hoped for a quiet night with a bubble bath and a good book after the night we had.”
“Who’s the liar now?” Milo demanded. His roundabout confession made me smile. Then my brother stood up straight and faced me. “Detective Markham was really worried about you last night. I think that’s why he seemed so angry with you.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Because he told you so?” Milo asked with a raised brow.
I swallowed hard and hoped my face wasn’t too red when I pictured Elijah’s dark head between my thighs. “In his own way.”
“At least one of us is getting some,” Milo said.
“I never—”
“You didn’t have to, sister dear, nor did I need to rely on my twink link. Your emotions are broadcasted all over your face.” Milo looked over my shoulder toward the front door. “You might want to get them under control too.”
“Why?”
Someone rapped their knuckles confidently against the door even though we weren’t due to open for another hour. It could’ve been one of our baristas who’d forgotten their key or an overeager, desperate customer, but I could tell by Milo’s wry grin who stood on the other side of the glass.
I stuck my tongue out at Milo before I turned and locked eyes with Elijah. The sun had just started to rise and the peachy-pink sky was a beautiful backdrop to his rugged beauty. He stole my breath and I stood frozen in place for several heartbeats as I catalogued the scruff that covered his chin and his dark, penetrative stare. Those full lips tilted in a crooked smile as he pointed to the lock. Yeah, he knew the effect he had on me.
“Invite him in,” Milo whispered behind me.
“You’ve been watching reruns of True Blood again, haven’t you?”
“Maybe, but let the good detective in before his manly parts shrivel in the cold,” Milo said. “It’s rude to keep a man waiting.” The last part was a perfect imitation of our mother.
I crossed the coffee shop and opened the door. “We’re not open for an hour, Detective Markham.”
“I’m not here for the pastries and coffee.” He sniffed the air appreciatively. “Although, I wouldn’t turn down an early morning treat.”
“I remember how you like those.”
Lust smoldered in Elijah’s eyes until Milo cleared his throat, reminding us both that we weren’t alone. Elijah blinked and broke the special connection we shared. The desire I saw in his eyes was replaced with a different kind of determination, which told me that his early morning visit was a professional one. “Good morning, Milo,” Elijah said to my brother without taking his eyes off me.
“Would you like a pastry or a cup of coffee, Detective?”
“No, thanks,” he replied, still not looking away from me. “I have a few follow-up questions for you.”
“Okay. Would you like to talk in my office or—”
“We better stay here,” he said softly. Where it was safe. He didn’t say the words, but I saw them in his wry expression. We both knew what would happen if we took advantage of the privacy that my office afforded us.
“What can I do for you this morning?” I asked once we sat at an empty table. I was careful to keep my voice neutral and professional, but I saw the way Elijah’s nostrils flared.
“Finding a motive will be crucial to solving Thom Renzo’s homicide. I talked to his uncle last night and he wasn’t aware of the Renzos owning valuable items, but I know that men are often clueless about these types of things. What about the estate interested you? Were you looking for something specific?”
“It wasn’t the Renzos’ belongings that grabbed my interest; it was the items left behind by the previous owners.”
“Like something the Renzos found in the attic after they moved in?” Elijah asked.
“Well, that house itself is kind of folklore around here. You could tell it was old, right?”
“Yeah, it reminded me of something you’d see in Scooby-Doo.”
“People swear up and down that it’s haunted,” I told Elijah. “It was originally built by Anthony Bliss who founded this town in eighteen thirty. Anthony was a progressive railroad tycoon who believed that Blissville could be a thriving depot because of its central location to bigger cities like Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus. He believed railroads were the key for both shipping and traveling. People thought he was crazy when he laid out this tract of land and named it after himself. He built the home here and moved his family from New York City. His vision became true and this tiny little community became a bustling trading town. At first, the railroads were used strictly for travel in Ohio, but eventually they expanded to include national railways.”
“Huh, I never would’ve guessed that,” Elijah said. “So, the Bliss family just up and abandoned their house?”
“Rumor has it that Anthony Bliss had ulterior motives for relocating his family.” I leaned closer and dropped my voice. “It’s believed that he was trying to outrun a curse.”
“A curse?” Elijah asked skeptically.
“There are different versions of who placed the curse on the family from gypsies to Native Americans, but it seems to have started with Anthony’s father, John. He was reported to be a ruthless businessman who lied and manipulated to get his way. The curse was placed on him and his heirs because the sins of the father are passed along to their offspring.”
“That’s bullshit,” Elijah said.
“Which part?”
“The sins of the father thing. I mean, I’ve heard that before, of course, but I think it’s bullshit.” I could tell he was enthralled by my story though.
“Anyway, John Bliss died of a heart attack in his mistress’s bed in upstate New York supposedly a week after he was cursed. He left behind a wife and four sons. Anthony was the youngest.”
“Let me guess, his three brothers all died from mysterious deaths.”
“One of them died in war, one of them died after falling from a horse and breaking his neck, and the third brother drowned in a river. John was the last Bliss standing and decided to try and outrun the curse.”
“Kind of like out of sight, out of mind?” Elijah asked.
“That’s how the story goes.”
“Okay, so he moved here, named the town after himself, and brought the railroad through Blissville. Then what?”
“He disappeared without a trace in 1850.”
“What?”
“Seriously, he just disappeared. He went for a horse ride like he normally did every day regardless of the weather and never returned.”
“What happened to his family?” Elijah asked.
“Well, Melanie Bliss was distraught and was never seen in public again. Too many years had passed since his last brother died for her to believe that he was a victim of the curse. She was convinced he left her to start a new life, so she was too ashamed to show her face in town. Her sister came to live with them and assumed care for the children until Melanie died of a broken heart.”
Elijah rolled his eyes like he doubted that was a legitimate cause of death. “Then what happened?”
“Melanie’s sister packed up the children, sold the house to a prominent doctor in town, and moved back to New York. She shipped what she wanted to keep and left everything else behind. From what I’ve heard, Melanie held onto all of Anthony’s things in case he returned, but her sister had no desire to drag his crap back to New York after he left his family high and dry. Dr. Martin’s family moved in and reported that inexplicable things kept happening. Doors slamming in parts of the house where no one was or the smell of pipe tobacco floating through the air when no one in the family smoked.”
“They thought it was haunted?” Elijah asked.
“Yes, but they didn’t feel like the ghost was trying to hurt them, so they stayed there. The house remained in their family for many decades until the kids sold it to the Renzos after both their parents died. The caveat was that the Renzos took possession of the contents as well as the house. Which meant that they possibly inherited some of Anthony Bliss’s possessions as well. I was hoping to find treasures from the early railroad days. I already have an original depot sign showing the destinations for various cities and the departure times. I won’t part with that no matter how much someone offers me, but I had hoped to find something similar to sell.”
“So, no fine china or jewelry?”
“There’s a possibility that those things were present also. Anthony inherited a lot after his mother passed on and I don’t think Melanie cared for her mother-in-law. Thom told me in his email that his mother had once found a vintage pearl necklace in a black velvet pouch. They were the kind that you tied behind your neck with satin or velvet ribbons. He said that they were too fragile to be worn and his mother planned to restring them. He wasn’t sure if she ever did though because she never mentioned them again.”
“Vintage pearls and railroad stuff. Anything else?”
“You could always talk to Homer Stillwater who runs the Blissville Historical Society and Museum.”
“You have a historical society and museum?” Elijah asked incredulously.
“There’s so much more to this tiny town than meets the eye,” I told him. “They’re only open a few days a week, but I can pull some strings to see if Homer will meet you today.”
“What kind of strings?”
“His wife is my part-time employee, Elijah. I wasn’t going to offer up sexual favors.”
“Not this early in the morning anyway,” Milo interjected, letting me know he’d been eavesdropping the entire time.
Elijah snorted. “Good to know,” he said to my idiot brother.
I glanced at my watch and saw that we’d been talking longer than I realized. “Do you have any other questions for me? I should get back to helping Milo since our faithful customers will be showing up soon.”
Elijah tucked his notebook and pen inside an interior pocket of his battered, black leather jacket. When he looked at me again, the smoldering heat had returned to his dark brown eyes. “Do you have plans tonight?”
“No.”
“You do now.” I should’ve been offended by his bold assumption and arrogance, but it would’ve been a lie. He wanted me; I wanted him. No games or pretense was wanted or needed. “What time do you get off?” His face turned a light shade of pink when I raised a brow at his question. “From work.”
“I should be home by five thirty.”
“I’d kill for a steak dinner,” Elijah said. “Does that appeal to you?”
“It sounds great.”
“Does six o’clock work for you, or do you need more time?”
“Six is fine.” Neither of us made a move to get up until I heard Milo curse the espresso machine. It was a bit tricky at times and he had no patience with it. He sounded like he was a few seconds away from taking a hammer to the expensive piece of equipment. “I better go.”
“See you tonight, Maegan.” I expected him to walk away, but he placed his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me to him for a brief kiss. “I hope you have a good day.”
“You too.”
“I think I just came in my pants,” Milo said breathlessly behind me after the door closed behind Elijah. I heard our machine hiss followed by Milo’s yelp.
I stifled a giggle even though I thought he deserved it for being nosy. I took over prepping the espresso machine to save Milo from further pain. Two of our baristas, Joe and Sarah, showed up and the four of us fell into an easy routine that lasted until our doors opened to the public. The town had heard about what happened to Thom, of course, so we were even busier than a normal Saturday morning. Some people stopped by to check on us, but most attempted to get grisly details or speculate on who amongst us was the killer.
For the most part, I plastered a smile on my face while accepting well wishes and deflecting questions from inappropriate jerks, but it was mentally draining. Curious Things opened at ten and was packed with customers all day long until I closed. My customers’ wild speculations spanned from a cult killing to Anthony’s ghost getting vengeance for Thom attempting to sell his things to strangers.
I don’t think I took an easy breath until I locked the door after my last customer left at five thirty. I shut off the lights and let myself out the back door, stepping into the alley. I was running behind and eager to get home and changed for my… What was going on between Elijah and me? Was it a date? Two people consuming red meat before they fucked like animals? I was down with either of those things, to be honest.
I had just turned my key in the deadbolt lock when I detected movement near our dumpsters. Fear danced up my spine making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I turned my head in that direction, but didn’t see anyone.
“Hello?” I asked loudly as I grabbed the canister of pepper spray on my keychain and aimed it in front of me. “Is there anyone there?” It was hard to get the words past the lump of terror lodged in my throat.
My options were to go back inside and exit the store through the front door or continue down the alleyway to get to my parked car. Smart people would’ve chosen option number one, but I went with option number two. My heart pounded harder and faster with every step I took toward the dumpster. If this were a movie, the audience would be yelling insults at me right before the psycho killer jumped out of the dumpster and attacked me.
My eyes kept shifting from the path in front of me to the closed lids as I walked by them, but I could tell the sound was coming from the other side of the bins, not inside them. Just as I stepped even with the far corner of the last dumpster, a black ball of hissing fur came flying around the corner.
I screamed and dropped my keys then clutched my heart while I tried to catch my breath. “Damn cat!” I hissed angrily.
I laughed nervously when I realized that I wasn’t going to drop dead from a heart attack but then I saw what had drawn the cat’s attention. Someone placed an oddly shaped item wrapped in bloody newspaper beside the dumpster. “This can’t be good,” I said, blindly fishing my phone out of my purse while I kept my eyes on my surroundings.
“Or a coincidence,” I whispered.