“No, it sure doesn’t. You’ve made some really good points. Really good points,” he reiterated.
My heart did a little flip. I didn’t ever remember Sean praising my detecting efforts before. It felt good. Really good. I smiled into the phone. “Thank you, Detective. I’m glad you approve of my sleuthing capabilities.”
“Who said I approved?” And just like that, I stopped smiling. “Look,” he continued. “Don’t get the wrong idea. A little armchair detecting is fine. And you’re good at it. Just please don’t go and do something that might be dangerous. Like last time.”
I pressed my lips together and rolled my eyes at the phone. Like I’d purposefully set out looking for danger last summer when I found myself at the mercy of a crazed killer. Or those other times, for that matter. No, I didn’t look for trouble; it simply found me. Or if what everyone said was true, I attracted trouble like a magnet. Still, it wasn’t something I could control. I sighed heavily and sank deeper into my desk chair as Sean continued with his lecture. The sudden movement of the phone cord being pulled tautly prompted a tail twitch from Eliot.
“So, I have your word that you’ll let my team handle things?” Sean was saying.
I was about to answer just as Eliot rose on his haunches and started batting at the phone cord with his paw. “No!” I scolded, causing him to stop mid-action and plop back down on the desk. Only when he landed, he landed on my phone receiver. I heard a click.
“Hello, Sean? Sean?” Uh-oh. I lifted Eliot off my phone and quickly punched in Sean’s number. It went straight to his voicemail, so I left a message.
“That wasn’t very nice of you,” I told Eliot as I hung up the phone. He responded with a twitch of his whiskers and a soft purr before circling his favorite spot next to my keyboard and plopping down for a nap.
I decided to push my conversation with Sean to the back of my mind and focus on some work. I certainly had a long enough to-do list. In addition to the orange bundle of fur next to my keyboard, my desktop was cluttered with queries, flyers, and event schedules for the expo, and about a thousand little yellow sticky notes with ASAP written across the top. My email was overflowing with proposals that I’d requested as well as correspondence from clients.
I tackled the emails first, happy to find one from Makayla’s editor. Last year Makayla had approached me with a book she’d written, The Barista Diaries. Of course, I was delighted to read something written by my dear friend, but after only a few pages I found I was completely sold on the premise of the book. She’d penned a charming collection of six interwoven short stories, all narrated from the point of view of the barista and set entirely in a coffee shop. But what really struck me was the sincerity of Makayla’s writing voice. Her talent definitely resided in the simple, heartfelt way she put together words. I could hardly wait to get her work out there in front of readers. And it looked like we were right on track for a spring release. The editor had copied me on the first round of edits sent to Makayla and let me know that the cover art would be finished soon. This was one of the things I loved most about my job. The process of discovering an author, helping them refine their talent and then walking with them, step by step, as their dream became reality. With The Barista Diaries, it was all the sweeter, because this time the dream was coming true for my best friend.
*
BY THE TIME I wrapped up my work for the morning, I was half starved. I stood for a couple of stretches before I went for my coat. Outside my window, the entire town seemed to be coming alive. After several days of freezing temperatures and snow, the sun was shining bright and the snow had begun to melt. People were out and about, scuttling between shops catching up on errands they’d put off during the inclement weather.