Page 5 of Welcome to Fae Cafe
“Miss Kole?” Officer Westbow tapped his pen on the desk, bringing her attention back. “You have yet to write down the address. I need to know where the crime took place, and then we’ll talk about what happened and why you attacked the victim. Obviously, you’re entitled to a lawyer, since whatever you say to me can be used against you in court.”
“Right.” Kate swallowed. She picked up the pen and scribbled the street name where the coffee shop was, wondering how many customers had already called the police and reported her by now. “I don’t know what to tell you about why I did it,” she admitted. “I saw something in the guy’s eyes. I knew he was going to kill me. I don’t know how I knew; I just did. That’s why I kicked him.”
Officer Westbow studied Kate for a while before speaking again. “I’ll have to keep you in a holding cell until we can investigate. Sit tight, Miss Kole.”
Promises of a breezy afternoon whispered in the wind off the harbour two hours later as Kate dragged her arms out of her knit sweater. She, Officer Westbow, and Westbow’s partner—Officer Jackson—approached the coffee shop. The nausea that had plagued Kate all morning swelled when her hand found the door handle. She imagined that butterfly again. She imagined growing dragon wings and taking off to live in the sky.
“My life will never be the same now, will it?” she asked the officers, glancing at the irritated skin on her wrist where handcuffs had been up until ten minutes ago.
Officer Westbow sighed. “Let’s just go inside and you can explain to me what’s going on.”
Kate nodded and tugged the door open.
The warm smells of freshly brewed coffee, pastries, and pumpkin spice washed over her when she stepped in, along with the sound of laughter. The fresh bread scent of the croissants didn’t have the same allure as before.
Kate stopped inside the doorway.
There waslaughter.
Her eyes fell on the cashier girl wearing a sweet customer service smile as she took a man’s order. Late morning light streamed over the tabletops where muffins and hot sandwiches lay half eaten before chatty university students and elderly couples. People milled back and forth around the counter for refills.
There was no puddle of coffee on the floor.
There was no tense silence or shrieking women in the corners.
There was no body.
Kate took another step in, brows pinching together. Where spilled coffee had been, squeaky-clean tiles looked back at her along with the sickening memory of the golden-eyed guy’s blank stare from where he lay. The faint scent of cleaning supplies mixed into the smells of toasted bread and brewing coffee.
“We questioned everyone while you were in holding, and no one seems to think someone died here. In fact, no one even remembers you being here this morning. Are you sure this is where you think you killed someone?” Officer Westbow raised a brow.
“I don’t think I did; IknowI did,” Kate said, pointing. “He was right here when I left.”
The officer looked from the floor, to Kate, to Officer Jackson, then to the customers around the café. His mouth tipped down. “Are you on any medications, Miss Kole?” he asked.
“What? I’m telling you, there was a body here this morning!” she yelled. “Ask the girl behind the counter! She saw everything.”
Officer Westbow folded his arms. “You wait here. We’ll ask again.” The two officers brushed by and approached the counter where the cashier gave them a smile Kate couldn’t believe.
Kate took in the cheery coffee shop. She stared atthe spoton the floor. She looked out the windows at the pedestrians passing by.
She hadn’t taken any medications this morning. She didn’t take any medications,ever. And despite her weird act to claim her morning table, she wasn’t crazy.
Her hand shook as she brushed it through her hair. For the first time since this morning, she had the brief, terrifying thought that maybe she’d made it all up in her head: The guy. The rudeness. The kick.
Sunlight reflected off a shiny surface behind the leg of a nearby table. Kate’s pulse quickened when she recognized the glossy green book cover. She darted over and dragged out her copy ofBella Stone. A new brown coffee stain muddied the page corners. She flipped it over.KATE KOLEwas written across the back cover with a sharpie, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“So, you’re saying everything has been normal here today?” Officer Westbow’s voice trickled past the conversations in the shop. He murmured something too quiet for Kate to hear and he and the cashier chuckled as Kate turned, holding up her book for them to see.
“I guess we better get her tested for drugs. We should hold her overnight until we get the results.” Officer Jackson’s words to Officer Westbow weren’t quiet enough.
A lump formed in Kate’s throat as she lowered her book. She stood, her wrists burning like the handcuffs were already back on. She stepped toward the officers, but her feet came together when a cool breeze tickled her warm neck from someone leaving the coffee shop. Her gaze darted to the door and fell on the table in the corner by the exit.
There sat her phone.
Kate huffed in disbelief and shoved her book into her coat pocket. She grabbed her phone off the table and abandoned the coffee shop before Officer Westbow and Officer Jackson turned back around.
Thelma Lewis’s small kitchen was fragrant with the warmth of freshly baked cookies and grandmotherly love. Her buffet hosted collections of crystal vases and old photos that should have been put away long ago. Along the windowsills were well-watered ivies and balls of yarn with gray needles sticking out. It was with those needles Grandma Lewis had made Kate’s favourite yellow sweater—the one Kate had worn this morning when she’d killed someone.
