Jasper’s chest expands as he glowers at the wall behind me. Jasper stands well over six feet, and both his thick, glossy, black hair and his gray, lucent eyes are well worth mentioning again. He also happens to be the lead homicide detective down in Seaview County, and at the moment he’s working on the case of a missing woman from Edison, a seedy town not too far from Cider Cove. That poor woman’s face is plastered all over Coastal Maine in hopes that someone will have a clue as to what happened to her.
He shakes his head. “It’s not going well. There’s not a trace of the woman. But according to forensics, there were traces of blood in the motel room she was last seen heading into.”
“I’m sorry. That’s terrible. Hopefully, tonight’s festivities can take your mind off of things for a while.” Jasper has been working around-the-clock with the rest of the division trying to figure out what may have gone wrong.
The missing woman, Anita Dolman, is in her late twenties, just like me, and for that reason alone I find this case haunting. It could have been anyone who went missing that day. It could have been me. It certainly doesn’t help that the picture of her that’s been circulating through town looks as if she could be my sister’s twin.
I shudder just as a couple of happy-go-lucky women head our way.
“Get a room, would you?” Georgie Conner, a sweet and wild hippy that refuses to grow up, skips this way in a colorful pink and purple kaftan. That flowing dress just so happens to be her signature staple. I should know. Georgie has been in my life for as long as I can remember. And the woman by her side with the brassy blonde hair and same devilish gleam in her eyes is her daughter, Juniper Moonbeam, otherwise known as Juni.
Juni was one of my father’s wives way back when. I like to tease that I got Georgie in the divorce. In fact, Georgie rents a cottage from me behind the inn. She’s an eighty-something-year-old artist who specializes in mosaics. She’s wrapping up a block-long mosaic project right on Main Street as a part of the Cider Cove Beautification Project.
“Great news, kids.” Georgie points a crooked finger at us. Her hair is a scraggly gray mane with curls and twirls that ride down past her shoulders, and her lips are coated with a shock of pink lipstick that matches her flirty accouterment. “Mayor Woods just announced the official celebration of the Cider Cove Beautification Project reveal, and she wants the inn to cater cookies for the event.”
“That’s great,” I say. “I’ll take any business we can get.”
Juni waves it off. Juni is essentially a younger version of her mother, but instead of flowing dresses, her wardrobe seems to involve a lot more leather and lace.
“Forget about all that noise.” Juni leans in. “We’ve got a bachelorette party to throw a certain someone, if you know what I mean.”
“No.” I shake my head as I glance to Jasper. “We’ve actually both decided we’re going to forgo any raunchy parties. We’re thinking about doing something together, like hosting a bonfire at the cove. Just something simple with our fully clothed friends.” I glide my arm around his waist and give his rock-hard body a squeeze.
Juni belts out a husky laugh. “You just try to stop us, Bizzy Baker.” She links her arm with her mother’s. “Come on, hot mama. Rumor has it, this place is crawling with men who wield a magic wand. I say we find a couple and see if we can’t get them to perform a disappearing act with us.”
Georgie hoots as they take off. “Ten bucks says one of them will end up in my cottage.”
“Wait,” I call out. “You forgot to tell me the date of the Cider Cove Beautification Project celebration!”
Georgie turns her head my way. “Last Saturday of the month!”
“Last Saturday of the month?” I scoff as I look to Jasper.
“That’s our wedding day.” His brows bounce with amusement.
I nod. “And something tells me that’s exactly why Mayor Woods chose it.”
I take a deep breath and sigh as a steady stream of people head into the ballroom to help set up tonight’s big show.
That dark, unsettled feeling takes over once again.
Let’s hope this entire month goes off without a hitch.
Something tells me it won’t.
Chapter 2
The ballroom at the Country Cottage Inn is a mammoth dance hall with heavy paisley carpeting and rows and rows of chandeliers that skip across the ceiling. And tonight, it just so happens to be almost filled to capacity. The air holds the scent of freshly brewed coffee and vanilla rich blondie bars, an illegal combination if ever there was one. A blondie is essentially a brownie minus the cocoa powder. It’s every bit as soft and chewy—not to mention it has white chocolate chips sprinkled throughout to take it to the next delicious level.
When McKenna mentioned she was going to have a big wedding, I had no idea it would be a blowout. I didn’t think to ask her how many people would be in attendance since the wedding itself is out on the cliffside gazebo and the reception will be out on the sand. She’s taking care of the tables and the chairs with the rental company I recommended, so that wasn’t a worry either. But I’ll have to make sure the Cottage Café gets a hard number if we plan on feeding all of these people.
The mood in the ballroom is lively. And across the front of the room hangs a large banner that reads a night of magic and mayhem, and I can’t help but frown at the mayhem part.
I’m holding Fish in my arms, and Sherlock is milling around by my side. But now that I see how congested this magic show is going to be, I’m thinking I probably should have left them back at my
