She was starting to get flustered. “The inn is a little more expensive than either of the two motels in town, but it’s actually a good bargain when you consider that we get breakfast and afternoon tea.”
“Afternoon tea?” Judson repeated thoughtfully. “Will there be scones and clotted cream?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll be picking up your expenses, of course.”
Something that looked suspiciously like amusement came and went in his eyes. “I’ll keep track and make sure you get a detailed accounting when I send you my bill.”
No doubt about it, he was laughing at her.
“I realize that you consider this case very low-rent compared to the jobs you’re accustomed to handling for some no-name government intelligence agency. But Abby assured me that due to some unfortunate circumstances on your last mission, you are currently without a client and that you would give this investigation your full attention.”
Judson’s smile was slow and dangerous. “Rest assured you have my full attention, Gwen Frazier.”
A middle-aged woman in a white pinafore apron appeared at the table. Her nametag read
“It’s almost four o’clock,” she warned. “Tearoom closes at four. We’re out of sandwiches and cakes. I think I’ve got a couple of scones left, but that’s it.”
“Just coffee, please,” Judson said.
“Huh.” Paula was obviously disappointed that Judson was not going to argue about the closing time, but she recovered quickly. “Cream and sugar?”
“Black,” Judson said.
Naturally, Gwen thought. How else would a man like Judson Coppersmith take his coffee?
Paula eyed Gwen. “More green tea?”
“Please,” Gwen said.
“Heard you’ve got Evelyn Ballinger’s cat upstairs in your room,” Paula said.
“That’s right,” Gwen said.
“Gonna take it to the pound?”
“No, I’ll probably haul Max back to Seattle with me.” Gwen paused. “Unless you know someone who might like a nice cat?”
“Nope. Got too many cats around here already. Folks from Portland are always driving up here to dump their unwanted cats and dogs on the side of the road. Besides, according to Sara, the housekeeper, Evelyn’s cat isn’t a nice cat. Sara says it hissed at her from under the bed when she cleaned your room today.”
Paula stalked off toward the kitchen.
Judson waited until she was out of earshot. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a cat.”
“For now, apparently.” Gwen said. She lowered her voice again and leaned forward a little. “How long do you think it will take you to conduct the investigation?”
“Depends how far you want me to go with it.” Judson kept his own voice at a normal, conversational level.
She frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It will take me about five seconds at the scene to determine whether or not your friend was murdered.”
“Really? Your brother made it clear that you’re a professional investigator and that you have a talent for this sort of thing, but five seconds at the scene of the crime doesn’t sound like enough time to conduct a thorough investigation.”
Judson swept her misgivings aside with a slight motion of one powerful hand. “Murder is murder. It leaves a calling card, even when it’s done by paranormal means. But you already know that, don’t you? You must have sensed something when you found your friend’s body—something that made you suspect foul play.”
She drummed her fingers on the table. “Okay, obviously, I have my suspicions, but my talent is kind of dicey when it comes to this sort of thing.”
“Dicey?”
“I read dreams and view auras. I don’t investigate murders. Look, the bottom line here is that I need to be absolutely certain about what happened to Evelyn. That means that I need an investigator who is willing to spend more than five seconds at the scene.”
“Is that right?” Judson lounged back in his chair and shoved his booted feet straight out under the table. He hooked his thumbs in his wide leather belt. “What, exactly, do you want from me?”
“Well, I expect you to determine cause of death, for starters.”
“You mean, you want to know if Ballinger was killed by paranormal means.”
“Yes. I admit that given her health history it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that she had a heart attack or a stroke. I want to be sure.”
“What else?” Judson asked.
“If you conclude that she was murdered, I want you to find the killer, of course.”
“See, that’s where things can get—what was the word you used? Oh, yeah, dicey.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Complicated?”
“Very complicated.”
“Because you aren’t particularly good when it comes to identifying the killers?” she asked in her sweetest tones.
“Nope. I’m good at that, too.”
He broke off when Paula returned to the table with his coffee and the check for Gwen to sign. Paula hovered while Gwen scrawled her name and a tip on the little slip of paper.
Paula took the signed paper and departed in the direction of the kitchen.
“She didn’t look impressed with the tip that you left,” Judson observed.
“Well, she should have been impressed. It was a good tip. I’ve worked as a waitress. Everyone knows that ex-waiters and -waitresses always overtip, even when the service is lousy.”
“I’m just saying she didn’t look impressed.”
“And she doesn’t like cats, either. Forget Paula. Let’s get back to the subject at hand. You said you’re good at identifying the bad guys. So what is the hard part of a murder investigation for you?”
Judson picked up his coffee. “The complication in situations like this is finding the type of evidence that we can take to the local cops, the kind they need to make an arrest and build a case.”
“But isn’t that what you and your brother do?”
“Not exactly,” Judson said. “Mostly we work off the record.”
“Off the record?”
“Didn’t Abby explain what it is that Coppersmith Consulting does?”
Gwen hesitated. “She said you conducted security investigations for a government agency that recently shut down due to severe funding cuts.”
Judson looked pained, but he did not correct her.
“That’s true,” he said. “But the great thing about working for our former client was that the guy in charge wasn’t overly particular about the sort of legal technicalities that regular law enforcement has to deal with. Sam and I were hired to gather intelligence and make security recommendations. We were not in the business of making arrests.”
“I see.”
“Is there a problem here?” Judson asked.
“I’m not sure yet. Did your brother warn you that if we do manage to prove that Evelyn Ballinger was murdered, the local chief of police will probably consider me to be the lead suspect?”
Judson drank some coffee and lowered the cup. “I believe Sam did mention that possibility, yes.”
“Let’s get something straight here, Judson. I’m employing you to find the person who murdered Evelyn Ballinger, assuming she was murdered. I expect you to do so in a way that keeps me out of jail.”
“I usually charge extra for that kind of work.”
She stared at him, speechless for a few seconds. Judson used the time to down more of the coffee.
“Are you serious?” she finally managed.
“No.” His smile was cold steel and his eyes burned. “Don’t worry, you’re getting the friends-and-family rate.
