“Disappointed?” he asked.
“That you’re not dead?”
“That you don’t have an excuse to kiss me.”
“I wouldn’t have done it mouth-to-mouth—” I cut myself off and shook my head. “Never mind, what’s important is that if the anti-malady charm on the cupsworks, it seems unlikely that Eve poisoned Graham, at least not while they were here.”
“But we should still see if we can locate her. Whether or not she’s our killer, she still might’ve been the last person to see Graham alive.”
The bell jangled again as more customers poured in, escaping the gloomy weather outside.
“Do you think this is the best spot to talk about this?” I asked in a low voice.
“Maybe not.” Riley studied me. “Is there any way we could talk at your place?”
“Maybe.” I chewed my lip. We could probably find a place to talk, but finding a place and finding privacy weren’t always the same thing in a house full of girls.
“I promise to behave. Mostly.” He flashed another grin that made my stomach swoop. “It’s just that my roommate has people over pretty much all the time. It’s not an ideal place for any sort of thinking.”
“I’m sure we can make it work.”
“Great.” Riley took another sip of his tea, then with a glance around to make sure Madam Rosa wasn’t watching, he poured the rest onto a large fern near our table.
Once I finished my cup, I stood, and Riley put a few bills on the table. “You don’t have to—”
“It’s my treat since you’re making my work so much more fun.” He held my jacket out for me. I let him help me into it, trying not to notice the way Riley’s hands lingered on my shoulders a second too long. A faint scar on his knuckle caught my eye, the skin a lighter brown than the rest of his hand.
I dropped my gaze to the laminated menu on the table to avoid looking at him. My magic stirred inside me again, and my attention fell on that same chai drink as before. Why did it keep standing out to me?
Madam Rosa bustled over. “Leaving already, Kitty?”
“Yeah, we’ve got to go.” I pointed to a drink on the menu. “Is the moonlight maple chai any good?”
Riley shot me a curious look.
“It’s delicious. A popular drink this season,” she said. “Now that you mention it, that young man you showed me a picture of ordered one to go. When I brought it to the table, I overheard him and his friend talking about a Halloween party.”
My heart leapt. Was that what my magic had been trying to tell me? That I needed to ask about it so we could get our next clue? “The party at Northanger Abbey tomorrow night?”
“That’s the one.” Her grin widened, adding a dimple to her cheek. “The girl mentioned that she’d be going as a pumpkin something or other. Hope that helps.”
“It does. Thank you!” I pulled my jacket on the rest of the way, then wrapped my scarf firmly around my neck. The Northanger Abbey Halloween party was an annual tradition that was always held the night before Halloween. It helped that most of the town believed Northanger Abbey was haunted.
Riley headed toward the door, and I started to follow him.
Madam Rosa leaned close, stopping me. “By the way, your boyfriend seems like a keeper.”
I flushed, cursing all the busybodies in this town. “Oh, he isn’t my boyfriend.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Well, if he isn’t your boyfriend yet, I think you should make him yours soon. Any man who finishes a cup of tea is a keeper in my book.”
I nodded and glanced at the freshly watered fern. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said before I joined Riley at the door.
Even though it wasn’t even 5:00 yet, it was getting dark, although that was partly because of the cloudy sky.
“How did you know to ask about that drink?”
“My magic sort of pointed it out.” And I was getting better at listening to it.
