“So, props to you,”Zoe said as we walked to my shop. It was late in the day and the winter sky, darkening.
“I didn’t do it.”
“You can tell me. I’m your bestie.”
“I swear,” I said. “No one believes me.”
Zoe sighed. “Maybe I was just hoping you finally grew a pair for Christmas. Bastard had it coming, if you ask me.”
“Who could have killed him?” I wondered anxiously.
“You can’t tell me you’re sad about that hemorrhoid.”
“No. I mean, I don’t know. We were married,” I said, pulling out my keys to go in the back way, since the front entry was wrapped in crime scene tape.
In the dark alley, there was a crash of garbage cans.
“What the hell was that?” Zoe hissed, grabbing me.
There was rustling, then a black figure raced down the alley, away from my building.
“I bet that was the killer. We need to chase them,” Zoe urged.
“No,” I hissed, dragging her into the shop. It was unlocked.
I’m sure I locked it.
“I’m not running anywhere. We should just call the police. They’ll see that I’m not the real killer, and this will all go away.”
The 911 operator sounded annoyed when I called about the break-in. “Probably just someone wanting to see the crime scene for themselves. The killer doesn’t return to the scene of the crime. This isn’t a movie.” The operator hung up.
“Maybe it’s an inside job,” Zoe said as I opened the door.
“Hi, babies!” I cooed to the cats that wound around my legs.
“This is a lot of cats,” Zoe said slowly, kicking the snow off her heavy black boots.
“Oh,” I said as all the yellow eyes stared at me in the dark. “I guess you don’t realize how many there are when the café is busy.” I bit back a sob.
“Don’t cry. Even if you might potentially be going to prison, it’s worth it now that bastard Brooks is dead. Not to mention you get all the money.”
“There is no money.”
Zoe raised an eyebrow. “There is always money. Somewhere.”
I started scooping cat food into the bowls, and Zoe distributed them around the kitchen.
“I’m not supposed to feed them in here, but now that does it matter,” I said sadly. “It’s all over. The death of the dream. This was all I had. I took out a loan for this café. I’m never going to pay it back. I’m going to go bankrupt.” I sounded hysterical. “This was all I ever wanted. I thought when Brooks left me that at least I could open up a café like I’d always dreamed of. Brooks always told me I would fail. He was right.”
“Don’t let that asshole ruin this for you from beyond the grave.” Zoe shook my shoulders roughly. “I’m about ready to book you a séance with Lilith so she can tell him to go to hell.”
I gazed mournfully at the cupcakes, frosting peaks tall and stiff since they were the green-and-red Grinch cupcakes with the Grinch Mountain in frosting. They’d never go out in the advent calendar.
I should have swept the cupcakes into the trash, but I couldn’t bear to throw away my hard work.
“It’s too bad they won’t let you reopen,” Zoe said, picking up one of the Grinch cupcakes and peeling off the paper wrapper.“Girl Meets Fig was doing a ton of business just because we’re down the street from the murder café.” She opened her mouth to take a bite.
“No!” I screamed. “Don’t eat that!”
