CHAPTER 1
“Have you seen this Harper?” My sister, Jess, breathlessly rushed through the diner, before stopping in front of the table I was clearing and waving a brightly colored flyer in front of my face.
I plucked it from her fingertips and read:
The Yoga Goddess invites you to her new studio. The first lesson is free so what are you waiting for? Be prepared to get in touch with your inner goddess…
I pulled a face.
“There’s a class tomorrow morning. I’ve signed us up,” Jess announced proudly.
“I don’t know,” I said doubtfully as I scooped up two empty coffee cups. “I’m not sure I even have an inner goddess.”
Jess pouted. “Come on, Harper. It will be fun.”
The idea of turning my body into a human pretzel didn’t sound like fun to me. It was all right for Jess. She was flexible.
My sister had inherited all the sporty genes. I’d inherited the genes that made me suited to sitting on the couch and reading books.
Jess loved trying out different types of exercise. She had been over the moon when a Pilates class started up in Abbott Cove last year. Unfortunately, Mrs. Tomlinson, who was eighty-three, had taken to the machines a little too enthusiastically. She’d snuck in the night before her class, intending to get a little practice, and ended up tangled in the machine, hanging upside down. She screamed for help until she was rescued by the fire service. The Pilates instructor had left Abbott Cove shortly afterward.
As Grandma Grant said, no one could accuse the residents of Abbott Cove of being unenthusiastic. Sometimes, they were a little too enthusiastic for their own good.
I caught sight of my boss, Archie waving at me frantically. We were a little short-staffed today.
I agreed to go with Jess just so I could get back to work before Archie popped a blood vessel. I mean, it was only yoga. How bad could it be? I should suggest the class to Archie. It was meant to be relaxing, and Archie could use a little relaxation. I liked my boss, but he was highly-strung. He referred to himself as a perfectionist, but I saw him more like a walking advert for high blood pressure.
“I’ll go, but I don’t think the woman running the classes is going to be very popular.”
“Why ever not?” Jess asked.
“She has been in the diner a few times, and she is…” I searched for the right word but came up blank. “Difficult.”
Difficult wasn’t a strong enough word to describe Yvonne, in my opinion, but work wasn’t a suitable place to say the other word that popped into my mind.
Jess frowned. “I think you have already made up your mind not to enjoy the class.”
I rolled my eyes. “Wait until you meet her then you’ll know what I mean. Are you staying for coffee?”
Jess shook her head. “I can’t. I have to open the library. It’s just me this morning.”
I finished clearing the table as my sister left the diner as swiftly as she’d arrived.
My hands piled high with a stack of plates, I turned and walked straight through Loretta. I shivered.
“Well, that was rude,” she said, folding her arms over her chest.
“Sorry, I muttered. I didn’t see you there.” I kept my voice down. The last thing I wanted was for the people in the diner to think I was talking to thin air.
I should probably explain in case you think I’m a nutcase. My name is Harper Grant, and I’m a witch. My particular talent is seeing ghosts and communicating with them. It’s actually my only talent.
I come from a long line of witches and warlocks. My sister Jess is a whiz at spells. She works at the library and is more of a tradi‐ tional witch than me. My Grandmother, Grandma Grant, is very powerful, which can be quite dangerous, as I’m convinced she has lost her marbles. It’s nothing to do with her advancing years, though. She’s always been a little crazy.
My father turned his back on magic, so Grandma Grant was delighted when Jess and I wanted to explore our magical abili‐ ties. She was overjoyed when she realized I was a “communica‐ tor,” apparently communicating with ghosts is a rare ability. Unfortunately, she wasn’t so impressed with my other magic skills, which are practically non-existent.
Loretta, through whom I had just walked, is the diner’s resident ghost. She had haunted the diner for years as far as I can tell, long before I started working here. A few months ago, I tried to ask her when she’d become a ghost, but she’d looked horrified and informed me it wasn’t polite to ask a lady her age. That hadn’t been exactly what I meant, but I let it slide.
Loretta looked slightly mollified at my apology, but before she could reply, the diner door opened, and three women entered.
“Speak of the devil,” Loretta muttered.
I didn’t need to ask to whom she was referring.
It was Yvonne Dean, the self-proclaimed Yoga goddess. She had visited the diner every day since her arrival in town. Although, I had no idea why. She never ate anything.
I took the plates through to the kitchen and then hurried over to get them settled.
Old Bob, who was sitting at his normal table, almost choked on his bacon as Yvonne waltzed past his table. She seemed to have that effect on men. Tall, blonde, glamorous and extremely thin, she demanded their attention.
I was glad Archie was in the kitchen. I didn’t want to see him fawning over her again. It was embarrassing.
The three women sat at one of the tables by the window. Yvonne wore a pair of oversized sunglasses, which covered half her face, and she had a yellow, patterned, silk scarf tied around her neck. On her left, sat her sister, Carol. She had a chin-length bob of mousy-brown hair. Every time I’d seen her, I’d thought she looked like she was about to burst into tears. On Yvonne’s right, sat her PA. I’d forgotten the woman’s name, but I recognized her from their previous visits. She wore her dark hair pulled back in a tight bun, and her expression was sour, almost a scowl.
“What can I get you today, ladies?” I asked, taking my order pad from my apron.
Yvonne took off her dark glasses and peered up at me. “Why don’t you remember my order? I’ve been in here every day for a week, and I’ve had black coffee on every occasion.”
“Of course, I remember,” I said, forcing myself to smile and keep my tone pleasant. “I thought you might be tempted by one of our specials. I can recommend the pancakes, and the lemon muffins are fresh out of the oven.”
“Oh, lemon muffins are my favorite,” Carol said, brightening up and looking decidedly less tearful.
Yvonne’s head snapped up. “A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips, Carol.”
Carol was stunned into silence.
An uncomfortable pause followed her comment, although Yvonne didn’t seem to notice.
“We’ll just have three black coffees, please,” Carol murmured eventually as she stared miserably down at the table.
“I’ll have a lemon muffin,” the PA said with a tight smile, and I could tell she wanted to have one to show Yvonne she couldn’t boss her around.
Carol put a hand to her mouth to smother a gasp, as though she couldn’t believe anyone would have the audacity to go against her sister’s wishes.
Yvonne raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
I grinned at the PA, thinking good for you. I was tempted to have one myself.
I headed over to the coffee maker and poured three cups. As I prepared to bring the ladies their coffee, I noticed Archie peering out of the kitchen hatch.
His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were wide as he craned his neck, trying to see the table where the three women were seated.
“Archie, what on earth are you doing?” “Is that Yvonne?”
I nodded. Archie came over all embarrassed and had giggled like a schoolgirl every time Yvonne had visited the diner, but he’d never hidden in the kitchen before.
I rolled my eyes. “Why don’t you come out and say hello?”
Archie shook his head. “I can’t. I’ve got bacon grease splattered all over my shirt.”
“I’m sure she won’t mind a little bacon grease on her number one fan,” I teased.
Archie’s cheeks grew redder, but he shook his head again. “I couldn’t possibly. What would she think of me?”
Loretta, who was hovering just behind my shoulder, made a sound of disgust and said, “Men! I can tell you one thing, Harper. Men haven’t changed much from my day. They always get taken in by a pretty face.”
I left Archie fretting in the kitchen. Sarah, our usual cook, was away for a couple of days, visiting her mother in Rhode Island, so Archie had taken over all the kitchen duties.
I selected a particularly large, deliciously fluffy lemon muffin from the display counter and added it to the tray. As I was carrying it over to the table, Chief Wickham and Deputy Joe McGrady stepped inside the diner.
I shot them a quick smile and told them to take a seat while I served the ladies their coffee.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” I asked.
Yvonne smiled slowly as she looked over my head. I knew she was looking at Deputy McGrady, and who could blame her.
He was nice to look at. I couldn’t deny it. He was tall, handsome and a little too cocky for his own good.
“Perhaps you could introduce us to these two handsome gentlemen,” Yvonne said in a low, seductive voice.
I couldn’t help noticing her change in tone from earlier when she had snapped at me for not remembering her order.
I only just managed to stop myself rolling my eyes. I smiled through gritted teeth and turned to introduce Chief Wickham and Joe McGrady.
“This is Yvonne Dean, Abbott Cove’s very own Yoga Goddess,” I said, thinking how silly it was to claim to be a goddess.
Whatever faults Yvonne had, a lack of self-confidence wasn’t one of them.
Both men seem to be so enamored with Yvonne’s cool blonde, good looks they didn’t comment on the fact I’d introduced her as a yoga goddess.
I started to introduce the other two women and realized in horror, I still couldn’t remember the name of Yvonne’s assistant. I was usually good with names.
“This is Carol, Yvonne’s sister, and—”
Before I could finish, Yvonne interrupted, “Thank you. That’s all for now. We’ll call you when we need you.”
“I…” My voice trailed away. Was she really dismissing me? I hadn’t even taken Chief Wickham and Joe’s orders yet. I was starting to understand how Carol felt.
“I’m Louise,” Yvonne’s assistant said, but no one appeared to notice.
Her comment barely registered with me because I was watching in horror as Yvonne stood up and began to flirt with both the chief and Joe.
Worse still, both men seem to relish her attention.
“You’re fighting a losing battle there, Harper,” Loretta whispered in my ear.
I shrugged. It really wasn’t any business of mine.
Finally, the chief managed to turn his attention away from Yvonne. “Harper, just the person I needed to see.”
I smiled. They may have ignored me at first, but at least, the chief was talking to me now. It was nice to know I wasn’t invisible.
I shot a triumphant smile at Yvonne, but she was too busy giggling at something Joe had said to notice.
I soon wished the chief had continued to ignore me, though.
“I need to have a word with you about your grandmother,” the chief said.
I closed my eyes and groaned. “What has she done now?” “She’s been lying in front of the mayor’s car again.”
That wasn’t good. My grandmother’s favorite means of protesting anything she didn’t like or approve of was to lie down in the road, disrupting traffic. Luckily, Abbott Cove was only a small town, and traffic was light. I had no idea what the bee in her bonnet was this time.
“I suppose she has a good reason for protesting,” I began. “Is she out there now?”
I reached around my back, ready to untie my apron and try to persuade Grandma Grant to see reason.
The Chief shook his head. “No, I’ve no doubt she would have stayed there all day, but the Mayor’s chauffeur managed to drive around her, and I guess she realized lying in the road after that was pretty pointless. But you really need to stop her doing things like this, Harper. Not only because it disrupts the town’s traffic, but because it’s dangerous. She could get hurt.”
I nodded. “I know. I’ll have a word with her,” I said, even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. Grandma Grant was a law unto herself, and she never listened to my sister or me.
“Wait… Since when did the Mayor have a chauffeur?”
The chief shrugged. “He hired Old Bob’s nephew, Graham, a month ago.”
I opened my mouth to respond but then arched an eyebrow as I saw Joe McGrady slip into the same booth as Yvonne, Carol and Yvonne’s assistant.
“Do join us, Chief Wickham. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but I’m sure you won’t mind getting cozy,” Yvonne said with a saccharine sweet smile.
I wanted to throw up. Instead, I smiled brightly and asked the chief and Joe what I could get them.
“Well,” the chief said, rubbing his belly. “I have already eaten breakfast, but that muffin looks delicious,” he said eyeing the lemon muffin I’d brought over for Yvonne’s assistant.
“They haven’t long been out of the oven. They are still warm,” I said.
The chief smiled broadly. “Go on, you’ve twisted my arm. I’ll have a lemon muffin and one of those fancy coffees you make with the frothy milk.”
“Coming right up,” I said and then turned to Joe. “Deputy McGrady?”
Joe looked at me, and a puzzled smile tugged at his lips. He was probably wondering why I was being so formal and not just calling him Joe.
I intended to show Yvonne by example that our law enforcement officers in Abbott Cove should be treated with respect, but it wasn’t working out too well.
I stood there awkwardly as Yvonne fondled Joe’s bicep.
“Oh, I can see you take exercise very seriously. You should try my yoga class. We could do with some more men to balance things out.”
I was gratified to see Joe shift in his seat, so Yvonne’s hands fell from his arm. “Yoga is not really my thing.”
“You never know until you give it a try,” Yvonne said in a seductive purr.
I cleared my throat trying to get his attention again. When that didn’t work, I lost my patience.
“What can I get you?” I snapped, feeling irritable.
Joe looked up, “Uh, sorry, Harper. I’ll have the same as the chief. One of those lemon muffins, but I’ll take my coffee black.”
“Coming right up,” I said, turned around, and for the second time that day, I walked straight through Loretta.
* * *
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...
Copyright © 2024 All Rights Reserved
Please log in to recommend or discuss...
