Yule Be Magical (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 8) by Sara Bourgeois (top 100 novels .txt) 📕

“Well, you’re welcome any time,” she said. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I wanted to check and see if Azriel left anything in his room,” I said. “Did you collect anything from there?”

“Why, did you have something go missing?”

“No,” I said and shook my head. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have to hold onto anything for him.”

“Well, I didn’t want to say anything the last time, but there was one thing. I just didn’t want to upset you. I’m sorry,” Karen said.

“What is it?” I asked, unsure of how to take her sudden gloom. I hadn’t actually expected her to find anything. The whole thing was a ruse to talk about Pepper’s murder.

“I kept it up here in my locked money drawer because I wouldn’t want to throw something like this in the lost and found,” she said and unlocked a drawer under the counter.

From the drawer, she produced Azriel’s wedding band. Karen slid it across the counter toward me, but I didn’t touch it. I knew intellectually that it wasn’t cursed, but it still felt cursed.

“Oh,” I said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything the other day, but I didn’t want to upset you,” Karen said. “I suppose you can take it. From what I hear, he’s not coming back for it.”

“I don’t want it,” I said firmly. “You’re right about him not coming back, though. You should sell it. Or, you could throw it away. I don’t want it.”

“Are you sure?” Karen asked.

“As sure as can be,” I said. “I have no use for it.”

“Well, okay. I suppose I could pawn it or maybe sell it on the internet,” she said with a soft smile. “That’s all that he left behind. It was on the desk. Right in the center.”

It almost felt like a message, but I didn’t say anything to Karen about it. I would not let Azriel or his twisted version of love bother me anymore.

“While I’ve got you here, Karen, can I ask you about something else?” I decided to segue right into why I was really there.

“Sure, anything,” she said as she finished locking the cash drawer. The ring had been safely tucked back inside.

“Last time I was here, Jeremy was coming in as I was leaving,” I said. “Was he here about Pepper Howard’s murder?”

“Oh, no,” Karen said quickly. “The Bootique didn’t have anything to do with her death. I can assure you of that. Why, did you hear rumors that we did?”

“No,” I said quickly. “I just assumed that her case was the only one Jeremy was working on.”

“Well, he must have had a break in the action. He just came by to follow up with me on a vandalism report I filed a few weeks ago. Some uncouth tourists who trashed a room, and I had to file a report with law enforcement to get my insurance company to pay up for the repairs,” she said.

“Oh,” I responded.

“It was weird enough, though, because I saw him twice in one day. Not here the second time. I stopped into Utterly Uncorked to check on my incoming wine shipment. We’re starting a new wine and appetizer reception in the evenings here at the Bootique, and I saw Jeremy there talking to Tucker Garrison. He’s the owner, and if I remember right, he was dating Pepper. Right?”

“He was,” I confirmed.

“Well, neither one of them looked very happy, but Jeremy left before I could hear what they were saying,” Karen said. “So there’s that.”

“Thank you so much,” I said. “Thank you for everything. I’ll get in touch with you about a weekend in the honeymoon suite soon.”

I hurried out of the bed and breakfast with Karen calling, “You’re welcome anytime,” after me.

I didn’t mean to be rude and rush out on her, but I wanted to stop into Utterly Uncorked and talk to Tucker. I’d seen him in Belle Vita with a new woman, but I’d written it off.

Now, I wasn’t so sure if I should have done that. Maybe his relationship with Pepper had been more serious than people knew, and perhaps he did have a motive for murder. He certainly had a bit of temper.

Who knew? There was a whole world of possibilities, and if Jeremy had been in there looking unhappy, perhaps he’d read the situation wrong too. That was reason enough for me to stop in and peruse his wine selection. I couldn’t drink, but maybe he had something Thorn would like. Some wine shops had a selection of imported beers too, and that would be right up my new husband’s alley.

Really, it was all for Thorn. Pinky swear.

I pulled into the parking lot at Utterly Uncorked and parked my car near the exit. All of the close spaces were taken, but there weren’t that many people inside. The wine shop was one of those split buildings, and it shared its footprint with a gourmet cheese and snack store. I made a mental note to go in there as soon as possible because I had a sudden craving for cheese. It was a perfect pairing with the wine shop, and I wondered if Tucker owned both or if he was business partners with another owner.

That wasn’t important at the time. I told myself to focus on Tucker and his possible involvement with Pepper’s death.

When I walked inside, there was one customer at the counter checking out. They were nearly done and left as I walked over to the beer cooler, the store did have one, and started perusing the import beers.

A minute later, the man who had been behind the counter approached me. “Looking for something special for yourself or for a gift?” he asked.

“Are you Tucker Garrison, the owner?” I returned his question with a question.

“I am,” he said. “Owner of Utterly Uncorked and part owner of the Bubbly Goat Cheese Shop next door.”

“Is it all goat cheese?” I asked.

“No, and I told my partner everyone would think