Black Coffee, Biscotti & Murder Read online

  Black Coffee, Biscotti & Murder

  by

  Sara Bourgeois

  Chapter 1

  Kari

  “Wow, what a day.” Kari Sweet glanced at the clock on the wall of the coffee shop and saw that it was already an hour past normal closing time. “Can you believe how busy we were today?”

  Kasi dragged in the blackboard advertising their weekly special of black coffee and biscotti inside and flipped the sign on the door to ‘closed’. The girls had decided it was the perfect combination for the blast of winter weather they’d recently experienced, and the sign captured that with a swirl of snow and rendition of Old Man Winter holding a steaming mug of coffee. Rebecca had, once again, nailed it with her artwork.

  “Well, it is cold out,” Kasi said wisely. “You know how people need their hot caffeine fixes as soon as the temp drops below 40!” She walked over to join her sister behind the counter. “I totally don’t want to clean up.”

  “Do we ever want to clean up?” Kari asked reasonably. “Hey, maybe instead of hiring a high schooler to help out behind the counter, we should hire them to clean at night.” She tapped the folder that was on the counter in front of her. It contained the ten applications they’d received for the job of part-time barista they’d recently advertised in the shop and in the local paper.

  Kasi shook her head. “Nah, I’d rather have a day off once in a blue moon. I can handle some sweeping and dishwashing, if it means I get to sleep in a couple times a month.” She opened the folder and started flipping through the applications. They’d had their second round of interviews that day with the hopes of narrowing the candidates down to two or three.

  “What did you think?” Kari asked, grabbing the broom and beginning to sweep. “I really liked Felicia and Janie. Felicia was just so bubbly, and I can totally see her bonding with the customers. And Janie made the best cappuccino I’ve ever had. Not sure what she put in it, but I can tell you that it would be a crowd-pleaser.”

  Kasi nodded her head and began wiping down the counters. “Yep, those two were definitely near the top. But I also liked Bubba.”

  Kari chuckled. “You mean Brandon?”

  Brandon was a high school junior who had decided to go against the grain in a family full of firefighters and devote his life to baking and brewing coffee. His dad, the captain of the Mills Township Fire Department, had nicknamed him Bubba in hopes that it would make him more interested in manly things like football, talking about girls, and belching. Though that hadn’t worked out so well, Brandon had hung on to the nickname—mostly out of spite.

  “Come on, he’s a total sweetheart! And you have to admit, he knew his way around the espresso maker better than both of us!”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Kari conceded. “I guess it might be nice to have a guy in here. He could have some ideas on décor and specials that we might not think of.”

  “Exactly! And I loved his dry sense of humor. He had me cracking up during the entire interview.”

  Kari pulled out the three applications and said, “Final interview tomorrow? We’ll make a decision then?” Kari had to admit that she was looking forward to having some help in the shop.

  Though she was a morning person and loved starting her day by getting into On Bitter Grounds early, she knew that neither she nor Kasi would mind a day off here and there—especially if things kept going well with Hunter like they had been. The beginning of a relationship didn’t mesh well with 6-day, 10-hour work weeks.

  “Done!” Kasi slapped her hand on the applications and grinned. “I can almost picture that lovely day when I’ll be able to hit the snooze button!”

  The sisters finished up the rest of their closing duties in record time, mostly due to the fact that they needed to eat dinner, and get changed in the next hour and a half so they could make it to the Mills Independent Music Festival on time.

  The festival has been a tradition for the girls since it had started when they were in college. They’d made it every year and were always excited to see the latest and greatest bands to come out of their area and from around the country.

  The festival was held at the Mills Theater, which is a historic building that has been around as long as the town itself. Though Kari admitted that an outdoor locale would have also been cool, the Theater proved to be an atmospheric alternative since there was no way anyone would attend an outdoor festival when it was 25 degrees.

  “I can’t believe I finally get to see The Outcasts in person!” Kasi said excitedly as they cleaned out their coffee machines. “I’ve been playing Buddha Bingo almost every morning in the shower! Talk about getting me revved up for my morning!”

  “Oh yes, I’ve heard,” Kari said sarcastically. “In fact, I think the whole neighborhood has heard you singing to that in the shower. Though I have no idea how you know the words since they don’t make any sense.”

  “You’re just jealous,” Kasi said with a giggle. “The Outcasts are punk royalty, and their songs are deep meditations on the state of our consumer-hungry economy.”

  “Ugh, you and your pop-punk obsession.” Kari rinsed out a filter and set it beside the sink to dry. “I just don’t get it. Now, Fire Spitters, on the other hand…that is an entertaining band!”

  Kasi snorted. “I would not call the Fire Spitters a band. Besides, the only reason you like them is because they’re friends with Hunter.” The Fire Spitters were a rap duo from Mills Township who had started to get some recognition in the industry despite the fact that they were two white suburban guys in their late 20s—not exactly the poster children for rap. She’d spent some time with them recently when they’d come to town to hang out with Hunter and wanted to support them in any way she could.

  “That’s not the only reason!” Kari protested. “They’re very talented! And you know I’ve been a connoisseur of rap for years!” This was certainly the truth. Kari had a collection of Eminem, Nas, and Kanye West CDs from her college years, and now had playlists on her phone that included hits by Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, and Iggy Azalea. To her, there was nothing better than rap to get you energized for a long day at work.

  Kasi rolled her eyes. Her sister’s preference for rap music has been a source of contention with them for years, especially since the two had shared a home their entire lives except for the years they’d been in college. “There is nothing worse than being woken up on a Sunday morning by the blaring sounds of Whiz Cauliflower!”

  Kari burst out laughing. “His name is Wiz Khalifa! And he happens to be awesome.”

  “Oh, come on, Kari. You have to admit rap can be a bit…monotonous.” Kasi pulled the tray of biscotti from the display counter and, noting they had sold all of it except for one small piece, decided to eat it instead of storing it.

  “What you call ‘monotonous’, I call street poetry,” Kari argued, watching her sister crunch on the chocolatey biscuit from Playing with Flour that they now carried regularly in the shop. “They’re expressing their creativity and disdain for a conventional way of life!”

  Kasi raised an eyebrow. “Mmm hmmm, sure. Hey, remember when we were kids and you swore that Jay-Z was the worst artist you’d ever heard?”

  “I did not!” Kari protested, throwing a dish towel at her sister.

  “Oh yes, you did! I even remember you making a big deal about it when he and Beyoncé got together! I believe you made some comment like ‘how did a no-talent like that land such a goddess’?”

  Kari realized she had been caught. “Fine, fine, maybe I didn’t appreciate him back then. But my tastes have expanded, and I now see the genius that is Jay-Z!”

  “I think we’re going to ha
ve to agree to disagree on whether punk or rap is the better form of entertainment,” Kasi told her, “or else we’re going to have a sibling throwdown. Deal?”

  “Deal!” Kari checked her watch. “Uh-oh. We’d better hightail it home. If we’re not out the door by 7 p.m., we’ll miss the opening acts!”

  Chapter 2

  Kari

  “I can’t stop thinking about Bubba,” Kasi said as the two girls dined on the lamb chops and mashed potatoes they’d just taken off the stove. It had been Kari’s turn to cook, and she’d gone for an easy recipe that took more time to cook than to prepare. Her cooking style was opposite Kasi’s, who always welcomed a recipe challenge that required tons of slicing, dicing, and marinating.

  “Oh, really? You have Bubba in your mind?” Kari asked, wiggling her eyebrows and taking a large bite of potato. “Tell me more,” she said with her mouth half-full, something she knew drove her sister crazy. “Wait, no don’t. He’s waaay too young for you.”

  “Sheesh, were you born in a barn?” Kasi asked. “I don’t mean like that. Gross. Sometimes I wonder if they screwed up somehow and that I’m actually the older sibling.”

  “That would be awesome,” Kari said with a laugh. “I’d love to be a few years younger. You do know I’m approaching 30, right? 30! Remember when we were kids and we thought people who were 30 lived in retirement homes?”

  “We also thought we’d marry all the members of 98 Degrees and have unicorns for pets,” Kasi pointed out. “And while that still does sound pretty fabulous, I think we’ve accepted it’s probably just not in the cards.” She took a big drink of her water. “But, back to Bubba.”

  “What about him?” Kari asked.

  “I just feel bad for him. Can you image growing up in a household of people who all do the same thing—and you have zero interest in it?”

  “I can’t,” Kari said honestly. Their parents had always encouraged them to reach for their dreams—whatever they might be. Though their dad had a good job as an attorney and their mom worked at a bank, they’d always made it perfectly clear that they’d support their daughters no matter what they decide to do.

  “He has such a great attitude and a lot of talent,” Kasi continued. “I’m worried that it will get totally squelched by his family if someone doesn’t encourage it.”

  “And you think that ‘someone’ should be us?” Kari asked.

  “Well…” Kasi stuffed her mouth with lamb instead of fully answering.

  “You sure you want to get involved in a family drama like that?” Kari wondered. “I can just see a whole gaggle of firemen coming into our shop every day, demanding to know why we’re corrupting one of their own.”

  Kasi had to giggle at that one. “Well, if that happens, we can always sic Hunter and the boys on him. Hey, wouldn’t that make a great reality show? Cops vs firemen?”

  “I can do without a reality show in our coffee shop, thank you very much. But I’m serious about the family dynamics. It could cause some complications for our shop if his parents really don’t want him working there.”

  “Well, I guess we can cross that bridge when we come to it. I just really want to give him a chance.”

  “So, is there any reason to even interview the other two? I liked Bubba, too, but the girls were also great. I don’t want to give someone the job just because we feel sorry for him.”

  “I don’t just feel sorry for him, I also think he’d make a really good employee.” Kasi said.

  Kari thought about it for a few moments as she chewed her lamb. “How about for the third interview, we give all three the challenge of making the perfect hot white mocha? If Bubba’s is as good or better than the two girls’, he has the job.”

  “Perfect!” Kasi said enthusiastically. “I think that’s a great idea.” She pointed her fork at Kari’s plate. “You’d better hurry up. We need to be out of here in the next 35 minutes.”

  “Well, if you’d stop yapping and let me eat…” Kari grinned and took another huge bite.

  “So is Hunter going to be there tonight?” Kasi asked.

  “He is, but in a working capacity. He and a few officers are doing security and crowd control.”

  “Ah-ha. I wondered why I was your date instead of the handsome cop.” Kasi had a smile on her face, but there was a slight edge to her voice. This always happened when one of them started dating—the other felt a little left out.

  “Oh, come on! You know you’re always my wing woman for the festival! Nothing will change that!” Kari knew that, while her sister was incredibly independent, she worried that Kari would get married and their sister time would come to an end. She didn’t know how to tell her that, no matter what happened, Kasi would always be one of her top priorities.

  “You know, I heard Fire Spitters might be one of the first bands,” Kasi said innocently as she mopped up the rest of her potatoes with a roll. “So, it totally would not break my heart if we were late.”

  “What??” Kari cried. “Oh, that’s it. You’re in for it.” She grabbed her laptop out of her bag and quickly booted up her music app. Before Kasi could react, the Fire Spitters’ newest single “Welcome to Mills” was blasting through the kitchen.

  Mills is where I pay my bills

  Mills is where I honed my skills

  “UGH!” Kasi groaned. “Oh my God, that is so awful!”

  Mills is where I never feel alone

  Mills is what I like to call home!

  “This is sooo catchy!” Kari crowed, dancing around the table. “How can you not love this?” She kept rapping to the song as she cleaned up their dishes, then pointed triumphantly at Kasi. “I saw that! You were totally bobbing your head to the beat!”

  “Oh, fine!” Kasi said, getting up to help her sister clean the kitchen. “Maybe it is…acceptable.”

  “Your turn to do the dishes, sis,” Kari reminded her, piling them in the sink. The one thing their house did not have was a dishwasher, and neither of the girls enjoyed the task of handwashing. It was on their ‘to-buy’ list when the coffee shop really started doing well.

  That, and some new furniture, artwork, a humidifier, and paint. Though they loved their little house, it could use a few improvements. Their parents had offered many times to pay for some upgrades, but both sisters wanted to handle it on their own.

  “Are you sure?” Kasi asked with a groan. “Didn’t I do them last?”

  “Don’t you even try to get out of it! I did all those stuck-on pans from your baked ziti experiment last night.” The ziti, while delicious, had been a clean-up nightmare. Kasi had doubled the amount of cheese in the recipe and it had bubbled over the sides of the pan and into the oven and had stuck onto their plates like it was their job. Though it had been one of the tastiest meals they had in a long time, it had kept Kari in the kitchen on clean-up duty until almost 8 o’clock.

  “Oh. Right. But boy, it was worth it!” Kasi started running the water into the sink and squirted in some bright purple dish soap. “Mills is where I pay my bills,” she chanted as she started washing silverware. “Mills is where I honed my skills….”

  “HA!” Kari cried. “I heard that!”

  Kasi gave her a sheepish grin. “Yeah, it’s a sticky tune. But this does not mean I’m now a rap fan. I still think it’s monotonous and…boring.”

  “Well, we’ll just see after you experience them live tonight!” Kari glanced at her watch. “Speaking of tonight, you better hurry up with those dishes! We’ve got less than twenty minutes to get all-dolled up and be at the theater. I know you were joking about the Fire Spitters, but I still don’t want to miss the opening acts.”

  “Gotcha,” Kasi confirmed. “You take the bathroom first.”

  “Will do,” Kari confirmed, then smiled as Kasi continued singing the refrain of “Welcome to Mills”.

  Chapter 3

  Hunter

  “Coming through!”

  Hunter almost had to jump back to get clear of a stagehand with a cartful of equipm
ent who went barreling past. He tried his best to stay out of the way and not be awe-struck by the assembled local talent, but it wasn’t easy on either front.

  There was a hustle that went on in the dimly lit backstage area that could only be described as organized chaos. People rushed this way and that, some held clipboards and talked into headsets, some were in full costume, lined up in pre-performance position, and others, both spectators and talent alike, just hung out.

  His radio crackled to life, starling him. He put it to his ear and could just make out the voice over the backstage din. "Hunter, you got your ears on back there?"

  He smiled as he recognized Pete Michaels on the radio. "Yeah, Pete, I hear you. Loud and clear."

  "Yeah, and warm I bet! What's your position?"

  Hunter laughed to himself. Pete knew exactly where he and the other officers who manned the backstage of the theatre were, and Hunter knew just how jealous of it he was. As this was already the third time he had called to check their positions, Hunter couldn't pass up this opportunity to rub it in a bit.