Ink and Shadows(Secret, Book, & Scone Society #4)(36)

Weeks ago, Hester had told the Secret, Book, and Scone Society that she planned to sell boxes of shortbread to the Highland Games crowd. She’d been baking for weeks, and her freezer was now loaded with lemon, white chocolate, maple, peanut butter, chocolate chip, and traditional Scottish pan shortbread.

Knowing that people would be inspired by Hester’s special treats, Nora decided to display a selection of Scottish cookbooks at the checkout counter.

However, she couldn’t possibly do all of these things in a single day. After finishing one of the tasks on her list, she waited until the lunch rush had died down and walked up the street to Soothe.

Nora paused on the stoop to gaze at the statue with the broken wing.

If you’re a guardian angel, you’re not very good at your job.

But then Nora remembered that a devil mask had been covering the marble woman’s face the night Bren had died. She also remembered Celeste saying how all the woman in her family had been named after this woman. Juliana. A woman who tried to help people. She’d been a healer. Not a fighter.

Feeling contrite, Nora laid her hand over the marble woman’s hand. She found the cool marble comforting.

Nora was apprehensive about walking into Soothe, but she needn’t have worried. Soft music played, the water feature babbled, and Celeste was busy wrapping a large gift basket for a woman in yoga attire. Another woman was standing at the jewelry counter, and Nora could tell that she was interested in a piece in the case.

“Where are the keys?” Nora called to Celeste.

“It’s not locked,” she said, smiling in relief. “Thanks.”

Nora vowed to spend the next ninety minutes being the best salesperson on earth, starting with the woman looking at the jewelry. Nora let her try on half a dozen pieces and the woman ended up purchasing two necklaces and three bracelets.

Celeste approached the jewelry counter. She watched Nora rearrange the pieces on the top shelf for a minute before saying, “I wish I could keep the rest, but I can’t afford to be sentimental.”

Nora carefully straightened a crystal pendant. Bren had created this piece. Once it was gone, there would be no replacing it.

“The woman who just left said that she felt a sense of calm as soon as she touched Bren’s necklace.”

Celeste’s expression turned dreamy. “That’s how my girl used to be. A calm, easygoing spirit. She rarely got mad. Rarely yelled. She was quick to smile. Was always humming or singing.”

Nora had a hard time associating this girl with the hostile young woman she’d met. “What caused the change?”

“She didn’t want to move,” Celeste said. She crossed the room and began to tidy up her basket wrapping station.

Though this wasn’t the first time she’d used this as an excuse for Bren’s anger, Nora believed there was more to the story. What had Bren left behind that made her so upset? A home? Friends? A lover?

Whatever the reason, Bren was twenty years old. Her mother couldn’t force her to move, so why had she? There was definitely more to this than Celeste was letting on.

What had Celeste told Deputy Andrews the morning after Bren’s death? She’d said that she regretted not leaving the community sooner. What community? Had something bad happened there? Something dark and violent? Had this bad thing followed them to Miracle Springs? Did it tear Bren’s house apart? Had it caused her death?

Another customer entered the shop. She examined several baskets before striking up a conversation with Celeste. Nora overheard her say that although she wanted to buy two baskets, she needed to know if Celeste could provide a COA first.

Nora had no idea what this meant, so she edged closer to the two women.

Spotting her, Celeste beckoned her over. “I should explain this to you, Nora. It’s really important.”

“This lovely lady is a smart shopper,” Celeste said, indicating her customer. “COA stands for Certificate of Analysis. This is a document from a lab that shows the exact number of various cannabinoids in a CBD product. By checking this document, customers know that they’re buying products containing no THC. And since there are so many fake CBD products on the market, it also shows them that the content of CBD matches what’s on the product label. I keep copies of all my COAs in this green binder. In case you ever need to show one to a customer.”

Evidently, the woman was satisfied by what she saw. She bought two baskets and told Celeste that she’d be recommending Soothe to her friends.

At that moment, two more customers walked into the shop, followed by the mail carrier. Seeing that Celeste was busy, the mail carrier approached Nora.

“One business isn’t enough for you?” he teased, passing her the stack of mail.

“I’m playing hooky. Besides, I heard there were muffins.” The mailman looked at the glass case. “They must be good. There’s only one left.”

Nora went behind the counter, popped the last apple crumble muffin in a bag, and handed it to the mail carrier. “On the house.”

After adding a few dollars to the register to cover the cost of the muffin, Nora decided to put the mail on the back counter with the rest of Celeste’s paperwork. She scooped up the pile of catalogs, leaflets, and letters, but a postcard escaped the bundle and fluttered to the floor.

As Nora bent down, her eye was immediately drawn to the name in the addressee section. The card wasn’t addressed to Celeste Leopold, but Cecily Leopold. And though Nora didn’t mean to read the message, it was so short that she couldn’t help noticing it.