Murder, Vice, and Pumpkin Spice

By Cari Dubiel

When Rhiannon Call gets into a nasty fight with a customer at her coffee shop, she thinks it's just a bad day. But when the conflict ends in murder, she's got to solve the problem before it gets any worse.

Bonus short story included!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cari Dubiel
• Release date: Sep 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386523222

Cari Dubiel

Cari Dubiel is a librarian and writer in Northeast Ohio. She is finishing her term as the Library Liaison to the national board of Sisters in Crime.

Book preview

Murder, Vice, and Pumpkin Spice

Customers suck. Especially when you're an exhausted single mom trying not to collapse on top of the espresso machine.

The entitled ones are the worst. And Kate Lawson, the most entitled woman in Chesterfield, was standing in front of me, yakking on her cell phone. Ashquin is going to kindergarten, she sang to the lucky party on the other end. Not, I better go, I'm at the coffee shop getting ready to order! or I'll have to call you back. No, she was giving me the eye, the look that meant she had no intention of hanging up while I bent over backwards to serve her.

I'm so excited, she drawled, voice coated in slow syrup. He's young for the grade, but his academics are spot-on. He's reading already! I know. I can hardly believe my little boy is growing up.

I ignored her, even as my arm hair stood on end. My son wasn't going to kindergarten this year. On top of my irritation over Kate's dramatics - yes, I was feeling guilty. I lived with my mother, worked here, and scraped as much time out of my day to work on my college classes. Noah wasn't ready because I didn't have the time I needed to get him there. Lucky little Ashquin. He'd been in Noah's preschool class last year, which was the unfortunate reason I knew Kate Lawson.

I was still thinking about Noah when I realized Kate was snapping her fingers at me. Hello! I'm standing here! You need to wait on me.

I don't serve customers who are on their phones. I tapped the sign on the register, which stated exactly that.

She heaved an enormous sigh. I'll have to call you back. But such a shame that Brice didn't qualify for early entry. Ashquin will miss him. Kate opened her Coach satchel and faced me directly. There wasn't a single flaw in her face: makeup perfectly pressed, not a blemish anywhere. The only thing ugly about her was her expression. I need a venti half-soy pumpkin spice latte with stevia.

I resisted the nearly uncontrollable urge to roll my eyes. We are not That Big Company with the Fish-Lady Logo. We are a small, independent operation, locally owned. We have regulars: from my vantage point behind the register, I could see Creepy Wayne in one corner, alternately staring out the window and at me. Okay, he's not my favorite, but Todd was in another corner: working on his laptop, brushing back his hair as it fell into his face. Todd needs a haircut, and I wish he would ask me out so I could tell him. No, wait, I wouldn't tell him, because that would be rude. I just wish he would ask me out.

We don't have the pumpkin flavor yet. Besides, the pumpkin syrup is sweetened. What is the point of stevia? And what is the point of half-soy? Do people actually drink soy for the taste?

Kate glared at me. Her nose was pointed, her cheeks hollow. I guessed she either obsessively worked out or starved herself, or