Temptation Trails - Page 149

His voice startled me out of my thoughts. “Um, chewy pistachio cookies.”

“Did you make them?”

“Actually, no.”

He glanced up in surprise.

“We have a new baker. She made them earlier today.”

His eyebrows drew together and he took a deep breath, as if this were a very difficult decision. “Okay. I’ll try one.”

I got one out and put it in a bag, then rang him up.

“I don’t know if anything can be as good as the stuff you bake, but maybe.”

“Trust me, she’s very good.”

Stan and Russell finally appeared in the window. They looked in and I tried to make a subtle get in here gesture. Fortunately, Matt didn’t seem to notice. He was busy pulling out his cookie and inspecting it, like he’d never seen one before.

They came into the bakery and shared a glance, like they weren’t sure what to do next. I mouthed, it’s okay, just wait here. They nodded. Apparently they understood.

Because what did I really want them to do? Ask Matt to leave? He hadn’t done anything. He was just taking his time, sampling his cookie. He hadn’t tried to get me to leave with him in his van. He hadn’t even told me any new crime stories.

That was a relief.

Hopefully, if Matt had anything nefarious in mind, just having other people around would be enough.

He took a bite of the cookie and as he chewed it, his expression brightened. “Wow. I’m sorry, Harper, but this might be my new favorite.”

“That’s great. No need to be sorry. We just want happy customers.”

“This makes me very happy.”

I couldn’t help but smile. If I hadn’t been concerned that he might be a secret serial killer out to murder me, I could have found him awkwardly endearing.

“See you later,” Matt said out of the blue and turned around, still eating the rest of his cookie, and left.

That had been anticlimactic.

“That was him, right?” Russell asked. “The one we’re supposed to look out for?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Harper. We’ll stick around in case he’s lurking about.”

A white van drove by the front window. “I think that was him leaving, but thank you.”

They sat at one of the bistro tables by the window as I busied myself with getting ready to close. I’d be so relieved when I could finally go home.

Paul and Marlene’s home, to be specific. Which I didn’t mind. But it was a reminder that all was not well.

I just hoped whatever lead Garrett was following would give us some answers. Maybe even all the answers.

And that no one was waiting to ambush me when I went out to my car. Matt might not have looked like a cold-blooded killer, but he was a lot bigger than me. I glanced at Stan and Russell. They weren’t exactly spring chickens. Maybe between the three of us, we could ward off an attacker.

But as I’d heard Garrett say before, whoever was behind all this was good. Very good. I had a feeling he couldn’t be underestimated.

And it might take a lot more than a couple of sweet, good-hearted SPS volunteers to keep me safe.