Page 4 of Autopsy of a Fairytale

“Thank you.” Violet nodded, her gaze snagging on Garrett for a second too long before returning to Bel.

“Can you walk us through this morning?” Bel asked, wondering if Garrett’s handsome features would loosen the girl’s tongue or cause a distraction.

“Yes, um…” Violet paused as if to fortify herself. “The shop opens at 9:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. Saturdays are by appointment only unless Mr. Lumen is hosting an event. I usually arrive at 8:00 a.m., and Mr. Lumen is always awake and in his workshop by then. His schedule is rigid. He goes to bed early and wakes up at 5:00 a.m. every morning, no matter what. He makes a big pot of coffee first thing, which he drinks black, but he keeps hazelnut creamer in his fridge because he knows it’s my favorite. We always drink a cup together before we open. He was nice, even if he was eccentric.” Violet swiped a tear from her cheek. “I’m sorry.” She hiccupped as she fought the sobs.

“It’s okay. Take your time.” Garrett patted her arm reassuringly, and Violet leaned into the contact, his soothing voice seeming to center her. Bel would have rolled her eyes, except she understood Garrett’s pull. Classically handsome and sweet, he was a storybook prince come to life, and she often wondered why he chose such a violent line of work.

“Thank you.” Violet smiled as she dug in her purse, withdrawing a tissue. “This morning, I unlocked the shop like usual, but the minute I stepped inside, I knew something was off. It smelled like bleach and caustic cleaners, not coffee. Mr. Lumen was a particular man. He liked everything organized and clean, so the smell, while overpowering, wasn’t unusual, but the lack of coffee was. He hired me right after I graduated college, and ever since, he has had a pot of Emily’s dark roast waiting for me when I arrive. It’s the only kind he drank, and he had me order it in bulk every few weeks.”

Emily Kaffe owned The Espresso Shot, and her coffee shop was a local legend. The woman was magic with her brews, and most of the locals either got their morning fix from her shop or brewed her grinds at home. Even Bel’s long-finished to-go thermos she prepped that morning had been filled with Emily’s famous French Vanilla.

“What happened after you unlocked the shop?” Bel asked, suddenly craving a latte despite having just downed a cup of tepid caffeine. Of all the days to barely sleep.

“I didn’t find him in his workshop, so I checked his apartment upstairs. I thought maybe he was sick, but it was empty. We had no appointments scheduled, but I figured I should check the showroom in case. That’s when I found him.”

“Did you, by chance, touch the body?” Bel asked.

“Never.” Violet looked like the question might make her vomit. “I took one look at him and dialed 911. Then I waited outside. I’ve been here ever since.”

“You did the right thing,” Garrett encouraged.

“Can you think of anyone who wanted to hurt Lumen?” Bel asked before Violet got lost in Garrett’s eyes. “Did he have any enemies? Unhappy clients?”

“No one is ever an unhappy client.” Violet pinned Bel with an aggressive stare. “That man was a genius. He might have been peculiar and lacking in social skills, but he was nice. Really nice. I mean, he hated creamer but kept his fridge stocked with hazelnut just for me. He paid me well and trusted me to run his day-to-day schedule and handle all the paperwork. He barely slept while working on a piece, and when his clients saw the finished furniture, half of them would cry. Mr. Lumen may have liked his life structured and predictable, but no one hated him. I don’t know how anyone could be so barbaric to such a decent man?”

Bel didn’t know how to answer that question. She believed herself to be a good person, yet someone had beaten her within an inch of her life, only to abandon her in a pool of her own blood. Sometimes life was cruel for cruelty’s sake.

“We will do everything we can to catch who did this.” Garrett slid seamlessly into the conversation, sensing Bel’s hesitation. They had only been partners for a few months, but their vastly different puzzle pieces clicked together to form a whole. She was all darkness, and he was her light. She dwelled among the demons, but his smile was a gift from the angels. They complemented each other, and Bel was thankful he found his voice when she couldn’t. She had shared little about her attack with him, but he knew enough to understand when she needed him to step in. Just as he understood this case was wildly beyond his capabilities and had handed her the reins.

“I need to ask, Violet, but where were you yesterday?” Bel forced her face to remain neutral.

“Running errands.” To her relief, the girl answered without hesitation. “I got coffee and a bagel at The Espresso Shot for breakfast, and then I bought groceries, did laundry—the works. I went to dinner with some of my friends. I can give you their numbers for you to confirm, but then I went home and was in bed by 11:00 p.m. since I had to be up early for work.”

“Thanks, a deputy will collect those from you,” Garrett said. “What restaurant did you go to?”

“La Signora, the new Italian place.”

“Was it good?” Garrett flashed an art-worthy smile, and some of the heaviness lifted from Violet’s chest as she blushed a pale pink.

“It’s great, you should go.”

“I just might.” He winked at her before his eyes drifted to Bel, as if there was a meaning behind his statement she was supposed to understand.

“Thank you, Violet. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions.” Bel handed the girl her card before turning to leave. The look on Garrett’s face at the mention of the restaurant clenched her already knotted stomach, and she needed to escape this conversation before it took a turn she was wholly unprepared for.

“Thanks, Detective.” Violet tucked the card into her purse.

“Actually, I do have one more question.” Bel turned back to the pretty woman in black. “Was Lumen currently working with a client?”

“Yes...” Violet dug out her phone and tapped the screen with her delicate manicure. “Here it is,” she said after a minute of scrolling. “A Mr. Eamon Stone is… was Mr. Lumen’s last client, but I never met the man. He preferred all of his consultations to be in private.”

Bel and Garrett exchanged a quick glance while the girl was preoccupied with her phone.

“He bought the old Reale Mansion. He plans to restore it, and he commissioned Mr. Lumen to design the furniture,” Violet added.

“Someone bought that place?” Garrett asked with disbelief, and when Violet nodded, he let out an incredulous whistle.

“What’s the Reale Mansion?” Bel sensed she was missing an unspoken importance.

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