“Oh, I never got to sleep. And I remembered you said something about maybe going into town, and, as it happens, I have to pay a visit of my own, so I thought why not walk together?”

I frowned.

Izzy flipped open one side of her basket. “I brought you coffee,” she said, pulling out a travel mug.

I tried to resist, but Izzy made good coffee. Really good coffee. Actually, it was probably the best coffee in the world. At least that’s what I was inclined to believe on this frosty morning when I’d had so little sleep. I took the mug from her, clicked it open, and took a sip.

“First pumpkin spice of the season.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know, you act like you’re a good witch, but sometimes I wonder.”

“Don’t be silly,” Izzy said cheerily. “Shall we?”

“Do I have a choice?”

She didn’t answer, just gave me a laugh that somehow managed to sound like birds twittering.

I followed my aunt down the stairs, comforting myself with the thought that at least it wasn’t Nora tagging along today. Not that I didn’t love my other aunt with all my heart, but it would have been hard to lay low on this first trip into town with her threatening to turn people into frogs if they didn’t confess to murder. Not that she’d do that. At least, I didn’t think she would.

Izzy and I walked together to the end of the driveway, then just as she turned, headed for the shorter route into town, I touched her elbow. “I was thinking, could we maybe go the other way?”

Confusion came to my aunt’s face. “But it’s so much longer.” Her gaze landed on the stone gates of the graveyard. It was one of the oldest in the country, dating back nearly two hundred and fifty years. It was also where my husband was buried. “Oh, of course, darling. Of course.” She patted my hand, and we changed direction.

“Now, I know I don’t have to tell you this,” she said a moment later, “but we should really do our best to blend into the community today. No one can know we believe Constance’s death was anything but an accident.”

“Right.”

“People are understandably upset in these types of situations, and that can lead them to fear things they don’t understand.”

I smiled inwardly. It wasn’t the first time Izzy had lectured me on this particular topic. She had practically drilled it into me before letting me go to school. Some things never changed. “Don’t worry. I know exactly what you mean. Today we are just your average, ordinary B&B proprietors. It makes perfect sense we’d want to reach out and connect with our community, given our genuine upset over the accidental death of one of our guests.”

“Exactly. Today we are more ordinary than ordinary. We are mundane. Boring even.” She hooked her arm through mine as we crunched over the leaves. “Everything having anything to do with us today is completely normal.”