4 Cupids Curse by Kathi Daley Page B

Rosie’s.”
    “Well , apparently, Blythe and your dad aren’t as certain. According to the conversation I had with the pair, Blythe is insisting the man who came in was shorter, with a slighter build and lighter hair, and your dad said he couldn’t really remember.”
    “What?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I half expected Blythe to continue to deny knowing the guy , but I didn’t think both Dad and Blythe would deny the man in the café and the man in the photo were one and the same.
    “Listen , Zoe, I know you think your dad’s new friend is part of some big conspiracy, but don’t you think you might be seeing a connection where one doesn’t really exist? I mean, you’ve made it abundantly clear you aren’t a fan of Blythe, and now she’s campaigning to make herself an even bigger part of your dad’s life than she already is. Isn’t it a teensy bit possible that the guy in the photo looks like the guy in Rosie’s because you want him to?”
    “No , it’s not a teensy bit possible I’m mistaken. I’m telling you that the guy who most likely killed Trent and the guy who talked to Blythe are one and the same, and I’m going to prove it.”
    I hung up the phone without saying good -bye and was immediately sorry. It wasn’t Pappy’s fault that Blythe was somehow hypnotizing everyone except me into seeing what she wanted them to see. The woman was evil. She’d probably cast some reality-altering spell over everyone, and seething hatred, which I happened to possess, was the only antidote.
    “Wrong guy?” Levi asked .
    “No , it’s the right guy. Blythe has just somehow managed to convince everyone that I didn’t see what I know I saw. There were other people in the restaurant. Someone else has to remember the guy.”
    “What about Ellie?” Levi asked.
    “She was getting Stepwitch her tea. I’m pretty sure she was in the kitchen the entire time.”
    “Other diners?”
    “There weren’t a lot of people eating at the time.”
    Levi took my hand. “You know I love you , but isn’t there a chance you’re remembering what you saw just a little bit wrong? You have the tendency to go kind of crazy when anyone messes with your relationships, and Blythe has been doing a hatchet job on your relationship with your dad.”
    I looked Levi directly in the eye. “I’m not crazy.”
    “I never said you were.”
    “No, but you insinuated it.”
    “I didn’t. I just think you should think things through a bit. Maybe the guy in the photo and the guy in the café are the same person. It still wouldn’t mean Blythe had anything to do with killing Trent.”
    “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
    “No.” Levi squeezed my hand. “It isn’t. If you start accusing Blythe of being a killer without more proof, it isn’t going to end well.”
    “So what do I do?”
    Levi scooted around and put his arm around me. I laid my head on his shoulder. “We,” he assured me, “will investigate. But,” he qualified, “we’re going to approach our investigation in a logical and unemotional manner. Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “No more Zoe the Crazy?”
    “No more Zoe the Crazy.”

Chapter 6
Friday, February 7
     
    I woke up the next morning to sheets of snow hitting the windows overlooking the lake. I t seemed Ernie Young from the general store had been right about the blizzard. I momentarily considered going back to bed—after all, the Zoo didn’t actually have any animals that needed to be cared for—but then I looked out of the front window and realized that someone, probably Zak, had been by to plow out my drive. Have I mentioned what a fantastic boyfriend I have? I know I’m often jealous and petty where my relationship with the man who tends to send my emotions into overdrive is concerned, but when I looked out of the window and saw the cleared drive . . . well, suffice it to say that diamonds wouldn’t have been half as appreciated.
    “How about we treat ourselves to muffins from