Mixed Media: Crafty Sleuth, #2

Mixed media and mixed messages…

When I take time off from my day job to help my friend Margaret with a mosaic at her steampunk-themed tearoom, I never expect to get embroiled in another murder investigation.

Make that two murder investigations. As my bestie PJ would say, "Are you kidding me?"

Worse, the investigations are hitting a little close to home: PJ’s beloved cousin Del has, um, less-than-cordial relationships with both victims and is emerging as the prime suspect.

Although I have no trouble envisioning how to marry photographs, ribbons, and paints into a harmonious whole, I can’t wrap my head around these conflicting facts and feelings. Could my instincts be so wrong? Could PJ’s bearded cinnamon roll of a cousin really be a cold-blooded killer? The evidence says yes, but my intuition says no.

Why isn’t distinguishing truth from lies as easy as separating buttons from beads? If I mention my suspicions to PJ, it could destroy our friendship. But if Del is guilty, PJ could be the next victim.

Uh uh. Nope. Over my dead body.

Although, at the rate things are going? Maybe that’s a poor choice of words…

Mixed Media is the second in the Crafty Sleuth humorous cozy mysteries, featuring edge-of-forty, plus-sized African American mechanical engineer Tash Van Buren—aka the Craft Whisperer—and her best friend, PJ Purdy. Count on creative crafts, fabulous fashion, and brisk banter—embellished with a pinch of mild profanity and peril.

Keep in touch with Nelle and C.K.!

Join the Crafty Sleuth reader group on Facebook

Get Nelle’s New Release Alerts

Get C.K.’s New Release Alerts

Visit Nelle’s website at https://nelleheran.com

Visit C.K.’s website at https://ckeastland.com

LaTashia Danielle Fredericka Van Buren. My bestie, PJ, studied me from the sidewalk in front of the Airship Ambassador Tearoom and Apothecary in his knee-length army surplus overcoat and black skinny jeans, swinging a galvanized metal bucket in his hand. "I know that look. You’re thinking about crafting, aren’t you?"

I held open the plate glass door that led to the tearoom’s gift shop and gestured for him to come inside. Of course I’m thinking about crafting. You’re delivering the supplies for the mosaic project yourself.

He glanced down at the bucket with its load of newly cleaned pennies. A point. But—

The door to the bar that shared the tearoom’s building burst open and a man wearing jeans, a denim jacket, and an orange hard hat stormed onto the sidewalk. The scowl on his face was darker than the Oregon clouds, and he didn’t change his trajectory at all to avoid PJ. He caromed into PJ, not even pausing to apologize, and strode off down the street.

PJ stumbled, and in the struggle to regain his balance, he lost his grip on the bucket. It fell at his feet, scattering pennies across the sidewalk like bright copper confetti. He propped his fists on his hips. Rude! He turned to me and pointed at the man’s retreating back. "And did you see the size of the bit on that drill he was carrying? I could have been impaled."

I stepped out of the tearoom, the door swinging closed behind me with a tinkle of its vintage bell. Are you okay?

To many, PJ and I made an odd pair. Me, a six-foot-and-a-hair plus-sized Black woman, and PJ, a bespectacled hipster white guy several inches shorter—although PJ never copped to short, small, or average. I’m medium, he was fond of saying. But we shared a similar love of fashion, flair, and fun, and had become besties almost since the first moment we’d met during our orientation at our mutual employer. Although I could never entice him to explore any of my crafting projects, he was always there to support me in whatever way I needed. We had each other’s backs, and always would.

I started to crouch down to help him gather the pennies, but he waved me away. "I’m fine, but if I recall this project, you and Margaret have been kneeling on the floor for hours already. I’ve got this. He scrunched his face as he picked up a penny. Although I’ll need to clean these again. Honestly, the Beaverton City Council should do a better job of keeping their sidewalks swept."

I couldn’t deny that my knees were feeling the effect of a morning spent helping my friend Margaret Needham, the tearoom’s co-owner, piece a steampunk airship mosaic on the floor of the unfinished restroom. If you’re sure?

Positive. He flapped his hands again. Now shoo. Just leave the door on the latch for me and I’ll join you after I’ve gathered the slightly grimy largesse. Besides—he glanced up at the clouds—it’s about to rain and your Afro puff is much too fabulous today to risk a wetting.

I tucked an errant curl behind my ear, blew him a kiss, and stepped back into the gift shop. Since the tearoom was closed today, as it was every Monday and Tuesday, the space was dim, lit only by daylight through the plate-glass windows. The display cases next to the register held designer candies and were topped by jewelry carousels. Whitewashed vintage hutches and Victorian side tables were decked with artisan candles, tins of the Airship Ambassador’s signature tea blends, and specialty art pieces—many made by me. As I walked through, I noted some of the merchandise was getting sparse. My Alice in Wonderland cards were running low, as were the clockwork butterfly earrings, and those partly empty shelves just begged for some new, seasonally inspired artwork. With Halloween coming up next month, it was a perfect time to add some spooky-themed goodies to the gift shop. I pictured them in my mind. Nothing huge—small, mixed media shadowboxes with a gothic/steampunk flair and a Disney Haunted-Mansionish vibe. I made a mental note to mention it to Margaret.

When I stepped through the curtains that masked the gift shop from the dining room, I had to stop and take a breath, contentment stealing over me as it did with every visit. I adored the steampunk aesthetic. Antiques mingled with two- and four-top tables covered with white linen and preset with mismatched china for the Airship Ambassador’s version of high tea. A classic dirigible model ran the length of the ceiling above the long family-serve table in front of the large fireplace. Colored lights inside the dirigible’s fabric gave the entire area a warm, cozy glow. Birdcages and bowler hats covered faux-vintage Tesla bulb fixtures hung from the high tin-covered ceilings. On the wall opposite the high oak counter separating the dining room from the prep area and kitchen hung a portrait of the Airship Ambassador himself in an ornate antique gilded frame. His eyes seemed to follow you no matter where you stood. Yes, this tearoom vied with Central Paper and Supply as my all-time favorite place.

I walked toward the restrooms, my black and white Chucks squeaking along the sealed concrete floor. When I peeked through the door at the end of the hall, Margaret was still kneeling where I’d left her, positioning two pennies on the airship’s gondola, her silver-shot brown hair escaping from her messy bun.

PJ’s here with more pennies, I said.

Good, because those are the last of my current supply. She sat back on her haunches, studying the three-quarters-finished mosaic with her head tilted to one side. I was a little unsure if the dirigible proportions were right for the size of the room, but I think it works, don’t you?

It’s brilliant. It’s a great companion piece to the deep-sea motif in the other restroom.

Her wide brow pleated in a frown. I just wish we hadn’t needed to carve out floor space for this one.

Considering how much tea your customers consume, it’s probably a good thing.

Yes, but we were booked solid for weeks in advance with the old layout, and we lost four tables with this build-out. We wouldn’t have started this renovation if the owner of the Rip Snorter next door hadn’t told us he was retiring. Hank and I were so excited. We had offers on the table to Jeffrey Tillman, our landlord, one to lease the Rip Snorter space and one to buy the whole building outright. We could have murdered the man when we found out he was bringing in another bar without bothering to even discuss it with us.

I shivered a little at her words. I’d had way too much experience with murder last summer to be comfortable with tossing the word around casually. Have you ever thought about branching out to another location? Someplace with more room? Angry raised voices filtered in from next door, and I winced. Or quieter neighbors? Wow, these walls have lousy soundproofing.

Trust me, we’re aware. Margaret braced one hand against the wall and rose to her feet. We thought about extending our hours, maybe adding a cocktail service, but the sound of drunk people whooping over a mechanical bull or wailing along to country-western karaoke doesn’t exactly fit with our ambience.

No. It really doesn’t.

I come bearing pennies, PJ proclaimed from the doorway, brandishing his bucket, broken but unbowed. Margaret, my love, you’re looking radiant as usual.

Broken? I frowned at him worriedly. Did that rude construction guy come back?

"No. Although an extremely snitty fellow in a truly unfortunate green tweed suit, waving his clipboard like Excalibur, chased after him and nearly upset the pennies again. However, I prevailed, as you see, despite the looming zombie apocalypse." He bowed.

Have I mentioned that PJ can be a tad dramatic? But his words sparked an idea. Speaking of zombie apocalypses… I said.

Margaret’s eyebrows rose as she edged around the mosaic to join us at the door. Are there more than one?

PJ kissed her cheek. "There are as many as the market will bear, my darling. Simply say the word, and you and Hank can join Tash and me in a bingefest across all the streaming platforms."

Muffled voices and high-pitched yells bled through from the bar. Margaret jerked her thumb toward it. No, thanks. If I’m in the mood for apocalyptic mayhem, all I have to do is—

The wall shook under a deafening bang, followed by a thundering crash.

PJ fumbled the bucket, but caught it at the last minute. Was that from your kitchen?

Margaret stared at me, wide-eyed. Hank, she croaked, and pushed past us into the hallway.

PJ and I rushed after her. Margaret’s husband Hank, the tearoom’s other co-owner, herniated a few discs during his final tour of duty as a Marine. His back still bothered him, and he often used an ornately carved walking stick to aid his mobility. If he’d lost his balance and fallen…

But when we joined Margaret in the dining room, Hank was calmly emerging from the kitchen’s swinging door. He held a laden tea tray in both hands and was limping a little since he’d clearly left his stick behind.

He raised his eyebrows at the three of us, since we were panting and probably looked a little wild-eyed. Is something wrong?

We—we heard a crash, Margaret said. We thought you might have… She gulped as she fought back her initial panic.

Hank slid the tray onto the counter so he could give his wife a hug. That was next door. The contractors working on the bar renovations can’t seem to do anything quietly.

She sagged a little in his embrace. Thank goodness. She stepped back. Not that they’re noisy next door, but that you’re all right.

Never better. He turned to PJ and held out his fist. PJ bumped it, then they tapped both elbows and pretended to throw salt over their left shoulder in the weird greeting they’d developed during our annual trip to Steam Pirates of the Air and Sea Con in Seattle. Boo-yah! they chorused.

PJ shed his overcoat and hung it on the bentwood coat rack. He inhaled the steam drifting up from one of the teapots. Mmmm. Is that what I think it is?

Hank chuckled. Of course. Malachi McCormick’s Decent Tea. By now, I know better than to serve you anything else.

PJ held his hand over his heart. "You make me sound inflexible, my brother."

Hank nudged one of the other pots toward PJ. "So you’re willing to try a London Fog or