14. Champagne and Catastrophes
12. Blueberry Muffins and Misfortune
Claire’s Candles
Other
The Agatha Frost Winter Anthology
Chapter 1Grounds for Departure
They were filming something for TV outside the coffee shop, and Ellie Swan couldn’t stop staring. A small crew huddled around the water tower in Cardiff Bay, their equipment glinting in the morning sun. A weather presenter, her smile as bright as her yellow raincoat, threw her hands at the overcast sky like she was banishing the clouds for the viewers at home. It was hardly groundbreaking television, yet Ellie found herself mesmerised, her hands moving on autopilot as she frothed skimmed milk for a latte.
Ellie hated how jealous she was as she tucked a wayward strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear, her hazel eyes narrowing in concentration. Her slender fingers, more accustomed to turning delicate pages of historical books than operating industrial coffee machines, fumbled with the milk jug. She barely noticed the milk creeping close to the rim of the jug.
She resumed her observation of the camera crew when a sudden searing pain snapped her back to reality. The milk had overflowed, scalding her hand. Ellie yelped, dropping the jug with a clatter that seemed to silence the entire coffee shop. Every eye turned to her, and she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She absently smoothed down her apron, which hung off her slight frame as if it belonged to someone else entirely.
“Y’alright?” whispered Jade—the young student who started two weeks ago—in her sing-song Welsh accent. “Won’t you need to fill in the accident logbook for that?”
“I’m fine.” She tried to shake off the sting. “Can you take over here?”
