The Last Coffee Shop

Chapter 2: A Man in Motion

Krill frowned. "Maybe they don't know where to go?"

Mads glanced back the way they'd come. The barn roof was clearly visible over the rows of wheat, dimmed by the steady flicker from the smaller dome around it. "I don't think so . . ." her bad feeling was getting stronger. Something was definitely off. "You call in a cleanup crew. I'll head back to the inspector."

Mads heard Krill patching through to the communications tower as she headed back inside. They shouldn't have left the shop unattended. If they were lucky, the locals would have noticed the inspector and decided to come back later. It would be better if Grandmere had decided to show herself. Mads checked the clock as she ducked back indoors. Three hours after sunrise-a little earlier than Grandmere liked, but the commotion might have gotten her up.

The inspector was waiting for Mads at the front counter. He raised a brow as Mads entered. "Well?"

Mads replaced the fire extinguisher before answering. "It's nothing." She tried not to cringe as he handed her the thin datapad holding his report.

"Do you have a moment?" The inspector's expression was tired and bland, and Mads felt a sudden flash of sympathy. The coffee shop was probably his first stop in a full day of inspections.

Mads attempted to keep that in mind as he began.

"Well, this leak in the kitchen could be a sign of a larger problem. Though it's not a structural violation, you'll have to have it fixed along with the leak in the kitchen sink. That one's more severe. There seems to be mold eating through the wall beneath it . . ."

Mads' sympathy gradually turned to dismay at the laundry list of repairs needed to keep them up to code. They couldn't afford to hire help, not before the next inspection.

"Is a week from today all right with you?" the inspector was saying.

She nodded mutely.

He handed her a card. "Call if you need more time."

One week, two weeks, what did it matter? It would never be enough time. As much as Mads hated it, she'd probably have to go to Alan for a loan extension, again. Even though she'd promised herself it wouldn't happen more than three times in a row. She watched the inspector leave, her heart sinking to her toes.

All this, and SVUAC hadn't even shown up yet.

"Madeleine?" Grandmere's delicately accented voice greeted Mads from one of the nearby wooden tables. She was sitting opposite a tall man with broad, bony shoulders and shaggy, chin-length dark hair. His back was to Mads, but she didn't think he was anyone she knew. Which was unusual. That would make him the third newcomer of the day. Strange outside of tourist season.

Grandmere's elegant hand was extended toward Mads in a gesture of gracious supplication, and her rings sparked in the low lights. They were all glass, the real gems having been pawned a long time ago, but they still made an impressive number of prisms.

"Let me see that," said Grandmere, her hand still open.

Mads realized she meant the report pad, and handed it over. Grandmere rarely concerned herself with the business aspect of the shop, leaving it to Mads as she had left it to Mads' mother before. However, the inspection was something that involved all of them, and their precious little funds.

Grandmere's silver brows rose a fraction. "Hmph," was her only response as she flicked the report pages across the flimsy Paperlite™ screen.

Mads gave her grandmother's companion another glance. His head was bent over his coffee, and he didn't seem to be paying them any attention. She ignored her curiosity. "We don't have enough time." Mads motioned at the bar and made significant faces at her grandmother. No stranger needed to hear about their money and repair problems.