Down the Rabbit Hole by Monica Corwin

A storm raged as hail and water hit the glass windows of The Rabbit Hole hard enough to make Elsa jump. As she closed her station, all she wanted to do was go home and get out of her clothes. A long, hard day slinging coffee had her neck muscles unrelentingly tense. Days like today she wished she had someone at home to rub the knots.
    One man existed in her life and unfortunately he was so far out of her league he might as well have been in wonderland.
    Elsa gathered the newspapers from the various tables. All of them had the same headline, “Cheshire Cat Garrots Again.” The last murder occurred only a few blocks from Elsa’s house. When would it end? The killings started three months ago and the newest victim ratcheted the body count to ten. Six women and one man. Just last week she overheard the police in her shop mentioning the killer targeted people based on criminal history. That meant she should be safe, but a serial killer on the loose still scared her. A shiver slid up her spine at the thought. The psycho might have walked down her street, passed her door, and caught her gaze on the street. She took a deep breath trying to calm down. So much had happened in the last few weeks, and people were on edge praying for an arrest. Stores were even refusing to sell the specialty wire the murder had been using to commit his heinous crimes.
    Just as she gripped the sign store to flip it to closed a police officer tapped on the glass. Her heart shot into her throat, and she jumped back before she realized who it was. Speak of the devil. A hot flush crept up her neck as she opened the locked door.
    “Are you closed?” Officer March asked while his heavy puppy dog eyes begged her to say no.
    “Come on in. I’ll get you the usual,” she said, locking the door behind him. Water dripped from his slicker, and he removed it, then placed it on a peg by the door before crossing to the cash register.
    “Thanks so much, Elsa. I have a long shift tonight, and I really need the caffeine boost before I go in.”
    “It’s no problem, Officer. I don’t mind at all.”
    “Elsa,” he admonished. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Harris?”
    She knew her faced flamed red as she ducked away to fix his order. Her ears burned hot, and she really hoped he didn’t notice. Luckily, she hadn’t closed her station entirely. Elsa prepared his drink aware of his gaze on her.
    A loud buzz from his radio scared her, and she spilled the coffee. She cleaned it up as Harris answered the call on his radio.
    She only caught snippets of the conversation. The mention of The Cheshire Cat caught her attention, and she stopped working to stare at him.
    He looked grave when he turned back to face her.
    “What is it?” she asked.
    “It seems that there’s a lead. The Cheshire Cat has been spotted in this area. They said to keep people where they are while a search is performed.”
    Her heart seized, and she closed her gaping mouth. “Am I in danger?” she asked once her heart resumed beating.
    He smiled, and her knees threatened to collapse.
    “Not as long as I’m here. I’ll stay with you until they’re done with the search. The guys would never forgive me if I left their favorite barista unprotected and she got hurt.”
    “Well, I guess I’ll make one of these for me too,” she said pouring another cup of coffee.
    “Do you have a back room? Somewhere away from the windows where we could go?”
    “Yeah, there’s an employee lounge in the back.”
    She grabbed the coffees and led him through the back storage room to the lounge. A small couch took up one side of the tiny space, and some books were stacked on a short coffee table.
    “I like to give the employees a real place to take a break instead of hanging out in the storage room,” she said.
    When she opened The Rabbit Hole she wanted her employees to have a sense of home here just as she did. Unfortunately, the high turnover rate between cashiers and baristas made the