Thankfully, Scott would finally explain himself at dinner, but that was a number of hours away. My mind would most likely be on fire by then. As it was, my thoughts were already all over the place. I kept thinking about all of the different scenarios that might have led to Scott returning home. Speculation was definitely running rampant.
While my head drifted deep into the clouds, Kristina walked up behind me. I was so busy wrestling with my thoughts that I didn’t even know she was there until she opened her mouth.
“He’s keeping some kind of a secret,” Kristina said. “I think it’s a pretty big one.”
When I heard Kristina’s voice, I almost jumped out of my boots.
I put my hand on my chest as I replied, “Where did you come from?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay. I just didn’t hear you coming.”
“That’s pretty surprising. I mean, as an investigator, I thought you pretty much had eyes in the back of your head.”
“So did I. But my instincts failed me right then.”
“This situation with Scott really has you rattled, doesn’t it?” Kristina asked. “Is it because he was being so vague and evasive?”
“Wait a minute. Were you listening to our conversation?”
“Of course, I was.”
I laughed. “At least you’re being honest with me. Although, you don’t have to be so shameless about the fact that you were eavesdropping.”
“Maybe not, but I couldn’t help myself. When two of my friends are talking and one of them behaves strangely, it makes me think.”
“I don’t blame you. Scott’s behavior was pretty bizarre.”
“I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed it.”
“The question is, why was he being so vague?”
“I was hoping that you’d have an answer.”
“I have no clue,” I said.
“Do you have any guesses?”
“Not that I’m willing to share right now.”
“Wow. So, he has you stumped then?”
“For the moment. But according to him, all of my questions will be answered at dinner tonight.”
“I hope that’s the case,” she said. “Be sure to let me know what happens, all right?”
“Of course,” I replied.
Chapter Five
All in all, it ended up being a pretty quiet work day for me. That was just the way I liked it. That was certainly better than running around with my hair on fire.
By the time I left my office and headed home, I had spent a crazy amount of time trying to piece together why Scott had been so mysterious about his return to Majestic Cove.
Thankfully, I would be getting answers in less than an hour.
In the meantime, I had to get ready for our dinner. When I came in the front door of my mid-century modern home, I headed straight for my bedroom. As I opened my closet to pick out a dress to wear, my phone rang.
My gut started acting up on me. My instincts were telling me to check the caller identification screen on my phone. Was Scott phoning me? Had something come up? Did he have to cancel on me?
I would be really disappointed if that was the case, but I would understand. Detectives often got called back into work at a moment’s notice. Especially in the case of an emergency.
I reached into my purse and grabbed my phone. When I saw my mother’s name listed on the screen, I could have felt relieved, but I didn’t. The odds were that my mother was just calling to check in. At the same time, there was also the slight possibility that she had some bad news to share with me.
So, while part of me just wanted to let her call go to voice mail, deep down, I knew that I had to take the call. Not only for peace of mind, but also because my mom was a relentless woman. She was not a fan of leaving voice mails. Instead, she preferred to keep calling back until I answered the phone.
With all of that in mind, I took the call.
“Mom, is everything all right?” I asked.
“I should be asking you that. You’re the one who just solved a murder,” my mother said.
With all of my focus being on my upcoming dinner with Scott, I briefly forgot about the investigation that I had just wrapped up.
“Oh yeah. Right. The murder investigation,” I said.
“Honey, is something else on your mind?”
“Actually, yes.”
“Really?”
“Mom, I need to get changed for my dinner with Scott. Before I do, I just need to make sure that you’re not in the middle of an emergency.”
“Wait a minute. Did you just say that you’re going to dinner with Scott?”
“Mom, please answer my question. If you’re not experiencing an emergency, I really need to go.”
“Melody, I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“I’m also not getting off of the phone. You owe me an explanation. Why am I only finding out now that you and Scott have a date?”
“It’s not a date. We’re just having dinner.”
“I’m confused. How is that not a date?”
“Because he didn’t ask me out in a romantic way.”
“How did he ask you out then?”
“I have some questions for him about his return to Majestic Cove. He told me he would explain himself over dinner.”
“Is that all?”
“I hate to disappoint you, but yes.”
“So, you’re telling me there’s no romantic motivation behind this evening whatsoever?”
“None.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Mom, just because you want Scott and I to become a couple doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because we can make our own decisions.”
“No. I mean, why aren’t you a couple? It doesn’t make any sense to me. You two are great together.”
“Mom, we need to have this conversation some other time. I have to get changed for dinner.”
“Wait a minute. If this isn’t a romantic dinner then why are you getting changed?”
“I don’t want to wear my regular work clothes to the restaurant.”
“Why not?”
“Mom, why do you keep pressing me?”
“Subconsciously, do you want more out of this dinner than just answers? Do you want something romantic to happen?”
“You’re reading too far into things. I just want to change my clothes. That’s all.”
“That’s really disappointing.”
“For you, maybe.”
My mother groaned. “Melody, when are you going to come to your senses?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You need to take advantage of this moment. Scott is single now, but that probably won’t remain the case for much longer.”
“What makes you say that? Have you heard gossip about him being interested in someone?”
“No. I just know that good men like Scott don’t come around very often. And when they do, they definitely don’t stay single for long.”
“So, what you’re saying is that you don’t have any concrete details to share with me?”
“No. But I have plenty of wisdom. You’d be a fool not to listen to me.”
“Mom, has it ever occurred to you that you might be wrong?”
My mother didn’t hesitate with her response. “No.”
I laughed. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
“Melody, I’m begging you. Don’t take this opportunity for granted. You don’t know if you’ll get another chance with Scott.”
“For the last time, this isn’t a romantic dinner. I’m trying to solve the mystery of why he returned to Majestic Cove.”
“Fine. Be stubborn. But don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”
Chapter Six
An hour later
Even though this wasn’t a date, I still put a lot of work into getting ready for dinner. There was no way th
at I was going to wear jeans and a t-shirt to the restaurant. I also wasn’t about to pull my hair back in a ponytail. That was more about pride than anything. There was a chance that Scott wouldn’t notice the extra effort that I had put in, but I wanted to look good for myself that evening.
All told, I had just finished doing my makeup as I heard the doorbell ring. I took one quick look at myself in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. I had to admit, I looked pretty good.
When I opened my front door, I must have caught Scott at an introspective moment, because he had a faraway look in his eyes. It seemed like he had just finished talking to himself.
In addition, he also appeared to be a little nervous.
One thing was clear. His demeanor was different than I was used to. Most of the time, he was cool, calm, and collected. I rarely saw him sweat. Imagine how surprised I was to see an uneasy look on his face right then.
“Good evening,” I said.
He turned to me.
“Evening,” he replied.
“You doing all right?” I asked.
“Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“You just look nervous.”
“I have a bunch of things on my mind.”
“You working on a new case or something?”
“No. It was actually a pretty quiet day.”
“That’s nice to hear. Especially given how wild things have been lately.”
“Isn’t that the truth? For the last couple of weeks, there have been so many strange occurrences that I almost felt like I was back in the big city again.”
“Are you serious?”
“Maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but Majestic Cove definitely hasn’t been itself lately.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Perhaps things are finally going to get back to normal around here.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“I certainly wouldn’t complain.”
“Neither would I.”
“By the way, you look really nice.”
“Thanks.”
“I almost feel like I’m underdressed,” he said.
“What are you talking about? You look good,” I replied.
“I guess I just didn’t realize that you were going to get all dressed up,” Scott said.
“I wouldn’t call this dressed up.”
“Really? In that case, what would you call dressed up?”
“To start, I would be wearing something far more formal than this. After all, this is just a cocktail dress.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Anyway, don’t worry about being underdressed. You look good,” I said.
“If you say so.”
“So, should we head out?”
He put his hand up. “Not yet.”
I shrugged. “Why not?”
“Aren’t you going to give me a tour of your place?”
My eyes widened. “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t seen it yet.”
“No. When I left Majestic Cove all those years ago, you were living in that apartment on Euclid Lane.”
“In that case, here’s the grand tour.”
***
After showing Scott around my place, we headed outside and got into his car. At that point, the drive to Adamson’s Majestic Cove Steakhouse began.
Scott made small talk as he drove down McKinley Lane.
“You have a really nice house,” Scott said.
“Thanks,” I replied.
“I’d love to have a place like that one day.”
“Maybe you will.”
“It’s something to pray about.”
“Let me say this. The house didn’t look like that when I moved in.”
“It didn’t?”
I shook my head. “When I picked it up a couple of years ago, it was in desperate need of renovation. Honestly, it’s only pretty recently that I finished working on it.”
“Wow. That’s good to know. When I buy a place, I want it to be move-in ready. I don’t have the time or the energy to renovate.”
“In retrospect, if I could go back, I probably would have done things a little differently.”
“Why?”
“Since the house was in such rough shape, I was able to get an amazing deal on the purchase price, but I completely underestimated just how much work it truly needed. Before I knew it, I was in over my head. But I wasn’t going to give up.”
“Of course not. You’re definitely not a quitter.”
“If I ever move again, I’m definitely going to buy a place that has already been updated.”
“That’s a good call.”
“Speaking of which, where are you living these days?”
“I’m currently renting an apartment on Langford Road.”
“No way. That means you only live a few blocks away from me.”
“I know. What a crazy coincidence. I had no idea that you were practically around the corner from me.”
“Now that you know, feel free to come by more often.”
“Before you get ahead of yourself, you should know that I might not stay at that complex much longer.”
“Wait. Are you thinking of moving already?”
“I’m considering it.”
“Why?”
“The residents of the building are a little louder than I’d like. After a long day of work, I like some peace and quiet.”
“I’m with you on that. I can never have too much peace in my life.”
“Honestly, it’s surprising what little peace I’ve experienced since I returned to Majestic Cove.”
“Your job sure has kept you busy, hasn’t it?”
He nodded. “More so than I ever expected. Then again, a lot of things about this town have been different than I anticipated.”
“Like what?”
“To start, I can’t believe that Edgarton’s Burgers and Shakes closed down.”
“I know. That was a real blow. Especially for the milkshake landscape in this town.”
He laughed. “Leave it to you to bring up milkshakes.”
“Why wouldn’t I? Those were some killer shakes.”
“I miss Edgarton’s cheeseburgers far more.”
“There are plenty of places to get a good burger in this town. Shakes are an entirely different story.”
“Hold on a second. What are the names of these so-called great burger places?”
“Have you been to Billingsley’s?”
“No.”
“How about Turner’s?”
“I’ve never even heard of those places.”
“I guess that makes sense. They only opened a couple of years ago.”
“It seems like a lot of new businesses have opened up since I left town.”
I stared out the window. “I guess so. Come to think of it, a fair amount of things around here have changed.”
“You aren’t kidding. In some ways, it feels like a completely different town than the one I grew up in.”
“Really? Do you seriously believe that it has changed that much?”
“In a lot of ways, yes. In other ways, things are exactly the same as I left them.”
“Like Kristina’s Bakery?”
“There you go, talking about sweets again.”
“Well, they are my favorite.”
“Speaking of things that are exactly the same, you haven’t changed a bit.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“In my mind, that’s a very good thing,” he said.
“I have to say, you sure know how to bring a smile to a woman’s face,” I replied.
Chapter Seven
When we arrived at the restaurant, a hostess seated us at a table in the corner. I didn’t even have to look at a menu. I knew exactly what I wanted. I was going to have steak. After all, this was a steakhouse. Filets were their specialty. I saw no reason to try anything different.
While my mind was made up, Scott wanted to take a look at the menu. Perhaps he
just wanted to see if they offered any new items. In the end, when our waiter came by, he ordered just what I expected. He liked his steak well-done. He also loved potatoes. And even though he wasn’t a huge fan of vegetables, he was going to eat them because they came with his meal.
Once the waiter left our table, I wanted to get to the meat of the matter.
Meanwhile, Scott seemed far more interested in continuing to make small talk.
“I don’t think the menu has changed here at all,” Scott said.
“Nope. And I hope it never does,” I replied.
“The owner is probably smart enough to realize that they have a winning formula. Why mess with that?”
“Scott, I don’t want to come across as too blunt, but can we get down to business?”
“Oh. Okay. I just thought we’d ease into things. I mean, we have all night.”
“I realize that. It’s just that I’ve been holding on to these questions for a while.”
“Let me guess. You’ve run out of patience?”
“Yes.”
“All right. I guess we can get down to business.”
“You don’t sound too excited.”
“That’s because I’m not.”
“Why?”
“You’ll find out when you hear my answers.”
“Okay. So, let’s get started then. What brought you back to Majestic Cove?”
“This job.”
“But what’s so special about this position? You were a detective in San Francisco.”
“I just needed a change of scenery.”
“That’s funny. You said the same thing when you left Majestic Cove.”
“True, but the circumstances are much different.”
“I’ll bet,” I said. “We don’t have to talk about why you left.”
“Good. I don’t want to go over that trauma again,” he said.
“Why would you? That was a devastating thing for you to go through. In fact, after what happened, I thought you would never set foot in Majestic Cove again,” I said.
The event I was referring to was the death of Scott’s parents. One night in late October, they were driving home from the movie theater when a drunk driver ran through a red light and plowed right into them. The collision was so brutal that Dave and Veronica Webster were both killed on impact. In addition, the drunk driver died as well.
Majestic Cove Mysteries Box Set 2 Page 6
