by Leena Clover
“Have you had lunch?” Jenny asked with concern.
“Adam ordered some Chinese food for lunch,” she said. “But I wasn’t really hungry.”
“Tell me what happened, Molls,” Jenny urged. “Did he do it?”
“He did,” Molly said, nodding her head. “He denied everything at first. Said Mrs. Daft must be mistaken. But he sang like a canary when he saw me.”
Jenny would never have guessed what Molly told her next.
“He never stopped loving me,” Molly said in wonder. “He never went out with any other woman. When I came back to Pelican Cove after my divorce, Kevin felt a surge of hope.”
“Did he ever ask you out?”
Molly shook her head.
“He was giving me time to recover. He had finally decided to ask me out when he saw John arguing with me at my doorstep.”
“Did he know John was your husband?”
“He did. He actually remembered his face from back when John had come here for that summer festival.”
“Did he feel threatened?”
“No,” Molly shook her head. “He was sure I wouldn’t go back to John.”
“It’s rare to have that kind of faith,” Jenny mused. “Why would he think that?”
“Deep down, he believed I loved him too.”
“What did you do to make him feel that, Molly?”
“Nothing,” Molly said, shrugging her shoulders. “I hardly ever noticed him. I mean, I ran into him all the time on the street or at the café, but I didn’t spare a thought for him.”
“You must have talked to him though.”
“I said Hello, Jenny, asked him how he was – just the usual polite talk you engage in with anyone you know.”
“Did you go on a date with him? Share a cup of coffee or something?”
“Nothing like that,” Molly said.
“Okay, go on.”
“Kevin heard part of our conversation. He followed John to the beach. He waited until they got away from town and came to a deserted stretch. Then he confronted him and asked him to leave me alone.”
“Was this the day of the party? Why didn’t he run into any picnickers?”
“This was earlier that morning, much before any of Ada’s guests or the other people thronged the beach.”
“John must have argued with him,” Jenny said, considering how it had ended.
“They got into a fight. Kevin slugged him with a piece of wood he picked up. He felled John with a single blow.”
“Was it an accident?”
“Kevin said he didn’t mean to kill John. He just wanted him to stay away from me.”
“What happened next? Did he just walk away from there?”
“He knew John was dead,” Molly told Jenny. “He must have known. He took John’s wallet and took out his driver’s license. He buried the wallet in the sand.”
“Jimmy Parsons must have found it there!”
“Kevin had one of your aunt’s brushes. He found it lying somewhere while delivering mail. He placed the brush in John’s hand.”
“What did Star ever do to him?” Jenny cried.
“He just wanted to confuse the police.”
“Did Kevin think he would get away with this?”
“He was pretty confident,” Molly said. “He was sure none of the people in town knew who John was. And then you stepped in and started looking into the whole thing.”
“Did he deface the café?” Jenny asked angrily.
Molly sighed.
“Petunia chose that day to turn up early. He got away just in time.”
“What about the attack on Jenny?” Star asked from the doorway.
Neither Jenny nor Molly had noticed Star and Nick come in. Petunia, Heather and Betty Sue huddled behind them.
“Did you get any of that?” Jenny asked.
“We heard it all,” Betty Sue said. “That Kevin! He was under our noses all the time, spying on us.”
Heather shushed her grandma and looked at Molly.
“Did he really hurt Jenny?”
“He saw her at the high school, asking about yearbooks. He thought she would see our pictures and figure it all out.”
“Now I remember Molly dated him in high school,” Heather spoke up. “We all thought they would get married after graduation.”
“I always planned to go to college,” Molly argued. “Marriage was the last thing on my mind.”
“It was the first thing on his, apparently,” Heather sniffed.
A nurse came in and shooed them all out.
Jenny found her eyelids drooping and she fell into a deep sleep.
Two days later, Jenny was back home with Star. She finally felt strong enough to go for a walk on the beach. The familiar scent of roses and honeysuckle perfumed the air around Star’s cottage. The sky was ablaze in shades of pink and mauve. The weather was pleasant enough to go out without a sweater.
Jenny had received a fat envelope by courier that afternoon. Her divorce was final. Her lawyer had got her a big settlement. She got the house in the city and another vacation home they had in the mountains. Her husband wanted to continue living in their old home with his new family. He had offered her cash instead and she had accepted. She also had a fixed monthly payment coming to her for life. The judge had awarded her half of all remaining assets. Jenny’s future was secure. Her whole life stretched before her and she had the means to live anywhere in the world. But Pelican Cove had carved a special place in her heart.
She spotted a familiar yellow body bounding toward her across the sand. Opening her arms wide, she steeled herself for the impact.
“Tank! You darling! I have missed you so much.”
Tank showed his affection by licking her all over her face.
Jenny’s heart gave a leap and announced Adam’s presence.
“Feeling better?” he asked her.
“That’s what I get for interfering in police business.”
“You did good, Jenny,” Adam said reluctantly. “He almost got away.”
Jenny shuddered as she thought of Kevin and his smiling face. He had charmed them all with his salutes and his cheery greetings.
“He was there all along,” she quivered. “He was one step ahead of us.”
“Not anymore,” Adam reminded her. “You are safe now, Jenny. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
“It will be a while before I stop looking over my shoulder,” Jenny admitted.
She pulled a tennis ball out of her pocket and tossed it in the distance. Tank ran to fetch it.
“He was devious, wasn’t he? He purposely planted that paintbrush on the dead body to frame Star. He was thinking ahead.”
Adam cleared his throat.
“That wasn’t the sole reason we suspected your aunt. Someone saw her on the beach the day before the Spring Gala. She didn’t remember going there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
“I couldn’t. It was an ongoing investigation.”
Jenny realized she had misjudged Adam.
“I miss my son,” she told him. “It was nice having him here for a while. He got along well with your twins.”
Adam’s face lit up in a smile. It completely transformed his face, making him look a bit like Ethan.
“They text each other all the time now,” he told Jenny. “They are planning to spend some time here in the summer.”
“Awesome!” Jenny said happily. “I’m so glad they hit it off.”
“Some things are so easy when you are young,” Adam said cryptically.
Jenny saw him wince in pain and slowed down.
“Do you want to take a break?” she asked.
Tank was walking beside them, his tail wagging vigorously.
“I’m fine,” Adam snapped.
“Why do you come all the way to this beach?” Jenny asked him. “Is it because it’s a smooth stretch without any rocks?”
“Something like that…” Adam said, looking aw
ay.
“Shall we turn back?” Jenny asked, stifling a yawn.
“Ethan is holding a barbecue at his place,” Adam said in a rush. “Do you want to check it out?”
“You mean the Fool’s Day BBQ?” Jenny asked. “I’m already going. Jason told me about it. Sounds like fun.”
“You’re going with Jason?” Adam mumbled.
“We are all going,” Jenny said eagerly.
Adam nodded and stared at the horizon.
“So you are going to stay on in Pelican Cove?”
“This is my home now,” Jenny told him. “Where else would I be?”
***
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the loving support of several people. Many thanks to my friend and mentor Bob who is a constant source of inspiration and advice. Thank you to my sibling who questions every plot point and much more to make the story better. Thank you to my beta readers and advanced readers who provide valuable feedback in the nick of time. Thanks to all my readers who motivate me to keep writing. Above all, thanks to my family who provide a support system that enables me to write the stories in my head.
I truly appreciate your assistance.
Coming up next – Cupcakes and Celebrities Book 2
Cupcakes and Celebrities – Pelican Cove Cozy Mystery Series Book 2
By Leena Clover
Chapter 1
Jenny King fidgeted with her organza dress, trying to ignore the stream of sweat trickling down her back. Why had she ever agreed to be a bridesmaid, she moaned to herself. Could you technically be a bridesmaid if you were in your forties? The peach dress she was wearing was supposed to be pretty, but Jenny looked and felt like a giant pumpkin. The May morning was unseasonably hot, the temperatures already soaring above 95 degrees.
“Stop that,” Heather muttered, jabbing an elbow in her side.
Heather Morse was one of Jenny’s new friends, a young woman she had met when she came to live in the town of Pelican Cove a few months ago. Jenny was at a loose end after her twenty year old marriage ended suddenly. Her aunt Star had summoned her to the remote Virginia island where she lived.
The past few months had been a blur. Jenny had fallen in love with Pelican Cove and the diverse group of women she befriended had made her feel right at home.
“This dress is too tight for me,” Jenny complained, giving Heather a nasty look. “I should never have agreed to do this.”
“I owe you one,” Heather sighed. “Let’s just get through the ceremony. You can change into something more comfortable as soon as they say ‘I do’.”
Jenny looked around at her luxurious surroundings. Normally, she wouldn’t have been able to set foot in the Pelican Cove Country Club. You either needed plenty of money to get in, or a certain bloodline. Jenny had neither. The Country Club catered to the Eastern Shore elite and only the top families of Virginia’s Eastern Shore were members.
“She does look gorgeous,” Jenny said, spying the radiant bride who stood a few feet away from her.
Crystal Mars was the most sought after star in Hollywood since she had signed a popular reality TV show. She had a couple of movie deals on the table too. The wedding was supposed to be hush-hush and on the QT, as they said in the business. Crystal was adamant about having a beach wedding with at least five bridesmaids. She had remembered her distant cousin Heather lived on some remote island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. One look at the Pelican Cove Country Club had sealed the deal for her. A lavish wedding weekend had been planned, with most wedding related activities squeezed into four days.
“That dress!” Heather said enviously. “It’s Vera Wang, you know.”
Jenny admitted Crystal had been more than generous with her bridesmaids. The dress Jenny wore was a simple sheath of the finest silk, made by some pricey designer. Jenny couldn’t find fault with it, other than the fact that it wasn’t her size. But that wasn’t Crystal’s fault. Jenny was filling in for a girl at the last moment. She was just happy to be part of the wedding party.
“Everything looks beautiful,” Jenny nodded, looking around her.
Crystal had chosen white and peach roses for her wedding. The lush green grounds of the country club gently sloped toward a white sandy beach. The turquoise blue waves of the Atlantic Ocean pounded against the shore. A wedding arch covered with dozens of tiny roses in white and peach provided a stunning backdrop for the impending ceremony. The path leading up to the arch was laid with a carpet strewn with petals.
“Shouldn’t he be here by now?” Heather spoke loudly.
Crystal turned to glare at her.
A shout went up in the small group just then and someone pointed to the sky. Jenny shaded her eyes with her hands and squinted up.
“What’s going on, Heather?”
She could barely make out a small plane in the bright blue sky.
“You don’t know?” Heather panted. “That’s the groom.”
“What?” Jenny asked in confusion.
She had been trying hard to hold her tongue. The bride had walked down the aisle five minutes ago but the groom was nowhere in sight. Jenny had attributed it to some kind of Hollywood quirk.
There was a smattering of applause as something dropped from the plane. The small speck grew in size as it hurtled toward the ground. A cheer went up as a parachute unfurled over the figure.
“That’s the groom?” Jenny asked, her jaw hanging open.
“That’s the groom alright,” Heather said dreamily. “That’s Wayne Newman.”
She grabbed Jenny’s arm and forced her to look up at the sky.
The next few seconds were a blur. A second body dropped out of the plane and plunged toward the ground. It struck the first body and continued racing down. With bated breath, the crowd watched for the second parachute to open. Something shot up in the sky but no canopy opened. Before anyone realized what was happening, the figure crashed into the four tier wedding cake.
Hardly anyone paid attention to the second big thump. Jenny looked up to see a man dressed in a tuxedo rolling on the ground, trying to untangle himself from a colorful parachute.
A scream pierced the air jarring Jenny’s senses. It wasn’t the only one. A buzz went up as people swore around her.
“She’s dead!” someone said unnecessarily, pointing at the body sprawled across the remains of the lavish wedding cake.
It had cost five figures, Jenny remembered Heather telling her. She leaned closer to peer at the unfortunate soul who had just got a free ride to the other world. The girl looked beautiful even in death. Golden blond hair covered her head like a halo. Her deep blue eyes, now lifeless, stared up at the sky. Her svelte body and long limbs indicated she was well over six feet tall. Jenny’s eyes popped out when she noticed a large sapphire nestled between the girl’s breasts. Her eyes grew larger when she noticed what the girl was wearing.
“Isn’t that…” Heather mumbled next to her.
“It’s a wedding dress alright,” Jenny said grimly. “The exact same dress Crystal Mars is wearing.”
“But isn’t that couture? I thought they didn’t make two of anything?”
Sirens sounded in the distance, and reality set in slowly as people came out of shock. The groom raced up to the body on the ground, still attached to his parachute. His arm hung at an awkward angle and one side of his face was caked with a mixture of grass and blood.
“Bella!” he exclaimed, running a hand through the girl’s hair.
“Don’t touch her,” Jenny sprang forward to caution him. “The police are on their way.”
“What was Bella doing on the plane with you?” Crystal Mars asked.
She held the groom’s other arm and her face was white with shock.
“I didn’t know she was on the plane,” the groom wailed.
People around them looked up then, probably trying to spot the plane. It was nowhere to be seen.
“Make way, please,” a familiar voice called out and
Jenny felt a surge of relief.
Adam Hopkins, the sheriff of Pelican Cove, emerged through the crowd, followed by a bunch of deputies and law enforcement types. He took one look at the prone body and started clearing a perimeter around it. Crime scene tape went up and a couple of policemen stood on guard.
“Why don’t you folks head over to the club house?” Adam ordered. “We will want to take a statement from each of you.”
The crowd slowly made way to a pavilion at the end of the grounds. Finally, Adam spared a glance at Jenny.
“Hello Jenny,” he said softly. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Crystal’s my cousin,” Heather spoke up. “A distant cousin.”
“I heard about that,” Adam told her.
“One of the bridesmaids pulled out due to a last minute gig,” Heather explained. “There was a spot in the wedding party. Crystal wanted Jenny to be part of it.”
“Another one of your fans?” Adam asked Jenny, cracking a smile.
“Jenny made cupcakes for the wedding shower,” Heather nodded vigorously. “Crystal can’t stop raving about them.”
“So what happened here? Did you ladies see anything?”
“It was all a blur,” Jenny spoke up. “Literally. It all went down in a couple of minutes. One minute we were watching the groom arrive in his parachute, and the next we were staring at that poor girl.”
“Do you know who she is?” Adam asked Heather. “Is she one of your relations?”
“Oh no,” Heather shook her head. “She wasn’t in the wedding party. And I don’t think she was on the guest list either.”
“Looks like someone decided to crash the wedding,” Adam said, scratching his head. “I wonder why.”
“Crystal and the groom both seemed to know her,” Jenny supplied. “They called her Bella.”
“Bella Darling was the girl Crystal replaced on the show,” Heather said, snapping her fingers. “She had the lead role first but then they pulled her out and Crystal got the part.”
“Bella Darling?” Adam said doubtfully. “That’s actually a name?”
“It could be her professional name,” Heather explained, “but it’s a name nevertheless.”
