by Rimmy London
Danger at Poppyridge Cove
Rimmy London
Contents
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Thank you for your interesting in book 4 of the Seaside Inn Mystery series, a cozy mystery anthology!
Enjoy reading and please consider leaving a review when you’re done.
Cheers,
Rimmy
Chapter 1
Abby never imagined her two-year-old daughter's birthday party could dig up the single most horrid secret from her past. But quite unexpectedly, it did.
The day started out nice enough, even in early fall. Sun peeked over the redwoods by early noon, warming the inn and brightening the many colorful balloons and decorations adorning the backyard party. She'd hired a local caterer and couldn't be more satisfied. Miniature cupcakes with delicate swirls of pink and purple frosting were stacked on tiered serving trays and truffles, wrapped in shimmering foil paper, were scattered throughout the display. Miniature cloth dolls sat with their tiny legs dangling off the table or leaned against the beautiful decorations and stands. She already knew Ava was going to adore them and couldn't wait to see her daughter's big, cheerful brown eyes, wide with excitement.
"That's everything, ma'am." The raven-haired caterer had his hands clasped together in front of his white apron and bowed slightly. His Italian heritage showed through in an envious complexion and black-stubbled jawline. He'd been so perfectly gracious since the moment he stepped foot at Poppyridge Inn, with a demeanor that had Abby feeling exceptionally valued. She already knew she'd be recommending him to everyone.
"Thank you so much, Devón. It looks wonderful."
With a pleasant dip of his head, he turned back to the white company van. Devón Catering was written on the side in big, beautiful, curled letters followed by his number.
Abby brushed a few dark curls out of her view and pulled out her phone quickly to snap a picture of it, along with half a dozen more of the tables loaded with little bites of heaven. Guests would be arriving any minute, and shortly after, Chase would pull up with Ava. Butterflies fluttered in Abby's stomach. She could hardly wait.
Chase's parents arrived first. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, always the picture of punctuality. Saul had a constant smile and gray-touched brown hair, and Felicia’s light blue eyes never ceased to sparkle. Having twisted her honey-blonde hair into gentle curls that fell to her shoulders, she looked very pretty. Abby couldn't help but smile appreciatively at these two humans who managed to raise such an incredible son. They were gracious and overflowing with compliments of the beautiful setup, although behind Mrs. Robert's smile, Abby could see something was troubling her. But there was no time to sort it out before the party. Whatever was going on, it would have to wait.
"Abigail!" Mr. Fullmer walked a brisk shuffle aside his daughter, Jess. His age meant most of his energy showed in his glittering dark eyes instead of his stride. A previous neighbor to the Poppyridge Inn, and a generous benefactor, he and Abby had developed a warm friendship.
She reached for his wrinkled hand, holding it between hers and smiling back at him and his daughter. "Hello, Mr. Fullmer—Jessica. So glad you could both make it, so sweet of you."
"Oh, wouldn't miss it!" he huffed, slightly out of breath. His light gray hair was combed neatly, and they made their way to the closest table and relaxed into the white plastic chairs. “Thanks, Abby.” Jess’s pretty, freckled face lit up in a smile as she walked aside her father.
Last was Emily, Abby's closest friend, along with her boyfriend, Ryan. Emily’s pixie-cut blonde hair had grown a little since Abby had last seen her. The length had her looking classy and chic—not that it took much for Emily; she was naturally stunning. Ryan greeted guests, but his eyes never strayed from hers for long. They were the essence of happiness, and just seeing them together had Abby's nerves settling. It was a feeling that would be surprisingly temporary, but at least for now, it was there.
Presents were stacked on the table, everyone obviously in a spoiling mood, as Abby realized there were far more gifts than guests. She smiled around the party, grateful for her makeshift family. A thought pinched at her heart, the pain of her mother's death and her father's early abandonment of them both. But she'd learned not to listen to it and to count her blessings, so she shoved the sadness quickly away. Her life had more than enough family.
When Chase arrived with Ava, Abby rushed to meet them at the corner of the house, where the party was still out of view. Ava bounced forward on her clumsy legs, jumping into Abby's embrace and giggling with all the happiness her tiny body could hold.
"Hello, little bug," Abby squeezed her tight, lifting her into her arms. She slid her fingers through Ava's silky golden-brown pigtails, a habit she'd developed as soon as Ava had hair long enough to tie back. "Did you have fun with Daddy?"
Chase hugged her from the side, and she turned to kiss him quickly, closing her eyes in the brief connection. Her heart warmed another level, and she kept her eyes on his hazel gaze. She felt so grateful for him at that moment, always strong and selfless—she loved him more deeply than she'd ever imagined she could love. Then they'd been blessed with Ava, and somehow, her heart had grown to hold them both.
A balloon popped, and Ava's head whipped around, staring at Abby with her tiny lips puckered in a surprised gasp. Abby widened her eyes, "What was that?"
"Wook, Mommy!" Ava leaned toward the backyard, reaching her arm out anxiously. "Wook!"
Abby laughed and Chase joined in, wrapping his arm around her. "Let's go see!" he whispered, his face as excited as Ava's.
They rounded the corner. "Happy birthday!" Cheers erupted, and Ava squealed, reaching for the ground until she'd been released. She ran in the unbalanced hop of a two-year-old, stopping to grip the table and peer at the colorful contents.
She stretched her little arm as far as she could, opening and closing her fingers desperately. "Want… want!"
"Can you say, please?" Chase leaned over the table, lifting the little doll with long, brown braids.
"Peeees!"
He handed the doll to Ava, where it was immediately squeezed tight, never to be released again.
Each guest called to Ava and showered her with love and compliments in turn, holding or talking to the giggling toddler. There were few plans beyond that, and Abby felt immensely happy. Laughing with friends and entertaining Ava, they gathered around the long tables and sampled a dozen varieties of cupcakes until they couldn't bear sampling another. It was then that presents were brought forward.
Sitting on a large blanket, Ava delicately pulled at the string on the first gift, becoming distracted by the way the curled pink ribbon bounced out of her fingers. Chase pulled back the paper wrapping until Ava noticed images of puppies on the box… then she got the idea. She tore at the paper and lifted each gift, shouting, "Oww, tanks!" Again and again, until she'd opened them all.
In the end, she wandered through the tables and chairs, holding an empty cardboard box, her second-favorite gift of the afternoon. She’d proudly settled her first-favorite gift inside, the cloth doll with the long braids. When her arms got tired, she dragged it behind her with their happy Labrador, Champ, bounding after.
"Oh, here's one more!" Chase's father held up a small box wrappe
d in pink sparkling gift wrap.
Abby couldn’t remember seeing the gift before. She lifted her eyebrows at Mr. Roberts, expecting him to claim it, but he only shrugged. "It was right here on the table." Chase held it up. "Anyone? Who's this one from?"
There were no answers while eyes searched across the party. Chase glanced at Abby, and she found herself shrugging as well. He didn't seem bothered and reached for the gift, holding it out to his daughter. "Ava, another present!"
Ava's eyes lit up, and she reached for the small box, ripping it open quickly. A plastic horse fell onto the grass, and she stared at it. Usually preferring soft, cuddly toys, Ava seemed to be deciding if she wanted to pick it up or leave it.
Abby laughed, reaching down. But as she knelt, she noticed an envelope wedged in the small box with her maiden name written on the front, Abigail Tanner. It was so unexpected, she wasn't sure what to think. No one attending the party would address her like that.
There was a clattering sound as their Labrador pulled on the tablecloth, toppling one stand of cupcakes to the ground. Guests jumped up to help, and Champ raced away. Abby took the moment of distraction to tear the envelope open and turn it upside down.
A loop of multi-colored strings fell into her palm along with a folded note. But she couldn't move to open it, her eyes were locked on the small bundle of strings. Her heart had fallen to her stomach, and her head began to spin. The strings were a homemade ring, she remembered. Her life had changed when he'd tied it on her finger, but only because he changed more… in terrible ways.
"Abby?" Chase's voice was casual. She slowly returned to the present, her eyes dropping to the grass just as Ava reached for the plastic horse. The horse that came from a man she feared, a man she believed would do anything to have her. Or anything to harm her.
"No!" She snatched it away, panicked. Her heart throbbed as she gasped for breath, watching Ava's sad eyes fill with tears. "I'm sorry, honey. It… it fell in the mud." Her voice was shaking, and she quickly choked back her shock. "It's all yucky and dirty. Can I wash it for you?"
Ava nodded sweetly before wandering back to her other gifts.
Abby was vaguely aware of the sudden silence around her, the questioning looks, and confusion. But above everything, she could feel Chase's eyes. They were watching and analyzing—always intelligent. His career in psychology meant he already knew she'd just lied to their daughter, but she dared to hope he couldn't see everything that coursed through her. Had he seen the ring? It was now squeezed tightly in her palm along with the note. This one piece of her past wasn't a lie if she'd simply avoided talking about it, right? She argued with her thoughts, but she already knew the answer.
Yes, it was a lie. A big one. And now, somehow, he'd found her after all these years.
"I'll just go wash this." She hurried to the house, keeping her eyes on the ground as she went. She imagined her guests noticing every movement and expression she made, reading her fear and whispering among themselves. It was silly of her; she knew it. Her friends and family wouldn’t behave like that, but her fears were digging at her, heightening every anxiety in her head.
Once inside, she risked a glance behind her, finding the guests helping to discard the ruined cupcakes and laughing as they watched Chase try to stop Ava from eating one. He skirted around the table while she dove under, squealing with laughter. But Abby couldn't feel the right emotions, everything hinged on the folded paper in her hand. Maybe she was wrong, and her memories were just childish fears. What if he'd written simply to apologize?
She stuffed the makeshift ring in her pocket and unfolded the paper, trying to ignore the way her shaking hands made the edges flutter. There was only one sentence… but it was quite enough.
You said you'd love me forever.
Her breath gusted through her lungs as she read the sentence over and over. She could hear his voice, something she'd considered pleasant when they first met. But once he'd convinced her that they were in love, things had changed. She hadn't noticed right away; it had taken a few days. But when her teenage boyfriend had tied that ring around her finger, he showed a side she’d never known. He watched and corrected, occasionally grabbing her wrist with enough strength to have her wincing in pain. It was like she suddenly became his property, forced to ask permission for every minuscule decision. At only fifteen years old, she thought she'd found one good thing in her dismal life. Her life with an addict for a mother and a father who'd skipped out of the picture seven years earlier. A life where meals were scarce and punishments were frequent.
For a moment, she was suddenly back in the pathetic two-bedroom disaster she grew up in. With blind eyes, she gazed across the inn, seeing only a ripped mattress on the floor and a ratty blanket and pillow. Dirt and sadness.
"Mommy!"
Ava was crying. Abby glanced up to see Chase holding her in his arms, carrying their daughter inside. She shoved the note in her pocket, along with the ring, just as she realized there were tears on her cheeks. Brushing them away quickly, she managed to form her lips into a smile as her husband and daughter approached.
"Bunny, what's wrong?" She took Ava from Chase's arms.
"Owie, Mommy… owie." She smacked her knee with one hand, but the real reason for her tears came after, when a yawn overtook her small frame.
Abby held a hand on her back, letting the small head rest on her shoulder and rocking her gently. Her sadness calmed, and within a few minutes, she'd be asleep. Abby closed her eyes in the sheer comfort of her daughter. There were still demons in her mind, waiting at the edges and ready to surface the moment she began exploring every what if. But for the moment, she reveled in the simple ease of providing a solution to a problem. If only everything were so easy.
"So." Chase's voice was quiet and deep, a voice she knew to be both loving and supportive.
But at the sound of it, her stomach coiled into a knot, and she worked to keep the relaxed expression on her face. She wanted to scream, to cry, and reach out for him, but instead, she held still and waited.
"What was that all about?" He allowed a moment of silence, waiting for her reply, but she gave none. "That wasn't very nice, you know. Why did you steal Ava's toy?"
She could hear the teasing in his question, could practically see the smile on his face even as she stared out the window, still rocking Ava. Her daughter's tiny body had drifted off, weighing more heavily in her arms. Laughing at his comment would be the natural response, the one he was likely expecting. But she couldn't laugh. She didn't know what to think or what to do. Chase and Ava were everything; they were her whole life. They were the Cinderella happy ending she'd never hoped to dream of. What if this conversation would change that?
"I…" Her voice came out as a whisper, and she could feel her eyes heavy with moisture. She cleared her throat, and Chase stepped around her.
He placed one hand on her shoulder, and any joking in his expression dropped away. His smile quickly turned to worry. "What's going on, Abby? What's wrong?"
Still holding Ava, Abby couldn't lift her hand to stop the tear that fell. It trailed down her cheek as she looked back at her husband. What if this was it? Would he think less of her or not be able to trust her again? What if he questioned her sense? What if he blamed her for endangering their family?
"There's something I need to tell you," she whispered, the words dropping like final notes in a chord, heavy and resounding. The look in Chase's eyes was something she held on to, full of concern. But in a few minutes, it could very well disappear for good.
Chapter 2
"Hey, you tw—oh." Chase's mom waved apologetically and stepped back out of the house. She'd seen little Ava sleeping on Abby's shoulder, but Abby couldn't help wondering what else she'd noticed in those brief seconds. Mrs. Roberts had a sharp eye and likely saw the sadness on Abby's face and the tear trail still wet on her cheek.
"You don't think they'll mind if I just go put her in bed?" she asked, relief coursing through her at the chance to pu
t off their conversation, if only for a few minutes.
"Of course not." Chase kissed her cheek softly. "I'll just go excuse the guests and tell them the birthday girl has crashed." There was a glimmer of laughter in his eyes, but he still glanced across Abby's face cautiously.
The moment he left, Abby headed upstairs to the master bedroom. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to Chase; she did. But her memories of Kyle were frightening. She'd counted her blessings a hundred times over when his dad had gotten a job out of the country and moved their family away. She'd received letters from him regularly but only answered once to send the ring back. Even at that young age, she knew she'd been given a bit of mercy, and she didn't want to waste it. Eventually, the letters stopped coming, and she hoped he'd finally given up. A dozen years had passed since then. Perhaps he'd found love—he could even be married by now, with a family.
She placed Ava gently on her bed and backed out of the room, easing the door closed. The master bedroom was big, so it wasn't much of an inconvenience to share. But now that Ava was two, they'd have to start thinking about converting one of the guest rooms to her bedroom. Perhaps they'd waited this long because Abby felt uncomfortable with the idea of being separated.
"Hun?" Chase smoothed his hand along her back. She was standing in the hall, still peering in at Ava through a small opening in the door. At the touch of Chase's hand, she turned and wrapped her arms around him. He held her in silence for a few minutes before sweeping her hair back. "C'mon, let's go in the den." He wrapped a strong arm around her, and they continued down the hall to a small room that could be converted to a bedroom if needed. For now, it was a cozy library with a couch on one side and a fireplace on the other.
