by Lynn Cahoon
Chapter 4
I’d wanted to ask him more about the woman’s death, but I just couldn’t do it. Not as tired as he looked. As Greg left, Darla came bouncing into the shop. I watched as she tried to stop Greg, but he just waved her off. “What can I get you, Darla?”
“The usual, to go.” Darla climbed up on the stool. “Greg looks beat. Is this about the murder of that girl?”
“He’s been working since six yesterday morning. I think he’s beyond tired by now.” I made the full-fat mocha and poured on the whipped cream. “The police force really had a hard time keeping the tourists in line yesterday.”
“Tell me about it. We had five fights break out at the winery, and we never have fights. Matt said it reminded him of when he used to bounce for a motorcycle club bar.” Darla pulled out her notebook. “Anyway, maybe you can clear up a few things. I’ve been told that the victim, a young woman named Alana McDaniel, was found about midnight on the beach.”
“What did you say? What was her name?” I sat the cup down on the counter and tried to put a lid on it, but my hands were shaking. It couldn’t be the same girl.
Darla pulled out her phone. “I Googled her. She was an actress. She’s been in a few films, mostly the supporting female character, nothing major.”
I stared at the picture. The woman I was looking at had on a lot more makeup, and she was dressed for some formal event, but it was Alana. The woman who had turned down a piece of cheesecake because her friends were waiting for her. Friends that had left her drunk on the beach. “I can’t believe it’s her.”
Darla took the mocha from my shaking grip and put the lid on it herself. She didn’t look at me as she casually asked the next question. “Oh, did you know her?”
I grabbed the stool that was on the side of the bar and sat, not sure if my legs would continue to hold me if I didn’t. “Yes, I mean, no. I didn’t know her. I met her yesterday.”
“Oh, where?” Darla’s tone was soft like she was afraid if she pushed that I’d clam up and not talk to the reporter side. Which I never did, but hearing Alana’s name had spooked me.
“Here. At the store. She bought coffee yesterday.”
A long put-upon sigh came from Darla. “And how many other people did you sell coffee to yesterday. Why did you remember this one in particular?”
I thought about the encounter. I meet ten to fifteen new people on a slow day. On a day like yesterday, probably hundreds came through my front door. I couldn’t remember all of them. And yet, when it was this girl, I did. Why? “She looked vulnerable. Nice, maybe too nice.”
“Sometimes the nice ones make easy targets.” Darla studied the photo closer. Recognition filled her face. “Wait, I remember seeing her at the winery. It was a group of four, maybe double-dating? But the girls seemed to know each other better than the guys did.”
“She called one of the guys Moon. Said she was probably going to marry him.” I smiled as I remembered our conversation. “He has money. She thought her dad might overlook the fact he wasn’t Irish for the money.”
“I wonder if Tilly heard anything.” She must have seen my confused look. As she pulled out her phone, she explained. “Tilly’s our newest server. But I’m not sure how long she’ll be staying. I swear, sometimes these girls just take on jobs to see if they fit.”
I hadn’t had the same experience with hiring baristas, but I would suspect working in a bar or a winery was a lot different atmosphere than selling coffee and books. But I did agree with Darla on one point. “Hiring is hard.”
“You got that right. Did I tell you...” She held up a finger as the call was answered. “Hey, Tilly. Did I wake you? Oh, sorry. Look, I wanted to ask you…”
Darla scooted off the stool and went to look out the window as she finished her conversation. I got up and went to pour myself another coffee. It had been a shock to find out that Alana was dead. I had liked the girl immediately. She just beamed out joy and kindness. But something about Darla’s description of the group bothered me. Hadn’t there been five in the group when they came into the shop for Alana’s coffee? Maybe the other guy had waited outside at the winery or hadn’t joined the group yet.
I pulled my notebook out and started making a timeline of where the group was seen. I’d met Greg at about eleven after the parade. Amy had seen two of the group just before six. And Alana’s body was found at midnight. I stared at the page. This was like one of those word puzzles I used to do during summers when I visited Aunt Jackie. But in the puzzle, no one wound up dead.
When Darla came back, she shook her head. “Talking to that girl is like talking to a television show. You never get a straight answer, and I’m not sure she even understood who she was talking to.”
“She didn’t remember the group?” So much for filling in the gaps of Alana’s last day. “What time did you say they were there?”
“I didn’t say.” Darla leaned over the counter and took my notebook. She studied what I’d written and added some notes. “But it was a little after two. The winery was slowing down, and I was starting to send people home for a couple of hours’ sleep before they had to come back for the night shift. That’s why Tilly remembered them. They were in her station when she was sent home. When she came back, they were gone, and they stiffed her on a tip. Or the covering server took it. Which could have happened.”
I took the notebook back and studied it. “She was at the winery at two? Then they returned the bikes at six. That’s only four hours. I wonder what time they rented them.”
“Austin should be able to fill in that gap.” Her phone buzzed. “Look, I’ve got to get back to the winery and open for the Sunday tours, but if you find out anything else, call me. You’re doing really good work here. Your boyfriend should hire you on as a detective.”
“Not the job I want, now or ever.” But as Darla left, I studied the timeline again. There was something I was forgetting about my talk to Alana. Where had they been going when they left? My eyes widened. “Diamond Lille’s.”
“That’s a great idea.” My aunt said from behind me. “You should go get us an early lunch since you have to work a longer shift today.”
I stuffed the notebook into my tote. My aunt was on Greg’s side and didn’t approve of my investigation habit. “Sounds like a plan.”
My aunt chuckled. “A plan in a few hours. Jill, it’s only nine.”
I glanced at the clock and sighed. The next step in my investigation would have to wait for a few hours. And I knew exactly who to talk to when I got to the diner. “I guess I’m hungrier than I thought. Do you want a treat for breakfast?”
Aunt Jackie poured herself a cup of coffee and went around the counter, taking the stool Darla had just vacated. She flipped open the laptop she’d brought out from the office. “No, I don’t, but go ahead. I want to talk to you a little about yesterday’s sales. Do you realize we sold more books than coffee? That’s the first time that has happened.”
I grabbed a second brownie and refilled my cup. My aunt didn’t need to know I’d eaten with Greg earlier. “I assumed we would sell fewer books yesterday. I mean, it didn’t look like a reading crowd.”
We went over the numbers and the books that had sold. My aunt was right. We always made more money on book sales, but this time, the number of books sold had beat out the number of drinks purchased. Our software did a great job of sorting out what was sold over any time period. But it couldn’t tell us the reasons behind the sales numbers. That we had to deduce all on our own.
The discussion went right up to noon, when my aunt gave me her lunch order and I called it in. I had about twenty minutes before I could pick it up, but I wanted to have time to talk to Carrie, the waitress who had been at Diamond Lille’s since Lille had opened the place. I grabbed my tote. Traffic had been slow, but we’d had walk-ins for coffee here and there.
“You going already?” My aunt lo
oked up from her book-order list.
I nodded. “Seems like there’s a lull in customers. Maybe it will be ready earlier than expected.”
“That’s true.” My aunt narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re not heading over to the police station to see Greg, are you?”
I held my hand up in a Girl Scout salute. “I swear, I’m going to Diamond Lille’s and coming straight back.”
“You always were good with a half truth.” My aunt smiled and went back to studying the laptop. “Just be careful out there, okay?”
I couldn’t blame her for worrying. A woman had been killed in our little seaside town just yesterday. I hoped Greg found out why so we could quit worrying about a killer walking among us.
Although some of us in town weren’t worrying about killers. As I passed by the walkway between my building and Antiques by Thomas, Josh Thomas came out with a dripping water hose. Kyle, his assistant, was close behind with a large bucket filled with soapy water and a scrub brush.
Josh glared at me like I’d been the one to pee on his brick. “It’s all cleaned. The next time, you can do the honors.”
“I would have helped. Aunt Jackie’s minding the store, so if you’d let me know, I would have come out to help.” I smiled at Kyle as he made his way to the sewer grate and dumped the soapy water into the drainage. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was only supposed to be rainwater that went into the storm-drain lines. Especially since the city didn’t filter the water much before it dumped it back into the ocean.
“Kyle, you should have dumped that inside in the janitor’s sink.” Apparently, Josh didn’t have the same reluctance to reprimand his employee.
“Crap, I forgot.” Kyle looked down the drain like he could pull the soapy water back. “I’m not going to kill a sea lion or something with that, am I?”
“Just don’t do it again.” Josh’s tone softened, and he handed Kyle the hose. “Can you put this away for me I want to talk to Miss Gardner for a moment.”
“Of course.” Kyle took the hose and gently laid it on the curb. “I’ll go clean the bucket out and then come back for this.”
He disappeared inside before Josh could respond.
“The boy should have done the hose first. Now some tourist could come by, trip on the hose and sue me.” He sighed shaking his head. “He’s got a lot to learn.”
“Kyle’s doing great,” I said. And he was. The tattoo-covered hoodlum, as Josh had described him when he first started working at the antiques store, had shown a real interest in antiques and a strong skill in selling. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”
Josh blushed, glancing around the empty street. “You brought up your aunt. I was just wondering if she was doing all right. She is taking her supplements, right? She really doesn’t like taking those pills, but they’re good for her.”
With an internal sigh, I realized that Josh still cared for my aunt. They’d broken up when Harrold had come into the picture. I don’t think the relationship had ever been serious in my aunt’s eyes, but Josh still carried a torch for her. I reached out and put a hand on his arm. He jumped a bit but didn’t shake me off. “She’s fine, Josh. You need to stop worrying about her and get on with your life.”
The look he gave me was filled with such love and sadness I almost teared up. “Miss Gardner, that sounds like a perfectly logical thing to do. Unfortunately, the heart isn’t logical.”
We heard the door slam shut. We were no longer alone.
“Hey, boss? There’s a dealer from Boston on the phone who wants to talk to you about the collection we picked up last week. Do you want me to tell him you’ll call back?”
Josh met my eyes and then turned around. “No, Kyle. Miss Gardner and I are done. I’ll take the call. You worry about getting that hose out of the walking path.”
And with that, the tender moment between us had passed. I think that was the only conversation I’d had with Josh when I didn’t come away thinking the guy hated my guts. But I couldn’t be joyful in that when it was clear that he was still hurting from the breakup with my aunt.
Chapter 5
Sunday’s after-church rush was in full swing when I got to the restaurant. There were a few seats at the counter, but Lille didn’t like folks waiting for to-go orders sitting there, so I stood near the hostess station.
Carrie waved me to a counter chair. “Come in and sit down. Your order isn’t ready yet, and Lille isn’t here.”
I glanced around the crowded dining room as I hesitantly moved to the chair. “Are you sure? I can stand here and wait.”
“There’s no need for you to be on your feet. One day, when you’re old like me, you’ll want to get off your feet when you can.” Carrie set a glass of tea on the counter in front of me. “So how has everything been going. You and that handsome hunk still dating?”
“Yeah, Greg and I are still together.” I sipped the iced tea and glanced around, wondering if this was my chance.
“I didn’t say together. I asked you if you were still dating. If you don’t get him to put a ring on that finger of yours soon, someone’s going to snatch him up from you.” Carrie leaned against the counter, arching her back. “Believe me, you don’t want to be on your own at my age. What I wouldn’t do to have a guy like him waiting for me after my shift to rub out the kinks.”
“You could get married again.” Carrie had lost her husband a few years ago. She had kids, I knew that, but apparently, she wasn’t hanging out at the singles bar, looking for a replacement.
“Too much work at my age. I’d have to get dressed up, go out looking for a guy; then I’d miss all my shows.” She called out to another waitress. “Sally, your food’s dying up here. Get a move on. Trainees. You can’t teach them anything.”
I’d happened to know that Sally had worked for Diamond Lille’s for over six months. But I guess that was a drop in the bucket compared to Carrie’s tenure. I decided to go for it. No time like the present. “Hey, Carrie? Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, doll. What’s on your mind? I didn’t hit a sore spot asking about you and that man of yours, did I?” Now she came around the counter and sat on the stool next to me. “Whatever it is, I swear it will stay between you and me.”
“And the twenty-some-odd people eavesdropping on your conversation right now. I wouldn’t tell her anything private.” Sally grinned as she picked up the order. “Jill, I haven’t seen you for a week. Where have you been hiding?”
“Busy, busy, busy.” I waited for Sally to leave the area to deliver the food. “So did you happen to wait on a group of five yesterday? Three guys and two girls?”
“With all the people who went through here yesterday, you’re asking me to pull a needle from a haystack, but I know why.” She nodded to the folded newspaper with Alana’s picture on the front page. “I saw that girl yesterday. She was so full of life. She ordered the special, corned beef and cabbage with a side of green potatoes. She was the only one in her group smart enough not to order alcohol. She had one of your cups, and I saw her pour the leftover coffee into the cup before they left. I don’t know where you buy those cups, but they sure are durable.”
“She told me she was trying to sober up when she bought the coffee.” I thought about the comment from Austin. Was it important? Or was I trying to make something out of nothing just because I’d liked the girl, at least for the short time I’d talked to her. “Did you hear anything they were talking about?”
“What? You think I eavesdrop on my customers?” Carrie put a hand to her chest, appearing shocked at the idea.
I shook my head. “No, I know you eavesdrop. So did you hear anything?”
Carrie flashed a grin and nodded. “You know me too well. Actually, now that you mention it, the guy she was with was all kinds of excited. I guess she’d pulled an engagement ring out of her purse and put it on at the table. Fr
om what I gathered, he’d proposed weeks ago, and she’d been holding on to the ring until she made up her mind. That’s so sad. She was going to be married.”
This piece of information took Moon off the suspect list. At least for me. Why ask someone to marry you and then kill them? He wouldn’t. But maybe one of the guys with them would be upset enough, and if he couldn’t have Alana, no one would. That was a plausible theory. Now I just had to find out who the others were. I was about to ask Carrie who paid for the meal when my phone rang. The display read Bakerstown Funeral Home. Why would Doc Ames be calling me? “Sorry, I need to take this.”
Carrie shoved a bag into my free hand. “I’ll charge your account.”
I answered the phone as I walked out of the diner. “Hey, Doc, how can I help you?”
“I’m looking for that man of yours. He around?”
I sat on one of the benches between the building and the parking lot. “Sorry, he’s at my place sleeping. Do you need me to go get him?”
“Don’t wake him. I know he had a long night.” Doc paused, clearly wondering how much to divulge. He knew Greg tried to keep me away from firsthand knowledge about any murders in the area. “Would you tell him I really need him to come over this afternoon?”
“The last I talked to him, he was planning on it. What’s so important?” I’d never heard Doc this agitated.
He spoke quickly like he couldn’t hold it all in anymore. “I think I know how this girl died.”
* * * *
Greg lay fast asleep on the guest bed, with Emma by his side. Her tail thumped a greeting on the bed as I stood in the doorway. He didn’t move. I almost hated to wake him, he looked so peaceful, but I had Aunt Jackie’s salad in a bag downstairs. If I didn’t get back to the shop soon, she’d make me go get her a fresh one. Doc had said not to wake Greg, but I didn’t want him to miss his appointment.
