by Kathi Daley
Slowing my pace to a walk, I continued forward. I could feel the pull of the house that had brought me to Washington in the first place. After I’d buried my father, I’d turned to the task of closing down the detective agency where we’d worked together during the three years before his death, selling his house, and settling his estate. Initially, my heart hadn’t really been into it, and it had taken me months to clear out a lifetime of memories, but eventually, all I’d had left to tackle were the boxes in the attic. I knew from the beginning that going through the boxes of photos and keepsakes would tear at my heart, but what I hadn’t expected was the jolt of emotion caused by a single photo within one of those boxes.
I was certain I’d never traveled this far west, but somehow I was able to picture everything about the dwelling right down to the stone entry that echoed with voices from the rooms beyond. In my mind, I saw the narrow windows along the back of the house that had been arched to frame the sea; I could feel the warmth from the sunny porch with the trickling fountain where I’d liked to pretend the rocks from the garden were really baby birds who’d come to play. While I knew in my mind I couldn’t have visited this particular abode, the vivid dreams about the mysterious structure had become as much a part of my reality as any reality I’d actually lived.
My best friend, Keni, a budding actress, certified therapist, and practicing life coach, was certain I’d lived in the house on Piney Point during a past life. Keni was an open-minded sort who adamantly believed in such things as past lives, predestined outcomes, and psychic connections, but I was a pragmatist who only believed in what I could touch and see.
Still, here I was, standing on the trail that led to the house in my dreams, knowing in my soul that the journey that led me to this bluff in coastal Washington had been part of my destiny all along.
As much as I wanted to continue and try to get a better view, I had promised the gang I’d meet them for brunch, and I still needed to run back to the cottage and shower. Another day, I promised myself. Maybe even tomorrow. Now that I was here, I supposed I could relax a bit and take my time uncovering the answers I’d come here to find. The house wasn’t going anywhere, and I knew it would be important to develop these friendships I somehow knew over time would make all the difference.
Once the dogs and I returned to the cottage, I showered and changed into something appropriate for the brunch I’d been invited to attend. Josie hadn’t seemed like the sort to dress up on the weekend, so I dressed in a pair of new denims and a crop sweater in a deep burnt orange. I pulled the top of my long blond hair back in a clip, allowing it to trail down my back. Sliding my feet into denim colored canvas shoes, I slipped my lip gloss into my pocket, called the dogs, and then started down the trail Hope had indicated led to cottage number three. When I arrived, I found Coop and Booker sitting on a large deck. The deck was four times as large as the tiny deck of my cottage, but I could see that the cottage was four times as large as well. After being greeted by the men and introducing Kai and Kallie, I left the dogs with the guys and then headed inside.
The cottage was a two-story floorplan with a huge great room on the first floor. It was in the large kitchen off the even larger seating area that I found Josie, Jemma, and Tegan dishing food into serving bowls.
“You made it.” Josie smiled. “I hoped you would.”
“Everything smells wonderful,” I said.
“We have several dishes to choose from. I thought I’d set everything up on the dining table and then let everyone serve themselves and head outside.” She handed me a flute with orange juice and champagne. “Did you bring the dogs?”
I nodded. “They’re outside with Booker and Coop.”
“The guys will take good care of them.” She poured a pot of coffee into a carafe, which Jemma then took and set on the table. “How are you settling in?” Josie asked after Tegan picked up a serving dish and took it to the table as well.
“So far, so good,” I smiled. “The place is small compared to your cottage, which is huge, but you really can’t beat the location. I can’t believe how lucky I was to find a place that not only allows dogs but is so warm and cozy.”
“You’ll enjoy living on the peninsula,” Jemma said. “Those of us who live out here are like family. We not only spend time together, but we’re really there for each other. If you ever need anything, we have your back.”
“Good to know.”
“Is Parker still planning to come?” Tegan asked after she’d come back for two more bowls to carry to the buffet.
“She said she would,” Jemma answered. She looked at me. “Parker Peterson is a friend of ours who occasionally comes to brunch. She works for the local newspaper.”
“This town has its own newspaper?” I had to admit it surprised me that a town this small could support such an enterprise.
Jemma nodded. “It’s a weekly publication, but Parker is quite committed. She’s a real go-getter and a valuable ally should you need one. I hope she shows up, so we can introduce you to her.”
After the food had been transferred to the dining table for serving, I followed Jemma, Josie, and Tegan back out onto the deck. A thin woman with long red hair stood talking to Coop and Booker.
“Oh good, that’s her now,” Jemma said.
Parker looked up as we approached. That was the moment we realized that not only wasn’t Parker smiling, but she looked like she’d been crying.”
“What is it?” Josie asked, rushing forward.
“It’s Cammy Collins,” Parker said.
“What happened to Cammy?” Tegan demanded.
“She’s dead.”
“Dead?” Jemma gasped. “Dead, how?”
“Her body was found at the bottom of Bramblewood Bluff by a group of fishermen early this morning.”
“What happened?” Josie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
“I don’t know,” Parker answered. “Deputy Todd was on the scene when I arrived, but he wouldn’t let me get close enough to really see anything. I guess we’ll know more once the body is recovered, and he makes a statement. I tried to pin him down, but he wasn’t talking.”
“Is the Cammy Collins who died the same Cammy who works at the general store?” I asked as the image of the smiling young woman flashed through my mind.
Josie nodded. “Have you met her?”
“Yes, last night. I stopped in to pick up some basic supplies before I stopped by the Rambling Rose to pick up soup for dinner.” I remembered the perky young woman with an infectious smile. “She was so excited about the full moon festival and the softball game today. I can’t believe she’s gone.”
“I don’t understand how she could have fallen,” Jemma said. “Cammy wasn’t the sort to drink too much, and it was a bright night with a clear sky and the full moon. Cammy lived here her entire life, and she knew the landscape. She attended many a party up on Bramblewood Bluff. I doubt she’d simply misjudge the edge.”
“Maybe she was pushed,” Coop suggested.
“Who would push Cammy off a cliff?” Jemma countered. “She was the sweetest thing. Everyone loved her. I can’t think of a single person who’d want to do her harm.”
“Brody Davenport,” Josie said.
“Who’s Brody Davenport?” I asked.
Josie glanced in my direction. “Brody Davenport is the son of Harrison Davenport, a rich and powerful man in the area. Cammy dated Brody earlier in the year until he got drunk and slapped her around for talking to an ex-boyfriend from high school. Cammy broke up with Brody, but he isn’t the sort to be broken up with, so he’s been hassling her ever since. I doubt he’d go so far as to push her off the bluff, but he does have a violent nature, and he has been known to drink too much, which seems to bring his aggressive side out.”
“The guy is bad news,” Booker agreed.
“Is he around Cammy’s age?” I asked.
“A few years older,” Josie informed me. “Blond hair. Good looking. He drives a huge black truck nam
ed Goliath.”
“I think he was at the general store last night,” I said. “After I purchased some supplies and a few groceries and placed them into my SUV, a huge black truck with a lift kit and huge tires parked behind me so that I was unable to leave. I decided to wait rather than making an issue out of it. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, a man with blond hair came out of the general store and then peeled out of the parking lot in his giant truck.”
“Sounds like Brody and Goliath,” Tegan said. “I wonder why he was at the store.”
“Probably to harass Cammy,” Coop provided.
“After the man in the truck left, Cammy turned the open sign to closed even though it was only seven-thirty,” I informed the group. “I don’t know if that was due to her visit from the man in the black truck or her plans to attend the full moon party, but it seems to be the sort of thing worth mentioning.”
The group fell into silence.
“I know I said I’d join you for brunch, but I really need to go,” Parker said. “I want to track Deputy Todd down and see if I can get a statement.” She looked at me. “Is it okay if I tell him what you just told us about seeing Brody at the store?” she asked.
“Certainly,” I replied. “I’m happy to help.”
“He’ll probably want to talk to you.”
“That’s fine. Let me give you my number.”
She handed me her phone. “Just type in your cell number.” She then addressed the group. “If any of you hear anything, call me.”
Everyone agreed they would.
“Poor Patty,” Tegan said after Parker left.
“Who’s Patty?” I asked, feeling bad that I kept interrupting the flow of the conversation with my questions.
“Patty is Cammy’s mother,” Tegan informed me. “She’s good friends with Hope, who I’m sure knows what’s going on by now.”
That’s right. I did remember Cammy telling me her mother’s name was Patty, and that she was friends with Hope.
“Maybe you should call Hope and talk to her,” Josie suggested. “See if there’s anything any of us can do.”
“Okay,” Tegan agreed. “In the meantime, you should eat all this food Jemma and Josie made. Makes no sense to let it go to waste.”
Everyone served up their plates and returned to the deck but, despite the gorgeous view and delicious food, it was obvious everyone’s mind was elsewhere. I really couldn’t imagine how the group must be feeling. I’d only spoken to the enthusiastic young girl for a few minutes, yet I felt her death profoundly.
“So tell us a bit about yourself, Ainsley,” Josie said in a tone that would have been considered polite and conversational in any other situation.
It felt odd to talk about myself and my research project when everyone was preoccupied with what had happened to Cammy, so I offered a shorthand version of my reason for being in Gooseberry Bay. I mentioned that I’d been adopted as a child and that after my adoptive father died, I’d decided to try to find out more about who I’d been before I’d come to live with him and where I’d come from.
“So, your research brought you here to Gooseberry Bay?” Josie asked.
I nodded. “I have a few leads which may or may not pan out. It’s sort of complicated, but I’d be happy to provide all the details at another time. Right now, let’s just say that my research brought me here, and my plan at this point is to stay for at least a few months while I try to pick up the trail.”
“Pick up the trail. You sound like a cop or a bounty hunter,” Coop said.
“Private investigator, actually.”
He raised a brow. “Really? What made you go into that?”
“My dad. He was a detective who was shot in the line of duty seven years ago. He managed to pull through, but his heart was damaged, making him ineligible for active duty, so they offered him a desk job, which he turned down. He retired and opened his own detective agency. Being the worrywart that I am, I was concerned he’d overdo it, so I quit my job as a journalist and moved home three years ago. He died eight months ago after suffering a heart attack.”
“Wow, I’m so sorry,” Coop said.
“Yeah, that must have been tough,” Josie agreed.
I shrugged. “It’s been hard, but I guess some part of me knew his time with me was limited due to the injury to his heart. I’m happy for the time we had.”
Jemma sat forward. “So, after he passed, you decided to find your birth parents?”
“Sort of. It really is a long story, and given the fact that Cammy is on all our minds, I think I’d like to wait to go into all the details, but I never knew who I was or where I came from before my dad took me in. I guess I never really wondered about that before, but then suddenly, I was alone in the world, and little details I found out about myself and how I came to be with my father started to filter to the surface. I realized I wanted to fill in some of the blanks in my life, so I started digging around, and I’ve ended up here.”
I could sense a barrage of additional questions being loaded and readied to launch when Tegan came back out onto the deck.
“Did you talk to Hope?” Booker asked.
She nodded. “Hope is a mess. She’s with Patty now. Apparently, Deputy Todd is treating the death as a suicide.”
“Suicide?” Josie asked. “Why would Cammy commit suicide?”
“According to Hope, Cammy showed up at the full moon party as planned. A few of her friends who were at the party said that Cammy seemed sad and distracted, but when they asked what was wrong, she simply said she didn’t want to talk about it. Two or three of her friends even used the word despondent.”
“Brody,” Josie said. “I bet Brody upset her when he stopped by before she closed.”
“Ainsley said she was in a good mood before that,” Jemma glanced at me.
I nodded my assent.
“Brody is a real tool, but Cammy was over him,” Tegan pointed out. “I doubt he could have said or done anything that would cause Cammy to be so upset as to kill herself.”
“How did she manage to get from the bluff to the rocks below without anyone seeing what happened?” I asked.
“The place where she fell is about a quarter of a mile from where the group who were partying had gathered,” Tegan explained. “Some of her friends realized she’d disappeared without even saying goodbye, which wasn’t like her, but everyone just figured she’d gone home early. It is a little odd that no one noticed her car parked in the dirt lot near the bluff, but Deputy Todd found it this morning, and it looked as if it hadn’t been moved since she parked it there last night.”
“Surely Todd must have more than just the fact that Cammy was moody to base his assumption of suicide on,” Coop said.
“I guess there was a text sent from Cammy’s phone,” Tegan said. “Hope couldn’t go into the details, or maybe she didn’t know the specifics, but she did indicate that a text had been sent to one of Cammy’s friends, which seems to indicate she might have jumped.”
It was at this point that everyone began talking at once. I didn’t really know Cammy, but the girl I’d spoken to last night was excited about the full moon festival and today’s picnic and softball game. She certainly didn’t seem like someone who had suicide on her mind.
“I don’t suppose there’s a lot we can do right now,” Jemma said. “I say we go to the picnic. Everyone in town will be there. Maybe someone knows something that we don’t. At the very least, maybe Parker will show with an update.”
Chapter 4
After the group agreed to meet at the park in an hour, I headed back to the cottage. I still couldn’t believe that the sweet girl I’d met who was so full of life had either committed suicide or been killed just a few hours after I’d talked to her. I realized I didn’t know Cammy well enough to have an opinion as to whether or not she could have killed herself, but I did remember the gleam in her eyes as she discussed the softball game and the fact that she was going to pitch. She certainly didn’t seem like a girl w
ith plans to end her life.
Realizing that I’d most likely be away for several hours if I stayed for the softball game, which at this point I planned to do, I gave the dogs food and water and then took them out for a quick run. I supposed if the game went long or was delayed, I could simply leave before the end. I hated to leave Kai and Kallie alone for too long, although they had been left to their own devices for up to ten hours at a time when dad and I were working a case. Of course, back then, I’d left them in their familiar home. The cottage, while lovely, was new to them.
Once we returned from our walk, I put a credit card, my driver’s license, some cash, and lip gloss into a fanny pack. After adding my cell, I topped it off with a small package of facial tissue. I hated lugging around a purse, but since I was unsure what to expect, I hated to show up without a few necessary items.
Kissing Kai and Kallie on the top of the head and then promising them I wouldn’t be long, I’d headed out the door to the SUV and then headed into town.
As I drove slowly along Main, I smiled at the throngs of people enjoying both the cute mom and pop shops on the left and the boardwalk that lined the bay on the right. The boardwalk reminded me of other boardwalks I’d been to closer to my home on the east coast. Vendors with festive carts or cleverly decorated booths were selling their wares to interested tourists out for a day on the water. Halloween had come and gone, but there were still plenty of bright orange pumpkins and signs announcing caramel apples and cinnamon popcorn every quarter mile or so. I’d be willing to bet that by the following weekend, the ghosts and goblins displayed along the wooden railing separating the boardwalk from the bay would be replaced with décor depicting a Thanksgiving theme.
