The Tea Shoppe Mysteries

by Darlene Franklin

  “He was a bit abrasive.” He opened the cooler and handed me a bottle of tea and a sandwich. “Ham and swiss okay?”

  “Perfect.” I continued to watch the water as I ate, the events from the moment I found Roy dead snaking through my mind like an unfurled ribbon. Sea Side Construction was behind his death. Whether Connor was involved in more than fraud was left to be figured out.

  “You’re supposed to be taking a break,” Brad said. “I can see thoughts about the case written all over your face.”

  “I can’t help it. Until we solve this, I can’t stop thinking of the what-ifs and the empty holes. We suspect fraud. How do we prove it?”

  “You told Davis. Let’s see what he does with the information.” Brad got to his feet and held out his hand. “Walk with me. I can’t think of anything better than a stroll on the beach with a pretty girl.”

  “There you go, being all nice again.” I smiled and slipped my hand in his, allowing him to pull me to my feet. I didn’t think I’d ever tire of him calling me pretty. I slipped off my shoes, eager to feel the water and sand on my toes.

  We entwined our fingers and strolled slowly along the shore. Despite the summer heat, the cold water took a few minutes to get used to, then felt delicious.

  “I think the fact the chief has allowed us to investigate is promising for our future in forensics,” I said, stopping to watch a gull swoop to the water’s surface.

  “Maybe we’ll get hired on together in Sea Side.” He gave my hand a little squeeze.

  “Who’s the dreamer now?” I glanced up and smiled.

  “Maybe you’re rubbing off on me.”

  “Hmm.” It would be nice to continue working with him, unless I went through with asking him on a date and he refused. Wait. “Are we on a date?” I blurted. I clamped a hand over my mouth.

  “I call it a date.” His smile warmed my heart. “I like you, Ashley. I hope we have more dates in the future.”

  Wow. I lost my breath for a second. “I like you too.”

  He cupped my cheek and lowered his head. He was going to kiss me!

  I yelped and jumped back as sand stung my leg. “Ouch.” I glanced down as more sand was kicked up.

  Brad tackled me to the ground. “Someone is shooting at us. Get to those rocks.”

  I scrambled for the safety of the huge boulders a few yards away. Once there, I ran my hands up and down my calves, feeling for blood or bullet holes. When I didn’t find any, I sagged with relief.

  “You hurt?” Brad asked, joining me.

  “No. Thank God the shooter has bad aim.”

  “Using a silencer at a distance isn’t easy.” He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. With his other hand, he fished his cell phone from his pocket and called 911. After being assured that someone was on their way, he pressed another button that set off a screaming alarm.

  That was bound to attract anyone within hearing distance and scare away the shooter. “That’s brilliant.”

  “You should download the app. It’s louder than any car alarm.”

  I made a vow to myself to download it ASAP. Unfortunately, my phone lay on the blanket by the cooler at the moment. “Do forensic scientists run into these situations on a regular basis?”

  “No idea. I’ve never been one. I think we’d work more behind the scenes.”

  I sure hoped so. When no more shots came, I crawled a few feet and peered out at the beach. No sign of anyone. I glanced upward and spotted someone near the lighthouse. I prayed it was Brad’s friend and not the shooter. “Do we stay or make a run for it?”

  “I suggest we stay until we hear actual sirens.” Brad pulled me back to his side. “We can cuddle to take our mind off the bad guy.” He arched a brow.

  I leaned closer and our gazes locked. I closed my eyes only to hear police sirens rise above the wailing of Brad’s phone. I sighed and pulled away as he shut off the reverberating noise.

  We stepped from our protected place to see Davis, weapon pulled, sprinting in our direction. “I didn’t see anyone. You both all right?”

  I nodded. “A little shook up, but we aren’t harmed.” A bit disappointed that our first kiss kept getting interrupted.

  “I’ll escort you back to your car.” Davis turned and led the way to our blanket.

  So much for a relaxing day. I glanced at my half-eaten sandwich then around the area we’d sat. “Where’s my phone and the scones?”

  After searching for several minutes and gathering the rest of our things, it became obvious my phone was gone and the thief had a taste for pastries. “Why would the shooter take my phone?”

  “The photographs and photos of the files,” Brad said. “That means they now know we know about the second policy.”

  Yikes. The danger had escalated tenfold.

  “Report the phone stolen and see if the phone company can keep anyone from accessing it.” Davis’s features hardened. “I assume you have it password protected.”

  I nodded. “Won’t be hard for someone to figure out if they think hard enough.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t use your birthday.” He narrowed his eyes.

  I shrugged, having done exactly that. I had a tendency to forget passwords, so kept them simple. “Brad, may I use your phone?”

  He handed it to me, and I placed the call to the company, changing the password to something harder and asking that the phone be shut off immediately. Hopefully I’d done it in time to keep the photos from being accessed.

  As we headed back to town, Brad reached over and patted my arm. “Our day isn’t over. How about some ice cream?”

  “That sounds wonderful.” I’d take what I could get. Obviously, a day of fun in the sun wouldn’t happen until this case was solved. “What do you think about asking Jenkins and Olson point blank about the insurance policies? Or the receptionist? She has to know about the two policies even if she didn’t put the pieces together.”

  “I’d rather ask her first. The less my bosses know we’re onto them, the better.”

  “What about Connor? We should also talk to him.”

  “I agree. Someone is bound to say something to incriminate someone else.”

  Rather than sit outside on a nice day, as I would have preferred, we chose to sit inside the ice cream parlor for our protection. I ordered a strawberry sundae while Brad chose chocolate. Some of the brightness of the day had dimmed, despite Brad’s attempt at keeping my day off enjoyable. Being shot at did that to a person.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “That I don’t want this career if it means someone will always be trying to kill me.”

  “They won’t. You’ll only be searching through what evidence is found to help out the detectives.”

  I nodded. “I guess you’re right. The trouble came when I stepped where I didn’t belong.” Without praying for guidance beforehand. I sighed, something I felt I did a lot of lately. I dug into my sundae.

  “Cheer up. This will end at some point, and we’ll get a good grade on our report because Lyons and Davis are friends.” Brad grinned. “What do you want to do next?”

  “Go back to my place and watch a movie and eat popcorn?”

  “As long as it isn’t a sappy chick flick.”

  I laughed. “I don’t think we need an action movie. I feel as if we’re living in one.”

  “You’re right. Let’s find a comedy.”

  We headed to my place and rented a movie online. A romantic comedy between two detectives. Just what I needed as we laughed our way through the next two hours and shared a bowl of popcorn.

  Our hands brushed when we reached into the bowl at the same time, and I really did feel as if we were dating. I wasn’t quite sure how to act after I realized Brad actually did like me. Being a dreamer who often lived in the clouds, I didn’t have many boyfriends growing up. Books had been my friends more often than not.

  Brad brushed my hair back from my face. “You look sad.”

  “Feeling a little
insecure is all.” I reached for the empty popcorn bowl.

  “Don’t be. Everything will work out. You’re a strong, smart woman.” He took the bowl from me and cupped my face. “I think I’m going to give you that kiss I’ve been trying to give you all day.”

  He lowered his head, his lips landing on mine with all the sweetness of sugar and a touch of salt from the popcorn. When I leaned into him, the kiss deepened. Brad was right. Everything would be just fine.

  CHAPTER 11

  “With the trailer office being a crime scene,” Brad said as he pulled in front of a small cottage-style house, “Brenda is on paid time off.”

  “Will she talk to us?” I sure hoped so, since we’d both decided against going to our class that morning.

  “Oh yeah. The woman loves to talk.” He grinned and shut off the engine. “I should have spoken to her a lot sooner but didn’t feel we had enough information. I guarantee that once we let her in on our suspicions, she’ll start digging around too. I didn’t want her looking for the wrong thing.”

  I shoved open my car door and joined Brad on the sidewalk. “Let’s hope today gets us a lot closer to the end of all this.”

  Brad took my hand, led me to the front door, then pressed the doorbell. A woman in her fifties, pleasantly plump with a friendly smile on her face, opened the door. “Brad. What a welcome surprise. Come in.”

  “Brenda, this is my friend Ashley. We’re hoping you can help us with something.”

  “Let me fetch tea and cookies, and I’ll be glad to help. Have a seat.”

  We sat on a brown tweed sofa. The crocheted afghans and homemade decor set me right at ease.

  A few minutes later, Brenda set a tray with cups of tea and cookies that I could tell would be on the dry side just by looking at them. Still, I wouldn’t be rude. I took one. Gingersnap. Yum.

  She sat across from us and crossed her ankles. “What can I help you with?”

  Brad explained Roy’s murder, the canceled appointments, and the two insurance policies. “Did you know about any of this?”

  She wrinkled her brow. “I did know of the policies, but not about the canceled appointments. Mr. Jenkins said they didn’t want to take a chance of losing everything, thus the need for the second policy. I don’t question their decisions. I just do what I’m told. It isn’t my place to ask questions.”

  “What do you know about Connor Miller?” I took a sip of tea. I bet she asked a lot of questions to herself. Unless I was wrong, not much got past Brenda.

  “He’s been around a lot lately. Well, until we were told not to go to the office for a while. Seems friendly enough, but I can’t draw that young man into a conversation to save my life. Close-lipped that one. In fact, whenever he came by, Jenkins and Olson would leave the building with him. There isn’t a lot of privacy in a one-room trailer. I figured it was none of my business.”

  Brad smiled. “But you suspect something, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do. I’m observant.” She leaned forward. “Mr. Jenkins has a gambling problem. Mr. Olson pays out of the nose for alimony to his ex-wife. Those two are hard up for money, which is another reason two expensive policies didn’t sit right with me. Where did they get the money to pay the monthly premiums?”

  I didn’t know how to answer, and since she was looking at me, I shrugged. “A loan?”

  “Exactly! But from whom?”

  I jumped at her loud exclamation. “From Connor Miller.”

  “Good thinking.” Brad sent an appreciative glance my way, then turned back to Brenda. “Do you have Connor’s contact information?”

  “Silly boy.” She got to her feet and opened a drawer in a side table. “I know everything about anything that has to do with Sea Side Construction.” She pulled out a bright green folder and handed it to him. “I have no idea how you’ll get him to talk.”

  “Did you ever see an Officer Rogen at the site?” I asked. “He seems to have disappeared.”

  “If I saw him, he wasn’t in uniform, but yes, Connor wasn’t the only regular visitor. Would the officer have been a man around my age, in good shape, handsome but sullen?”

  “That’s him.”

  Brenda got a mischievous look in her eye. “Some folks are saying that that tea shoppe you work for is cursed. Too many bad things have been associated with that place. Seems every season a new cloud of mystery hangs over it.”

  “We stay quite busy with customers, so I don’t see how this has to do with that,” I said in defense. “Tea by the Sea has nothing to do with the evil of others.”

  “No need to get your feelings hurt. Just a lot of mysteries lately.”

  “Roy Miller didn’t die from eating scones. I discovered his body while delivering them.” I hated insinuations that cast a bad light on one of Sea Side’s favorite businesses. One more reason to solve Roy’s murder—get the focus off Tea by the Sea except for the treats it had to offer.

  Brad put a settling hand on me. “We’re getting off the subject. The shop has nothing to do with our investigation.”

  “Oh, but it does,” Brenda said. “That officer—Rogen, did you say?—always brought your pastries when he came.”

  That was news to me. Our four suspects were definitely tied together. Now to find out who was guilty and who was simply hanging out with the wrong people.

  “Do you think Sea Side Construction is guilty of fraud?” Brad asked.

  “With everything you’ve told me, yes.” Brenda nodded. “I guess I should probably start looking for a new job.”

  Brad stood and held out his hand to pull me to my feet. “You’ve been a big help, Brenda. You wouldn’t happen to have proof for any of this, would you?”

  “Just what I’ve seen and not heard.” She chuckled. “You go talk to Connor. Maybe you can scare him into saying something.”

  Hopefully. I followed Brad back to the car. “We learned that Rogen is definitely involved, but not much else.” I also feared the officer might be dead.

  “I’d hoped for more.” Brad opened the passenger door for me then hurried to the driver’s side.

  It didn’t take long to arrive at the apartment complex where Connor lived. If he wasn’t home, we’d have to come back, wasting more time. Time we didn’t have. In one week our assignment was due, and we didn’t have a solution. I hated leaving anything undone.

  “How do you want to handle this?” I asked.

  “Let’s be straightforward and try to gain information from what he says as well as what he doesn’t.” Brad knocked on the door of apartment 212 several times before a sleepy-eyed but fully dressed Connor answered the door.

  I glanced at my watch. Past ten.

  “Good morning,” I said with a smile. “Remember us from your father’s funeral?”

  He rubbed his eyes. “Yes. What do you need? Wait a minute. How did you know where I live?”

  “Actually, we thought you were only here to settle your father’s affairs. May we come in?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Since I now own Miller Inc., I thought it best I settle down in Sea Side.” He reluctantly stepped aside. “I’ve got a meeting later but can spare a few minutes.”

  His apartment was a direct contrast from Brenda’s. Where hers had been warm and welcoming, Connor’s was modern and cold. He didn’t offer us a seat, so Brad and I took up a position near the open door. It didn’t bother me. We’d have a quick getaway if things turned ugly.

  “Well?” Connor crossed his arms.

  “I work at Sea Side Construction,” Brad began, “and I ran across some documents that confused me. Two insurance policies from Miller Inc., one in your name, dated before your father died. I thought you and your father were estranged.”

  “So? I still stood to inherit should anything happen to him.”

  “How could you sell a policy from a company you didn’t own yet and you weren’t a part of?” I tilted my head. “Unless you knew your father would die soon.”

  “Are you accusing me of murdering
my father?” His face darkened. “Since the two of you know so much, you’ll also know I wasn’t in town when he was killed. I haven’t been here for years. I’m sure you’ve asked around.”

  “We have.” I mimicked his stance by crossing my arms. “We know you’ve been at the construction office a lot since you arrived in town. Maybe you laid low for a while and have been here longer than people think. Where is Rogen?”

  “Who?”

  “Officer Rogen. He’s been seen visiting there a lot too, and now he’s gone.”

  “I think you should leave.” Connor pointed at the door. “Adios.”

  Brad took my arm and steered me out of the apartment. “We’ll be around, Mr. Miller, acting on official business with the permission of Sea Side Police Department.” He marched me down the stairs and back to the car.

  Rather than drive away, he said, “Let’s wait. He’s obviously getting ready to go somewhere. I think we should follow. Scrunch down in your seat so he doesn’t see us.”

  I slouched, a much easier task for me than for the over-six-foot-tall Brad. He squirmed, trying to find a comfortable position. “You think he’s going to warn Jenkins and Olson?” I asked.

  “That’s what I’m hoping.”

  We didn’t have to wait long. Ten minutes later, Connor hurried to a dark blue sedan in the parking lot and sped away.

  Brad kept a car between him and us, slowing as Connor pulled up to a coffee shop. I guess Rogen was the only one of the suspects who frequented Tea by the Sea.

  As he drove slowly past the coffee shop, Brad asked me to try and see where Connor sat. “With the high booths the place has, we might be able to sneak in and listen to their conversation without them spotting us.”

  “It looks like he headed toward the back.”

  Brad circled around and parked across the street. We entered the shop and stealthily took the booth directly in front of the one Connor was at. He was facing our booth, and we ducked low and sat in the seat with our backs to him. We couldn’t see who he was meeting with, and he couldn’t see us. Hopefully we wouldn’t be run out for not purchasing anything. Brad set his phone on the table and pressed the RECORD button.