by Kathi Daley
“So you’ll be home after that?”
“I will. I haven’t made plane reservations yet, but you should expect me in about two weeks.”
“I look forward to it.”
“So, how are things going? Any new developments with your origin story?”
When the dogs grew tired of swimming, we started to slowly walk back toward the cottage while I talked.
“Not really. Although I did receive two boxes of mementos, along with an envelope full of financial information, and a note from Warren yesterday.”
“It was nice of him to send all that along.”
“It was,” I agreed. “I have to admit I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. In fact, overwhelmed is too tame a word for what I’m feeling.”
“It’s okay to take things slowly,” he reminded me. “Go through the boxes when you feel ready. The items contained within will keep. As for the financial stuff, Warren has been managing things all this time, and I suspect he’s willing to continue to do so for as long as you want him to. Let him do so. You need time to ease yourself into your new situation.”
I paused and looked out at the bay. “I intend to let Warren manage the money and stocks and whatever else I own. I don’t feel ready to take on such a thing, and, to be honest, I’m not even sure I want the responsibility for all that. What am I going to do with so much money?”
“I guess you can eventually donate it. Maybe you can even establish a charitable foundation or, perhaps you can piggyback on the one Warren and Giovanna already established. But for now, like I said, I’d just let it be. I remember how overwhelmed I was when my parents died, and I became responsible for managing the assets. It was terrifying, and I’d grown up knowing that one day the Winchester fortune would be mine and Archie’s to deal with, so I do understand how you’re feeling. Warren seems like a good man who knows what he’s doing. If he’s willing to continue to handle things, that gives you time to really think about things and decide what to do.”
I started walking again. “Yeah. I guess that’s true. And to be honest, I’d really like to find Avery before I make any huge decisions. Half of those assets do belong to her. If she’s still alive, I’d like her to be able to help me decide what to do next.”
“We’ll keep looking for Avery,” Adam assured me.
“I know. And maybe we’ll actually find her. There are times when I want to give up due to the impossible nature of the quest, but I started with only a photo and have gotten as far as I have in less than a year, so maybe miracles do happen.”
“I know they do. Listen, I need to go. My driver is here. I’ll call you in a couple days, and you feel free to call me any time you need to talk.”
“Okay. I just might do that if it starts to feel like the walls are closing in. Enjoy the rest of your trip.”
“I will. Enjoy your sunny day in Gooseberry Bay.”
“How do you know it’s sunny here?”
“My weather app on my phone.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I guess that will keep you up to date on the latest weather changes. I’ll see you in two weeks.” With that, I hung up.
Once the dogs and I arrived back at the cottage, I gave them food and water, and then I headed to the shower. Since I had an hour or so before I had to meet up with Jemma and Josie, I had time to have a cup of coffee and scramble an egg. Once I’d showered and dressed, I headed out onto the deck with my breakfast. It really was another beautiful day in paradise.
Kai and Kallie were tired from our run, so they were happy to lay in the shade while I relaxed in my lounger. I thought about the charms as I sipped my coffee. I knew that the list from the Bay to Boardwalk Run was too extensive to be of much use, but if we had a second list to compare it to, perhaps a second event our charm bracelet owner participated in, we might be able to whittle the list down significantly.
I was interested to learn what, if anything, the woman who’d owned the bookstore could tell us. If the charm had been purchased by someone who was simply a one-time customer, I doubt there was much information she’d be able to provide, but if the charm was owned by a frequent customer, maybe she’d remember her.
And then there was the movie hint. Again, even if we could figure out which movie our woman with the charm bracelet wanted to remember, I really didn’t see how that could help us track her down. Unless, as I suspected, there actually was more to it. Movies on the Beach was a free event sponsored by the town, so I doubted there were employees associated with the event, but maybe volunteers. Someone had to choose the movies, run the projector, set up the screen, and clean up afterward. I might not have been living in Gooseberry Bay long, but I had been living here long enough to know that Hope Masterson was the person to ask if you had a volunteer question.
“Hope, it’s Ainsley,” I said after she answered my call.
“Ainsley, how are you?”
“I’m good. Really good, in fact.”
“I’m so happy to hear that. How is your PI business going?”
“I feel like it’s beginning to get some traction. Listen, the reason I’m calling is because I have a client who is trying to track down the owner of a charm bracelet.”
“A charm bracelet? You don’t say. I haven’t seen one of those in ages, although they used to be quite popular.”
“We have reason to believe the charm bracelet was assembled back in the nineties. Probably the mid-nineties. My client believes the charms are actually clues of a sort. One of the charms is a movie reel. I was chatting with Jemma and Josie last evening, and they told me about the annual Movies on the Beach event. They said the movies were around back then, so I’m pursuing that angle. The reason I called was to ask if the movie event is run by staff or volunteers.”
“The whole thing is run by volunteers. There is a committee in charge of selecting and obtaining the movies. They set the dates and are in charge of marketing and that sort of thing. A woman named Greta Barber chairs the committee. She’s a teacher at the high school during the school year, but she has quite a bit of free time during the summer, so she also takes charge of finding and supervising the volunteers who set up and run the snack bar.”
“Would she have been running the event back in nineteen ninety-six?”
“She would have. In fact, she’s been running this event since the late eighties when she took over for her aunt, who was also a teacher.”
“I’d like to talk to her about the charm bracelet. Do you know how I can get ahold of her?”
“I guess your best bet would be to show up at the high school at three o’clock when they let out. I’m sure she’ll be in her room for at least half an hour after the students leave.”
“Do you know which room I’d be able to find her in?”
“She teaches drama, so just head toward the theater. There’s an office in that building.”
“Okay, I’ll try that. Thanks.”
“Before you go,” Hope said. “Are you still planning to help out at the kiddie carnival in the park Saturday?”
“I have it on my calendar. You said to meet between eight and eight-thirty.”
“That’s still the case. Everyone is gathering at the volunteer table.”
“I’ll be there. Is there anything I need to bring?”
“Everything you’ll need will be provided. I’ll see you then, and good luck with your scavenger hunt.”
In a way, I supposed that my search for the meaning behind the charms was a type of scavenger hunt, although I hadn’t exactly been thinking of it that way. Realizing that I needed to get moving if I was going to meet Jemma and Josie on time, I got up and headed inside.
Chapter 6
Josie and Jemma were ready and waiting when I arrived. Josie had called ahead and spoken to Kendra Hart to confirm that she had planned to volunteer today and that she would have time to chat. The Gooseberry Bay museum was located up on a hill across from the south end of the bay. It was a brick building with a lot of charm that featured large windows and b
eautiful gardens. I imagined that as a bookstore, the place was charming, although it made a cozy and welcoming museum as well.
Since Josie was the one who knew Kendra the best, she introduced Jemma and me and then explained why we were there.
“I’m happy to help if I can. Do you have the charm?” Kendra asked.
“I have a photo of the charm. My client has the bracelet, but I’m sure she’d be happy to bring it by if you feel that seeing the actual bracelet is important.”
She slipped her glasses on, resting them on the edge of her nose. “So let’s take a look at this photo.”
I pulled it up on my phone and then handed the phone to her. Perhaps I should print out the photos when I got back to my office.
“This is a reading challenge charm,” she said.
“Reading challenge?” I asked.
“There was a span of maybe six or seven years where the bookstore issued a summer reading challenge. Residents and even a few summer visitors signed up, and each participant received a log to keep track of the books they read. There were spaces for the title and the author, the number of pages, a star rating, and a brief review. The bookkeeping for the challenge was strictly an honor system since we had no way to confirm such things, but in general, I think that most folks kept accurate records.”
“And the participants received a charm?”
“There were prizes for various levels. If you read a thousand pages over the course of the summer, you received a bookmark signed by a local author. For reading twenty-five hundred pages, you received your choice of a mug or t-shirt, plus the bookmark. For reading five thousand pages, you received your choice of charm or key ring, plus the mug or t-shirt and the bookmark. The prizes did vary somewhat from year to year, and the prizes differed slightly each year.”
“So you’d change up the design on the mug and t-shirt and maybe offer different charms,” I said.
“Exactly. The charm in this photo was from the challenge in nineteen ninety-six.” She pointed to the photo. “See, there’s a little nine and a little six on the spine of the book represented on the charm.”
I looked closely and did notice the numbers, which had been too small to really stand out amidst the design. “So, do you have records of the event?” I asked. “Would you be able to tell us who earned charms that year?”
She nodded. “I kept records of everything. They’re all digitized. If you want to leave me an email address, I can send you a list of names of those who earned charms in nineteen ninety-six.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“I don’t suppose you remember anyone with a charm bracelet with items such as a shoe, a movie reel, and an ice cream cone?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. I’m afraid I can’t help you with that. While we had quite a few women who worked hard to earn the charm, I can’t say that I remember seeing any of them actually wearing a charm bracelet.”
After sharing my email address with Kendra, we thanked the woman for her help and then headed out to have lunch. I’d mentioned that I planned to head over to the high school at three to speak to Greta Barber, and Jemma and Josie had volunteered to go with me since both women knew her from volunteer duties in the past.
“So have either of you heard any more about the missing teens?” I asked Jemma and Josie after we settled in at the restaurant.
“Not really,” Josie answered. “I do know that they haven’t been found, and I heard that the cops are stumped. No one claims to have seen anything, and the police were unable to find evidence of a motive when they searched their rooms and school lockers. The families have been interviewed, friends have been questioned, and the boy’s usual hangouts searched, but so far, it looks like the three missing boys simply vanished.”
“Have any of the parents have received a ransom demand or anything like that?” I asked.
“No,” Josie answered. “No one has heard a thing. I think everyone is getting pretty frustrated, but at least so far, no bodies have been found, which means the potential exists for them to be alive.”
“I wonder if there is anything we can do to help without stepping on Deputy Todd’s toes,” I said.
“I don’t know. Maybe we should check in with Parker. It’s her job to stay on top of things like this, and we all know that Parker is really good at her job.”
Jemma called Parker, who informed Jemma that she had a meeting with her boss in an hour, but wondered if we might want to meet after work. Jemma and Josie were free, so we arranged to meet Parker at Jemma and Josie’s cottage at five-thirty. Josie professed a craving for steak and salad, so the roommates made up a list and planned to stop at the store after we spoke to Greta.
By the time we made it over to the high school, classes were just letting out. The high school I had attended was pretty industrial looking with long buildings sprayed with tan-colored paint, but Gooseberry Bay High, with its location up on a hill overlooking the bay, was actually quite charming.
“Josie, Jemma. What brings you to the high school today?” the woman in the theater asked.
“Greta, this is our friend, Ainsley, and she’s helping a woman track down the owner of a charm bracelet,” Josie explained. “One of the charms is a movie reel, and we thought that might represent the Movies on the Beach event we have here every summer.”
“So you think the charms on the bracelet are clues to solving your little mystery,” Greta stated, looking in my direction.
“We aren’t sure, but we hope that by putting together the clues provided by the charms, we’ll be able to figure this out,” I answered.
“Even if the movie reel is meant to commemorate the Movies on the Beach event, we aren’t sure what that tells us,” Josie said.
“It occurred to Ainsley that perhaps the woman who owned the bracelet was a volunteer,” Jemma added.
“If this woman would have been a volunteer, when would she have volunteered?” Greta asked.
“We think it would have been the summer of nineteen ninety-six,” I answered.
“That’s a long way back to remember something like who volunteered for movie detail that year,” Greta pointed out.
“It is,” I acknowledged. “I hoped that perhaps you kept records of some sort.”
Greta paused to consider this. “We do have a party at the end of each season. It’s a potluck sort of dinner, and all the volunteers bring a food item to share. I’m not sure if I kept the signup sheet, but I may have it on my computer. All the volunteers make a point to attend the party, so chances are if your charm lady was a volunteer, her name would be on the list.”
“Does the list contain both first and last names?” I asked.
“First only, but if you find someone who seems to fit your parameters, I can usually remember last names. A lot of my volunteers help out year after year. Most are like family to me.”
Jemma, Josie, and I thanked Greta after each of us volunteered to help out with the movie event this year. Greta promised to go through her files when she got home, and if she had the party attendee list from that year, she promised to email it to me.”
“Volunteering for movie night actually sounds like a lot of fun,” I said as we headed back to the peninsula after stopping at the store to pick up the items Josie wanted for dinner.
“It is fun,” Josie offered. “I haven’t done it the last few years, but I have helped out a time or two in the past. The only negative is that if you work the snack bar, you miss the movie. I always try to get the movie lineup ahead of time and volunteer for snack bar duty on the nights the movie they’re playing is one I don’t mind missing.”
“I guess it would be hard to both sell snacks and watch the movie. Still, I think just being out under the stars with friends from the community on a warm summer night would be pretty awesome whether I had a chance to watch the movie or not.”
“It is a good time to pick up some local gossip,” Josie agreed.
When we got back to the peninsula, I headed to my
cottage to take the dogs out for a short walk, promising Josie and Jemma that the dogs and I would be by in thirty minutes. Josie wanted to put together some appetizers, and Jemma had a couple calls to return. It was nice to have close friends who were willing to share their everyday moments. I supposed that without them, life out here on the peninsula might get pretty lonely.
By the time I’d made it to Josie and Jemma’s cottage, Parker had arrived. We all gathered on the deck with wine and appetizers while Kai and Kallie played nearby with Stefan and Damon. Josie had missed some of the information Jemma and I had learned Monday, so Parker agreed to start at the beginning.
“Here’s what I know,” Parker said. “There are three boys, all fifteen, all Gooseberry High students, who went missing between Saturday and Monday. Zane Maddox was reported missing first. He left his house Sunday in the late afternoon to go paddleboarding. Since Zane lives near a narrow inlet that opens into the bay, he left his house on foot, planning to enter the water near his home and then paddle out to the bay. According to Zane’s mother, when Zane left the house, he was in one of his moods, so when he didn’t come home, she just figured he crashed with one of the friends he’d been planning to meet. When he didn’t show up at school the following day, she was worried, and when his paddleboard was found floating in the bay, feelings of concern quickly segued into feelings of terror.”
Parker took a breath and then continued. I figured we’d let her say what she had on her mind and then ask questions if there were aspects we felt needed clarification.
“Kalen West wasn’t reported missing until after Zane’s paddleboard was found, but it looks as if he might actually have been the first teen to go missing. Kalen’s mother shared that things at home have been tense. Kalen’s parents decided to split up, and Kalen hasn’t taken that well. In fact, his mother reported that he has barely been tolerable to live with. When he left the house Saturday on the old dirt bike he bought a while back, he mumbled something about crashing with friends and not coming home that night. When Kalen didn’t show up Saturday night, his mother was unconcerned. When he didn’t show up Sunday, she figured he was still in one of his moods and would get himself to school. When Kalen’s mother heard about Zane, she called the school, only to discover that he’d never shown up that morning. At that point, Kalen’s mother filed a missing persons report. Then Trevor Wilson turned up missing Monday as well. He was last seen leaving the school on his bicycle at three o’clock. He was grounded, so his instructions were to go straight home, but he never made it home.”
