by Leena Clover
“Looks like she has a lot of messages.”
Jenny had walked around the desk to stand behind Adam. She peered at the phone over his shoulder. She asked him to press a bunch of keys and read off the screen.
“Who’s Paula?” she asked Adam. “Have you come across anyone by that name?”
Adam declined.
“Looks like Kelly was quite friendly with this person. She’s called her multiple times a day and messaged her several times in an hour.”
Kelly had called Brandon too. Adam pointed it out.
“Of course she called Brandon. They were engaged, weren’t they? And look, there’s a call to Megan.”
“So what does this prove?” Adam frowned. “Kelly liked calling people?”
“That’s what kids do these days,” Jenny reminded him. “Remember Nick and the twins?”
She was referring to her son and Adam’s twin girls. They had met in Pelican Cove and established a rapport almost instantly. They texted each other several times a day. Jenny complained Nick called the twins more often than he called her.
“What are you saying?”
“This generation needs to share everything. They text their friends every time they sneeze or poop. Kelly was doing the same.”
“I still don’t get it,” Adam said.
“Whoever this Paula is, she meant a lot to Kelly. She must have been her go-to friend. The one person Kelly wanted to tell everything.”
“We need to find out who Paula is,” Adam said, catching on.
“That’s right,” Jenny said.
“I don’t think there was anyone by this name at the party,” Adam said, going through a list on his desk.
“You’re right,” Jenny agreed. “I don’t remember meeting anyone by this name either.”
“If this Paula was such a good friend,” Adam mused, “why wasn’t she at the party?”
“Maybe Paula is code for something else,” Jenny said. “Or someone else.”
“That sounds farfetched,” Adam said.
“Not really,” Jenny said, reluctant to give up on her theory. “It could be a nickname.”
“So how do you propose to find this Paula?” Adam asked.
Jenny pulled up Paula’s number in Kelly’s address book and pressed the call button. The call went to voicemail.
“Looks like this phone is switched off.”
“What now?” Adam asked.
“I’m going to talk to Brandon. If Kelly was so close to this Paula, Brandon must surely know her.”
Chapter 9
The spring sun bathed Pelican Cove in bright light. A cool ocean breeze made people keep their sweaters on. The sunlight wasn’t strong enough to warm the skin. The Magnolias braved the weather and sat out on the deck at the Boardwalk Café.
Betty Sue carried on with her knitting, pausing only to take a sip of her coffee. Jenny brought out a tray loaded with tiny parfaits.
“I took your advice,” she told her aunt. “These parfaits have layers of shaved chocolate. Why don’t you try one and let me know if it tastes good?”
Heather walked up the boardwalk, tugging her black poodle Tootsie along with her. She tied Tootsie to a post and bounded up the stairs.
“I’ll have one of those,” she said, picking up a parfait cup.
“How’s your investigation coming along?” Betty Sue asked Jenny.
“That’s a big word,” Jenny winced. “I’m just trying to figure out what happened.”
“Did you try calling that number again?” Heather asked, referring to the number Jenny had found in Kelly’s phone.
“The phone’s still switched off,” Jenny said. “It’s highly suspicious.”
Betty Sue and Star wanted to know what the girls were talking about. Jenny explained how Kelly had frequently been in touch with a girl called Paula.
“I think it belongs to a man,” Betty Sue said.
“Why do you say that?” Jenny asked, surprised.
“It’s a code, girl. We used to do that all the time.”
“Huh?” Heather sat up. “You had a cell phone?”
Betty Sue rolled her eyes.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Heather!”
She took a deep breath and stared at the ocean. Her voice turned softer.
“I was young once. There was this boy my Daddy didn’t like. We, my friend Lily and I, gave him a name. We called him Ruth. We used to talk about him all the time and no one was the wiser. My Daddy thought Ruth was a girl who lived on the other side of town.”
“Betty Sue! You sneaky devil!” Star laughed.
“So you think Paula is a guy?” Jenny asked Betty Sue.
“I don’t agree,” Heather said. “Times have changed, Grandma. It’s perfectly okay to be friends with a guy. It’s not taboo anymore.”
“And Kelly wasn’t a teen staying at home with her parents,” Jenny reasoned. “She was an independent woman who lived alone. She could talk to anyone she wanted to, guy or girl.”
“Cheating on your beau is still frowned upon though, right?” Betty Sue asked.
“You didn’t spend much time with Kelly,” Heather told Betty Sue. “She was very friendly. She must have been like that with everyone.”
Jenny was lost in thought. She was thinking about the repercussions of Kelly having an affair.
“Remember what Brandon’s friend said?” she spoke up. “What if Kelly was seeing someone behind Brandon’s back? He wouldn’t like that.”
“You think Brandon knew?” Heather asked. “Why was he going ahead with the wedding, then?”
“I can’t answer that,” Jenny said. “We need to talk to Brandon.”
Was Brandon the vindictive kind, Jenny wondered. What if he had caught Kelly with another man? Would he harm Kelly in a fit of anger?
Heather and Jenny set off for the Newbury estate after lunch. Brandon was sitting out in the courtyard, staring in the distance. Jenny sat before him and waited for him to speak.
Brandon sighed heavily after a few minutes.
“I miss her. What am I going to do without her, Heather?”
Heather patted his hand but said nothing.
“What time did you turn in on the night of the party?” Jenny asked.
“10, 10:30?” Brandon looked at her blankly. “I don’t remember.”
“When was the last time you talked to Kelly?”
“We barely talked during the party,” Brandon said bitterly. “Megan was here and we were catching up with old friends. Kelly was hanging out with Binkie.”
“That was kind of odd,” Jenny observed. “Many people thought you and Megan were the happy couple.”
“What people?” Brandon asked, sounding angry.
“I could use a drink,” Jenny said, getting up. “Do you want something?”
“I can ring for sweet tea,” Brandon said.
“It’s okay,” Jenny told him. “I’m going inside anyway. I’ll let the kitchen staff know.”
She went into the house, leaving Heather with Brandon. The house was quiet inside. Jenny wondered where Ada was. She pushed open the kitchen door. The old cook sat at a small table with her feet up on a chair. She looked sleepy.
“Hello,” Jenny greeted her. “I’m Heather’s friend. I was here a couple of days ago …”
“I know who you are, missy,” the cook interrupted her. “How can I help you?”
“I’m trying to determine everyone’s whereabouts the night of the party,” Jenny explained. “How long was the staff around, do you know?”
“Most guests left by ten,” the cook said. “Some of the young ones still hung around, I’m sure.”
The door opened and a maid came in. Jenny remembered she had been serving food at the party. She repeated her question.
“I was around for a while after ten,” the maid said evasively.
“This is between us,” Jenny assured her. “I am not going to report you to Mrs. Newbury.”
The maid hesitated.
“The missus went in around 9:30. The courtyard was empty by 11.”
“How long did you stick around?” Jenny asked.
“My boyfriend came over,” the girl said reluctantly. “I picked up a bottle of wine from the bar and we sat out in the garden, drinking.”
“Did you see anyone walking toward the pool?” Jenny asked eagerly.
“We weren’t really paying attention,” the girl said. “If you know what I mean …”
Jenny knew what she meant.
“You didn’t see a single person out in the courtyard after 11?”
“I didn’t say that,” the maid said. “Brandon came out around 11:30. I saw him from the corner of my eye.”
“Do you think he saw you?”
The girl shrugged.
“We were standing in a dark corner, so maybe not.”
“Where did he go?”
“I don’t know,” the girl said. “He was there one minute, then he was gone.”
“But you’re sure you saw him?”
The girl nodded emphatically.
Jenny spoke to the cook.
“Can we have some sweet tea, please?”
“Sure,” the cook drawled. “I’ll send someone out there, don’t worry.”
Jenny walked back to the courtyard. Brandon had a frown on his face as Heather chatted with him.
“I’m parched,” he said, looking up at Jenny. “What’s taking them so long?”
“You told me you turned in around ten the night of the party,” Jenny said, taking a seat.
“And?”
“It looks like you came out of your room around 11:30. You were seen walking around here.”
Brandon was looking bewildered.
“What were you doing out here, Brandon?” Jenny asked. “Were you looking for Kelly?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Did you know Kelly was going to be at the pool? Did you arrange to meet her there? Maybe the two of you wanted to take a midnight dip.”
“Kelly wasn’t staying here,” Brandon said, rubbing his forehead. “She had a room at the country club.”
“You could still have met her at the pool house,” Jenny pressed.
“But I didn’t,” Brandon said.
“What were you doing out here so late at night?”
“I don’t know,” Brandon pleaded. “I honestly don’t know. I must have been walking in my sleep.”
“That’s convenient,” Jenny muttered.
“Since when do you sleep walk?” Heather asked.
“It started a few months ago,” Brandon told her. “I do it when I am stressed about something.”
“What did you have to stress about?” Heather scoffed. “You were marrying the love of your life.”
“I don’t know, Heather,” Brandon whined. “I don’t control it.”
Jenny didn’t believe the sleepwalking theory. She was sure Brandon had just made it up on the spot.
“Were you following Kelly?” she asked softly, leaning toward Brandon.
“Why would I do that?” Brandon cried.
“Look, we think Kelly might have been having an affair. Did you know about it?”
“Kelly would never cheat on me,” Brandon protested. “She was a good kid.”
Jenny looked at Brandon, trying to read his mind. She didn’t believe he was that ignorant.
“Kelly sent a lot of messages to someone,” Jenny told Brandon. “Did you notice she was using her phone a lot?”
Brandon seemed to hesitate a bit. Then his face crumpled.
“You’re right. Kelly might have been having an affair.”
“What made you suspect her?”
“It’s like you said,” Brandon explained. “She was on the phone a lot, even when she was with me. I even joked about it. She said it was a friend who was in distress. She needed to hold her hand.”
“That’s possible,” Jenny nodded, considering what Brandon said. “But not probable. If she was so close to this friend, why didn’t she introduce you to her?”
“That’s what I thought too,” Brandon said bitterly.
“If you suspected Kelly, why were you going ahead with the wedding?” Heather asked.
“I was hopeful,” Brandon said. “I thought maybe she was having a last fling.”
“You’re saying you would have been fine with that?” Jenny asked incredulously.
Brandon clutched his head and groaned.
“I have a headache. Can we talk later?”
He stood up and started walking inside.
Jenny and Heather talked about what had happened on the way back.
“I’m sure he’s lying,” Jenny declared. “He’s hiding something.”
“I believe Brandon,” Heather said supportively. “He was hopeful in spite of his suspicions. That’s a man in love.”
Jenny dropped Heather off at the Bayview Inn and stopped at Mama Rosa’s, the island’s pizzeria, on the way home. She was feeling exhausted and was in no mood to cook dinner. She ran into Jason.
“Hey Jenny!” he greeted her.
They chatted while their order was getting ready.
“Are you eating pizza every night?” Jenny admonished. “Why don’t you cook something simple at home?”
“Cooking for one is a chore,” Jason said. “Most days, I’m too tired anyway.”
Jenny extended a dinner invitation and made Jason order a salad with his pizza.
That night, Jenny thought about Jason as she walked on the beach. Jason had been recovering from a bad breakup for the past year. She wanted him to be happy. Even though she had chosen Adam over Jason, she cared deeply for him. Deep down, she felt a bit guilty for turning him down.
Dark clouds lined the horizon when Jenny stepped out of her house the next morning. The sky was overcast and a chilly wind whipped Jenny’s hair around. She headed to the Boardwalk Café and started getting breakfast ready.
Jenny pulled out a pan of freshly baked banana nut muffins just as the clock struck six. The phone rang before she had a chance to open the café doors. It was Jason.
Jenny rushed to Jason’s house, praying that everything was alright. She had been unable to make sense of Jason’s gibberish. He had been hysterical and Jenny had promised to go see him right away.
Jenny scrambled out of her car a few minutes later. Jason was standing out on the porch, white in the face. He held a pink colored bundle in his hands. He stood there dumbly, staring at Jenny.
“What’s wrong, Jason?” Jenny cried. “What’s going on?”
Jason held his arms out to Jenny.
“Emily,” he mumbled.
“Speak up, Jason.”
A wail arose from the bundle before Jason had a chance to say anything.
“This is Emily,” he said, staring at the bundle in his hands. “Emily Stone.”
Jenny’s eyes widened as she realized what Jason held. She gently eased the bundle out of his arms and stared down at the chubby infant. A pair of brown, almond shaped eyes stared back at her. The baby gurgled and waved a fist in the air, demanding attention.
“Where did she come from?” Jenny asked softly, looking up at Jason.
Chapter 10
Jenny bustled through the breakfast rush at the Boardwalk Café. After grabbing a cup of coffee and a muffin for herself, she made a batch of her banana caramel parfaits. Heather arrived right on time to taste them.
Heather dug into the delicious treat as Jenny dialed the number she had been calling for the last couple of days. She muttered an oath when the standard recording came on. The phone was still switched off.
“Any luck?” Heather asked with her mouth full.
“I’m beginning to think someone chucked this phone into the ocean.”
“You may be right,” Heather said seriously. “You need Adam’s help here.”
“I’m going to talk to him,” Jenny said, her mouth set in a firm line. “Are you sticking around here?”
Heather
nodded.
“Grandma will be here soon. You go ahead. I will keep an eye on things here.”
Jenny walked the couple of blocks to the police station, hoping Adam wasn’t too busy. The front desk was deserted and Nora, the desk clerk, was nowhere in sight. Jenny knocked on Adam’s door and went in.
Adam sat with his leg propped up on a chair.
“Is your leg bothering you again?” Jenny asked with concern.
“No more than usual,” Adam said with a shrug. “What are you doing here, Jenny?”
“I tried that number again,” Jenny said, pulling up a chair. “No response.”
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“You need to trace this number, Adam. Find out who it belongs to.”
“Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?” Adam asked, suppressing a grin. “You know better than that, Jenny.”
“All I’m saying is, this phone is important. It could be our biggest lead.”
“Our?”
“Whatever,” Jenny snapped. “This Paula person was close to Kelly. We need to hunt her down so we can talk to her.”
“I agree with you this time,” Adam said. “I’m already on it.”
“Will you let me know when you learn something?” Jenny asked.
“I can’t promise that,” Adam said honestly. “It’s all part of my investigation. I’m not obligated to share any information with you, Jenny. You on the other hand, are.”
Jenny stood up in a huff and stalked out. Adam was very particular about keeping his professional life separate from his personal one. She just wished he would cut her some slack once in a while.
Jenny took the scenic route back to the café, going over everything she knew about Kelly so far. She spotted a few familiar faces on the beach and waved at them. A bright cornflower blue sky stretched above her with not a single cloud in sight. Many tourists seemed to have taken advantage of the fair weather and were beginning to arrive on the beach.
Jenny spotted the Magnolias sitting out on the deck of the Boardwalk Café and her face broke into a smile. She picked up her pace, eager to join the lively discussion that seemed to be on.
“What do you say, Jenny?” Betty Sue asked as soon as she spotted Jenny coming up the café’s steps. “Can Jason take care of Emily?”
