Death of a Lobster Lover

by Lee Hollis

  Suddenly Mona burst into the room, a harried look on her face. “We need to get out of here!”

  “Why? What’s going on?” Hayley asked.

  “A housekeeper came out of a room down the hall and saw me guarding the door. She looked at me suspiciously and I think I saw her make a call on her cell phone as she pushed her cart around the corner.”

  “She could have been calling anyone,” Liddy said, brushing her off.

  “Sue told me Jackson hammered her with questions far beyond what a typical travel writer would want to know. What if he not only lied about being single, what if he lied about being a travel writer, too?”

  “For what possible reason?” Liddy asked.

  “Seriously, we can talk about this in the car, on the way back to Bar Harbor, because I’m starting to get a real bad feeling about all of this!” Mona wailed.

  “What if he’s not here to write about Salmon Cove, but he’s here looking into something else entirely?” Hayley wondered.

  “Like what?” Liddy asked.

  “I don’t know, but Sheriff Wilkes told me she did some research on me, and found out my history of poking my nose into places it doesn’t belong, and that seems to be making her extremely nervous, which would explain all the parking tickets and not-so-subtle warnings to leave town. I suspect she’s hiding something and doesn’t want anyone, especially us, to find out.”

  “Are you suggesting Sheriff Wilkes was the one who killed Jackson?” Liddy gasped.

  “I’m not ruling anything out, but the dots do seem to be connecting,” Hayley said.

  “But what’s her motive?” Liddy asked.

  Hayley shrugged.

  “You could always ask her yourself,” Mona said softly.

  “Sheriff Wilkes has no interest in talking to me,” Hayley laughed.

  “You could try. She’s standing right there,” Mona squeaked.

  Hayley and Liddy whipped their heads around to see Sheriff Daphne Wilkes standing in the open door of the hotel room, her hand on the butt of her holstered gun, the hotel manager hovering behind her.

  “Got a call someone might have ignored the warning on the door, and forced their way inside this room illegally,” Sheriff Daphne said, a joyful lilt in her voice.

  She was loving this moment.

  Liddy bravely stepped forward and held up the room key card. “No one forced their way inside. Jackson gave me his key. We are invited guests.”

  But even Liddy knew her argument was flimsy at best, and the sheriff was having none of it.

  “I’m placing you all under arrest for breaking and entering,” Sheriff Daphne said, with a big smile. “Thank you, ladies. You’ve just made my day.”

  Chapter 17

  “Sonny . . . Sonny, it’s me, Liddy, I know you’re there so pick up! It’s an emergency,” Liddy sobbed, eyes brimming with tears, as she stood in front of Sheriff Daphne’s desk speaking into the old-fashioned corded phone.

  Daphne was seated upright behind her desk, typing keys on the keyboard of her desktop computer, busy with paperwork, but keeping one eye on Hayley and Liddy, whom she had escorted out of their cell to make their one allotted phone call.

  Liddy, of course, insisted they call Sonny Rivers, her ex-boyfriend, and mercifully for them, a highly respected lawyer.

  Liddy turned to Hayley, distraught. “He’s not answering.”

  Hayley turned to Sheriff Daphne. “Can she hang up and try his office number?”

  “One phone call means one phone call,” Daphne said flatly, never taking her eyes off her computer screen.

  “Stay on the line, Liddy. He’ll have to come home eventually.”

  “There is a ten-minute time limit and then it is straight back to the cell with your friend,” Daphne growled.

  Liddy glanced at Hayley and mouthed the word Bitch.

  They had left Mona in the cell, chatting with a teenager who got caught trying to steal OxyContin from behind the pharmacy counter at the local drugstore. The girl poured out her life story, and Mona always had a sympathetic ear. Hayley believed Mona would fit right in perfectly with the cast of characters in Orange Is the New Black, Hayley’s favorite show on Netflix to binge-watch. She pictured Mona as the large, intimidating inmate whose physical appearance might scare you at first, but once you got to know her, she would turn out to be a protective Mama Bear and champion the underdog inmate who might get separated from the herd and vulnerable to an attack, and Big Mama Mona would make sure you were safe under her watch.

  It was a comforting thought having Mona with them as they faced the prospect of serious jail time.

  “Sonny! Sonny! Thank God!” Liddy screeched, cupping her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. “Sonny just picked up.”

  “Yes, I gathered that,” Hayley said, shaking her head. “Tell him to get in his car right now and drive to Salmon Cove!”

  “Sonny, you are not going to guess where I am . . . Sonny . . . Stop it, Sonny . . . Stop . . . for heaven’s sake, Sonny, shut up! I didn’t mean for you to actually try to guess . . . I’ll tell you! I’m in jail! Yes, we’ve been arrested! Hayley, Mona, and myself! You’ve got to get down here and get us out!”

  Liddy bit her lip tightly as she listened to Sonny on the other end of the phone, and her face started turning beet red.

  “What’s he saying?”

  Liddy raised her hand and shushed Hayley.

  She listened some more.

  “Sonny, I don’t care that you have to be in court in the morning . . . No, I don’t care how important the case is, or how much money you’re going to make . . . I am sitting in a jail cell, do you hear me, jail cell in Down East Hicksville, and I need to get out of here right now before I go absolutely insane!”

  Hayley reached for the phone. “Let me talk to him.”

  Liddy pushed her away, keeping the phone clamped to her ear. “Sonny, where are you? It sounds echoey . . . your hot tub? I thought the doctor told you to steer clear of the hot tub until you got your blood pressure under control.”

  “He’s barely thirty and he already has high blood pressure?” Hayley asked.

  “Yes, and that’s one of the pathetic excuses he used when we broke up. He said I was a big reason his numbers were so high. Can you imagine?”

  Hayley kept her mouth shut, but yes, yes she could.

  Suddenly Liddy gasped.

  “Who was that?” Her eyes flared with fury. “Don’t lie to me, Sonny. I heard someone giggling in the background. Is someone with you in the hot tub?”

  “Liddy, for heaven’s sake, it doesn’t matter,” Hayley wailed.

  “It’s a simple yes or no question, Sonny,” Liddy snarled.

  “Please don’t tick him off, Liddy! He might hang up!” Hayley pleaded.

  “Destiny? Isn’t that your new paralegal? She’s barely out of high school!” Liddy cried. “You are the lowest of low, Sonny! It hasn’t even been a week since our breakup and you’re already playing around with some dim bulb floozy!”

  Hayley pried the phone out of Liddy’s fist and shoved her away, screaming into the phone, “Sonny, Sonny, please don’t hang up!”

  Liddy was still yelling even though she no longer had possession of the phone. “I don’t care if she went to Stanford! You’re a two-timing whore bag!”

  Hayley, panicked, cried breathlessly into the phone, “Sonny, please tell me you’re you still there!”

  “I’m here, Hayley.”

  “Thank you, thank you. Now I’m begging you, please, you’ve got to come and get us out of here. We’re going to be charged with breaking and entering.”

  “And tampering with an official police crime scene,” Daphne added, almost smiling.

  “Listen to me, there’s no way I can drive all the way down to Salmon Cove tonight. I told Liddy I’m working on a very big case in Bangor and we’re at a very critical juncture,” Sonny said. “But don’t sweat it. I have a friend near Salmon Cove. He’s a good egg. We went to law school together.”


  “A lawyer?”

  “Yes, his name is Oliver Hammersmith.”

  “Okay, how do we get in touch with him? We’re only allowed one phone call and this is it,” Hayley said, panic rising in her voice.

  “No worries. I will call him and have him come down there before the hearing tomorrow, okay? He’ll have you out by mid-morning, I promise.”

  “Thank you, Sonny,” Hayley said with a sigh of relief.

  “There’s just one thing you need to know about Oliver before you meet him, Hayley.”

  “What’s that?”

  “How can I say this politely? There’s a little too much yardage between the goal posts.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you, Sonny.”

  “He’s a couple of Froot Loops shy of a full bowl.”

  “What?”

  “The wheel is still spinning but the hamster’s dead.”

  “He’s dumb! You’re saying he’s dumb!”

  “No, I would never say he’s dumb! Oliver is a friend. He’s just a little slow on the uptake.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “He wasn’t the brightest in my class but he absorbed the basics. Trust me, he’s a decent lawyer. He’ll get you out.”

  “You are not reassuring me right now,” Hayley said, gripping the phone tighter.

  Hayley heard Sonny’s paralegal Destiny cooing in the background. “How long are you going to be on the phone, baby? The champagne will go flat.”

  “I got to go, Hayley, I’ll put in a call to Oliver right now. I promise.”

  And then the line went dead.

  “What happened?” Liddy asked.

  “He’s calling a colleague he went to law school with, Oliver something, to come help us.”

  “Is he good?”

  “Sonny says he’s the best,” Hayley lied.

  She hated living with the truth alone, but Liddy was already having a meltdown over her ex-boyfriend’s rapid-fire rebound fling with his paralegal.

  Daphne stood up from her desk and waved for them to head back down the hall to the jail cell where Mona was waiting for them. She followed behind them, but halfway, she told them to stop.

  They turned to face her.

  “You know, ladies, there is the possibility I could have a change of heart and release you right now before any official charges are filed,” Daphne said, folding her arms, relishing her power position.

  “Really?” Liddy asked, wide-eyed and hopeful.

  “All I would ask in return is that all three of you get in that Mercedes and drive out of Salmon Cove, and promise never to return.”

  “Yes, yes, you’ve got yourself a deal! We’ll never come back! Ever! Ever! Ever!” Liddy screamed, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

  Daphne turned to Hayley for her response.

  “We’ll think about it,” Hayley whispered.

  Liddy’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Think about it? What’s to think about? We’re taking the deal!”

  “We need to talk to Mona first. She has family and history here. I’m not sure she’ll want to agree to never come back,” Hayley said.

  “Of course she’ll agree!” Liddy barked. “The alternative is sitting in jail and possibly living the rest of her life with a criminal record, even though I’m not entirely sure she doesn’t have one already!”

  Hayley turned and stared at Daphne, refusing to be intimidated. “Like I said, we’ll think about it.”

  “Suit yourself. But don’t take too long. My offer expires in the morning,” Daphne said, reaching out and shoving them back toward the jail cell at the end of the hall.

  Hayley did not want to make any kind of deal with this woman.

  She clearly had some kind of ulterior motive for forcing them out of town.

  And she just didn’t trust her.

  Not one bit.

  Chapter 18

  Judge Alvin King, a crusty, jowly cheeked, hefty man with big lips and bug eyes, sat behind his bench, wearing his black robe. He reached for a handful of jelly beans that filled a glass bowl next to his gavel and shoveled some into his mouth as he perused a set of papers in front of him.

  “Okay, case number 16-CF-092, breaking and entering and tampering with evidence at a crime scene.”

  Judge King raised his eyes from the papers to look at Hayley, Liddy, and Mona, who stood nervously next to their lawyer, the rail-thin, bespectacled, balding Oliver Hammersmith, who appeared fidgety, unfocused, and somewhat confused.

  “My, you ladies have been busy,” the judge said with a smirk.

  Hayley looked back to see Sheriff Daphne sitting in the back row, watching the proceedings. She was grinning from ear to ear and enjoying every minute of it.

  “How do the defendants plead?”

  Hayley cleared her throat, having been designated as spokesperson for the three of them.

  “Your Honor, we admit we let ourselves into Mr. Young’s room—”

  “Ignoring the sign on the door that said, ‘No Trespassing’ by order of the Salmon Cove Police Department!” the young whippersnapper of a prosecutor, who was clearly out to make a name for himself in these parts, blurted out from the table across from them.

  Judge King raised a hand for silence. “Let the defendants answer my question, Counselor.”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said, chastised.

  “But we technically were not breaking and entering because Mr. Young had given my friend Liddy his hotel key card and told her to come by his room any time . . .”

  There were a few knowing titters from a couple of onlookers in the courtroom gallery. Mr. Young’s intent by giving Liddy his key was obvious.

  “I appreciate your explanation, Miss . . .”

  “Powell. Hayley Powell. We’re from Bar Harbor and we’ve never had any trouble with the law. Well, okay, full disclosure, I was arrested one time but it turned out to be one big misunderstanding, and Mona here, well, she got into a physical brawl with a police officer a few years back, but to be fair, if his boss, the chief of police, had been around at the time of the altercation she never would have been arrested because the young officer was the one who technically started it—”

  “I’ve never been arrested, Your Honor!” Liddy piped in proudly.

  “Congratulations,” the judge said, with a fake wide-eyed smile.

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Liddy said, smiling, oblivious to his obvious sarcasm.

  “Tell me, Miss Powell, are you a fan of courtroom dramas on TV?” he asked, smiling.

  “Yes, I love them. Ever since I was a kid. LA Law, The Practice, you name it, I watched it.”

  “Very good,” the judge said, nodding. “Then you probably learned a few basics about courtroom proceedings.”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” Hayley said.

  “Then it boggles my mind why someone who has seen so many courtroom dramas has no inkling that the correct response to my question is either ‘Guilty’ or ‘Not Guilty’! I am not interested in hearing your life story and the life stories of your two friends!”

  “Understood, Your Honor,” Hayley said, bowing her head.

  There was silence in the courtroom.

  Judge King sighed. “Miss Powell?”

  “It’s Mrs. Powell, actually. Powell is my husband’s name. Well, my ex-husband, we’re divorced and he lives in Iowa but I kept his name to make things easier since my kids also have his name—”

  “Mrs. Powell?”

  “Yes, Your Honor, I’m sorry. I’m just really nervous and I tend to prattle on when I’m nervous.”

  “I can see that. How do you plead, Mrs. Powell?”

  “Not guilty, Your Honor,” Hayley said softly.

  “Ms. Crawford?”

  “Not guilty!” Liddy shouted dramatically.

  “And Ms. Barnes?”

  “What they said,” Mona grunted.

  “Work with me, Ms. Barnes, I need you to say it,” Judge King groaned.


  “Not guilty,” Mona grumbled.

  “Noted. Now, Mr. Cheatham, you’ve recommended bail be set at fifty thousand dollars per defendant . . .”

  “What? That’s outrageous!” Liddy yelped.

  Hayley nudged Liddy’s side with her elbow to give her the signal to keep quiet.

  “Yes, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said, standing up. “These ladies are not members of our community, they have no ties here, and you heard from their own mouths that two of them have a past criminal record—”

  “Neither of us was ever charged, you little piss ant!” Mona yelled. “And I do have ties here! I came here every summer when I was a kid!”

  Hayley glared at Mona to shut up.

  The judge gave Mona a long, withering look and then returned his attention to the young prosecutor.

  “It is my opinion they pose an extreme flight risk so I believe the bail amount should reflect that,” the prosecutor said confidently.

  “Mr. Hammersmith?”

  Oliver Hammersmith said nothing.

  “Mr. Hammersmith, are you still with us?” the judge asked.

  Hayley glanced over to see their lawyer standing next to them, facing the judge, but his eyes were closed and his mouth was open. He was literally asleep standing up.

  “Mrs. Powell, would you be so kind and wake up your counsel?”

  “Yes, your Honor,” Hayley said.

  She gave Hammersmith a sharp jab in the ribs with the palm of her hand.

  He jolted awake, snorting.

  “Welcome back, Mr. Hammersmith,” the judge said, starting to lose patience.

  “Where am I?” he asked, disoriented.

  “Salmon Cove Town Court,” the judge said. “You’re representing these three fine ladies who are charged with, well, we’ve already gone over all that.”

  “What the hell is the matter with you?” Hayley hissed.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve been having insomnia lately. I didn’t get much sleep last night so I watched a couple of movies on Netflix hoping they would make me fall asleep, but they were really good and so they kept me up instead—”

  “I don’t care! You need to focus! They’re trying to set our bail at fifty grand apiece!” Hayley said with urgency.