Muffins and Mobsters

by Leena Clover

  Jenny grew bored as the tapes rolled slowly. She yawned and that set Jason off.

  “Hold it,” Jenny cried suddenly.

  She was pointing to something on the screen.

  “What’s that? That right there?”

  Jason paused the picture and peered at the screen.

  “Looks like the same kid.”

  “What is he wearing?” Jenny asked in a hushed voice.

  “A jacket?”

  “Look at the back of the jacket, Jason,” Jenny said.

  “Hmmm … looks like something’s printed on the back.”

  Jenny made Jason zoom in to the picture. She could make out a few feathers.

  “Wanna bet it’s the same jacket?” Jenny banged a fist on the table. “That little creep. He lied to us.”

  “Hold it, Jenny. What are you blabbering about?”

  Jenny explained her theory to Jason.

  “Let’s go talk to him,” Jason said, leaping up.

  Jenny’s cell phone rang when Jason was driving to the gas station. It was Adam.

  “What’s going on? Where did you rush off all of a sudden?”

  Jenny gave him the condensed version.

  “Turn around right now!” Adam ordered. “You are not going there alone.”

  “Jason is here with me.”

  “You are both crazy. What if this kid is really the person we are looking for? He could have a gun.”

  “Relax!” Jenny said. “I’ve met that kid. He’s harmless.”

  Adam became more incensed.

  “You don’t know that, Jenny. Please stop the car immediately. Let me talk to Jason.”

  “Jason says we can handle it.”

  “Stop right now, or I will arrest you both for messing with police business.”

  “Don’t be such a grouch, Adam.”

  Jenny hung up the phone.

  “What did he say?” Jason asked her.

  “That’s just Adam being Adam.”

  A police car with flashing lights and a blaring siren overtook them two minutes later. It pulled into the gas station’s parking lot ahead of Jason. Adam stumbled out, leaning on his cane. He looked ready to burst.

  “That was quick,” Jenny said glibly.

  “I’ll deal with you later, Jenny.” He turned toward Jason. “Let me do the talking.”

  “Fine by me,” Jason shrugged.

  The kid working at the gas station came out to see what was happening.

  “This is Skinner,” Jenny introduced him.

  “Do you work here?” Adam asked.

  The kid looked like he was about to bolt.

  “I ain’t done nothing wrong,” he said sullenly.

  “No one’s saying you did,” Adam snapped. “I need to ask you a few questions.”

  The kid shrugged.

  “I got nothing to hide.”

  “You remember what we talked about?” she began. “You told us you didn’t know the guy in the hoodie.”

  “So what?”

  “We saw you wearing the same jacket later that day,” Jenny said. “How did you get it if you didn’t know that man?”

  The kid’s eyes filled with fear.

  “I found it in the dumpster. I swear.”

  “You better not be lying, son,” Adam said sternly.

  “I’m not lying. I found it in the dumpster out back. It was a windy day and I was feeling cold. So I wore it.”

  “You picked it up from the trash?” Adam asked.

  Skinner was defensive.

  “I don’t go dumpster diving. But there was nothing wrong with that jacket. Can’t be too picky, you know. I don’t even make minimum wage.”

  “I think he’s telling the truth,” Jenny said supportively.

  “Thank you for your opinion,” Adam said coldly. He turned toward Skinner. “We will need to look at your security cameras.”

  “You have to talk to my boss,” the kid said. “But we don’t have any cameras near the dumpster.”

  “Are you sure?” Adam asked.

  “There’s a camera out back but it’s broken. The dumpster’s out of its range anyway.”

  Adam asked a few more questions but he had to let the kid go.

  He stalked back to his car and left without a word.

  “Looks like he’s really mad at you, Jenny.”

  Jason drove to Ethan’s Crab Shack for lunch. Ethan was Adam’s twin. He had the same imposing height and deep blue eyes but the similarities ended there. The deeply etched laugh lines around his face were a testament to his cheerful personality.

  Ethan greeted her with a hug.

  “Haven’t seen you in a while, Jenny.”

  Jason ordered the special of the day, which was an assortment of fried fish and crabs. Ethan brought up a platter loaded with hand cut fries and hush puppies. Jenny couldn’t wait to dip them into his special tartar sauce.

  “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jason acted surprised. “I had a wonderful day.”

  “We hit another wall,” Jenny said gloomily.

  “We did find something,” Jason reminded her. “So far, we had only heard about that jacket. Now we know it did exist. That means the man is real too.”

  “You’re right,” Jenny said, cheering up.

  “What happened to the car, though?” Jason mused. “That’s a big puzzle.”

  Jenny bit off a piece of fried flounder. It melted in her mouth.

  “I’m losing hope, Jason. I don’t think we are ever going to find out the truth.”

  “Don’t give up yet, Jenny. We just have to keep looking.”

  “How is that grumpy brother of mine behaving?” Ethan boomed as he set bowls of peach cobbler before them.

  Jenny rolled her eyes.

  “He just threw a fit. Would you believe it?”

  “That’s his way of showing his love,” Ethan laughed.

  Jenny felt her cheeks burn.

  “Has he always been like this?”

  “He’s changed a lot since he met you, Jenny,” Ethan assured her. “For the better.”

  Jenny thought of Ethan’s words as she walked on the beach after dinner. A big hairy body almost toppled her.

  “Tank! You adorable darling! I missed you.”

  She patted the big dog and scratched him under his ears. Tank butted her in the knee and sat down in the sand.

  Adam stood in the shadows, looking at her with a guarded expression.

  “I was hoping to run into you.”

  “Me too,” Adam said, clearing his throat.

  They walked for a while, Tank running in circles around them, wagging his tail.

  Jenny wondered if Adam expected her to apologize.

  “I am sorry, Jenny,” he said suddenly.

  He pulled her close to him and hugged her tightly.

  “You scared the hell out of me.”

  “I’m fine, Adam. See?”

  “What if that kid had pulled out a gun?”

  “People in Pelican Cove don’t own guns. You told me so yourself.”

  “But someone does have a gun, Jenny. Someone who shot Petunia in cold blood.”

  “Thank you for worrying about me,” Jenny said softly.

  “Of course I worry,” Adam said. “You are the light of my life, Jenny King. What would I do if anything happened to you?”

  Chapter 16

  The Magnolias were sitting out on the deck, having their mid-morning coffee break. The café had been unusually busy for breakfast and Jenny was exhausted.

  “We ran out of muffins,” she explained as she set out some cookies with the coffee. “Why don’t you all stay on for lunch?”

  “You have enough on your plate without us crowding you,” Molly said. “I wish I could help you more, Jenny. But I can’t get away from my desk at the library.”

  “Heather and Star are both pitching in,” Jenny said gratefully. “I don’t know what I would do without them.”

  �
��Petunia was a quiet one, wasn’t she?” Star said.

  “But she did the lion’s share of work around here,” Jenny spoke up. “She was always there, telling me what to do next. I need to make all those decisions now and I am not good at them.”

  “You will learn,” Betty Sue consoled her. “What other option do you have?”

  “Petunia always spoke up when it mattered,” Molly pointed out. “She wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion.”

  Jenny closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

  “I miss her so much!”

  “We all do, sweetie,” Star said, stroking her back.

  Barb Norton puffed up the steps of the Boardwalk Café, scratching her arm.

  “How are you, Barb?” Betty Sue asked solicitously. “Have you recovered from that bump on your head?”

  Barb assumed the air of a martyr.

  “It’s the price I pay for what I do.”

  Heather giggled.

  “Stop tittering at my plight, young lady. Hasn’t your grandma taught you better?”

  “Leave my girl alone,” Betty Sue snapped. “What do you want?”

  “Did you get my letter about the fines?” Barb’s tone was acerbic. “Hardly anyone has paid up.”

  “You can’t penalize people just because they have some water in their bird feeders,” Star scoffed. “Get real, Barb. No one is paying those ridiculous fines.”

  “How do you propose we deal with these mosquitoes then?” Barb asked, scratching her neck now.

  Her arm and neck had both turned red.

  “Stop scratching, Barb!” Betty Sue hollered. “You’re making it worse.”

  “These little bloodsuckers keep biting me.”

  “They must like you a lot,” Heather grinned.

  Jenny took pity on the woman.

  “Would you like a cookie, Barb?”

  “I want more than one. How about five dozen?”

  “Huh?” Jenny was bewildered.

  “I am putting together a bake sale,” Barb said. “It’s the only way to raise money for the extermination.”

  “I’m sorry I can’t help you this time.”

  “But I am counting on you, Jenny. Pelican Cove is counting on you.”

  “I’m up to my ears in work, Barb. Plus I still have to plan Petunia’s memorial. There’s no way I can squeeze this in.”

  “Petunia would never have turned her back on me,” Barb said cagily.

  “That’s below the belt, Barb!” Star exclaimed.

  “Take that back!” Betty Sue cried.

  Heather and Molly watched on with their eyes wide.

  Jenny caved.

  “Two dozen cookies, Barb. That’s it. Any kind I choose.”

  “That’ll be just fine, dear,” Barb smiled. “Don’t forget the meeting tonight, girls. I will see you there.”

  “Does she ever get tired of these meetings?” Molly groaned.

  “She just likes to boss people around,” Star quipped.

  “She was right about Petunia,” Jenny sighed. “How can I ever live up to her?”

  “You are doing good, kid,” Star assured her. “She would be proud of you.”

  The other women agreed with Star. They tried to cheer Jenny up. She thought they were just being kind.

  “Any luck watching those cameras?” Heather asked.

  “We watched the traffic cams in town yesterday,” Jenny told her. “Didn’t find much.”

  “I admire your patience. You must have looked at every camera in town.”

  “What was that?” Jenny asked suddenly. “Heather, you are brilliant!”

  She ran inside and called Jason.

  “I just thought of something. What are you doing right now?”

  Jason invited her to come over.

  “Can you handle the lunch crowd again?” she asked her aunt. “Soup’s almost done. I already mixed the chicken salad.”

  Star assured her she would be fine. Jenny hurried to Jason’s office. She apologized for disturbing him.

  “I don’t have anything on my calendar,” he assured her. “Just some paper work. You know I’ll do anything to get out of that.”

  Jenny tried to curb her excitement.

  “This might be nothing,” she began. “But something Heather said got me thinking.”

  “Go on,” Jason encouraged her.

  “We looked at the tapes at the police station. But what about other cameras in town?”

  “Didn’t you already talk to some store owners? I thought no one in Pelican Cove used security cameras.”

  “Those were places along the beach,” Jenny nodded. “But there’s another camera we can look at.”

  Jason looked blank.

  “The gas station!” Jenny exclaimed. “Remember what that kid Skinner said about the camera at the back?”

  “It wasn’t working?”

  “Right. But I’m sure they have more cameras around the front.”

  “That does seem logical,” Jason said. “Want to go check them out?”

  Jenny was relieved to find Skinner working at the gas station.

  “We want to look at your security cameras.”

  “Weren’t you here yesterday?” he asked sullenly. “I told you the camera at the back was busted.”

  “How many more cameras do you have?” Jason asked.

  The kid shrugged.

  “A few, I guess.”

  Jenny and Jason went out and walked around the little store. Jenny squinted in the bright noon sunshine, trying to spot the cameras.

  They counted four more. Jenny pointed to a camera mounted near the entrance to the parking lot. The road directly led to the dumpster at the back.

  “We don’t need the dumpster camera,” she said eagerly. “Our man would have to enter from somewhere right? Any of these cameras might have caught him.”

  Jason agreed with her theory. They went back inside.

  “We want to look at your tapes.”

  “It’s all set up in that little office at the back,” he said. “I’m not allowed to go in there.”

  “Do you want me to call the Sheriff?” Jason asked. “He can come here with a warrant and seal your place.”

  “Take it easy, mister,” the kid complained. “I don’t want to lose my job.”

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped some keys. He thrust the phone in Jason’s face.

  “That’s my boss. Why don’t you call him and sort it out. Keep me out of it, okay?”

  Jason started dialing the number.

  “I didn’t tell you about the cameras,” Skinner reminded him.

  Jason stepped outside and Jenny followed him.

  The gas station owner turned out to be a guy Jason knew well. Jenny folded her hands and leaned against a wall, waiting for Jason to get on with it. Jason got to the point after five minutes of small talk.

  “We went to high school together,” Jason told Jenny when he hung up.

  “Not hard to believe, considering you know everyone in town.”

  “He knows Adam too,” Jason explained. “And he knew Petunia well.”

  “What about the cameras?” Jenny was getting impatient.

  “He says we have full access. We can look at any footage we want. He’s going to call the kid and let him know.”

  The phone rang inside just as Jenny pushed the door open. Skinner gave some brief replies and hung up.

  “I’m supposed to let you in there,” he grumbled.

  He pulled out a big bunch of keys from a drawer and ambled to the back. A small door lay hidden behind stacks of merchandise. The kid tried a couple of keys before he found the right one.

  “Can you figure this thing out?” he asked, pointing at a computer on a tiny desk. “Just holler if you want something.”

  Jenny was feeling parched.

  “Actually, I could use some coffee.”

  “I can ring it up for you,” Skinner nodded.

  Jenny glanced at a half full flask sitting
on a warmer and decided to pass. She filled two cups from an automatic coffee machine. It was sweeter than she preferred but at least it didn’t taste bitter.

  The office at the back was barely bigger than a closet. Jason pointed to the tiny chair. Jenny squeezed into it, hugging her knees together. Jason stood behind her with his back against the wall.

  Jenny started the computer and waited for it to boot up. The desktop had a folder titled ‘security footage’. She clicked on it to find a bunch of folders arranged by week. Each folder contained a file for a particular day.

  “This looks well organized,” Jason said.

  They pulled up the file for the day in question. The picture was slightly grainy at first.

  “That’s before sunrise,” Jason noted.

  They skimmed through the whole tape without much luck.

  “What exactly are we looking for?” Jason asked. “A dark colored sedan?”

  “What if the man just walked in for a drink or something? He may have parked his car somewhere else.”

  “Run the video again, Jenny. We’ll focus on the people this time.”

  Jenny’s stomach growled.

  “Oops,” Jenny apologized. “I had a light breakfast today.”

  “Hold on,” Jason said.

  He went out into the store and came back a few minutes later, clutching a bunch of snacks. Jenny chose an energy bar and bit off a big chunk.

  “Thanks.”

  Jason started munching on some potato chips.

  They peered at the people entering and leaving the store. Jenny grew frustrated after an hour had passed.

  “This is a big waste of time.”

  “We have looked at a couple dozen people,” Jason agreed.

  “None of them walked to the back of the store,” Jenny noted. “I don’t see how that jacket appeared in the dumpster. Unless it was there all along?”

  “That’s not possible,” Jason pointed out. “Our man was seen wearing it that morning, remember?”

  Jenny suddenly jabbed her finger at the screen.

  “What’s that?”

  A disheveled man was pushing a shopping cart ahead of him. It was filled with some boxes and knick knacks. A dark colored cloth lay on top.

  “Can you zoom in on that?” Jason asked.

  Jenny fiddled with the mouse and enlarged the portion showing the cart.

  “Do you see those feathers?” Jenny exclaimed. “That’s our jacket.”

  “What’s it doing in that cart?”