Sprinkles and Skeletons

by Leena Clover

  “Keith was pretty good about paying up. His father did very well and set up a trust fund for him. Cash was never his problem.”

  “He must have met someone in all these years?” Jenny persisted. “What about that rehab you sent him to? Did he make any friends there?”

  “Not that I know of.” Ricky shook his head.

  “What about women?” Jenny mused. “Was he seeing anyone?”

  “Emily was the only girl for him.”

  “What if he fell for someone though? Maybe he wanted to get a fresh start in life. He could have come here to say farewell. Say goodbye to the last place he met Emily.”

  Jenny wondered if she sounded crazy. Truth be told, she was grasping at straws.

  “I wondered if there was a woman,” Rick admitted. “Especially when he wanted to clean up three years ago. I didn’t know what else would motivate him that much. But he never introduced us to anyone.”

  “Lily’s family came to a sad end,” Ann said grimly. “She should have never come back here.”

  A hundred thoughts clamored in Jenny’s head as she walked home. She had come to Pelican Cove later in life, just like Lily. She had dragged her son along with her too. Jenny couldn’t help but notice the similarities between her life and Lily’s. Granted, Lily’s husband hadn’t dumped her. But they must have had their differences. Why else had Lily left her happy family behind to run away with another man? Had losing her daughter driven her off the edge? Keith had suffered a similar fate. Maybe insanity ran in the Davis family.

  Chapter 17

  Jenny tapped her head with a pencil, going over the menu once again. She had been discussing what they would sell at the concession stand with Petunia.

  “Normally I would just do coffee and muffins,” Petunia told her. “But you have made a name for yourself. I already have requests from people.”

  “Heather says there have been some comments on Instagram too,” Jenny said shyly. “People want to taste our seafood. And they are asking for everything from soup to sandwiches to pies.”

  “We need to keep the menu simple,” Petunia spoke from experience. “It has to be something we can make in big quantities without too much effort.”

  “It’s getting chilly,” Jenny remarked. “We definitely need soup.”

  “Choose any three soups – one a day.” Petunia had planned menus for many events. “Pumpkin soup, chicken soup and seafood chowder.”

  “We can have one sandwich for every day too,” Jenny said, catching on. “chicken salad, egg salad and tomato cheese.”

  “Now you just have to choose the desserts,” Petunia smiled. “We need cookies, lots and lots of cookies.”

  “Have you thought of the prizes the Boardwalk Café will sponsor?”

  “Lunch for two,” Petunia said, “and your special chocolate cake. We can give away a couple of both of these. That’s as much as we can afford.”

  “Whatever you say, Petunia,” Jenny agreed.

  Jenny knew these prizes were small fry compared to what some other people were offering. But they just wanted to pitch in and do their bit. She thought of the money Ann Davis had promised to donate. Did Ann have a private income or was her son Ricky going to shell out the money. Jenny realized she didn’t know much about them at all.

  “What do we know about them, really?” Jenny asked Adam as they were walking on the beach later that night.

  “You don’t like them, I take it?”

  “It’s not a question of liking or not liking anyone. We have to think about people connected to Keith. He wasn’t married so there is no spouse to worry about. His father’s an invalid. Ann and Ricky are his only family.”

  “And you suspect them of wrongdoing?” Adam asked with a smile. “You are beginning to think like a detective, Jenny.”

  “If that’s a compliment, I will take it.”

  Tank walked beside them, wagging his tail. Jenny lapsed into silence, focusing on throwing a stick for Tank to fetch.

  “Have you made any progress regarding Keith?” she finally asked Adam.

  “I can’t talk about that,” Adam protested.

  “So you still think it’s suicide? I can’t believe that.”

  “Why not? You know he had a history of drug abuse. He was mooning over some girl. The man was unstable, Jenny.”

  “What about Mrs. Bones? Any update on her?”

  “She’s low on the list of priorities. All I know is they are running tests.”

  “You don’t think Keith killed Emily Turner and buried her in his backyard?”

  Adam burst out laughing. Jenny turned red and glared at him but Adam couldn’t stop.

  “I already told you that’s farfetched, Jenny.”

  “But why? We know Emily left home to go to some party out of town. She might have been meeting Keith.”

  “Why did Keith kill her?”

  “They had a lover’s spat. Things got out of hand. Keith hit her or maybe she fell. He might have panicked.”

  Adam shook his head in denial. Jenny found herself getting incensed.

  “No one found a single trace of Emily. And she never got in touch with her family again. I’m willing to bet she’s gone, Adam.”

  “You think Keith came here to look at the grave?”

  “He must have read about the skeleton somewhere. He came here to see what was going on.”

  “If he had really buried her there, he would have run to the other end of the country.”

  “He felt some kind of compulsion. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”

  “So he was a crazy, psycho boyfriend who was drawn here by a bag of bones? You can believe that but you don’t believe he took his own life?”

  Jenny had no answer for that.

  Adam walked her back to Seaview and bid her goodnight. Star was watching TV with Jimmy.

  “How’s the grouch today?” she asked.

  “He’s not that bad,” Jenny protested.

  “I still think you should pick Jason,” Star griped. She had always been clear about who she thought Jenny should date.

  “Jason’s found himself a hot girlfriend.”

  “And whose fault is that?” her aunt called out after her.

  Ricky Davis came to the café the next morning. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as Jenny poured him a fresh cup of coffee.

  “They ran out of muffins at the inn. That’s what I get for sleeping in.”

  “How’s your mother?”

  “She’s staying in bed this morning. She’s not used to all this activity, poor thing.”

  Jenny wrapped up a couple of muffins for Ricky.

  “So what are you going to do today?”

  “I’m taking a boat tour to some of the islands,” Ricky told her.

  “Those are popular with the tourists,” Jenny agreed.

  “Why are they still sticking around here?” she asked Jason later.

  Jason sat in his office with his shirt sleeves rolled up and his tie loose, buried in a mound of paperwork.

  “I don’t know, Jenny. Maybe they are taking a vacation.”

  “So they are not really grieving for Keith.”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “What do you know about their background? What does Ricky do for a living, for instance?”

  “Ann Davis went back to school after she left town. Her mother took care of Ricky while Ann got her nursing degree. She worked as a nurse for several years. I think she was a private nurse for some rich guy toward the end of her career.”

  “What about Ricky?”

  “He has a good job, enough to have a house and support a wife and kids. You’ll have to ask him more about it.”

  Jason narrowed his eyes as he looked at Jenny.

  “Why this sudden interest? What are you thinking?”

  “Where have they been the past couple of weeks? Has anyone asked about their alibi?”

  Jason’s eyebrows shot up.

  “You think they had a hand in Keith�
�s death? You are going too far this time.”

  “Anything is possible,” Jenny insisted. “We don’t really know them.”

  “What possible motive could they have for harming Keith?”

  “Ann said Keith’s father did well for himself. He had a trust fund. Where does all that money go now?”

  “The Davises aren’t hurting for money as far as I know.”

  “Some people can never have enough. Then there’s the Seaview sale. They must have pocketed all that money. Then Keith turns up. What if Keith wanted his share?”

  “Legally, half of that money did belong to Keith.”

  Jenny went home and placed a call to the Bayview Inn. She invited Ann Davis and Ricky for dinner. Jason had given her a fancy new grill as a housewarming present. She decided to try it out that night.

  Jenny thought about how she would question mother and son. Could she dare to be direct with them? She prepared a dry rub of herbs and spices and rubbed it into chicken thighs. Potatoes boiled in a big stock pot for her warm potato salad. She started chopping vegetables. It was going to be an interesting evening.

  Ann Davis looked well rested as she leaned on Ricky’s arm. Star and Jimmy greeted them. Jenny had urged Jason to come over. Drinks were poured and appetizers were served.

  “This crab dip is delicious,” Ricky complimented.

  “They don’t make crabs like this in Texas,” Ann said, scooping some up with a cracker.

  “How are you enjoying Pelican Cove?” Star asked. “Jenny told me you took a boat out.”

  “My Roy used to love going out to the islands,” Ann said, reminiscing. “Our family owned some of them, you know. We lost them in the big storm.”

  “How can you lose an island?” Jenny asked naively.

  “They were submerged forever,” Jason explained. “Just like a large part of Morse Isle. Pelican Cove might have been three times what it is now.”

  “Are you enjoying your time off work?” Jenny asked Ricky.

  “It’s been a while since I traveled anywhere with Mom. We are having a grand time.”

  “And you haven’t come to Pelican Cove since the 1990s?”

  “Not since 1991,” Ricky corrected her.

  “So you weren’t in the area when Keith died?”

  Jason stifled a cough and cleared his throat. Ann Davis looked bewildered.

  “What are you trying to say, dear?”

  “She wants to know where we were when Keith died, Mother,” Ricky Davis said, catching on.

  His gaze had hardened as he looked at Jenny.

  “It’s common to ask for alibis of people connected to the victim.”

  “And you think we were responsible for Keith’s death?” Ricky folded his arms and stared at her.

  “You asked me to do a job,” Jenny argued. “I can’t do it well unless I consider all aspects.”

  “Did you invite us here to insult us, missy?” Ann croaked. “It’s this house. Nothing good ever comes from it.”

  She struggled to her feet. Ricky sprang into action, helping his mother.

  “Would you like a tour?” Jenny asked solicitously. “The contractors did a really fine job. You won’t even recognize the place.”

  Ann ignored her and ordered her son. “Get me out of here.”

  Ricky started ushering his mother out of the house.

  “Please stay!” Jenny urged. “Dinner is almost ready.”

  “You think I am going to stay here one more minute?” Ann Davis asked sharply.

  “Look, I’m sorry, okay. But I had to ask.”

  “Jenny believes in being thorough,” Jason quipped.

  “Don’t pay attention to my niece,” Star said. “She tends to get carried away.”

  Ann Davis finally calmed down and sat back in her chair.

  “I have two weeks off from work,” Ricky said. “My wife and I are going through a trial separation. Mom always wanted to visit Pelican Cove. We decided to come here for Keith.”

  “When did you plan that?”

  Ricky looked at Jason.

  “We learned Keith had turned up here. I started making travel arrangements. We were coming here anyway. Then Keith died on us.”

  “So you weren’t in Texas when Keith died?”

  Ricky put an arm around his mother.

  “We were in Northern Virginia, visiting a cousin.”

  Jenny did the math in her head. Ricky could easily have driven to Pelican Cove and back in a few hours. In fact, he could have come into town at night after his mother went to sleep and got back before she woke up.

  She put on her best poker face and smiled.

  “That seems like a different country, doesn’t it?”

  “You don’t know how lucky you are,” Ann Davis said, extending an olive branch. “We had to use a boat to get to the shore.”

  “I came to town after they built the bridge,” Star said, embarking on one of her favorite stories. “But I never went back. I fell in love and stayed on. Pelican Cove has been my home ever since.”

  “Funny, isn’t it?” Ann mused. “I came here to live with my husband too. But it didn’t last long.”

  Jenny announced dinner was ready. They made small talk as they ate, and the food disappeared quickly. Jenny brought out a lemon cake and cut generous slices. Ricky grabbed her hand when she served him.

  “You don’t really think I hurt Keith?”

  “I need to look for suspects,” Jenny said. “I’m just eliminating the possibilities.”

  “Why would we ask you to look into this if we were guilty? You don’t think we are that foolish?”

  “I need to find out more about the last month or two of Keith’s life. If you know anything about it, please don’t keep it from me. The tiniest detail can help.”

  Ricky blinked as he took a bite of his cake. Jenny was sure she had struck a chord. Ricky was hiding something.

  Chapter 18

  “People are offering all kinds of prizes,” Petunia told the women as they sipped coffee.

  Jenny had made pumpkin spice lattes. Heather told her they were a seasonal favorite. Jenny wanted to start offering them at the café and at the concession stand.

  “This is a bit spicy for me,” Betty Sue said, tasting her coffee.

  “I made the spice mix myself,” Jenny said proudly. “I can use a bit less the next time.”

  “What kind of prizes are we talking about?” Star asked.

  “The seafood market has offered two dozen oysters to the first person to read a 100 pages.”

  “That’s great,” Jenny said, clapping her hands. “That should encourage people to come in early.”

  “Dinner for two at Ethan’s for the person reading the most number of pages in the day,” Molly added. “I bet I am going to win that one.”

  “How many prizes are you angling for, Molly?” Heather said.

  Her mouth had twisted in a grimace. It happened every time she spoke to Molly.

  “Free pint at the Rusty Anchor for a whole week,” Petunia said, reading from a list. “That’s going to be popular.”

  “Barb Norton must be happy,” Jenny observed. “The read-a-thon is set to be a major success.”

  “Have you heard what Ada Newbury promised?” Betty Sue asked. “She’s going to match whatever amount we manage to collect.”

  A collective gasp went up through the group.

  Ada Newbury was the richest woman in town. The Newburys had become rich overnight during the big storm of 1962. Rumor had it they had found gold on a nearby shipwreck. Ada liked to flaunt her wealth and was as snooty as they came.

  Jenny gave credit where it was due.

  “That’s very generous of her.”

  “Showing off,” Betty Sue muttered. “Someone mentioned there are going to be TV crews here to cover the event. Ada just wants to get on TV.”

  “Whatever her reasons, we need the money,” Molly said simply. “I’m going to read like I have never read before. That’s all I can do.�
�

  “The whole town is pitching in and doing something,” Petunia reminded her. “We are going to make sure you keep working at that library.”

  Jenny crossed her fingers and hoped the café would do brisk business at the read-a-thon. They were donating half their profits to the library.

  “Any updates on that incident at your house?” Betty Sue asked her, twirling red yarn around her needles.

  “The police aren’t giving it much importance. Maybe they think it was a stray who wandered up to Seaview.”

  “He didn’t bury himself though, did he?” Betty Sue questioned. “That Hopkins boy needs a kick in his pants.”

  “I don’t think Adam has control over which cases to work on,” Jenny argued, coming to his defense.

  The Magnolias spent several minutes rehashing the whole incident.

  “How are you sleeping these days?” Heather teased. “No weird sounds in the attic? No strange lights?”

  “Nothing of that sort,” Jenny said good-naturedly. “I sleep like a baby.”

  “So do I,” Star butted in. “Stop harassing my niece, Heather.”

  Jenny mixed crab salad for lunch and fried a fresh batch of donuts using a new recipe. She wanted to try out a pumpkin spice glaze.

  “Woman out there is asking for you,” Petunia said, dumping a stack of empty plates in the sink.

  “Who is it?”

  “Never seen her before.” Petunia shrugged. “Doesn’t look like a tourist though.”

  Jenny wiped her hands on a towel and went out. She was surprised to see the woman sitting at a corner table. Crumbling a paper napkin in her hands, she was clearly nervous about being there.

  “Mrs. Turner!” Jenny exclaimed. “What brings you here?”

  The woman breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I thought I would find you here but I wasn’t sure.”

  “I’ll get some coffee for us,” Jenny said, “or do you prefer lemonade?”

  “Coffee’s fine,” the older woman assured her.

  Jenny came out with a tray loaded with coffee and snacks.

  “I just ate,” Mrs. Turner said.

  “These donuts are very popular this season. You have to try them.”

  The woman seemed to settle down after she took a few bites and sipped her coffee. Jenny let her take her time.