A Fishy Dish (A Hooked & Cooked Cozy Mystery Series Book 3)

by Lyndsey Cole

  “You’re the policewoman. Shouldn’t you be using your intimidation and power to get all that information?” Hannah asked, appalled at what Pam expected her to do.

  “I’ve already questioned every one of them and they are as tight-lipped as a lobster claw holding its own fish dinner. But you, on the other hand, already have their trust, or at least they’ve assumed they can bamboozle you. You have access as the owner of the cottages they’re renting.” Pam waffled her hands back and forth. “You might have to play up the naïve innocent female bit, but you shouldn’t have any trouble with that.” She placed her hands on the desk and leaned toward Hannah. “All I want is information. No heroic meeting-in-the-dark kind of stuff. Understand?”

  Hannah nodded. Her brain buzzed, trying to figure out how this would work.

  “You can give any information you gather to my dad.”

  “Is Jack home?” Hannah was glad for a change of subject.

  “Yes. He won’t be going to the vigil tonight though. He has orders to rest.”

  Pam stood up and ushered Hannah out the door. “Thanks. I’m so glad you volunteered to do this for me.”

  Hannah walked out of Pam’s office and wondered how she let herself get into this position. A more difficult question was, how would she ever get out of this tangled web.

  Hannah had about fifteen minutes before she was due to pick Samantha and Olivia up for dinner on Cal’s boat. She decided Samantha would be the first task on her growing to-do list.

  And probably the easiest.

  She liked Samantha even if she was some kind of an imposter.

  Chapter 14

  Olivia was jumping from one foot to the other when Hannah arrived at Ruby’s house.

  “Finally,” Ruby said. “I was afraid Olivia was about to set out on foot to find Cal’s boat by herself. Where have you been?”

  Hannah checked the time. “I’m not late,” she answered, avoiding the actual question. “See you at the vigil?”

  “I’ll find you there.” Ruby blew a kiss to Olivia. “Have fun and don’t fall in the water.”

  “Wait,” Olivia ran into her bedroom and returned with Theodore, her favorite stuffed bear that was a gift from Cal. “Theo wants to visit the boat.”

  Hannah held her hand out for the little girl. “Of course. I’m sure Cal would like to see Theo again, too.”

  When Hannah and Olivia arrived back at the cottages, Samantha was waiting outside next to Mini May. “I’ll drive.”

  Hannah was more than happy to oblige and left her own car at home. She directed Samantha to the Bayside Marina while Olivia chattered in the back of the car to Theodore. “You used to live here with Cal. Remember?”

  Like usual, at the marina, Olivia was interested in the words on the back of the boats along the dock leading to Cal’s boat. “What does that one say, Hannah?”

  “Off da hook”.

  Olivia saw Cal waiting by his boat, Seas the Day, and she ran ahead to jump into his arms.

  Hannah slowed her pace and held Samantha back with her. “What about that name?” Hannah pointed to a boat named Killer’s Secret. “Do you have a secret you should tell me, Samantha?”

  Samantha’s eyes popped open wide and her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “I didn’t kill Gavin Abbott.”

  Hannah blocked any forward motion with her back to Cal and faced Samantha. “What about your private investigator secret. Or should I call it an out and out lie?”

  Samantha looked down at her feet. “It’s true; I’ve exaggerated about my investigations in the past, and I suppose you could even call it a lie, but this time,” she held Hannah’s arm and stared into her eyes. “This time, I really do have a job. I’m working for Janice Jones. Everything I told you is the truth.” She crossed her finger on her chest. “Cross my heart.”

  “If you actually have a client, it’s not Janice Jones,” Hannah told Samantha.

  Samantha’s face showed absolute confusion. “Who is it then?”

  “We have to find out. Janice Jones died a year and a half ago. Tonight, we figure out who is pretending to be a dead woman.”

  Samantha smiled. “I’ve always dreamed about solving an important case. Maybe my dream is about to come true.”

  Or you die trying. Hannah kept that comment to herself.

  “Hey, you two. The pizza’s getting cold and I have a hungry bear and a starving six-year-old running out of patience. Hurry up,” Cal hollered from the back of his boat.

  Samantha picked up her pace. Her eyes twinkled. “Your life is so exciting, Hannah. I might just have to stay in Hooks Harbor.” She jumped across the small bit of water to the back of Cal’s boat, making an elegant landing that even someone sixty years younger would be proud of.

  Hannah mentally checked one task off the list Pam gave her. She believed what Samantha told her. She was working for someone and there was a strong possibility that someone knew where Sally White was. At least, that’s what Hannah wanted to believe.

  Desperately.

  Cal had a large pizza on the table in the cozy cabin of his boat.

  “This is perfect,” Samantha gushed. “Everything you need and it’s all so efficient.” Her eyes traveled to a ladder to the sleeping loft where Olivia was nestled with Theodore. “Adorable.”

  “Slide around the table and make yourself at home,” Cal told Samantha and Hannah. “I hope you like vegetarian, I got the special—eggplant with cheese, onions, garlic, and tomato.” He sliced through the pizza and set three bottles of beer on the table.

  Samantha sniffed the air. “This aroma is making me drool. I smell oregano. Fantastic. By the way, Hannah did tell me you make a mean gourmet pizza.”

  Cal smiled at Hannah. “She did, did she? I’m glad she is aware of my best quality.”

  “That and your sexy smile. It makes her forget what she’s even putting in her mouth,” Samantha added.

  Hannah kicked Samantha under the table.

  “Ouch. I’m only telling the truth,” she said as she reached down to rub her leg.

  “My secret weapon.” Cal rewarded both women with a dazzling smile as he slid next to Hannah. “Fill me in on the vigil tonight. Are there any new developments?”

  Hannah felt hot cheese drip onto her chin. “A few,” she mumbled as she fanned her burning mouth.

  She let her pizza cool off while she filled Cal in about Sally White’s imposter aunt. She left out her little chat with Samantha and her private investigative embellishments. At this point, it didn’t seem important.

  Cal leaned back and stretched his arms along the back of the seat. He rubbed Hannah’s shoulder. “What’s the plan? Do you expect this imposter person to come tonight? Or maybe Sally will show up.”

  “I’ve been thinking about the possibilities.” Hannah wrapped her hand around the ice-cold beer bottle. “Why did this woman go to all the trouble to contact Sally and pretend to be her aunt? Somehow, Sean Payne guessed who she was at The Chowder House. I’m suspicious about that coincidence. What do you think, Samantha?” Hannah sipped her beer.

  “Well, to be perfectly honest with the two of you, I’m trying to figure out why she hired me to find Sally in the first place. Especially now that I know she’s not the real aunt.” Samantha finished the last bite of her pizza. “This is hard for me to admit, but I think this Jan person contacted me because I’m not really an investigator and she must have figured I wouldn’t have a clue how to find Sally or figure out that she wasn’t who she said she was.”

  “Back up a minute. You’re not really a private eye?” Cal leaned forward to look around Hannah.

  “Nope. And it was kind of Hannah to try to keep it a secret, but what’s the point? I mean, I am who I am, and if she hired me for the wrong reasons, it doesn’t mean I can’t do the right thing. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfect sense.” Hannah tapped her fingers on the table. “We’ll use it to our advantage, Samantha. You need to send this fake Jan an email update and
we need to think very carefully what to say. How about you tell her you’ve been watching the reporter, Sean Payne, and he’s gotten pretty cozy with Deputy Pam Larson. You’re convinced he knows where Sally is.”

  “I like where you’re going.” Samantha sat up straight and pulled her phone from her bag.

  “If those two—Sean and fake Jan—are working together, that should cause some fireworks. Fake Jan will think Sean is double-crossing her. And if they aren’t connected, fake Jan will be worried about what Sean is telling the police.”

  “I’m impressed,” Cal said. “Between the two of you, you’re a good team. How does all this tie in with Gavin Abbott’s murder? Or maybe it doesn’t.”

  Hannah tapped her chin. “I haven’t figured that out yet. If Chef Belair isn’t the murderer, I’m positive he knows something. It was odd how Gavin accused him of ruining the fish last night. We hadn’t ordered yet so I don’t know what the problem was, but Leah White told me hers tasted old. Whatever that means.” Hannah shrugged. “But, at this point, I’m more concerned about finding Sally.”

  “Hey,” Samantha interrupted as she looked at her phone. “I already got a response from fake Jan—very concerning. Find out more. J.” She looked up at Hannah and Cal. “What should we do now?”

  “Let her sweat and we’ll keep an eye out for her at the vigil. But I doubt she’ll show up if she’s worried the police are on to her,” Hannah said. “And speaking of the vigil, we should get a move on.”

  “Olivia? Ready to go?” Hannah stacked the plates and piled everything on the empty pizza dish.

  Olivia climbed down the ladder with Theodore securely tucked under her arm.

  “Did you forget something?” Hannah asked as she reached out to hold the teddy bear.

  Olivia scurried back up the ladder and handed Hannah her plate before she climbed back down.

  “And?”

  “Thank you Cal for dinner. It was yummy.” Olivia recited the phrase Ruby drilled into her. “Can I have dessert now?”

  Cal chuckled. “Sure thing. Guess what I have?”

  “Ice cream! You already told me before Hannah got on the boat.”

  “Shhh. That was supposed to be a secret.” Cal opened his little freezer and handed a chocolate covered ice cream bar to Olivia.

  “What about me?” Samantha asked.

  “Sorry.” Cal pulled the whole box out and handed ice cream around to everyone. “We can eat it while we walk to the center of town.”

  Olivia skipped off the dock with Samantha following close behind.

  Cal and Hannah lingered.

  Hannah leaned against Cal’s strong arm. Their fingers found each other. They walked in a comfortable silence, ate their ice cream, and watched Samantha skip like a six-year-old.

  “Do you think it matters that she lied to me about being a private investigator?” Hannah asked Cal. “It was her dream so she pretended. Is that so bad?”

  “No harm done. Look at it this way. She finally landed a real client and maybe she’ll be able to solve a mystery. With your help, of course. A dream come true.”

  “That’s what I was thinking, too.”

  Hannah’s phone beeped with a text message from Meg.

  Hannah read it to Cal as she picked up her pace. “Hurry up. Leah White has big news!”

  Chapter 15

  The town common was mobbed. Everyone in Hooks Harbor was gathered with the hope for Sally White’s safe return home.

  With a beating heart, Hannah scanned the crowd until her eyes settled on Meg standing with Jerry Sewall and Leah White, off to one side of the green. Meg jumped up and down and waved to Hannah. When their eyes met, Meg gestured for Hannah to hurry.

  Hannah sent Cal and Olivia on a mission to find Ruby before she and Samantha skirted around the edge of the crowd toward Meg.

  “What’s your hurry?” Deputy Pam Larson asked as she fell in step next to Hannah.

  “I don’t know yet. Would it be too much to ask you to stay here for at least the next fifteen minutes?”

  Pam glared at Samantha. “Only if she stays with me. I have some questions for Ms. Featherstone. And I’ll be keeping my eye on you, too, Ms. Holiday.”

  Samantha gave Hannah’s arm a squeeze. “My pleasure, Deputy Larson. I’m always happy to work with such a brave and dedicated public servant.”

  Before Hannah was out of earshot, she heard Pam growl at Samantha, “You can be assured that this has nothing to do with working together, Ms. Featherstone.”

  At least Samantha could keep Pam distracted while Hannah found out Leah’s big news.

  Hannah hurried toward where Meg stood near Leah.

  Meg grabbed Hannah’s arm a little too roughly and Hannah wondered if there would be a bruise. “You won’t believe this. Leah got a call from Jan.”

  “Leah?” Hannah quietly asked as she rubbed her arm. “Are you okay?”

  Leah stared at her phone as if she was expecting Sally or Jan to jump through the screen. She remained silent; no response to Hannah’s question.

  “Where’s Matt?”

  Leah pointed to the gazebo where all the organizers for the vigil were huddled around Matt.

  “Does he know that Jan called you?” Hannah wondered if Leah could possibly be working with this fake Jan or if she was being duped like everyone else.

  Leah shook her head.

  Hannah carefully put her arm around Leah’s shoulders. “What did Jan say to you?”

  “I can’t tell you.” Leah whispered the words so softly that Hannah barely heard her. “She knows where Sally is but I can’t tell you anything more.”

  “Leah, look at me.” Hannah moved in front of Leah and put her hands on Leah’s cheeks, forcing her to focus on what Hannah was going to tell her. “The woman that called? She’s not Matt’s sister. She’s only pretending.”

  The color drained from Leah’s face. “Why?”

  “I’m not sure why, but Deputy Larson told me that Matt’s sister died a year and a half ago.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Leah jerked away from Hannah. “That’s about the time when Sally was first contacted by Jan. It has to be her. She’s going to lead me to my daughter.”

  Matt White got everyone’s attention from the gazebo when he started talking through a microphone. He thanked all the people of Hooks Harbor for showing their support for his daughter. He lit his candle and hundreds of candles on the green lit up in the growing darkness.

  “For Sally,” several people near Hannah murmured.

  Deputy Pam Larson bumped into Hannah’s side. “Where’d she go?”

  Hannah’s head swiveled from side to side. “She was right here. She can’t be far.”

  A glint at Hannah’s feet caught her eye. She bent down to retrieve the glowing object. Leah must have dropped her phone when she disappeared in the crowd. Hannah slipped it into her pocket.

  “I can’t believe you let her get away. What did she tell you?” Pam demanded to know.

  “She told me that Jan called her and she knows where Sally is.”

  “The dead woman knows?” Pam said with sarcasm dripping from her words.

  “I told her Jan died and this person that called her is not who she claims to be, but Leah didn’t believe me.”

  “Of course she wouldn’t. She has to believe there’s hope.” Pam walked away from the crowd and gave some orders into her police radio.

  Hannah whispered to Samantha, “I’ve got Leah’s phone.

  “What are you two plotting over here? You can’t leave me out; I got you the information about Leah,” Meg said. She had her hands on her hips and waited for an answer.

  “No plan yet.” Hannah looked around to survey the people standing near her. “What happened to Jerry? I thought you were here with him?”

  Meg shrugged. “He vanished too. I don’t know what’s up with him. He said he’s had a lot on his mind lately trying to pick up new customers. With The Chowder House closed, I think it’s a bigger impact on
his business than I imagined. He told me he’s hoping Chef Belair takes charge and reopens. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s better for The Fishy Dish if The Chowder House stays closed.”

  “Is Chef Belair still in town? I’d love to have a chat with him about what happened when he and Gavin disappeared into the kitchen. He’s got to know something.”

  “He’s still around. He’s not allowed to leave, according to Jerry. At least, not until the murder is solved.”

  “Good to know.” Hannah put that thought on the back burner and gave Meg a quick summary about the recent events connected to Sally and fake Jan. “If she calls Leah again, I’ve got her phone so that might be something.” Hannah patted her pocket.

  “You’re not going to tell Pam? I heard her chew you out a few minutes ago,” Meg said.

  “Deputy Pam Larson is a tough cookie,” Samantha said. “I tried to butter her up, but nothing I could do was working. Why’s she such a sour puss?”

  “Long story. You’ll have to get the details from Jack, even though he struggles with his own relationship with his daughter, just like everyone else does.” Hannah moved away from the crowd. “Here comes trouble,” she said to Samantha.

  Sean Payne, with an, I’ve got a bone to pick with you look on his face, marched straight into Hannah’s personal space.

  “How did you manage to get in touch with Jan?” Spit flew from Sean’s mouth along with the words he hissed at Hannah.

  “I don’t have a clue what you’re accusing me of,” she told him and hoped she looked appropriately shocked at his accusation.

  “Someone told her I know where Sally is and I’ve been talking to the police. Now, she’s refusing to meet with me.”

  “Everything okay here, Hannah?” Cal grabbed Sean’s shoulder and yanked him backwards.