by Leena Clover
“Use an old picture,” Molly said. “That’s what everyone does.”
“You mean, like, one from my college days?”
Molly nodded vigorously. “You want to look young. Younger than you are, that is.”
“I don’t think that’s a wise move,” Jenny said disapprovingly.
The girls argued over the photo, finally calling a truce. Jenny snapped a picture of Heather and they uploaded it.
“What happens now?” she asked Heather.
“Now we wait, I guess.”
“You don’t have to,” Molly said. “You can express interest in other guys.”
“How do you know so much about this?” Jenny asked, her hands on her hips. “I’m beginning to think you have done this before.”
“Not exactly,” Molly said evasively.
A chubby man with a protruding beer belly was seated at the bar.
“Isn’t that Asher’s grandson?” Heather asked. “Hans something.”
“Maybe you should date him,” Molly kidded. “I heard he’s single.”
“Hush,” Jenny said. “I need to talk to him.”
She walked over to the bar and held her hand out.
“I’m Jenny King. You are Asher’s grandson, aren’t you?”
“So what?” he asked belligerently.
He took a deep sip of his beer and belched. Jenny tried to keep a straight face.
“Linda’s asked me to look into Asher’s death. So I am talking to people.”
“What’s that?” he asked, peering at her through red eyes.
Jenny decided he had already knocked back a few drinks.
“I talked to your aunts and uncles. I would like to ask you some questions about Asher.”
“You some kind of detective?”
“Oh no! I run a café in town.”
The man’s frown turned into a smile.
“That’s right. You’re that cake lady. Grandpa couldn’t stop talking about his birthday cake.”
Jenny smiled and nodded.
“What do you want to know?” Hans said, draining his beer.
He called for another.
“Can we go get a table?”
Hans grabbed the mug of beer and led her to an empty table at the far end of the room.
“Err…I didn’t get your name,” Jenny began.
“Hans Geller.”
“How long have you lived here in Pelican Cove?”
“I spent a lot of summers here, growing up,” he told her. “Mom always came here to visit Gramps. I started working at the business a couple of years ago.”
“You like the construction business?”
“It’s not bad,” Hans shrugged, hiccupping loudly.
“Can you tell me something about your grandpa?”
“He was old!” Hans sniggered and started coughing.
“Other than that,” Jenny said with a smile.
“He was a skilled carpenter,” Hans said. “He made music boxes. You know the ones? Music plays when you open the box. It was cool.”
“Did he teach you how to make them?”
“He tried,” Hans said. “But I’m not into that kind of thing.”
“What about Linda?” Jenny asked.
“She’s my grandma.”
“She’s not related to your mother though?”
“Linda’s always been my grandma,” Hans said, looking uncertain.
“You know what happened to Asher, don’t you?” Jenny asked delicately.
“He died, dude!” Hans said.
His speech was becoming slurry but he continued to drink.
“I mean, you know how he died?”
Hans looked back at her blankly.
“Did he have any enemies?”
“Why would he? He was such a sweet old man.”
“Can you think of someone who might have wanted to harm him? Someone who might have argued with him recently?”
Hans looked jubilant as he connected the dots.
“Luke, of course. Luke and Gramps didn’t get along at all. Luke was trying to steal the business from him.”
“Who’s Luke?”
“He likes to think he’s the head honcho over at Cohen Construction. But he’s just a hired hand.”
“Why did this Luke fight with your grandpa?”
“It was about me,” Hans said proudly. “Luke went behind my back and told Gramps I drank on the job.”
“Did you?”
Hans gave her a sheepish grin.
“I might have, once or twice.”
“What did your grandpa do?”
“I’m still here, aren’t I? Grandpa gave him an earful.”
“You think this Luke hated your grandpa?”
“You’re not very sharp, are you? Luke hates me! He’s on my case all the time.”
Jenny ignored the barb at her.
“We are talking about who might have hated your grandpa.”
“Why would anyone hate him?” Hans asked. “He had money. Tons of it.”
“What do you do at the construction business?” Jenny asked, trying a different tack. “Are you a foreman or something?”
“I came here to be a foreman,” Hans said with anguish. “You think I came to this hell hole of a small town to unload trucks?”
Jenny sensed a tirade coming.
“Gramps made me foreman on a job but that Luke went and told him I almost cut myself with a saw.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Luke said I couldn’t use any power tools until I cleaned up.”
“Looks like he’s looking out for your safety.”
Hans snorted and rolled his eyes.
“He’s looking out for himself. He wants to steal the business.”
“How can someone steal a business?”
“Luke’s been at it for years. He acts like he owns everything.”
“What about Asher’s kids?”
“My aunts and uncles? They couldn’t care less. They didn’t exactly get along with Gramps. Aunt Heidi hated him.”
“So your Mom was the only one who came here to visit?”
“She’s smart,” Hans said. “She said she did it for me. She hates Pelican Cove.”
“So you don’t like working at Cohen Construction?”
Hans drained his beer and tried to lift his arm to call for another.
“You’ve had enough for tonight, buddy,” Eddie Cotton called out from the bar.
Hans muttered a string of profanities, making Jenny cringe.
“I’m getting out of here,” he roared. “Saying goodbye to this crappy town.”
“Where will you go?”
“Back home, of course.”
“Where were you on July 4th? I didn’t see you up on the float with Asher.”
“That float looked amaze, didn’t it? I decorated it, with the little kids. Gramps said I did a good job.”
He seemed genuinely happy about the compliment.
“Why didn’t you ride the float with everyone else?”
“I was out buying more booze for the party. Gramps was worried we didn’t have enough. The whole town was coming, you know.”
Jenny’s aunt had helped plan the party. She had an idea how grand it was. The town had provided the food and Asher had insisted on footing the bill for the drinks.
“Asher was having a good time,” Jenny remembered. “He looked so happy in that birthday hat.”
“I got him that hat,” Hans boasted. “Gramps showed me a picture. I went to the city to get one in red, just like he wanted.”
His chubby face finally showed some emotion. His eyes filled up and his mouth puckered, making Jenny wonder if he was going to cry.
She turned around at the sound of her name.
Heather and Molly were trying to get Jenny’s attention. She thanked Hans for his time. Hans put his arms on the table and burrowed his head in them. Jenny heard a faint snore as she walked away.
“What took you so long?” Molly asked
.
“That was Asher’s grandson.”
“Jenny,” Heather said, grabbing her arm to get her attention. “Look here. I pressed the Like button on a few of these profiles. A couple of them Liked me back. What do I do now?”
Jenny laughed, shaking her head.
“Don’t ask me! I’m too old for this stuff.”
“Of course you don’t need this stuff,” Molly griped. “You have two handsome hunks falling all over you.”
“Come on…not that again!”
“Heather has a guy too, of course,” Molly continued. “I’ll never understand why she’s doing this.”
“I met Chris,” Jenny told Heather. “He seemed sad.”
Heather was busy browsing through photos of eligible men. The girls split up after some time and Jenny walked back home. She was going to collect a pizza for dinner.
Jason Stone was at Mama Rosa’s, waiting for his order.
“Hey, beautiful!” he whispered, giving her a hug. “How’s the sleuthing going?”
“Not that great,” Jenny told him. “I just met Hans at the Rusty Anchor. He’s leaving town.”
“You mean leaving for good?”
Jenny nodded.
“That’s not what I heard,” Jason said in disbelief. “Hans has his eye on the business. He wants to take over.”
“He said someone called Luke was giving him a hard time.”
“Luke’s doing that?”
“Who is he anyway?”
“Come on Jenny. You know Luke. He drew up the plans for your remodel.”
A tall, hefty man with black hair swam before Jenny’s eyes.
“You mean that guy who was with Asher? The one with that large mole on his cheek?”
“That’s Luke alright. It’s a birthmark, not a mole.”
“How do you know him?”
“Luke’s my uncle. I thought you knew that, Jenny.”
“Is he related to Linda then?”
“Of course! He’s her brother. Luke Stone.”
“How long has he worked for Asher?”
“Since he was a kid. He’s the main force behind Cohen Construction.”
Jenny reflected over her conversation with Hans Geller.
“Hans is not too crazy about that, I guess.”
“Luke called him out on his drinking. Asher wasn’t too pleased with Hans. Luke and Hans don’t see eye to eye.”
“Could you say he has a grudge against Luke?”
Jason nodded.
“Most people who work at the company know that. Hans is on cloud nine now. He thinks he’s going to inherit.”
“Is he?”
“The will hasn’t been read yet. I can’t comment on it at this time.”
“But you know what’s in it?”
Jason looked uncomfortable.
“It’s my job to know, Jenny. I have been handling Asher’s affairs since I came back to town.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to do anything unethical.”
Jason’s order came up.
“I have to go. I have an early meeting on the mainland.”
Jenny picked up her pizza and worked out different scenarios in her mind on her way home. If Luke had been the victim, Hans would have made a great suspect. She wondered why Hans had lied to her about leaving town.
She hoped the will would be read soon. That would give her an idea about who benefited most from Asher’s death. She still hadn’t come across a tangible motive for killing a 100 year old man.
“You’re home!” Star cried from the front porch. “I’m starving.”
They decided to eat their pizza on the porch, enjoying the view. Jenny bit into the cheesy slice, rubbing the tiny gold heart that hung around her neck. She missed her son. He had sent her a couple of text messages since he left but they hadn’t talked. Her phone rang just then and a beloved face flashed on the screen.
“Nick!” she cried, putting him on speaker phone. “I was just thinking about you.”
“How are you, Mom? Are you missing me yet?”
“You scamp!” Star roared. “You better get your butt out here this weekend.”
Chapter 9
Jenny warmed chocolate and cream in a double boiler. She stirred the chocolate until it became glossy and poured it over a chocolate cake that was cooling on a wire rack.
“Is that for me?”
Heather had just come in followed by Betty Sue. Her eyes bulged and she looked like a child who had been offered a surprise treat.
“I was craving cake too,” Jenny said, tossing some berries in powdered sugar.
She began placing them on the cake.
“Summer Fest is coming up,” Betty Sue said, twirling a strand of blue wool around her needles. “We need to lock down some things.”
“Why don’t we talk about it today?” Petunia asked, picking up a jug of coffee.
The outside of the jug was wet with condensation. Ice cubes tinkled inside.
“Is that the iced coffee you were talking about?” Betty Sue asked Jenny. “I’m ready for some.”
Star and Molly came in just then and the Magnolias went out to the deck.
“What’s the special attraction for Summer Fest this year?” Star asked.
Petunia and Betty Sue were co-chairing the festival committee. They had plenty of volunteers but they were responsible for making the big decisions.
“We will have a bouncy house,” Betty Sue said. “A lot of the parents asked for it last year.”
“How about a Ferris wheel?” Star asked. “It’s been ten years since we had one.”
Jenny was preoccupied with thoughts of Asher Cohen.
Heather waved a hand before her eyes.
“Hello! Did you hear what I just said?”
Jenny shook her head. She looked at Betty Sue.
“Where did Asher Cohen come from? No one’s ever talked about that.”
“Switzerland,” Betty Sue spoke up. “I had never heard of it. Daddy showed it to me on the globe he had in his study.”
“So he was Swiss?”
“Don’t be daft,” Star said. “He was German, or must have been.”
“I am going to talk to Linda,” Jenny said decisively.
“Why don’t we go get some of that cake?” Heather said, giving Jenny a meaningful look.
Heather whipped out her phone as soon as they entered the kitchen.
“A guy wants to meet me. Look!”
She pulled up a picture of a tall, good looking guy. Jenny thought he looked a lot like Chris Williams.
“He lives in Maryland. He’s coming to Ocean City with his friends for the weekend. He says he can drive down here to meet me.”
“You’ll meet him once,” Jenny said. “What about after that? Are you going to travel all the way to Maryland to see him?”
“I haven’t thought that far,” Heather said sullenly. “What’s the harm in meeting him in Pelican Cove?”
“Doesn’t sound too risky,” Jenny admitted. “You can bring him here or take him to the Rusty Anchor.”
“Shall I say yes?” Heather beamed. “It’s a date!”
She sent off a quick message. Jenny saw a smiley face pop up on Heather’s screen.
“Don’t tell Grandma about it.”
“How old are you, Heather? 16?”
“I don’t want her nagging me about it. She goes on and on about how great Chris is for me.”
“She’s not wrong.”
“Maybe not,” Heather said crossly. “But if I hear one more word about Chris, I’ll just lose it. I’m going to meet Duster and have a good time.”
“Duster?” Jenny stifled a laugh. “I’m sure you will.”
Jenny drove to the Cohen home by herself. Jason hadn’t returned from the mainland yet. The maid asked her to wait in the living room.
Emma Cohen walked by, wearing a filmy cover up over a swimsuit. Jenny hoped her body would have that kind of tone when she was seventy.
“Oh, it’s you
,” Emma said. “Here to see Linda?”
Jenny nodded. “Do you have a beach on your property?”
“At the far end,” Emma told her. “But it’s strewn with rocks. We have an Olympic sized swimming pool. Dad swam twenty laps every morning.”
“He looked quite fit for his age,” Jenny observed.
“There was nothing wrong with him,” Emma said strongly. “We may have had our differences, but my father was a good man. I hope you help us find out what happened.”
“I’m not a professional,” Jenny told her, “but I am going to do my best.”
She hesitated.
“The other day…I didn’t think you were keen on my asking questions about Asher.”
“I was playing it cool for Heidi. She likes to say she hated Dad but that’s not true. She does hate Linda though.”
The maid came in to escort Jenny up to the third floor.
“We are all grieving,” Emma said suddenly. “We just have different ways of showing it.”
Linda was seated in her usual spot by the window. Jenny thought she had aged in the last few days.
“You are okay here, aren’t you?” Jenny asked her. “I mean, you feel safe here?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Linda asked, surprised. “This is my home.”
Jenny debated what to say.
“Did Walt say something to you?” Linda asked. “The older kids never accepted me. I think they weren’t young enough to think of me as a mother. Even a stepmother.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“It used to,” Linda admitted. “But I learned to live with it. All the grandkids call me Grandma though. We agreed on that.”
The maid came in with a tray of drinks.
“You like lemonade, don’t you?” Linda asked. “I took the liberty of ordering some for us. It’s such a hot day.”
Jenny thanked her and took a deep sip.
“I was thinking about Asher’s past,” she began. “Can you tell me something about his past life?”
“You mean his life with Olga?”
“Not exactly,” Jenny said. “I mean his life before he came to Pelican Cove.”
“Asher was very secretive about it,” Linda said slowly. “Whatever little I know, I pieced together over the years.”
“Betty Sue said he came here from Switzerland?”
“That’s true. Walter was born there. He’s the only one of Asher’s kids who wasn’t born in the States.”
