A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection

by Eryn Scott

  Hadley couldn’t help spinning around at the news. She worried she’d also let out a loud gasp, but it turned out to be the visitor who’d made the noise. The girl grabbed Cassie’s arm, her eyes wide.

  “No way. That’s so scary.”

  “It was crazy. I set her and my friend Jax up a few months ago …”

  The rain picked up outside the tent, and it hammered loudly on the tarp overhead, making it hard for Hadley to hear. She took a step to her left, picking up a plate and inspecting it as a way to get closer. It didn’t seem to be enough, though, because Hadley still couldn’t hear.

  Josie cleared her throat, and Hadley’s gaze jumped up to meet the potter’s. Josie shook her head and gestured behind Hadley where Cassie and her friend had walked to another booth. No wonder she couldn’t hear them!

  If she’d had any time to feel embarrassed, Hadley was sure her cheeks would’ve grown hot and red at the silliness, but she was on a mission. Flipping on her hood once more, she waved to Josie and followed after the teens.

  The large umbrella they held between the two of them served as a sort of cover for Hadley—at least they couldn’t see her following them—but it was also blocking the conversation they were having about Miranda.

  Just when she was about to resort to something stupid like pretending to trip and run into the girls, Cassie elbowed her companion then motioned over to the right. Following their line of sight, she realized they were pointing to the large Fenton Farms produce booth, and more importantly, Luke Fenton.

  It wasn’t as if girls thinking Luke handsome was anything new. Between his farm-boy upbringing and hours spent in the fields, he was reminiscent of a young Robert Redford. Hadley had known him since they both were just learning to tie their shoes, and she’d seen girl after girl fall for his laid-back attitude and good looks more times than she could count at that point. But girls so young finding a man a dozen—maybe even a baker’s dozen—years their senior, was a bit surprising.

  Regardless of what Hadley thought about the age difference, the teenagers changed their course. Hadley darted to the right. As carefully as she could in the wet conditions, she snuck between the quilting society’s booth and Barry’s honey stand until she could run up behind the farm booth and sidle up to Luke.

  The Fenton Farms stand was too big to be contained under a cover, and it didn’t matter if the produce got wet, so Luke and his sister Jolee were simply outfitted with rain jackets. Luke was maddeningly wearing neither a hat nor a hood and didn’t seem any worse for wear.

  “Don’t be obvious about it, but Miss Lee and her little, rich friend are headed straight for you like two moths to a bonfire. Don’t ask me why since you’re so much older than them, but Cassie knows something about Miranda. She won’t tell Paul, and I need you. Follow my lead.”

  Luke peered over at her, and the corner of his lip pulled up into a smirk. “Hads, did you just say you need me?”

  Groaning, Hadley elbowed him as the girls approached. “Focus, Fenton. Follow my lead.” She opened her mouth, ready to jump into her plan.

  But Luke beat her to it.

  “Cassie Lee, my friend Hadley here tells me you might have some information about our missing Miranda,” Luke said before Hadley had even uttered a syllable.

  Her head snapped to the right and she glared at him, but he was too busy shooting a thousand-watt grin at the teenage girls. Despite the cold and the damp, Hadley felt her cheeks heat up at the thought of being caught eavesdropping. She prepared herself for Cassie to recognize her from the pottery tent and send a glare her way that could freeze magma.

  Cassie barely glanced in her direction, though. She did seem mildly surprised at Luke’s statement, but it didn’t matter because her friend spoke up before she could.

  “She knows everything, she was just telling me all about how she was the one who set Miranda up with Jaxon, and so she was the one Miranda called Thursday night when she and Jax got in a fight, but when she called back later to see where she should pick her up, Miranda didn’t answer and—” Visitor Girl jabbed Cassie in the ribs. “Tell them what you thought.”

  Cassie shrugged. “I figured she and Jax had made up and were making out somewhere, so I wasn’t worried. I didn’t find out she never came home until the next morning at school.”

  Hadley leaned forward while she listened. She didn’t realize how far until she began to feel off balance and put a hand out to steady herself, knocking over a squash. Luke caught the gourd midair as if he’d almost expected it to happen. The teens watched him with slightly parted lips.

  “Show off,” Hadley mumbled so only Luke could hear her, hopefully.

  “Cassie, have you told any of this to Paul or Kevin yet?” Luke asked, ignoring Hadley.

  Cassie rolled her eyes. “Ugh. That mountain-man deputy came over and tried to intimidate me with his muscles yesterday.” She shrugged. “I told him most of that.”

  Hadley gritted her teeth and curled her fingers into fists. That was her brother Cassie was talking about. Luke put his hand over one of Hadley’s fists and squeezed tight.

  “No matter what you think about the deputies, Cassie, you need to tell them what you know. Every hour is important in a case like this.” Luke leveled the girl with a stare so serious, Hadley was sure she’d never seen him so somber.

  “Omigosh, of course she’ll tell the police everything. I’ll go with her and make sure she does,” Visitor Girl said, eyes wide with intrigue as she locked arms with Cassie. As they walked away, she said, “You were right, Cass. This place is way less boring than I thought.”

  You have no idea, Hadley thought with a snort.

  7

  Hadley and Luke watched the girls leave, disappearing into the crowd of farmers market goers. It took Hadley a few seconds longer than she wanted to admit to realize Luke was still holding her hand. She looked down at it. He did too.

  “Sorry,” he said, pulling away. After the smooth show he’d just put on, it was odd to see him even the slightest bit flustered.

  She swatted at him. “Don’t apologize. That was brilliant.” A smile as wide as the Cascade Range spread across her face. “You got the information I needed.” She put up a finger. “Which reminds me.” Pulling out her phone, Hadley texted her brother, letting him know he should expect Cassie and some helpful information later today.

  She didn’t realize the rain had let up until she noticed her screen wasn’t covered in droplets. When she looked up from the phone, Luke was staring at her in a way that told her he thought he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  Hand on her hip, she cocked her head to one side. “What?”

  “Why are you avoiding your booth?” he asked, holding her gaze with his blue eyes.

  She stuttered. “What? I—this—I’m helping Paul.”

  Luke crossed his arms.

  Hadley inhaled. “Suze is being weird again. She didn’t want to ride with me—got here early, even—and she’s wearing a watch.” As the words left her, she realized she needed to be easier on the local teenagers; she sure wasn’t acting any better than them with all of this petty drama.

  One of Luke’s favorite things in life was to mess with Hadley. But to his credit, after hearing her list, he didn’t make her feel stupid.

  His forehead wrinkled in worry. “I thought they were back to normal.”

  “They were, for a bit. But as of yesterday, it’s worse than ever.” Hadley’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

  Luke was the only other person who knew about Suze and Paul, having figured it out around the same time as Hadley. The man had figured it out solely from their odd behavior, whereas it had taken Hadley finding something of Suze’s in Paul’s car to realize the same truth. Annoying as she’d found it at first, their shared secret was actually making her feel closer to Luke for the first time since high school.

  It didn’t hurt that he’d stood up for her with her ex-husband, and his ex-best friend Tyler, earlier that summer. She was starting to wo
nder if maybe she’d gotten the guy all wrong.

  Before Luke could say anything further about Suze and Paul, an influx of customers crowded around the farm stand.

  Moving to pick at her polish before realizing it was all gone, Hadley curled her fingers into fists. “Thanks for your help there, Fenton. I’d better get back to my booth. See you around.” She held up a hand in goodbye.

  Luke winked at her. “Good luck.”

  On her way past Josie’s booth, the potter called Hadley over. “Hey, Hazel Smith was just telling me Miranda got in an argument the night she went missing. You hear about that?”

  Hadley stopped and nodded. “Just now.” Boy, that got around fast, she thought, but supposed she should never be surprised by the level of nosiness her small town could achieve. “I’ll make sure Paul looks into it.” She waved at Josie.

  “If he doesn’t know already, I guess,” Josie called after her with a chuckle.

  Suze was sitting back with her feet kicked up on an empty box when Hadley reached their tent. Hadley’s parents were nowhere to be seen, but Gran was standing behind the jam booth. An awestruck Suze folded her arms over her chest as Gran completed a sale. Intrigued, Hadley stepped forward.

  “Oh, and here she is now.” Gran’s face lit up when she caught sight of Hadley. “This is my lovely granddaughter.”

  Hadley smiled and held her hand out to greet the customer as Gran slipped their purchases into a bag.

  Gran clasped her hand around the customer’s as she reached for the bag. “Let us know what you think of the apple rosemary jam. It’s a new flavor, but one we’re very excited about.”

  After assuring Gran that she would, the customer walked off.

  Suze waited until the woman was out of earshot and then stood, clapping slowly. “Mills, that was magic.”

  “Yeah, we need to restock thanks to you.” Hadley eyed the empty table and bent to pull the box of stock out from underneath, but Gran stopped her.

  “Hadley, honey.” Gran’s eyes sparkled as she put a hand on Hadley’s arm. “I’m afraid there’s nothing under there.”

  “What?” Hadley sputtered, glancing down at the empty box to verify.

  “She sold everything,” Suze said, a delighted laugh lengthening each word.

  “Everything?” Hadley turned to face Gran.

  Gran took a quick bow. “Everything.”

  Now, it wasn’t as if selling out of stock was something unheard of for Hadley. It was a goal she worked for each market, but one usually only achievable on the most crowded summer weekends in Stoneybrook. Selling out during a wet, soggy, rainy afternoon was something she’d never thought possible.

  Until Gran.

  Hadley stared at her grandmother, wide-eyed. “You’re magical. What did you do?”

  Gran tucked a stray hair behind her ear and then waved dismissively. “Pshh. Nothing, really. I just did what I love best, talking up my wonderful granddaughter.”

  Overwhelmed with emotion, Hadley pulled Gran into a hug. “Thank you.”

  Suze checked her new watch. “You’ve still got a few hours until the end of the market if you want to run back to the kitchen and grab more stock.”

  “I can’t, actually.” Hadley blinked. “That was the last of what I had. Between the last few Saturdays and my online sales, I was almost wiped out. I actually packed more than I usually would because I didn’t want to leave just a few jars sitting on the shelves all lonely. I planned on going in tomorrow and making some more.”

  Grinning still, Gran patted Hadley on the arm. “Make sure you make more of the apple rosemary, dear. I thought a pair of customers was going to fight over the last jar.”

  “I can’t thank you enough, Gran.” Hadley shook her head.

  “Nonsense. You’re helping Paul with his case. That’s the important work. I’m happy to help cover while you do that.”

  Hadley sucked in a breath. How did Gran know? But when she looked over, Gran just gave her a wink and went to pick up her umbrella.

  “Now, I’m off to figure out if I want to join the knitting group or the quilting society.” She blew a kiss to Hadley and Suze.

  “Or both,” Suze said.

  Gran touched the tip of her nose and then walked out into the market.

  Suze let out a low whistle. “She sure is something.”

  “Tell me about it.” Hadley chuckled. “After Mom and Dad said they didn’t want her living on her own, I was worried her health had taken a turn for the worse, that she would be even worse than the sad, sickly woman we saw at Grandpa’s funeral. But she looks even spunkier in the fresh mountain air.”

  Pulling her feet off the box they’d been resting on, Suze leaned forward. “Yeah, she seems great. Why is it she had to sell her place?”

  “Well …” Hadley chewed on her lip. “Her house was right on the ocean and it got a serious amount of weather, so it really was a handful, but I also know she was lonely and wanted to be near all of us.” Hadley snapped her fingers. “Shoot. That reminds me, I wanted to invite her to Seven Stones.”

  It was common place for the vendors to pack up on Saturdays and head straight to the local pub and grill to debrief and—on chilly days like today—warm up with a pint and a bowl of their famous chili.

  The smile slipped off Suze’s face. “Oh, I can’t go out today. I’ve got some work to do. Sorry.” She cringed in exaggerated apology.

  “Sure—no, that’s—fine,” Hadley stammered. “No worries.”

  But even as she sank into her chair and Suze helped back-to-back customers, she couldn’t help but wonder what work Suze had to do and why she was being so tight-lipped. Sure, they didn’t go to Seven Stones every Saturday after the market, but a cancelation of a visit to the local pub usually warranted more explanation than, “I’ve got some work to do.”

  Or maybe Hadley was just being extra sensitive because neither Suze nor Paul had given even the slightest hint of letting her in on their secret. Either way, she was lost in a way she hadn’t been in a long while.

  After the market, Hadley pulled everything wet from the van and set it out in the alley behind the jam kitchen to dry out. The rain hadn’t returned and wasn’t forecasted to until Sunday evening, so she knew she would be safe leaving it out overnight. She had to come back in the morning to whip up more jam anyway, or she’d have nothing to sell if more orders came through next week.

  Hadley hopped on her bike and turned toward home instead of going to Seven Stones after all. She wasn’t pouting about Suze being unavailable—there were plenty of people she could’ve joined—but had actually decided a night in sounded like just the thing she needed on a chilly fall day like this.

  The wind was cold, but the humidity from the rain that morning helped things feel a bit weightier instead of the usual thin fall air that bit right through all manner of clothing. Hadley was approaching the second full month of living in her new house, and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

  Her bike tires crunched on the gravel as she turned down the road she and a handful of other Stoneybrook citizens shared. But just as Cassie had scared her last night coming around the corner too fast, now Hadley appeared to be the one startling others. A Siamese cat sat on the side of the road, directly in her path. Its body stiffened at the sight of an impending collision, but it didn’t move.

  Hadley, however, pushed through her surprise and swerved to the left, narrowly missing the cat, who remained frozen in place.

  She skidded to a halt, dropping a foot down onto the ground before her brakes had slowed the bike completely. Turning around, Hadley walked her bike a few feet closer to the animal, then engaged the kickstand and left it behind.

  “Hey, you,” she cooed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a fright. I probably shouldn’t have taken the corner so fast, but you probably should find a different place to rest than in the road.”

  The cat turned its head to regard her, its golden eyes tracking her as she walked around to stand in front o
f it. Its large body was splayed out in true lounging fashion, just like Ansel and Marmalade often did—though they chose to get comfortable on her duvet, not in the middle of the street.

  “Whatcha doin’ here?” Hadley asked, reaching her hand forward.

  The cat let out a low growl. Hadley pulled her hand back and the sound ceased.

  “Are you hurt?” Her forehead wrinkled in concern, and she tried to get a better look at the cat’s expansive beige body.

  It seems just fine, she thought as she scanned the cat. It was actually a stunning creature, now that she got a better look. Its fur, though a little dirty, was a beautiful biscotti-like beige with white paws and dark-brown legs. It had the same dark color on its ears and concentrated around its eyes, but white surrounded its mouth, running down the cat’s neck, disappearing into the light-beige fur.

  Hadley squatted down, wondering if a lower profile might make her less intimidating to the creature. She’d never seen a cat sit so staunchly in the middle of a road before and was beginning to worry it was seriously injured.

  “I just want to help,” she said sweetly, reaching out again.

  A growl peeled from the cat, getting louder the closer Hadley’s hand got.

  If it’s hurt, I need to get it to the vet, she rationalized, her fingers curling slightly at the thought of being scratched or bitten.

  It was almost laughable how the pitch and volume of the cat’s protest coincided with her hand’s proximity. By the time her hand was within inches of the cat, its mouth was open, expelling its protestations at full volume. Hadley pushed forward, unable to leave an injured animal in the road, even if it did have a terrible attitude.

  And just when her hand was about to make contact, the cat jumped up and bounded away. It stopped a few yards out of reach, looked back at her, and sneezed as if in distaste, then slunk into the bushes on the side of the road.