A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection

by Eryn Scott

  “I hear you’re finally ready to tell us the truth.” He leveled her with a stare even more serious than his tone.

  Cassie swallowed then nodded.

  “Start from the beginning,” he said and readied his pen over the paper.

  Her gaze flicking over to Hadley’s for a moment, Cassie looked nervous, as if she might bolt or clam up. Hadley gave her an encouraging smile.

  “From the beginning,” Cassie said, lifting her chin confidently. “Well, Miranda was spending the night at my place. My parents were in Seattle for the night, so they let me have a friend over to keep me company while they were gone. Anyway, she’s spent the night tons of times, and almost every time her boyfriend will drive over and pick her up, then he’ll drop her off later.”

  Cassie looked over at Paul, pausing.

  “Her mom doesn’t know about Jaxon, Miranda’s boyfriend, so she couldn’t see him any time other than when she was with me.”

  “So her job was to keep you company and she would leave?” Paul asked, cuing into the same thing Hadley had found interesting.

  She would’ve thought Miranda was a better, more thoughtful friend than that. Then again, she would’ve also thought Miranda was too smart to get caught up in drugs.

  Cassie waved a hand at them. “It was fine. I didn’t mind. Well, I didn’t mind at first, when I thought she really liked Jaxon. But then, I found out …” Cassie looked down at her hands, twisting away in front of her. She glanced at Hadley again before continuing. “I found out Jaxon was selling drugs, and Miranda was buying them from him.”

  “Do you know what kinds of drugs?” Paul asked.

  Cassie shook her head. “No. And that’s the thing. Miranda never seemed high or messed up or anything other than her usual self. I don’t know what she was buying from Jaxon, but it must not have been too bad.”

  Paul’s eyes narrowed in a way Hadley recognized as his going through a list face. She was sure he was making a mental list of drugs without obvious side effects.

  “Usually, if they stayed somewhere local, Jaxon would drop her off at my house later in the night. Sometimes he would take her back to his place up in Cascade Ridge. When he did that, she would call me, and I would come get her if I wasn’t already with them at a party or something.”

  “And where did you meet to pick her up?” Paul scratched down notes, not even looking up as he asked the question.

  “The hospital parking lot, on the side closest to the road,” Cassie answered.

  Paul nodded. “How did you know when to pick her up?”

  “She would text me. But we only did it that way once or twice … when they wanted to go to some parties with Cascade Ridge people I wasn’t interesting in going to.”

  “Why not?”

  Hadley picked at the purple polish on her nails; Cassie’s nervous energy permeated the room.

  “They were full of dealers. People were messed up.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t fun. I don’t do that stuff.”

  “But Miranda did?”

  Cassie sighed. “I guess. She always wanted to go.”

  “Is that where they went on Thursday night? To one of those parties?”

  “No.” Cassie’s perfect skin turned slightly pink. “Thursday night, she told me Jaxon wanted to go—park.” She cleared her throat.

  Paul looked up, understanding showing in his raised eyebrows. “Park up in Cascade Ridge?”

  “I don’t know. I guess so.” Cassie opened her hands. “It was just after midnight when I got a call from her. She said they’d gotten in a fight and he’d dropped her off.”

  “At the hospital parking lot?”

  Cassie shook her head, tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

  “Where, Cassie?” Paul leaned forward.

  “She said—” Cassie's wobbly statement was cut short by a sniffle. “She said she’d gotten out on the side of the road. I asked her where, but she didn’t know. She didn’t know Cascade Ridge well. She told me to meet her at the hospital. She saw a sign and thought she could find her way there.” The teen barely held it together until the end of the statement, then a whole new round of tears streamed down her face.

  “And so you left to go look for her.” Paul put down his pen and held Cassie’s gaze with his.

  Which is why her neighbors saw headlights leaving down her road at that point in the night. Hadley put the pieces together in her head, sure Paul was doing the same.

  “But she never showed at the hospital parking lot.” When Paul spoke, it wasn’t a question. He knew something.

  Cassie’s face was red and blotchy, and she broke into a sob. Hadley felt so bad for the girl. She walked over and put an arm around her shoulders, holding her tightly, hoping to provide even a little comfort.

  “We saw your car drive by on the security cameras from the hospital parking lot,” Paul said. “Can you verify when you left to drive back home?”

  Gulping for air, Cassie said, “I think it was three? I drove around Cascade Ridge for a while after, and I didn’t make it back home until four.”

  Hadley’s heart broke. If Cassie was telling the truth, it must’ve been a terrifying night for her. Her worry for Miranda must’ve been eating her up inside.

  Unless it’s all an act, Hadley thought. She hated to admit it, but she still wasn’t sure when it came to Cassie Lee.

  13

  Cramped in the small veterinarian exam room, Cassie’s sobbing felt all the more intense. Paul appeared much less affected by Cassie’s emotional state than Hadley was. He readjusted his position on the veterinarian’s stool and jotted down a few notes and went on with his questioning. “Did you speak to Jaxon anymore that night?”

  “No.” Cassie reached out for a tissue and blew her nose. “I tried calling him, but he wouldn’t pick up.”

  The door leading to the back of the clinic opened and Dr. Murphy peeked inside. “Would you mind if I borrowed Cassie for a moment to show her how to administer some of the medication I’m prescribing?” she asked Paul.

  He shook his head, holding out a hand in a gesture that Cassie could follow her with Bailey in tow. Once they were gone and the door clicked shut, Hadley turned to face her brother.

  “Jaxon lying about dropping her off isn’t news to you, is it?” she asked, having caught the way his eyes lit up when Cassie confirmed the information.

  Paul cleared his throat. “No. He didn’t show up on any security footage from the hospital parking lot cameras, but Cassie did.”

  Hadley’s stomach sank. “Can you bring him in?”

  “Already did. We questioned him, and he admitted he lied because he thought he would get in trouble for leaving her on the side of the road. But we’re not sure what we can trust out of him anymore. After holding him for forty-eight hours, his bigwig lawyer made us let him go when we couldn’t find anything more on the kid.”

  “Sheriff McKay can’t pull any strings to get him back?” Hadley asked, certain there was a malicious reason Jaxon had lied about his night with Miranda.

  “Can’t or won’t.” Paul rubbed a hand over his face. “Jaxon’s family is loaded, and a big deal up in Cascade Ridge. When his dad found out about us questioning the kid, he threatened to sink M&M’s next run for sheriff. McKay folded pretty fast after that. Won’t let us so much as drive near their neighborhood.”

  Hadley slapped her hand down on her leg in frustration. She’d been growing to appreciate the ornery sheriff a little more ever since he’d started treating her brother like the quality deputy she knew he was. But hearing this shoved him right back down to the low opinion she’d cultivated over his last two terms in office.

  “Hey,” she said. “I took Gran up to the hospital today.”

  Paul’s back straightened. Concern wrinkled his forehead.

  Hadley put up a hand. “She’s fine, just wanted to make an appointment to finish out her PT for the new hip.”

  Relaxing slightly, Paul kept focused on where she was going with this.


  “We saw Brenda Walters there.” Hadley bit her lip, pausing before describing the whole scene she and Gran had witnessed in the waiting room.

  “Brenda?” Paul frowned. “She’s never seemed mentally unstable to me.”

  Hadley agreed and was about to ask her brother if he knew of another reason they might turn her away, when the door opened again and Cassie and Dr. Murphy walked back into the exam room.

  “Okay,” Dr. Murphy said, moving to scratch Bailey’s ears in a goodbye, but thinking better of it and pulling her hand back. “Nancy will work out payment and your next appointment up front before you leave, but let me know if you have any questions about being a cat owner.” She winked at Cassie.

  Cassie smiled. “I’m sure I will, but Hadley’s got experience and time, so she can show me the ropes.”

  Paul let out a quick laugh, covering it as a cough when Hadley scowled in his direction.

  “Great. Feel free to use the room for a bit longer if you need. My next appointment isn’t for twenty minutes.” The doctor waved and backed out of the room, tucking Bailey’s chart folder under one arm.

  Once she was seated in one of the chairs along the wall, Cassie looked up at the James twins. Hadley swore she could hear the teen gulp with worry, though her tears had dried.

  “Am I okay to go home now?” she asked, the haughty, used-to-being-waited-on voice returning in full force.

  Paul dipped his head in confirmation.

  “Wait, I have one more question,” Hadley said. She narrowed her eyes at Cassie, ignoring the puzzled look Paul was surely giving her. “When you didn’t find Miranda waiting for you in the parking lot of the hospital, why didn’t you just go home? Why did you drive around for another hour?”

  Cassie’s face softened for a moment, as if Hadley had caught her off guard, as if she might not know the answer. But understanding lit up her eyes as she looked up. “I guess it’s because of what she said on the phone, about how she didn’t know where she was, but she was going to try to get to the hospital. Miranda doesn’t know Cascade Ridge as well as someone like me, but she’s been there enough times now to recognize what general part of the city she’s in. She would know if she was within the vicinity of the hospital, especially if she said she would try to meet me there.”

  Paul leaned forward, picking up his pen and jotting down a few notes. He nodded excitedly. “That’s true, very true. Narrowing down the area where she could’ve been taken is helpful.”

  Hadley thought back to the drive she’d taken earlier with Gran. “But that area of Cascade Ridge is super woodsy, hardly developed at all. Is it possible she got off the road and fell or hurt herself?”

  Maybe they weren’t dealing with a kidnapping at all, maybe this was a case of someone who lost their way in the woods. Hope swelled in Hadley’s chest.

  Her brother took a few notes in his notebook before turning his attention to Hadley. “It’s worth a try. I’ll get McKay to see about putting together a search party in the area now that we have some idea of where she might’ve been before she went missing.” He stood, shoving the notepad into his back pocket as he strode toward the door leading into the waiting room. “I’ll be in touch.” He looked back just as his hand closed over the door handle. “With both of you.”

  Cassie shivered when it was just the two—or three, including the feline—of them in the room once more. “Not too intense?” She cocked her head to one side.

  Hadley chuckled. “You watch it. That’s my brother you’re talking about. You’d just better hope he doesn’t look too close at my bike in the back of your car. He gave it to me last year, and if he notices that bent back tire, he’s really gonna get intense.”

  Rolling her eyes, Cassie scoffed but it wasn’t backed by her usual attitude. “We can drop it off at whatever backyard shop fixes adult bicycles in this podunk little town on our way to the pet store. You’re still going to help me get what I need.” The last bit wasn’t a question.

  But Hadley didn’t feel like fighting with her, especially since the bicycle repair person she knew did in fact operate out of a backyard shop. She nodded. “Jolee will be able to fix it, I’m sure, but Fenton Farm is all the way on the other end of town. We can go to the pet store first, then we can drop off the bike.”

  And the fact that Jolee is close with Brenda can’t hurt either, Hadley thought, planning a way to tactfully bring up Brenda’s unsuccessful visit to the hospital.

  Cassie perked up. “Fenton Farm. Isn’t that the place where your boyfriend works?”

  A surprised laugh shot out of Hadley at the question. “What? Boyfriend?”

  “That hot farmer guy.” The teenager shrugged. “The one you were whispering with at the market yesterday.”

  Hadley sputtered. “I—we were—I was just—whispering about the case.” She wrinkled her nose. “And please don’t call Luke hot. He’s like twice your age. It’s creepy.”

  Cassie pressed her lips forward. “So I can’t think he’s hot, but you can since you’re just as old?”

  “Yes,” Hadley said, then froze as a grin peeled across Cassie’s face. “Wait. No. I don’t … ugh.” She groaned, standing. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Whatever you say.” Cassie’s voice was sweet and held a singsong lilt she’d not yet heard from the icy socialite.

  After a trip to the local pet store—where Cassie put more on her parents’ credit card than Hadley made in two weeks—Cassie drove them out to Fenton Farm. She’d purchased an expensive soft carrying case for Bailey and was—to Hadley’s dismay—able to drive again now that the cat was safely in the carrier instead of clinging to her.

  The white convertible hugged the curves of the country roads, making Hadley grateful she was in a luxury vehicle. At least it was bound to have an expensive airbag system if something truly went awry.

  “Turn here,” Hadley said, pointing to the driveway marked with the hand-painted sign for the family-owned farm. She clutched the door as Cassie took the turn faster than was necessary.

  Hadley winced as she noticed the wake of dirt and rocks they’d kicked up along the private road. It was a good thing they’d had so much rain yesterday so the ground wasn’t completely dry, or they might’ve sent up enough dust to cover the valley.

  Cassie screeched to a halt in one of the dozen parking spaces in front of the main barn. Jolee came walking out of the barn, having no doubt heard them arrive. Luke’s big sister shared his same dirty-blond hair and easy manner.

  “Hey,” Jolee said, shading her eyes with a hand after pulling off one glove. She ducked her head as if she didn’t believe what she was seeing: Hadley riding around with Cassie Lee. “What brings you two out this way in such a hurry?”

  One of the few things people up in Cascade Ridge actually got right when making fun of Stoneybrook was what they’d dubbed valley time. Things didn’t feel as rushed, and therefore, people often worried whenever they noticed someone moving fast.

  Hadley unclipped the seat belt, freeing herself from the flashy deathtrap, and got out of the car on slightly wobbly legs.

  “No rush,” Hadley said a little louder than she needed to, hoping it might get through to Cassie. “Got a bit of a challenge for you, Jo.” She grimaced as she pulled her mangled bike out from the back seat of the convertible.

  To her credit, Jolee seemed to put the busted bike and the small gash in Cassie’s driver’s side front bumper together, and she tempered her response. “Challenge? Had, come on. You gotta give me something harder than a bent bike wheel.” She smiled.

  Jolee had always been a no-nonsense kinda gal, and whereas Luke had excelled in his tech-based inventions, she’d always had a gift for machinery—hence, Hadley bringing her bike here for repair. She knelt next to the bike after Hadley wheeled it over to her.

  “Yeah, this is no problem. I can have you back on the road in a few days.” Jolee stood, smacking dirt off her pants and craning her neck to observe Cassie as the girl finally got out of the c
ar.

  Cassie looked mesmerized, and she checked back to make sure Bailey was secure in his carrier before wandering over to the open barn.

  “Looks like we’ve got a nosy one here.” Jolee chuckled and followed after the teenager.

  Lining up her questions about Brenda, Hadley thought, She’s not the one you need to worry about.

  14

  Jolee Fenton was as good a sport as a person could be. She gave Cassie the full tour, not so much as blinking whenever the girl wrinkled her nose at a smell or took three times as long to walk anywhere so she could avoid tromping through something gross.

  While Cassie poked around in the Fenton’s large greenhouse—the reason they could grow certain foods year-round—Jolee stayed by the entrance with Hadley. Seeing her chance to talk with the woman alone, Hadley pounced.

  She cleared her throat. “Jo, I need to ask you something.”

  Jolee didn’t give a single indication she’d even heard Hadley.

  After a stretch of silence that made Hadley begin to doubt she’d spoken loud enough, Jolee sighed.

  “I should’ve figured you’d be involved in this.”

  Hadley didn’t take offense. She knew the whole town expected her to be involved in anything Paul was doing and vice versa. Jolee’s statement wasn’t frustrated or exasperated either, just resigned.

  “I don’t know anything about where Miranda might be. Believe me, I’ve wracked my brain for anything that could possibly help.” She shook her head.

  “My question isn’t about Miranda, it’s about Brenda.” Hadley let the statement hang in the air for a moment, hoping to prime her for the harder bit.

  Jolee didn’t say anything.

  Hadley pulled in a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to say. “Do you know of any reason the hospital would refuse to see Brenda?”

  She looked up at Jolee just in time to see her close her eyes tight.

  “Is she mentally stable?”

  Jolee’s eyes flashed open in anger. “Had, Brenda would never—never—do anything to hurt Miranda. I need you to—”