A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection

by Eryn Scott

  Holding up a hand, Hadley interrupted. “I know. I promise you, I know. But I can’t get over the fact that I saw the hospital turn her away, and there’s a possibility it has something to do with why Miranda went missing.”

  Jolee calmed slightly, but she still seemed on edge. “It started when she broke her back working at The Grill. She fell, carrying a full tray of dishes and broke her back.”

  Hadley turned to face Jolee. “I didn’t know that happened.”

  She’d heard Brenda had stopped working at the restaurant, but hadn’t ever discovered why. She’d guessed it had to do with the classes she was taking for her online bachelor’s becoming too much for her to keep up two jobs.

  “It happened in the middle of one of our hardest quarters.” Jolee shook her head. “I honestly don’t know if she would’ve passed if the professors didn’t give her the leeway they did.”

  Jolee and Brenda had met because they’d both been enrolled in an online program through the university over the mountains. And while the majority of their classwork was online, they were required to attend one Saturday of classes on campus each month. Driving together each time, the two women had grown close.

  “Her recovery was hard and she … was in so much pain for so long. She got dependent on the painkillers.” Jolee cleared her throat uncomfortably.

  Abusing painkillers. That would be reason enough for the nurse to turn Brenda away, and why she’d pointed her toward the ER. The event she’d witnessed at the hospital suddenly made sense.

  With this new piece of information, Hadley began to put a few more things together. “And she got addicted to the painkillers after her surgery. Which is why we didn’t see much of her after that.”

  Hadley had assumed Brenda was just extra busy with her job and degree. But now she realized the woman had been laying low on purpose.

  “We got her help, though. Miranda and I took her into a rehab clinic and she’s been clean since then. I promise.” Jolee held up her hand.

  “Except that I saw her trying to see the doctor for more today.” Hadley folded her arms in front of her chest.

  A tidal wave of tired frustration washed over Jolee’s features. She clenched her jaw for a second before saying, “Shoot. I worried this might send her into relapse, but I’ve been checking on her every day, sometimes twice. I thought she was doing okay—considering.”

  Which means the reason Miranda’s missing must have to do with her drug use, not her mother’s, Hadley thought, striking that information from her list of clues. If Brenda had been clean for months, there couldn’t have been a link between her drug use and Miranda’s disappearance.

  “Sorry for bringing up such a touchy subject.” Hadley cringed.

  Jolee inhaled, long and slow. “It’s okay. I know you’re just trying to help. Sometimes digging for the truth is messy.” She checked her watch. “But now that I know, I think I might pop over and check on Bren. Sounds like I took for granted how well she was doing.”

  Hadley nodded. “Sure. We’ll show ourselves out.” She waved as Jolee took off toward her car.

  “I’ll call you when your bike’s ready,” Jolee called over her shoulder.

  Cassie walked over as Jolee left. “Where’s she going?”

  “She had something to take care of.” Hadley tried to be vague without attracting suspicion.

  Clearing her throat, the teen cocked an eyebrow. “You know I could hear almost everything you two said.”

  Hadley’s neck suddenly felt hot.

  “It’s a trick I use with my parents all the time. If I wander off and pretend not to care what they’re doing, they’ll say anything around me.” Cassie winked. “Comes in handy when I get too close to my limit on the credit card.”

  Hadley wasn’t sure if she wanted to scold Cassie for eavesdropping or chuckle at her resourcefulness.

  “She’s wrong, by the way.” Cassie looked after Jolee.

  “About?” Now it was Hadley’s turn to cock an eyebrow in disbelief.

  “Brenda may have gone to rehab, but she was most definitely on drugs.”

  The statement hit Hadley like an industrial-sized bag of sugar. “What?” She sputtered out the word, before regaining some composure.

  “I’ve only met Miranda’s mom a few times, but both times, the woman was completely high.”

  The concern on Cassie’s face made Hadley soften. “How could you tell? I thought you said you didn’t do drugs.”

  “I don’t. But the only time I went to Miranda’s house, I saw her mom taking them.” Cassie frowned.

  “In front of you?”

  Cassie shook her head. “No. I had a headache and went to take an Advil in the bathroom, but it was definitely not Advil in the bottle. Later, I saw Miranda’s mom taking some of the pills from the bottle. She was acting really wired and weird after that.”

  Hadley picked at the purple polish on her nails as the two of them walked back toward the car on the other side of the barn. “If she was keeping them in a different bottle, they must not have been prescribed, then. And if they wouldn’t prescribe her anymore, how did she get them?”

  It seemed as if the lightbulb went off in Cassie’s mind at the same time as it happened in Hadley’s; they gasped simultaneously.

  “Maybe the drugs Miranda was buying from Jaxon weren’t for her, but her mom,” Cassie said.

  “You mentioned how you’d never seen her take anything, or even seem like she was high.”

  Cassie wrinkled her nose. “But why would she want to help her mom buy drugs?”

  Thinking back to when she’d babysat Kelsey Morrow—and Miranda as well since they were always together—Hadley remembered how it often seemed Miranda was the one taking care of her mother, not the other way around. It wasn’t a secret Brenda was a single parent, and Miranda talked about never having known her father. She knew how hard her mom worked, having two jobs, and tried to help out whenever she could.

  “You said she’d mentioned how much pain her mother was in. What if Miranda thought she was helping her by getting the medication for her?” Hadley bit her lip then waved to Red Fenton, Luke and Jolee’s dad, as he drove past on his tractor.

  “She did like to take care of people …” Cassie mused, but she didn’t say anything more, because as they rounded the barn, they found Luke standing by the car, examining Hadley’s busted bike.

  Hearing their footsteps, Luke glanced up. Relief washed the grim expression off his face. “Good, you’re okay.” He let out a deep breath. “Seeing your bike all messed up had me worried.”

  His hand twitched, as if he wanted to reach out and touch her to make sure she wasn’t hurt. But he must’ve thought better of it because he jerked it away, running the hand through his hair instead.

  Cassie didn’t miss the gesture either, and she shot Hadley a coy smile.

  Inwardly rolling her eyes at the teenager, Hadley said, “I’m fine. It was my fault the bike’s messed up.”

  Luke let out a wry laugh. “Right. Like I’m going to believe speed demon here didn’t have a part in it when her bumper’s dented.” He jabbed a thumb in Cassie’s direction, adding a glare for good measure.

  “Luke, it’s—” Hadley started to say, but Cassie interrupted her.

  “He’s right,” Cassie said. “I wasn’t paying attention. Hadley saved me from hurting an animal, sacrificing her bike instead.” She leveled Luke with a look of apology so sincere, Hadley noticed his shoulders automatically drop from their ready-to-argue position.

  Hadley nodded when Luke’s gaze consulted her for confirmation. As if he’d heard them talking about him, Bailey let out a long yowl from his cage in the back seat of Cassie’s car.

  Luke raised an eyebrow. “Another cat, Had?” he asked, a grin adding a teasing tone to his question.

  She narrowed her eyes. “He’s not mine,” she said adding, He won’t even let me near him, to herself in annoyance.

  “Bailey’s mine.” Cassie walked over, lifting the so
ft carrier out from the back seat to coo and console the cat, even though he looked perfectly comfortable. “Adopting him is the least I can do after almost running over him.”

  Luke closed his eyes for a moment. “Hadley James, don’t tell me you threw yourself in front of a moving car to protect a cat.”

  She waved a hand at him. “Of course I didn’t.” Squinting one eye, she added, “I threw my bike.”

  Luke chuckled, and the laughter crinkled the corners of his eyes as he shook his head. “I don’t even know what to say to you.”

  “Nothing would be nice, for once.” She elbowed him, unable to resist joining in on the laughter.

  Cassie looked between the two of them and a devious smile curled at the corners of her mouth. She winked at Hadley and then pulled out her phone.

  “Oh. I’m so sorry, Hadley, but I just got a text from my parents, and I have to get home. Thank you so much for helping me with Bay.” She gestured to the cat before setting the carrier back in the car and moving toward the driver’s seat. “Luke, do you think you could give Hadley a ride home?” She barely got the question out before she was grinning again.

  Hadley inwardly groaned at the teenager’s blatant setup. There was no way Cassie Lee had ever dropped what she was doing to answer to her parents.

  If he’d caught on to Cassie’s game, Luke didn’t let on. “Sure thing,” he said with a dip of his head.

  Cassie sent them one last wave before she pulled away. Hadley was sure she could see the girl’s devious stare even in her rearview mirror.

  15

  “Come on. Let’s get you home,” Luke said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her toward his truck.

  Hadley’s heart lightened at the gesture. They used to walk with an arm around the other’s shoulder all the time when they were younger. It took her back to laid-back summer days spent on the banks of the river, seeing who could skip a rock the farthest.

  As she climbed into the truck, however, the avalanche of information she’d just learned came crashing back down on her.

  “Actually, not home. If you don’t mind, I need to talk to Paul. Could you drop me at the station?”

  Luke nodded as the engine rumbled to life. “Things going any better with the two of you? Or with Suze?” he asked, glancing over at her.

  “I think worse.” Hadley closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. The truck smelled sweet, like dried hay. It was a different vehicle than he’d driven when they were teenagers, but the smell was just about the same. “I mean, Paul’s busy with this case, so I get why he’s being distant.” She picked a piece of lint off the seat. “Except earlier he definitely lied to me about where he was. Said he was grabbing coffee, but I could tell he wasn’t.” She shrugged. “The real problem is Suze. I think I saw an order of hers hanging in Mickie’s bakery.”

  Luke tipped his head to one side as he pulled out onto the main road. She knew he was wondering why that was such a crime, but knew she was going to elaborate.

  “I’m pretty sure it said something about a cake, Luke.” She stared him down, searching his face for any hint of recognition.

  He squinted one eye. “You sure? Mick’s handwriting is awful at the best of times.”

  “Yeah, but Mickie also acted all weird, blocking my line of sight so I couldn’t read what was on the order card. Why would she do that unless I wasn’t supposed to know?”

  His lips tugged up into a half smile. “Maybe Mickie is cheating on you, using someone else’s jam.” Luke narrowed his eyes conspiratorially.

  Hadley didn’t even humor him with a laugh. “Be serious. What if they’re planning a birthday party without me? Something romantic, just the two of them?”

  Luke stopped at a stop sign and gave her his attention. “Would that be so horrible?”

  She bit her lip, thinking maybe it would. Hadley and Paul had never not celebrated their birthday together, even when they’d both been away at college. But she knew pettiness wasn’t appealing, and it was probably unrealistic to hold him to that standard.

  “No,” she said in a huff. “But that’s why it’s so suspicious. If they want time alone, why would they be keeping it from me? They wouldn’t have to do all of this sneaking around if they just came out with it.”

  “Some people like the sneaking around part.” Luke raised an eyebrow before turning onto Main Street.

  Hadley waved in thanks as Luke pulled away from the curb outside town hall. She jogged inside, trying to make sense of the disorganized mess of possible clues she had jumbled in her brain.

  Paul was sitting behind his desk, poring over a file while his fingers dug into his temple.

  “Hey,” she said, plopping down in the chair next to him.

  He looked up, either startled or sleep deprived—Hadley couldn’t tell.

  “When was the last time you ate something?” she asked, concern replacing the small amount of urgency to tell him about her newest discovery.

  His hand moved from his temple to run down his face. “I can’t even remember.” He gestured toward a plate on his desk Hadley hadn’t noticed until now because it was almost hidden under multiple sheets of paper. The plate held a sandwich with one bite taken out of it. A fly was sitting on top, unmoving as if he were taking a nap or moving in. The mayonnaise visible from the side had an odd glossiness to it, making her certain it had been sitting out for far too long.

  Hadley crossed one leg over the other. “Okay, I’m going to tell you something and then I’m getting you a sandwich and sitting here until I watch you eat the whole thing.”

  Paul sighed, but nodded. He pulled out his notepad, clicking open a pen. “Whatcha got?”

  “Remember when Brenda stopped working at The Grill?”

  He squinted. “Yeah? Late last year?”

  “Well, the reason she stopped wasn’t because she quit or they fired her. She fell on the job and broke her back.”

  Paul stared down at his desk for a moment before meeting Hadley’s gaze. “Which is how she got addicted to pain pills.”

  “Yeah. And, this is speculation still, but I’m pretty sure Miranda wasn’t buying the drugs from Jaxon for herself. I think she might’ve been getting them for her mom.”

  At this, Paul scratched his bearded chin, looking dubious.

  Hadley didn’t even give him space to voice his doubt. “I know, it’s a stretch, but Cassie was adamant she’d never seen Miranda under the influence.”

  Paul pushed back his shoulders before jotting down a few notes onto his notepad. “Okay, it doesn’t open any doors, but it might down the line. Thanks.”

  Placing a hand on Paul’s shoulder, Hadley said, “Okay. What kind of sandwich you want?” She looked at the warm fly condo warily.

  He followed her gaze. “Anything that won’t give me botulism.” With one movement, he picked up the plate and dumped the food in the garbage next to his desk.

  “Will do.” She patted his shoulder and stood to leave.

  Walking down the street, Hadley headed for Wendy’s café, knowing it was a bit of a slim chance any of her popular premade sandwiches would be left at this time of day. Still, she preferred the gamble over going into her ex-in-laws’ grocery store.

  Passing by Mickie’s bakery, Hadley pressed her lips into a disappointed frown as she realized it was after six and she’d been closed for hours at that point. Hadley would have to make a stop by tomorrow to see if she could get a closer glance at the order.

  Luckily, there were a few sandwiches left in the cooler when Hadley entered Cascade River Coffee, and she grabbed a roast beef for Paul and a tuna salad sandwich for herself since she’d had too long of a day to want to think about making dinner. She added a small chai to her order. Feeling like the days were simultaneously lasting forever and going all too fast, Hadley decided caffeine that late in the day was worth the risk. She knew it might keep her up, but hadn’t been sleeping well since Miranda went missing, anyway.

  After paying for her purchas
es, Hadley stepped aside to wait for her tea. The sound of the steamer screaming through the milk must’ve covered up the jingling sound of the front door opening, because suddenly Hadley looked to her right and jumped in surprise. Thea Clark had sidled up next to her.

  The town librarian must’ve gotten the highest marks in librarian school; the woman was as quiet as falling flakes of snow, more often than not startling Hadley with her silent approaches.

  Her short, curly hair framed her delicate face. Hadley smiled at her in hello, but had to do a double take. The fair-skinned librarian was not only as quiet as snow, but just as pale too.

  “Thea, what’s wrong?” Hadley asked, putting a hand on the woman’s arm to steady her as she wobbled slightly.

  Thea’s mouth opened. “Mir—” The name broke in half. She swallowed and tried again. “I saw the sign.” A shaky finger pointed to the Missing sign in the front window of the café. “When did this happen?”

  “Thursday night.” Hadley clutched the older woman as she swayed. “Where’ve you been?” She didn’t mean the question to sound bratty, but it was inconceivable to her knowing the librarian’s propensity for knowing everyone’s business the moment it happened.

  Blinking, Thea met Hadley’s gaze. “I left Thursday night for the regional Friends of the Library sale over in Pine Crest.” Looking down at her shoes, Thea muttered, “I was so happy because I sold twice the books this year.”

  An ache spread through Hadley’s chest as she realized the woman wouldn’t have heard anything over on the other side of the mountains. This must be quite the shock. Wrapping an arm around the librarian, she led her to the nearest table and helped her sit.

  “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” Hadley patted Thea’s hand.

  Wendy came over with Hadley’s chai and a steaming mug for Thea. The barista clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Take a sip of this. It’ll help.”

  Thea did as she was told, her hands shaking when she picked the mug up off the saucer. Mid-sip, the woman stopped cold, her eyes flashing up to Hadley and Wendy. “Does this have something to do with the fight she got in Thursday night?”