Sweet Friend of Mine (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 8)

by J A Whiting

  Jenna flicked her eyes to her sister. “Then we have to hope that he took off and that he’s safe and well.”

  “He’ll be in a heap of trouble if he’s just taken off.”

  Jenna sighed. “Better to be in trouble … than the alternative possibility.” She eased the car to the curb and parked in front of Sanders Jewelers on the main street of Silver Cove. A man in a dark blue suit with salt and pepper hair stood behind one of the jewelry cases and looked up with a smile when the two young women entered the store.

  Jenna carried a large leather case. She introduced herself, explained that she was a jewelry designer, and wondered if the man might be interested in seeing some samples.

  “Yes, I would. I’m Michael Sanders, the owner.” He gestured to the top of the glass case where Jenna could lay out her pieces.

  Angie browsed the store while Jenna and Mr. Sanders discussed her designs and after thirty minutes, Jenna had an order for a number of her bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.

  Angie wandered over when the business transaction had been completed and struck up a conversation while Jenna packed away her samples. The chat turned to the missing young man. “I understand that the young man wore a ring that was purchased here.”

  Michael Sanders nodded as his mouth turned down in a frown. “I was reminded of that when I read about the young man in the news.”

  “His mother bought it for him,” Angie said.

  His brow furrowed in thought as Mr. Sanders looked off across the room.

  “Did you do the engraving of the vine on the ring?” Angie asked.

  “Hmm?” Sanders returned his attention to Angie. “Oh, yes. It was a simple request. It came out quite nice.”

  “The young man was in a band called Vine.” Angie glanced at the pieces in the case. “Did his mother tell you that?”

  “I don’t recall.” Sanders signed the jewelry order that Jenna filled out and handed to him.

  “It’s a beautiful ring.” Angie smiled warmly. “I heard that you made more than one of the rings with the vine on them. Was it for another band member?”

  Sanders straightened. “Honestly, I don’t remember who purchased the ring. It was several years ago.”

  Angie’s heart dropped in disappointment. “I see.” She decided to make up a fib. “We wondered who bought the other one. Jenna and I wanted to get in touch with the person to see if we could purchase it to give to Ryan’s parents ... in case, well, you know.” Angie didn’t want to say in case the young man was found deceased, but it was clear what she meant. She wondered if fate might strike her down for making up the tale, but then thought it might be okay since she did it with the good intention of helping to solve the mystery.

  “Maybe my assistant would recall the details.” Sanders moved to the doorway that led to the back of the store and called to someone.

  A tall, slender woman with a head of frizzy gray hair stepped out with a quizzical look on her face. She wore bright red-rimmed glass frames.

  “This is Erin. She’s my right hand, been here for thirty years.” Sanders asked about the vine rings and whether she remembered who’d purchased them. It was obvious that the two people had discussed the missing man and the fact that he’d worn a ring sold by their store.

  “Terrible about that boy.” Erin shook her head. She seemed sincerely sad about the situation. “I hope the police find out what happened to him, and soon.” The woman blew out a breath. “I don’t remember who purchased the boy’s ring, but I clearly remember him.”

  “Ryan? You remember him? He came to the store?” Angie’s hopes started to soar.

  “I wouldn’t have recalled the boy’s name. I only remember his name because of the news reports. He was handsome, friendly, very polite, charming. A lovely smile. I liked him immediately.”

  “Why did he come in?” Jenna asked.

  “He was wearing the ring.” Erin gave Jenna a look like she should know why Ryan came into the store. “He wanted one made just like it.”

  “Did he say why he wanted another one?” Angie was puzzled.

  “I assume he wanted to give it to a friend.” Erin took her glasses off and cleaned them with the end of her sweater. “Maybe for his girlfriend. She was a beauty.”

  Jenna and Angie exchanged a look.

  “What did she look like?” Jenna questioned.

  “Gorgeous skin. Green eyes. Dark blonde hair.” Erin shrugged. “She looked like she might have a bit of an edge to her, maybe a hard upbringing, but that might have just been her young age and wanting to be a rock star or something.” Erin slid her glasses back on. “They made a lovely couple.”

  “Did you hear her name?”

  “I only remember because it was my mother’s name. You don’t hear it much anymore.” Erin smiled. “The young man called her Lottie.”

  As soon as Jenna and Angie hurried out of the jewelry store and got into the car, they swiveled towards each other on their seats.

  “What’s going on?” Jenna’s eyes were wide. “Someone named Lottie fought with Ryan next to his car? What did she do to him? Where is he?”

  Angie’s mind was racing. “So Ryan bought his girlfriend the same ring that he owned. His parents didn’t like the girl and told Ryan to stop dating her, but it seems that Ryan continued to see the girl secretly.” Angie shook her head.

  “Wait a second,” Jenna said. “Maybe Ryan kept seeing her even after high school. Maybe they’ve been dating the whole time he’s been in college. Maybe one of them wanted to break up with the other. There could have been an argument about the breakup. Maybe Lottie threw the ring at Ryan and it ended up on the ground.”

  “That could be.” Angie nodded slowly thinking about such a scenario and then looked over at her sister. “Except for one thing. Mr. Finch said the argument near the car involved two male voices.”

  Jenna’s mouth opened, but nothing came out right away. “Oh. Right.” They sat quietly thinking things over until Jenna said, “Ryan and another guy must have been at the car, but there could have been a third person there. Lottie could have been there, too.”

  “Is this whole mess due to a messy breakup between Ryan and his girlfriend?” Angie frowned.

  Jenna gave a half-smile. “Well, Courtney, our crime show expert, would probably tell us that there are two things that cause most of the trouble in the world … love and money.”

  “And she’d be right.” Angie glanced out of the passenger side window at the cozy main street of Silver Cove. “We need to find Lottie.” She pulled her coat tighter around her. “I’m freezing by the way.”

  Jenna turned the key in the ignition so the heater would come on. “Darren might know Lottie. Darren and Ryan have been friends for years and the two of them get together in Boston. Darren might know if Ryan has a girlfriend. We can talk to him when we get back.”

  “We could also talk to Henry. He might know something.” Angie sat up. “Lottie. Isn’t that a nickname for Charlotte? Henry said that Ryan dated someone named Charlotte Breeze in high school. Lottie must be Charlotte.”

  Jenna smiled and high-fived her sister. “We’re getting somewhere.”

  Sighing, Angie plopped against the seat back. “Inch by tiny inch.”

  “Better than nothing.” Jenna put the car into drive and edged into the lane. “Let’s go figure out who Lottie is.”

  The two sisters parked in the lot of the town library and walked up the stone steps to the front door. Inside the warm, cozy space, they asked the librarian to direct them to the regional high school’s yearbooks. After they figured out the years that Ryan would have been in attendance at the school, Jenna scanned the rows of books and pulled out four of them. She and Angie sat at a long wooden table and each one took a book to flip through.

  Slowly turning the pages, Angie stopped and peered at a photo. “Here’s Ryan.” She angled the book so that Jenna could see the picture. Ryan stood smiling in a group of three young men and two high school girls. Four of the teens
held musical instruments. They seemed to be in the high school auditorium and there were clusters of young people in the background. “Maybe it’s a dance or a talent show.”

  Jenna stared at the photo. “These could be some of Ryan’s band members.”

  “Let’s flip through to the individual pictures of the graduating seniors,” Angie suggested. After a few minutes, they’d found Ryan and Henry in the book.

  They picked up two books from previous years and paged through them. “Here.” Jenna’s voice was triumphant. “Here’s Charlotte Breeze.”

  Angie looked down at the page to see a fair-skinned, green-eyed young woman staring out from the page, her long, dark blonde hair settling softly below her shoulders. The girl’s gaze and beaming smile seemed to exude a warm, positive energy. “I can see why Ryan would be attracted to her. She’s lovely.”

  The caption below the picture listed her activities which included the select chorus and band, the art club, and the photography club. She would be attending a Boston university where she intended to study business.

  “Boston.” Angie arched an eyebrow. “How convenient.”

  Jenna narrowed her eyes. “Business? That’s unexpected.”

  Angie’s phone buzzed. “It’s Ellie. She says we should come home. There’s someone at the B and B that we might be interested in seeing.” She looked up from the phone and made eye contact with her sister.

  “How cryptic,” Jenna said and then added, half-kidding. “You think it’s Ryan?”

  Angie’s eyes went wide. “Let’s go find out.”

  16

  “Who is it?” Jenna shrugged out of her long woolen coat and hung it on the wall hook near the back door just off the kitchen. “Who should we see?”

  Ellie waved her hand towards the hall. Darren has a guest. They’re sitting in the sunroom.

  “A guest?” Angie removed her leather gloves and stuffed them into the pockets of her coat. “Who is it?”

  “I’m not sure.” Ellie prepared two carafes of hot chocolate. “We weren’t introduced. When I brought in the afternoon snack tray, I heard voices from across the foyer. I tiptoed to the living room and spotted Darren in the sunroom speaking intently with someone.” Ellie snapped the lid on one of the carafes. “Go barge in on them.”

  “Why?” Angie asked her younger sister.

  Ellie lowered her voice. “I think they’re talking about Ryan.”

  “Let’s go.” Jenna took Angie by her elbow and steered her towards the hall. “Where are the cats?”

  “They’re way ahead of you.” Ellie put several white mugs on a tray. “They’re in the sunroom eavesdropping.”

  The traditionally decorated and furnished living room led to a large sunroom with nearly floor-to-ceiling windows off the back of the Victorian. The soft comfortable furniture groupings encouraged an afternoon snooze in a chair or curling up with a good book. Darren sat on one of the white sofas and a young woman sat across from him on the opposite couch. The glass door to the room had been closed and although one could hear voices speaking, the exact words were muffled and impossible to make out.

  When Angie and Jenna approached, opened the door, and stepped into the room, Darren turned to them with such speed that Angie was afraid the young man’s head would spin right off of his neck.

  “Angie. Jenna.” Darren stood up, not so much from good manners, but from being startled.

  Euclid and Circe sat side by side on a glass desk placed against one of the walls.

  The young woman sitting on the sofa turned and gazed for a few moments at the incoming sisters.

  Angie’s heart skipped a beat. Charlotte Breeze.

  Darren introduced the Roseland sisters to his guest and then said, “This is my friend, Lottie.”

  Everyone murmured greetings.

  Lottie looked like a slightly older version of the girl in the high school yearbook. In her early twenties, she still had the long flowing dark blonde hair and the bright green eyes, but some of her vitality seemed to have been sucked from her. Her eyelids looked slightly pink and the end of her nose was red as if she’d been crying.

  Even though she probably knew the answer, Jenna smiled sweetly and asked, “What brings you to Sweet Cove?”

  Lottie held a crumpled tissue in her hand and lifted it to her eyes. “Sorry. Allergies.” The young woman took in a breath and made eye contact with Darren. “I’m originally from the area. I’m visiting a relative. Darren told me he would be here for a few days so I came to see him.”

  “Where are you living now?” Jenna sat in the chair next to the sofa.

  “Boston,” Lottie sniffed.

  “Are you allergic to cats?” Angie glanced over at the two felines and Euclid scowled.

  “No, cats are fine.” Lottie didn’t elaborate on what might be causing her allergies.

  “Are you staying here at the B and B?” Jenna asked.

  “No, I’m staying with my aunt for a bit. She lives one town over.”

  Jenna brought up Ryan and watched Lottie’s face for her reaction. “Too bad about the missing young man, Ryan Allen. Did you know him when you lived in the area?”

  Lottie’s tiny Adam’s apple rose and fell and she coughed. A tinge of pink colored her cheeks. “I knew him. We went to the same high school, but I was two years ahead of him.”

  “Were you friends?”

  Different emotions flashed over the girl’s face as if an inner debate seemed to be taking place. “We hung out. We both liked music.” She flicked her eyes to Darren again.

  Angie’s mind suddenly made a connection. Lottie. Darren’s band was the “Darren Lottie Band.” Angie took a look at Darren and then turned her attention back to the girl. “Oh. Are you the Lottie in Darren’s band’s name?

  Darren said, “We’ve know each other since we were little. I liked the sound of the name, so I asked Lottie if we could use it.”

  “He didn’t need my permission to use it. It’s just a name. It was nice of him to ask though.” Lottie pushed her hair over her shoulder.

  “Are you a musician?” Jenna looked at her with interest.

  Lottie shrugged. “I sing a little and I play some instruments, though not very well.”

  Darren stepped in to clarify. “She’s too modest. Lottie has a great voice and she’s very talented. She sang backup vocals and played keyboards on our last album.”

  “Wow.” Jenna was impressed. “So is that how you make your living?”

  “What? Oh, no. I love music, but it’s too hard to make it work.” Lottie seemed to relax slightly. “I’m studying business right now.”

  “Where do you go to school?” Angie questioned.

  “Boston College of Music.”

  “What a great school,” Angie said.

  “I can combine music and business there. I’m doing my MBA now. They have a great program.”

  Darren smiled. “I’m hoping she can become our agent and business manager. It’s important to have someone you can trust.”

  Lottie smiled at Darren. “I’m expensive, you know. No discounts just because we’re friends.”

  “Ryan was going to school in Boston.” Angie wanted to turn the conversation back to the missing young man. “Did you continue your friendship with Ryan when you moved to Boston? Do you still hang out?”

  “Sometimes we all get together and jam.” Lottie folded her hands in her lap. Her shoulders drooped slightly and tears welled up in her eyes. “May I use your bathroom?”

  Jenna led Lottie out of the sunroom to show her where the bathroom was located. Angie turned her attention to the cats who seemed to be taking everything in and who looked like they hadn’t yet made a decision about the young woman.

  Angie said, “Lottie seems like a really nice person. You’ve been friends since you were little?”

  “Yeah. We met when we were toddlers. Our moms used to take us to the same playground.” Darren smiled thinking back on those early years. “We played together almost every day.
I remember us singing together all the time. We harmonize really well.” He chuckled. “Sometimes our moms told us to please stop singing.” Grinning, he added, “We were loud.”

  Angie smiled. “When did you meet Ryan?”

  “In elementary school. The three of us would play at recess.” Darren smiled. “We became a trio then with the singing.”

  “Ryan is younger, right? How many years older are you?”

  “Four. Lottie is three years older than Ryan, but they were only two grades apart.” Darren looked outside at the frosty backyard. “Age doesn’t mean a thing when you get along like we did.”

  “Someone told me that Ryan and Lottie dated in high school.”

  Darren’s eyebrows went up, surprised that Angie knew the fact. “Yeah, they did. Really, they fell for each other in the sixth grade.”

  “But they broke off in high school?”

  Darren took in a long breath. “Yeah. I guess they’re better as friends.”

  “But they kept up the friendship between them? That’s not always an easy thing to do after a breakup.”

  Darren nodded. “Yeah, but they started out as friends. There’s a long history there between them.”

  “Was Ryan seeing someone now? Does he have a girlfriend?”

  “No. Ryan was busy with lots of things. He doesn’t have time to start a relationship.”

  Angie made eye contact with Darren. “Ryan’s been missing for a number of days.” She paused. “Do you know where he is?”

  Darren sat up straight and leaned forward. “No,” he nearly shouted. “I don’t.” He blinked fast a few times and brushed the back of his hand over his eyes. “Do you suspect me of doing something to Ryan? If you do, you’re completely wrong. I loved that guy. He was my best friend.” Darren modified his statement. “He is my best friend.” Slowly shaking his head, he said, “I’m not giving up hope.”

  Angie’s heart clenched, but then she worried that Darren was playing her. The feeling of distrust only lasted a few moments because Circe hopped down from the glass table, padded over to the sofa, and jumped into Darren’s lap where she settled.