by Nancy CoCo
I let Sandy go home at two o’clock and canceled the last fudge demonstration. It was pouring rain outside and only a small group of people had gathered indoors near the fireplace to drink hot coffee and use the Wi-Fi.
I put my raincoat on and headed to Dodd’s market to pick up something for dinner. The streets smelled of rain and dust and were mostly bare. A few of the horse-drawn taxis waited out the storm under the trees near the fort. With their heads down, the animals looked miserable. The drivers sat with raincoats pulled around them and their hats dripping wet. The open carriage windows were covered by shades that were rolled down and tied to keep the rain off any customer that might flag them down for a ride.
The bike shop had closed up for the duration of the storm.
I opened the door to the grocery store, the bells jingling on the door. Mary Emry looked up from her trashy celebrity magazine to see who was coming in during the storm.
“Hi Mary.” I shook out my umbrella and left it next to the door.
Mary simply nodded her head at my intrusion. I grabbed a basket and made my way to the produce section. I needed things for a salad and figured I’d fry up a chicken to go with it. The choice of fresh meat was nice considering the small size of the store. I grabbed a package of antibiotic free, organic, free-range chicken, a bag of salad along with cucumbers, red and yellow peppers, an onion, olives, carrots, radishes, and zucchini. Finally, I took a loaf of fresh French bread and took them to the register.
“Heard you pulled Carin Moore’s dead body out of the marina,” Mary said as she rang up my dinner.
I nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Must have been a terrible sight.”
“It was.”
She squinted her brown eyes at me. “Are you used to finding the dead yet?”
“What?”
“How many has it been now? Ten?” Her dark head was bent as she rang up my groceries, making it hard to tell what she meant.
Did she mean to imply it was my fault? Did she mean to imply that she felt sorry for me? “Four,” I corrected her. “Only four dead bodies and none of them were my fault.”
“Didn’t say they were,” she said as she bagged my groceries. “Just wondered if you were used to finding them.”
I realized then that was probably the most talkative Mary Emry had ever been. I leaned against the counter. “Did you know Carin Moore?”
“Everyone on the island knew Carin Moore. That girl had the tongue of a wasp. Could sting anyone with her words and did so frequently and on purpose.”
“Do you know who might have wanted her dead?”
She looked up at me. “Paige Jessop.”
“Why Paige?”
“Eleanor saw Reggie kissing Carin down by the docks.”
“Eleanor is Carin’s best friend. Why would she tell anyone what she saw?”
“Because Eleanor would rather be Paige’s best friend,” Mary said and handed me my bag. “Wouldn’t you?”
I took my things and left. Yes, I guess I would rather be Paige’s best friend . . . but it had never occurred to me that Eleanor would.
* * *
“Shane says there was alcohol in Carin’s system,” Jenn said as I unpacked the groceries.
“It might have been an accident, then. She could have stumbled overboard and drowned.
“Her lungs were clear of water.”
“I tried to push it out,” I remembered. “I thought some came out of her mouth.”
“Shane said the coroner is certain she didn’t breathe any water in. She didn’t drown, Allie.” Jenn put down her laptop and came over to stand at the bar and talk to me as I started dinner.
“I suppose that’s a good thing. Drowning would be terrible. I think.” A shiver went down my spine. I put on an apron over my T-shirt and knee length shorts, got out a knife, and began to cut up the chicken.
“You might be right. Hopefully I’ll never know. Like I said yesterday, Carin definitely died of the blow to the back of her head. It snapped her brain stem . . . which still could have been an accident . . . but afterward she was clearly dumped in the water. So someone is hiding something.”
I put the chicken in the pan with olive oil and onion. “Mary Emry said that Reggie is cheating on Paige with Carin.”
“What? First of all, Mary Emry talked to you?”
I smiled. “She did. I know, I was amazed myself.”
“Secondly, Reggie would not cheat on Paige. That man is clearly in love with her.”
“I guess Eleanor saw them kissing down by the docks and told Paige and anyone else who would listen.”
Jenn wrinkled her brow. “Why would Eleanor do that? She worshipped Carin. People call her the shadow because she never leaves Carin’s side.”
“And that’s why people believe her when she said she saw Carin and Reggie kissing. Mary implied that Eleanor really wants to be friends with Paige and went to her with the news . . . not to rub Paige’s face in it, but to make friends.”
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Jenn said and poured herself a glass of iced tea, then hopped up on the bar stool. “So Paige and Eleanor were talking.”
“I’m sure Paige shrugged her off. Would you take Eleanor seriously?”
Jenn shook her head. “No.” She sipped her drink. “My guess is that Paige laughed it off. I know I would have.”
“But it doesn’t look good for Paige if you’re looking for a motive for murder. I think we should keep digging. I don’t want Paige to get hurt. She and Trent are really close. What hurts her, hurts Trent, and I don’t want that.”
“Of course you don’t, sweetie,” Jenn said. “I’ll keep my ears open and see what the local scuttlebutt is about this. I’m sure the autopsy results will be posted in tomorrow’s paper. Let’s hope Paige isn’t suspect number one.”
“I agree.” I chopped up salad to have with the chicken. “Oh, I have some other news.”
“Trent asked you to marry him?”
“What?! No.” I felt the heat of a blush rush up my cheeks. “We’ve only been dating a couple months. It’s Mr. Devaney.”
Jenn frowned. “Mr. Devaney asked you to marry him?”
“Stop being silly. Mr. Devaney came to me and asked that you and I put our heads together. He wants to ask Frances to marry him and he wants us to help make it memorable.”
Jenn’s face lit up. “Oh my gosh. That’s fantastic. They are such a cute couple. I have some great ideas already. Did he say if he wanted it to be private and intimate or did he want to go big and public?”
“He said he wanted it to be special, that Frances deserves special. I don’t think big and public is their style, do you? He wants us to do what we think Frances would dream of doing.”
“Hmmm.” Jenn tapped her chin. “They do seem more intimate, and yet how wonderful that they are in love and taking this big step at their age. I think the whole island should celebrate.”
“Really?”
“Well, okay. I guess that’s not reasonable, but if Shane ever asks you what kind of proposal I want, you tell him I want marching bands and fireworks and planes with banners. I want to make the evening news in five states. I want big and splashy!”
I laughed and shook my head. “You are a nut. That kind of attention would terrify me. Good lord, my mother would get involved and then everything would be her way.”
“My mother,” Jenn said. “Yes, I want my parents flown in to the island and a festival of Fudgies in my honor.” Her eyes sparkled.
I plated dinner and placed one plate in front of her and took the stool beside her. “I think we should do some research, present Mr. Devaney with three options, and let him pick which one he likes best.”
“This is so exciting,” Jenn said, her dark hair bobbing as she bounced on the bar stool. “We need to kind of hint with Frances and see what kinds of proposal she wants.”
I shook my head. “No. I promised we wouldn’t let her know anything was going on.”<
br />
Jenn pulled a face. “Fine”—she stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork and waved it in the air—“but that doesn’t mean we can’t still find out. I’ll tell her I have a couple who want me to plan their engagement. I’ll ask her if I could run some ideas by her and see what she has to say.”
“Now that sounds better. Just be sure Frances doesn’t figure it out. She’s very smart. It’s tough to put anything passed her.”
“I know. She knew I was in love with Shane before I did.”
I smiled and forked up my own chicken. “I can’t wait to be as smart as she is. She told me that age brings wisdom if you pay attention. I’m paying attention.”
“You are good at that,” Jenn said.
The door to my apartment opened and Mal came rushing in with Frances behind her.
“Hello girls. I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner. I took Mal for her final walk of the day and thought I’d bring her back to you. We had a great time together, didn’t we, Mal?”
I gathered my puppy up near my heart and squeezed her. “Thanks for watching her overnight. I missed my baby.”
“Every now and then Mama needs a night off to have a life,” Frances said with a twinkle in her eye. “I was young once and remember.”
“Thanks, Frances,” I said. “Do you want some dinner? I have chicken and salad.”
“No, thanks.” The twinkle in her wide brown eyes brightened. “I have a date myself.”
“Finally she talks about her love life,” Jenn teased.
Frances blushed. “We were trying to keep things to ourselves for as long as possible.”
“It was pretty evident from the start, but thanks for sharing. Mr. Devaney is a great guy.”
“Douglas might just be the love of my life,” Frances said and put her hand on her heart. “And here I thought it was too late for a woman of my age.”
“Oh, it’s never too late,” I said, jumping up to hug her. “Come have some tea while we eat. Dish about everything.”
“Oh dear. It’s tempting, girls”—Frances ran her hand through her hair—“but I really do have a date and must get going.” She leaned in to me. “I’m so glad you hired a part-time receptionist this month. It’s given me more time for the finer things in life.”
“I’m glad, too,” I said and gave her another hug. “Promise that we’ll talk later?”
“I promise,” Frances said and hugged me back. “See you later, girls.”
Mal jumped up on me and I picked her up. We said good-bye to Frances and I went over to put kibble in Mal’s bowl. Mella the cat was out on the stoop enjoying the cooling evening air.
Jenn looked at me as I returned to my stool and my dinner plate. “Oh, we have to do something really great for those two. Something romantic.”
“Well, if anyone can do romance, it’s you.”
She smiled a faraway smile. “Do you think she’ll wear white at her wedding?”
Chapter 7
“Paige Jessop has been arrested in the murder of Carin Moore,” Frances said when she came in to work the next morning.
“What?” I had just finished cutting and putting pounds of chocolate chunk fudge on trays to be sold when the fudge shop opened. I came out of the shop wiping my hands on a towel. “That’s crazy. Where did you hear that?”
“I got a call from Irene Spencer about an hour ago.” Frances took off her hat and hung it on the coatrack behind the receptionist desk. “Irene lives next to the Jessops. She heard a commotion outside and saw Rex Manning, Charles Brown, and Officer Kelsey standing in front of the Jessops’ porch. The entire Jessop clan was outside in their robes—except Trent. He was dressed for the stables.”
“I don’t understand. How does she know that Paige was arrested?”
“She went outside to see what was going on,” Frances said. “She overheard Rex reading Paige her rights. Officer Kelsey then went into the house with Paige while the others waited outside. It seems Paige’s father went in to call his attorney. Trent just stood on the porch with his arms crossed glaring at Rex, who handled everything calmly. After about ten minutes, Paige and Officer Kelsey came outside. Paige was dressed and the three policemen walked her down the street. Paige’s mother followed of course. Poor Amanda is beside herself.”
“That can’t be right,” I said and reached for my cell phone. “Paige had no motive.”
“They must have something on her or they wouldn’t have arrested her.” Frances ran her fingers through her chin-length brown hair to fluff it after taking off her hat. Silver dangling earrings jingled from the motion. She had on a white T-shirt with tiny purple flowers, a long dark purple skirt, a beautiful silver belt, and a long dark purple cardigan. She started up the computer on the receptionist desk. “Anyway, the McElroy girl was there so I imagine everything will be up on the newspaper website.”
I dialed Trent, but he didn’t answer. The call went to his voice mail. “Hi, Trent, It’s Allie. I heard about Paige. Please call me. Is she okay? Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?” I hung up and bit my bottom lip. I noticed Frances had taken her mug over to the coffee bar and filled it up with fresh black coffee. “Are you sure Rex arrested Paige?”
“Irene is reliable,” Frances said, her big brown gaze filled with concern. She took a sip of her coffee and walked back to the receptionist desk. “She confirmed it with Charlene.”
“Why would Irene call Charlene?” I knew the dispatcher was very persnickety about who called the 9-1-1 hotline.
“Charlene starts her shift at 6 AM. Irene figured she would know where the officers were and why, so she called the dispatch line.” Frances climbed up onto the tall stool that served as her perch behind the receptionist desk. “Charlene confirmed that Rex had a warrant for Paige Jessop’s arrest in the murder of Carin Moore.”
I tapped my phone. “I can’t believe it. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Jenn came rushing down the stairs. She wore silk trouser pajamas and her hair was up in a messy bun. “I just read on the Town Crier website that Paige Jessop has been arrested in the murder of Carin Moore. Have you heard anything?”
“Irene Spencer saw the whole thing,” Frances said. She put on reading glasses as she brought up the Town Crier website. “She called me and told me. It looks like Liz McElroy was pretty much on the spot. The headline is ‘Jessop Girl Arrested in Connection with the Murder of Carin Moore.’” Frances read, “An arrest warrant was issued this morning for Paige Jessop in connection to the murder of Carin Moore. Moore’s body was found floating in the marina earlier this week. Autopsy results are still preliminary, but indicate that Moore was not breathing when she went into the water. Police refused further comment on why Jessop was arrested. There was no early indication that Jessop was even a suspect in the incident. Office Rex Manning states that a press conference will be held at ten AM to give further details as necessary.”
“Wow.” Jenn went over to the coffee bar and poured herself a cup. “Just wow. How crazy is that? Allie, have you called Trent?”
“Yes. He’s not answering.”
“I imagine the entire family is not answering their phones right now. The press will be all over this.”
“And there is extra press on the island this week to cover the yacht races,” Frances pointed out. “That means both Chicago and Detroit press will be interested. It might make the AP newswire.”
“That’s horrible. I need to go to the police station.” I pivoted on my heel and went to close up the fudge shop. It wasn’t officially open for another two hours so it wasn’t like I would lose business.
“Wait for me to get dressed and I’ll go with you. Paige is a good friend.” Jenn raced up the stairs.
“Maybe if I call Rex,” I said out loud as I pulled the glass doors shut and turned the lock. The lock was a simple key bolt. It wasn’t a security measure so much as a way to ensure the cat couldn’t open the doors and get into the kitchen.
“Don’t,” Frances said.
&nb
sp; “Why not?”
“First of all, he’ll be busy with the investigation.” Frances studied me over her reading glasses perched on her nose. Today they were black with white polka dots and were attached to an amethyst chain around her neck. “Second of all, you can’t use your friendship with him to help Paige. You know he’s a stickler for the rules. All he’ll do is tell you he can’t say anything.”
“Right.”
“Third of all, you’re on your way down there anyway. I’m sure you’ll find out more by being there. Besides, Paige and Trent need your support.”
“You’re right.” I took off my sugar coated chef’s jacket and hung it on the coatrack near the receptionist desk. Under the coat I wore a simple pink tee with the McMurphy logo on the top of the left breast pocket and a pair of black slacks. My feet were comfortably ensconced in black athletic shoes.
Jenn came hurrying down the stairs. I don’t know how she could change in five minutes and look like she’d spent half an hour getting ready. Her hair flowed softly around her shoulders. She had on mascara and lipstick, which enhanced her golden skin. A blue T-shirt and boyfriend jean shorts completed the outfit. “Ready, let’s go.”
“Open the fudge shop if I’m not back by ten,” I said to Frances. “The trays are full. If we run out we run out.”
“Will do. Go be good friends to Paige. Send them my regards.”
We left the shop and walked through the cool morning air. The streets were relatively deserted at eight AM. The ferries had just started arriving with a handful of early visitors and most of the yachts and the crews were either out on the water or sleeping in from late nights of partying.
We hurried down the street and around the corner to the white administration building that housed the police and fire department. A small crowd of people stood outside the door. I didn’t recognize any. Most looked down at their smartphones and thumbed through them or typed on them.
“What’s with the crowd?”
