Strawberries and Strangers_A Cozy Murder Mystery

by Leena Clover

  “I’m okay, I’m okay,” she protested, wriggling out of his embrace. “Neither Petunia nor I were there when that guy trashed the place.”

  “Don’t make assumptions,” Jason said immediately. “It could have been a woman. Spraying paint does not require a lot of upper body strength.”

  “You’re right of course,” Jenny said, having an aha moment. “I never thought of that.”

  “Come and sit down first,” Jason said. “Can I get you something? Coffee? Something stronger?”

  “I wish I could say yes to something stronger,” Jenny smiled, “but it’s barely noon.”

  “We have extenuating circumstances,” Jason assured her. “So? What is it going to be?”

  Jenny opted for a bottle of water from Jason. She gulped down half of it and sat there, her chest heaving as she tried to calm down.

  “I never thanked you for dinner,” she said.

  “No thanks needed. I hope you weren’t totally bored…”

  “Just a wee bit…” Jenny joked. “But seriously, I had a good time, Jason. It’s been a while since I enjoyed a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant.”

  “I’m sure you are used to fancier places,” Jason smiled. “How about an encore, since we were interrupted the first time?”

  Jenny gazed into his chocolate brown eyes. Milk chocolate, Jenny decided, or caramel. Once again Jenny was struck by how handsome Jason was with his finely sculpted looks. He probably owed it to some aristocratic British ancestor, she thought, remembering the Stones were one of the early settlers on the island.

  “I’d like that,” Jenny said shyly, coming out of her reverie.

  “We can check out a place I know in Chincoteague,” Jason said. “It’s a few miles up north. We’ll have a nice drive.”

  “I’m up for it,” Jenny said wholeheartedly. “I need to get back to the inn now.”

  Adam had called the Bayview Inn in Jenny’s absence. The police were done with the café.

  “We have permission to open our doors,” Petunia said. “But we have a big mess on our hands.”

  “Chris is coming around with some paint,” Heather said, hanging up the inn phone. “We’ll fix everything in no time, Petunia, don’t you worry.”

  The ladies got to work and Chris just painted over the red paint. Jenny washed down the front deck and made sure everything was sparkling clean again. Thankfully, the interior of the café was intact. Jenny started working in the kitchen.

  “I think we should take a breather today,” Petunia decided. “We will open tomorrow morning as usual.”

  Jenny started walking home as the sun dipped close to the water. The sky had cleared during the day and there was no sign of the clouds that lined the horizon that morning. She hummed a tune to herself as she walked along, lost in thought.

  She cried out as she struck an immovable wall and rubbed her elbow. She looked up into the cloudy eyes of Jimmy Parsons. He swayed in front of her but then managed to gather himself.

  “Look where you’re going, missy,” he growled.

  “You watch your step, Mr. Parsons,” Jenny shot back.

  She felt her day catch up with her and suddenly felt very frail. She didn’t have the energy to parry insults with anyone.

  “You owe me a drink,” Jimmy Parsons grumbled belligerently.

  Jenny let out a snort and started walking past him. Jimmy held her arm in an iron grip.

  “Didn’t you hear me, girlie? Buy me a drink at the Rusty Anchor.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “You’re a menace, that’s why. You have caused trouble ever since you came to town.”

  “What did I do to you, Mr. Parsons?” Jenny demanded, her hands on her hips.

  Her arm hurt from where Jimmy had grabbed it. Jenny reflected he had a lot of strength for someone who was on a liquid diet most of the time.

  “That Hopkins boy came by with his people, didn’t he? Woke me up from my nap. Asked all kinds of silly questions…”

  “Oh yeah? Like what?”

  “Wanted to know where I was at 5 AM this morning,” Jimmy grumbled. “How am I supposed to know that?”

  Jenny realized Jimmy Parsons was in a talkative mood. It was a good time to milk him for more information. She made up her mind.

  “Let’s go get that drink, Mr. Parsons.”

  Jimmy’s face broke into a smile. He offered her his arm and swayed a bit on his heels. Jenny wasn’t sure if it was a gallant gesture or a need for support but she took it.

  Jimmy must have showered since the last time Jenny had seen him. He didn’t smell as bad as she feared. His salt and pepper beard covered a small scar.

  “Is that a birthmark?” Jenny asked.

  “Never mind that,” Jimmy said quickly.

  They went into the Rusty Anchor and Eddie called out a greeting. His eyes held an unspoken question. Jenny grabbed a table close to the bar and sat down.

  Jimmy ordered three beers for them.

  “Is someone joining us?” Jenny asked.

  Jimmy swallowed half of his in a single gulp and rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “It’s for me. I figure you must be a slow drinker.”

  Jenny nodded mutely. Her hands trembled as she picked up the beer mug. She felt a lot of eyes turn and stare at them and suddenly felt vulnerable.

  “What are ya’ll staring at?” Jimmy growled, looking around the bar.

  Most people averted their eyes and looked away.

  “So I hear there was some trouble at the Boardwalk Café today?” Jimmy said. “Is Star alright?”

  “Why wouldn’t Star be okay?” Jenny asked, surprised. “She was at home.”

  “She spends a lot of time there with that Clark woman.”

  “The café was closed. No one was hurt.”

  Jimmy nodded to himself. He had drained both his beers. He called out for more, then stood up and waddled to the bar to pick it up.

  Jenny’s eyes fell on Jimmy’s wallet. He had pulled it out of his pocket and put it on the table when he sat down. Jenny had a déjà vu moment. Her husband used to do that. Jenny leaned closer as she spied the logo of an expensive leather brand embossed in the wallet. She was about to touch it to make sure when Jimmy came back.

  “You’re not planning to pinch a fiver from me, are you?” he spoke.

  “What? Of course not, Mr. Parsons. I was just admiring the leather.”

  “Call me Jimmy,” he invited. “We are friends now that we shared a pint.”

  Jimmy held two mugs of beer, one in each hand, and hesitated as if trying to decide which one he should drink from first. He drained the glass in his left hand and set it on the table with a bang.

  Jenny opened and closed her mouth like a fish.

  “Don’t worry, you’re not paying for these,” Jimmy assured her. “You can just pay for the first one.”

  He picked up the wallet and pulled out some cash. He slapped them on the desk and put the empty beer mug on them. He stood up again and swayed on his feet.

  “Be right back,” he slurred.

  Eddie came by with a tray and loaded the empty beer mugs. He counted the notes and put them on the tray.

  “Didn’t know you were hanging out with the town drunk, Jenny,” he sniggered, slapping something down on the table.

  Jenny picked up the piece of paper as soon as Eddie left. It was crumpled and yellow with age. She turned it over and her eyebrows shot up as a familiar face stared back at her. It was the man from Star’s drawing. Jenny hastily put the paper in her bag and straightened up.

  Jimmy came back a minute later and Jenny made her excuses.

  “It was nice catching up with you, Jimmy,” she said, trying to sound sincere. “I have to go now.”

  “Tell Star I said Hello,” he said moodily and waved her off.

  Jenny wondered how long he would sit there and how many more beers he would guzzle.

  “You are sure this is the same guy?” Jenny asked Star as they sat
in their living room after dinner. They had just finished dinner. Star had offered to cook and produced a simple dinner of pasta and store bought sauce. Jenny had been patient as she twirled the noodles on her fork and chewed on her garlic bread but her head had been working on all kinds of scenarios. She was sure of one thing. Jimmy Parsons was hiding something.

  Star turned the picture over in her hands again.

  “Jimmy’s not a bad sort,” she said. “I’m sure there must be an easy explanation.”

  “Like what?” Jenny asked. “You think he stole that man’s wallet?”

  Star looked at Jenny indignantly.

  “What did I say about Jimmy? He is not a thief, Jenny. He doesn’t go around robbing tourists.”

  “The wallet was the kind my husband used to have. It costs a pretty penny. I am sure Jimmy didn’t buy it.”

  “Someone could have given it to him,” Star said. “Or he might have found it somewhere.”

  “Why didn’t he tell us that?”

  “He knows he’s a pariah,” Star stressed. “He doesn’t talk much. I am surprised he talked to you today.”

  “I have a theory about that,” Jenny said mildly.

  She suspected Jimmy Parsons had a soft spot for her aunt.

  “I think you shouldn’t worry about how Jimmy got this,” Star repeated. “There has to be an easy explanation.”

  “Let’s go with that,” Jenny agreed. “What does this picture prove?”

  “The man lost his wallet?” Star asked, shrugging her shoulders.

  “I think we can safely say this man came to Pelican Cove for some reason. He was on the beach around Jimmy’s lighthouse and he visited the Newburys. The question is, who else did he meet?”

  Chapter 15

  The line stretching outside the Boardwalk Café kept Jenny and Petunia on their feet the next day. People were curious about who had trashed the café and why.

  “We are actually running out of coffee,” Jenny said as she put on a fresh pot.

  “Most people are here to gossip,” Petunia noted.

  “They keep drinking cup after cup of coffee without ordering anything else,” Jenny grumbled.

  “It’s time we took a break,” Petunia said weakly. “I can’t wait to get home and soak my feet in a tub of water.”

  Betty Sue, Heather and Molly sat on the deck at their usual table, waiting for Jenny and Petunia to join them. Star came up the steps, holding a big canvas wrapped in cloth. She set it down against the café wall and sat down.

  Betty Sue was knitting a snowy white scarf with a pink border. Molly had her head in a book. Heather was tapping her fingers on the scuffed wood table, staring impatiently at the sea.

  “What’s the matter?” Star asked her. “Thinking about Chris?”

  Heather turned red but said nothing. Chris had asked her to dinner at the Steakhouse again. Heather was trying to anticipate what he had planned for the night.

  Jenny and Petunia finally came out.

  “That’s it,” Petunia sighed. “I put a fresh pot of coffee out on the counter and told people they could help themselves. We need to catch our breath for a few minutes.”

  Jenny carried a plate piled high with sandwiches. She sat down and bit into one, too tired to say anything much.

  “The town’s buzzing,” Betty Sue said to Jenny. “Everyone’s talking about your date with Jimmy Parsons.”

  “I just shared a drink with him,” Jenny said with surprise.

  “Most people here don’t give him a second glance,” Betty Sue said. “You know that, don’t you?”

  Jenny shrugged. She hadn’t exactly thought about it.

  “He’s the town drunk for a reason,” Betty Sue continued.

  “Have I committed a social blunder then?” Jenny asked the women. “Done something unforgivable?”

  Betty Sue Morse smiled at her.

  “Jimmy’s harmless. But he’s too old for you.”

  “I am not attracted to him or anything,” Jenny laughed. “He asked me to buy him a drink and I went along. It was just a beer at the Rusty Anchor.”

  “Show them that photo,” Star said.

  Molly finally pulled her head out of her book.

  “Are you still going around town with that picture, Jenny?”

  “This is a different one,” Jenny told them.

  She turned to look at her aunt.

  “I don’t have it with me now.”

  “Tell us more,” Heather said, looking interested.

  “It’s a picture of our dead guy,” Jenny said. “It fell out of Jimmy Parson’s wallet.”

  Betty Sue, Heather and Petunia stared at her with their mouths hanging open. Molly had a frown on her face.

  “Here we go again,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re like a child with a new toy.”

  “You don’t think this is significant?” Jenny asked her. “Wait till you hear this. That picture fell out of a shiny new leather wallet. I think that wallet belonged to that guy.”

  “Jimmy’s not a thief,” Betty Sue said firmly.

  “That’s what I told her,” Star said.

  “Let’s say he didn’t steal it,” Jenny said, holding up her hand. “I’m willing to concede that. But he did find it somewhere. That means the man was definitely in town for some reason.”

  “How many people have you showed that picture to?” Heather asked. “You could have missed someone. There are people who don’t come to the Boardwalk Café.”

  “Adam’s already giving me grief about showing that picture around,” Jenny said. “I can’t knock on people’s doors and ask them about it.”

  “It’s up in the library, isn’t it?” Betty Sue asked.

  She turned to Molly.

  “Did you put it up there like we told you to?”

  Molly gave them an affirmative nod.

  “Maybe he just sneaked around at night. He could have driven straight to the Newbury estate. He might have walked on the beach around there and dropped his wallet.”

  “Where do people go when the Bayview Inn is full?” Jenny asked.

  Heather slapped her hand on the table.

  “They go to a neighboring town of course. There’s a chain motel five miles out of town and then there are other inns and bed and breakfasts up and down the coast. He could have been staying at any of those.”

  “Let’s go and talk to some people in the neighboring towns then,” Jenny said. “What do you say, Heather?”

  “I say you have too much time on your hands,” Molly said, getting up. “I have to get back to work. I am taking the scenic route back.”

  She walked down the café steps that led to the boardwalk and started walking in the opposite direction.

  “Have you noticed how she gets up and leaves every time we talk about that guy?” Petunia asked. “That girl is weird.”

  “I guess she really needs to get back to her desk,” Jenny reasoned, taking her friend’s side.

  “Are you on social?” Heather asked Jenny. “We have an online group of the local hotel and inn owners. We post messages and ask for help in emergencies. They are a pretty helpful bunch. We all want to boost tourism in the area.”

  “How can they help?” Jenny asked.

  “We can post that man’s picture in the group and ask anyone if they recognize it,” Heather said. “I should have thought of it before.”

  “Let’s do that,” Jenny agreed. “But I need to go get my laptop.”

  “Why don’t you and Heather head on to Star’s cottage?” Petunia said helpfully. “You can post the photo and come back here after that.”

  “I can help while Jenny’s gone,” Star offered. “I need to take some time off from my art today.”

  Jenny and Heather were back barely an hour later. They had posted the photo in the group and asked people to call Jenny’s phone if they had any information. Jenny’s phone rang the minute she entered the café.

  Her face lit up as she listened to the voice at the other en
d. She motioned Heather to wait. Jenny hung up a couple of minutes later.

  “It was an inn in Cape Charles. Do you know where that is?”

  “It’s a few miles south on Route 13,” Heather nodded. “What did they say?”

  “A man fitting the description checked in at their inn. He said he had business in Pelican Cove. He checked out a few days ago.”

  “We need to go talk to them,” Heather said eagerly. “Shall we go now?”

  “Go!” Petunia said before Jenny had a chance to get her permission. “Come back with some news.”

  Jenny and Heather walked to Star’s cottage again to pick up Jenny’s car. They drove out of town and Jenny put in the address of the inn in her GPS. They were soon pulling up outside a quaint inn overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.

  An old white haired lady greeted them at the door.

  “Welcome to the Sunset Point Inn,” she said cheerily. “Come on in. I have fresh cookies.”

  Jenny opened her mouth to fire off her questions but Heather grabbed her arm and gave her a meaningful look. Jenny let the old woman lead them inside.

  “I’m Victoria,” the woman introduced herself. “Which one of you did I talk to on the phone?”

  “That was me,” Jenny said, holding out her hand. “I’m Jenny and this is Heather. She runs the Bayview Inn with her grandma.”

  “Oh, you’re Betty Sue’s child, aren’t you?” the woman said.

  Jenny silently tried to guess the woman’s age. Her hair was snow white and glossy, tied neatly in a bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a printed floral dress with a white lace collar. The brooch pin at her throat contained a sparkling green stone that matched her eyes.

  Victoria led them to a small parlor. Floral print sofas were placed around a coffee table. Rose patterned wallpaper covered the walls. A fluffy white cat sat in one of the chairs.

  Jenny and Heather sipped the tea Victoria poured and ate some of the shortbread cookies. They were still warm from the oven.

  Jenny finally looked at Heather for approval and fished out the man’s picture from her bag.

  “That’s him alright,” Victoria said. “I gave him our best room. We are not really full this time of the year.”

  “How long did he stay?” Jenny asked. “Do you know why he was here?”