Strawberries and Strangers_A Cozy Murder Mystery

by Leena Clover

  Chapter 20

  Jenny enjoyed her evening out with Jason Stone. But she couldn’t let go of a premonition. She was beginning to think someone was spying on her and she had no idea why.

  “Tell me I am being silly, Heather,” she pleaded the next morning.

  The Magnolias were enjoying their usual coffee break.

  “You are being silly,” Heather parroted. “What’s all this, Jenny? You seem nervous.”

  “I have this feeling that someone’s watching me,” she said, sounding illogical even to herself.

  “You mean like an intuition?” Heather asked.

  “Maybe,” Jenny said thoughtfully.

  “Are you psychic?” Molly asked her. “Do you dream about something before it happens?”

  Jenny rolled her eyes.

  “I don’t believe in that kind of stuff.”

  “You’re jittery,” Betty Sue told her. “Too much coffee can do that to you.”

  “I never drank so much coffee before coming here,” Jenny agreed. “That’s it. I’m switching to herbal tea.”

  “Are you worried about the Spring Fest?” Petunia asked her. “You are going to be a big success, my dear. And we will all be on hand to help you.”

  “It’s not that,” Jenny shook her hand.

  “How about another movie night?” Molly asked. “I can host this time.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Heather approved.

  “How was your dinner date?” Molly asked her. “Don’t think you can distract us, Jenny. We want to know every little detail.”

  “Jason ordered a big platter of fried food and I ate like a glutton. Really, you should have seen me stuff my face.”

  “So you feel comfortable around him,” Heather said. “That’s a good start.”

  Jenny wondered if she was a bit too much at ease with Jason. She was beginning to like him a lot but her heart didn’t beat wildly when she thought of him.

  “Yooo-hooo…” a shrill voice called out.

  Barb Norton waved at them from the boardwalk, looking excited. She was clutching a shoebox to her bosom. She huffed up the café steps and came to their table. She slammed the box down and collapsed in an empty chair.

  “It’s all there,” she panted.

  “Take a deep breath, Barb,” Betty Sue ordered. “Calm down.”

  Barb gulped several mouthfuls of air and her chest stopped heaving. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes shone wildly.

  “What did I tell you, Betty Sue? I never forget a face.”

  “Did you find the guy in the photo?” Jenny asked, jumping up.

  “I did,” Barb said triumphantly. “Wait till you hear what I have to say.”

  Molly stood up and started leaving.

  “Where are you going, missy?” Barb thundered. “Sit down!”

  “I need to get back to work, Barb. I don’t have all day.”

  “You can’t run far,” Barb said cryptically. “Will you sit down now?”

  Molly’s face had turned green. She sat down in her chair. Jenny noticed her balled fists and wondered what that was about.

  “Tell us about the guy, Barb,” Jenny prompted.

  “I was in charge of the festival photos ten years ago,” Barb started. “We had a booth set up where people could pose for photos and ask for prints. We also took photos of everyone as they came in, just in case they wanted a copy later. That’s how we raise money, see?”

  Jenny tried to curb her impatience.

  “I kept a copy of every photo. They were in a box in my attic. It took me a while to locate the box.”

  She pointed at the shoe box giving them an idea of what it contained.

  “So he came to the summer festival then?” Heather asked in a hushed voice.

  “He sure did,” Barb sneered. “And he wasn’t alone.”

  A collective gasp went around the assembled group. Jenny noticed Molly wasn’t looking too good.

  “That photo you have there,” Barb pointed. “That is just half of a picture. Here’s the actual one.”

  She pulled out a faded photograph from the shoebox and thrust it in Jenny’s hand. Jenny stared at the picture and the face of John Smith or John Mendoza. He was smiling into the camera with his arm around a young girl. She was holding a giant tub of popcorn and laughing into the camera. Something about that picture struck Jenny but she wanted to be sure. She handed over the photo to Heather.

  Heather took one look at the picture and sprang up.

  “You lied to us!” she screamed. “Why did you do that, Molly?”

  “That man was Molly’s beau!” Barb informed them. “She was working in the city that summer but she came back home for the summer festival.”

  All eyes turned toward Molly. She was shaking like a leaf.

  “Is that true?” Betty Sue asked gently.

  “Of course it’s true,” Barb interrupted. “She introduced him to me, told me she wanted a copy of that picture.”

  “Let the girl speak, Barb,” Petunia urged.

  Molly burst into tears. She stood up and rushed down the stairs of the café and ran across the boardwalk to the beach.

  “Let her go,” Jenny said.

  She was feeling overwhelmed.

  “She’s been lying to us this whole time,” Heather voiced her thoughts. “We thought she was one of us.”

  “She could have saved us a lot of trouble,” Betty Sue agreed. “But she must have a reason for all this.”

  “What reason could there be?” Jenny argued, her hands on her hips. “She knows the agony Star and I have been through. She’s been sitting here calmly day after day, watching us suffer.”

  “I agree with Jenny,” Heather said stoutly.

  Kevin came up the stairs and saluted them.

  “Something wrong?” he asked as he saw all the frowning faces.

  No one answered him.

  He handed over some mail to Petunia and looked around.

  “What’s up with Molly?” he asked.

  He was pointing somewhere near the water. Molly stood knee deep in the water with her back to them.

  “She’s cooling off,” Barb chuckled.

  No one noticed when the mailman turned around and went away. Jenny was on the phone in the kitchen. She had decided to call Adam.

  “What’s wrong, Jenny?” Adam asked when he heard her voice.

  “We have some new information about the murder,” she told him. “Maybe you should come here.”

  She went outside and told the ladies. “The sheriff will be here soon.”

  Molly had turned around and come back up the café stairs. Her dress was wet at the hem and she was shivering. Petunia offered her a blanket and poured her a cup of fresh coffee.

  “What were you thinking, going in the water like that?”

  Adam Hopkins arrived and came out on the deck.

  “What’s going on, ladies?” he asked grimly.

  Barb opened her mouth and told him about the old photo. He studied the photo and looked at Molly.

  “That’s you alright, Molly,” he said. “You want to tell us how you know this guy?”

  “You can start by telling us his real name,” Heather snapped. “Is it John Smith or John Mendoza?”

  “You don’t have to say anything here, Molly,” Adam said. “You can come to the police station and give me a statement.”

  “I want them to hear this,” Molly said.

  She looked around at the assembled women.

  “His name was John Mendoza,” she started. “He was my husband.”

  Another gasp went through the group.

  “I divorced him before I came back to Pelican Cove.”

  “So I was right,” Barb beamed. “You did introduce him to me.”

  “It was senior year of college,” Molly nodded. “We had been dating for two years. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. That’s why I brought him here. I wanted to show off the town, introduce him to my parents.”

&n
bsp; “Why did you hide this from us?” Jenny asked. “You could have spared everyone a lot of trouble.”

  “She’s right,” Adam said. “You wasted police resources by withholding this information.”

  “So sue me,” Molly said defiantly.

  “You didn’t spare a thought for my aunt, did you?” Jenny demanded. “You just watched us squirm.”

  “John was my past,” Molly pleaded. “He was a part of the life I left behind.”

  “You must have been shocked when you saw the picture Star drew,” Betty Sue said.

  Molly said nothing.

  “Maybe she didn’t recognize him from the picture,” Jenny said, trying to cut her friend some slack.

  “What about the picture Jenny found in that wallet?” Heather asked. “That’s a photo of that man, right? You must have realized who he was then?”

  “Did he know you lived here in Pelican Cove?” Petunia asked.

  “Not exactly,” Molly whispered. “We didn’t part amicably.”

  “Why did you get a divorce?” Adam asked. “It’s a matter of record so I will find it out eventually.”

  Tears rolled down Molly’s eyes.

  “We got married soon after we graduated. I got a job in a big library in the city. John didn’t have a permanent job. He just fixed deals for people and earned commission.”

  “He was an antiques dealer,” Heather supplied. “We know that.”

  “Things were fine for the first couple of years. Then he started drinking. Other things followed…”

  “Like what?” Heather asked, her mouth hanging open. “Did he hurt you, Molly?”

  Molly gave a barely perceptible nod.

  “I had a mentor, an older woman who was my boss. She helped me get a lawyer and file for divorce. I decided I was never going to lay eyes on him again.”

  “And then he turned up dead right here in town,” Betty Sue prompted. “No wonder you didn’t want to say anything.”

  Molly stared at the floor, refusing to look up.

  “What else are you hiding from us, Molly?” Jenny asked. “You met him, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” Molly whispered.

  “Was it at the party?” Heather asked.

  “She wasn’t invited there,” Betty Sue said. “It must have been somewhere else.”

  Molly gulped and started talking again.

  “John came to town looking for me. He wanted to talk to me.”

  “Stop right there, Molly,” Adam said. “Be very careful about what you are going to say. You know you can hire a lawyer, right?”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong,” Molly said shakily. “John came to my door and I turned him away. But he kept trying to talk to me.”

  “You hadn’t talked to him at all in all these years?” Heather asked her.

  Molly shook her head.

  “I had no idea where he lived. The apartment we lived in was rented and we both moved out at the same time. I didn’t have an address for him after that.”

  “What was so important after all these years?” Jenny asked her.

  “He said he wanted to apologize,” Molly said meekly.

  “Did you believe him?” Petunia asked.

  “It didn’t make any difference to me,” Molly sighed. “I stopped trusting that man long ago.”

  “What about the Newburys?” Betty Sue asked. “How do they figure in all this?”

  “He said he was in town for a deal,” Molly told them. “I suppose he just wanted to check on me, see where I lived.”

  “So he just wanted to say sorry?” Heather asked.

  “He wanted me to forgive him. Said he had been sober for a while and was doing some kind of 12 step program. He pleaded for my forgiveness.”

  “Did you believe he had changed?” Barb Norton asked.

  “Something came over me,” Molly said. “I screamed at him and told him to go away.”

  “Atta girl!” Betty Sue smiled approvingly.

  “You need to come with me, Molly,” Adam Hopkins interrupted. “I need to take down your statement. And I have to ask you some questions.”

  Molly followed Adam out of the café. Everyone started talking at once.

  “What did I tell you?” Jenny burst out. “I was right, wasn’t I? She was right here all this time, watching us.”

  “Do you think she killed him?” Heather got to the point.

  “You know her better than me, Heather.”

  “Stop talking nonsense, girls,” Betty Sue ordered. “Molly Henderson didn’t kill anyone.”

  “Then who did?” Barb asked.

  No one had an answer to that question.

  Chapter 21

  Jenny moved around in a daze all day. She had called Star at her gallery and told her about the whole Molly incident. Like Betty Sue Morse, Star also stood by Molly.

  “I know her mother, you know,” Star said. “I remember the day Molly was born. There’s no way she had anything to do with this.”

  “I disagree,” Jenny had said firmly. “Molly is involved one way or the other.”

  Petunia had reserved her opinion on the topic. She didn’t want any of her friends to be implicated.

  “The police are not going to tell us much,” she told Jenny. “Molly’s the only one who can shed some light on what went down at the police station.”

  Jenny debated going to the library to meet Molly. She wasn’t sure if Molly had been detained or if she was back at her desk at work. Molly answered that question by turning up at the café later that afternoon. Petunia and Jenny had just finished cleaning up and were prepping for the next day.

  “Molly!” Jenny exclaimed as she saw her come up the steps of the Boardwalk Café.

  Molly almost collapsed when Jenny took her by the arms. She was looking drained.

  “Have you had any lunch, dear?” Petunia asked with concern. “Let me get you something to eat.”

  “Have you been with Adam all this time?” Jenny asked Molly.

  Her protective nature had overcome any reservations she may have had about Molly.

  “What for?” she cried.

  “They had some questions,” Molly said softly.

  Her voice was barely audible and Jenny leaned closer to hear her better.

  “You have been gone for hours.”

  “I called Betty Sue,” Petunia said grimly as she placed a plate loaded with potato chips and a chicken sandwich in front of Molly. “Start eating, young lady. And don’t say a word until you have finished all that.”

  “Do you prefer iced tea or coffee?” Jenny asked, trying to be helpful.

  Molly’s eyes filled up as she took a bite.

  “You know I’m innocent, don’t you?” she pleaded.

  “My aunt thinks so,” Jenny said, unsure of her own opinion.

  Petunia had put up the Closed sign and the café emptied soon after. Betty Sue and Heather rambled up, followed by Tootsie. Heather had her on a leash. Tootsie trotted up to Molly and nuzzled her.

  Molly gave Tootsie a hug and cried softly.

  “I thought you needed some comfort,” Heather said. “How are you holding up, Molls?”

  Star joined them a few minutes later. She patted Molly on the shoulder and gave her a hug.

  “I know you had nothing to do with killing that man,” she said curtly.

  “The police say I have a strong motive,” Molly explained.

  “Having a motive isn’t enough,” Jenny said. “Did you have an opportunity to do this?”

  “They say I don’t have an alibi,” Molly said.

  “Did they ask where you were at a particular time?” Jenny wanted to know.

  “They asked me where I was for a couple of days, the day of the party and a day before that.”

  “That’s quite a wide window,” Jenny observed.

  “They asked me about those days too,” Star nodded.

  “You never told me that,” Jenny said, surprised.

  “It never came up,” Star said with
a shrug. “And I didn’t think it was important. I never set eyes on that man in my life.”

  “You left John Mendoza a few years ago, didn’t you?” Heather asked. “What motive could you have to kill him?”

  Molly looked sad as she contemplated an answer.

  “John hurt me. Really hurt me. I had to go to the emergency room a few times. There is a record of all my injuries.”

  “Did you tell them your husband was abusing you?” Jenny asked.

  “At the time, I just said I had bumped into something. But it came up during the divorce. John wasn’t ready to let me go. Then his lawyer came up with a lot of nasty stuff against me. That’s when I finally reported him for physical and mental abuse.”

  “So it’s all part of an official record then,” Jenny summed up.

  Molly nodded.

  “The police think I was bearing a grudge against him, or I am scarred or something.”

  “Who would blame you if you were?” Betty Sue Morse said, stroking Tootsie.

  Tootsie had climbed up in her lap and was dozing with one eye closed. She was staring at the assembled group with the other. The little poodle sensed something was wrong.

  “So what? You bashed his head or something?” Jenny asked incredulously. “If you had hit him in a fit of anger, he would have been dead right there at your doorstep.”

  “That’s exactly what I told them,” Molly cried. “Why would I lure him to a deserted beach and attack him?”

  “How big was he?” Jenny asked. “Was he stronger than you?”

  “He was about the same size and build,” Molly said.

  “You need to get a lawyer, Molly,” Jenny said decisively. “You need one whether you are guilty or innocent.”

  “Jason Stone is the only lawyer in town,” Heather reminded them. “I don’t think he can represent both Star and Molly at the same time.”

  “Not unless they drop the charges against Star,” Jenny nodded. “I wonder if they will do that.”

  “Lawyers are expensive,” Molly said. “I am not sure I can afford someone pricey from out of town.”

  “What are you going to do then, Molly?” Betty Sue Morse asked.

  Molly turned toward Jenny with a question in her eyes.