Sweet Secrets (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 3)

by J A Whiting

  In other photos, children were shown standing together outside.

  “Who are they?” Courtney taped several pictures and inspected them to see if names were written on the backs.

  “It’s weird these were hidden in the wall,” Angie insisted.

  Courtney lifted a taped photo. “Yeah. At first, I got the feeling that the box held something important, but I guess not.”

  Angie’s eyes were serious. “When you called for us to come and see what Tom had found, I felt the thrumming.” If there was danger or something important happening, Angie and Courtney would sometimes feel a sort of humming in their blood. Whenever the girls went to the Robin’s Point and stood near the spot where their grandmother used to have a cottage, the thrumming would pulse through their cells. Courtney said it made her feel close to their Nana.

  Courtney said softly, “You did? You felt the thrumming?” She looked over the array of pictures on the table. “Then maybe they are important. But I wonder why?”

  Circe nuzzled through some of the pictures, pushed a photo to the side with her paw, and started to lick it.

  “No, no.” Courtney moved the photo away from the cat and Circe let out a tiny hiss. “Whoa.” Courtney leaned back surprised at the black cat’s reaction. “No hissing, little one.”

  Angie smiled for a second, and then she sat up straight and her smile disappeared. “Can I see that picture?”

  Courtney passed Angie the photo that Circe had hissed over. Angie scrutinized the four young girls standing together under an apple tree. It was summer. They had their arms around each other’s shoulders and waists. They beamed big smiles at the camera. Angie turned to the back of the picture. “There are names written on this one. Bella, Virginia, Marion, Kiki.”

  Courtney looked at the photo in Angie’s hand.

  Circe howled and both sisters nearly leaped from the sofa. Angie put her hand over her heart, leaned back, and laughed. “No scaring us,” she warned the cat.

  Suddenly, Angie bolted up just as Courtney whirled to face her.

  “Marion,” Angie said. “Marion Linden? Is that Professor Linden in the photo?” She squinted at the people in the picture.

  “Angie.” Courtney gripped her sister’s arm. “Virginia. Is it our Virginia?”

  Angie’s face was blank.

  “Nana. Is this Nana in the picture with Professor Linden when they were kids?”

  Angie’s heart nearly stopped. Virginia was their nana’s name. “Did Professor Linden know Nana? Were they friends?”

  They both stared at the photo of the four young girls.

  Angie said, “It could be Nana. Look at her eyes…and the shape of the nose.”

  Courtney nearly pressed her face against the snapshot. She nodded. “It could be her. There’s a definite resemblance.” Her fingers trembled and the photo slipped from her hand. It fluttered down to the top of the coffee table.

  Courtney lifted her eyes to Angie. “Professor Linden left you the Victorian in her will. The professor must have known Nana. They must have been friends. That’s the reason. That’s the link. Professor Linden left you her house and the seventy-five thousand dollars because she knew Nana.”

  Angie’s jaw dropped. “You must be right. But, why? Why did she put me in her will? Just because she knew Nana?”

  Circe jumped off the table and onto the sofa. She licked her fur and settled on the soft blanket at the end of the couch. She looked very proud of herself for bringing the photograph to the girls’ attention.

  Angie observed the cat. “Circe’s becoming just like Euclid.”

  Courtney raised an eyebrow and grinned at the ebony feline. “I’m going to hope that’s a good thing.”

  Chapter 3

  Angie and Courtney called Ellie, Jenna, Tom, and Mr. Finch into the family room and showed them the photograph of the girls.

  “What do you think? Could it be Nana as a young girl?” Angie handed the picture around for everyone to have a look.

  Jenna said, “We have a few old photos of Nana as a young woman. Let’s dig them out and make a comparison.”

  “All the family photos are still in boxes that we stored in the carriage house when we moved here. There hasn’t been time to unpack everything.” Ellie stood up. “I’ll go get them. I know where they are.”

  Tom offered to help, but Ellie said she could handle it. She left the Victorian, went to the carriage house, and returned quickly with the box. They searched until they found the old snapshots of their nana.

  After scrutinizing the photos, Tom said, “I think it’s her.” He handed the pictures to Mr. Finch who agreed with the assessment.

  Finch spoke. “Let’s assume Professor Linden and your nana knew each other.” He cleared his throat. “If it was me, and this is solely conjecture on my part, I wouldn’t leave an important and valuable asset, such as this house, to someone I barely knew on the basis of having been friendly with that person’s grandmother.”

  Everyone stared at Finch.

  Finch said, “Something else must be at play here. There must be more to it than two girls having been friends.”

  “I agree.” Angie’s eyebrows knitted together in thought.

  “How can we figure it out?” Jenna asked.

  Tom leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “Does it really matter why she left Angie the house? Maybe Professor Linden liked your grandmother. We know she liked Angie. She didn’t have any relatives or heirs. Does it matter if there’s any more reason than that?”

  Euclid sat up and let out a low hiss. Everyone turned to the cat.

  Courtney eyed the big orange feline. “I guess it does matter.”

  Angie let out a long sigh. “I feel like we need to know why. I…” She hesitated. “I sense something.” She chose her words carefully because even though Tom and Jenna were dating, he still didn’t know anything about Angie and Courtney’s “gifts.”

  The group was quiet for a minute, and then Courtney stood up. “Let’s investigate. We can figure it out. We’ll start by reading that book on Sweet Cove that Attorney Ford gave Angie. Then we can go to the library and to the historical society and the town hall. And there must be people here in town who knew Professor Linden well. We can interview people. We’ll find the reason.”

  An idea popped into Angie’s head. “Maybe we should try to talk to people who knew Nana. She grew up here, lived here all her life. There must still be people around who knew her.”

  Euclid and Circe trilled.

  Courtney laughed. “Our two fine felines approve.”

  “Okay. We have a plan.” Jenna squared her shoulders and headed for the front porch to start reading the book on Sweet Cove. “Come on, Angie. It’s time to get to work.”

  ***

  Angie and Jenna sat in the rockers on the front porch of the house. Jenna held the book that Attorney Ford had given to them and she paraphrased passages of interest.

  “It says that the Cove down near Robin’s Point was one of the most important seaports in early American history. After the Revolutionary War, ships from Sweet Cove traveled all over the world for trade purposes. Wow, I didn’t know any of this stuff. Ships sailed back and forth to China, the East Indies, West Indies, Europe, and Africa trading cod fish, and importing tea, pepper, sugar, and molasses.”

  For a few minutes, Jenna read more of the history to herself. She looked up, her forehead scrunched.

  “What?” Angie asked.

  “It says that the town of Salem once consisted of most of the North Shore area of Massachusetts including the towns of Marblehead, Beverly, and Manchester-By-the-Sea.”

  “Why do you have that worried look on your face?” Angie’s muscles tensed.

  Jenna went on. “During the Salem Witch Trials, some citizens fled Salem and took refuge in places like Boston.” She raised her head and turned to her sister. “And some fled to the hamlet of Sweet Cove.” She swallowed hard. “Was Nana descended from witches?”

&nb
sp; Angie shook her head. “Maybe Nana was descended from people who moved here from Salem, but they weren’t witches. The witch trials were just hysteria…it was just persecution of people. There weren’t any witches.”

  Jenna didn’t look like she believed what Angie was saying. “Then why does the family have…” She looked around to see if anyone was nearby and lowered her voice. “…powers?”

  “It’s just a coincidence.” Angie still hadn’t come to terms with any of them having powers.

  “Well,” Jenna said. “What makes someone a witch? Witches have powers. You and Courtney have powers surfacing.”

  “I don’t like the word ‘witch.’ We’re not witches.” Angie wanted to change the subject. “Can you look at the section about prominent people in town? See what the book says about Professor Linden’s father.”

  Jenna checked the Table of Contents and flipped the pages to that section of the book. “Wait. What was the professor’s father’s name? Her married name was Linden.”

  There were several citizens of Sweet Cove’s early days profiled on the pages of the history book, but the girls couldn’t determine which man was the professor’s father.

  “How can we figure it out?” Jenna closed the book.

  “We could go to the town hall and look up birth records. The names of the professor’s father and mother will be listed on her birth certificate.” Angie’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. Professor Linden was born in Boston, not Sweet Cove. Betty Hayes told me that the professor’s father left town when he was a young man because he wanted the action of a city. The family lived in Boston. They used the Victorian for weekends and summer.”

  “Maybe Boston’s birth records are online?” Jenna questioned. “We don’t have much information to go on though. We don’t even know the professor’s birth date.”

  “I think her birth date would be on her death certificate. That would be filed in the town hall here.” Angie checked her phone for the time. “The town hall is probably closed for the day. We could try tomorrow.”

  The girls agreed that Angie would go to the town hall in the morning since Jenna needed to work on her jewelry production to fill all the online orders she’d recently received.

  Courtney opened the front door and came out to the porch with a platter of cookies. “The cookies I made with Mr. Finch are ready. Try them.”

  Jenna and Angie each removed a cookie from the tray and took bites. Angie’s eyes widened. “These are delicious. What are the ingredients?”

  Courtney put her hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at her sister. “You know it’s a secret recipe.”

  Angie pushed the rest of the cookie into her mouth. “I’m your sister.” The words came out muffled. “Tell me.”

  Courtney shook her head. Her honey colored hair was piled in a messy bun and the shaking loosened a few strands which hung down against her cheek. “I can’t. It’s not my recipe to give.”

  Angie groaned and took another cookie from the plate. Courtney offered Jenna another one.

  “They’re delicious, but I’m having dinner with Tom tonight and I don’t want to ruin my appetite.” She stood up. “I’d better get to work on some jewelry.” Jenna went inside to her shop.

  Courtney saw the book from the historical society. “What did you learn?”

  Angie filled her in on what they’d read.

  “So, not a whole lot.” Courtney rocked in the chair next to Angie. “Mr. Finch asked me to go to the candy store later to help him take an inventory of things. He hired a cleaning company to go through the place. You want to come with us?” Mr. Finch’s brother had owned the Sweet Cove candy store. Courtney and Angie found his dead body in the store one morning and they helped to figure out who killed him.

  Courtney said, “If you can come, I’d sort of like you with us. Being in there makes me a little uncomfortable. You know, because we found the dead body and all. ”

  “Sure, I’ll go with you,” Angie said, then narrowed her eyes. “But only if you give me that cookie recipe.”

  Courtney eyed her sister and got up to go back inside the house. “Nope.”

  Chapter 4

  Angie, Courtney, and Mr. Finch walked around inside the back room of the candy shop.

  Mr. Finch ran his hand over the smooth marble counter. “I’ve only been in here once. It’s hard to believe a murder took place right in this room.”

  Courtney avoided stepping on the spot where Finch’s brother lay sprawled with a knife in his chest. “The cleaning company you hired did a good job.”

  Someone knocked on the glass window at the front of the shop. Angie went to the front room to see who was knocking. A woman’s face was pressed up against the glass peeking into the store. Angie moved to the store’s entrance and opened the door.

  A well-dressed, petite middle-aged woman with a long blonde bob gave Angie a smile. “I saw the lights. Are you open?”

  “No, I’m sorry. The shop is still closed. We’re just doing some inventory.”

  The woman’s smile faded. “I was so hoping you were back in business.” She looked longingly over Angie’s shoulder at the now empty candy cases. “When will the store be opening again?”

  Before Angie could reply, Mr. Finch came up beside her. “Hello. I’m Victor Finch. My brother owned the shop.”

  “Oh,” the blonde woman said. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

  Finch gave a slight nod.

  Courtney joined the others in the front of the store.

  “We loved the chocolates your brother made. We really miss them.” The woman pulled her cardigan around her against the slight chill of the evening air. “I was doing an errand and saw the lights and rushed over. My mother, she’s ninety, she loves the candy we bought here. She won’t eat any other kind. She was devastated when she heard the shop had closed.” She raised her eyebrows. “Oh. Not just because of the candy. Because your brother died, too.”

  Mr. Finch had both hands folded over the top of his cane. “We’ll be opening again very soon. So tell your mother there’s no need to fret.”

  Angie and Courtney turned to Mr. Finch, their eyes wide. They had no idea the store would be opening again.

  The woman’s face lit up. “That’s wonderful. My mother will be so pleased.” She backed away and started down the sidewalk. “See you soon.” She gave a little wave.

  “You’re going to open the store?” Angie asked.

  “I signed the lease this morning with the lovely Miss Betty Hayes. She is an excellent Realtor.” Finch closed and locked the door. “I need to keep busy and I’ve always wanted to have a candy store. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by. I taught my brother to make confections.” Finch winked at the girls. “I was always the better candy maker.”

  “I’m glad for you.” Courtney touched Finch’s arm.

  Mr. Finch straightened up and cleared his throat. “Miss Courtney, I have a business proposition for you. You are a natural at candy and confection making. I would like to offer you the position as my apprentice.”

  “Really?” Courtney’s blue eyes shined.

  “That’s not the full proposition. I’d like you to be my business partner.”

  Courtney’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  “We will own the store fifty-fifty. We’ll change the name to Finch and Roseland Confectioners. When you’re ready, I would like to turn the store over to you. I signed a one-year lease. In that time, you will be able to master the candy making and the business side of things. Then I will retire and the store will be yours.”

  Courtney leaned against a candy counter. “I’m shocked.” She looked at Angie. “What do you think?”

  Angie smiled. “What do you think?”

  A huge smile formed on Courtney’s face. “I’d love to. I really would.” She let out a whoop. “I can’t wait.”

  Finch chuckled. He held out his hand and he and Courtney shook. “Welcome to Finch and Roseland’s.”

  Angie hugged them. “I’m hap
py for you two. It will be a wonderful partnership.”

  Finch said, “We should make an appointment to see Attorney Ford so he can draw up the business papers for us to sign.”

  “Wow. I can’t believe this. Thank you so much.” Courtney hugged Finch.

  A knock sounded at the door. Angie turned to see the blonde woman back again.

  “Sorry to bother, but aren’t you the owner of The Sweet Dreams Bake shop? Until it closed recently?”

  Angie nodded.

  “My mother loved your baked goods. She always asks me to keep an eye out for you in town.” The woman fidgeted. “I hate to pester you. I was wondering if I could order some bakery items from you? Do you freelance now?”

  Angie nodded causing her honey colored hair to swing gently over her shoulders. “I do some baking for a few restaurants and hotels in town.”

  “You see, my mother is in something of a funk, with her two favorite shops closed. She’d just love it if you’d take a private order.” The woman looked almost sheepish. “Would you?”

  Angie decided to help out by baking the older woman her favorite treat. “I guess I could, sure. It wouldn’t be any trouble.”

  The woman clapped her hands together. “Thank you so much.” She opened her handbag and removed a pen and a small notebook. She started scribbling on the paper. “Here’s what I’d like to order. And here is our address.” The woman looked up. “Would you deliver?”

  “Ah, sure. I can do that.”

  “Oh, thank you. Mother would love to meet you. She doesn’t get out much.” The woman handed the paper to Angie. “I’m Denise Landers, by the way. I appreciate you doing this.” The woman placed the notebook and pen back in her handbag and clasped it. “I can’t wait to tell mother I ran into you. She won’t believe it. She’ll be so happy.” Mrs. Landers gave Angie a little wave as she hurried away.

  Angie closed the door. “Well. That was unexpected.” She chuckled. Let’s turn off the lights in this room so she doesn’t come back.” Courtney and Mr. Finch went into the back of the shop to iron out some details of their new business venture, while Angie walked around the room with a clipboard making notes about the equipment and supplies. Something pricked at her as she made her notes. She couldn’t quite place what was worrying her. As she went through the checklist of things on the clipboard, she glanced back towards the front area of the candy store.