SCENT OF A MYSTERY...A CITRUS BEACH MYSTERY (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 2)

by Victoria LK Williams

  Taking Paul’s hand, Lucy led him over to the first make-shift table and began to show him some of the items they had managed to salvage so far. While she talked, he reached out and picked up the same wooden box that had caught Kim Heart’s eye. Turning it over, he brushed off more of the sand caked to the bottom and saw that it had a lock underneath to keep it firmly sealed. Absentmindedly, he continued to hold it as he listened to his wife. After a few minutes, Paul noticed Barney following his every move, occasionally whining at the two of them. Thinking the puppy just wanted some attention, Paul put the box down on the edge of the table and squatted down to give the little guy a belly rub, which he gratefully accepted.

  Paul and Lucy wandered over to the next table and that’s when the puppy saw his chance. Not hesitating for a moment, Barney stretched on his hind legs and grabbed the wooden box and snuck under the table with it without anyone noticing.

  “So what do you think, Paul,” Megan asked when she returned.

  Hearing her voice, Barney scrambled out from under the table to see if she happened to have brought food with her. Finding out that she hadn’t, the puppy accepted her pat on the head and went back to lie under the table.

  “I think that you two are going to make a lot of folks happy. These items you’ve recovered are priceless. Lucy said that you gave the office number for people to contact with questions. I’ll let Janice know what’s going on when I get back, so she’s prepared for the phone calls. I’m sure that Kim’s report will be on the evening news and then the real fun will start.”

  Walking back to the truck, he pulled down the tailgate and motioned for the women to join him.

  “Give me a hand unloading these supplies. I’ll refill the generator for you before I leave and I want to take a look at where those stairs were ripped off the porch. I want to get a crew up here as soon as we can and start on the repairs for Mrs. Potter.”

  Grabbing two of the four gas cans, Paul began to unload. With the help of Lucy and Megan, they made short work of the job and were soon ready to go upstairs to eat the dinner waiting for them. Calling for Barney to join them, Megan started up the stairs. When the dog didn’t race to go up the stairs first, she was surprised to see he had the wooden box in his mouth and was waiting for her to notice his treasure.

  “No, Barney. That’s not a toy, you silly dog. Give it here, boy.” Putting out her hand, Megan took the box when he brought it to her. Picking him up, she Laughed at the puppy and continued up the stairs with Lucy and Paul following. Once inside, she put Barney down on the floor and the box on the table by the door. Lucy dragged Paul in to introduce him to the cat in the back room, paving the way to convincing him they needed to take her home if they could not find her owners. Shaking her head in pity for Paul (he didn’t stand a chance once Lucy decided she wanted something), Megan went into the kitchen and pulled the food out of the insulated box Paul had brought in, setting everything out on the table.

  Over dinner, Paul brought Megan and Lucy up to date on what was going on at home and with the status of their clients’ cleanup and repairs. Power and phone lines were mostly up and repaired in their area, and soon workers would be headed up to Lady Fish Bay to help get life back to normal for its citizens. Paul predicted that the cottage would have electricity by the middle of the week.

  When they finished eating, Megan began the cleanup, giving the couple a little bit of time to themselves, since Paul would be leaving shortly for the two-hour drive south. By the time she had wiped away the last crumb off the table, she could hear laughter and barking coming from the other room. Curious about what was going on, Megan threw the cloth in the sink and went in to join them.

  Ginger, the cat, was curled up in Lucy’s lap while Paul was trying to take something from the puppy’s mouth. While they had been eating, Barney had managed to get hold of the wooden box again and was determined to keep it away from anyone who dared to take it from him. Walking into the room, Megan sat down next to Lucy and reached over to pet the cat.

  “There is something about that box that just seems to captivate Barney. He seemed to hone in on its burial spot on the beach and this is the second time he’s stolen it! Not only that, but the camera man zoomed in on it and Kim Heart’s attention was drawn to it. Come to think of it … that was the one thing that you picked up too, Paul,” noted Lucy.

  “Then maybe we need to take a closer look at it ourselves,” Megan replied as she leaned forward and gently tugged it out of her dog’s mouth. Pulling a doggy treat from her pocket, she rewarded Barney for giving up the box. He accepted the treat with a sad look at his lost treasure.

  The three adults looked down at the box in Megan’s hand, wondering what it was about it that attracted the puppy so much. Most of the sand that had caked the surface was now worn off from all the handling and the dog’s tongue. It was obviously a box that belong to a young girl and had been well used as most of the paint had been worn off from age and use. Turning it over in in her hands, Megan also saw the lock on the bottom and ran her fingers over it.

  “If we open this, we might find out who it belongs to. What do you say?” she asked.

  “I don’t think it would be a major invasion of privacy … it seems to be a child’s box and under the circumstances, I think we should, reasoned Lucy. Isn’t the whole idea of what we are doing to try and get this stuff back to the owners? Go ahead, Megan.”

  Paul gave Megan the pocket knife he had already taken out of his pocket, knowing that she was going to open the box before she had even reasoned it out for herself. Slipping the tip of the knife into the center of the lock, she gave it a slight twist and watched the top pop open, the force of all the items inside being released giving momentum to the lid. Using her forefinger, Megan pushed the lid open all the way.

  Inside they found an array of childhood items, from a set of jacks to a blue ribbon won during a three-legged race. They pulled out old movie ticket stubs, pictures of a group of young girls, and childhood notes out of the box and laid them on the table in front of the couch. These were the treasures of a youngster and must have been very special to her at one time. While Lucy and Paul looked over the pictures, Megan found some newspaper articles held together with a paper clip stuck to the bottom of the box.

  “It looks like the Princess that owned this box was named Taylor--” Paul started to say, only to be interrupted by Megan, who was reading off one of the articles.

  “Taylor Jamison. Look at these articles. One is about Taylor winning a spelling bee at her elementary school.”

  Megan unclipped the articles and handed Paul the one she was reading about. Looking at the rest of them, she noticed that they seemed to be in chronological order, capturing the important moments in the young girl’s life. When she reached the two last articles, she didn’t hand them over like the others. Instead, she read them over twice and studied the picture on the top of the article.

  “What ‘ya got there Megan?” asked Paul as he noticed her intense study of the paper in her hand.

  She looked up at her cousin and handed him the paper. Motioning Lucy to take a look at it too, she waited to answer him until after Lucy had also had a chance to look it over.

  “Anyone else see what I’m seeing?”

  “Megan, one is about the disappearance of a man named Tom Jamison. The second is about seven years older and it’s a death notice. After reading it over, I can see that it’s Taylor’s father who has died. Poor kid, she was only ten years old when he disappeared. It says she was an only child and so was her father.” Lucy looked up from reading, and looked at Megan, puzzled about what she sounded so astounded about.

  “You’re missing it, Lucy. Look again. Am I right, Paul? You must know what I’m talking about. Look closely at the picture.”

  Paul and Lucy looked back down at the paper, concentrating on the picture like Megan told them to do. It only took a second or two, but they both looked at her in astonishment. After a second, all three of them exclaimed in rough u
nison.

  “He’s not dead!”

  “Unless this guy has a twin, then I’d say we’ve seen him in the last few months. And not down south where he lived either. I’m sure I’ve seen him around the Citrus Beach area.”

  “I don’t know, Paul. That seems pretty far-fetched. Why would someone put their family through the pain of not knowing where he was, being declared dead and then to go through the finality of a memorial service? It has to be someone who just looks like him. I mean they say everyone has a twin somewhere. Megan, what do you think?” Lucy looked at each of them, aware of where their thoughts were going, but not ready to go there herself.

  “I think that the chance of his having an identical twin that the family didn’t know about is pretty slim. Which makes me wonder two things: Why is Tom Jamison hiding out so far away from his home and business and why hasn’t he come forward to clarify things for his daughter, at least.” Paul answered before Megan could speak

  “I know the person we’re thinking of, but I don’t remember that name: Tom Jamison. The guy I’m thinking of is quiet and doesn’t get involved in what’s going on in town. It’s like he’s there, on the sidelines watching and trying to figure out where he fits in. I think he’s renting one of Charlotte’s cabins out in the old citrus groves, along the river. I wonder if she knows anything about him” Megan added.

  “Well, you know as well as I do, if anyone knows anything about what’s going on in town, then Charlotte would be the one.”

  The three of them laughed at Lucy’s words, and Paul picked up the article again to take a closer look at the picture. The longer he stared at it, the more he was sure the man he had seen around town was the same as the one in the obituary. After a few minutes, he put the picture back on the stack with the other articles, deciding to spend the little time he had concentrating on his wife before he had to leave. Once things settled down from the storm, he would do some nosing around to see if he could find out anything about the mystery man.

  By mutual consent, they put the subject of the articles they had found away and spent the last half hour Paul had to spend with them going over their immediate needs. Once they had that all settled, Megan hooked Barney to his leash and took him for a walk, giving Lucy and Paul some privacy to say goodbye.

  After the truck had pulled out of the drive, with Paul waving goodbye to them, the two women got back to work. Since it would be dark soon, they spent what little daylight they had left sorting the salvaged items they had so far onto different tables. Once darkness began to fall, they wrapped up their work and headed upstairs to shower and relax. It was going to be another night like the last, except tonight they could hear the sounds of other generators starting up. The residents of Lady Fish Bay were starting to return home and assess their damages.

  Chapter Six

  The next day was a repeat of the previous day. They found that items needing salvage were taking a little more effort to collect, but they continued on. Around four o’clock that afternoon, they once again watched a truck pull up the driveway. But this time the sign on the side said Citrus Beach Groves, instead of Citrus Beach Builders. Megan was delighted when she saw the passenger side door open and Mrs. Charlotte Potter climb down off the running board before Robert, her driver and the packinghouse foreman, could get to her side to offer assistance.

  “No, no I’m fine, Robert. There’s no need to fuss over me” Shooing the man away from her side, Charlotte Potter turned to Megan and Lucy and waved.

  “Hello, Dears. I’ve decided to come have a look at the progress you’re making. Robert, be a dear and pull out that basket we packed with dinner for everyone and take it up to the kitchen.” Bending over she rubbed the excited dog’s ears who had run to her as soon as he heard her voice. The two of them were good friends and Barney knew she would spoil him with attention. “Yes, Barney, I have a special treat for you too. Are you having a wonderful adventure, little man?”

  Straightening up from giving Barney some attention and after slipping him a doggy biscuit, she greeted each of the women with a hug. Giving Megan an extra-long stare, she saw excitement in the younger woman’s eyes.

  “So, you’ve created another project for yourself, have you? Megan, I hope you know that when I asked you to inspect the cottage, this was the last thing I thought you would get involved with. I was simply expecting a damage estimate and possibly that you would contact some of my neighbors to see if they needed any help. Lucy, can’t you rein her in when she gets these ideas?”

  “Come on, Charlotte, you know as well as I do that when Megan is on a roll, you either get out of the way or join in to help and minimize the damage,” laughed Lucy

  Megan joined in with their laughter, knowing that it was all in fun. Charlotte had told her many times that she had been just like Megan when she was younger. From some of the stories Lucy and Megan had heard through the years, it would seem as though Charlotte had a zest for life that often landed her in the middle of trouble too.

  “Well, I just couldn’t stand by and not try to help in any way I could. This just seemed to fall in my lap. And it felt right, too. Do you know what I mean? Sometimes the path you are supposed to take is clearly ahead of you; I think this was one of those times. Any ways, come see what we are doing. I can’t wait to hear your ideas. You might even recognize some of the things we’ve collected so far.”

  Putting her arms around the waist of the two younger women, Charlotte let them lead her up to the holding area they had created. She was impressed with the amount of work the two had accomplished in the short span of time that they had been at the cottage. She could clearly see what Megan and Lucy were trying to do with their pattern of sorting the collected items. Nodding her head with approval, Charlotte stepped up to the table closest to her and picked up an older picture of a couple in wedding attire, standing along the beach.

  “My husband and I were there when this picture was taken. It was a beautiful day and these two were so much in love. It’s a miracle that this picture not only escaped the wrath of the storm, but that you were able to find it and bring it here to be reclaimed. Beth Jamison will be forever grateful to you both.”

  Megan and Lucy exchanged a look with each other when Charlotte said the name Jamison. Megan gave a slight shake of her head, indicating to Lucy not to say anything about the box or their find inside it. She wanted to hear what Charlotte had to say about the Jamison family before she asked any questions.

  “This was so long ago, but it feels just like yesterday. We were great friends, Beth and I, when we were children. I used to come up here often with my daddy to fish and walk along the river. Beth and her family, the Parkers, lived here year round, and we always managed to spend the weekend together, collecting shells, swimming, fishing, and just having fun. She was a great reader and we would often take a blanket and just spend the day along the river, reading our books. We lost track of each other when high school started. I didn’t come up as often; we had a whole different set of friends. When we did see each other, we would spend time catching up and reminiscing, but our friendship was different. I think her wedding was one of the few times we saw each other as adults. Her husband was from Miami and after they married, they moved down that way.”

  Charlotte had a faraway look in her eyes as she remembered those childhood adventures she had shared with Beth Parker-Jamison. She sighed with regret for the years that had slipped past without contact between the two of them. She would have to be sure to get in touch with Beth, ensure that her pictures were returned to her, and catch up on the last thirty or so years. Giving the two close friends standing beside her a smile, Charlotte set the photograph back down on the table and continued with her inspection of the other salvaged items in front of her.

  The three of them spent the next half hour looking over the collection of items covering the tables while Barney happily went from person to person, getting attention and giving happy barks in return. At one point, Robert had come back down from putti
ng Charlotte's basket upstairs and let the women know that he was going to walk down to a few of the other cottages where they could hear the sounds of cleanup starting up. It was the sound of Lucy’s stomach growling with hunger that forced the ladies to climb the stairs to discover what delicious treats Charlotte’s cook had packed for their dinner.

  As they enjoyed their meal, the three of them discussed how they wanted to proceed with the next stage of the recovery project, getting these personal treasures back to their rightful owners.

  “The two of you have done so much in the last couple of days, but you are going to have to get back to Citrus Beach and your own lives. Megan, I would like to hire a couple of staff members to station themselves here during the day to continue what you’ve started. Paul has already confirmed that repairs will be quickly underway on the damage here and we should have power soon. If I could just have you plan out what needs to be done and then keep an eye on things, we should be able to move forward with returning much of what you’ve collected.”

  “I’d like to stay involved with this, Charlotte. I don’t mind driving back and forth as needed, now that the roads are being cleared and it’s safe. It’s amazing how fast the water retreated. My staff has a firm grip on what needs to be done back in Citrus Beach and I have been able to stay in touch without too much difficulty. With my phone and laptop in hand, it doesn’t matter if I am sitting behind my desk, or here at the cottage. Janice said that she had a list of people who would like to volunteer, so that would be a good place to start. There is still an opportunity to retrieve more from the debris field and I’d like to be able to salvage as much as possible. We can take our time sorting and returning items, but I think there is a limited time for collecting. The weather has been kind, but let’s face it, its summer and the next heavy thunderstorm or just a shift in the wind and then what’s left out there will be too damaged to be of any use to anyone,” Megan answered.