Lucy had nodded her head in agreement before she turned to the older women to answer as well.
“I agree with Megan. I do have to get back to finish an order of jewelry that needs to go out by the weekend, but then I want to get right back here and keep working too. We have such a small window of time to get this done right.”
“You two are special girls. I can’t thank you enough for all you are doing. However, I can supply you with whatever you need to get things done right. Megan, I want every hour accounted for and every cent spent to be logged onto the ledger. You have Cart-Blanche to order supplies and hire personnel. I want every effort made to reunite people with these memories you’re collecting. Don’t worry about the expense, my accountant can figure all that out. And if I know Henry, he’ll figure out a way to turn every penny spent into a deduction!”
The three of them laughed; they all knew Henry Carter and used his CPA services. The man was a wizard with numbers and taxes and they all relied on his services to keep their personal and business affairs in order.
“Now, I would like to make the suggestion that you two drive me back to Citrus Beach in that van of yours. Robert is prepared to spend the next couple of days here to act as security. This will give you both a much needed break and time to get back to your homes. Megan, you can return tomorrow if you want, but I think you both need to spend some time with family. This will also give you and Janice the opportunity to look over those volunteers and possibly hire a few to continue this work. By the time you get back here, there will be power and phone service. I would hazard a guess that some of my neighbors will be back by that time too, and they may be able to collect much of what is here for themselves. What do you say?”
Before either of them could answer Charlotte, Barney wandered out with the Ginger. Walking over to Charlotte, he sat in front of her with Ginger following closely behind. The cat rubbed her head against Charlotte’s ankles and purred. Bending over, she picked up the small animal and scratched her behind the ears, looking questioningly at Megan and Lucy.
“We seemed to have adopted a refugee from the storm. Or at least Barney has. She was so frightened that we couldn’t just leave her to fend for herself, so she’s been up here since we found her.”
“Well, I can see that Barney has taken her under his wing. Now the question is do we leave her here or take her with us?”
Before anyone could answer, Barney barked loudly and let them all know what he thought the answer should be. The cat should go where he went. Laughing, they agreed with the puppy’s sentiments. Without any hesitation, Charlotte emptied out the last of the picnic lunch in the basket that she had brought with her and held it out for the cat to inspect.
“This will make the perfect travel carrier for her. Now, you two, go collect your stuff and we’ll head out. We can make it home at a decent hour if we try.”
Chapter Seven
Charlotte had been correct; it had been wonderful to spend the night in her own bed. Megan slept in past her normal wakeup time the next morning, but when she did wake up, she felt refreshed and energized. They had arrived back in Citrus Beach around eight pm, but by the time Megan had dropped Charlotte and Lucy off said hello to her cousin, it was close to ten pm before she pulled into her own driveway. Fred had been happy to see both her and Barney, but Barney was pouting because his new friend, Ginger, had stayed with Lucy.
Finding herself full of energy, Megan took both dogs for a quick walk around the property and then grabbed a bagel smeared with cream cheese and headed over to the main office to see if Janice had left anything pressing that needed her attention. Even though she had slept in, she was still the only one at the office and she had twenty minutes or so before her staff began to arrive. It only took a few minutes to look over the notes posted to the monitor of her desktop computer. As usual, Janice had everything under control and Megan was able to quickly take care of her questions. Getting up out of the chair, Megan started to walk away, when she notice a folder labeled “Lady Fish Bay" sitting on the edge of the desk. She opened the folder to find that Janice had been busy and from the looks of the paperwork, she had also been in contact with Charlotte Potter.
Megan found that Janice had invoices for folding tables set for delivery the next day and there was paperwork showing that an open account had been set up at a local pack and ship business. Obviously Charlotte wanted to be sure that items were returned to their owners as soon as possible. She was pleased with the start Janice had made, but looking at it, she realized that this project could easily eat up a considerable amount of time that her staff had when they needed to be concentrating on their clients’ needs. Charlotte was right; they should look into hiring someone to work full time with Megan.
As she continued to look over the paperwork, Barney stood up and went to the door. Fred lifted his head from his spot under Megan’s desk to see what was going on, but not finding anything involving food, grunted and started to go back to sleep. A few seconds later, Megan heard the sound of a car driving slowly up the drive to park in front of the office. Expecting it to be Janice or Paul, Megan was surprised to hear someone tentatively knocking on the metal frame of the screened door a few moments later.
Looking up from the papers in her hand, Megan saw a be-speckled young woman looking at her through the screen. She was about the same age as Megan’s daughter, but a little shorter than Emma and her hair was a short wavy mass around her face. She reminded her of a young Meg Ryan. Smiling at the visitor in welcome, Megan got up and opened the door to let her enter.
“Good morning. How can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m so sorry to show up without an appointment, or calling ahead. But you see, I saw the piece on the news yesterday and I just wanted to get up here and talk to you. I think you have something that belonged to me years ago.”
“I’m sorry? I’m not sure what you are talking about. Have a seat and let’s see if I can help you. I’m Megan--”
“Cassidy. I know, they explained who you were on the news last night. Kim Heart did a report on your work up in Lady Fish Bay. That’s why I’m here. I want to help you with your work up there. You see I have family that used to live there. We have a small fishing cottage that we rent out to tourists that want to spend some time there on vacation, or that we can rent as timeshares. I think that is why some of our things may have been salvaged by you … we had a storage closet at the cottage with lots of old family pictures and stuff. I saw one of my childhood mementoes on the newscast when they showed the film clip of some of the things you have collected so far. I have lots of time on my hands, so if I can help in some small way, I would like to try.”
“Well, that’s great. I’m just now looking over a list of volunteers that have already called in to offer their help. Have a seat. Can I get you a cup of coffee? I was just going to put the pot onto brew.”
Before the young woman could answer, the honking of a car horn outside created a ruckus inside with both dogs running to the door, barking with excitement. Apologizing for their poor manners, Megan tried to hush her pets while walking back to the door to see who her new arrivals were. Seeing it was Paul’s truck, she opened the door to let the dogs out and then noticed that his passenger was not his wife.
“Charlotte, what in the world are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what’s going on?”
“Good morning, Megan. I found this lady at my truck this morning when I went to leave, hitching a ride. Talk about your pushy neighbors,” Paul laughed, before Charlotte answered.
“Oh, stop it, Paul. You knew I was going to need a ride. I’m here, Megan, to help you get started on your plans for Lady Fish Bay. I told you that I didn’t want you to do all the work yourself, so the first thing we need to do is get you some serious help. Volunteers are great, but I want you to have someone that can commit to this right through to the end. Come on, let’s get inside and roll up our sleeves. Paul, can you grab that box of donuts and bring them in?”
Walking ahead of Paul, Charlotte pushed past Megan and entered the office. Seeing the young girl seated in front of Megan’s desk, she pulled up short and apologized for interrupting their meeting. While she was apologizing, the younger woman gave her a long look before smiling at her with recognition.
“You’re Charlotte Potter, aren’t you? I recognize you from my grandmother’s photo albums. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you from Nana.” Standing up, she held her hand out for Charlotte to shake.
Charlotte took the offered hand, looking the woman over for some clue as to who she was. Megan saw that she didn’t have any idea whose hand she was shaking, so she took charge of the introductions.
“Charlotte, this young lady has come to help with the work to be done up at Lady Fish Bay. We were just about to introduce ourselves when you pulled up with Paul.”
“I’m so sorry, you don’t know who I am. My name is Taylor Jamison. Mrs. Potter, you knew my grandmother, Beth Parker-Jamison.”
“Oh, my goodness! Taylor I haven’t seen your family in years. How is your grandmother? And your daddy, I can still remember what a smart little boy he was. How is he?”
A look of sadness came across her face before she answered.
“My dad went missing a long time ago. I was just a little girl when it happened. I remember my mom had a funeral for him. That was the final straw for Nana; she hasn’t talked to my mom since that day.”
“Oh, Taylor, I’m so sorry. It must have broken your grandmother's heart.”
Megan was anxious to break into their conversation and blurt out what she and Lucy had found out, but until they could confirm their facts, she didn’t dare build up Taylor’s hopes. Instead, she stirred the conversation back to the work waiting to be done up in Lady Fish Bay.
“Taylor, I think I know the item you’re looking for. Is it a wooden box that you used to hold your favorite things in?” Taylor nodded and Megan continued. “We have it in a safe place and I would be thrilled to return it to you as soon as I can. Now you said you wanted to help out. Let’s see what hours you can work, and we’ll start our scheduling with you.”
“Well, to be honest, Megan, I can work as much as you need, when you need. I’m between jobs at the moment. I can do either the physical work, or any paper and research work that is going to have to be done. I’m sure there is going to be a lot of tedious work and believe me, I’m used to that.”
Charlotte and Megan exchanged looks, both were thinking the same thing: hire Taylor to run the retrieval job at Lady Fish Bay. Not only would it free Megan up to get back to her own business, but it would keep Taylor in the area until Megan could find out more about the man who might be her father. Plus, she had a vested interest in the work ahead of them, she knew the families involved. Charlotte took the lead and offered Taylor the job.
“Taylor, would you be interested in taking this on, under Megan’s guidance, becoming the coordinator of all of this? It would be a full-time job and we would be paying you as well. As a matter of fact, I will also include lodging at the site. The power will be back on at my cottage shortly and there are plenty of bedrooms that have no damage. We are going to have security there as well, so you will be perfectly safe. I think things will run much smoother if someone is there all the time. I know it seems very spontaneous, but it just seems like this was meant to be.”
“Wow, I mean, Yes!” Taylor didn’t hesitate or ask details; she was thrilled with the offer. It solved her problem of employment and housing all in one grand sweep. She had just left the Miami area after another one of her mother’s infamous temper-tantrums and she had promised herself she would not be going back, family business or not.
While the three of them were talking, Paul had entered the office, put the box of donuts on the counter next to the coffee pot, and was now listening in on their conversation. Catching his eye, Megan pointed to his office and rose up from her chair.
“Charlotte, why don’t you and Taylor catch up and work out the details of her taking up residence at the cottage. I’m planning on going back up later this afternoon, and if it’s feasible, Taylor could follow me up and get settled. I don’t want to lose any time on getting things returned to their rightful owners. While you two are talking, I need to go over a few things with Paul. I’ll be back in a bit. Coffee looks like it is ready, too.” Excusing herself, Megan followed Paul into his office.
Closing the door behind her, Megan began to pace in front of Paul’s desk while he sat down and waited.
“Paul, we have to determine if Taylor’s dad and the man we have both seen around town are one and the same. If I get her firmly established up at Lady Fish Bay, then there is little chance that she will just run into him. We need to do this without getting her involved, just in case we are wrong. Do you think that you and Lucy could do this?”
“I already started this morning. I’ve gone online and started to get some background on Tom Jamison. He was a very interesting man. Here, I’ve copied a few articles for you to read. I want to get Charlotte aside and ask her what she knows about the man that is renting the cabin out in the old grove. He’s been there for some time, yet he doesn’t seem to have made any attempts at becoming active in the community. Lucy is cramming to get her latest jewelry order done that came in while you two were up at the cottage, so I think you and I are going to have to tackle this for now.”
“That’s great that she got another order. Was it a custom design?” Megan was thrilled for her friend, who had started a small business designing jewelry with her own settings and fine gems.
“Yes, and it’s an order for an exclusive boutique down on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. I’ll let her give you all the details, but needless to say, she’s really excited about it.” Handing her the papers, Paul smiled as she slowed her pacing, but continued to move as she read.
“You weren’t kidding about Tom Jamison. He accomplished quite a bit with his work. I think I’m going to want to dig a little deeper into his background while you find out more about our mystery man in the grove. I’m positive we are going to find out they are one and the same man. But there has to be a reason that he hasn’t made contact with his daughter. It’s pretty obvious that she adored the man who was her father. I just hope that whatever we find out won’t end up hurting Taylor in the long run.”
“You are the first one to say that everything happens for a reason. Let’s just follow where our information takes us and play it by ear. When you and Taylor leave for Lady Fish Bay, I’ll corner Charlotte and find out how much she remembers about the Jamison family and how she came to rent out the cabin to him. I think I’ll even go out and introduce myself to the man. He is part of the community after all, even if he hasn’t made any effort to get involved.”
“Okay, but be careful. Listen, I’d better get out there and find out what Charlotte is cooking up with Taylor before she gets out of hand. You know her, once she has a project started it’s sometimes hard to rein her in. At least by the time we get back to the cottage, the power and utilities will be back up and working. I can take my laptop with me and do some background research on Tom Jamison and gently question Taylor about what she remembers about her father. She was pretty young when he disappeared, but a child’s impressions are often the most truthful and pure.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll take Charlotte to brunch once you all have finished laying out your plans for what you want to do next up at the cottage. I think I might even take that drive out to the groves today, when you and Taylor leave. Maybe I can find out something from him without his knowing what I’m fishing around for.”
Paul got up and walked back to the door while he finished speaking. Holding it open for Megan, he noticed that more cars where pulling into the driveway. The work day was about to begin in earnest and he knew it could get to be loud as employees entered the main office. Knowing that Megan wanted to touch base with her staff, he offered to take Charlotte and Taylor over to Megan’s private
office so they could continue to catch up and discuss Charlotte’s ideas for Lady Fish Bay. Promising to be over soon, Megan waved them off and turned to Janice, who was the first of her staff to walk through the door.
Twenty minutes later, Megan herself was walking over to her office, Barney at her side. Fred had curled up in his doggy bed next to Janice’s desk and Megan knew he would be content there for hours. It hadn’t taken long to clear up the few questions Janice had for her. Assured that things were running smoothly at Citrus Beach Concierge, Megan felt comfortable with her planned departure to the north.
Charlotte and Taylor looked up as Megan and Barney walked through the door, eager to discuss with her the plans they had outlined while she was busy. Taylor looked more confident than she had when Megan first met her and it was clear that she was getting along wonderfully with Charlotte. Barney went from the older woman to the younger, looking for pets and attention. While Taylor was bent over the dog, giving his upturned belly a rub, Megan noticed that she had pulled out some pictures to share with Charlotte. There was a family portrait that caught her eye, and she leaned forward to look closer. After studying it for several seconds she looked over at Charlotte, eyebrows raised. Charlotte gave a slight nod to indicate that she had noticed that the man in the picture looked familiar, but neither of them said anything out loud. Mouthing the words “talk to Paul," Megan moved over to take a seat next to Taylor, ready to listen to the ideas she had for the debris cleanup.
Chapter Eight
Taylor had not been joking when she said she was ready to start work and Megan was surprised to find that her car was packed with most of her personal possessions, as if she was looking for a place to stay. Megan wondered what had caused Taylor to just grab her things, leaving so quickly with no obvious thought of returning to her home. There was a story there and somehow Megan would find out what it was. There were a lot of things that Megan wanted to find out about Taylor, but she knew she would have to take it slow and not push the girl. It was going to be enough of a surprise for her if they found out the mystery man by the grove was her father.
SCENT OF A MYSTERY...A CITRUS BEACH MYSTERY (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 2) Page 7
