Cryptic Cove Cozy Mystery Box Set

by K P Stafford

  “Well, no, but she gave me the runaround and wasn’t very helpful. Said the county already had the court orders and we couldn’t do anything about it.”

  John sat in the chair by the window, his usual upbeat personality hadn’t been present in two days. “This is starting to feel just like that old case there.” He said as he pointed to the file folder on my desk.

  “What do you mean?”

  He rubbed his chin, “We felt railroaded by the county back then. And I’m feeling railroaded now about this case.”

  “You think there’s a connection?”

  “Not really. It just seems like things haven’t changed much over the past twenty-five years where county laws are concerned.”

  John stood up and walked to the door, “I’m going to see Bernie Copeland. This is still my town.”

  “That’s the spirit,” I said as he walked out the door.

  I flipped through the file on my desk hoping to find an answer. Like John, I didn’t think a twenty-five-year-old case had anything to do with this one, but this was my aunt’s disappearance and I wanted to know some of the details. It took about ten minutes to skim through it. It was almost like they didn’t try to find her. None of the old leads checked out. Much like the leads we had about this new case. Thinking back to the law firm I had worked at for two years, I was starting to see why lawyers were such a grumpy bunch. It was just as frustrating on the investigative end too.

  The door opened bringing me out of my thoughts. Jake Donovan stood there with a concerned look on his face.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I came by to apologize for my behavior the other day. I'm sorry the Swansons were found dead.”

  “Well, I guess you’ll have to pay out on that life insurance policy now.”

  “Look, I was being insensitive the other day. I thought they’d just gone on a short vacation.” He had a panged look on his face, “I didn’t expect them to show up…dead.”

  “No one did, but they are.”

  “Let me make it up to you over dinner.”

  My first thought was to decline. Not only did he irritate me, but he was so good looking while being irritating, I knew too much time with him could lead to trouble. Big trouble. It could be a good chance to get him to talk. At least that’s what I was hoping for. “I have plans tonight.”

  “How about Friday night then?”

  I didn’t want to seem too ambitious about it. “Let me check my calendar,” I said as I pulled out my cell phone and thumbed around on it. I knew I didn't have any plans, but he didn't. “Okay, Friday sounds good.”

  He smiled and my heart gave a quick skip. It’s a good thing I was sitting down or I’d be weak in the knees. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  He turned to leave.

  “Wait a minute,” I called after him, “Is it casual?”

  There was that smile again, but this time with a hint of mischief. “Semi-casual, maybe a bit dressy.” He winked as he turned to walk out the door.

  After he left I sat there worried about Friday getting here too soon. What is semi-casual? Jeans and pizza were obviously not the style or the menu. I’d have to dig through my closet to find something that doubled as casual and dressy. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

  CHAPTER 10

  Peyton arrived around six that evening. Paisley headed off to the living room to watch an old cartoon movie collection while we headed to the kitchen to start warming up Grams’ divine meatloaf.

  It had been a long day for both of us. The B&B business was hopping over the news of a murder in town. Our first order of business after popping the meatloaf and some mashed potatoes into the warming oven was to enjoy a cup of hot tea.

  Peyton took a sip of tea before looking at me and digging in. “What’s happened today? Do you know anything new?”

  I thought for a moment, not sure where to begin. “Not really, mostly a bunch of old news.”

  “What do you mean? Like what?”

  “John got the case file from my aunt’s disappearance, but there’s nothing in it.”

  Peyton crinkled her nose. She was really cute when she did it, but it always indicated her brain was working on something. “What do you mean? Is it related to this case?”

  “No, John thought he could fish out some information or tactics as a way to look at this case. But, apparently they didn’t put much thought into her disappearance back then.” I stood up to start getting the food out of the oven.

  Peyton grabbed some plates out of the cupboard. “That’s weird. Looks like that would have been a huge priority back then.”

  “I know. That’s why it’s so weird. The file is more like a teenage prank investigation.”

  We fixed our plates and sat down. I dug the file out of my bag and handed it to Peyton. “See, there’s barely anything in there.”

  Peyton thumbed through it between bites of food. “I see they questioned people who still live here. I see Mavis Clark, that creepy mortician. But you’re right. Nothing panned out and it’s like they gave up.” She sat the folder on the edge of the table. “What about those search warrants you were getting today?”

  “Pfft!” I huffed out, blowing my bangs out of my eyes. “That went nowhere. The county guys already had them so there’s nothing John and I can do.”

  “So, today was a total loss, huh?”

  “Well, not completely. Jake came by to apologize and asked me out again.”

  Her eyes perked up as a coy smile crossed her face. “Annnd..”

  I hesitated before answering. “We’re going out Friday night.”

  “You don’t seem too enthused.”

  “I do want to see if he’ll tell me anything, but I’m really nervous. He said it was semi-casual and I don’t have a clue what that means in this town.”

  “Ah. We’ll go through your clothes after we eat and if we can’t find anything, I’m sure I have something.”

  I had to laugh, Peyton has more clothes than anyone I’ve ever met. “I’m sure you do.” I took a sip of tea. “I’m just nervous about the whole thing. He was defensive the other day like he’s hiding something. I mean, why was their policy still on his desk almost a week after they’d been in to see him?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it takes a few days to get stuff in order?”

  “Could be, but I still think he’s hiding something. I don’t want him to catch on to my suspicions.” I thought for a few minutes. “Maybe he’s already on to me. Why else would he come by the office acting so nice and asking me out again?”

  “You’ll be fine,” Peyton replied.

  “Well, there’s more.”

  “You look worried. What is it?”

  “John went to see that Bernie Copeland today. He got kind of irate with John.”

  “What does that mean?”

  They've both gotten testy when questioned. What if they’re in some insurance scam together?”

  “All the more reason for you to go on that date. Let’s go find you something to wear.”

  As Peyton and I were going through my closet we heard the door slam downstairs and the voices of Grams and John. We went to see what was happening. Grams was pacing the living room and was madder than I’d ever seen her. She looked at me and sat on the sofa, a sadness overcame her. “I’m a suspect, Lexi. Can you believe that?” She was near tears so I walked over and sat beside her.

  “Why?” I asked and looked over at John. “What’s going on, John? Why is Grams a suspect?”

  John sat down in the chair. He looked deflated. “Your grandmother had a fight with the Swansons Friday night.”

  Grams piped up, “It was that Mavis Clark. She just had to run her big mouth to the county cops and old man Jordan at the paper about a misunderstanding we had.” She took in a long breath. “That’s all it was. I drove them home. Would I have done that if I wanted to kill them?”

  We all looked at each other. That bit of information could very well lead to suspicions. She had acc
ess to them when no one else was around. And a disagreement could be seen as motive.

  “Velda, why didn’t you tell me about this fight?” John asked.

  The look Grams gave him could have shot holes right through him. “I didn’t think it was important. We’ve fought a lot over the years, but that doesn’t change the fact they were dear friends.” She fought back tears. “There’s no way I could kill them. I couldn’t kill anyone. You know that John.”

  John raised an eyebrow. I hoped Grams didn’t see it. She’d be even more heartbroken. I made a mental note to myself to ask him about it when I got a chance.

  Grams finally got settled in after everyone left for the night. The day had been hard on her, but luckily, the cops didn’t take her in, just questioned her at the candle shop. I headed upstairs with the old case file under my arm. I knew it couldn’t help, but I didn’t know what else to do. I flipped through the pages. My eye caught a handwritten note scribbled across the bottom of one of the pages. It indicated that Grams had attacked Orvel Haynes after the disappearance of my aunt. Maybe that was what had John concerned earlier. Had she been mad enough to try to kill him all those years ago? Was it possible my sweet, loving grandmother had a dark side to her personality? I didn’t want to think about that. I knew there had to be another explanation. Besides, I had other suspects to keep in mind too.

  CHAPTER 11

  On Friday morning I went back to the burial site in the woods. I didn’t really expect to find anything, but the cops could have missed something. After reading the old case file of my aunt’s disappearance, I didn’t have much faith in these guys being any better.

  I looked around the dig site and saw several footprints. That was expected since several people walked all over the place digging up the bodies. One print stuck out. The tread looked to have a big blank spot. Possibly a piece missing that left a hole where tread should be. I wandered on past the area to make a circle around the site. Whoever dumped the bodies could have come in at several angles and maybe left a trace.

  I was about to give up when I noticed that strange foot print again. What was it doing this far away? I looked some more and noticed another one, headed up an overgrown trail. I decided to follow the trail to see if there were more prints. Fall leaves covered the ground, but some spots of dirt were still visible. If the killer walked over the patches of dirt, I might be able to find the tracks from time to time. I hadn’t been in these woods since I was a kid and couldn’t remember where all the trails led to. It was good exercise even if I didn’t find anything. With all the donuts being consumed in this town, I had to keep up my physical activity if I wanted to keep my figure. Not that I had a rock star body or anything, but I do like what I have and want to keep it that way.

  About an hour later, the trees started to thin and I could hear traffic. Was I close to town? According to my fit tracker, I’d walked about five miles since leaving the house. As the trees became more sparse, I started to see buildings. I trudged on ahead until I was at the edge of the woods. This trail had led to the back of the mortuary. Movement out of the corner of my eye grabbed my attention. I noticed the mortician speaking to someone. The mortician was talking to someone behind the tall wooden fence that separated the front of the side road to the back of the mortuary. He looked like he had been trying to close the gate when someone stopped him. There was no mistaking Orvel Haynes’ disheveled hair do, so I knew it was him. An arm reached out and grabbed him. He jerked away, but I did notice a black sleeve on the arm of the person behind the fence. I could barely see a silhouette through the cracks in the fence. I thought about moving, but there was nowhere to get a better view and I didn’t want to make any noise and get caught spying on them.

  Baxter flew up behind me and scared the bejeebus out of me. I ducked down behind a bush just as the mortician turned towards my location. I peeked through the bush and noticed the other person had left. I assumed it was a man, but I couldn’t be sure. The mortician closed the gate, walked to the back of the mortuary and disappeared through the door. That was close. I looked up at Baxter, “You almost gave away my position you silly bird!”

  He replied with a squawk. I stood up and headed back to the house. I was definitely going to be late for work since it’d take over an hour to walk back. John wouldn’t mind since I had something interesting to share with him, but the gossip box would be upset with me for not being there to answer the phone. Despite what was happening, I really was falling back in love with the place. I loved these woods as a kid. Peyton and I used to trample through them for hours every day. The cool morning air felt good as I walked. It also gave me time to think. Why did that footprint lead to the mortuary, of all places? And who did it belong to? I had an appointment with the mortician for Saturday to pick up his report on the Swanson’s deaths, so maybe I could snoop around and find out more about his mysterious meeting. I picked up my pace since I wasn’t looking for tracks on the way back.

  As I passed the place the couple had been buried, I glanced over and wondered if the mortician had something to do with it. He was creepy enough, but wouldn’t he have better ways to dispose of bodies?

  CHAPTER 12

  The closer it was to Jake picking me up, the more nervous I became. I checked myself in the full-length mirror. I did look darned good if I had to say so myself. I decided on a black spaghetti strap dress that fit just snug enough to hug my curves. The material was wool-like but it was super soft. I wore my black low-heeled strappy sandals and a light denim jacket instead of the suit jacket. I hoped this made it semi-casual. Peyton had fixed my hair in an upswept look with curls hanging loosely around my face. This should knock his socks off. The doorbell rang at seven on the dot. I took in a deep breath, tried to calm my nerves and walked to the door.

  Jake was hot! I had no idea a man could look so good in a black suit. He carried a bouquet of red roses. No date had ever given me flowers before. He placed them in my arms and extended his hand to escort me out to his car. To say I felt like Cinderella was an understatement. I started to suggest I take my car, so I’d have a quick get-away plan if I needed one, but seeing the passenger door already open on his red Miata changed my mind. Who was I to deny myself being treated like a lady, even if it was for only one night?

  As he seated me in the car, he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I looked up to the most delicious smile I’d ever seen. My lips yearned for his at that moment. He had a sparkle in his eyes. “You look divine,” he said as he closed the door and walked around to the driver side.

  My head was spinning as we drove through town. I couldn’t imagine where we were headed until he turned down into the Seaside area. Cryptic Cove sits on a high ridge over the sea. The whole area is built into a cove, but areas are open to the sea. The tourist area had chic boutiques, fancy dining and condos overlooking the sea. Many tourists came strictly to this area and never ventured around the cliffs into town.

  My heart started pounding at the thought of being taken to this area. Most of it was new, so it didn’t exist when I was a kid and I hadn’t had a chance to check it out since I’d returned. Jake reached over and touched my leg, “Relax Lexi. I think you’ll enjoy this.”

  My nerves were excited and jangled at the same time. I still had my suspicions about the guy, but feeling his hand on my leg, I had to admit the warmth felt good. It was nice to be touched. I was having trouble remembering the last date I’d been on, much less the last time I enjoyed the pleasure of being touched by a man.

  Driving down the narrow road towards the sea took my breath away. The lights from the piers and coastal mecca reminded me of a carnival. “Wow” was all I could say. I felt like a high school senior going to prom.

  We enjoyed a beautiful candle-lit dinner at Antonio’s. It was great for a romantic evening. Not so great for trying to get information out of him about the insurance policies. I don’t know if he caught on to what I was trying to do, but he simply refused to talk about work or anything related to the case
.

  After dinner, we went to his condo. From the top floor, I could see out over the inlet. Sailboats and yacht’s bobbled and gave the illusion of dancing lights across the water.

  I was feeling pensive about being at his place. It wasn’t a good idea, at all. He seated me on the sofa and poured me a glass of chilled champagne after he kicked on the gas fireplace and turned on soft music. “Did you bring me here to seduce me?” The question popped out before I could stop it.

  “Only if you want me to” he said. The sly grin on his face told me he could do a good job at it. “You’ve been here a few weeks and I thought you might be missing a taste of city life.”

  “You’d be right about that, but how do you know anything about me?”

  He laughed out loud, “I eat at the diner. I know you don’t really belong in this town anymore and,” he paused, “I probably know more about your history than you even remember.”

  “Oh yeah. The gossip box runs amuck in this place. I’m pretty sure everyone knows when everyone else goes to the bathroom.”

  He nodded his head in agreement.

  I sat my glass down on the coffee table. “That brings us to you. The town’s people don’t seem to know much about you.”

  “Are you fishing for information again?”

  “Maybe. You’re very secretive.”

  “Well, I learned fast how this town is and decided I wanted to keep some things for myself. So, maybe I am secretive.”

  “Tell me about the Swanson’s insurance policy.”

  He sank back into the sofa and ran his hand through his hair. I couldn’t help but find it a sexy gesture. I could also tell he didn’t want to discuss it.

  “Do you work all the time?” He finally asked.

  “Well, I did go to pre-law. I was being trained to be nosy, suspicious and live the job.”

  “That’s no way to live. You need some down time too. Trust me, I know.”