I interrupted him. “We all have plans sometimes. But if I’ve learned anything over the past few years, it’s that things rarely ever work out the way you expect them to.”
“Yeah? Well, I’ve learned that money can buy almost anything. And I have more money than anyone in this town.”
“Gloat all you want—”
He puffed his chest out. “Oh, I will. You know I’m right.”
“That’s not the point.”
“To me, it is.”
“In my mind, it’s more important to realize that life can change in an instant around here. I mean, haven’t you been paying attention to all the crazy things that have been going on recently?”
“Sure, but none of that stuff has anything to do with me.”
I shook my head. “So it’s never occurred to you that the rug could be pulled out from under you one day? Because it could easily happen if you’re not careful.”
“Why don’t you go and try to scare someone else?” he said. “I have work to do.”
Jake walked away.
I was determined to get the last word in. “I’m not trying to scare you. I’m trying to warn you.”
Jake kept walking and didn’t turn back.
As he headed to his car, I stood on the sidewalk and fumed.
Chapter Ten
What an emotional morning. Then again, it had been a highly charged past couple of days. If there weren’t lights and decorations everywhere I turned, I could have easily forgotten that Christmas was a little more than a week away.
Yet despite the constant visual reminders, with Julie’s disappearance, celebrating the holidays was the last thing on my mind. Julie’s potential whereabouts were my focus. And nothing else even came close.
That never became more apparent than when I completely blanked out in the middle of my shift at Daley Buzz.
“Sabrina. Where’s that mint mocha?” Elizabeth asked.
The sound of my mother’s voice pulled my head out of the clouds.
I made the mocha and gave it to the customer who had ordered it.
When the customer walked away, my mother pulled me aside.
“Why don’t you head home early today?” Elizabeth said.
I checked the time on my smartphone. “But there’s still over two hours left on my shift.”
“That’s okay. The morning rush is over. Kelly and I can handle things.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m doing you a favor.”
I shrugged. “Why?”
“You look like you could use a break.”
“So I spaced out for a second. The customer still got their mint mocha.”
“It’s not just that. It has been a rough day for you—”
“Mom, I’m fine.”
“If it was just Jake Williamson we were talking about, maybe I’d agree, but with Julie still missing, you must be on complete overload.”
I averted my eyes and stared at the ground as my emotions swelled.
“Dear, I know that Julie’s disappearance must really hit close to home.”
“Mom, I understand that you’re just trying to look out for me, but I’m staying here—”
Elizabeth wouldn’t even let me finish. “Sabrina, listen to your mother. You don’t think I know when you’re not yourself? When the similarities between your sister’s disappearance and Julie going missing are eating you up inside?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but my mother continued talking.
“Honey, just take the rest of the day off and try to take your mind off of this case,” Elizabeth said.
“But that’s the thing. If I go home, it’ll be hard to think about anything other than this case. I’ll just sit on my couch, obsessing about Julie,” I said. “At least if I stay here, work can distract me.”
“I don’t agree.”
“I really don’t want to argue with you today.”
“Trust me. That’s the last thing I want to do right now. Now, I’ve told you what I think you should do. But if you insist on being stubborn—”
“It’s not just that, Mom. I’m speaking from experience here. I’ve gone home early during a situation like this before. And you know what I did?”
“What?”
“Sat on my couch, obsessing about things. It was a disaster. I couldn’t quiet my thoughts at all. That’s why I’m in no hurry to go home.”
“All right. Suit yourself. I just thought I’d throw that option out there.”
“I understand. And thank you for looking out for me.”
“Of course,” Elizabeth replied. “If there’s anything else I can do, let me know.”
“I wish there was,” I said.
She stared deep into my eyes. “Just one more thing. Even though this case is similar to what happened to your sister, it doesn’t mean it will turn out the same way.”
“I know that. As a matter of fact, I’ve been praying like crazy that Julie will be found alive,” I said.
“Good. During times like this, there can never be too much prayer.”
Chapter Eleven
The next day
Another morning arrived without any new developments in the case. With each passing day that the investigation stretched on, it became harder to retain hope.
That said, I tried to stay as optimistic as I could. David and the rest of the members of the police department were doing everything in their power to find Julie. I had to believe that they would eventually discover her whereabouts.
It felt strange to sit this case out. To just remain on the sidelines. But unlike with homicide investigations, I felt completely out of my element when it came to missing-persons cases.
That wasn’t all. Equally disturbing to me were the eerie similarities that this case shared with my sister’s disappearance over a decade before. It was hard for me to think about Julie going missing without memories of my sister popping into my head.
Emotionally, I was standing on really unsteady ground. I just wanted to try to get my bearings back. But that was easier said than done.
Especially when I saw Wally Tuttle entering Daley Buzz that morning looking completely haggard. His face was unshaven. His eyes were bloodshot. And his patience appeared to be worn thin. He ordered a triple espresso and gulped it down. From there, he stared out into the distance with a look of concern all over his face.
“I can’t believe Julie is still missing. Where could she be?” he asked.
I grimaced. “David is doing everything he can.”
“Yeah. But is that going to be good enough?”
I looked down at the ground.
“This is just so agonizing…waiting for any kind of news,” he said.
“I understand.”
“I’ll bet. Especially after what happened to your sister.”
I tensed up.
When I remained quiet for a few seconds, Wally reached out to me.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought Jessica up,” he said.
“Probably not, but let’s just move on,” I replied.
Wally ignored my request and lingered on the topic of my sister. “I’m still so sorry about what happened to Jessica. I don’t know what I’d do if Julie isn’t found alive.”
“Wally, don’t talk like that. David is doing everything in his power to find her.”
“I know. But last I checked, he’s just as stumped as ever. Has that changed?” he asked.
I reluctantly shook my head.
Wally groaned. “Exactly. That’s what I was afraid of.”
“You have to hold out hope.”
“Trust me. I’m hoping and praying for the best, but it’s hard to keep from fearing the worst.”
I grimaced. “I wish I could tell you that everything is going to be fine. That Julie will be back with you soon…but having been through a situation like this before, I know there are no guarantees.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Wally groaned. “I just figur
ed that the police would have found her already. I mean, it’s been days, and they don’t seem to have any clue where she is or what happened to her. As far as I can tell, they don’t even have any leads.”
“I know you wish things were going faster, but I have to remind you that it is still pretty early in the case.”
“And yet no one at the police department seems to have any leads. You can’t tell me that isn’t troubling.”
“It is. But you never know where a break might come from. I’ve worked on some investigations where it seemed like all hope was lost. Then a lead would come out of nowhere.”
“You’re not just telling me that to try to make me feel better, are you?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s the truth. Sometimes, you stumble upon a crucial piece of the puzzle when you least expect it.”
“I’ll have to take your word for that. All I know is that when it comes to this case, things aren’t looking good.”
“Maybe there’s a way we can turn things in our favor.”
He gave me a blank stare. “How?”
“One thing I have learned from investigations in the past is that sometimes details that don’t appear to be important at first glance can actually be quite significant upon further inspection.”
“Such as?”
“Think back to the night of the party. When was the last time you talked to Julie?” I asked.
“Just a few hours before she disappeared. I told her that I would pick her up at six thirty that night.”
“So then you finished up at work and went home.”
He nodded.
“What happened after that?” I said.
“I went out for a run, came back home, took a shower, got dressed, then headed over to Julie’s place to pick her up. She didn’t answer her door, so I called her. When she didn’t pick up, I phoned Home Away From Home Cooking to see if she was still at work. Her boss told me she had left more than an hour before. I drove over to the party on the off chance that she was there, but she wasn’t. And you know the rest.”
I exhaled. “Did Julie tell you she was going to stop somewhere on the way home from work that day?”
He shook his head. “No. She was just going to go home, get changed for the party, then wait for me to pick her up.”
“Maybe she stopped to get gas on the way home. Or went to the local supermarket.”
“Sabrina, David has already gone through all of those possibilities with me.”
“I know. I’m just thinking out loud. Trying to come up with an idea of what might have happened to her.”
“You mean something other than the worst-case scenario?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Unfortunately, that scenario is looking more likely.”
“Don’t talk like that.”
“Sabrina. The last thing I want to do is to believe the worst. But it’s not easy to stay positive at a time like this.”
“I know,” I said. “But you have to find a way.”
Chapter Twelve
The next day
“Why hasn’t David called me yet?” I asked.
I checked the time on my phone again as a sense of disbelief took hold of me. I had expected my boyfriend to call me shortly before I woke up in the morning, as he usually did. Instead, I was halfway through my shift at Daley Buzz and had not heard a peep from him. That was quite odd.
As was the fact that David had not popped in to the coffee shop to order his customary double espresso. The rare mornings that he didn’t come in to get a jolt of caffeine, it was usually because he had gotten a break in a case that he was working on.
That said, on those occasions, he would still typically call or text me to inform me that he was in the thick of investigating. So the fact that I hadn’t heard a single word from him was practically unheard of.
I could only keep my concern about him at bay for so long before my patience whittled down to nothing. Finally, by midmorning, I had worked myself into a fervor.
I was about to take a break from work in order to step outside the coffee shop and give him another call.
Before I had the chance to dial David’s number, my phone rang. Talk about an incredible sense of timing.
I answered without even checking the caller identification screen on my phone.
“David, is that you?” I asked.
When a male voice that didn’t belong to my boyfriend replied over the phone line, I was disappointed. Not to mention rather shocked. Especially when I realized that it was Wally Tuttle who had called me.
“This isn’t David,” Wally replied.
My nose scrunched. “Wally? Why are you calling—?”
A panicked tone was in his voice. “Sabrina, you have to listen to me very carefully—”
Concern came to my face. “Why do you sound so frantic? What happened?”
“I didn’t do it,” Wally replied.
“You didn’t do what?” I asked.
“You have to believe me.”
Unfortunately, Wally wasn’t making much sense. At the exact moment when I needed him to be as clear as possible, his replies were fragmented.
To make matters worse, he didn’t seem to be listening to me. It was like we were having two different conversations.
I tried to get some clarity. “Wally, you need to back up a little. What’s going on?”
“The police are here,” he replied.
“Wait a minute. Where?” I asked.
“They just showed up at my door.”
My eyes widened. “So they are at your house? Are they questioning you again?”
“No.”
“Then why are the police there?”
“Because they found her body.”
A queasy feeling came to my stomach. “Whose?”
“Julie’s.”
I gasped. For a moment, I stopped breathing. When my heart did resume beating, I nearly tripped over my tongue. Thankfully, I managed to get my question out.
“So wait…Julie’s dead?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Shockwaves reverberated through my body. Words were suddenly hard to come by. I became choked up. When I was finally able to slow my breathing down, I replied, “What happened? Where did they find it?”
Wally didn’t answer my questions. Instead, he became more frantic. “You have to talk some sense into your boyfriend. I didn’t do it.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “Wally, I need more information. Where did they find the body?”
Once again, he ignored my question. He replied with sheer terror in his voice. “I think they are going to arrest me.”
I opened my mouth to speak but couldn’t get any words out in time.
I then heard a second male voice over the phone line. I immediately recognized that voice. It was David.
“Wally, put the phone down,” David said.
A shiver went down my spine. I yelled into the phone. “David? What’s happening over there?”
Just then, the call dropped.
Chapter Thirteen
I hated to leave my mother short-staffed at Daley Buzz, but Wally’s unexpected phone call had left me with more questions than answers. If that wasn’t bad enough, what little information I did know was absolutely shocking. I left work in a hurry and dashed over to Wally’s place.
Ten minutes later, my car pulled up in front of my ex-boyfriend’s recently purchased green ranch-style house. By the looks of it, the entire Treasure Cove Police Department was on the scene. The medical examiner’s van was in the driveway. A half dozen squad cars were on the street in front of the house.
I ended up parking on the side of the road a few houses down from Wally’s. As I got out of my sedan and approached Wally’s place, Deputy Joe Donaldson was cordoning off the area with yellow tape to keep the growing collection of concerned neighbors from interfering with the ongoing investigation.
It would take a lot more than
just some tape to keep me from getting answers. Especially when I spotted Wally being detained in the back of one of the squad cars.
As I reached the deputy, he gave me a surprised look.
“I was wondering if you were going to show up,” Deputy Donaldson said.
I had an interesting history with the police department. And David’s coworkers. Not surprisingly, for a long time, the police captain didn’t want me anywhere near a crime scene. I didn’t blame him. He was just following protocol. A number of the deputies also had some mixed reactions about my freelance sleuthing.
Deputy Donaldson was one of the last to warm up to me. But after all of the homicide cases that I had a hand in solving, it was impossible to deny my investigative skills. Even the captain, who was staunch about protocols, had finally become more lax with his policies and had recently allowed me to consult on a few cases.
Deputy Donaldson’s formerly icy exterior toward me had thawed as well. Not to the point where he greeted my presence with a smile. But at least he didn’t scowl the moment he spotted me approaching a crime scene anymore. In my book, any progress was better than nothing.
“I would have been here sooner, but David hasn’t been answering his phone,” I said.
“The detective has been busy,” Donaldson replied.
“Too busy to even text me back?” I asked.
Donaldson looked like he had no interest in tackling that subject. “That’s between you and him.”
“You’re right. It is. Now let me get by. I need to talk to him.”
“I know you probably don’t want to hear this—”
I put my hands on my hips. “Are you going to give me a hard time?”
He shook his head. “I was going to say that I don’t think there’s any investigating left for you to do. This case looks to be pretty open and shut.”
“You might be right. Then again, sometimes appearances are deceiving. That’s why I want to get all the information that I can.”
Donaldson opened his mouth to reply, but before he was able to get any words out, I spotted David speaking with the medical examiner about twenty feet away.
“David!” I yelled out.
Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 80
