by Lyndsey Cole
Hannah snorted. She didn’t know Pam had a shred of a sense of humor. She lifted the lid of the box and helped herself. “To my latest career path.” She slid the box toward Jack so he could help himself, too.
Jack filled the third mug for Pam and topped off Hannah’s mug with the last of the coffee. “I heard it was a real spooky time,” Jack added. “Poor Hannah almost wet herself.”
Hannah tried to slap Jack’s arm but he dodged just in time. “That’s just mean, Jack. I almost fainted, but I was never even close to wetting myself.” She bit into the cupcake and tried to sound annoyed. “Glad you two are so entertained by my shock of a lifetime.”
Pam pulled the paper off a cupcake. “Wouldn’t it be great if Caroline put on her white gauzy dress and walked the beach during a full moon? I can think of more than a few people who might have a heart attack if she appeared like that.”
“Really, Pam? Aren’t you an officer of the law? And here you are hoping for people to have heart attacks? I am shocked!” Hannah put her hand over her heart.
“Okay, you two, that’s enough sarcasm. Now that we’re here together, we need to make a plan. Caroline said Olivia might be in danger. Luke is brewing up something to steal Hannah’s ocean front property. And, at the same time, someone has to figure out who killed Adele Bailey.” Jack looked directly at his daughter. “Are you making any progress on that last problem, Pam?”
“You know I can’t tell you that Rory’s alibi is about as elusive as Caroline, or Karla had a lover’s spat with him. But I can tell you that Moe tried to leave town, since Hannah’s the one that tipped us off about his plans in the first place.” She glanced at Hannah. “Thanks for that.”
Who was this new Deputy Pam Larson who was treating Hannah like a normal person?
“I see a shocked expression on your face,” Pam said to Hannah. “Caroline told me to cut you some slack, so don’t let me down. And don’t get in my way. Understand?”
“Ah, sure. Don’t we want the same thing? To find out who murdered Adele Bailey? The way I see it, Rory, Moe, and Karla all have motives to varying degrees and, possibly, they all had opportunity. I think I can get close to them and find out more information than they’d be willing to share with you. Is that a problem?”
Pam pulled her glasses off and chewed on the arm. “There’s no law against you talking to whoever you want to, but be careful. I don’t want to end up investigating who killed Hannah Holiday. That’s my biggest concern when you start to poke around and stir up a hornet’s nest.”
Hannah licked the chocolate crumbs from the edge of her mouth and slid her chair back. “Fair enough. Oh, I almost forgot. When I was with Karla, she had a mermaid necklace she said Moe gave to her. I’m pretty sure it belonged to Adele.”
“Moe explained that Adele returned it to him when she ended their relationship.”
“Moe gave Karla a returned gift from a different girlfriend? Real classy,” Jack said, his eyes rolling so far into his head they could have fallen out.
“I was thinking he took it from Adele after he slammed her in the back of her head with Rory’s shovel. That would have tied him to her pretty easily,” Hannah suggested, thinking it sounded like a more than plausible scenario.
“Moe isn’t that stupid,” Pam said. “He almost slipped out of town but, until we check out his alibi, I told him to stay put.”
“He has an alibi?” Hannah asked.
Pam tilted her head. “Yeah. He said he saw you on the beach near the marina. Did you see him?”
Hannah’s heart flip flopped. “No. I had trouble sleeping and walked along my stretch of beach, but I wasn’t near the beach with the sand sculptures. What was he up to?”
“He said he was walking off all the stress of the competition. One more question,” Pam said. “What time did your father get back to the cottage?” She flipped some pages in her notebook. “He told me he was back around midnight?”
Hannah shrugged. “If he got back then, he went out again because I saw him when I was out around fourish. I haven’t spent much time with him, but I can try to find out more details from my mom. She’s a bit easier to have an actual conversation with and not come away feeling like a tidal wave crashed over me.”
Pam nodded. “He wasn’t particularly cooperative when I questioned him this morning. Very evasive and answered with riddles in many cases. What’s he hiding?”
“It’s how he controls the situation. He’s a master,” Hannah answered. “My plan is to get under his skin to throw him off balance instead of letting him needle me.”
“Good luck with that,” Jack said. “Caroline warned me about your father but she has complete confidence in your ability to outsmart him.”
“Let’s hope so.” Hannah grabbed another cupcake before she left Jack’s house to search through Great Aunt Caroline’s old trunk in case something important was hiding in plain sight; something that even Caroline had forgotten about.
11
Hannah slid the heavy trunk out of her closet. She needed to lug it to her new cottage anyway, so with an old blanket covering it, she pulled it up the hill to Slo N EZ. Sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and her back against the wall, she lifted the lid.
Most of the items were old clothes that Hannah didn’t want to donate, and some of Caroline’s personal items including jewelry, knick knacks, and even an old doll. What Hannah dug underneath everything else for was a bundle of letters tied together with a purple ribbon. It seemed too personal to read when she first moved in, but under the current circumstances, she decided to take a look.
Not knowing what to expect, what she found surprised her thoroughly. The bulk of the letters were from Hannah’s mother. How strange that Joanna would keep in touch with Great Aunt Caroline when her father forbade any correspondence.
One letter after the other chronicled Hannah’s and Ruby’s lives in California. Nothing out of the ordinary, but Joanna shared school and sporting events, and even snippets about Luke with Great Aunt Caroline. It was interesting and unexpected in more ways than one. Hannah never knew her mother to disagree with her father or go against his wishes. Joanna moved up a notch on Hannah’s admiration chart.
Footsteps sounding on the porch outside startled Hannah. She quickly shoved the letters to the bottom of the trunk. She barely got the trunk covered with the old blanket before she saw her mother’s face through the window in the door.
Guilt filled her gut. Hannah should have checked to see how her mother was feeling after her father left.
“Mom. You found me,” Hannah said as she pulled the door open. “Not that I was hiding,” she added, hoping her words didn’t convey the guilt she felt. She’d never told them she was staying in Slo N EZ.
“Jack was in the office and suggested I check up here. This is your new cottage?” Joanna looked around Hannah into the cottage.
“Yeah, come on in. I haven’t finished moving in yet, as you can tell.” Hannah stepped aside and held her arm out for her mother to enter.
“Nice pink tent. You always did have a fondness for sleeping on the floor,” Joanna teased.
“I made this for Olivia. We had a sleepover here last night. Let’s sit on the porch and enjoy the view.”
“And the chairs.” Joanna laughed.
“And that. Is your migraine gone?”
“I think so. Your father was kind enough to entertain himself so I could sleep for most of the day.” Joanna put her hand on Hannah’s arm. “He’s worried about you, you know.”
Hannah clenched her jaw. “I don’t think he’s worried about me. He thinks he knows what’s best for me and I don’t agree. Let’s leave it at that.”
Joanna sighed. “I won’t interfere. We missed you and Ruby at dinner last night.”
That sentiment made it easy for Hannah to jump into the subject of Adele and get some information out of her mother. “How was your dinner with Adele last night? She must have been excited to win the competition.”
J
oanna smiled. “Adele was, I don’t know, distracted. She kept getting text messages which annoyed your father. You know how he expects to have your undivided attention during a meal. Anyway, there was definitely something bothering her but she tried to cover it up with laughing and chatting, but it didn’t fool me.”
“What did she do after dinner? Did she meet anyone?”
Joanna ran her fingers through her hair. “She said she was going to play pool somewhere. I didn’t pay too much attention since I was tired and wanted to go back to the cottage to read and relax. Your father gave her a ride after he dropped me off. He must have stayed and had a beer or two because I never even heard him come back.”
Most likely, Hannah’s father gave Adele a ride so he could keep an eye on her. Having a beer at the Pub and Pool Hall was definitely not Luke Holiday’s cup of tea, but he could lower himself if it gave him an excuse to watch over his cherished Adele.
“Did Dad say anything to you about who Adele was with?”
“As soon as we heard the news about Adele, he mentioned that boy who came in second in the sand sculpting competition. He and Adele argued. Your father said everyone witnessed it. I don’t know, Hannah. When your father makes up his mind about something, he never lets go.”
Hannah wasn’t going to disagree with that statement. Luke would do everything in his power to send Rory to prison if that was his goal. He also would continue to work on Hannah to sell her property. The question was, what angle would he come from? He’d already tried the direct approach and gotten nowhere. “How long are you and Dad staying in Hooks Harbor?”
Joanna flipped both hands up and shrugged. “That police woman told us to stick around so I guess we have to stay until Adele’s murder is solved.”
“You and Dad are suspects?” Hannah’s voice rose in shock.
“She never actually used that word, but since your dad was one of the last people to see her alive, she has to check alibis and that sort of thing, I guess. It doesn’t really matter since your dad doesn’t seem to be in any sort of rush to get going.”
“And you?”
“Except for visiting with you, Ruby, and Olivia, I would love to put this whole mess behind me.”
Joanna hated conflict and drama but Luke thrived on it. Hannah’s parents were definitely the opposites-attract type of a couple. To be honest, Hannah never could understand how her mother could tolerate her father but she chose to accept it for her mother’s sake.
Hannah patted her mother’s leg. “I’m sure Dad will get bored here sooner rather than later.”
“I don’t know about that. You know I try not to get between you and your father, but…”
Hannah’s stomach twisted in a knot. Any statement from Joanna that started with her bringing up getting between Hannah and her dad couldn’t be going anywhere good.
After a long pause, Joanna continued. “He’s dead set on you selling this property. I think it’s some kind of last revenge against Caroline since he always expected to inherit it.” Joanna stood. “Be careful, honey.”
Hannah leapt to her feet and grabbed her mother’s arm. “Be careful? Is Dad going to hurt me?”
“Oh no, nothing like that. But I don’t doubt that he has a plan that will make you choose between your property and something else that’s even more important to you. I had to warn you.”
And just like that, Joanna walked away from the cottage, her head down, her feet shuffling like an old, defeated person.
Hannah watched her mother walk to the beach and disappear. What could her father be planning? No point in making wild guesses. She locked the door of her new cottage and returned to Cottage One.
As Hannah reached for the door, it burst open.
“Samantha? What are you doing in here?” Hannah’s hand flew to her chest.
Of course, Samantha wanted to know everything about what was going on connected to Adele’s murder. She fancied herself a private investigator, at least that had always been her dream and she always managed to get involved in the nitty gritty details surrounding anything interesting.
Samantha grabbed Hannah’s hand and pulled her inside. For a petite eighty-year-old, she had plenty of strength in her grip. “Your dad has been stirring up trouble.”
Hannah followed Samantha inside and slammed the door shut. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any more interruptions. She opened her refrigerator, hoping to find something quick to eat while Samantha chattered in the background. Hannah twirled around when she heard Samantha mention her niece’s name.
“What did you say about Olivia?”
“Luke wants to take her to the aquarium in Boston. He didn’t even ask Ruby before he brainwashed Olivia, and now Ruby’s in an uproar. You have to fix this.”
“That man is nothing but trouble. Great Aunt Caroline warned me about this.”
Samantha cocked her head. “When did she warn you?”
Oops. Hannah gave herself a mental slap on the side of her head. “A letter. In a letter I found in her trunk. Um, Great Aunt Caroline said to keep an eye on Olivia.”
“And she mentioned Luke in the letter, too? That seems odd.”
“I’m jumping to conclusions. You know, keep an eye on Olivia and now something has come up.” Hannah watched Samantha’s reaction carefully, and just like Jack predicted, what else could Samantha do but accept Hannah’s explanation? Why would anyone suspect Great Aunt Caroline could still be alive?
“Your great aunt certainly had some foresight. What other advice did she give you?”
“That my father always expected to inherit this property and he would stop at nothing to get it.” Why not give Samantha that tidbit? It wouldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of eyes watching Luke and Olivia.
“Harrumph. That’s not going to happen. Your father must think pretty highly of himself.”
Hannah chuckled. “He sure does. You could teach him a thing or two.”
A grin spread across Samantha’s face. “I love a challenge, my dear, and you’ve just given me my next project—teach Mr. Luke Holiday that sometimes life gets swept off course by a riptide.”
12
Meg showed up in the Fishy Dish parking lot exactly at seven. With her truck popping, rattling, and backfiring, no one could miss her arrival even if their head was buried in the sand and they were hard of hearing.
Hannah grimaced. She hated riding in Meg’s truck. She always worried that they might never arrive at their destination. At least, not without having to walk the last few miles.
Samantha jumped up and tried to kick her heels together. It didn’t work. Hannah caught her before she crashed.
“This is so exciting,” Samantha said. “I hate to complain, but life was getting kind of boring around here.” She ticked off her agenda on her fingers. “Make coleslaw. Feed hungry people. Clean up. Start all over again. A dose of excitement is exactly what I need.”
Hannah listened and found nothing wrong with Samantha’s description of how the days went by at The Fishy Dish. Especially in comparison to the problems crashing around her at the moment. She’d take a nice boring routine over worrying about who killed Adele, what her father was planning, and keeping Olivia out of danger. She stuffed some bills in the pocket of her jeans and held the door for Samantha.
“Take care of everything while I’m gone, Nellie.”
Nellie raised her head off the couch and woofed.
Right, Hannah thought. If anyone broke in with a juicy bone for Nellie, they’d be able to clean the place out. The only satisfaction with that thought was that there was nothing of value. As a matter of fact, it would simplify her life and save Hannah from carting the rest of her belongings from this cottage to the new one.
Meg beeped the horn of her truck and stuck her head out the window. “Let’s move it, you two. We’ve got places to go and things to do.”
Wow, both Meg and Samantha acted like all the drama surrounding Adele’s death was an excuse to have a good time. All Hannah felt was dread and de
spair. Of course, they didn’t have the worry of losing a business or keeping their eye on a six-year-old to weigh them down.
“Why the long face?” Meg asked Hannah as she climbed into the back bench seat of the truck, leaving the front death trap for Samantha.
“Sorry if I’m not as enthusiastic as you two are to be out looking for a murderer.”
Meg and Samantha exchanged a look and shrugged their shoulders.
“I think you’re looking at this all wrong, Hannah,” Meg began. “We’re trying to put a puzzle together, one piece at a time. If all the pieces fit, then we’ll have the murderer. Why not have some fun before we get to that last piece? Play some pool, drink a few beers, ask a few questions, and maybe even flirt a little at the Pub and Pool Hall.” She twitched one eyebrow up and down.
“You two can do the flirting.”
“Unless Cal is there,” Samantha teased.
That produced a small lip spasm from Hannah. “Yeah, unless Cal is there.” She hoped he didn’t show up though, since he would be a major distraction from her goal of observing and eavesdropping. Tonight felt more like a job than a night out and she wanted it to be as productive as possible instead of looking into his ocean blue eyes and dreaming of rocking to sleep on his boat.
After half-listening to Meg and Samantha chatter about some of the tourists who’d showed up at The Fishy Dish, Meg’s truck bounced over the potholes in the parking lot of the Pub and Pool Hall.
“Ouch.” Hannah pushed herself forward so she was barely balanced at the edge of the seat.
Meg chortled. “You must have found the broken spring with that last pothole I hit.”
“I think it poked a hole through my jeans.”
“I hope there isn’t any blood on my backseat.” Meg twisted her head around to look at Hannah.
“No worries in that department, just a chunk of denim. Hey.” Hannah pointed to the Pub and Pool Hall sign on the roof of the building. “Your brother fixed the lights. I think I prefer the uniqueness of ub and Poo all.”
