by Lyndsey Cole
She let herself relax and enjoy his strong arms around her. Cal was her rock when times got tough, and right about now, there were too many loose ends that she couldn’t ignore.
She pulled away. “There’s not too much left here to carry to my new cottage, and if we’re quick, we should be done in time for me to get to The Fishy Dish to help Meg and Samantha with the lunch rush.”
They each grabbed a box of packed-up kitchen stuff and trudged up the hill. The sight of her new cottage made Hannah smile. She had to find the time to unpack and move in properly so Samantha could move into her old space. Hannah brought the boxes inside to unpack. Cal volunteered to be the pack mule, lugging everything else up from her old cottage.
She pulled a ceramic casserole dish from the box and rubbed her fingers over the smooth blue surface. It had belonged to her mother but Joanna passed it on to Hannah when she got her first apartment. The memories of cooking with her mother brought a tear to her eye.
Footsteps banged across her porch.
Nellie’s nails clacked over the hardwood floor toward the front door.
Hannah stood on her tippy toes and slid the dish into a cupboard. “Do you have more kitchen stuff?”
“I’m not sure what Cal dumped in my arms.”
Hannah twisted around, surprised to hear her mother’s voice instead of Cal’s. “Oh. You don’t have to carry stuff up.”
Joanna ignored Hannah’s comment. “Your father went for a walk and I want to talk to you without him listening to our conversation.” She put the box on Hannah’s kitchen counter. “I asked Cal to give us a few minutes alone. I hope that’s okay?”
Hannah nodded. It wasn’t like she had a choice at this point anyway. Her mother stood before her, obviously waiting to get something off her chest.
Joanna put her iPad on the small kitchen table in front of Hannah. “I brought this along for you.”
Hannah pulled two chairs closer to the table and waited for her mother to sit. Her stomach twisted into a knot of anticipation. Joanna was more the let’s-pretend-everything-is-okay type of person but Hannah suspected this conversation was going in an, it’s-time-we-air-out-the-problems direction.
Joanna cleared her throat. She folded her hands on the table in front of her. “I’m worried about your father.”
“What do you mean, Mom?” Hannah kept her face calm even though her insides felt like a worm wiggling on a hook.
A big sigh escaped through her lips and her body sagged. “I had such high hopes for this visit. You know, hang out with my girls, but it turned into a disaster around Adele. There, I said her name. Adele. She ruined everything in our family, didn’t she?”
“Is that what you think?” Of course Hannah agreed with her mother, but she wanted to hear what else Joanna thought about the situation. She was more than shocked to hear this sentiment from her mother after so many years of silence about the situation. Was Luke the only one who had been blinded by Adele’s manipulations?
Joanna shifted in her chair. She ran her fingers through her long hair. In some ways, at least on the surface, when Hannah looked at her mother, she saw an older version of herself. The similarities ended once she looked beyond their brown eyes, creamy skin, and long hair. Joanna had always cow-towed to Luke’s needs and Hannah insisted on being her own person.
“Yes. Adele, in her needy way, became your father’s project. And he can never let go of a project until it’s complete.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Hannah said with disgust dripping from her words. “Adele always needed more and more. She became a never-ending project.”
“That was the problem.” Joanna stood and looked out the window. “This is a fantastic view. I understand why you love it here. I think your father is jealous of you, Hannah.”
“Jealous? He should be proud of me and supportive, not envious and plotting to steal something I love.”
“One hurdle is gone.” Joanna turned around quickly. “Do you think you and your father can mend those fences now?”
Hannah shrugged. “It’s up to him. He still wants to play that game of pool, but if we play, it will destroy one of us, won’t it?” She opened her mother’s iPad and hit the photo icon.
“I mean, look at these photos. They’re all of Adele. “Her finger moved the photos across the screen. “You haven’t even taken one photo of me or Ruby or Olivia. Adele posing with her mermaid sculpture. Adele out to dinner with the two of you. Adele—”
Joanna grabbed the iPad from Hannah. “That’s not true.” She stared at the screen and searched through the photos herself. “Luke must have deleted all the photos of you girls.” Anguish laced her words. Fire burned in her eyes.
Joanna rushed from Hannah’s cottage.
“Where are you going, Mom?”
The door slammed closed behind Joanna, sending a blow straight to Hannah’s heart.
Luke destroyed everyone with his selfish needs.
21
Cal quietly returned to Hannah’s cottage with another armful of boxes. “This is about it from your cottage, but,” he placed Joanna’s iPad on the table, “I found this on the path. Your mother must have dropped it when she raced out of here.”
Hannah didn’t move from the spot in front of her window. Joanna was barely visible but she couldn’t take her eyes away until her mother’s slim body disappeared from view. Why would her father erase photos from the iPad? Was there something he didn’t want anyone to see?
Their visit managed to turn into a bigger disaster than she ever imagined. When Ruby waved the postcard in her face Friday morning, all she expected was an awkward and emotional visit, but now she was trying to solve a murder, save her business, and protect her niece. And her father’s behavior was suspicious at best and scary at worst if she let herself consider the possibilities of his involvement in any of her problems.
“Your mother asked me to stay away so she could talk to you,” Cal said. He lightly placed his hand on the small of her back. “What happened?”
How was Hannah supposed to explain her emotional turmoil? It was all too raw to put into words. “We talked about Adele. Of course. Even with her dead, she still has managed to dominate my family.” Hannah sighed deeply. “I have to see how today is shaping up in The Fishy Dish.”
She picked up the iPad and shoved it in one of her kitchen drawers. She’d study it later when she could be more objective. Maybe. Not that she wanted to see all the photos of Adele again.
Cal, Hannah, and Nellie walked down the path together. “I’ll make sure all the tables and umbrellas are set up, and rake the sand.” They split apart at the back door of the kitchen, Cal heading toward the tables with Nellie and Hannah entering the kitchen.
Meg’s head whipped around. She looked like she was about to explode with excitement. “I’ve been sitting on pins and needles waiting for you to get here. I’ve got some news.”
Samantha stopped chopping the cabbage for coleslaw. “And you didn’t share it with me already?”
“Hannah needs to hear it.” Meg leaned on the center island. “You know how Rory’s friend showed up and gave him an alibi?”
Hannah nodded. “Yeah, Rory dropped Karla off before he went to his friend’s house and didn’t take a walk on the beach like he planned.”
“But he might have taken that walk after all.” Meg crossed her arms with a you-won’t-believe-it expression on her face.
“The friend lied?” Samantha blurted out.
“Not exactly. Rory did go to the friend’s house, but the friend wasn’t there the whole time,” Meg explained.
“He went to the beach?” Hannah asked.
“No, nothing like that. Rory’s friend went to the Pub and Pool Hall. Michael fixed the lights in his sign on Friday, but they were out again by Saturday morning and he fixed them a second time on Saturday. But he never got around to checking his surveillance video until this morning to find out who broke them. He called to tell me who climbed on the roof early Saturday
morning around four and busted the lights. Michael figures he had to be away from his house for at least an hour.” She paused with a smile starting at the corners of her mouth. “The person on the video tape was Rory’s friend.”
“Was Rory with him? If they were together, he’d still have an alibi,” Hannah said.
Meg shook her head. “No one else was with him on the roof or in the car.”
“Odd. Why’d he do it then if he wasn’t showing off for his buddies?”
“Michael already confronted him with the information and said he wouldn’t call the police if he confessed and told him why he did it. It was a dumb dare and he thought early in the morning was the safest time to go. Obviously, he didn’t know about the camera.”
Hannah pulled on her braid. “Michael has to tell the police. This potentially gives Rory a chance to be at the scene of the crime.”
“Michael didn’t know this kid was Rory’s alibi. He will turn over the tape if he has to, but he wants you to talk to Rory first. Find out what you can with the threat of revealing the tape to get him to talk.”
“Okay. If Rory did lie, he’d better have a good explanation.” Hannah had her apron off and was out the door and in her car with her mind racing through all the possibilities. Was she wrong about Rory all along being the murderer? Why else would he lie about being on the beach? If he was.
It didn’t take Hannah long to drive into town and park on Main Street. She took a deep breath, rubbed Great Aunt Caroline’s ring for strength, and slid out of her car.
She looked up at the window of Rory’s apartment window that faced the street and saw a flicker of a shadow and the curtain falling back into place. Someone was definitely inside.
She took the steps two at a time and knocked on his door. “Rory? It’s Hannah. I need to talk to you.”
Silence met her words. She jiggled the door and it turned. Should she go in?
She licked her lips and tightened her muscles.
She pushed the door open and peeked inside.
Rory sat at his kitchen table working on a lobster sculpture.
“Can I come in, Rory?” Hannah forced her voice to sound calm and friendly.
“Sure. I’m in the middle of something, though. But have a seat if you want.”
Hannah stood just inside the door. She felt safer staying close to an exit in case she needed to make a hasty retreat. “Is anyone else here with you?”
“Nope, just me and my sculptures.”
Hannah watched as Rory chiseled a piece of the wood he was working with.
“I saw your other pieces of art,” Hannah gestured toward his living room. “You’re extremely talented.”
He shrugged. “I guess the judges didn’t think so, did they?” He finally lifted his eyes to meet Hannah’s gaze. “My sand sculpture was much more intricate and complicated than the mermaid.” He shrugged again. “Win some, lose some.”
“I’m glad you’re friend returned to confirm your alibi. A lot of people were worried about you.”
Rory picked up his knife and began to whittle a delicate part of the claw.
Hannah felt beads of sweat drip down her side inside her t-shirt. “Your friend wasn’t at his house for the whole night, though, was he?”
Rory’s knife slipped. “What are you talking about?”
“And someone saw you on the beach early Saturday morning.” The momentary look of panic in his eyes confirmed what Hannah suspected when she told her lie.
Rory set his knife down next to the chisel. He ran both hands through his hair, making it stand out in all directions. He pushed himself up from his chair.
Hannah held her ground but reached behind herself to keep one hand on the doorknob.
“You’re right. I did go to the beach, but Adele was already dead when I found her.”
This turn of events wasn’t what Hannah expected to hear. So far, anyone who admitted to being on the beach said Adele was still alive. “Why all the silence then? Why didn’t you go straight to the police?”
“I couldn’t admit to being there. When I saw my shovel lying next to the body and blood still dripping from her head wound, my life flashed before my eyes and I knew exactly what it would look like to everyone. I lost to her. I argued with her. How convenient that I found her body with my shovel next to her bloody head.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “And I was right. Deputy Larson took me to jail and I thought I’d never get out again.”
“Until your friend returned and lied for you.”
Rory nodded.
Hannah moved toward Rory. “You have to tell the truth before the video is turned over to the police showing your friend at the Pub and Pool Hall leaving you alone at the time Adele was murdered. Removing your alibi.”
Rory shook his head. “I can’t do that. I’ll go back to jail if I have to.”
“Who are you protecting, Rory? Is it Karla?”
Rory’s jaw tightened. “We have a signal if I need to talk to her when she’s home. She has a string hanging out her window that I pull and a little bell rings. I went straight to her house when I found Adele but Karla wasn’t home. I needed to talk to her.”
“Or were you checking for another reason? Maybe you suspected Karla killed Adele. Did you see her on the beach after you found Adele? Karla told me she was out looking for you.”
“I saw someone running away. I didn’t want to believe it was Karla, but in my gut I was sure it was. She loves to run on the beach and the moonlight glistened on her hair. She had her heart set on me winning so we could get out of Hooks Harbor. She cared more than I did but I wanted to win for her.”
“And she told you she would leave you if you didn’t win, didn’t she?” Hannah pushed Rory as gently as possible.
Rory’s whole body sagged. “I love her. Everything I cared about was crashing down.”
“You can’t protect her if she’s the murderer. You have to tell the truth.”
“I don’t know the truth. I don’t know if it was Karla. I don’t know if whoever it was, was even the murderer.” He sat in his chair with his head resting in his hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
“How about you tell Deputy Larson what you just told me before she discovers for herself that you lied about being with your friend at his house for the whole. That will look bad for you. You don’t have to say you saw Karla since you don’t know if it was her. Just tell the truth.”
“No. Not yet. I want to talk to Karla first and find out what her truth is.”
“Karla made plans to go to Florida with Moe when you were in jail. They almost left until Moe got picked up for questioning.” Hannah hated to hit Rory with this betrayal by his girlfriend, but if he was protecting Karla, he needed to know exactly what her intentions were.
His eyes narrowed into angry slits. “I don’t believe you.”
Hannah saw a tear run down his cheek before he swiped it away with the back of his hand.
“Be careful who you decide to protect, Rory.” And, of course, there’s always the possibility that you are trying to protect yourself, she added silently.
22
Hannah called Jack as soon as she got in her car. She didn’t want to believe that Rory killed Adele, but she couldn’t ignore the possibility. If he was lying, he sure was convincing. And if he wasn’t? Then Karla better have one heck of a good explanation for being on the beach.
“Jack, I’m not sure what to do with this information,” she began when he answered his phone. “Rory had a window of unmonitored time while he was at his friend’s house. He could have gone to the beach early Saturday morning.”
“I know. Meg already told me about Michael’s video.”
“I just left Rory’s apartment. He admitted to me that he went to the beach and said Adele was already dead when he found her.”
Hannah heard Jack breathing for several seconds before he responded. “So, he did go to the beach.”
She shifted her phone to her left hand and s
tarted her car. “I think you need to call Pam and fill her in before Rory does something stupid.”
“You think he might run away?”
“I don’t think so, not without Karla. I don’t know where she is. But he may have been lying to me the whole time, too.” Hannah pulled into the street. “I’m heading back to my place. Meet me there.”
“Hannah?” Jack’s voice sounded odd. “Your mother took Olivia for a walk down the beach and they haven’t come back yet. Ruby’s in a panic.”
Her fingers tightened like a vise on the steering wheel. “I’m on my way.”
Joanna with Olivia? At least it wasn’t Luke. Where was he? Hannah made herself focus. She counted the telephone poles as she went by to keep her mind in neutral.
Her father’s rental car was conspicuously absent from the parking lot when Hannah arrived. She ran to the snack bar in a panic.
Samantha pointed down the beach. “Ruby just went in that direction. Maybe we should look the other way.”
Hannah called Nellie and crouched in front of the retriever and stared into her milk-chocolate eyes. “Where’s Olivia?” she pleaded, hoping that Nellie understood her. “This is the time to use your nose.”
Nellie woofed and wagged her tail. She trotted in the direction toward the marina. “Okay, we’ll head this way. If Ruby returns, tell her to stay here,” Hannah called to Meg.
“Wait a minute, I’m coming with you,” Samantha said. She pulled on her sun hat and tied it under her chin. “I’m tired of missing out on all the excitement.”
Hannah glared at her.
Samantha held Hannah’s arm. “You know what I mean. I can’t sit on my fingers any longer and wait to be filled in on the information. I need to help.”
Hannah nodded. “Fair enough. More eyes can’t hurt.” Hannah’s feet flew over the hot sand as Nellie trotted ahead.
“Plus I had a chat with your father. I thought I could fill you in while we’re walking.”
