by J A Whiting
Everyone sat in stunned silence for a few moments.
“But I didn’t even know I was mentioned in the will.” Angie sat up straighter. “How would I know that? I didn’t have any idea that Professor Linden left the house to me.”
“If Angie didn’t know she would inherit the house from the professor then the motive disappears.” Jenna looked at the chief for confirmation.
“Right,” the chief said. “But it might be hard to convince someone that you didn’t know.”
“But I didn’t.” Angie’s voice was almost shrill.
A terrible hissing noise came from the corner of the dining room and everyone turned to look. Euclid stood with the hairs on his back sticking up. He let out another hiss that was clearly directed at the chief. He leaped onto the sideboard and up to the top of the China cabinet, where he sat down. His green eyes glared at the chief.
Chief Martin adjusted himself in his chair and coughed. “I’ll head out now. I wanted to let you know what was going on. There’ll be questions, Angie. Investigators from the city will be here. They don’t seem to think that a small force like Sweet Cove’s is capable of handling a murder case.” The girls winced at the word “murder.”
The chief got up. “I’ll keep you informed the best that I can,” he told Angie. Jenna stood and walked the chief to the door.
“Thanks for coming,” Angie managed from her seat. “Thanks for letting me know.” Despite her words, her face didn’t look thankful at all.
As soon as the door was closed, Angie crossed her arms on the table and laid her head on top of them.
“That’s outrageous.” Courtney stood up and started pacing around the room.
“How on earth can they put your name on a list of suspects?” Ellie asked. “You didn’t know anything about the professor’s will.” Her blue eyes flashed.
Angie lifted her head. “It’ll be okay. They’ll just ask me questions. It’s probably a formality. They have no proof of anything.”
“That’s right,” Jenna said. “Because, you didn’t do anything. They’ll probably talk to you and then move on to find the real killer. Everything will be okay.”
“The professor,” Angie said. “Murdered? It’s unbelievable. Why would someone kill her? Poison her?” Angie shuddered at the thought. Her eyes widened and eyebrows went up. “The break-in. The person who was upstairs. Could that person have been the one who killed her?”
The sisters stared at Angie. Courtney sat back down. “That makes sense. It’s possible.”
“Why did he break in? What could he have been looking for?” Ellie asked.
“And did he find it?” Jenna made eye contact with Angie. “Or will he be back?”
Angie narrowed her eyes. “If he comes back, then he better be ready for trouble.” She would fight and claw anyone who threatened her sisters.
“We need to find out who he is,” Ellie said.
“The killer is probably someone from Sweet Cove.” Angie was horrified to think that someone from their little, seaside town was capable of murder. “How awful to think a murderer is among us.” A chill traveled over her skin. “The killer could be one of my regular customers.” The thought made her stomach clench.
Ellie said, “We need to find out why the professor was killed. We need to find out what the intruder was looking for when he broke in here. Then we’ll know if it’s the same person who committed both crimes.”
Jenna said, “Tomorrow, I’ll start going through the papers in the upstairs den. I’ll check the desk. I’ll look around for anything that someone might have an interest in.”
“I’ll help,” Courtney said.
“You and Ellie are returning to Boston tomorrow,” Angie said. “You have papers to finish and finals to take and Ellie has to go back to the hotel and give her two weeks notice.”
Ellie and Courtney groaned and attempted to protest but Angie cut them off. “I’m not in any danger of getting arrested. I have a few more weeks at the bake shop and then I have to move things out of there. I’ll be busy working and then packing things up. Jenna can spend some time looking into the paperwork upstairs. We all have our jobs to do, and then when we finish, we’ll all be back here and we can put our heads together about who poisoned the professor and who broke into the house.”
“Just don’t let anything exciting happen until we get back,” Courtney said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah,” Ellie agreed. “I’ve missed everything so far.”
Angie grinned. “I’ll try not to get arrested until you get back.”
Everyone decided to call it a night since the alarm clocks would be going off early the next morning. They climbed the stairs to the second floor and went to their bedrooms. Although, the house was quiet in a matter of minutes, Angie spent a good part of the night tossing and turning with worry.
Chapter 7
Jenna drove Ellie and Courtney to the train and Angie headed off to the bake shop. The day was overcast with a cool breeze and the gray sky reflected Angie’s mood. In the space of a week, she had swung from disheartened about closing her shop and frustrated that she couldn’t find somewhere else to move to, and then, jubilant to have been given the gift of the Victorian where not only could she and her sisters live together but she could relocate her café into the house and retain her regular customers.
Now Angie had swung back to worried and unsettled because the professor had been murdered and she was a suspect. She understood why she might be under suspicion, but the whole thing was ridiculous. How would she have had access to the will? How would she even know what was in the professor’s will?
Angie unlocked the café door and went inside. Lisa arrived shortly after Angie, and the two started the preparations for the morning customers. Lisa didn’t say much as she worked at her tasks. She seemed tired and distracted as she moved about the shop. Her face was pale and puffy, and her usually styled hair looked like it hadn’t even been combed today. Angie assumed the cause was the same unsettling reason she herself was feeling subdued.
“How are you doing, Lisa?”
“Shocked.” Lisa opened the oven and slid a tray of blueberry muffins onto the wire rack. “I’ve had a headache since I heard the professor was dead. I just can’t talk about it.”
Angie didn’t ask any more questions and she didn’t say anything else to Lisa about the professor. Although, she understood that people processed sad news in different ways, some wanting to talk and others needing to retreat into silence, Angie thought it was better not to keep things bottled up inside for too long.
Once the morning routine was underway and the regulars began to stream in and out of the bake shop, Angie’s mood improved. Most of the customers had heard the news that the professor had been murdered and conversations concentrated on speculation about why it happened and who might have done it. Some regulars had heard scuttlebutt that Angie’s name was on the list of people to be questioned and they staunchly defended her and proclaimed her innocence. It made Angie happy to be a member of the Sweet Cove community.
Tom sat on his usual counter stool sipping a coffee. “I’ll be over around noon on Saturday to look at what you’d like done to the Victorian.”
“Noon on Saturday would be great. We’ll probably have to do the renovations in parts,” Angie said. “We’ll have to make the changes as we can afford them.”
“No problem with that,” Tom told her.
The bake shop door opened and Jenna stepped in, her brown hair in a messy ponytail. She hurried over to the counter stools.
“Hey,” she greeted Angie. “I thought I’d stop in for some tea before I tackle the paperwork in the den. I got the girls to the train just in time. They’re on their way back to Boston.”
Tom’s eyes brightened when he saw Jenna come in. “Nice to see you, again.”
“You, too, Tom.” Jenna gave him a big smile.
“Pull up a stool.” Tom indicated the empty stool next to him and Jenna sat down.
“That’s great. It’ll be nice to have someone we know and trust to do the work.” Jenna lowered her voice and leaned closer to her sister. “What’s the town buzz? People know the professor was murdered? That you’re a suspect?”
Angie nodded. “Everyone’s been very supportive.”
“Still can’t believe someone would murder the professor.” Tom shook his head. “I don’t think there’s been in a murder in Sweet Cove for decades.”
Jenna said, “You heard someone broke into the Victorian?”
“What?” Tom straightened. “When?”
“The night the professor died,” Angie said. “I went there in the evening to take care of the cat. I was in the kitchen and heard someone upstairs.” A shiver ran down her back recalling the sensation of fear when she heard the person’s footsteps on the front staircase. “He ran out. He had been going through the professor’s things. There were papers strewn all over the floor of the upstairs den.”
“Who the heck would do that?” Tom’s usually cheerful face had clouded over.
Angie said, “I think it must be someone from town. The news of the professor’s death spread around Sweet Cove by word of mouth that day. It hadn’t been reported in any newspapers.”
Tom looked steamed. “I don’t like the idea that someone from town is up to no good. What’s going on? A murder. A break-in.”
Angie said, “It’s all so unsettling. Who would do it? Who would have anything to gain by breaking into the house? Whoever did it seemed to concentrate his search in the upstairs den. It looked like he was after some kind of paperwork.”
“Strange.” Tom considered who might have broken into the Victorian. “What kind of paperwork would someone have interest in? I wonder if the intruder is linked to the professor’s murder? And who the heck would poison the professor? There aren’t many tourists around yet so the killer must be someone from town. We should think about who would have motive.”
“Well, Angie would, for one,” Jenna kidded. “Since, she inherited the house.”
“Not funny.” Angie gave Jenna a look.
“You know.” Tom stroked his chin absent-mindedly. “I drove past the professor’s house that morning, the morning she died. “She was standing on her porch talking to a man. It was that guy who bought this building.”
“Davis and Josh Williams bought the building,” Angie said.
“It was the older one. The serious one.”
Jenna cradled her cup of tea in her hands. “That’s Davis Williams, the one who acts like he owns the world. He came to the house last night. He made Angie an offer for the house. Maybe he tried to buy the Victorian from Professor Linden. Maybe she refused.”
“Maybe he poisoned her,” Tom said. “Professor Linden had no relatives. Maybe Williams thought if he got rid of the professor then he could get his hands on the house.” Tom faced Angie. “You better be careful of him.”
“Davis Williams couldn’t have killed the professor.” Angie was gazing off into space. “He wouldn’t. Just to try to get her house? Why would a house be so important to him?”
“Well, Angie doesn’t have to worry,” Jenna told Tom with a grin on her face. “If Davis Williams ever thought about killing Angie for the Victorian, he’d realize he would never get the house because Angie has relatives. The house would go to me and Ellie and Courtney. So, Angie’s safe. At least from Williams.”
Angie turned her attention to Jenna, her expression serious. She stared at her sister for a few moments. “I need a will.”
“Well, don’t go to that new weird-o lawyer. Go to someone else,” Tom said.
“There’s something about him,” Angie said. “There’s something subtle. He seems to resent me, that I inherited the Victorian.”
“Why would he?” Jenna asked. “He didn’t know the professor. He doesn’t know you. He’s new to Sweet Cove.”
“I don’t know why. It’s just a feeling I get from him.”
“Huh,” Tom said. “Maybe he killed her.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Tom,” Angie said. “You really have it in for him don’t you?” She gave Tom a playful bop on his arm.
Jenna glanced around the bake shop. “It’s awful to think the killer is someone from town. It could be someone sitting right in here.”
Angie didn’t like that one bit. She nervously eyed the customers.
“You’re right. Look around,” Tom said. “We could come up with a motive for practically everyone in here.” He lowered his voice. “There’s John Whitman. The professor beat him in the selectman election. He was none too pleased about that. What about votes she cast as selectman? Plenty of people disagreed with her on things, especially her votes that kept people from profiting from building projects the professor squashed. There must be plenty of others who bear a grudge against her.”
Angie blew out a sigh. “A grudge so strong it would lead to murder?”
A regular customer, Mrs. Abbott, approached the counter. She was in her eighties, plump, and had bright red hair. “Angie, could you make me one of those energy drinks? The one that has fruit in it?
“I’ll get it,” Lisa called.
“Um, I’d like Angie to make it,” Mrs. Abbott said. She saw the annoyance in Lisa’s eyes and told her, “No offense, Lisa. But the one Angie made for me the other day, well, it was something special. I hadn’t felt so good for ages.”
Angie smiled. “Well, thanks Mrs. Abbott, but I don’t think it was because I prepared the drink that it made you feel so good. We all use the same ingredients whenever we make the beverages. I don’t do anything special, but I’d be glad to make it for you, if you like.”
Mrs. Abbott beamed. “Oh, would you? Thank you so much, Angie.”
“I’ll ring it up then,” Lisa said sullenly. She straightened her apron and scowled at Mrs. Abbott. After giving the woman her change, Lisa grabbed a container of dirty dishes and stomped into the back room to load them into the dishwasher.
As Angie moved down the counter to prepare the drink for the older woman, Tom grinned. “Angie must have a magic touch.”
Angie rolled her eyes at him. She mixed the ingredients in a blender, poured the liquid into a take-out cup, and snapped the lid on. Mrs. Abbott was gleeful when Angie handed the drink to her.
Jenna leaned forward to speak to Angie. “What’s up with Lisa? She seems so grumpy and out of sorts. You’d think she’d be glad that a customer wants you to prepare a drink, then she doesn’t have to do it.”
Angie glanced around to see where Lisa was. She lowered her voice. “I know she’s been very upset over the professor’s death. But I noticed a change in her ever since she found out that I’m going to inherit Professor Linden’s house. She’s been acting different, sort of cold and abrupt with me.”
“Why would she care if you inherited the house?” Tom asked.
Angie shrugged. “A touch of jealousy? It’s understandable. You know, like when someone wins the lottery, people get jealous.”
Jenna mused. “Maybe she thinks you’ll sell the Victorian and live off the money. She might be worried that you’ll close the bake shop and won’t re-open it and she’ll lose her job.”
“But the bake shop is closing in a few weeks and I don’t have a new spot to move to yet,” Angie said. “She knows all this. She has retirement income from her teaching job. I don’t think she needs the money. She just wants to work to keep busy.”
“Who knows?” Tom drained his coffee cup. “She’s probably upset over the murder. She lives alone. The killer is still at large. She’s probably nervous about that.”
“Well, I hope she feels better soon.” Angie wiped down the counter. “I don’t like to see her unhappy.”
Chapter 8
When Angie closed the bake shop for the day, she and Jenna took a bike ri
de around town and then headed down to Robin’s Point, the southernmost end of Sweet Cove where the road followed beside the coastal beaches and cliffs. The point reached out into the sea and years ago, the girls’ grandmother owned a small cottage nestled in the dunes next to two other cottages that had been there for over a hundred years. The four sisters and their mother spent many weekends and several weeks each summer staying at Nana’s place.
The town of Sweet Cove had rented the land to the cottage owners and, over the years, the lease passed from owner to owner until the town decided that when the most recent leases were up, the cottage owners could purchase their parcels or the town would kick them off the land. The cost of the land was astronomical and the girls’ grandmother had no way of buying the property. She decided it would be too costly to buy another parcel of land somewhere else and move the cottage there, so she planned to sell her little house to Sweet Cove for ten thousand dollars. Shortly after the sale went through, the girls’ grandmother passed away. Her death was labeled “natural causes” but the family was sure it was from a broken heart.
The town sold the land to the Williams brothers’ father, the cottages were knocked down, and ten years later, the Williams brothers constructed a hotel on the point. The architectural design of the resort was in keeping with the quaint flavor of Sweet Cove and the brothers set aside a piece of land on which they created a small public park with access paths down to the town-owned beaches. The brothers hired a management team for the hotel and left the area to oversee other projects in different parts of the country.
Angie had never seen or met the brothers until just the other day. She wondered why they were back. It couldn’t be only to buy and refurbish the small building that housed her bake shop.
When the girls reached the park on the point, Jenna and Angie pulled their bikes off the path and sat down on a bench to look out over the Atlantic.
“It’s pretty here, but….” Jenna started.
