by J A Whiting
Angie took another drink of water. “I’m sorry something you were happy about has turned sour.”
Josh adjusted his position on the bench so that he could see Angie’s face better. “You’re very kind, you know.”
Angie’s heart flipped. Josh’s gaze warmed her whole body. She felt herself melting into the bench and wondered how she would propel herself off of it since all of her muscles were now goo.
Movement in the parking lot near them caught Angie’s attention. She squinted and leaned forward. A man pushed an older woman in a wheelchair and stopped next to a black SUV. He opened the door of the passenger side and moved the wheelchair closer.
“Josh. Look there.” Angie pointed at the man in the lot.
“What? Where?” Josh shifted his eyes from Angie to where she was pointing.
“Is that your resort manager?” Angie took a good look.
Josh squinted from the sun’s glare. “It is. It’s Andrew.”
They watched him place his hand under the woman’s arm and help her stand so that she could shift onto the seat of the vehicle. The woman had short gray hair. Her frame was frail and small. Her hands and arms were bandaged. She moved like a rag doll. Flynn seated the woman and buckled her seatbelt.
Josh stood up and strode towards the car. “Andrew!”
Angie followed Josh through the parking lot.
Flynn seemed startled to hear his name called and when he spotted Josh coming towards him, his face remained blank for a few seconds until he recognized his employer.
“Josh.” Flynn took two steps away from the SUV.
“How unexpected to see you here.” Josh introduced Angie. “Is everything okay?”
Flynn seemed to wrestle with his answer, but then said, “My mother.” He gestured to the woman in his car. “She’s been unwell for quite some time. My sister cares for her. It’s become much too difficult.” He hesitated. “This is the reason I took the job at the resort, to be closer to my mother and to help my sister.” He quickly added, “Of course, I love the resort and Sweet Cove….”
Josh finished Flynn’s sentence. “But it’s not what you’re used to. I understand.” Josh glanced at the woman in the car. She appeared disengaged from her surroundings. “Why didn’t you tell me what you’ve been dealing with?”
Flynn shrugged. “I didn’t think it professional to burden you with my personal issues. I’ve been evasive about it. I apologize. I thought I could handle it without it interfering with the work.”
“There’s no need to apologize.” Josh put his hand on Flynn’s shoulder. “Take the time you need to care for your family. That’s most important. We’ll adjust at the resort to accommodate what you need. No worries.”
A burden seemed to lift from Flynn. Tension seemed to recede from his facial muscles. “I appreciate it.”
Angie glanced at the woman’s bandages. “Did she burn herself?”
Flynn looked from his mother to Angie. “No. She’s suffering from dementia. Sometimes she sees things that aren’t there. She imagined an intruder. She had a knife and ended up cutting her hands and arms, pretty badly. I tried to stop her. It took quite an effort to subdue her.”
“I’m very sorry,” Angie told him. That’s why he had blood on his suit.
“We’re moving her to an assisted living facility. Right now, in fact. It’s for her safety.”
Josh shook Flynn’s hand. “Good luck. Take a few days if you need to.”
Angie and Josh returned to their bikes.
Angie picked up her helmet. “I’m sorry for Flynn’s troubles. Now we know how he got the blood on his suit.”
Josh lifted his bike from the ground. “I’m glad we ran into him. It clears everything up. It’s a relief.”
Angie got on her bicycle. “And it clears him as a suspect, too.”
Josh put on his helmet. “It’s a strange coincidence … us running into him here like that.”
Angie nodded. She wondered if somehow something led them here. I was in the lead during our bike ride. Did I know Flynn would be here? The idea made her uncomfortable. She rubbed her temple.
They pedaled away and headed back towards Sweet Cove. For the rest of the outing, questions swirled in Angie’s mind. So Flynn didn’t murder Finch. Then who is the killer?
At the end of their ride, Angie and Josh turned their bikes into the Victorian’s driveway.
“That was great.” Josh removed his helmet. “I’m so glad we were able to ride together today.”
“Would you like to come inside for a cold drink?” Angie held her helmet and ran her hand through her hair.
“I’ll have to take a rain check. I need to get back to the resort. There’s an anniversary party booked there tonight that I have to check on. I’ll need to fill in for Andrew.”
Angie’s heart sank when Josh told her that he wouldn’t be able to come inside for a drink. “I’m glad we ran into Andrew today and got all that sorted out.”
“I’m thankful that I know the reason that Andrew has been so distracted. I’ll fill in for him whenever he needs to be with his mother.”
Angie hoped that would mean Josh would be around Sweet Cove for a while longer.
“I had a great day with you.” Josh held Angie’s eyes.
Warmth flooded Angie’s body and her muscles tingled. “Me, too.” She didn’t want their time together to end.
Josh placed his hand on Angie’s arm. He leaned down and moved his face close, and just as his lips brushed hers, the Victorian’s front door opened and voices could be heard. Josh and Angie pulled apart.
Tom and Jenna stepped onto the porch and spotted Angie and Josh next to their bikes at the end of the driveway. They waved. Angie was glad they weren’t close enough to notice her rosy cheeks.
“Um.” Josh smiled at Angie. “I’ll see you soon.”
She nodded. “Thanks for a nice day.”
Josh turned his bike and headed up Beach Street. Angie started to walk her bike down the driveway to store it in the carriage house, when she noticed Tom standing on the porch facing her. He held his fingers in the shape of a heart next to his chest. He puckered his lips and made a smooching sound.
Angie rolled her eyes at him, but couldn’t keep her mouth from forming a big smile as she continued down the driveway with her bike.
Chapter 18
Angie put her bicycle in the carriage house and went into the Victorian through the back door. She could hear voices in the kitchen, so she headed that way and was surprised to see Courtney and Mr. Finch working at the counter both wearing pink aprons. Euclid and Circe sat on top of the refrigerator watching the proceedings. “It smells delicious in here.”
Courtney smiled at Angie. “Mr. Finch is teaching me how to make candy.” Her sleeves were pushed up and she was rolling some chocolate substance between her palms. “Come see.”
Mr. Finch winked at Angie. “It’s a secret family recipe.”
Courtney chuckled. “So don’t try to figure out the ingredients.”
Small balls of chocolates were lined up on a sheet of wax paper.
“Chocolate truffles.” Mr. Finch indicated the rows of little balls. “Try one.”
Angie lifted one to her mouth and ate. “Wow. Excellent. You two make a good team.”
“Maybe I’ll become a candymaker.” Courtney dusted the balls with finely ground chocolate.
“I hope you do. It will benefit me.” Angie smiled and licked her finger. She proceeded to tell Courtney and Finch about the resort manager and how he was no longer a suspect.
“I was sure it was him.” Courtney carried the mixing bowl to the sink. “It’s back to square one now.”
“You know,” Finch started, but then hesitated.
“What? Do you have an idea?” Angie waited for Finch to go on.
“I don’t know.” He glanced up at the cats and then made eye contact with Angie. “The cats don’t seem to like Mr. or Mrs. Foley.”
Euclid sat up and let out a lo
w hiss.
“Euclid confirms your idea, Mr. Finch. Why don’t you like them, Euclid? I wish you could talk.” Angie had a pensive expression on her face. She looked at Courtney and Finch. “Do either of you get a feeling or a sense that something is wrong with the couple?”
Finch looked wide-eyed at Courtney. “You have a gift, too? You sense things?”
“Sometimes. It’s still developing.”
Finch smiled with delight. “How wonderful.”
Courtney considered Angie’s question. “Thinking about it, maybe I do get a sense of something being off. I thought it was just because I didn’t like them much.”
“Would you two use your perception the next time you’re with the Foleys? See if you pick up on anything.” Angie made eye contact with the cats. “Cats, see what you can find out.”
Courtney shook hands with Mr. Finch and gave the thumbs up gesture to Euclid and Circe. “Don’t worry, Angie. We’re on the case.”
***
Angie walked into Jenna’s jewelry shop to tell her that the resort manager was innocent. Jenna was busy behind one of the display cases showing a pair of earrings to Lindsay, the assistant manager from the Pirate’s Den restaurant. Two other women were browsing the cases.
Angie greeted Lindsay and asked the two women if she could show them something. They pointed to a necklace and matching earrings made of silver and sea glass pieces. Angie placed a slate gray velvet mat on top of the glass case and laid the jewelry on it. The women took turns lifting the necklace to their necks and peering in the mirror. The jewelry was going to be a gift for their mother. After some deliberation, the women agreed that the pieces were perfect and Angie boxed and wrapped the items and rang up the sale. The women left the shop chattering happily.
“How are things?” Angie asked Lindsay.
“The restaurant is getting busy now that the tourist season is beginning. I’m working a lot.” Lindsay chose a pair of earrings from the two she had been considering. “This is the first afternoon I’ve had off in a long while.”
Jenna said, “Lindsay’s thinking of renting the candy shop space once the investigation into the murder is complete.”
“Really?” Angie’s eyebrows went up.
“I’d like to open a sandwich shop.” Lindsay removed some bills from her wallet to pay Jenna. “I’ve set aside some money. If I’m going to work as hard as I’ve been doing, it might as well benefit me.”
Angie nodded in agreement. “That’s great. I hope it works out.”
“You know how hard it is to find space that’s available to rent. You tried to find reasonable space with a good location in town when you found out your bake shop lease wouldn’t be renewed.” Lindsay waited for Jenna to wrap her purchase.
“I couldn’t find anything that would work for me.” Angie leaned against the case.
“So when Finch died, I decided to jump on it.” Lindsay took the bag from Jenna. “I talked to the Realtor and told her that I want the space as soon as it becomes available.”
Angie asked, “You talked to Betty Hayes already?” She had a funny feeling that she couldn’t place. Angie looked towards the hallway. She wished the cats would come in.
“I told Betty I wanted it. I think it’s a perfect location and with the kitchen in the back, there’d be very little alterations needed.” Lindsay headed for the shop door. “Thanks, Jenna. The earrings are beautiful.” She left the jewelry store.
“Do you get a weird vibe from her?” Angie asked.
Jenna looked towards the door that Lindsay had just exited through. “I don’t know. Like what? Like you don’t trust her?”
“Sort of. She had a grudge against Finch. I wonder….”
Jenna said, “That’s interesting that she wants Finch’s storefront, isn’t it?”
“She seems determined to grab the space when it becomes available.” Angie leaned her elbow on the top of the jewelry case and held her chin in her hand. “She didn’t say anything about what the rent will be. It didn’t seem to concern her.”
Jenna sat down at her desk. “Would hating Finch and wanting his store space be enough motive for her to…?”
Angie gave Jenna a pointed look. “People have done a lot of bad things with less motive than that.”
Angie’s phone buzzed. “It’s Chief Martin.” She answered and listened for several minutes. “We’ll meet you there. See you soon.” She turned to her sister. “Chief Martin wants me and Courtney to meet him at Finch’s candy store. He said the investigation has stalled. He wants us to see if we can sense anything by being in the shop.”
“Why don’t you bring the cats with you?” From the look on her face, Jenna wasn’t kidding about it.
Angie could feel a pricking at the back of her mind, and then the idea formed. “The night that Lisa Barrows tried to poison me just jumped into my head. I remember how I felt and how Euclid saved me by knocking the poisoned tea from my hand.”
Jenna gave Angie a questioning look.
“Just before all that happened, I had been on Robin’s Point. I felt the thrumming in my blood that I always feel when I’m there.”
“Where are you going with this?” Jenna asked.
“Before we meet the chief, I think Courtney and I should go down to the point first, kind of get in touch with whatever happens to us when we’re down there.”
Jenna nodded. “It couldn’t hurt.”
The corners of Angie’s mouth turned up in a slight smile. “And then, we’ll come back and get the cats.”
Chapter 19
Angie and Courtney sat down on the grass where their grandmother’s cottage once stood. The late afternoon sun warmed them as they watched people swimming and playing on the beach. To the right of the main beach, several surfers bobbed on the ocean swells waiting for a good wave to come up.
Courtney kicked her shoes off and wiggled her toes in the grass. “We need to get to the beach. We keep saying we’ll go and then something comes up.”
“The water looks really good. Maybe we can go this weekend.” Angie looked sideways at her sister. “Do you feel anything?”
“Of course. I always do. Do you?”
Angie nodded. The familiar humming moved through her blood. Her muscles warmed and relaxed and Angie wasn’t sure if it was the sun causing the pleasant sensation or if it was the thrumming that was doing it.
“It feels good.” Courtney leaned back on the ground and closed her eyes.
Angie stretched her legs out in front of her. She’d always been so concerned and worried about what she felt when she was on the point that she didn’t allow herself to really experience it. Sitting in the grass, she focused her attention to fully realize the vibration. She drifted off, not into slumber, but into a state of deep relaxation.
“We should probably go.” Courtney nudged her sister and Angie’s eyes flew open.
“How long have we been here?” Angie rubbed her eyes.
“Forty-five minutes.”
Angie pushed herself up and stood. “I completely lost track of time.”
“We better get going. We need to swing by the Victorian to pick up the cats and get to Finch’s shop to meet the chief.” Courtney pulled the elastic off her ponytail and shook out her hair.
The girls got into Angie’s car and they headed back to the house to pick up Euclid and Circe.
Courtney’s hair blew around her face from the breeze coming in the open car window. “Some people might think we’re kind of strange to believe that the cats can be helpful finding clues to a murder.”
Steering the car up Main Street, Angie gave Courtney a quick glance. “Not long ago, I was one of those people.”
“You know what?” Courtney chuckled. “So was I.”
***
Courtney opened the candy store door and pushed it with her shoulder. She carried Circe in her arms. Angie followed them in carrying Euclid. The orange cat looked slightly put out that he was being held like a baby. When Angie put him on the fl
oor, he stretched and licked his fur into place.
Chief Martin came in from the back room and his eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, the cats. Well, very good.”
Euclid and Circe moved silently about the room taking in the sights and smells.
The chief said, “I thought it could be helpful to have you come back in here and just sort of wander around. As I told Angie on the phone, the investigation is sort of dead in the water. We haven’t given up by any means. Something new will come up, but, in the meantime, I figured it couldn’t hurt to have you come back and look around.”
“We’re glad to try and help.” Angie told the chief what she and her sisters had been thinking about who might be suspects. He nodded, but didn’t say much. Angie knew he wasn’t able to divulge anything from an ongoing case.
Courtney walked about the room. She ran her hand over the candy cases. “Someone needs to clean out the candy,” she told the chief.
Angie walked into the back room to see what the cats were doing. Each one had gone in a different direction. Euclid sniffed around the walk-in refrigerator. Circe sat on Finch’s desk and stared up at the book shelves above her head. Angie noticed the blood stain on the floor where Finch had fallen. She quickly shifted her gaze away from the spot. Euclid moved to gingerly sniff at the bloodstain. Chief Martin entered the room. He pulled the chair away from the desk and settled onto the seat. His shoulders sagged.
The room still retained the scent of chocolate, sugar, and butter. The sinks, countertops, and all the equipment were spotless. Finch had cleaned and put everything away for the night before the killer intruded into the space. Angie made a circle around the back room and approached the chief in his chair. She shrugged and shook her head. The cats continued to meander about the room.
“I don’t get a sense of anything at all. I’m sorry.”
The chief hauled himself out the seat. “It was worth a try.”
“Is Courtney still out front?” Angie walked over to the door. She stopped short. The chief came up behind her.
Courtney stood behind one of the candy cases. Her eyes stared across the room at nothing. Her face was pale.
