Kelly walked through the swinging kitchen doors with the Chief’s order of ham, scrambled eggs, and toast. “Good morning, Chief. Saw your order when I went back to the kitchen and didn’t want you to wait. As you can see, we’re pretty busy this morning.”
She set the plate in front of the large Indian who wore his long black hair tied at the back of his neck. Every time she saw the chief, he always had on a large turquoise ring, a turquoise link bracelet set in silver, and a bolo tie with silver points. This morning was no exception.
“Hope it didn’t get cold. There’s no excuse for cold food, even if you are busy. What’s the occasion?” he asked, taking a bite of the eggs.
“It’s a sad occasion, Chief. Looks like Amber Cook was murdered. Her body was discovered last night. She drowned.”
He paused and looked up at Kelly. “Isn’t she the cheerleader that goes with Jeff Black’s kid?”
“Yes. She goes with him or I should say, did go with him. Why do you ask?”
“Oh it’s probably nothing. I remember hearing something about Black being interested in building some fancy spa near our reservation. His ranch is immediately adjacent to our tribal land and we sure don’t want some fancy Las Vegas style hotel and spa that close to it. I’m sure it was just a rumor. Sorry to hear about her.”
“Chief, I’ve got to go. I’d love to stay and talk to you, but I don’t want the other diners to have cold food. See you.”
When the lunch hour ended and everyone had finally cleared out of the coffee shop, Roxie and Kelly made the final preparations for the next day. The coffee was ready, sweet rolls on cookie sheets were resting in the refrigerator and the overnight casseroles that were such a hit had been made and were ready to be baked the following morning. Kelly had just unplugged the “Open” sign and was getting ready to lock up when the front door opened.
She looked up and was surprised to see Madison standing there. “Madison, come in. I can’t give you anything to eat. It’s all been put away, but is there something else I can do for you?”
“Yes,” she said stepping hesitantly into the room. “I heard about Amber and know she worked for you before and after school. I thought you might be lookin’ to hire someone else and I need a job. I’d like to go to cosmetology school in the fall, but Dad says we don’t have no money for that. He told me I had to get a job when I graduated from high school and help him with the money. He used to make out okay from fishin’, but with all the recent weather changes, he’s not catchin’ much these days. Only thing he’s caught lately was Amber.”
“He’s the one who brought her up on shore? I didn’t know that. I knew a fisherman had found her, but I didn’t know it was your dad. I’m sorry. That must have been horrible for him.”
“It might have been for him, but not for me. She wasn’t a friend of mine. Matter of fact she took my boyfriend away. She beat me out of bein’ head cheerleader and then she got the votes to be homecomin’ queen. No we weren’t close at all. Anyway, the sheriff questioned Dad until late last night, but he don’t know nuthin’. He was just fishin’ in the bay, like he usually does at dusk, when he snagged her. It was getting dark and his boat ain’t as seaworthy as it once was, so he shore fishes when it gets dark. Scared him pretty bad.”
“Madison, if I hire you, you’d have to be here at 6:00 in the morning. Since you’re still in school, you can leave at 7:30 and I’d want you back here when your classes end just before noon. After you graduate, I could use you full time. Summer’s always busy with the tourists. I know minimum wage pay isn’t much, but that’s all I can afford right now. At least you’ll get some experience. Are you interested?”
“Yeah. When do you want me to start?”
“How about day after tomorrow? I expect tomorrow morning will be just like it was today, everyone trying to find out what’s happening and coming in here to talk and gossip. I won’t have time tomorrow to explain the job to you, so let’s hope it calms down day after tomorrow. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Mrs. Conner. I’ll be here at 6:00 a.m. day after tomorrow. Should I wear something special?”
“No. For now you can just wear one of our aprons over your school clothes. When you start working full time, I’ll get you a waitress uniform like Roxie wears. See you then.”
She closed the door and turned to Roxie. “Well, at least we’ll have some help. I guess she and Amber weren’t the best of friends, but the way it looks, her life’s already at a dead end. I feel sorry for her. Strange that her father would be the one to discover Amber.”
“Yeah, poor old Dave’s had to be both a mother and a father to her. I’m sure you remember when her mother left. Decided one day she didn’t want to be the wife of a fisherman who was going nowhere. I heard she was a barmaid at some sleazy place outside of Portland. Don’t think she gained much by leavin’ the two of them,” Roxie said, wiping the counter. She continued, “Well, I’m sure Dave’s done the best he can do. I always felt that girl needed a mother. Maybe you can take over the job and give her some motherly advice now that your daughter’s livin’ in San Francisco, and I think Madison could definitely use some motherly advice.”
“Uh-uh,” Kelly said, straightening up the last of the tables. “I’ve done my time raising two children as a single mom after Mark died. Don't need to do that again. Hey, maybe you’ll be the one. You’ve got a stepson. He could probably use a big sister. What do you think?” Kelly said, laughing, remembering all the times Roxie had told her that raising a stepson was the most difficult thing she’d ever done.
“Kelly, don’t even think about it. I’ve got my hands full with Wade. He’s been with Joe and me now for five years, ever since his mother told Joe he could have custody and raise him. I want to tell you, I could go the rest of my life and never raise another thirteen year old boy who hates his stepmother. If I didn’t love Joe so much, I would have left long ago. No way would I take on anyone else. I’m gonna be doing real good to get this one raised. See you in the morning.” She walked out and Kelly heard her say, “Hi, Mike. Kelly’s still here. She’s about ready to leave. Find out anything more?”
Kelly strained to hear his answer.
“Not much,” Mike said. “Anything going on here?”
“Not that I know of, but I know Kelly talked to a lot of people. Maybe she knows something. See you later.”
“Mike, I’m glad you’re here. What have you found out?” Kelly said as he walked through the door.
“Not that much. Spent some time out at the Black’s ranch and just like you said, Brandon’s taking it pretty hard. I still can’t shake the feeling that something is going on out there. Asked Jeff and Marcy all the usual questions about when they’d last seen Amber, if they’d noticed any changes in her, etc. You know, the usual stuff. Couldn’t get anything from them and no one else had any information for me. Maybe the autopsy will show something. And you?”
“It was a zoo. I don’t think I ever sat down from the time I got here. One thing did happen that I thought was strange, well actually two things. You know the football coach, Chris? Well, ever since he’s come to town, he’s come in every morning for a cup of coffee and something to eat on his way to school. He didn’t come in today. I know Amber was in his English class and he probably was around her a lot because of her being head cheerleader. I imagine he was upset when he found out. Maybe that’s why he was a no-show today.”
“That doesn’t seem too strange. I know he was close to Brandon because of football and Amber was probably a natural extension of that. I’m not particularly surprised. People deal with grief in various different ways. Some want the company of people, others prefer to be alone. Living on a boat by himself, I’d put him in the loner category, plus I’ve never heard of him doing anything social with anyone in town. Never even heard about him and a woman. Have you?”
“No, now that you bring it up, I’ve never heard of him going to anyone’s house or doing anything social. Guess he is a loner and that would explai
n it. Here’s the other thing. You know Doc, the grizzled off the grid guy? Well, he was pretty upset when he heard about Amber. It was really unlike him. And what was more unlike him was that he gave me his telephone number and asked me to call him if I heard anything. Said he’d talked to Amber several times. He left me with the impression they were friends. Sounded funny, coming from him. Don’t you think that’s strange?”
“Yes. Let me do a little checking on him. No one knows anything about him, although I’ve always liked him. I don’t even know his last name. I could probably get it off of the legal records when he bought that little ranch where he lives.”
“Yeah, I’ve always liked him, too. Got time to come by for dinner tonight?”
“Better take a rain check. It’s not even twenty-four hours since Amber’s body was discovered and every hour that goes by lessens the chances of finding out who killed her. Hear anything from Ginger?”
“No. I’m going to call her as soon as I get home and find out the plans for the funeral. I can’t imagine planning your daughter’s funeral. Thought there was some unwritten law that children were supposed to outlive their parents. Unfortunately, that family must not have gotten the message.”
“Yeah. Everyone I talk to feels bad for the family. I’ll give you a call later. The coroner was supposed to do the autopsy this afternoon. Maybe that will tell us something. Right now I sure can’t find a motive. You’re always good with people. Am I missing something? Got any ideas?”
“Not that I can think of. Only other thing would be if Amber was leading some sort of a secret life, but I sure never had a hint of that. She was every mother’s dream, a beautiful young girl, straight ‘A’s’ in school, and in love with a guy who’s going to Oregon State on a football scholarship. And we can’t forget she was also going to Oregon State on an academic scholarship. Sounds like a fairy tale gone bad. I remember her saying she wanted to help people and was planning on becoming a psychologist. It’s such a waste!” The tears Kelly had been holding back all morning began sliding down her cheeks.
“I know, Kelly, I know. Take care of yourself. You might think about trying to take a nap this afternoon. Don’t kid yourself. Telling Ginger and Brandon and then working so hard has to take its toll on you.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek as he walked her to her minivan.
“Talk to you later, Babe.”
CHAPTER 5
Kelly slept restlessly for several hours that afternoon, trying to make sense of what was happening in the small town she loved so much. She couldn’t remember ever hearing about any crimes in the town other than someone stealing a pie that was cooling on a windowsill. She and Mark had felt it was the perfect place to raise their family because it was so peaceful. Now that illusion was shattered. She tossed and turned wondering why someone would kill Amber. She couldn’t imagine anyone in her town doing something like that and wondered if Amber had been killed by some drifter, someone whose identity they would never know, and who’d left town immediately after committing the murder. As she lay there, she thought about Doc and Amber and wondered about their relationship. Of all the things that had happened, the fact that Doc and Amber were apparently friends seemed to be the strangest.
Her reverie was broken by the ringing of her telephone. She looked at the screen. “Hi, Mike. I took your advice and slept on and off for a few hours. Wish I could say it was the sleep of the innocent, but it wasn’t. My mind is whirling. I hope you’ve found out something.”
“Not much. Spent the afternoon talking to a lot of people who don’t seem to know anything. The county coroner’s report is going to take a couple more hours. Any chance I can collect on that rain check for dinner in an hour or so?”
“I’d like that. I’ll call Ginger and find out what they’ve decided to do about a funeral service. See you soon.”
She got out of bed, stood up and stretched, feeling the tension in her upper shoulders and neck. Probably should check out that new day spa that opened a few weeks ago and have a massage. I don’t just have knots in my shoulders, at the moment they feel like boulders.
As soon as she got out of bed, Rebel stood up from his usual sentry post at the foot of her bed and walked over to the back door. He looked at her expectantly. Kelly had heard of dogs that could open doors and beer bottles. Rebel wasn’t one of them. She let him out, walked into the kitchen, and took the roast, potatoes, and a biscuit can out of the refrigerator. The cheesecake could stay there until they’d finished dinner. She covered the roast and potatoes with tin foil for reheating. She figured those would be great reheated, the monkey bread not so much. She melted some butter and put grated parmesan cheese and spices into a plastic bag. She cut the biscuits into quarters, made them into balls, dipped them into the butter, and dropped them into the bag, shaking it to coat each one. She put the buttered, herb encrusted balls into an angel food cake pan and set them on the counter to rise while she turned on her upper and lower ovens. When she stood up she caught a glimpse of herself in the glass door of the microwave.
Good grief. If Mike sees me looking like this, it will probably be the last time he’ll ever want to come to the house for dinner or anything else. And yeah, I’m really beginning to enjoy the anything else. She smiled to herself as she opened the door for Rebel and then walked into to the bathroom to try and minimize the effects of stress. Cold water, mascara, and lip gloss helped a lot.
A few minutes later Mike knocked and let himself in. “Kelly, I’m here and I’m hungry. What’s for dinner tonight?
“Glad you’re here. The Conner menu tonight features roast, potatoes, mini monkey bread, and the caramel and hot fudge topped cheesecake from last night. You must be exhausted by now. Sit down and I’ll get you that glass of wine I promised you last night. Back in a minute,” Kelly said.
It was early evening, the time when the color of the sky melted into the color of the ocean. When Kelly’s parents built the house overlooking the bay, they took advantage of the view by having one large room on the ocean side rather than a separate kitchen, dining room, and living room. The two hundred seventy degree view of the bay and ocean was magnificent. When Kelly and Mark had moved into the house, she’d insisted on furniture that invited bodies to lounge in them rather than the uncomfortable wooden furniture that had been popular during the time her parents had lived in the house. Paintings by local artists were prominently displayed on the walls and even though it was late spring, she always had a fire blazing in the river rock fireplace. It was a simple warm, inviting home with an incredible view.
Kelly opened the wine and turned back toward Mike. Rebel had his paw on Mike’s leg, inviting his ears to be scratched. As soon as Mike stopped, the paw went back on his leg. “Kelly, I swear this dog would let me scratch his ears the rest of his life, my life, or until my hand atrophied. Rebel, that’s all. Off,” he said. Rebel lay next to him, looking up at him with big brown eyes, hoping that the word “off” meant there would just be a momentary pause in the ear scratching.
She laughed and handed Mike his glass of wine. “I’d like to propose a toast, but don’t think there’s anything that great to toast right now. How about to finding out what happened?”
“Works for me. Believe me, I sure would like to. What did Ginger say about the service for Amber?”
“I talked to her sister just before you got here. Evidently Ginger’s still too shaken up to talk to anyone. I understand. The service is going to be held at the church Saturday morning. Father Brown thinks a lot of people from the outskirts and surrounding towns will want to drive in for it. It’s getting a lot of publicity from the local news programs as well as from as far away as Portland and San Francisco. He thought it would be better to do it on a non-week day. The family has asked some people to say a few words about her. I volunteered to have people come to the coffee shop after the service for some refreshments. Seems like people need closure at a time like this and it was the least I could do for Amber and the family.”
“Awfully
good of you, Kelly. I’m sure Ginger and Bob appreciate it. I did a little poking around this afternoon. Jeff Black’s ranch is a lot bigger than I thought. According to the county records, he’s got over two thousand acres. I thought the land he uses for his cattle operation was owned by the Bureau of Land Management, but not so. It’s part of his ranch. His cattle herd sure doesn’t look like it needs that many acres. Wish there was some way I could get in there.”
“Mike, a thought just occurred to me. Remember I told you once that I got Rebel from the family of a narcotics drug officer who had been killed in a drug shootout? I took one look at that dog and fell in love with him. It never occurred to me to ask if Rebel ever worked with the officer as a drug dog. Maybe he’d know if there was marijuana on the ranch. I remember coming back from Phoenix once and every car had to stop at an immigration and drug check point.
“There was a helicopter, about forty officers, and even police on bridges checking out the cars before they got to the mandatory stop. The thing I’ll never forget is that there was a big German shepherd dog standing between the lines of cars. It turned its head toward each car and sniffed it as the cars waited in line. Evidently he’d picked up the smell of drugs coming from one of the cars in the line because the officers were completely dismantling it and everything loaded in it. I always wondered what they’d found, if anything. Anyway, maybe Rebel could help.” Rebel raised his head, acknowledging that he knew Kelly was talking about him.
“I’ve got some marijuana at the station. I’m holding it as evidence in a pending case. I suppose we could see if he reacts to it. I’m curious now, too. I’m going to go get it. Be back in ten minutes.”
“Great. I need to put everything in the oven anyway, so take your time,” she said, standing up and opening the door. “See you shortly.”
Kelly's Koffee Shop (A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystey Book 1) Page 3
