Killer Colada: a Danger Cove Cocktail Mystery (7 page)

We finally gave up, and on the way out we passed Pandora's mailbox. I opened it up and pulled out a pile of letters, handing them to Ian. "Do you want to check through these?" If Pandora had received a letter from Jenna, maybe there was another one in here.

"Can you do it? I need to get out of here. I need some time to get my head round things."

"Of course," I said.

"Are you staying here while you're in town?" Vernon asked.

"I…I hadn't thought about it. I guess so, for a few days maybe. But right at this minute I need to be alone. Can you drop me off at Two Mile Beach? I need to walk."

"Sure," Vernon said.

We drove in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. When Vernon and I returned to the tavern, the place was heaving, so it wasn't until nearly 10:00 p.m. when I got a chance to go through Pandora's mail. I sat at the bar and opened the first envelope. It was an invitation to a holistic healing exhibition in Seattle. The next one was a generic letter from her bank, inquiring if she wanted a loan. The last one was on letter-headed white paper from Seattle General Hospital, confirming an appointment with Dr. Trower the following month, and letting Pandora know the results of some recent tests she'd had.

"Guys, look at this." I waved Ruby and Vernon over. "Dr. Trower is an oncology consultant." I handed Ruby the letter and watched her face droop as she read.

Vernon studied it over her shoulder. "So Pandora had a brain tumor? And judging by these test results, it was inoperable. I wonder how long she had left."

"Not long enough, thanks to Tim Baxtor," Ruby muttered.

I woke early the next morning, made a chamomile tea, and stood in front of the large windows in my lounge, staring out at the breathtaking scenery, mulling over Pandora's death and Jenna's disappearance. What had happened to the whole family as a result of Jenna's disappearance had started a chain reaction of tragedy. And it looked like Ian still wouldn't find any long-awaited answers. Had Pandora really found something that would connect Tim to killing Jenna all those years ago? If so, what could that possibly have been? Whatever it was, it looked like those answers went to her grave with her.

I glanced down onto the pub garden and cliffs, noticing Harvey arriving with more equipment. Someone else was with him. She had straight blonde hair hanging down to her narrow waist, a heart-shaped face, and pouty lips. She wore denim cutoff shorts that revealed long, slim legs, along with plenty of cheek, and a T-shirt with the word
Whatever
written across her ample chest. It was so tight it looked like it could cut off her circulation, and so low that the whole neighborhood would be treated to a free lacey bra-cup show. With the amount of makeup she had on, it looked as if she was going to a nightclub.

So this was the help that Portsmouth Naval Museum had sent over to assist him with his find?

A prickle of jealousy flared inside, and I tried to push it away. So what if she was gorgeous? Harvey and I were together now. And yes, even though we'd both been too busy to spend much time with each other lately, things were fantastic between us.

I watched as they chatted. He bent down to put the equipment on the ground outside the privacy tent. She bent next to him, leaning in close to his ear. She put a hand on his arm, saying something I couldn't hear. Then she rubbed that hand up his arm toward his shoulder, his neck, and ruffled the hair at his nape.

Hey! Stop touching him!

Hopefully, I was hallucinating. I blinked several times, but she was still there. As she ran her fingertips toward his chest, I leaned closer to the window to get a better look and banged my forehead.

Ouch!

I stepped back, rubbing my forehead, then put my tea down and hurriedly dressed in some harem pants and a peach off-the-shoulder peasant top. Zen and Karma were waiting at the door to be let out for their morning duties, and they shot through as soon as I opened it. I'd installed a cat door when I'd moved in, but most of the time they still wanted me to open the people door for them.

The wind was fresh, and I rubbed my arms as I rounded the outside of the tavern to approach Harvey and Blondie. When I reached them, she was laughing about something as she picked up a tool belt laden with small trowels and paintbrushes. She looked like she was on a modeling shoot for a guy's magazine, not about to begin an archeological dig.

She clipped it around her tiny waist and then said to Harvey, "I've forgotten how good we were together. I've missed you." She reached out and rested the palm of her hand on his cheek.

Before Harvey could say anything, I announced my presence with an overenthusiastic "Hi!" to mask the disappointment that had just slammed into my ribs. Was she an ex-girlfriend of his?

Harvey jumped away from her.

Blondie looked me up and down with that unmistakable curled lip of a jealous female, visually assessing me with a haughty glare and obviously finding me lacking.

"Hi!" Harvey stood and put his arm around me, kissing my cheek.

Blondie's eyes narrowed slightly at the gesture.

"This is Carmen." Harvey swung his arm in Blondie's direction. "She's come to help with the salvage. This is Hope."

"Nice to meet you," I said.

Her eyes brightened up then when Harvey looked at her. "Lovely to meet you too, Holly," she said with a British accent, giving me a smile that was obviously fake.

I wrapped my arm tighter round Harvey's waist. "It's Hope, actually."

She ignored my comment. "Yes, Harvey and I are going to be working closely together now to recover the rest of the artifacts he found." She looked pretty smug about that.

Was it me, or did she just emphasize the word
closely
?

"How…nice," I said, forcing the smile to stay on my face. "Any news on the
Ocean's Revenge
?" I asked Harvey.

"Now that Carmen's here to help, I'll be going back out again with the crew from the Seattle research department at Uni of Washington to look for it. We've marked out a bigger search area this time. I'm pretty confident we'll find it soon. But how about you? What have you been doing?"

Carmen climbed down into the entrance to the caves and left us alone, so I filled him in on what we'd discovered about Pandora.

"Crikey." He ran a hand through his messy crop, and I wanted to do the same. "Must be awful for Ian."

"Yeah, I feel really sorry for him, but I can't help thinking he may have something to do with Pandora's death. Even so, I still want to try to help him find some closure about Jenna."

"But the police are pretty sure that Tim's the one who killed Pandora?"

"Looks that way. Maybe they're right. But something is still niggling at me."

"Anyway, I'm sorry, but I can't stop. I'm meeting the crew at the harbor. I'll drop by tonight when I'm done for the day."

"Okay." I leaned in to kiss his warm lips, then stood watching his retreating back, admiring the view, when Carmen climbed out of the entrance.

"You know, we went out with each other for ages," she said to me, not even bothering with the fake smile now that Harvey wasn't in the vicinity. "And I can tell you with absolute certainty. You're definitely not his type." She gave me the once-over again.

Zen chose that moment to stalk up behind us. He swiped the back of Carmen's leg with his paw, scratching her.

"Bloody hell!" She leaped into the air with a surprised yell. Looked at her leg. Looked at Zen. Then tried to kick him.

Zen was too fast for her and ran off. I swear I heard him snigger.

My head whirled as I refilled salt and pepper shakers at the bar, although I actually spilled more than I put in because I was too busy thinking about Carmen and Harvey. Was it true? Was she really Harvey's ex? Why did Harvey keep the fact she was coming out here to help him from me? That twinge of jealousy turned into a full-blown sucker punch to my stomach, because judging by what I'd seen earlier, Carmen wasn't too bothered about the
ex
word. It seemed like she wanted Harvey back. But I'd been there before. My previous fiancé had cheated on me, which was why I'd invented the no-dating rule. I hadn't been involved with a guy for years. Hadn't even wanted to until Harvey appeared in my life. And I didn't want to be a green-eyed monster either. Ruby had once told me that worrying about bad stuff that might happen was like praying for what you don't want. And I agreed. Although it was hard to follow that advice when my heart was twisting. Even though I'd only known Harvey a short time, there was a connection there that I knew was something special. Maybe even once-in-a-lifetime special. And I didn't relish the idea of Carmen waltzing in and trying to cause trouble between us. I knew her type. She was exactly the same as Elise.

Ruby breezed through the door of the tavern an hour before her shift was due to start, which was a welcome distraction from my worrying. "Morning, darling!"

"Morning." I tried to sound like my usual happy self, but my voice wobbled a bit.

"Oh, what's wrong?" Ruby frowned. "Have you found out more about Jenna or Pandora?"

"No. It's Harvey. Well, not Harvey exactly. It's
Carmen.
"

"Who's Carmen?"

I explained what had happened earlier.

"Oh." Ruby's eyebrows shot up. "Well, even if they were together once, there's obviously a reason why they split up. I wouldn't worry. Harvey adores you."

"Yes, but they're going to be working with each other for a long time on this recovery," I grumbled. "Very
closely.
"

"What's meant to be is meant to be. And you and Harvey
are
definitely meant to be. I can feel it. The Universe is telling me." She gave me a reassuring smile.

"Anyway, what are you doing here so early?" I changed the subject so I could stop thinking about it.

"Ian called me earlier and wanted to know if I'd arrange Pandora's funeral for him, so we're meeting here to discuss it."

"Did you tell him that Pandora was dying of an inoperable brain tumor?"

She nodded gravely. "I did. It was another shock to his system, the poor man. He feels terribly guilty about everything. He realized that's where he knew Dr. Trower's name from, as Ian often sees patients at Seattle Medical Center."

"You know, part of me has been thinking that at least she had a quick and painless death in the end," I said. "From the letter we read, it sounded like the cancer was quite aggressive. She might only have had a few months to live, and the pain she would've gone through would be awful in the end."

"I know what you mean, but it doesn't make it any better that someone took her life."

"No, I agree. I'm not saying that at all. But if the Universe does always have a plan for us, maybe it was the better plan for Pandora."

A knock sounded at the tavern's door, and I went to open it. Ian stood there looking as if he hadn't slept in a long time. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, and his hair stuck up in all directions.

"Hi," I said, wondering again if he was really the killer. "How are you doing?" I stepped back to let him in.

"I've been better."

"Come and sit down." I led him to one of the empty booths. The place wouldn't open for another hour, so we could all talk in private. "We're not doing food yet, but would you like a coffee?"

"That would be lovely, thanks. Espresso. Actually, make it a double, please."

"Gotcha." I turned to Ruby. "Green tea?"

"I'll have a peppermint tea, please."

I headed back to the bar to get the drinks and returned a few minutes later. Ruby had pulled a notepad out of her bag and was asking Ian questions.

"Do you think lilies or roses?"

"Um…I don't know." Ian looked lost, like a helpless child. "Mother used to like roses, but I just didn't know her anymore. That's why I wanted your help."

"Roses then. You can't go wrong with those." Ruby scribbled that down. "I'll make a list of her clients and the few old friends she had to let them know when the funeral is. I'll also make an announcement in the local paper in case any other locals want to pay their respects. Do you want to hold the wake at her house or here?"

"Yes, you're very welcome to have it here," I said, sitting down and sipping my green tea. "I can arrange it all, so you don't need to worry about anything."

"Here, I think." Ian put his chin in his hand and stared out of the window. Today the ocean was choppy, a spray of fine mist floating above it. "I'm going back to Seattle later today. I've got some patients that I need to get back to. I had another look around the house, but I couldn't see anything that might suggest Tim murdered Jenna."

"If Pandora did find something, Tim must've taken it with him before he murdered her," Ruby said.

Ian nodded vacantly. "You're right. I guess that's the end of it now. I just have to accept Jenna really is never coming back." He dug in his pocket and pulled out the keys to Pandora's house, sliding them across the table to Ruby. "I know this is a lot to ask, but could you also organize packing up Mother's things? They can all be sent to the local thrift shop."

"You don't want to keep anything as a reminder?" Ruby asked. "Some of Jenna's things are still there."

"No. I think it's time to finally close the chapter and move on."

"Of course I can, if you're sure." Ruby patted his hand.

"I'm sure." He stared out the window again, and when he spoke, I didn't know if he was talking to us or himself. "At least they've got Tim now. Even if they couldn't prove he killed my sister. At least he's locked up for one murder."

A while later, after Ian and Pandora had finished discussing the funeral arrangements, Vernon arrived. He looked terrible. His skin was pale, but his cheeks were a ruddy complexion, and he walked around the place slowly, wincing every now and then.

"Is your knee playing up?" I asked him, knowing the gunshot wound he'd taken all those years ago still caused him a lot of pain.

"No, I'm good," he said with a forced breath. And with that he sat down at the edge of one of the booths, arms clutched around his stomach, leaning forward.

"You're not okay!" I crouched down in front of him. "What's wrong?"

"I've been getting pains in my stomach. But don't tell Ruby. She'll only cluck around me like a mother hen."

"Don't tell Ruby what?" Ruby appeared, took one look at Vernon's pained face, his clammy forehead, and said, "I knew you'd been hiding something! You need to get to a doctor right now. You look terrible! It's your stomach, isn't it?"

Vernon clenched his teeth and nodded. "I've been having trouble for a while."

"Typical man! Ignore it, and hope it will go away," Ruby muttered, helping him up. "Too much alcohol and an atrocious diet aren't going to help your stomach if it's sensitive. I've been telling you for years, but you never listen to me."

"What did I tell you?" Vernon shot me a look and rolled his eyes at Ruby.

"Well, someone needs to look after you." She linked her arm with his. "I'm taking you to Dr. Eckhardt right this minute." She steered him toward the door before he could object, but judging by the state of him, he looked as if he was way past objecting.

I opened up the tavern in their absence, hoping it was nothing serious. If Vernon did have an ulcer, he'd never hear the end of it from Ruby. And maybe this was the kind of crisis that would finally push them back together again.

In the corner there was a regular crowd of ladies who met once a week here for their bridge club before having lunch. Their glasses were full, so I took the opportunity to look up Melanie Crook in the local directory. Although Jenna hadn't spoken in any detail to Ian about her relationship with Tim, maybe she'd mentioned something to her best friend, Melanie. And perhaps she could shed some light on Ian's own relationship with his sister.

There was no listing for her, but I guessed she'd probably got married in the last twenty years and changed her name. I phoned Ruby instead.

"Hi, is there any news on Vernon?"

"He's in with the doctor now. Silly man." The worry oozed from her voice.

"You know how stubborn he is. This is probably a much-needed wake-up call."

"Most certainly."

"I was just wondering if you knew someone in town called Melanie. She was Jenna's best friend. Used to have the last name Crook, but I can't find her in the book. I wanted to see if she could shed any light on Jenna."

"Oh, yes, Pandora mentioned Melanie once when she was talking about Jenna. She works at a preschool in town, but I'm not sure which one. You could try ringing around them."

"Good idea. Let me know as soon as you hear something about Vernon."

"Will do."

I went through the Yellow Pages, flicking through to the preschools, and found three in Danger Cove. I tried the first one, but they had no one called Melanie working there. I called the second, Happy Tots, and when a woman answered, I asked to speak to Melanie.

"Um…she's teaching in class at the moment. Can I help? Or would you like to leave a message?"

I heard a loud bell ring on the other end of the line.

"Oh, hang on a minute. Break time's just started. Let me see if she's free." She put me on hold, and I listened to some classical music.

A few minutes later another woman came on the line. "Hi, Melanie speaking."

"Oh, hi, my name's Hope Foster, from the Smugglers' Tavern. Did you by any chance used to be Melanie Crook?"

"Yes, that's right. I read in the paper that you and Ruby Fournier found Pandora. It's so sad. Tim Baxtor deserves to rot in hell for what he did."

"Do you have time to speak right now? I'd love to ask you a couple of questions about Jenna and Tim. I'm trying to find out if Pandora discovered something about Jenna that led to her death."

"Well, sure, of course I'll help in any way I can. I always wanted to see him behind bars." A pause. "Hang on for a minute. I'll move to my classroom, where it's more private." There was muffled talking, as if she'd put her hand over the phone. Then I heard the sound of heels clicking on a hard floor and a door opening and closing. "Right. What did you want to know?"

"Ian mentioned that Jenna changed when she was seeing Tim. He said she seemed like she was worried about something before she disappeared. Did she speak to you about anything?"

"Jenna and I went to this very preschool together. We were friends from the first day here, so we were close, you know, more like sisters. But we drifted apart a bit when she got engaged to Tim. He was so controlling, telling her what to wear and that she couldn't go out without him and hang out with her friends. She was madly in love with him, and although I tried to talk to her about the way things were between them, little things I noticed, she didn't listen to me. She couldn't see it. You know what it's like when you're young and in love. You think you know everything, right? But I did see her a couple of days before she disappeared. She said she'd finally woken up and was going to end things with him. She couldn't take it anymore. Said she didn't love him and he was stifling her. She told me she'd been offered a great job in Seattle and he'd told her she couldn't take it, but she was going to anyway. She was looking for a place to live there to get away from him."

"Did she tell you she was meeting him that night at the Fourth of July fair?"

"No. I had the flu then, so I didn't go to the fair. I was at home that night."

"Did Tim ever hit her?"

"Not that I knew of. It was more mental and psychological manipulation, you know? There was one time when we were out in a big group. All Jenna's friends were there. None of Tim's. He never seemed to have any. Anyway, Jenna was chatting with one of the guys who used to be in our class at school, and Tim was furious about it. Called her a whore in front of everyone. She was so embarrassed. They left shortly afterward. He was always hypercritical of things she wore, unreasonably jealous and controlling. And if she wasn't with him, he was constantly phoning her at home to make sure she wasn't hanging out with another guy. It was things like that." She sighed sadly. "The town was divided into two camps: those who thought he'd done it and got away with it and those who thought he was innocent. He put on a good act as the distraught fiancé. I'll give him that." Anger dripped from her words.

"And you thought he'd done something to Jenna?"

"Hell yeah."

"What was Ian's relationship like with Jenna? Did they get on?"

"Ian was six years younger, and they weren't really that close. They didn't argue or anything, but…hey, not all siblings get on, do they? My husband hasn't spoken to his own sister in years. Pandora and Jenna were kind of more like sisters than mother and daughter. They did lots of stuff together."