Sweetness and Light (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 5) (8 page)

“Why do you think that happened?”  Jenna had her eyes closed again.

Angie spoke up.  “I was thinking about that recently.  I wonder if the cats got confused because Charlie had a difficult life, his parents ignored him, sent him away to school.  He didn’t seem to be loved.  And Brian, well, his father abused him and Cook threatened him.  Maybe the cats had a hard time sorting out the negative stuff that the two men had suffered from the bad that one of them inflicted on others.”

“That makes a lot of sense.”  Ellie nodded.  “Like there’s too much static to hear what’s really going on.”

“Could this be the same thing this time?”  Jenna sat up and reached for a cookie.  “The cats sense something is off, but there is some competing influence that blocks the clarity of the signal.”

“I think that happens with us too.”  Angie shielded her eyes from the sun.  “Sometimes, it’s hard to cut through to what I’m really sensing.  I feel the thrumming, but I’m not sure what it’s trying to tell me.  I feel a lot of static involved in this case.”

“We need to be careful.  Listen and watch, but question everything we hear and see.  Try to sift through the static that’s blocking what we sense.”  Jenna’s face was serious.  “We need to protect ourselves.  We’ve had some close calls in the past month.”

Ellie went quiet.  Just as the girls turned to see why she’d stopped commenting, they saw her eyes darken.  “Someone’s coming.”  Her voice was ominous.
 

Chapter 11

Angie and Jenna sat up in their seats, alarmed.  They flicked their eyes towards the house and then turned back to Ellie, their faces questioning.

“What is it?”  Angie whispered.  “Who’s coming?”

A slow smile played over Ellie’s lips.  “It’s just Mr. Finch.”  She tilted her head to the property line.  The older man emerged from the trees that grew between their two back yards.  “Did you think I’d had a premonition?” Ellie joked with her sisters.

Jenna gave Ellie a gentle bop on the arm.  “You tricked us.”

Angie scowled.  “I thought something bad was about to happen.”  She waved at Mr. Finch who was leaning on his cane and making his way to the pergola.  When he reached the patio, Angie said, “Ellie played a trick on us.  She said someone was coming, like she’d had a vision of something bad.”

Finch grinned.  “How amusing.”  He lowered himself onto one of the Adirondack chairs.  “Where are the cats?” He glanced around.

Angie narrowed her eyes.  “Why?”

“I enjoy their company, is all, Miss Angie.  No need to be concerned.”  Finch gestured to the trees at the back of the property.  “I’m going to get some estimates from two stonemasons about putting in that walkway between our houses.  I get caught on the branches and roots and nearly fall every time I come through the brush.”

“Call us when you’re on your way over here and one of us will meet you,” Ellie suggested.

“We can’t have you hurt.”  Angie gave him a wink.  “We need you to help us solve crimes.”

The girls told Finch that Kimberley Hutchins had just checked in at the B and B. They relayed what she’d said about Nelson Rider and his recent costly mistake at the firm.

“Could someone from the firm be responsible for Nelson’s death?”  Finch placed his cane on the ground next to his chair.  “Someone who was tired of his mistakes?  Nelson’s error cost the firm a great deal of money.  Money is a common reason for murder.”

“Have you been watching murder mysteries with Courtney?” Angie grinned.

“No.  Well, sometimes I do, but I read this information in a newspaper article not long ago.  It makes a good deal of sense.”  Finch stroked his chin.  “Money is a powerful motivator.  For good and evil.”

“What should we do next?” Jenna asked.  “Who should we talk to?  Is there anything else we can do besides interview people?”

Angie’s expression turned serious.  “Josh told me that the bungalow where Nelson was killed is going to be closed all summer and then in the fall they’re going to knock it down.”

“That’s probably wise.”  Finch considered.

“Police Chief Martin would like us to go through the place again.”  Angie paused and looked at Mr. Finch.  “I was thinking that maybe you should come and visit the bungalow with us.  Walk around, touch things.  Maybe you’ll pick up on something in the rooms.”

Finch nodded.  “I’d be happy to accompany you to the cottage if you think it might be useful.”

“Also, we should bring the cats along,” Ellie said.  “It might help them clarify their feelings about people and then that would help us know who we can trust.”

“And who
not
to trust, which might be even more helpful.”  Jenna shrugged a shoulder.  “When can we go?”

“Courtney should come too.”  Angie thought that with all of them working on finding clues and trying to sense something, they would be more successful with everyone together.  “At dinner, let’s figure out when we’re all free to make a visit to the resort. And we should talk about the upcoming memorial service too.”

Ellie eyed Mr. Finch.  “You said you had an idea for bringing the cats to the remembrance service?”

Finch had a gleam in his eye.  “The cats could attend as therapy animals.  They would be present to help calm and comfort people.  I saw this very thing when I was living in Chicago.”

“Euclid would hate that.”  Jenna thought about the big orange cat being pawed by strangers.

“We could explain the mission to him and appeal to his better nature.”  Mr. Finch looked at one of the windows at the back of the Victorian and spotted Euclid sitting on the windowsill staring out at them.  “Oh, look.  There he is now.  He probably heard us talking about him.”  Finch waved.

“And at this very minute, Euclid is sitting there coming up with excuses to avoid the memorial event.”  Jenna leaned back against the sun-warmed wood of the chair.

Mr. Finch smiled.  “He
is
a very clever boy.”

***

At dinner the group discussed arranging a time to re-visit the crime scene bungalow at the resort.  After everyone had confirmed when they were free, and Police Chief Martin was consulted, they decided to meet at the bungalow at the end of the week.

When everything was settled, Jenna suggested that the four of them head to the beach for a quick swim in the ocean before Courtney needed to return to the candy shop for the evening shift.  Mr. Finch was invited to the beach as well, but he had a date with Betty, the Sweet Cove Realtor and his girlfriend of two months.

The sisters headed down Beach Street to the white sand beach.  The crowds of the day had left for dinner, but there were still plenty of people lingering by the sea.  The girls loved to be on the beach at this time of day as the setting sun painted rosy streaks of pink and violet across the sky.

They brought boogie boards with them to ride the waves.  Once they pulled off their T-shirts and shorts and tossed them on the sand alongside their beach towels, the four girls raced each other into the water.  The sisters jumped the waves and dove under them as they crested.  The tide was going out and as it slowly retreated, the beach grew wider.

The sea swung around the back of the beach and created a saltwater river where people kayaked and floated in inner tubes.  The girls headed to the river with their boards and walked upstream where they stepped into the water and floated along with the current until it carried them back to the main beach.  The girls stood up out of the water with their boards and headed back to where they started so they could float down a second time.

“It’s great this evening.”  Courtney said to her sisters.  “The water is warmer than usual and the air temperature is perfect.”  Stepping into the water and leaning on her board, she started kicking vigorously.  “Race you to the end of the river.”  She took off downstream.

Jenna kicked and floated along in hot pursuit of her youngest sister.  Angie and Ellie’s boards crashed into each other causing Ellie to capsize.  Laughter rose into the air as Ellie surfaced and maneuvered back onto her board.  Despite the furious fluttering of her legs, she couldn’t catch up to the other three.

At the river’s end, the four girls beached themselves and sat on the sand for a few minutes.

Courtney leaned back and stretched out on the soft, white sand.  “That was so much fun.  I don’t want to go back to the candy store tonight.  I want to stay and do another river run.”

“Me, too, but we should head home.”  Jenna brushed sand from her legs.  “I need to get busy on some jewelry.  I’ve been so distracted by things lately and I really have to finish some product to ship out.”

Ellie blew out a breath.  “No wonder you’ve been distracted.  First, we get hired for a wedding by those crazy Winstons, then the groom is murdered, and now the Winstons contract with all of you to cater desserts and sweets for the memorial reception.  Not to mention all of us being asked to investigate Nelson Rider’s murder.  It’s been a nutty few days with a nutty group of people.”

Angie sighed.  “And we don’t have any strong leads on the killer either.”

The girls stood up, gathered their things and walked towards Beach Street.  They started to discuss the surprise house-warming gathering that they were planning for Mr. Finch when Jenna pulled on Angie’s arm and whispered.  “Look up there.  On the second floor terrace.  Isn’t that Kimberley Hutchins talking to Todd Moore?”  She steered her sisters into a crowd of people standing in line on the sidewalk waiting for entry into a popular restaurant.

Ellie squinted and craned her neck to see.

“Don’t be so obvious,” Jenna scolded.  “It’s Bethany’s
friend
.”  She emphasized the word.  “That’s Todd Moore up there.”

“Well, that’s definitely Kimberley with him.”  Ellie stood peering over the shoulder of a tall man who was standing in the line.  She was hidden from view, but could clearly see the two people engrossed in conversation on the restaurant’s second floor balcony.

Courtney watched them.  “How would they know each other?”

The attractive blonde was gesturing in an animated way.  She was not smiling.  Todd shook his head in response to what Kimberley was telling him.

“And,” Angie asked, “What on earth are they discussing?  It sure looks like a serious conversation.  I wish we could hear what they’re saying to each other.”

Todd and Kim seemed about to part.  Courtney pulled on Angie’s arm.  “Don’t let them see us.”  The four girls hurried under the restaurant awning.

Courtney narrowed her eyes.  “Why are those two talking?  Todd is supposed to be in love with Bethany and Kim was having an affair with Bethany’s fiancé.  Kim would be Bethany’s enemy so how does it make any sense that Todd would meet up with Kim to have a chat?”

“Could they have joined forces to kill Nelson Rider?”  Ellie watched for the two people to emerge from the restaurant.  “Nelson dumped Kim, and a dead Nelson would be a benefit to Todd.  Maybe Kim and Todd decided to work together to eliminate a common enemy.”

“This is getting more complicated by the minute.”  Angie slunk down behind a group of people.  “Maybe we should split up.  Go home in pairs.  That way we can blend in with the tourists easier.”

Jenna handed Ellie a hair tie.  “Pull your hair up into a topknot.  That long blonde hair of yours is like a shining beacon.  Let’s be as inconspicuous as possible.”  Once Ellie secured her hair, she and Jenna moved through the crowd with their heads down, walking away up Beach Street towards the Victorian.

“Let’s wait a minute, and then we’ll follow.”  Keeping an eye on the entrance to the restaurant, Angie saw Todd exit through the front door.  “There he goes.”

“Should I follow him?  He’s never met me, so he won’t be suspicious.”  Courtney kept her eyes on Todd as he dodged around the tourists.

“Okay, yeah, go ahead.  I’ll wait for Kimberley to come out and I’ll see where she goes.  Text me.  Let me know what’s going on.”

Courtney slid around the people on the sidewalk and hung back from Todd just far enough behind to be of no notice, but close enough to keep him in view.  Just as Angie turned her head to watch the restaurant door, Kimberley sauntered out wearing tight black slim leg jeans and a skimpy top that caught the eye of just about every man waiting in the line.  Oblivious to any attention, the curvy blonde headed away from the beach area and up the street towards the center of Sweet Cove.  On the spur of the moment, Angie decided to catch up to the young woman and try to engage her in conversation, so she darted onto the sidewalk and hurried to Kimberley’s side.  Angie called out a greeting.

Kimberley whirled towards the voice, her jaw set and her eyes flashing with annoyance.  “Oh.  It’s you.”

Not exactly a pleasant hello, but Angie decided it was better than being ignored.  “I thought it was you.”  Angie forced a cheerful tone.  “I saw you come out of the restaurant.  Are you heading back to the B and B?”

Kimberley’s expression remained stern.  “What?  Yeah.”

“Did you meet friends for dinner?”  Angie clutched her boogie board and beach towel under her arm.  Her wet bathing suit was making her feel cold.

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“My sisters always say that.”  Angie tried to remain friendly in order to stimulate some conversation.  “I took a quick swim.  I’ve been working too much and needed a break.”

Kimberley said nothing.

“Are you enjoying your stay in Sweet Cove?”

“Not really.”  The blonde kept her eyes looking forward.  She picked up her pace, eager to get away from the pesky interrogator.

Since she was getting nowhere by being pleasant, Angie decided to change her approach.  “Funny.  When I was coming up from the beach, I thought I saw you on the balcony of the restaurant talking to Todd Moore.”

Kimberley whirled around.  Her eyes bore into Angie’s like lasers.  She took a menacing step that closed the space between the two young women. “I don’t know what you think you saw.”  Kim’s voice was like ice.  “But maybe you’d better get your eyes examined.”  She held Angie’s gaze for several seconds before turning on her heel and storming away.

A chill ran down Angie’s spine and it wasn’t because she was wearing a cold, wet swimsuit.