by Leena Clover
“Just like Crystal Mars, I guess,” Jenny shrugged.
“I need to go talk to all the guests,” Adam said. “I’ll see you ladies later.”
He barely leaned on his cane as he walked away.
“Is Adam getting better?” Heather asked Jenny. “He’s hardly using his cane now.”
“It depends,” Jenny said, not wanting to speak on Adam’s behalf.
Adam was dealing with a war wound which hadn’t quite healed yet. He was in extensive physical therapy and Jenny had seen him popping pain pills quite often. He hobbled around with a stick but lately his condition seemed to be improving.
“Has he asked you out yet?” Heather giggled.
Adam Hopkins and Jenny King had been at odds with each other since they met. But neither could deny the spark between them. Jenny’s inquisitive nature did not help. When her aunt had been unjustly accused of a tourist’s murder earlier that spring, Jenny had done all she could to help her out. Adam saw it as interfering in police work and he made his opinion clear.
“He doesn’t see me that way.”
“Are you kidding? Adam Hopkins has the hots for you. We can all see it clearly.”
“I don’t,” Jenny said stoutly.
She secretly had a big crush on Adam but she wasn’t ready to admit it yet, not even to the Magnolias, the group of friends who met for tea everyday at the Boardwalk Café.
“I guess we won’t be able to sample the wedding brunch now,” Heather grumbled. “It’s been ages since I had the Eggs Benedict at the Country Club.”
“For shame, Heather,” Jenny said. “Show some respect.”
“We didn’t know her,” Heather objected. “Why do all these people drop dead in our town?”
Jenny had no answer for that.
Chapter 2
Jenny walked to the café the next morning, taking deep breaths of the fresh morning air. The sun was rising over the Atlantic, painting the sky in tones of pink and orange. She sat on her favorite bench overlooking the ocean and watched the sun come up. This was her special time of the day, a few moments to herself before the day caught up with her. The Boardwalk Café was getting busier as the tourist season ramped up.
“Good Morning!” Petunia Clark greeted her with a fresh cup of coffee. “How are you, Jenny?”
Petunia’s double chins wobbled as she spoke. She had been running the Boardwalk Café for the past twenty five years.
Jenny barely had time to gobble a blueberry muffin before the breakfast rush started. Her favorite customer was first in line.
“Blueberry muffin for you, Captain Charlie?” she asked an old sailor who came to the café for breakfast and lunch.
“What’s the world coming to?” Captain Charlie clucked. “I heard a young girl died at that fancy club yesterday.”
Jenny spent some time telling Captain Charlie about the poor dead girl.
“Sounds like some funny business,” Captain Charlie said, narrowing his eyes at Jenny. “Are you going to look into it?”
“Oh no! I have enough to do here. See you at lunch, Captain Charlie. I’m making crab salad again.”
Jenny flipped her special pancakes, baked trays of muffins and poured endless cups of coffee for the next few hours.
She glanced up at a wall clock when she heard Heather’s voice. Heather peeped into the kitchen just then, looking for Jenny.
“Ready for a break?” she smiled.
Jenny had begun to look forward to these mid-morning breaks with her friends. The group of ladies got together at the Boardwalk Café and exchanged gossip and pleasantries over coffee and muffins. Jenny heard the clacking of knitting needles and knew Heather’s grandma Betty Sue had accompanied her as usual.
Heather and Betty Sue Morse ran the Bayview Inn on the island. Betty Sue was the fourth generation descendant of James Morse, the first owner and inhabitant of the island. It had been called Morse Isle then.
James Morse of New England travelled south with his wife Caroline and his three children in 1837. He bought the island for $125 and named it Morse Isle. He built a house for his family on a large tract of land. Fishing provided him with a livelihood, so did floating wrecks. He sent for a friend or two from up north. They came and settled on the island with their families. They in turn invited their friends. Morse Isle soon became a thriving community.
Being a barrier island, it took a battering in the great storm of 1962. Half the island was submerged forever. Most of that land had belonged to the Morse family. A new town emerged in the aftermath of the storm and it was named Pelican Cove.
Betty Sue was a formidable woman in her seventies and her word was law.
“Take a break now, Jenny dear,” Petunia ordered.
The ladies sat at their usual table out on the deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
“Where is your aunt today?” Betty Sue asked, pulling some lavender wool over her needles.
Rebecca King or Star, Jenny’s aunt, was an artist. Now that the days were warmer, Star spent most of her time painting outdoors, her easel set up on one of the numerous beaches or bluffs across the town.
“I’m coming, Betty Sue,” a voice sounded as Star came up the stairs from the beach.
She was dressed in a loose, bright colored kaftan that had been hacked off mid thigh. A couple of paintbrushes poked out of her pockets.
“Stop harassing my niece.”
“Who said I was harassing her?” Betty Sue took the bait.
“Where’s Molly?” Jenny asked, pulling out a chair for her aunt.
Molly Henderson worked at the local library and was Heather’s age. She was another of Jenny’s new friends.
Petunia came out with a tray loaded with a fresh pot of coffee and a plate piled high with muffins.
Jenny sniffed at her sweaty armpits and longed for a cold shower.
“I never knew it could get so hot in Virginia.”
“Wait till July,” Star said, “or August. You’ll have sweat pouring down your eyes.”
“Settle down, girls,” Petunia twittered. “I want to hear about what happened at the club.”
“Me too,” Molly, a tall lanky girl with thick Coke-bottle glasses said as she came out on the deck through the café, slightly out of breath. “You’ve done it again, Jenny.”
“What have I done?” Jenny asked, stuffing a piece of muffin in her mouth.
She savored the flavor of the organic vanilla extract she used. She liked to use plenty of berries so they just burst forth in every bite.
“You have all the fun,” Molly said petulantly. “I hear you were present when that girl fell from the sky.”
“Are you out of your mind, Molly?” Jenny growled. “A poor young girl lost her life. Where’s the fun in that?”
“I guess it wasn’t fun for the girl,” Molly agreed. “So does anyone know what happened?”
“It looked like she jumped down,” Heather told the girls. “Now why should she do that? Do you think it was suicide?”
“She was dressed in a wedding gown, wasn’t she?” Betty Sue Morse said, pausing her knitting for a moment. “I say she wanted to ruin the wedding.”
“Oh yes,” Star said, sipping her coffee. “What about the wedding? I suppose those two didn’t get married after all.”
“Crystal was too worked up,” Heather pronounced. “They could have been married inside privately, but she said she wanted to hold off on the wedding.”
“What a colossal waste,” Petunia declared. “I can’t imagine spending an arm and a leg on something and not going ahead with it. Why! I would have fainted from the shock.”
“This is just chump change for those people,” Heather said. “Crystal makes a lot of money. A lot…”
Adam Hopkins walked up to the café, looking formidable in his uniform.
“Ladies!” he greeted them.
Jenny got up to see what he wanted.
“I have to go the mainland,” he told her. “I thought I might get some lunch to go. I
will stop at some rest area on the way and eat in my car.”
“How about some grilled chicken salad? It’s a new recipe I am trying out for the summer. I would like to get your opinion on it.”
“Why not?” Adam shrugged. “Anything you make is delicious, Jenny.”
“It’s on the house,” Jenny smiled up at him. “But you will have to give me your honest feedback.”
“When do I not do that?” Adam laughed.
“So you’ll tell me tonight?”
“I might not be able to make it to the beach.”
Jenny lived with Star in a beach facing house. It was one of the few beaches in Pelican Cove offering a flat stretch of land without any rocks or dunes. Adam Hopkins had a habit of going there for a walk. He had run into Jenny there a few times. She had been out to stretch her legs after dinner. It had become a habit and now they met on the beach by an unspoken arrangement.
“You have a doctor’s appointment in the city?” Jenny asked with concern.
“Not this time. I’m going there on official business.”
Jenny nodded in understanding.
“This is about that poor girl, isn’t it? Has anyone come asking for her? Does she have any family?”
“I can’t tell you that, Jenny. Wait till the grapevine catches up though. You’ll know soon enough.”
“We were talking about her just now. Do you think it was suicide? Or an accident?”
Adam gave her a withering look.
“You’re not going to be mixed up in any funny business again, are you?”
Jenny shook her head.
“I’ve learned my lesson, Adam.”
She had narrowly escaped an attempt on her life earlier that year when a killer tried to get rid of her.
“I want to believe you,” Adam said, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. “But something tells me you’ll find a way to butt in.”
“Are you saying I butt in on purpose?” Jenny asked, her hands on her hips. “I don’t even know these people. And we are getting too busy here at the café. I think I will have to give up my mid-morning break soon.”
“What about the extra help Petunia was going to hire?”
“We signed a couple of kids on. They start after Memorial Day.”
“Is Nick going to be here for the summer?” Adam asked after Jenny’s son.
“I haven’t talked to him all week,” Jenny wailed. “The twins might know more than me.”
Adam’s twin girls had met Jenny’s son and they had hit it off.
“You think the twins call me every day?” Adam sighed. “Sometimes I feel like they barely tolerate me.”
“You are pretty cool as a Dad,” Jenny consoled him. “They are just busy, I guess.”
“I hope at least some of that time is devoted to studying,” Adam snorted. “They might look all cherubic but they are a handful.”
“You don’t suspect foul play, do you?” Jenny burst out.
“There you go again,” Adam sighed. “Stay out of this one, Jenny. Please.”
His voice softened as he leaned toward her.
“I don’t want to be mad at you.”
“Then don’t be,” Jenny said, suddenly feeling out of breath.
“I have a job to do. Calling out people who interfere is part of it.”
“Alright, alright. Message received. Drive safely, okay?”
Adam Hopkins took the bag Jenny handed him. It felt suitably heavy and Adam felt his mouth water as he thought about any extra treats Jenny may have packed for him.
Jenny went out to the deck after Adam left, unaware of the smile that lit up her face.
“When are you going out with him?” Molly asked.
“Come on, Molly,” Jenny sighed. “Not that again.”
“Adam Hopkins needs a kick in his pants,” Molly Sue declared.
Star and Petunia agreed with her.
“I don’t see what he’s waiting for,” Star said. “Jason’s going to whisk you away one of these days.”
“Speaking of…” Petunia said, tipping her head toward the boardwalk.
An attractive black haired man dressed in a suit walked up the steps of the café.
“Hey Jenny!” he called out. “Good Morning, ladies! What’s the latest in Pelican Cove today?”
“What do you think this is, boy?” Betty Sue scowled. “Gossip Central?”
Jason gave her a cheeky smile indicating what he thought. Jason Stone was a lawyer, the only lawyer in Pelican Cove. He was one of the Pioneers, the oldest families on the island. He had moved back to the small town after getting tired of the rat race in the city. He had known Jenny years ago when she spent summers on the island as a teenager. He was as impressed with her now as he had been then. Unlike Adam, he made it very clear how much he liked Jenny.
“Aren’t you in court today?” Jenny asked with surprise.
“Just getting back from the mainland,” Jason told them. “One of my cases got pushed. I thought I might have an early lunch before I go back to the office. I’ve got plenty of work piled up on my desk.”
“Jenny will take care of you, dear,” Petunia said meekly.
Jason pulled Jenny up to her feet and put an arm around her shoulders. He whispered something in her ear and almost dragged her back toward the kitchen.
“That’s a man who means business,” Molly said dreamily. “He just takes charge of the situation, doesn’t he?”
“Chris should take a page out of his book,” Heather said cattily.
Heather had been dating Chris Williams since a long time. Their families approved of the match and were waiting for Chris to pop the question.
“Summer is going to be interesting this year,” Betty Sue cackled, gathering her skeins of yarn. “Time to go, Heather.”
The little group broke up, everyone going back to their jobs. Petunia walked into the kitchen to find Jason curling a strand of Jenny’s hair in his fingers.
“But why not?” Jason was saying. “You gotta eat.”
“Only if you let me pay,” Jenny said.
“No way, Jenny. I asked you first. And why do you get so hung up on who’s paying?”
Jenny liked Jason Stone a lot. He was smart, good looking, gentle and considerate. He wasn’t given to sudden bursts of temper like Adam. But unlike Adam, he didn’t make her blood boil.
Chapter 3
Jenny hummed a tune to herself as she chopped celery for her crab salad. Chris Williams had come over with five pounds of jumbo lump crab meat from freshly caught Chesapeake crabs.
“People are loving the chocolate cupcakes,” Petunia chortled as she came in with an empty tray.
“Should we make a double batch?”
“Not yet,” Petunia said. “Let’s keep the supply shorter than the demand. That’s a great way to spread the word without spending anything extra.”
“That’s smart, Petunia,” Jenny said, her admiration clear in her voice.
“I’ve been running this café for twenty five years, girl. I picked up a trick or two.”
Jenny added chopped celery and sweet peppers to the crab meat. A generous helping of Old Bay seasoning went in along with fresh lemon juice.
“What’s happening out there?” she asked curiously as she started mixing the salad gently.
A faint buzz was coming from the café. Heather came in, followed by another girl. Jenny and Petunia couldn’t hide their surprise.
“Hello Heather.”
“You remember Crystal?”
Jenny gazed a bit enviously at the tall, slim girl who had come in with Heather. Blonde and blue eyed, she was a real life Barbie doll. Almost six feet tall, her gentle curves were outlined in the perfectly cut summer dress she was wearing. Must be a pricey designer label, Jenny guessed correctly. Crystal Mars glowed like a bright star shining in a midnight blue sky.
“What brings you here?” Jenny asked.
She had never imagined a celebrity like Crystal would actually come to the Boardwalk Café
.
“Can we talk?” Crystal asked, looking around her.
The expression in her eyes warred with the smile on her lips. Crystal Mars was clearly out of her element.
Jenny looked at Petunia, silently asking her permission. The lunch rush was about to begin.
“Can you fill orders while you talk?”
Jenny quirked her eyebrow at Crystal.
“Do you mind if I make sandwiches while you talk?”
Crystal shrugged.
“This is a busy time for us,” Jenny explained.
“That should be fine,” Heather said hurriedly.
She pulled out a couple of chairs and pushed Crystal down in one.
“So tell me,” Jenny said, scooping crab salad onto a slice of bread. “What brings you here?”
She added sliced tomato and lettuce and pressed it down with another slice. Placing a toothpick through the center, Jenny placed the sandwich on a tray. They would be flying off the shelves in the next half hour.
“You know what happened yesterday,” Crystal said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
Jenny realized Crystal was barely holding it together. There was a hint of green below her eyes indicating she hadn’t slept well.
“You mean the girl?” Jenny asked, trying to be delicate.
“The dead girl,” Crystal nodded, not wasting any effort on being subtle. “Bella Darling. I want you to find out what happened to her.”
“We have a good police force here in Pelican Cove,” Jenny said. “They will get to the bottom of this soon.”
“The police don’t work for me,” Crystal dismissed. “I want my own man on the job.”
Jenny let the sexist remark slide.
“I’m not a qualified investigator or anything. You can hire a skilled person for this. You are not short on resources.”
“I can pay you double your usual fees.”
Jenny opened her mouth to protest.
“Triple. Okay, I will give you a ten thousand dollar bonus on top of your expenses.”
Jenny rubbed the charm hanging around her neck on a chain. Her son had given her a gold charm for her birthday every year since he turned eight. She had worn them on a bracelet for several years. She had lately strung them on a gold chain that hung around her neck. The charms lay close to her heart and made her feel closer to her son. She had fallen into the habit of rubbing the charms when she was nervous or disturbed.