by Leena Clover
“What are the photos for?” Jenny asked.
“Pelican Cove is now on Instagram. I’m taking pictures of the best things the town has to offer. The beaches, sand dunes, the flowering trees, anything that will make people flock to Pelican Cove.”
“I thought your focus was on Main Street.”
“It is. But Main Street is not up to snuff yet. I will start taking photos after the refurbishment.”
“So you want to take before and after photos?”
“Not really. Some things don’t need a makeover, like the ocean and your delicious cupcakes.”
Jenny looked at Mandy suspiciously.
“What do you want, Mandy?”
Mandy dropped all pretense.
“You have Petunia’s ear. Please get her to go through the list I sent. You guys need to start on those improvements right away.”
“I’m not sure she can afford them.”
“That’s a problem, Jenny.”
“Are you going to force us to shut down?”
“A defunct business will look worse. The café is just too prominent.”
“What would you have us do?”
“Get a facelift. Get with the program. Don’t you want your town to win? You win once but you can carry the tag forever.”
“Is that your usual spiel?”
“You’re from the city, aren’t you? I thought we’d be on the same page. What can you do to make these hicks see the light? I’ll make it worth your while.”
Jenny bristled at the suggestion. Her hands went to her hips and she glared at Mandy James.
“Get out. Now.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Jenny. At least read the list. Please?”
“Alright. I’ll give it a look.”
Mandy James walked down the steps to the beach.
“What did she want, dear?” Petunia asked, coming out of the kitchen.
“Nothing in particular. Forget about it.”
Heather arrived some time later with Betty Sue. Molly wasn’t far behind. Petunia told them about Mandy.
“That Mandy James was walking around clicking pictures.”
“Does Barb know that?” Betty Sue asked, pulling a ball of blue wool from her bag.
“Barb was following her around. Jenny knows all about it.”
Jenny told them about the Instagram.
“What is that?” Betty Sue thundered.
“It’s like Facebook, grandma, but it’s different.”
“How is that going to help us win?”
“Why don’t we go over the list you have, Petunia? Maybe we should ask a contractor for an estimate.”
“We may not need a contractor,” Heather told them. “We can get the guys to pitch in, have a potluck. Everyone will help.”
Jenny didn’t look convinced.
“What if there’s some structural work to be done?”
“The list is not going to tell you that,” Petunia argued. “We will need to get an inspector here to check on everything.”
“I say let’s do that,” Jenny urged. “Let’s get an estimate for a complete makeover.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Petunia asked. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
“What’s the harm in getting an estimate?”
Jenny widened her eyes at Heather. She caught on immediately.
“Bring that list out. We can check off the easy things.”
“That’s it then. We know what we can do ourselves. We’ll get an estimate for the rest.”
“Can you imagine Mandy’s face if we do all of this?” Heather squealed.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, girls. There’s no way I can get all this done.”
“Any update on that poor girl?” Betty Sue asked.
“I learn something new every day. She was married, for instance. She had an affair with Crystal’s fiancé.”
“Maybe she wasn’t as innocent as she looks,” Molly said.
“She is the victim here, Molls,” Jenny reminded her.
She looked at the rest of them.
“Everyone I talk to is lying about something. I am not sure I can trust anyone.”
“You should take some advice from Adam,” Betty Sue hinted. “See what he thinks.”
“Adam keeps things close to his chest,” Jenny complained. “He’s not going to help.”
“So what’s the plan?” Molly asked her.
“I’m not sure,” Jenny admitted reluctantly. “I’m still thinking.”
She took Betty Sue’s advice to heart later that day and decided to go meet Adam. Adam was having a bad day.
“What is it, Jenny?” he scowled. “I’m busy.”
Jenny sat down and smiled at him. She had brought over a plate of cupcakes for the staff. She was sure no one would disturb them.
“How’s the leg?”
“As usual…what do you want?”
“How are the twins? Are they coming home soon?”
Adam banged a fist on the desk.
“Jenny, I don’t have time for small talk. What do you want?”
“Can’t I just come in to say hello?”
“Of course you can,” Adam sighed. “But I really don’t have time to take a break.”
“Are you working on Bella’s case?”
Adam rolled his eyes and tried not to grin.
“So you’re on a hunting expedition.”
Jenny shrugged.
“I talked to Wayne and Crystal. And Bella’s husband came to talk to me.”
“Good for you. If it were up to me, none of them would have told you anything.”
“Did you know Bella was having an affair with Wayne?”
Adam sat up with a start.
“What?”
“Bella and Wayne had an affair.”
“Where do you learn these things?”
“I can be useful to you, Adam. We should work together.”
“Be serious, Jenny. How sure are you about this?”
“They definitely had an affair before Bella got married. And they were still seeing each other.”
“Even though that Wayne guy was engaged?”
Jenny nodded.
“That changes everything.”
It was Jenny’s turn to be surprised.
“You are hiding something from me.”
“I am not,” Adam argued. “That’s because I am not required to tell you anything.”
“We can agree on that. Now can you please tell me?”
Adam was quiet for a minute.
“Bella was pregnant.”
Jenny let out a cry.
“Oh! That poor girl. How far along was she?”
Jenny tried to remember if Bella Darling had been showing her baby bump on that fateful day. She realized she hadn’t really looked closely.
“A couple of months, according to the autopsy report.”
“It could be Wayne’s.”
“You realize what this means, don’t you?” Adam asked. “This is a double murder.”
“You’re right,” Jenny said softly.
She sat stunned for a few minutes, saying nothing. Then she remembered something Ray Fox had said.
“What about the sapphire?”
“She was supposed to wear it for a photo shoot,” Adam explained. “That’s how she got her hands on such an expensive piece.”
“Have you cleared Ray Fox?”
“He doesn’t have an alibi so he’s still under suspicion.”
“What about the pilot of the plane?”
“What about him, Jenny?”
“I should go talk to him.”
“You are meddling in an ongoing investigation again.”
“I’m just trying to find out what happened, Adam. I want to help.”
“You are neither trained nor qualified for this,” Adam fumed. “Stop putting yourself in danger.”
“Nothing’s happening to me!” Jenny brushed Adam off.
“Are you done now?”
&nbs
p; “Do you know our town is now on Instagram?”
“I don’t want to know. I’ll see you later, Jenny.”
Jenny decided Adam was about to flip. She got up and said goodbye.
“Just one more thing…”
“Now what?”
“Can you recommend a good contractor?”
Adam scribbled something on a notepad and tore the paper off. He handed it to Jenny.
“Now don’t bother me for a couple of weeks.”
Jenny laughed on her way out. She saw Adam’s face break into a smile through the corner of her eye. So he wasn’t completely immune to her. She hoped he would hurry up and ask her out on a proper date.
Jenny walked to the seafood market. Chris Williams greeted her with a smile and a hug.
“Where have you been hiding, Chris? You haven’t come to the café in a long time.”
“We did our annual inventory,” he explained. “Restocked everything. Getting ready for tourist season, you know.”
“I’m not the only one who’s feeling neglected.”
Chris blushed.
“Did Heather say something? I thought she was busy at the country club.”
“Not really. She misses you, Chris.”
‘You want to go on a double date? We can take the boat out one evening. You, me, Heather and Jason…”
“Sounds great,” Jenny nodded. “Now how about some trout?”
Jenny remembered she was out of Old Bay seasoning. It was an absolutely essential ingredient on the Eastern Shore. Star wouldn’t eat fish unless it was liberally sprinkled with the signature spice.
She almost collided with someone in the spice aisle.
“Jenny!” Ray Fox stared back at her.
His eyes were bloodshot and his clothes looked like he had slept in them. Jenny wondered if he knew what Adam had told her.
“What are you doing here, Ray?”
“I don’t know. Just walking around.”
Jenny picked up a bottle of seasoning, trying to think of what to say next.
There was a haunted look in his eyes.
“We talked about giving it all up, Bella and I. We dreamed of moving to a small town by the sea, just like this one. Somewhere we could raise our kids, far away from the shadow of Hollywood.”
“Any luck with Bella’s family?”
Ray shook his head.
“I’m trying to reach out to some of her friends, girls she knew when she first moved to Los Angeles. They might know something.”
“Why don’t you come over to the café tomorrow? Breakfast is on me. Or lunch. Whatever you need, Ray.”
“I need my wife,” Ray said bitterly. “But she’s not coming back.”
He turned around and walked away from Jenny, stumbling into another aisle. Chris had been watching from a distance.
“Who’s that guy? He looks kind of suspicious.”
Jenny told him about Bella.
“You girls will be careful, won’t you? You had a narrow escape last time, Jenny.”
“Don’t worry, Chris. I’m not going up in a plane anytime soon.”
“How can you joke about it?” Chris groaned.
“Did you hear about the Main Street project Barb Norton’s undertaken?”
“We are at the far end so she hasn’t given us much grief.”
“Don’t count on it,” Jenny warned. “She came up with a big list for the café. I think she secretly wants to tear the place down.”
“No way! The town can’t function without the Boardwalk Café!”
“Shouldn’t Barb know that? Wait till you meet her sidekick.”
“You mean that girl who is going around snapping pictures?”
“She’s put us on Instagram.”
Chris whipped out his phone from his pocket.
“This I have to see.”
“So we’re giving the café a complete makeover. Can I count on you for some sweat equity?”
“As long as you pay me in donuts and cupcakes…”
“Heather said we can have a potluck, gather everyone.”
“Now you’re talking!” Chris grinned. “Better than risking your life playing detective.”
“Bella Darling was barely twenty two, Chris. She didn’t deserve such a gruesome end. I won’t stop until I find out who did this to her.”
Chapter 13
“I looked it up,” Heather told Jenny on the phone. “It’s in Baltimore.”
Jenny had decided she needed to talk to the plane company Wayne had hired. Heather had managed to get the name from Crystal.
“You ready for a road trip?” Jenny asked.
“Oh yeah! Let’s ask Molly. We can go shopping and have dinner at a city restaurant. It’s been ages since I had some Thai food.”
Plans were made and Saturday arrived soon enough. Jenny had secured an appointment at Eagle Aviation, a company that offered sky diving in the area. They also took special assignments like Wayne’s where they arranged to fly people out to specific locations. The man Jenny spoke to thought she was booking a dive. She didn’t want to tip him off prematurely.
“Do you have a list of questions ready?” Heather asked as they set off in Jenny’s car.
Star was pitching in at the café so Jenny could take some time off.
“I mostly want to know if he saw Bella.”
“Remember how she was dressed? Would be hard to miss.”
Molly spoke up from the back seat.
“If the pilot saw her, surely Wayne saw her too?”
“We’ll see,” Jenny said grimly.
Jenny followed the directions to a facility outside city limits. There was a big hangar at one end. A bunch of people dressed in colorful flying suits were avidly listening to an instructor.
“We are looking for Captain Jorge,” Jenny told a man dressed in overalls.
He pointed her to a small trailer a few feet away.
Jenny, Heather and Molly trooped toward the tiny structure. Jenny knocked on the door and went in.
“Captain Jorge? I’m Jenny King. We just talked on the phone.”
“Hello ladies!”
An attractive older man greeted them cheerfully. His angular face was weather beaten. His close cropped hair had plenty of gray in it. Jenny thought of Tom Cruise in Top Gun and figured this is how he would have looked when he aged.
“Is this your first dive? We have some specials for first timers.”
Jenny looked apologetic.
“Actually, we are not here for sky diving.”
The man frowned and waited for an explanation.
“We live in Pelican Cove. It’s a small island off the coast of the Eastern Shore.”
“Wait a minute. Isn’t that where that country singer jumped?”
Jenny nodded. She was glad he had caught on quickly.
“We were sorry to hear about the girl. Are you related to her?”
“Not really,” Jenny admitted. “But I am trying to find out what happened.”
“Are you with the police?”
“No. I am doing this on my own.”
“The police came here already. I talked to them.”
“Can you spare some time for me, please? I just have a few questions.”
Captain Jorge looked at his watch.
“I can give you half an hour. I have to take a group of ten up after that.”
“You can take ten people up at a time?” Heather burst out. “I thought sky diving planes were really tiny.”
“Some of them are,” Captain Jorge said with a smile. “We have a larger aircraft here. I can take 20 people up at once.”
“Did you have any other people on the plane with Wayne Newman?” Jenny asked.
Jorge shook his head.
“They booked the whole plane. That’s generally what they do for special events.”
“You mean people sky dive to their wedding a lot?” Molly asked.
“You’d be surprised. Some people propose to their girl friends in the air
.” He shrugged. “More business for us.”
“So you weren’t surprised when Wayne Newman booked out your plane?” Jenny asked again.
“It’s not that common,” Captain Jorge conceded. “It costs a small fortune.”
“Wayne isn’t hurting for money I guess.”
“No ma’am.”
“What’s the usual process you follow for sky diving? Can you walk me through it please?”
“Most people go for a tandem dive. That’s where we provide one of our own people to accompany you.”
“Do they have a choice?”
“You need to be licensed if you want to do a solo dive. We make sure you have the right credentials.”
“And Wayne Newman produced them?”
“He sure did. He said he was going to do a tandem dive with his wife to be. He was going to take her down himself.”
“Did he have his own parachute?”
“I guess. He was already rigged up when I saw him that day.”
“Do you inspect the gear before the jump?”
“Of course,” Captain Jorge said quickly. “We follow the necessary guidelines. If he rented one of our rigs, it must have gone through a quality check.”
“Who was flying the plane that day?”
“I was. I’m the only pilot around here.”
“Can you describe what happened?”
“The girl arrived when I was doing my flight checks. She was wearing a fancy wedding dress so I thought she must be the bride.”
“Did she say who she was?”
Captain Jorge blinked, then shook his head.
“She told me she wanted to surprise her husband. Would I play along?”
“Then?”
“The way the plane is outfitted, there’s hardly any room to hide. I put some stuff up there so she could crouch behind it and stay out of sight.”
“What happened after that?”
“This guy arrived wearing a tux. He said his wife was afraid of heights. She wasn’t coming after all.”
“Go on.”
“I played along. I figured the guy’s going to get a nice surprise from his missus once we go up.”
“When did he realize Bella was on the plane?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
“You must have heard them talk.”
“We hit some unexpected turbulence. I wasn’t really paying attention to them.”
“What did you do after they jumped?”
“I realized the second chute didn’t open. But there wasn’t anything I could do at that point.”