by Sonia Parin
“I need some coffee.” She stepped over the mess in the sitting room and put the kettle on. Sensing Jack, she turned to him. “You arrived just in the nick of time. Thank you, Jack.”
“Is the coast clear?” Jill asked as she strode in with Mischief and Mr. Magoo.
Eve rushed toward her and threw her arms around her. “You ran. You ran.”
“I had to. You were screaming at me to run. I’d been standing there, petrified. When you told me to run, I nearly collapsed. My legs started moving and they didn’t stop until I reached the road. Then I realized I’d pulled my phone out and I’d dialed for help. They must have thought I was crazy the way I was raving and ranting.”
“I’m so glad you ran. Thank you.”
Moments later they were sipping their coffees.
Jack set his mug down. “Explain to me again how Robert Pierce and Alex Green knew about the canister being here?”
Oh, Eve realized she’d skipped over that part.
“I’ve got some muffins. Would you like some muffins?”
“No, thanks.” Jack held her gaze.
“This coffee tastes so good. I thought I wouldn’t live long enough to drink another cup.”
“Eve.”
“Yes?” She sighed. “All right. We—”
Jill cleared her throat.
“I knew they were after something. I’d overheard Mel say she wasn’t leaving the island until she got what she came for. I just didn’t know what that could be.” She shrugged. “Then we... I noticed the canister in the photos. There was only one way to find out if the canister had any value. So I decided to set the bait and mention it to Mel. If she reacted in any way... if she showed any interest, then it meant she wanted whatever was inside the canister.”
“Did you, at any point, consider passing that information on to the police?”
“Well, I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I’d promised to keep my nose clean.”
“But you didn’t.”
“What was I supposed to do? The information landed on my lap. I thought Mel was after the Picasso drawing.”
“What Picasso drawing?”
Eve told him about the article she’d read and how there was supposed to be another drawing floating around. “I assumed she was after the drawing. It never occurred to me to imagine there’d be a will tucked inside. Although, it makes sense now. Alexia, the gallery owner, said Mel and Stevie had messed everything up. I think she meant Mel had been badgering Reggie to come clean about the new will. But you’re a great detective. I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“I’m glad to know you have some faith in my abilities.”
Yet he didn’t sound too pleased with her.
“I can’t believe... Do you realize... Do you have any idea the danger you put yourselves in?” He brushed his hand across his face. “What exactly did you think Mel was going to do after you told her you had what she wanted?”
Eve shrugged. “I thought she’d take some time to cool off and then come to see me. I never expected her to tell Robert Pierce. You should dig into his activities. He said he got the gun from one of his criminal friends.”
Jack stood up. “Thanks for the coffee. I should get going.” He started to say something else, but then stopped. He stared at her for a moment.
Eve shifted. “I guess date night’s off.”
“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”
“I’m feeling deflated,” Eve said, “It’s the morning after syndrome. So much has happened, now I’m at a loss.”
They’d cleaned up the house and had organized to have the hole in the wall fixed before Mira returned.
“Have you heard from Jack?” Jill asked.
“He called to ask how I was doing.”
“And?”
“I tried pretending I wasn’t interested in the case.”
Jill laughed. “How long did that last?”
“I had to ask. It would have been rude not to. Besides, I need to show an interest in Jack’s work, otherwise he’ll think I’m losing interest in him. He said they’ve hauled all the house guests in for further questioning. Robert Pierce and Alex Green have been charged. Going by what Robert Pierce said, he and Alex Green were the only ones involved in actually... doing away... Hey, it’s over. The crime’s been solved. My embargo’s lifted. They killed Reggie. They murdered him. And they used my donuts and Mira’s life buoy to kill him.”
Jill laughed. “I told you so. I knew you’d eventually explode.”
“How would you like it if I banned you from saying I told you so.”
Jill tilted her head. “You’re right about that feeling of being at a loss. What are we going to do with ourselves? This has been quite an adrenaline rush.”
“We’ll go out for breakfast. My shout. And we need to go shopping for a life buoy. If Mira realizes it’s missing, she’ll know something happened.”
They got as far as the car.
“Hey, there’s Jack.” Eve watched him climb out of his car and stride toward them.
She’d been trying to avoid thinking about the date they’d missed, but now that he’d come...
Had he forgiven her for breaking her promise?
“Hello, Jack. You nearly missed us. We were on our way into town for breakfast.”
“Mind if I join you? I’ve been looking forward to a break.”
Eve supposed that meant he didn’t want to talk about work, or anything related to the case.
“Actually, you’ll love this, Eve. Detective Mason Lars is impressed by you. He said you’ve missed your calling. He wants to know your secret.”
Was that a hint of jealousy? “Common sense deductive thinking,” Eve smiled, “What’s Mel been charged with?”
“Nothing as yet,” Jack said, “She’s pleading innocent.”
“What? No. She’s guilty.”
“Eve. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” He smiled. “You’ve done your part, now let the police do their job.”
She told me to get donuts. But she already knew Reggie was gone.
“Are you telling me to keep right out of it?” Eve asked.
“For your own good,” Jack said.
“So if I had an important piece of information—”
Jack shook his head. “All right. Out with it.”
“I’ll trade you.”
Jack brushed his hand across his face.
“Who discovered the body?” Eve asked.
“Brandon McKay.”
“I knew it,” Eve said. “And he called the police.”
Jack nodded.
“Well, the night Brandon ran to the beach house, he was raving. He said Mel had told him to get the donuts even though Reggie was already gone, although Brandon didn't know that at the time.” Eve smiled at Jill. “They still wanted Brandon to keep faking the pictures. So they made him believe Reggie was still alive but keeping to himself. Mel’s as guilty as the others. You only need to get Brandon McKay to collaborate and confirm this...”
Jill nudged her.
“What?”
“You can’t tell Jack how to run his investigation.”
“I’m only making suggestions. Besides, I have an adage to live up to.”
“Behind every successful man is a woman?” Jill asked.
“Yes. Although, I don’t want to assume. Especially since our date was postponed. For all I know it was actually canceled and Jack will never want anything more to do with me.”
Jack brushed his hand across her back. Reaching inside his car, he brought out a bunch of flowers.
“He brought you flowers,” Jill said. “That’s a good sign. It has to be.”
“I think I need to apply my deductive thinking. Do you think he’s trying to make up for the date we missed? And was the date postponed or canceled? There is a difference.”
“The flowers have to mean something,” Jill agreed. “Maybe he felt he needed to apologize.”
Jac
k cleared his throat.
“But it wasn’t his fault. In fact, I should own up and accept some responsibility for ruining our date night. If I hadn’t broken my promise to him and Mira—”
“Eve,” Jack said.
“Hang on, Jack. Give us a minute. Jill and I will figure this out...”
Jack shook his head. “I suppose the sooner I get used to this, the better.”
Eve smiled and thought she’d never been happier to see him.
All Tied Up
A Deadline Cozy Mystery - Book 3
Copyright © 2016 Sonia Parin
All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
If you would like to receive notifications about new releases, please follow Sonia Parin on BookBub
Created with Vellum
Chapter One
“Captain Jack Blackthorn... everything a man should be... Magnificent build. Easy, playful manner. Oozing sex appeal...” Eve rolled her eyes, “I don’t like this one bit.” All these women daydreaming... entertaining fantasies about her man.
“Did you say something?”
Eve looked up from the stack of letters she’d been reading. Mira’s fan mail. Eve had now been living in Rock-Maine Island with her aunt for several months. Needing something to do, she’d been helping Mira with some of her author housekeeping duties... “I’m having trouble dealing with this surge of interest in Jack.”
Mira laughed. “He’s become a favorite with my readers.”
Detective Jack Bradford had come into their lives a few months before when he’d been investigating a murder on the island. They’d now been dating for a few months.
Mira, a.k.a. historical romance author, Elizabeth Lloyd, had been so inspired by Jack, she’d fashioned her latest swashbuckling hero on him. And while Eve had at first been amused, now she wasn’t so sure she could share Jack with Mira’s enthusiastic reading audience. The thought of all those women curling up in the evenings and filling their fantasies with him was putting her on edge. “What if your readers find out he’s real?”
“But he’s not,” Mira reasoned.
“You said you based Jack Blackthorn on my Jack.” Eve had now read Mira’s, or rather, Elizabeth Lloyd’s latest historical romance three times and with each reading Jack Blackthorn had become bigger than life.
A couple of days before, she’d been on a date with Detective Jack Bradford and had surprised herself by wondering why Jack couldn’t be more like... Captain Jack Blackthorn.
Eve tilted her head and smiled as she recalled one particular chapter from The Princess and the Sea Wolf. Captain Jack Blackthorn had launched himself from the highest ship’s mast, and had swooped through an ensuing battle to land on another ship where he’d swept the reluctant damsel—
“Eve.”
“Sorry, did you say something?”
“Perhaps you should give the fan mail a rest.”
Eve shook her head. “I want to do something, I need to do something.” Until recently, she’d owned a bustling business. Selling her restaurant had left her floundering. She’d never had so much free time on her hands. If she didn’t set her mind and heart on something soon, she’d go stir crazy.
“Have you given any more thought to running the bookstore? Or maybe you should just focus on relaxing. This is meant to be your time to redefine yourself.”
“I’m not sure I can still use that excuse.” She sighed and sunk back in her chair. “I feel I’ve been going against the current, turning my back on what I know best. It’s time I accept my fate. I’m a natural born chef, so I should stick to what comes easy to me. Jill suggested I open a bed and breakfast or an inn. The island gets enough tourist traffic to make it worth my while.”
“Then you should look into it. Abby’s place is still up for grabs and it’s large enough to convert into an inn.”
Eve gazed out the window at the sea beyond. Like Mira’s beach house, Abby’s house sat right by the shore with easy access to the beach. “That reminds me, I need to drop by Abby’s place. I promised I’d keep an eye on it.” Abby Larkin had recently sold her bookstore to Mira and had packed up to move to the city in search of her happy-ever-after. Instead of keeping the house as a safety net, she’d put it on the market, but so far, she hadn’t had any takers.
Eve suspected Abby’s asking price had been set too high on purpose. While Abby insisted she wanted to cut all her ties to the island as a way of making sure she stuck to her purpose, she might still be harboring some reservations.
“I might actually do that this afternoon. Is there anything you need me to pick up for you in town?” Eve asked.
“If you happen to be near the bakery, I wouldn’t mind some of their chocolate chip cookies. Of course, I prefer yours but I feel guilty neglecting local businesses.”
“They do well enough from Jill and me.” Not a day went by when she and the twenty-four year old artist she’d befriended when she’d come to the island didn’t drop in for a coffee at one of the establishments in town.
Eve nibbled the edge of her lip. She hadn’t baked in days. What had come over her? She loved cooking for Mira and she knew for a fact, Mira preferred her cookies. “Okay, I’ll finish these letters for you tonight.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable.”
“Have some faith in me. I can deal with a little jealousy. Besides, at the end of the day I have the real Jack.”
“All right, but please keep in mind these are my loyal readers and they know when someone is being tongue in cheek.”
“I promise they won’t know it’s me answering their mail and not you. By the way, some of your readers want to know if there’ll be a sequel to The Princess and the Sea Wolf.”
Mira smiled. “I’m thinking Captain Jack Blackthorn will put in a few cameo appearances. In fact, I’ve decided to give him a twin brother.”
Eve buried her face in her hands. Great. Now there were going to be two Jack wannabes to contend with.
During the drive to Abby’s beach house, it suddenly occurred to Eve that Mira’s loyal readers were the least of her concerns. Mira had created Captain Jack Blackthorn and that meant she’d spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the real Jack.
Eve tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and tried to remember how Mira had described the pirate.
... broad shoulders, long, lean frame... ruffled brown hair... a playful smile that promised a world of delicious fun...
Her mind meandered to the steamy chapters she’d read several times over. Mira didn’t shy away from explicit scenes. Eve fanned herself. The heat level in her books had astonished her. She’d never thought of Mira in those terms...
While they enjoyed an open, friendly relationship, with no holds barred, Eve preferred to nudge the door shut on some matters, never talking about her personal life, something she knew Mira found amusing, if not odd.
Reading those intimate scenes had definitely made her cheeks flush. Some passages she’d read over, snickering like a schoolgirl, and if pushed for the truth, she had pictured herself and Jack... dressed in period costume...
Never mind that the heroine was blonde with a curvaceous figure, the complete opposite to Eve who, despite her healthy appetite, remained slim. She’d once considered changing her hair color but had decided once a brunette, always a brunette. Still, it didn’t stop her from daydreaming...
It made her wonder how Jack felt about role-playing.
It made her wonder if he’d read Mira’s books...
Should she suggest it?
With a nod, she decided walking would be a good way to clear her head and find some inspiration. She had plenty to think about. She’d given herself enough relaxing time. Now she needed to push for more firm decisions and sketch out some clear plans.
It would keep her busy, and effectively take her mind off all those women thinking about Jack and using him for who knew what...
As she drove by, the couple waved. She didn’t recognize them but she still waved back. She’d been coming to the island since she’d been a little girl, but she’d never thought of herself as an islander. However, for the past few months she had been trying to fit in by building relationships with some of the locals.
Jill Saunders, the twenty-four year old local artist who lived near Mira’s beach house, was a constant companion. They often went on walks with Jill’s two Labradors, Mischief and Mr. Magoo. And Eve was, slowly but surely, getting to know other people through Mira.
This was all new to her. Having lived most of her life in New York where she’d rarely had more than a passing acquaintance with her neighbors, she’d decided she actually liked the feeling of belonging and of maybe becoming part of the community.
She was about to turn into the road leading to Abby’s house when a sports car pulled out forcing her to break hard.
“Ever heard of giving way to oncoming traffic,” she called out.
With her heart thumping all the way up to her throat, she watched the car speed off in the opposite direction and disappear into the distance.
Eve couldn’t remember ever seeing it around. Then again, there were over two thousand inhabitants, with plenty of people driving in from the mainland either to visit someone or just to spend the day.