by Mel McCoy
“What is that?” Emma asked.
Larry bent down and picked it up. “Looks like a small key.”
Adam approached Larry, who picked up the key and was now holding it out to get a better look. “Looks like a key to a safe deposit box.”
“Like at a bank?” Sarah asked.
“Probably.”
Emma crossed her arms and grinned, proudly. “Sounds like motive to me.”
Sarah shared the same smile. “There’s only one way to find out. I think I have an idea.”
Chapter 19
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Adam said, resting his elbow on the window of his car and propping his head up. They were parked down the street from the boutique in Adam’s Honda, staking out the front of the shop during their impromptu “sting” operation. Adam was off duty but had some equipment from the station in his possession, which he reluctantly allowed them to use for this undertaking.
There was movement in the front window of the boutique, and Sarah could see her grandfather fidgeting and adjusting items on the shelves.
Sarah lowered her binoculars. “You want to be taken seriously at the station, don’t you? And maybe get off desk duty.”
“Yeah, but if you’re wrong, I could lose my job.”
“Trust me.”
“I’m trying.”
“You might even get a promotion!”
Adam groaned.
Sarah raised the binoculars back up to her eyes. “I think I see him.”
Sarah grabbed her radio and held down the push-to-talk button. “Hey Grandpa, he’s coming. Remember to show him the necklace and then place it somewhere visible.”
Static emitted from the radio. “Maybe Emma should do this.” Emma was hiding in the office, taking care of the dogs so that they weren’t a distraction—and because she wanted to be nearby, in case Grandpa got into any trouble.
“No, Grandpa. He trusts you. He barely speaks to Emma. Just stick to the plan and it’ll be fine.”
“Okay, but just for the record: I don’t like lying.”
Sarah sighed. “Technically, Grandpa, you’re not lying. Now turn off your radio.”
Larry shut off the radio. It was understood that now Sarah and Adam would be able to hear what was going on in the boutique through the monitor on Adam’s phone, which he attached to his dashboard. And if Larry needed help, he would use the code word they’d come up with.
Several moments later, Sarah and Adam could hear the chimes of the door open to the boutique on the phone screen. Her grandfather spent hours adjusting the hidden camera so they could get a clear angle. Adam told him he would do it since it’s the station’s equipment, but Larry was stubborn and said he could do it. Sarah had to admit, he got a perfect shot.
“Hi, Bob,” Larry said.
On the camera, Bob came into view. She saw his flannel shirt and overalls. He walked briskly up to the counter. Adam and Sarah leaned toward the small monitor on Adam’s dashboard to hear the conversation between Larry and Bob.
“Hey, Larry. So, you say you need me to take a look at one of your lights again?”
Sarah was proud of Emma for thinking of that one. Grandpa always needed those spotlights fixed.
“Yes, I need my light fixed. Can you help me?”
Bob chuckled. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Thank you. I will now take you to my light,” Larry said almost directly into the camera.
“Say, Larry…Are you okay?” Bob asked.
“Why, yes, Bob. I am.”
Adam looked like he was in pain. “He isn’t a very good liar.”
Sarah shook her head. “Maybe he’s just nervous. I’ve seen him lie before one time when Grandma got her hair done. It wasn’t pretty.”
Larry led Bob to the “broken” light and they chatted a bit. Larry seemed a lot more relaxed, and it didn’t take Bob long to resolve the issue.
“There,” Bob’s booming voice emitted through the small monitor’s speakers. “Simple fix.”
“Thanks for coming out,” Larry said. He stepped over to the counter and Sarah could see Bob staring intently as her grandpa took off the necklace and hung it behind the counter.
Larry continued, “So we’re heading out of town tonight.”
“That’s nice,” Bob said, staring at the necklace.
Sarah looked at Adam. “Looks like he’s really eyeing up that necklace.”
Adam nodded, not tearing his eyes from the monitor.
Larry continued, “Yeah, the girls want to take me out somewhere nice overnight. But they won’t tell me where. Can you believe that? Say they want to treat me for being the world’s best grandpa,” Larry said.
Adam looked at Sarah. “Looks like Larry’s getting better at lying.”
“What are you saying?” Sarah gave Adam a nudge on the shoulder. “He is the best grandpa.”
Adam laughed. “That’s not what I meant.”
Adam and Sarah both focused their attention back on the screen.
“Sounds fun.” Bob’s voice was monotone.
Sarah saw her grandpa smile at Bob. “Well, I’ve got to get packed up. Thanks again for coming out on such short notice.”
Once Bob was gone, Larry looked into the camera. “Okay, the bait has been set. Now we wait…”
Chapter 20
Sarah sat in the passenger seat with Adam by her side. The sun had set a little more than an hour ago, and she was growing restless waiting for the suspect to pick up the bait they had planted. Still parked down the street, their eyes were both fixed on the boutique’s front door. Larry and Emma were no doubt up in the apartment, glued to Emma’s phone to monitor the necklace via the hidden surveillance camera.
Sarah looked up and saw that the apartment was cloaked in complete darkness. In fact, every light in the entire building was out, and it was only by the glow of the crescent moon that Sarah could see the front door to the boutique.
Larry had left the store’s entrance unlocked, since he didn’t want to deal with the aftermath of an actual break-in. Sarah figured it would be fine—it was common knowledge around town that her grandpa was often forgetful.
Now, all Sarah could do was wait.
After fifteen minutes, Adam said, “It’s almost ten o’clock.”
“Yeah?”
“And there’s still no one.”
“Give it time. Could be any minute now. You saw how he was looking at that necklace.”
Adam nodded.
They waited in silence for a few more minutes, then Adam cleared his throat.
“So, how’s city life?” he asked. “Do you like it?”
Sarah looked over at Adam. “It’s a bit more hectic than the Cove.”
Adam stifled a laugh.
“What?”
“Cascade Cove is a bit more hectic now, don’t you think?”
Sarah nodded. “Hopefully me coming into town wasn’t a bad omen.”
Adam scoffed. “Oh please. You coming here was just what this town needed. Besides, I missed you.”
“I remember the first time we met,” she said.
Adam broke out into a fit of laughter. The boy he’d been re-emerged, if only for just a moment. “Oh, wow. Meeting you was painful.”
It was Sarah’s turn to laugh. “I was busy trying to get that silly kite up in the air.”
“Admit it: You weren’t looking at where you were going—you plowed right into me. I’ll never forget that. Then when I saw you, I was like, ‘who in the world is this girl?’”
“That was the first summer my parents brought me to visit my grandparents. They’d only been down here a few years by that point. The pet boutique was on its first or second year.”
Adam gazed into Sarah’s eyes, still smiling. “Who would have thought that collision would spark a friendship that’s lasted to this day.”
Out of the corner of Sarah’s eye, movement.
“Look,” she said.
A man in a black hoodie mean
dered past the Bait and Tackle shop and stopped when he reached Larry’s Pawfect Boutique. He turned and studied the main door, then looked around to ensure no one else was around.
Sarah and Adam both slinked down in their seats—it was too dark to be spotted, Sarah knew, but they wanted to be certain.
She watched as the man stepped up to the door.
“I can’t believe it. You were right,” Adam said.
The man checked the door, and it immediately swung outward. He looked around again, as if in doubt of whether or not he should go in.
“Go on,” Sarah said. “Take the bait…”
Moments passed by at a snail’s pace, and then the hooded man entered the boutique.
“Bingo,” Adam said.
Sarah studied the phone on the dash, seeing the faint glow of the “emergency exit” sign illuminate the space behind the counter.
“There he is,” she said, seeing the shadow sweep across the screen and rush behind the counter.
In less than thirty seconds, the hooded man was back outside the store, the locket dangling from his hand. He pocketed the locket, and rushed along the street, heading toward a parked car. The man opened the car door, and in moments, the car pulled out into the street.
Adam started his engine and pulled out, keeping his headlights off as he followed the car. The glow of a few street lights was sufficient enough to light their way.
The car turned down another road. “We’ll just follow his taillights and see where they take us,” Adam said.
Eventually, Adam had to turn on his headlights as they drove farther and farther inland, away from Cascade Cove. He stayed far enough back as to not raise suspicions, but not so far back that he’d lose the person they were pursuing.
“Where’s he going?” Sarah asked, keeping her eyes on the car off in the distance, a single beacon in the darkness.
“He’s turning,” Adam said, and quickly sped up.
They followed him down another road, then another.
One turn after another, they kept far back but still had a visual of the distant taillights. Then, Sarah saw the bright red brake lights and in the next moment, the car was out of sight.
“Where did he go?” Sarah asked.
Adam slammed both hands on his steering wheel. “I can’t believe it. We lost him!”
Up ahead, Sarah saw complete darkness.
Her heart sank.
This “sting” was a bust.
Now, she was certain, they’d never catch the killer.
Justice wouldn’t be served, and peak season would arrive with a noted lack of vacationers and tourists. Her grandpa’s boutique would finally go under and—
“Look,” Adam said, his voice interrupting Sarah’s thoughts. “Walter Drive.”
Sarah looked at the street sign, her gaze shifting down the tree-lined dirt road that seemed to lead into the abyss.
Adam stopped the car, putting it in Park.
“What are you doing?”
“Wait here.”
Before Sarah could protest, Adam got out of the car, a flashlight in hand.
Sarah put down her window.
“Adam?” she said in a sharp whisper.
The cool wind slapped her in the face as she watched Adam hunch down. He was looking at something on the ground.
Adam rose in a hurry and rushed back into the car.
“I see fresh tracks in the mud,” he said. “Plus, I think I know this road…”
“Walter Drive…You think…”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I’ve patrolled out here a few times and there’s a cabin at the end of this road.”
Adam put the car back into Drive and turned down the road, extinguishing his headlights, leaving nothing more than the hazard lights to illuminate the path to the cabin.
“Okay, here we are,” Adam said, parking. “Stay here.”
“Are you kidding?” Sarah said. “No way. I’m going with you.”
“No, you need to stay here. It could be dangerous. Lock the doors.”
Sarah huffed and locked the doors.
Adam nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
Adam rushed along toward the cabin. A moment after that, he disappeared into the darkness.
Sarah sat in the car, alert. All she could hear were the crickets chirping all around her, but nothing else.
All of a sudden, she heard a bang.
Sarah scrambled out of the car, shutting the door lightly just as Adam had when he got out. She hurried along the same path Adam had taken moments before.
Sarah could see the car they had been following, headlights still shining, but she didn’t see anyone around.
Her heart raced as she hunched over and ran. When she came to a big tree trunk, it was pitch black and she could barely see a thing.
Before she knew it, she felt someone grab her from behind and cover her mouth before she could scream.
Then she heard the person shushing in her ear. “I told you to stay in the car.” Adam let go of Sarah and she turned around to face him.
“I heard something, and I thought you might be in trouble.”
Adam sighed. “I heard it too. I think it was the car. It backfired or something.”
Just then, Sarah heard a car door close.
Adam put his finger up to his lips and looked around the tree trunk. He turned back to Sarah and said, “Someone’s getting out of the car.”
Sarah peeked around the other side of the trunk and saw the man who’d exited the vehicle, stepping in front of the headlights for a moment. His hood was now down, but she still couldn’t see his face.
He pulled the necklace from his pocket, letting it dangle from his hand.
A sound off in the distance, probably a wild animal or something, startled the man, and he turned around to investigate.
The headlights illuminated the man’s face and Sarah gasped.
Adam’s voice came out in a whisper. “Is that…”
Sarah’s eyes were as big as saucers as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing.
Time seemed to stand still as she stared at the familiar face. She couldn’t believe it when her mind finally came to grips with the actual identity of the man.
Chapter 21
Sarah’s mind flashed an image of the first time she saw the young man who now stood before them. The man who had apparently “turned a new leaf.”
No, it couldn’t be…
“Danny?” Adam whispered, peering out to get a good look at the man who gazed out into the darkness, practically blinded by his headlights. “Doesn’t he work at Patricia’s Tea Room now?”
“Yeah, he’s Patricia’s grandson…Bob’s kid.”
Danny turned and walked toward the entrance to the cabin.
“Look,” Sarah said, pointing to the side of the cabin. “There’s an open window. Maybe we can see in…”
Adam nodded, then they raced from the cover of the tree toward the cabin. Hopefully Danny wouldn’t come back out, or else they’d surely be spotted.
After a dozen tense seconds, they were alongside the house, crouched below the open window. Light peered out, illuminating the ground beyond the cabin. They, however, were still in the shadows. Safe, for now.
“I got it,” came Danny’s voice.
So, he wasn’t alone.
Another voice boomed. “Second try’s a charm. Hand it over, Danny.”
Sarah wondered what he meant by that. Then it dawned on her—the break-in at her grandpa’s shop.
Sarah was tempted to look into the window, but she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do so without being spotted.
She heard the sound of the locket being opened, then Danny said, “The old man mustn’t have known what he had—there’s still a key in there.”
“Thank goodness,” the booming voice said. “Okay, help me pull back the rug. The safe is under here.”
“Do we have to go down in the basement?”
“There is no basement. The open
ing to the safe is facing upward, under the trap door.”
“How did you find out about it, anyway?”
“I did some digging.”
Sarah thought the booming voice sounded familiar. Where had she heard that voice before? She was about to speak when she saw Adam press his index finger vertically against his lips.
Time seemed to slow as Sarah waited.
Crickets still chirped off in the woods.
Then Sarah heard the sound of a creaking hinge.
Boot steps.
A bang.
Then just woodland sounds again.
“It’s not working,” the booming voice said.
“Are you sure?” came Danny’s reply, worry consuming every syllable.
“I know how a key works.”
Silence.
“Nope, it’s not the right key,” the voice boomed.
“I bet that slug, Jacobs, switched it out before we offed him?”
Sarah’s ears perked up and Adam pulled out his phone. He gave it a few taps with his thumb and slid it back into his pocket.
“I didn’t ‘off’ him. It was an accident.”
“Whatever you want to call it, old man. You killed him.”
Sarah couldn’t hold back much longer. She had been piecing it all together. The murder, the break-ins, the family history. She took the key from her pocket.
Adam looked at her. “What are you doing?” he whispered.
“It’s time.”
“No, it’s time when I say it’s time.”
“Just cover me and follow my lead,” Sarah said and went to the door of the cabin.
Adam grunted and followed her, probably knowing he didn’t have a choice. When Sarah made up her mind, no one could stop her.
The front door was already open, and Sarah stopped just outside the doorway. “Is this what you’re looking for?” Sarah held the key up into the beam of the moonlight as she stepped into the doorway. Adam was next to her, his gun aimed and ready.
Both men looked up at her. Danny spat, “You’re on private property, you need a warrant to—”
“We heard everything,” Adam said. “Two witnesses—one a cop—against you two…I don’t think you’ll have a chance.”
“I didn’t kill anyone. It was an accident!” Bob said, his face red and eyes somber. He looked like he was ready to weep.