Fe Fi Fiddler Die

by Wendy Meadows

  Chapter 2

  Unexpected Entertainment

  Brenda stayed a polite length of time in the sitting room and then excused herself. “If you need anything this evening or during the night, use the electronic call button in your room. I’m sure Michael pointed it out to you. I’ll answer right away and take care of your needs. There is also an all-night snack and beverage room off the hallway near the kitchen. Please help yourselves.”

  Several guests again told her how delicious the meal had tasted, and the group began to drift off to bed. Some went to their rooms and others decided on fresh air. Brenda was halfway down the hall when she turned to hear low voices. One glance told her Jake and Thomas were in deep conversation together at the doorway of the now empty room. Thomas glanced behind him several times as if to make sure they weren’t overheard. Brenda guessed they were discussing the dinner events, something she was anxious to forget.

  Brenda hurried out the back door and across the pathway to their private cottage, which they had only recently renovated. She looked forward to having Mac home and being in his arms again. She and the detective had married less than a year ago and were as much in love as the day they pronounced their vows to one another. Deep in her thoughts, she looked up at the sound of his car coming into their driveway.

  “What a long day, Brenda. How did yours go?” He bent to kiss her as he unlocked the cottage door.

  Brenda told him about the fiasco during dinnertime. “I was ready to step in but didn’t have to when Reverend Thomas Kelly restored the peace. I hope we don’t have to put up with outbursts like that again. Mason’s behavior was totally uncalled for.”

  Mac wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Maybe everyone was just tired from their travels. I’m sure tomorrow will be a better day.” He kissed her again and stood back. “I do have good news for you. I’m free tomorrow after ten in the morning. We can go to the Jamboree together. I’ve put Bryce in charge of security and have assigned other officers to posts and I’m not needed, unless something comes up.”

  “That is good news. I’m looking forward to another Sweetfern Harbor festival. It’s always fun to see everyone take advantage of good times.” They talked about the increasing tourist population flooding the town. “You’ll have to meet the fiddler, Mac. He is very entertaining and is set on winning the competition tomorrow night. He seems very nice, and I hope he does win.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re already playing favorites,” Mac teased. They enjoyed a nightcap together and then headed for bed. The weekend promised to be a busy one.

  By morning, Brenda felt like a new person. Whatever went on the night before was gone from her mind. She relaxed and greeted a few early risers. Phyllis had arrived for the day and she and Brenda opted to have morning coffee in Phyllis’s former apartment, which was still kept furnished and ready for her use. She had lived on the premises before marrying William Pendleton the previous Christmas in a double wedding with Brenda and Mac. Brenda kept Phyllis’s apartment ready in case she worked late for special events at the bed and breakfast.

  Phyllis brewed fresh coffee while Brenda told her of the events of the night before. She was chagrined that she had not quite let it go yet. “So much for forgetting,” Brenda said, “but I had to tell you. I think the guests will be fine, but it was a rocky start.”

  “I’m glad the priest was there to smooth things over. This isn’t the first time your guests arrived tired, Brenda. Today will be better, I’m sure. Do you want to walk downtown and get the latest gossip? I’ll get my housekeepers together. We’ll get the rooms refreshed and make sure everything’s in order first.”

  Brenda laughed. “I don’t doubt things will be in order, Phyllis. They always are. And you know I wouldn’t miss going down to listen to the news of the day. We’ll go to Morning Sun Coffee first. That’s where things will be the liveliest, and I hope to meet some of the fiddlers in town, too.”

  Brenda left a note for Mac to tell him they would be back in time for lunch. “I want to stop by Jenny’s Blossoms on the way there and say hello to her, too. I know she’ll be busy, but I haven’t seen her for a couple of days.”

  “Your daughter will have time for you, Brenda. She always does.”

  It made Brenda feel good that everyone now referred to Jenny Rivers Jones as her daughter rather than her step-daughter. When Brenda married Mac, his beloved daughter Jenny had come with the package. She cherished the idea of having her own daughter since she and the detective married in their forties and Brenda had let go of the hope of having her own child; and anyway, Jenny was perfect in her eyes.

  When the women reached the flower shop, Jenny greeted them with a huge smile. Her cheeks glowed more than usual, and both women noted her bulging stomach. Besides planning a wedding, they also had a baby shower to think about. Jenny had told them to wait until she was further along, and they had reluctantly agreed to comply.

  “I have beautiful bouquets ready for the bed and breakfast, Brenda. They’ll be delivered early this afternoon if that suits you.”

  Brenda admired the creations in the upright cooler. “Whenever is convenient is fine with me, Jenny. Thanks.”

  “We’re headed for Molly’s coffee shop,” Phyllis said. “Do you want us to bring you something?”

  “I’m going to take a break around twelve-thirty. I have all my workers here today so that’s when I’m planning to take my lunch. I’m sure Bryce will bring something in for me to nibble on sooner than that, though. He’s like a hen with a chick and wants to make sure I’m all right.” Jenny’s melodious laughter flowed easily. Brenda told her she was a lucky mom-to-be.

  Along the sidewalk the women met many people they knew. They chatted briefly with a few of them and smiled at tourists. Three men played fiddles on the corner near Morning Sun Coffee. One broke in occasionally with a joke and the crowd grew as laughter echoed across the small street. Brenda and Phyllis slipped into the coffee shop and went to the counter. Molly seemed oblivious to them standing there while she and Jonathan Wright were engrossed in a conversation, their heads nearly touching.

  “What will it take to get service here?” Phyllis asked. Molly jerked in her direction.

  “Hi, Mom. Jon and I were just talking about all the people camping down at the beach. I guess they ran out of room in town. Have you ever seen such a large crowd of people in Sweetfern Harbor?”

  “I agree there’s quite a crowd. I’m glad to see you have extra help in here, Molly,” Phyllis said. “We’ll take two lattés, please.”

  Brenda suggested Phyllis sit at a table while she waited for their drinks, but then Jonathan stepped in and offered to carry them over when ready. A few minutes later, he brought three beverages to them and asked if he could join them for a few minutes. They invited him to sit down at their small booth.

  “I’ve been talking with one of your guests down on the shoreline,” Jon said. “He’s quite the surfer and took to the waves like a pro.” The women waited while he took a quick sip of his raspberry iced tea. “His name is Mason Eads, and…well…” He took another sip, seemingly oblivious to their sudden curiosity.

  “Get on with it, Jon,” Phyllis said. “What about Mason Eads?”

  “I had the feeling I’d met him somewhere before. There was something about him that was a little familiar. Yet weird. I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

  Brenda shuddered unnoticed by her table companions. “He says he likes to surf on vacations a lot, especially in California,” she said. “Have you ever been there?”

  “I learned to surf on Venice Beach,” Jon mused. “Maybe that’s where I met him.” It was then that he noticed Brenda’s disturbed countenance. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Brenda. It was just a random observation on my part. I’m sure he is a perfectly nice guy.”

  “I think he is probably a little different when it comes to personality,” Brenda said, not wanting to reveal the whole story, or discuss why her stomach seemed to drop like a brick when she rem
embered the casual disdain and cold demeanor of Mason’s words at dinner the previous night.

  Jon regretted bringing up the subject and now wished he had kept quiet. The man had struck him as odd, but Jonathan had rented boats to many tourists, and this wouldn’t be the first customer to be quirky. He glanced at the clock on the wall near the counter. “I have to get back down there. I’ve been gone too long now.”

  “You did come quite far for a break,” Phyllis said. Her eyes twinkled when she looked in the direction of her daughter. A rush of heat colored Jon’s cheeks a faint pink as he realized Phyllis knew exactly why he came to Morning Sun Coffee despite the distance.

  After he left, Phyllis told Brenda the same thing. “Molly went through a bad time after Pete Graham. I’m glad she has found someone again.”

  “Jonathan has gained a good reputation around town, and his business is growing,” Brenda said. “Molly deserves someone like him in her life.” She finished the last sip of her latté. “Maybe we should get back.”

  For the first time since inheriting Sheffield Bed and Breakfast from her uncle, Brenda felt a stir of uneasiness when she and Phyllis entered the house after their morning stroll downtown. Phyllis noticed Brenda’s pale face and asked her if she was alright. “I don’t know what’s come over me,” Brenda said. “There is something that isn’t right, but I can’t pin down what it is.”

  To Phyllis, everything looked normal. Sheffield House’s polished floors shone in the sun and not a speck of dust could be found anywhere. The ornate front staircase curved up to the second floor in front of them and Brenda held onto the banister while she looked around a little. Phyllis reflected on the staircase and how it fascinated her; she often thought about the many people who walked the steps over the many decades of the house’s existence.

  Phyllis noticed a couple of guests in the sitting room. Mattie Cabot curled in the corner of the loveseat reading a book. Drake stood looking out the wide window where late morning light filtered in. He appeared deep in thought.

  “They appear content,” Brenda murmured, and tried to quell her sense of unease.

  They had a few minutes before lunchtime. Allie told Brenda that Mac had come in and could be found in the kitchen. “I think he’s probably bribing Morgan for something sweet to eat.” Brenda smiled and shook her head. She never understood how her husband could eat sweets before a meal without affecting his appetite for the meal when it was served to him. She left to join him, hoping a hug from his strong arms would help restore her sense of rightness.

  Downtown, Jake Smith stood in a group of other fiddlers near the door of Sweet Treats. Hope Williams looked out and took samples to them. She hoped it would encourage them to play some music near her shop, which in turn would draw in more customers. It worked, and a couple of the men started up a lively tune that immediately drew a small crowd. Meanwhile, Hope introduced herself, and Jake asked if she was related to the reservationist at Sheffield Bed and Breakfast. Hope beamed when she answered in the affirmative.

  “Your daughter is very good at her job,” Jake said.

  “In that case, maybe we should take a break and go in to see what else she has to offer,” one of the musicians said to him. One of the other fiddlers reminded Jake that he’d told them he would go back to the bed and breakfast for lunch soon. He protested that surely it wouldn’t ruin his appetite.

  Hope led them inside and each purchased something from the trays behind the glass counter. They sat at a bistro table near the window and enjoyed the delicious mini cakes. Hope joined in conversation before the next deluge of customers came in.

  “Some of the treats you are enjoying at the bed and breakfast came from here,” she said. “If you had a bagel at breakfast that, too, came from my kitchen.” She and Jake exchanged a few more comments about everything else Sheffield Bed and Breakfast offered.

  “Speaking of food, I’d better head back if I want lunch,” Jake said with a charming grin, “Not that I wouldn’t happily eat your cake for lunch, Mrs. Williams.”

  “Please, call me Hope,” the baker said with a blushing, warm smile. She was starting to like the young man, with his dancing eyes and polite manners.

  Jake bid the group farewell. “I’ll meet up again with the rest of you in an hour or so. I suppose you’ll be at the park practicing?” They told him they would likely play some more on the street corners and he could easily find them.

  The fiddler made it back to the bed and breakfast in time to sit down across from Brenda. Mac sat at the head of the table. Mattie and Drake joined them, along with other guests who opted for lunch at the bed and breakfast that day. The conversation was much livelier than the night before, and Brenda could not help but think that Mac’s steadying presence played a hand in that. Jake promised to play a few tunes when asked. It was agreed after lunch that anyone who wanted to listen should come to the sitting room. Brenda and Mac looked forward to hearing him give a private concert. Even Mattie and Drake voiced their desire to hear good music.

  When they sat down with coffee and tea in the sitting room, Jake perched on a polished antique stool and brought his fiddle to his shoulder and started to play. The music danced and cavorted, waltzed and sighed, leapt and twisted, and all the while the sunshine poured through the windows and lit up Jake’s halo of slightly curly hair. Everyone wished to tap their toes to the rhythm. When he finished with an energetic flourish, all broke out in a round of applause, amazed at the unexpected expertise of the young fiddler. Brenda told him there was no doubt he would win the first prize later that evening.

  “That’s my goal,” he said. Then he flashed a wide smile around the room before carefully placing the instrument back into its case. “I promised to get back to my friends to play along the streets this afternoon. We do that to draw crowds to the big performance tonight.” He left for downtown, and the others drifted off to their own interests. The Cabots again escaped with no word of farewell, and this time Brenda saw them walk to the pathway that led to the waterfront. Allie told them she listened from her desk when Jake played.

  “I’ve never heard anything like that,” she said. “That fiddle spoke, didn’t it?”

  Brenda and Mac laughed at her awed expression and agreed with her. “By the way, Allie, Morgan and my father have agreed to meet with you and me and Phyllis to go over plans for the wedding ceremony. It won’t take long since we’re just getting their input.” Mac rolled his eyes. He recalled how he and William Pendleton finally gave up when the three women went ahead with elaborate plans for their own double wedding at Christmastime. He told Brenda he would be in their cottage unless there was anything she needed him to do in the bed and breakfast. She assured him everything was in order.

  Tim was in the kitchen with Morgan when the women found him. “We may as well listen to them, Morgan,” he said with an arm around his fiancé. “But if you have any objections, feel free to state them. My daughter can get ideas in her head that grow rapidly.”

  Morgan told him not to worry. “At this point, my only wish is for close friends and family to be the only witnesses to our day. I do want it to be more intimate…not a huge display for Sweetfern Harbor.” Tim told her it was settled and that’s where they would put their foot down in case the plans threatened to get out of control.

  Brenda didn’t miss the determined looks on the faces of the engaged couple. “This will only take a minute or two,” she said. “We’re keeping to the small guest list since we know that’s what you want.” Tim wondered if his daughter could read minds or if she had truly resigned herself to taking their wishes seriously. “We want to go over the menu with you. Since you are going to Hawaii, we thought perhaps you’d like the reception to be a Hawaiian theme feast.”

  Morgan clapped her hands. “That is a perfect idea. What do you think, Tim?” He told her that he wanted what she wanted. The three wedding planners felt they had accomplished something that pleased everyone. They continued to provide ideas about food and decorations, an
d the couple agreed to almost everything. Everyone left the discussion in a happy mood.

  Mason Eads had not been around the bed and breakfast all day long. He made it clear from his demeanor and words that he had no intentions of attending the Fiddlers Jamboree. Most of the guests presumed he spent the entire day on the water, especially given his mention of his interest in surfing.

  “I wonder why he seems to be distancing himself from everyone,” Brenda said. “We have three guests, Mac, who don’t want to be around others.”

  “If you’re talking about the Cabots again, they did come to listen to the fiddle music after lunch.”

  “That’s true, but then they left without a word as soon as it was over. I saw them go in the direction of the seawall. I wonder what they’re doing.”

  “They are probably enjoying their down time,” Mac said. “Quit worrying about it so much. Some guests simply enjoy their privacy and aren’t here to become a big happy instant family, don’t you think?” Brenda mused on this idea.

  “I guess I just want it to be fun for everyone. It’s odd when guests isolate themselves and are anti-social like that. But I have to admit, you are right. There’s no need for me to worry about it.”

  Mac teased her that he was going to make her put it in writing that she agreed he was right in this instance and they laughed together, forgetting all about the guests as they enjoyed their time together as a couple deeply in love.