Sweet Violet's Ghost (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 19)

by J A Whiting

  Sweet Violet’s Ghost

  A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 19

  J. A. Whiting

  Copyright 2020 J.A. Whiting

  Cover copyright 2020 Susan Coils: www.coverkicks.com

  Formatting by Signifer Book Design

  Proofreading by Donna Rich: donnarich@me.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, or incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, actual events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from J. A. Whiting.

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  Created with Vellum

  For everyone who has ever loved a dog

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Thank you for reading! Recipes below!

  Books By J.A. Whiting

  Books By J.A. Whiting & Nell McCarthy

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  Some Recipes From The Sweet Cove Series

  Soft Pretzels

  Nutella S’Mores Pie

  Mac and Cheese Cups

  Apple and Spice Bundt Cake

  Autumn Fruit Pie

  1

  It was a warm September afternoon when Angie Roseland and her twin sister, Jenna, pushed their daughters in their strollers up the slight hill near the town park. They followed the winding path under the trees that led to the cemetery at the top of the hill overlooking the ocean. A pleasant breeze rustled the leaves overhead and the sisters chatted about their work days.

  Angie and two of her three sisters lived in a Victorian mansion in the seaside town of Sweet Cove, Massachusetts. Jenna lived a couple of houses down on the same street and both young women ran their businesses out of the mansion. Angie’s Sweet Dreams Bake Shop was busier than ever even though the summer months had drawn to a close and Jenna, a jewelry designer, had so much work that she was considering hiring an assistant to help out.

  “I’m glad you wanted to go for a walk,” Jenna told her sister. “Otherwise, I might never come out of my workshop.”

  “I understand. There’s so much going on between our jobs, the babies, community stuff, and everything else.” Angie smiled. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Almost nine months old, their daughters really weren’t babies anymore. Gigi and Libby were born only hours apart and the family kidded that they were as close to being twins as they could be, without being twins.

  They emerged from the trees and entered the cemetery where paved pathways crisscrossed the green lawn. The sisters walked to the far side of the peaceful place to look out over the cliff at the glistening ocean stretching far off to the horizon.

  “Such a beautiful day.” Angie lifted Gigi from the stroller and set her down on the grass with a couple of toys while Jenna did the same with Libby.

  The giggling toddlers crawled off together for a few yards.

  “These two really seem to be developing fast.” Jenna kept her eye the girls. “I think they’ll be walking soon.”

  “They’re already saying more words than I think is the norm.” Angie eyed her sister. “I think having each other makes them try to keep up with one another.”

  They both looked to their right when they heard Libby babble, “Hi.”

  Libby was looking across the cemetery where a stonewall separated the old town graveyard from a newer pet cemetery.

  Jenna smiled. “Maybe she’s talking to the trees.” She and Angie returned to their conversation until Gigi said, “Mama. Doggie. Mama.”

  “Where, hon?” Angie asked glancing around the place. “I don’t see a doggie.”

  Sitting on the grass, Gigi bounced on her butt in excitement. “Doggie, doggie.”

  Jenna followed the toddler’s gaze and her eyes widened. “Huh. What’s that?”

  “Where?” Angie asked. “What do you see?”

  “Oh, gosh.” Jenna pointed at the shady entrance to the pet graveyard. “Over there, at the break in the stonewall. At the entrance.”

  Angie narrowed her eyes as Gigi kept calling out “doggie.”

  “Can you see the glittering particles?” Jenna asked.

  “Oh.” Angie’s breath caught in her throat.

  “It’s a … dog.” Jenna was dumbfounded.

  Angie looked down at her little daughter, over at the glittering form across the cemetery, and then at her sister. “What is it?”

  Jenna’s eyes were pinned on the thing sitting near the stonewall. It was clearly wagging its tail at them.

  After blinking a few times, Jenna whispered, “I think it’s a dog ghost.”

  “Mama. Doggie.” Gigi laughed.

  “Yes, hon. You see it?” Angie spun around to Jenna with her mouth open. “Jenna.”

  It dawned on Jenna why her sister had such a look of shock on her face. “Oh, wow. Gigi can see it. She can see a ghost.”

  The four Roseland sisters had moved to the seacoast from Boston after Angie inherited the mansion from one of her regular customers, and once settled in town, they’d began to discover they all had paranormal powers.

  “I can’t believe it,” Angie shook her head. “It’s the first time Gigi has shown any abilities.”

  Libby looked up at her mother with a beaming smile. “Doggie.”

  Jenna clutched her sister’s arm. “Oh, gosh. Libby, too.”

  The ghost-dog whined a little at them.

  Jenna was the family member who often could see ghosts. The others had only ever seen the ghost of their grandmother and most recently, their mother.

  “Have you ever seen the ghost of an animal before?” Angie questioned.

  Shaking her head, Jenna said, “This is a first.”

  “If it’s a ghost,” Angie asked, “why can I see it? I never see ghosts. That’s your thing, not mine.”

  Jenna sighed. “Maybe the ghosts of animals are easier to see.”

  The dog barked a few times causing the toddlers to laugh with delight.

  Jenna reached her hand out to the canine. “Come here. It’s okay. Come see us.”

  They watched in amazement as the small dog trotted across the grass to them, stopped near the little girls, and gave each one a lick on the cheek. Gigi and Libby bounced with joy at the dog’s kisses.

  The ghost-dog looked like a cross between a Bichon and a Poodle. It had curly white fur and bright eyes. It wasn’t a fully-formed dog … it’s body was comprised of glimmering silver, white, and gold particles and appeared as if it was almost see-through. It sat down next to the toddlers and looked up at Jenna and Angie.

  “You’re a good dog, aren’t you?” Jenna spoke to the animal and it wagged its little tail.

  “
Why is it here?” Angie asked.

  “It must have come from one of the graves in the pet cemetery.” Jenna kept her eyes pinned on the dog.

  “But why now? We come up here all the time. We’ve never seen her before.”

  Angie and Jenna slowly turned to one another.

  “Is something about to happen that we’re going to have to help with?” Jenna’s expression was worried.

  The look on Angie’s face matched her sister’s. “Oh. Well, things have been quiet for a while. It’s been three months since anything’s been going on. I guess it couldn’t last forever. I wonder what this is going to be about?”

  “Shall we head home? See if she wants to follow us?”

  They put the girls in the strollers and started down the pathway back to the town park. Jenna could see that the dog wanted to go along with them.

  “Come on. You can come home with us.” When she patted her thigh to encourage the canine to join them, the shimmering dog jumped up, darted ahead, stopped to look back, waited, and then trotted along beside the foursome as they went down the hill, through the park, along Main Street to the lane where the mansion stood, all the while wagging its tail.

  The Victorian stood set back from the road on a little less than an acre of land with a lovely green lawn, lush trees, and flower gardens put in by Ellie, the middle sister. With more than eighteen rooms, it housed Angie’s Sweet Dreams Bake Shop, Jenna’s jewelry shop, and a bed and breakfast inn along with rooms for Ellie, Courtney, and Angie, her husband, and daughter. They’d expanded the mansion recently by adding a first floor apartment for Mr. Finch, and there was a large carriage house at the rear of the place that had two two-bedroom apartments on its second floor.

  Mr. Finch, an older man who had been lovingly “adopted” by the Roselands and was now an honorary member of their family, sat on the front porch in a rocking chair with a small black cat named Circe on his lap. Euclid, a huge orange Maine Coon cat, was perched on the railing watching Angie, Jenna, and the toddlers come up the walkway to the Victorian … when he suddenly arched his back and hissed.

  “What is it, fine boy?” Finch asked the cat as Circe jumped down to see what had her furry friend on the defensive.

  Finch stood and adjusted his black-rimmed eyeglasses as something next to the strollers caught his attention.

  “What’s this?” Surprise and delight could be heard in the older man’s voice when he saw the ghost-dog. “Did you find her in the cemetery?”

  Finch bent down to pat the small white, gold, and silver creature and she wagged and wiggled around him. “I can’t feel her. It’s like putting my hand through the air. But it certainly seems she can feel me patting her.”

  “We spotted her at the entrance to the pet graveyard,” Angie announced while lifting Gigi from the stroller.

  Euclid scowled at the apparition.

  “We weren’t the first ones to notice the dog.” Jenna held Libby on her hip.

  Finch looked up at Jenna.

  “Gigi and Libby saw her first,” Jenna explained.

  Right away, Finch moved his eyes from toddler to toddler, and then his face broke into a wide grin. “Well, well. It seems the girls are following in the footsteps of their mothers. How wonderful.”

  “Doggie.” Still held in Angie’s arms, Gigi leaned forward trying to touch the new arrival.

  Interested in the visitor, Circe went down the steps to sniff at the canine ghost.

  “Will she be staying?” Finch smiled. “I always wanted a dog.”

  Euclid shot the man a look that could kill.

  “Oh, my fine boy. There’s no need to be angry about someone new. I have more than enough love for all of you.” Finch gently ran his hand over the cat’s long, orange fur. “You will always hold a special place in my heart, my dear friend. You are irreplaceable.”

  Euclid’s demeanor softened.

  Ellie, the middle sister and the one who ran the bed and breakfast inn out of the mansion, came out to the porch with a platter of sugar cookies. “I made extra. How was your walk?”

  Angie stepped up onto the porch to get a cookie. She thanked her sister, and then watched to see if Ellie would be able to see the small ghost. After taking a bite, she broke a tiny piece off for Gigi to nibble on.

  Ellie was tall with long straight, blond hair, and she was the one who looked most like their deceased mother. Although she was also the sister who was uneasy about their paranormal skills and wished they would disappear, she had strong abilities and had used them in the past to defend her loved ones from harm. More than once, she’d been able to employ telekinesis to disarm a criminal, and she could often tell when something was going to happen before it did.

  The sparkling atoms of the ghost dog caught Ellie’s eye and she stood gaping at the animal. “What … what is that?”

  “It’s a dog,” Jenna said matter-of-factly as she helped herself to a cookie. “She followed us home from the cemetery.”

  “Really? What does she want?” Ellie couldn’t peel her eyes from the unusual sight.

  “We don’t know.”

  Euclid jumped off the rail and gingerly approached the dog, and after a moment, the two of them touched noses.

  Lifting her eyes to her sisters, Ellie asked, “Can everyone see the ghost?”

  “We walked through the park and down Main Street on the way home,” Angie explained. “No one noticed, so I guess it’s just us who can see her.”

  “Why is she here?” Ellie didn’t know what to make of the situation.

  Jenna sat down on one of the porch rockers with Libby on her lap. “Maybe she’s lonely.”

  Ellie shot her sister a look of disbelief. “Somehow I think it’s more than that.” She looked back at the dog. “Do you know her name?”

  Angie shook her head. “Maybe she can lead us to her grave in the cemetery. Then we can read her name from the grave marker.”

  “Why can’t this family just be normal?” Ellie said the words mostly to herself.

  “Libby and Gigi can see her, too.” Finch was full of excitement.

  Ellie stared at her nieces. “Their powers are starting very early. This should be interesting.” With a sigh and a shake of her head, she turned to go back inside the house. “I’d better put some coffee on. I’ll get some squares to add to the cookie platter. Chief Martin loves my peanut butter squares.” She disappeared into the Victorian. In addition to her many skills, Ellie almost always could tell when the chief would be coming by for a visit.

  “Are you expecting Chief Martin?” Finch asked the sisters.

  “No, but here he comes.” Jenna gestured to the police car pulling into the driveway.

  Angie waved to the man when he emerged from his vehicle. “And so begins another adventure in the Roseland family saga.”

  2

  In his mid-fifties, tall and stocky with a bit of gray in his light brown hair, Chief Phillip Martin had known the Roseland sisters since they were little. The sisters, who grew up in Boston, had visited Sweet Cove every summer staying with their nana in her small cottage on Robin’s Point. The sisters’ grandmother had powerful paranormal abilities and she was called in often by the police to help on cases, and she and Chief Martin had been close friends.

  “Afternoon,” the chief nodded. “How’s everyone doing?”

  Euclid and Circe hurried to greet him and they received petting that resulted in loud purring.

  Angie watched the man’s face to see if he noticed the ghost dog, but the chief seemed to look right through the canine without any acknowledgment.

  “We’re good,” Jenna told him. “Angie and I just came back from a walk with the girls.”

  “Nice day for it.”

  “Ellie’s making coffee. She’ll be right out,” Angie said. “Have a seat?”

  “I’d love to.” The chief settled on the rocker next to Finch and let out a deep breath.

  “Long day?” Finch asked their friend.

  “Some seem a lo
t longer than others,” the chief admitted. Circe jumped on his lap and he stroked the cat’s black fur.

  Ellie emerged from the house with a tray holding cups, a coffee pot, creamer and sugar, and a plate of cookies and squares. She set it down on a small wooden side table and poured the coffee for everyone.

  “Exactly what I needed.” The chief took a long swallow of his black coffee and leaned back in his chair.

  The little ghost dog sat at the man’s feet and stared up at him with interest.

  “Ellie knew you were coming,” Jenna said.

  The chief wasn’t surprised. He knew about Ellie’s ability to sense when he was coming to the house.

  “No, I didn’t. I had no idea he was coming.” Ellie held the cookie plate so the chief could make his selection, and he took one of the peanut butter squares.

  Angie shook her head and whispered. “Yes, she did.”

  “What brings you by, Phillip?” Finch asked with a smile. “Is it purely a social call?”

  “As a matter of fact,” the chief said, “it isn’t.”

  Courtney, the youngest sister, came down the street and turned onto the walkway to the front porch. She and Finch co-owned the candy store on Main Street. Courtney had long honey-blond hair and blue eyes and looked very much like Angie. When people discovered Angie had a twin, they mistakenly thought it was Courtney.

  “Hey, everyone, what’s cookin’?” The young woman went up the steps to the porch and took one of the squares from the plate. “You’d think I’d be tired of sweets from working in a candy store all day, but somehow I’m not.” Her eyes widened when she spotted the shimmering dog at Chief Martin’s feet. “What’s this?”