by J A Whiting
“Good dog. You’re a sweet one, Violet.”
Angie kept patting the little ghost until her own eyes closed, and in just a few minutes, the two of them were sound asleep.
6
The next morning, the bake shop was busy with customers and many of the conversations among the locals centered on Rachel Princeton’s disappearance. Angie and her employees buzzed behind the counter preparing coffees, teas, protein drinks, and smoothies while also serving people sitting at the counter, at the tables, and in the takeout line.
Francine, a friend of the sisters and a stained-glass artist with shops on Main Street and in Silver Cove, sat at one of the small tables near the windows. Angie brought her a coffee and a blueberry muffin and sat down with her for a few minutes.
“I know Rachel Princeton. Not well, but we’d met a few times. She lives not far from me. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news.” Francine reached for the coffee mug and took a quick swallow. “You’re friends with Chief Martin. Does he have any news? Are there any clues about what happened to the woman?”
Angie shook her head. “Not yet. It seems she went missing about two or three days before police were called to the house, so that didn’t help the investigation.”
“Why were the police called? What triggered the concern?”
“The mail carrier noticed Rachel hadn’t taken in the mail for a few days,” Angie explained.
“She lived alone obviously,” Francine said.
“It seems so. We heard Rachel is an architect for a firm in Boston.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Rachel is very successful. She gives talks all around the country on preservation and restoration. She’s taught at universities in the area. She knows a lot about moving antique houses from one place to another and she’s managed some important restoration projects, too. I believe she’s written a couple of books.”
“I didn’t know that. She’s young to have made such a name for herself already.”
“Do you think her success had something to do with her going missing?” Francine wore a concerned look on her face.
“How do you mean?”
“Could someone have been jealous of her success? A rival architect, maybe?”
“That’s an interesting theory,” Angie thought about the possibility. “How did you meet her?”
“Her property straddles the Silver Cove and Sweet Cove town line. Rachel was at some of the historical society’s meetings and some fundraisers held in town. She seems very civic minded and interested in being involved in the community.” Francine clutched her mug. “I’ve heard people say blood was found at the scene. Why would someone kidnap her? That’s what happened, right?”
Angie said, “I assumed that was the most likely situation, but it’s not necessarily what happened.”
“What else could it have been?” Francine looked confused.
“Maybe she tried to end her life, got scared, changed her mind, became disoriented, and left the house,” Angie explained one of the possibilities.
“They did a search for her yesterday. If that was the cause, wouldn’t they have found her by now? Wouldn’t she have turned up at a hospital?”
“Probably. I just don’t know.”
“What other ideas do you have?”
“Someone she knew could have come by the house and for some reason, they got into a fight. Maybe the person removed the body and buried her somewhere.”
Francine cringed at the thought. “None of the possibilities are good ones. I wonder if it was random or planned. Was it someone she knew or a stranger? Maybe someone made a delivery to the house and attacked her. I’m glad I’m not an investigator. I couldn’t handle things like this. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for solving the crime.”
Angie had thoughts like that many times since she’d started helping Chief Martin.
The line at the counter was growing so Angie stood. “Nice to see you. We all need to get together for dinner one of these days.”
“You all stay safe,” Francine said.
“You, too.”
As she was approaching the counter, a woman spoke to Angie.
“Would you make me a protein drink? The drink always makes me feel better when you make it.”
Angie smiled at Tori Brothers. The woman was in her forties and owned a cleaning service. Her husband had recently passed away and Angie knew she was struggling.
“You bet I will. What flavor would you like today?”
“Bananas and cream.” Tori sat on a counter stool that had just been vacated.
“How’s business?” Angie took out the ingredients she would need to make the shake.
“It’s going pretty well. I have good clients.”
“How are the kids doing?”
“I’m keeping them busy and they’re back in school now so that helps.”
Tori had two daughters, ten and twelve. They’d taken the death of their father very hard.
Angie concentrated for a minute while she blended the ingredients together. One of her special skills was the ability to put intention into whatever food or drink she made. When she’d first met Josh and Mr. Finch, Angie had daydreamed about her feelings for Josh while she was baking, and when Finch ate one of the muffins, it caused him to fall in love with her. Luckily, the spell was temporary, but Angie learned an important lesson that day. She had to be very careful with her thoughts when she was preparing food.
Knowing that Tori was depressed over the loss of her husband and overwhelmed by her circumstances, Angie tried to put positive thoughts into whatever she made for the woman. Today, as she mixed and blended the protein shake, she funneled wishes for the strength and energy Tori needed to face the day, along with resilience, patience, and hope for the future.
Placing a few slices of banana on top of the shake and sprinkling a bit of cinnamon over them, Angie snapped on the cover and set it in front of Tori. “Here you go.”
“Thanks so much.” Tori pushed a straw through the hole in the cover and sipped. A smile spread over her lips. “Perfect.”
When she took out her wallet, Angie waved her off and handed the woman a brown paper bag with the Sweet Dreams Bakery logo on it. “It’s on the house today, and here are some muffins and cookies to take with you.”
A few tears gathered in Tori’s eyes. “I appreciate it, Angie.” She slipped off the stool and gathered her things.
“See you tomorrow,” Angie told her with a smile.
When the bake shop closed for the afternoon, Angie locked up and went into the Victorian through the door that separated her shop from the rest of the house. She planned on changing into her running clothes and taking Gigi in the jogging stroller down to the Sweet Cove Resort on Robin’s Point. Josh had owned the beautiful hotel and inn overlooking the ocean with his older brother, but Josh had bought him out and now he and Angie were the sole owners. They had a small two-bedroom bungalow on the property they could use when work kept Josh late at the resort.
When Angie walked past the dining room on the way to the staircase, she saw Courtney sitting with a woman at the long table. Courtney waved her over.
Euclid and Circe were resting on top of the dining hutch.
“This is my sister, Angie,” Courtney told the woman.
“I’m Rebecca Wallace, Rachel Princeton’s sister.” Rebecca looked to be in her mid-thirties and had dark brown eyes and chin-length brown hair. Her eyelids were red from the tears she’d shed.
“Why don’t you join us?” Courtney asked Angie.
Angie took a seat. “I’m sorry about Rachel. We’ve heard such good things about her.”
“Thank you.” Rebecca held tight to her cup of coffee. A platter of cookies, fresh fruit, and homemade granola bars were on the table and the woman had a dessert plate with some fruit on it.
Courtney said to Angie, “Rebecca only arrived a few minutes ago. She’s all checked in. Ellie moved some guests around and gave Rebecca one of the carriage house apartments f
or her stay. More privacy that way.”
Angie nodded. She noticed Violet shimmering in the corner watching them.
“Rebecca’s been telling me about Rachel. She’s very successful and prominent in her field,” Courtney told her sister.
“I recently heard that. She’s a very impressive young woman.”
Rebecca said, “Rachel got the brains and the drive. I got the big bones and the good hair.”
Angie raised an eyebrow at the comment. “Are you an architect, too?”
“I’m a high school math teacher. I also teach some math classes at the community college.”
“Our friend and adopted family member taught math years ago,” Angie said. “He’s a very smart man.”
Rebecca took a sip of her coffee. “I spoke with Chief Martin at the police station before I came here. There isn’t much news about my sister. He couldn’t tell me much.”
“It’s early in the investigation,” Angie said with encouragement. “The chief is an experienced and well-respected man. He’s had a great deal of success in solving cases over the years. He’s a good man to have on your sister’s case.”
“Are you and Rebecca close?” Courtney asked.
“I wouldn’t say we’re that close. We care about each other. We never hung out much. I’m five years older. I was in college when Rachel started high school. We didn’t have much in common. We’ve always been in different places in our lives.”
“Do you speak much?”
“Not really. I regret that. I guess as the older sister, I should be the one who reaches out, but I’m always so busy and I let that slide.” Rebecca stared at her plate.
“Are your parents alive?” Courtney questioned.
“Thankfully, they aren’t. This would have killed them. They were older when they had us. It’s just me and Rachel. We have some cousins in New Hampshire and Vermont, but we’re not close with them.”
“Does Rachel have a boyfriend or a partner?” Angie asked the woman.
“She’s been dating someone, but I don’t think it’s serious.”
“What about her neighbors? Does Rachel know her neighbors?”
Rebecca’s head snapped up. “I know she’s familiar with one of them. He’s a real jerk.”
7
“Who do you mean?” Angie asked as a shiver of unease ran over her skin. “Who’s a jerk?”
Rebecca screwed up her face. “Rachel’s neighbor, Bob Mills. He’s always causing trouble. He disputed the boundary between his place and hers and used his tractor to start ripping out the bushes growing behind their houses. Rachel got a lawyer to force him to stop destroying her property. It went to court. Guess who was right? Rachel, that’s who. The jerk of a neighbor had to pay restitution costs to replace the bushes, trees, and grasses he tore out.”
“Why did he do it?” Courtney asked. “Was he honestly mistaken or was there bad blood between him and Rachel?”
“You’ll have to ask him, or maybe his psychologist. If he doesn’t have one, he should. It made no sense at all.” Rebecca picked at her cut-up fruit.
“Has there been other trouble between your sister and the neighbor?”
“Minor things,” Rebecca said. “He used to complain about Rachel’s dog coming onto his property. That dog never went over there. She always stayed in her own yard.”
Angie glanced over to Violet.
Rebecca went on. “He used to complain that Rachel was playing loud music. She never did that.”
“This has been going on for two whole years?” Courtney asked.
“It was really just the first year. I’m not sure if he bothers Rachel anymore.”
“Has Rachel been trying to ignore the neighbor?” Angie questioned. “Is that why your sister hasn’t mentioned anything recent?”
Rebecca shifted in her chair and then sighed. “Rachel and I had a falling out about six months ago. I haven’t talked to her since then.” The woman’s eyes filled with tears and she cleared her throat. “I held a grudge against my sister. It was a stupid thing to do. I’m ashamed.”
Courtney asked gently, “What happened between you two that caused the falling out?”
Rebecca swallowed hard. “It was right after our mother died. Our dad died of a sudden heart attack about five years ago. A year ago, or mom’s health started fading. It wasn’t any one thing. Things started to snowball and she went downhill fast. After she died and the will was read, I discovered my parents had left more money to Rachel than to me. Mom also left most of her jewelry to Rachel. That hurt me. My parents always seemed to favor my sister, but my Mom said she wasn’t favoring anyone. She worried that Rachel didn’t have a husband. I’ve been married for ten years. My parents thought I was set financially because we have two incomes. Rachel only has one.”
Rebecca looked off across the room. “Rachel wanted to split the inheritance half and half and she wanted to give me half the jewelry.” The woman sighed. “I wasn’t very nice to her. I shouldn’t have targeted Rachel with my anger and hurt. It was my parents’ fault, not Rachel’s.”
A few bed and breakfast guests came into the dining room for the afternoon snacks and drinks, and when Rebecca saw them, she finished her coffee and stood. “It was nice to meet you both. I’m feeling exhausted. I’m going to head to the carriage house to shower and take a nap. I’ll see you later.” She took her plate and cup to the dirty dishes bin under the side table, nodded to the other guests, and left the room.
“Well,” Courtney leaned close to her sister. “We got a ton of information from her. We’ve got a couple of people to add to the suspect list.”
“Don’t you mean one suspect?” Angie asked. “Rachel’s neighbor.”
“Yeah, him definitely.” Courtney looked over her shoulder to be sure the other guests weren’t listening. “And Rebecca. She hasn’t talked to Rachel in over six months. All because of their parent’s will. That sure is motivation to attack someone. Maybe kill someone.”
“But why now?” Angie questioned. “The will was settled months ago. Why try to hurt Rachel now?”
“Maybe it wasn’t settled until recently. Or maybe, something else came up regarding their inheritance. Rebecca was already upset that her sister got more than she did. Something else might have come up, and that was the last straw.”
Angie looked over to the corner of the room, but Violet was no longer sitting there. “Violet was here while we talked to Rebecca.”
“Did she look like she believed what the woman was saying? Did she seem hostile to Rebecca?”
“She listened with mild interest,” Angie said. “I wouldn’t have thought Violet knew Rebecca.”
“Maybe she didn’t know her. At least, she didn’t show any hostility to her.”
A couple of older women greeted the sisters and joined them at the table.
“Hello. You’re two of the Roseland sisters, aren’t you?” The woman introduced herself as Isobel Painter. Her friend was Molly Sutters.
“Yes, we are. I’m Courtney. I run the candy store on Main Street.”
“I’m Angie. I own the Sweet Dreams Bake Shop.”
“Oh, you have a satellite bake shop down at the museum,” Molly said to Angie. “We were there today. What a lovely collection they have. And we tried some pie and coffee at the bake shop. Simply delicious.”
Isobel said, “We haven’t been to Main Street yet. We’ll be sure to stop in at the candy store.”
After a few minutes of chit chat, Isobel said, “There was some unfortunate news in town today. We heard that a resident, a young woman, is missing. Very sad. I hope the police are able to find her soon.”
Angie nodded. “We hope so, too. We didn’t know the missing woman. Sweet Cove is a small town, but with so many tourists coming and going all the time, it can feel a lot bigger than it is.”
“Something similar happened in our town not long ago,” Molly told them. “A woman went missing after her car went off the road. She was found murdered. The killer was t
he person you’d expect the least. Everyone was shocked.”
An icy feeling enveloped Angie, and she was rubbing her arms when the doorbell rang.
Courtney went to answer it and when she opened the door, she saw Chief Martin standing on the porch.
“Got a few minutes?” he asked.
“We sure do. Come on in.”
Angie hurried over when she saw the man. “Some news?” she asked quietly.
“A little.”
“Let’s go sit in the family room. But first, help yourself to the afternoon snacks.” When the chief had poured coffee and selected a couple of cookies, Angie led the way down the hall to the back of the house.
The cats had jumped off the hutch and raced ahead them, and were sitting on the sofa when the chief, Angie, and Courtney entered the room.
“You beat us.” Chief Martin scratched both of the cats’ cheeks before taking a seat.
Angie and Courtney sat opposite in two comfortable chairs.
“What have you learned?” Angie was eager to hear the news.
The chief set down his coffee mug. “Rachel’s laptop and desktop computer were taken from the house and examined for any clues or evidence. She had been doing some interesting internet searches.”
Courtney’s eyes narrowed. “Interesting how?”
“Rachel was looking up information on how to make yourself disappear,” Chief Martin told them.
“Disappear? You mean like take off and no one will ever find you?” Angie asked.
“That’s exactly it.”
The three stared at one another for several seconds.
“She wanted to run away?” Courtney shook her head. “I don’t believe it. So what was the blood from? She cut herself and smeared it around the kitchen to make it seem like someone had come in and attacked her?”
“Possibly,” the chief nodded.
“That’s nuts. Why would she want to run away?” Courtney’s forehead was creased with disbelief. “Rachel was well-known in her field. She was successful. Why would she throw all of that away?”
Angie sighed. “Because whatever she was afraid of was worse than losing her identity.”