The Sandy Bay Cozy Mysteries series Box Set

by Amber Crewes

  Jackie shrugged. “It’s a small town, Meghan,” she explained as she dabbed Meghan’s toes with oil. “People talk. You know that.”

  Meghan frowned. “What can I do?”

  Jackie leaned forward and began scraping Meghan’s cuticles. “There isn’t much you can do,” she told her friend. “In these situations, all you can do is wait. Wait for the police to investigate, and if you’re telling the truth, the truth will inevitably come out.”

  “IF I’m telling the truth?” she exclaimed. “Jackie! You know I would never hurt anyone.”

  Jackie laughed. “You know what I meant, you silly goose. Meghan, the truth will come out regardless of the people, places, and things involved in the situation. You just have to be patient.”

  “I can’t,” she whispered. “Everything I’ve ever worked for is on the line here, Jackie. My business has been thriving, and now, I can barely get anyone through the front door. Even if they clear my name, this entire incident is horrible publicity. Perception is everything in the business world. You know that.”

  Jackie nodded. “I do know that,” she agreed as she filed down Meghan’s toenails. “As a business owner, I totally get that the public’s perception of your business matters. But, I also know that the truth matters. Facts matter. The people of Sandy Bay are kind and good-hearted, Meghan. When the truth comes out, I know that they will stand by you. You just have to be patient. You have to trust the police’s investigation. You have to trust that the people of Sandy Bay will rally around you when they know the truth.”

  Meghan hung her head. “Why can’t they rally around me now?” she asked weakly as she stared out of the window.

  Jackie painted her baby toe a shade of faint pink. “I have been a business owner in this town for nearly a year. I volunteer in the community, I help others, and I am a good person. Doesn’t that matter?”

  “It does,” Jackie replied. “But for now, it doesn’t matter enough. People are scared, Meghan, and people do silly things when they are scared. Like turn away from perfectly good people like you. Just trust me, my friend. Keep your head up and don’t let that smile of yours fade. The truth will come out before you know it.”

  Meghan gave her friend a weak smile. “This is what I needed to hear,” she told Jackie.

  Jackie grinned. “Good!”

  Just then, Meghan looked out the window and spotted Mr. Cazale walking across the street. “Are we almost finished?” she asked Jackie. “I need to speak to Mr. Cazale. He hasn’t been returning my text messages, and I need to talk with him.”

  Jackie grimaced. “You still have one toe that needs to be finished…”

  “That’s fine,” she said, opening her wallet and giving a fifty dollar bill to her friend. “I’ll finish it at home. I have to go.”

  “Meghan, your toes are going to smudge!” Jackie called out in horror as Meghan leapt to her feet and ran out of the salon. “At least let me give you a pair of flip flops.”

  Meghan dashed across the street with her sneakers in her hand. “Mr. Cazale!” she yelled as Mr. Cazale saw her and started to walk away. “We need to chat!”

  Mr. Cazale walked faster and faster, and before Meghan could catch up to him, she saw someone sitting on the curb crying. She bent down to see who it was, realizing it was Pamela. “What are you doing out here?” Meghan asked, watching Mr. Cazale take off running out of the corner of her eye.

  “Nothing,” Pamela whimpered as Meghan gasped.

  “Pamela, your face is covered in scratches,” she said, shocked to see the bloody lines running up and down Pamela’s pale cheeks. “What happened to you?”

  “It was Lola,” she squeaked.

  “Lola?”

  “My cousin,” Pamela explained. “Lola is my age, and people say we look alike but we couldn’t be more different. She is a huge trouble-maker; she just got home from a six-month stint in a juvenile detention center, and she’s already been arrested twice for shoplifting.”

  Meghan wrinkled her nose. “Why were you fighting with her?”

  “She and Roberto used to hang out,” she told her. “A long time ago. When she got home and found out that he and I were together, she got angry. She’s been even more mad since her dad came back, and now that he’s gone…”

  Meghan’s dark eyes bulged as she took in the information. “Wait...so Lola is….?”

  “Lucky’s daughter,” Pamela shared. “Well, she was his daughter. They used to be really close, but as she got older, she got angrier that he was gone all of the time. They had a huge fight at my Aunt Mia’s house the day he died, and now that he’s gone, she’s going crazy.”

  Meghan bit her lip. “Did they fight a lot?”

  Pamela nodded. “To say the least, but this fight was different. My Aunt Mia said it was like Lola was out of her mind with rage. She threatened her dad and told him she never wanted to see him again. I guess she got her wish, because now he's gone forever…”

  Meghan’s heart pounded. Lucky’s delinquent daughter had threatened him on the day he died? “Did everyone in your family know about Lucky’s nut allergy?” she asked Pamela.

  “For sure,” she answered. “We all knew that we couldn’t have nuts in the house. It drove us nuts because Lucky was hardly ever around, but just in case….”

  Meghan could hardly believe it. Lola had known about her father’s allergy. The teenager had had a history of trouble, and she hated her father. Could she be responsible for his unexpected death?

  “Hey, ladies!”

  Meghan and Pamela turned to see Karen driving by in her orange jeep. Her white-blonde hair was piled atop her head in a tight bun, and she smiled as she pulled up to the curb. “What’s going on, girls? Pamela, what happened to your face?”

  Meghan rose to her feet. “Karen? Can you sit here with Pamela for a moment? There’s an emergency I need to attend to.”

  “Of course!” Karen agreed. “In fact, I will just give her a ride home. Pamela, hop on in, girlfriend.”

  Pamela climbed into the jeep, and she and Karen sped off down the street. Meghan began walking toward the funeral home. She needed to talk to Mr. Cazale, and then, she needed to speak with Jack. She wondered if anyone had suggested the police speak with Lucky’s daughter, and she wanted to ensure Lola was included in the investigation.

  As Meghan turned a corner, she saw a police car parked outside of the funeral home. The lights were flickering, and she walked faster. Suddenly, the police burst out of the building. Two officers were holding Mr. Cazale’s arms behind his back, and they helped him into the police car. She made eye contact with him, and he shook his head at her, glaring menacingly at Meghan as the officers opened the car door.

  “What is going on?” she wondered as the police car drove away. “Why would they arrest Mr. Cazale?”

  She changed directions and walked home, trying to call Jack’s cell phone as she hurried along the sidewalk. Each time she called, it went straight to voicemail. “Why isn’t he answering?” she thought as she dialed his number again. “I need to tell him about Lola.”

  As Meghan approached the bakery, she was filled with relief to see Jack in his police car sitting outside of Truly Sweet. She ran to the car door and yanked it open, leaning in to kiss Jack on the lips. “Babe!” she exclaimed. “I’m so glad you are here. I have some information that I need to share with the police.”

  Jack stiffly pushed Meghan back as he got out of the car. “Meghan,” he began. “I am here on official business. I’m sorry to tell you, but you need to come with me to the police station.”

  “The police station?” she asked, her dark eyes widening. “Official business? What are you talking about, babe?”

  Jack shifted awkwardly as he stood beside her. “I can’t say much, babe,” he whispered. “But either you can get in your car and follow me to the station, or I will have to take you in myself.”

  “Take me in?” she shrieked. “What is going on?”

  Jack’s face was grim. �
�I can’t say a lot,” he repeated as Meghan’s body grew cold. “But I am going to need you to come to the station immediately.”

  12

  The next day, Meghan sat across from Karen at Espresto, a new coffee shop in the next town. She had wanted an excursion out of town, especially after the long night at the police station. Karen had happily agreed; she loved exploring new places, and Espresto had received rave reviews in the newspaper upon its opening.

  “This is just what I needed,” Meghan sighed happily as she took a sip of her soy mocha latte. “Getting out of town is always fun, but today, it’s especially perfect.”

  Karen took a drink of her nonfat almond cappuccino. “Their coffee is delicious,” she declared as she licked her lips.

  “Much better than the nasty coffee they had at the police station last night,” Meghan chimed in.

  Karen raised an eyebrow. “It sounds like you had quite an evening,” she said as Meghan shivered at the memory of being at the station for over six hours. “Did you learn anything new about the case?”

  Meghan shook her head. “They wanted me to expand on my official statements,” she told Karen. “A few of the officers called in sick yesterday, which is why Jack had to take me down to the station. He was so embarrassed, but Chief Nunan ordered him to do it.”

  Karen laughed. “What a romantic date that must have been,” she joked. “Your handsome man hauling you down to jail.”

  Meghan frowned. “I didn’t think it was funny, and neither did Jack,” she stated primly. “We were both scared and humiliated.”

  Karen shifted in her seat. “Why were you there so long?” she asked, tightening her bun. “It shouldn’t have taken six hours to get your statements.”

  Meghan sighed. “They wanted to review some of the details of Lucky’s death,” she explained. “They went into shocking detail, in fact; I think they were doing it just to rule out whether or not I actually had something to do with the case. I was bawling my eyes out by the end of their briefing, so I think it was pretty clear to them that I had nothing to do with his death.”

  Karen nodded. “That’s good, I guess?”

  “Oh, and another piece of news,” Meghan continued. “The police confirmed that he did die from anaphylactic shock, but they agreed that the desserts I had present at the tasting session in Mr. Cazale’s kitchen could not have caused his death. The police report explicitly stated that the nuts found in his system were not the nuts I bake in my bread!

  Karen smiled. “That’s good news for you, isn’t it?”

  “It is,” she agreed, smiling brightly. “Now I just need that news to get out to the folks in Sandy Bay! I wish I knew the answers they wanted, Karen. I have been trying to replay that evening in my head all day. When could Lucky have eaten nuts? Who knew about his allergy? He refused my banana nut bread at the bakery. Did he ingest them by accident, somehow? Did someone give him something with nuts?”

  “That’s a possibility, isn’t it?” Karen asked. “Didn’t you tell me that that rich lady pulled him aside after he was sassy with her? Maybe she stuffed a peanut in his mouth.”

  Meghan gasped. “I hadn’t thought of that,” she admitted as she recalled Jeanne Marie pulling Lucky aside from the library. “What if she had done that? That Jeanne Marie was so rude and snotty. What if she accidentally gave him a nut candy? Or worse! What if she somehow knew about the allergy?”

  Karen shrugged. “I don’t know, sweetie,” she replied. “That sounds a little farfetched.”

  “All I know is that I never saw him eat my banana nut bread,” she declared.

  Karen leaned forward and took Meghan’s hands. “Meghan,” she began softly. “Can I say something frank?”

  Meghan nodded. “Of course. You are one of my dearest friends. What’s up?”

  Karen took a deep breath. “Meghan, I think you’ve spent too much time over the last few days feeling sorry for yourself.”

  Meghan gave Karen a shocked look. “What?”

  “I think you’ve been spending a lot of time and energy thinking about yourself,” she repeated. “There are other people hurting right now, sweetie. Soon, the police will clear your name, and you will go on with your life and business. But think about Lucky’s loved ones. His widow, Mia, must be devastated, not to mention their children. And didn’t you say he had a love interest on the side? I’m sure she is heartbroken. I know it’s been hard for you, but I think you need to think outside of yourself.”

  Meghan leaned back in her chair. “Wow,” she murmured as she weighed Karen’s words. “You are right, Karen. I have been so selfish.”

  Karen smiled. “It happens to all of us,” she said sweetly. “It can be so easy to get lost in our own problems in our minds, but at the end of the day, someone always has it worse.”

  Meghan ran a hand through her wavy hair. “It could be worse,” she agreed. “And I do need to think of others. I’m sure this entire thing must be so painful for Mia, as well as Pamela and the rest of her family. I should make a basket of treats to take to them tomorrow.”

  “Maybe just flowers?” Karen cautioned. “It might be too soon for them to receive treats from you…”

  Meghan chuckled. “That was silly of me to suggest,” she said. “I’ll take flowers.”

  Karen nodded. “Mia and her two children, Lola and Lyle, live next to the pharmacy on College Avenue. It’s a mint green two-story house with white shutters.”

  “I know where that is,” she told her. “I will swing by with flowers for the family. I’m sure Pamela will be happy to hear that.”

  Karen’s eyes narrowed. “Speaking of Pamela,” she said. “I’m worried about her involvement with that Roberto Cazale. She seems to be taking things too quickly. We got to talking about her relationship last week when I ran into her at the market, and goodness, that girl is a goner for him.”

  Meghan shrugged. “I’ve been telling her to take it slow,” she informed Karen. “But she’s a teenager. You know how teenagers are when they are in love.”

  “They are crazy,” Karen laughed. “I remember being young and in love. I just don’t want Pamela to make any choices she regrets. She’s a sweet, bright girl with a promising future, and a good-looking boy like Roberto Cazale could easily jeopardize the good things she has going for her.”

  “Roberto is a nice kid. I don’t think he would ever pressure Pamela into doing anything she doesn’t want to do,” Meghan insisted. “But you’re right; that girl is too invested in a high school romance for her own good. I am keeping an eye on her, but I might mention it to her mother the next time I see her.”

  “That isn’t a bad idea,” she agreed. “Or, maybe the boy will break her heart sooner than later. You know how teenage romance usually ends…”

  An hour later, Meghan made her way to Mia’s house. The shabby two-story house wasn’t on the nicest street in town, but the shutters were freshly painted, and flowers bloomed in the garden just beyond the porch. “This is a cute little place,” she thought to herself as she climbed the two white steps. “I would love to have a house like this someday.”

  Meghan rang the doorbell, hoping that Mia would be home. She was shocked when Ryan Heebner came to the door. “What do you want?” he asked gruffly.

  “I’m here to see Mia,” she stammered. “What are you doing here?”

  Ryan jerked his chin back toward the house. “I’m here to pay my respects. I don’t think you should be here, Meghan.”

  “Oh?” she asked. “Why is that, Ryan?”

  “You’re a killer,” he muttered under his breath as Meghan’s face turned bright red.

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing,” Ryan answered as he stepped onto the porch. “Nothing.”

  Ryan walked down the porch steps and onto the street, striding quickly. “Come back and say that to my face, Ryan!” Meghan called out after him. “I heard you.”

  Ryan did not turn around, and Meghan felt her heart racing in her chest. “I need
to calm myself down,” she said to herself as she took a long breath. “I can’t be riled up in front of Mia.”

  Meghan slowed her breathing and relaxed her shoulders. When she felt ready, she rang the doorbell. Mia quickly approached. “Can I help you?”

  Meghan stared at Lucky’s widow. Mia had looked so young and pretty when Meghan and Pamela had seen her juggling on the town square, but now, in the days after her husband’s death, she looked haggard and wizened. She was wearing an oversized men’s button-down shirt with torn black leggings, and her hair and skin were greasy. She stared defiantly into Meghan’s eyes, and all at once, Meghan’s heart broke for the young widow who was just a few years older than herself.