Ravenwood Cove Cozy Mysteries Books 1-3

by Carolyn L. Dean

  “Well, if we were treating the other person the way we’d want to be treated, we wouldn’t be stealing from him, would we? That whole ‘love your neighbor’ thing covers a lot.” He waited, watching her as she sipped her coffee. “If you want to go with me, that’d be great.”

  “Let me guess. The girls are going to be dressed as angels for the pageant.”

  He smiled. “Actually, I think Hanna’s gonna be a sheep.”

  “So if I go, no pressure?”

  “I promise. No one’s gonna make you eat a live chicken or try to convert you. I swear.” He winked at her, still smiling, and she couldn’t help but smile back.

  “Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

  Chapter 22

  Winter in Oregon was a new experience for Amanda. A day could start with fog and move to rain, only to have a crystal-clear sky that night and sharp spikes of frost on the grass the next morning. Now that the rain had stopped even a cloudy sky made her happy, as long as she wasn’t out getting wet in the weather.

  Sometimes Amanda just liked to sit on one of the benches that surrounded the town square, and watch the people go by. The first few weeks after she’d moved to Ravenwood Cove she just watched, but now that she was part of the town most of the people passing her bench would wave and smile or stop and chat. At first, she missed the anonymity she’d had in LA, where people would walk by and pretend not to see you, but after a couple of months she’d become used to people looking her in the eye and wishing her a good morning when they walked past, or when she brushed by them in a store.

  It was nice to be seen.

  The town square was decked out in its best holiday finery. The same huge fir tree was decorated for Christmas every year. It was so tall that a local utility company let the town borrow one of its trucks with a crane-type basket, so that the lights would be checked and the gold star attached at the very top. Amanda had missed the tree-lighting ceremony due to helping some guests at the Inn, but even in the daytime, the town Christmas tree was a festive bit of beauty.

  The Hortman brothers seemed to be doing a lot of business with their Christmas tree lot, playing holiday music to get people in the mood to buy a tree or a wreath, and just about every shop lining the square had decorated their windows and doors with lights. Even the town hall, normally a kind of formal brick building, looked more welcoming with loops of cedar garland and tiny fairy bulbs hanging from the front.

  Turning her face toward the cold sun, Amanda closed her eyes and smiled. Even with the breeze making the sun’s heat almost imperceptible, it felt so good to sit outside.

  “Don’t let that sunshine fool you. We’re supposed to have some weather coming in the next couple of days, you know.”

  She cracked her eye open and smiled at Solomon Culpepper. “Morning, Solomon. What sort of weather?”

  He gestured at the empty spot on the bench next to and she scooted over a bit, inviting him to sit down.

  “Big windstorm. This is your first winter here, right? We get winter storms rolling through every once in a while but this one looks like it may be a doozy.”

  Amanda’s thoughts instantly went to the Ravenwood Inn, and what she’d need to do to get it prepared for a big storm. “How big?”

  “Well, if I were you I’d think about what to do if you lost power or if some of your trees get blown down. You know how the trees are sculpted on the cliffs over the Cove? The ones that look like they’re leaning backwards?”

  She did. The perpetually windblown trees looked like they’d had some bizarre trimming that made the ocean-facing branches shorter than the ones on the back. “Yes, I do. Some of my trees look a little like that, too.”

  “Well, even if they’re old trees that have been through a lot of storms, you may still have a problem. Do you have a chainsaw?”

  In all the time she’d been owner of the Ravenwood Inn, she’d never even considering having a chainsaw. “Um, no, I don’t. Do I need to get one?”

  Solomon shook his head. “Well, probably not. They’re good to have in case of emergency but you can probably get someone to help you out, if you need one. Lots of people around here have tools that could help with a downed tree. Also, don’t forget that the Ravenwood’s not hooked up to city water. If you lose power, you lose water because your well will stop working.”

  “Thanks for the news, Solomon. I’ll see what I can do to get ready.”

  Great. More things for the To Do list, she thought. Maybe I’ll go price generators.

  Solomon looked up at the clear sky. “Well, I’d better be going. Have to get my place all prepared and pick up some groceries. Talk to you later, Amanda,” he said, and with a friendly wave, he was striding away from her down the sidewalk.

  Amanda idly watched him walk away, still thinking about what she should do to get ready for the storm, when she saw Solomon pull something from his pocket.

  It was a scarf.

  A very distinctive, hand-knitted red and green scarf.

  One that she’d seen before, at the train depot.

  He wrapped it around his neck, and time seemed to stand still as her thoughts coalesced around the fact that Solomon was wearing something that she’d seen the same place the diamond necklace had been hidden.

  Whether Desmond Martin had hidden Moonlight or Solomon had, she wasn’t going to take any chances.

  Making sure that Solomon was completely out of earshot, Amanda picked up her phone and dialed James’ number, her fingers trembling.

  Chapter 23

  Amanda hadn’t been at the arrest, but James had been all business when Amanda called to tell him how Solomon was wearing a scarf that she’d seen at the abandoned train depot. James’ words had been short and clipped as he took down just the information he needed, and got off the phone to accost Solomon. By the time Amanda had gotten back to the Ravenwood Inn, Lisa had already left a message, saying she’d heard that the handyman had been put in the back seat of a cop car and been driven away.

  Amanda listened to the voicemail but when she began to call Lisa back she hesitated a bit. She always wanted to talk to her friend, but this call sounded a bit like Lisa was wanting to see if Amanda knew anything about what had happened. Sometimes the lines between being Lisa being her friend and being the local reporter were a bit blurry, and Amanda had to be very careful about what she told her.

  Finally deciding not to return Lisa’s call, she headed upstairs to make a list of what she could to get ready for the upcoming windstorm. Her only guests had cancelled that morning, so her concern could be for the Inn itself, and not how to entertain people if there was no electricity.

  It was a full day later before James swung by the Inn. The wind had already kicked up outside a bit, with blowing leaves and powerful gusts, and James had to push on the front door to shut it behind him when he came in.

  “Looks like it about blew you off your feet.” Amanda was curled up on the sofa with Oscar and a good book, enjoying the beauty of the huge Christmas tree. “How are you?”

  He plopped down into the overstuffed chair on the other side of the fireplace, putting down a leather case and stretching his long legs out in front of him. “If I were a kite, I’d be in the next county by now. Whew!” He looked at her and smiled. “Figured you’d want to know the news.”

  “You bet I do.”

  “So, we picked Solomon up after your tip, and questioned him.”

  “Yes?” Book forgotten, she waited for what he had to say.

  “Turns out that was the same scarf that was down at the Lucky Rail depot.”

  Amanda clapped her hands together. “I knew it!”

  James ignored her enthusiasm. “And, it turns out that he had been at the depot before you were there, and after you were there. He confessed to being there, even though he’s not saying much else, and his fingerprints were all over the cargo room. Only one problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “No fingerprints of his in the stationmaster office. We knew th
at any prints there may have been compromised by your touching things in there, but we didn’t find any of Solomon’s. We did find several that belonged to Desmond Martin, and lots of partials and probably old fingerprints. Yours are undoubtedly in that room, too, so I brought you a present. Well, it’s more like I’m going to let you use my toy.” Opening the leather case, he pulled out an electronic device.

  “IPad?” she quipped, knowing that she was wrong.

  He shook his head. “Mobile fingerprint scanner. Let’s see those lovely hands of your, Miss Graham. We need to rule out your prints.”

  She sighed but watched him input her information, and then showed her how to press her fingertips against the screen so it could map her prints. As soon as the machine had done its job, he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, then released it with a grin.

  “Thanks. This’ll make the lab guys really happy.”

  She scooted Oscar out of her warm spot on the sofa, and sat back down. “Well, I’m all about making the lab guys happy. Did Solomon say what he was doing at the depot? He’s not homeless, is he?”

  James shook his head. “No, he’s got a nice little cottage over by Mrs. Granger’s place. He won’t tell me what he was doing at the depot, not a word. Even though he’s really shaken up by being arrested, he won’t talk.”

  “Maybe he has some secrets of his own.” She bit her bottom lip, considering what sort of secrets a handyman might have, and that he would sit in jail rather than disclose what he knew.

  James was watching her, and she finally had an idea. “Can I go talk to him?”

  Sitting up, James made a face. “Not a good idea. He’s already been questioned and he’s not cooperating at all. The best thing for him is to sit and stew a bit, and then tell us what we need to know.”

  “What if his secret isn’t something he’d want to tell a man?”

  James looked surprised. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, all the officers at the station are male, right? What if he’d be a bit more talkative with a woman?”

  “You mean you?” From the look on his face, Amanda knew James was intrigued. “Can’t hurt, I guess. I’m heading back to the jail. Want a ride?”

  Maybe it was strange to say that a ride in James’ unmarked detective car was the most fun she’d had in a while but it was true. With Christmas music on the radio and them both telling embarrassing stories from their childhoods, their time driving through the windy town of Ravenwood Cove was full of laughter and teasing.

  When they finally arrived at the jail, Amanda was surprised. She’d been expecting a more severe-looking building, but the brick exterior blended with the older structures in the area and didn’t look institutional at all. James used his cardkey and buzzed them through the security door, waving at another officer and then stopping at the main desk. After a short conversation with the desk clerk and a signature on a clipboard, James escorted Amanda to a small room with several chairs and a square table. He gestured to a chair near the wall and then started to sit next to her, when Amanda put a hand on his arm.

  “I think he’d talk more if you weren’t here.” When James started to protest, she put up a hand, her voice calm. “You can be right outside the door and see through the window. I’ll be fine.” She could see the conflicting thoughts on James’ face, but he finally relented.

  “I’ll be right outside, and he’ll know it.”

  She smiled, and James went out, leaving the door cracked open behind him.

  Amanda could hear him speaking with someone outside, and then Solomon walked in the room, escorted by a police officer. With his orange jumpsuit and hands cuffed in front of him, he looked smaller and very different than his usual happy self. Once seated across from Amanda, the policeman turned to Amanda.

  “You okay by yourself, Miss?”

  Amanda smiled warmly at Solomon. “Yes, I am. I’m not worried.”

  Once the door clicked shut again, she turned to Solomon. He looked tired and a bit defensive, his lips a thin line as if he was intent on keeping them clenched shut.

  “Who is she, Solomon?”

  His eyes boggled in surprise. “What?”

  “Who is she? The woman you’ve been meeting at the depot.”

  “I—“

  Amanda leaned forward, pressing him a bit. “There’s only one reason a man has a secret bed and a bottle of wine stashed, and that’s because he doesn’t want other people to know what he’s doing romantically.”

  Solomon looked defiant, the first time Amanda had seen that look on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Amanda smiled warmly. “Yes, you do. It must be lonely since Bertie left.”

  He turned away from her, refusing to answer.

  “Solomon, if you don’t tell these officers who you’ve been meeting down at the depot, they can’t let you out of here.”

  His words were almost a whisper. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  Taking deep breath, Amanda nodded. “I know you don’t. Do you want to call someone to see if it’s okay with them to tell the truth? You can use my phone.”

  Solomon’s eyes lit up, even though he hesitated. “I’d like that.” Amanda handed him her phone and watched as he punched in a phone number. When it started to ring, she turned and studiously looked at the blank wall. It was the most privacy she could give him, because if she went out of the room the officers would want to know why.

  A bit of muttered conversation, a couple of brief pauses, and then Solomon gave a deep, relieved sigh.

  “Thank you, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon.” Amanda turned her head and Solomon handed the phone back to her.

  Taking a shaky breath, he finally told the truth. “I’ve been seeing Sally Marino for almost a month now.”

  Amanda thought back through all the people she’d met locally and came up blank. “I’m not sure I know her.”

  Solomon nodded. “Yes, you do. She’s the assistant manager at Petrie’s.”

  The lightbulb clicked on in Amanda’s head. “Oh! That Sally!” She remembered vaguely that Mrs. Granger had once told her that Sally was married but that her husband was in a local nursing home, suffering from the last stages of Alzheimer’s. “She seems very sweet.”

  Solomon seemed to relax as soon as he heard Amanda’s comment. “She is very sweet, and she’s a really good person. We just didn’t want anyone to know about us because her husband is sick and my wife is gone.” He leaned forward, his face earnest. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of gossip that happens in Ravenwood Cove.”

  “So I’ve heard.” She thought back to some of the chitchat she’d heard in the past. She’d have to be more careful to not be part of that.

  “I didn’t want people to think bad things about Sally. She’s got a good heart and she’s basically been by herself for over four years now. That’s a long time for someone young to be alone.”

  Amanda nodded in sympathy. “I’ll bet it is. Solomon, did you know anything about the Moonlight Necklace?”

  “I don’t know anything about that danged necklace and I wish people would stop asking me about it! If I’d known it was there, I would’ve turned it in for the reward and gotten myself a divorce. Or maybe fixed up my place.”

  Amanda nodded. “Do I have your permission to tell the officers what you were doing at the depot? I think it will make a big difference on how soon you get out of here.”

  There was a pause while Solomon considered his options. “If you just tell James Landon, I’m okay with it,” he finally said. “I think he could keep a secret.”

  They smiled at each other, both relieved, and Amanda got up to open the door.

  “I’ll let him know he can come in now.”

  Chapter 24

  When Amanda stopped by Cuppa in the late afternoon for a mocha, she found her usually chipper friend, Meg, was all a flutter. She was almost running back and forth across the coffeeshop, tucking away outside decorations and turning off the ligh
ts in the pastry case.

  When she saw it was Amanda coming through the door, she looked relieved. “Go turn over the CLOSED sign, would ya?” she asked as she picked up a broom. “Can you believe this wind? Taking the trash out and locking the dumpster was like getting punched by a cold fist.”

  Flipping the sign, Amanda watched Meg with alarm. “Are you okay? I thought you were going to be open for another twenty minutes or so.”

  Meg shook her head and picked up a broom. “Not on a day like this. I’ve been watching the weather channel all morning and it looks like we’re going to get the full brunt of the storm. I’m closing up shop early and heading home to build a fire in the fireplace and eat Christmas cookies.” She shuddered. “I hate storms.”

  It didn’t take long for Meg to rope Amanda into helping her put away everything and clean the coffeeshop for the night. As she wiped down the long display case, Amanda started thinking about all the people around Ravenwood Cove that could be affected by a storm like this. There were a lot of folks who made their living outdoors, whether it was on the sea fishing or in the woods with the lumber industry. She wondered how much this would impact them. She’d seen the wild waves and fierce wind of coastal storms when she lived in California, but this was the first time she’d seen them farther north.

  Meg was wiping down the tables, when a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Amanda, did I tell you that Truman’s started wearing a kilt sometimes? One of those macho, modern ones?”

  Amanda burst out in laughter. “Figures. That’s exactly the sort of thing he’d do.” She tried to picture her friend in a kilt. Not a pretty picture. “Well, then there’s just one good thing about this winter windstorm.”

  “What’s that?” Meg asked.

  Amanda grinned at her. “At least it makes Truman put on a pair of pants.”