Cozy Mystery Ghost Story Collection: The Complete Shannon Porter Mystery Series

by Haley Harper

  As she headed down the trail, she realized that she was secretly hoping that Kevin would be inside. She didn’t feel like talking to him right now. His stay out of it attitude had really rubbed her the wrong way and she was back to thinking he was maybe a bit of a jerk after all. It was a relief to see that there were no signs of life at the cottage next door.

  She supposed they were all drinking beer in town instead of at the beach. Somehow yellow police tape and crime scene investigators could really be a downer when you wanted to party! Not really wanting to encounter anyone, Shannon kept her walk short. Edgar had finished his business and she was ready to get home, swallow a couple of Tylenol, and soak in a hot tub. A good night’s sleep would be welcome too. She felt as though she hadn’t had one since she arrived.

  Tomorrow was soon enough to get started on her own investigation. Stop number one would be the real estate office where she would hopefully meet Adele Hobart.

  Edgar waited patiently for his treat while Shannon started her tub filling. Then, much to her surprise instead of carrying it to the couch as he had every night recently, he trotted straight up to her room in the loft and curled up at the foot of her bed. Shannon shook her head in confusion.

  “What, did the Blue Lady visit while I was out and make friends with you or something?” Edgar’s tail thumped on the bed. Whatever the reason for his change in heart, Shannon was pleased with his company. She sat back and let the warmth of the water relax her body and her mind. For a blissful few minutes she thought of nothing but the feeling of the bubbles as they moved across her skin.

  Then she drifted into a warm cozy doze. This time she awoke when her head slipped under the water and not from a bad dream. It was time to get into bed. Edgar hadn’t moved and she had to squirm her way under the covers without disturbing him.

  Once comfortable, she allowed her now much clearer head to turn to her plans for the next day. Since the police were going to continue looking for evidence against Paul, it was up to her to find a solid alternative. She needed to talk to someone who would be able to give her information on Mr. Winters. She needed to learn more about his habits and his acquaintances. The only person she could think of to give her that information was Adele. She decided a trip to the real estate office would be her first order of business tomorrow. She would be sure to take the earring with her. Maybe Adele would be able to identify it.

  The night passed without interruptions. There was no noise from next door, no visitations from any ghostly spirits. When Shannon awoke once in the night to shift Edgar off her legs, she could hear the rhythmic sound of the ocean waves off in the distance. When she opened her eyes to sunshine streaming through the curtains she felt refreshed and energized, ready to meet the day’s tasks head on.

  Chapter Ten

  As hard as it was to wait, Shannon forced to herself to wait until after nine to head into town. She didn’t think a real estate office in a small town like this would open very early, and from the way Maggie had described Adele, she didn’t think she would be that dedicated to being there very early either.

  She made the wait a little more pleasant by indulging in a second cup of coffee and another blueberry muffin. She had only ever eaten store bought cultivated blueberries and she couldn’t believe the difference in the taste. It must be awesome to live where you could just go pick blueberries in the wild. Shannon loved her writing career and the travel it required, but by far her greatest pleasure came from enjoying the foods that were special to each location.

  Even without traveling out of the country, there were edible delights to be found everywhere, and New England was certainly no exception. She could feel Edgar watching her from his spot under the table, and as much as she was savoring every morsel of this muffin, she couldn’t refuse his silent plea. She had taught him not to visibly or vocally beg for food, but he could say so much with those eyes, that she just had to share her last bite.

  He took it gently from her hand, barely even touching her, and licked his lips as though she had given him a t-bone steak. “There you go,” she said giving his head a pat. “That’s a good boy to wait. But now we have to go.” At the sound of that word, Edgar was on his feet and heading to the door.

  The little sign in the window indicated that the real estate office was open . Shannon pulled her car into a spot right in front, rolled the windows down for Edgar and instructed him to wait and be good. He took his usual place in the driver’s seat once she was out of the car and kept his eyes pinned to the door that she had walked through. She knew he would be sitting there still when she came back out.

  The office was empty and silent and for a moment Shannon wondered if it was open after all. After a few minutes she heard movement from the back room. “Hello,” she called out.

  “Be right there,” came a raspy voice from the back room. Seconds later a short, somewhat plump red head appeared. She was in her late thirties, Shannon guessed, and looked as though she had already lived a hard life. Her skin looked weathered as though she spent a lot of time outdoors, or constantly wore too much make up. Shannon decided it was probably the latter since she wore a thick coat of a not too well applied cake makeup today. Her eyes were rimmed with dark liner and blue eye shadow with glitter covered her lids. Her black mascara was thickly applied and her lipstick was a bright cherry. The outfit she was wearing was not going to rock the fashion world any time soon, and she wore a ring of some description on every finger.

  But it was her earrings that really captured Shannon’s attention. They were even more gaudy than the one she had found on her mantle. Shannon tried not to look too shocked at the woman’s appearance. It was important that they get off on the right foot if she was going to be forthcoming with the information Shannon needed.

  “Good morning,” Shannon spoke first. “My name is Shannon Porter, I’m here staying at the Boathouse.”

  “Morning. I’m Adele. So you must know all about the murder then, if you’re staying there. I can’t believe it yet. Preston was a good friend of mine. He was a fine man and he shouldn’t have met his end that way. The police think it was Paul Duncan, or so I hear. He was always so nasty to Preston, and they did have some big arguments, but I never would have thought Paul could commit murder.” To be polite, Shannon had let the woman ramble on, but at her accusation of Paul, she had to step in.

  “I’ve only known Paul for a short time but I’m pretty sure he’s not the murdering kind. I’m sure the police will find that out soon enough.” Then, not wanting Adele to get her back up, she quickly added, “but I am sorry for your loss. How did you know Mr. Winters. Was he a client?”

  Adele sniffed, glad to be talking about herself again. “Not exactly. I mean he wasn’t here looking to buy a cottage or a house or anything like that. He was a very successful property developer. He wanted to buy property here for a big fancy condominium. He especially wanted the Duncan’s property where you’re staying now. It’s a great location there on the water and all. But Paul wasn’t having any part of selling. Letting a good deal get away from him if you ask me.” As much as Shannon wanted to defend her friend, it was more important that she keep Adele talking.

  “I understand he wanted to buy your property too.” Now Adele looked at her with her highly defined eyebrows raised in surprise.

  “How did you know that?” she asked defensively.”Thought you were just visiting here.”

  “Oh, I am, “ Shannon said quickly. “it’s just that everyone out at the resort is talking about the murder. I’ve just picked up bits here and there. Jemma was telling me about Mr. Winters plans.”

  “Well I still say they were being foolish about it. If they had sold out, I probably could have convinced Sam to sell too. But he was following along with Paul, trying to save the community and all that.”

  “I take it you wanted to sell.”

  “Darn right,” Adele said with a nod that made her fancy earrings bob. “I’d give anything to get out of this place.”

  �
��So you wanted to sell and move away.” Adele gave another emphatic nod along with a shrug.

  “Ya, but that was never gonna happen. Not as long as I was married to Sam.” Shannon wondered for a minute about asking if they were having marital difficulties but decided that was just too personal. She also wanted to turn the conversation back to Preston Winters.

  “Did Mr. Winters have a home here? I just wondered where he stayed while he was searching out properties.”

  “He owns a couple of the big condo buildings down on the shore. He has a very nice penthouse at one of those. He showed it to me once so I’d know what kind of real estate potential it would have.” She added this last bit a little too quickly. Shannon had such an urge to tell her that she already knew about the “Hanky panky” as Maggie had put it, but she couldn’t afford to offend the woman.

  “Just curious,” Shannon said to change the subject a bit. “Assuming that Paul is not the murderer, do you have any other theories as to who it might have been?” A strange look came into Adele’s eyes. Shannon wasn’t sure if it was anger or fear, but it gave her the instant impression that Adele was hiding something.

  A new thought suddenly popped into her head. What if Sam didn’t have an airtight alibi after all? What if Adele was protecting him? That would shed a whole new light on things for sure! With those thoughts in mind, she tried to sound casual. “I’ll bet Sam was glad he wasn’t here when all this happened.” There was that look again.

  “What? Oh ya, he was glad. He was away visiting his brother. But how did you know that?” she asked with undisguised suspicion. Shannon figured she had pushed her luck far enough for today. She would ask Maggie for a bit more information about Sam.

  “Oh, just gossip on the street,” she laughed. “You know how fast news travels in a small community.” Figuring she had all she needed from Adele for the time being, she turned the subject towards a more neutral subject.

  “Thanks so much for the chat,” she said as she headed towards the door. “So if I decide to look into buying a summer place here, you would be the one to call?” Adele beamed with the prospect of new business and obvious relief to be finished talking about her involvement with the late Preston Winters.

  “That would be me,” she said reaching to shake Shannon’s hand. “Here’s my card, in case you ever want to have a look at what’s available.” Shannon noticed the long, well manicured nails, painted in a glittery silver finish. Completely done up, this lady was. She wondered what Mr. Hobart looked like. Probably just a simple, hard working local whose every penny went to support his selfish wife’s lifestyle. She returned the handshake, suddenly feeling very plain and simple herself.

  “Thank you. It’s been great chatting with you.” Then she remembered the earring. Stepping back into the office and letting the door close again, she reached into her purse. “I almost forgot. I found something in the Boathouse and I’ve been asking around to see who owns it. Jemma claims she has never seen it before, and M aggie didn’t recognize it either. Is it possible this belongs to you?” She drew the earring out of her purse and held it up for Adele to see. Her gasp of surprise was out before she could help herself.

  “Well yes, that is mine.” Stammering a bit, she went on. “I lost it a few days ago. I wonder how on earth it got into the Boathouse.”

  “How indeed,” Shannon thought to herself. Out loud she said, “I don’t know. Then in an effort to lighten the mood she added, “Maybe the Blue Lady put it there.”

  Adele’s look of sheer horror surprised her. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to offend. It was just a joke.”

  Adele was shaking her head so that her red curls flew in wild array. “Take my advice,” she said. “never kid around about the Blue Lady. She’ll get revenge if you do.” Shannon tried to suppress a chuckle.

  “I’ll be sure to remember that. And here, I’ll let you have this back,” she said dropping the earring into the woman’s trembling palm.

  Back at her car, Shannon reached in and hooked Edgar up to his leash. She wanted to give him a chance to stretch before she went in to say a quick hello to Maggie.

  Chapter Eleven

  Back at Maggie’s shop, Shannon shared her theory about Adele protecting Sam. Maggie shook her head adamantly, “Nope, you’re barking up the wrong tree there my friend. If there’s anybody less capable of murder than Paul Duncan, it’s Sam Hobart. He is the kindest, gentlest man I’ve ever met. How he got hooked up with that creature Adele has always been a mystery to me.”

  Shannon couldn’t hide her disappointment. “Oh, I was hoping I was on to something.”

  “Nope, I think you’re dead wrong there, and I think I’m a pretty good judge of folks.”

  “I’m sure you are. Guess I’m back to square one then.” Maggie reached across the table and patted her hand, much like her Mom would have done.

  “Why don’t you just let it go, dear. Let the police handle things and get back to what you came here to do. Write your book. Hunt for ghosts. Enjoy the beach. Have some fun!” Shannon couldn’t help but laugh.

  “You sound just like m y mother.”

  “Well then, I’d say your mom is a very smart lady. You should take our advice.”

  “I’ll try,” Shannon agreed, but only if you give me the recipe for these molasses cookies. They are fantastic! Another local food I presume?”

  “Absolutely,” Maggie replied. “But mine is a secret recipe. Highly classified. If I told you then I’d have to kill you,” she concluded with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “This is a place where ghosts prevail and murders happen, you know.”

  “Very funny,” Shannon said as she rose to leave. “I’d better get back to Edgar. He’s had a lot of waiting in the car today. See you, Maggie. And thanks for all the advice.”

  “You take care now, hun. Maybe you should call your Mom tonight and have a chat.”

  “I’ll do that,” Shannon said closing the door behind her, making the little bells ring once again.

  Back at the Boathouse, Shannon poured a tall glass of lemonade an d decided to take Maggie’s advice. The day was hot and the sky was clear, a perfect day to spend at the beach. She was about to put on her suit and grab a beach towel when she remembered all the activity at the beach. Although the portioned off area was only a small section of the beach she didn’t want to run into anybody involved in the investigation. And she certainly didn’t want to risk confronting Kevin again. She could only imagine what he’d have to say about her theories. He would think she’d lost her marbles for sure.

  No, she would settle for some down time on the beach chairs out on the lawn instead. She looked at Edgar but he made no move to join her. He was quite enjoying the air conditioning after having been in the car, so Shannon gave him a treat and left him to have some sweet doggy dreams.

  She grabbed a pen and notebook along with her lemonade and headed outside. She was planning to make some notes for her book, but found herself making notes about the murder instead.

  “Finally working, I see.” The voice startled her and she looked up to see Kevin standing over her, a sheepish smile on his face. “You must really get into your work. I’ve been standing here for a while.”

  “Sorry. Yes I do get quite engrossed, but I’m not really working. I’m actually making some notes about the murder.”

  “You don’t give up once you set your mind to something, do you.”

  Shannon shrugged, “Nope. Personality flaw I guess.”

  “Not a flaw. A rather admirable trait I’d say. So what have you come up with so far?” he sounded sincere enough but Shannon didn’t know if she was ready to trust him or not. Ultimately deciding that she wanted his honest and professional opinion, she went ahead and told him the whole story, right down to returning the earring to Adele. He listened without interrupting, his facial expression never changing. When she was done she tilted her chin and looked him directly in the eye.

  “So, what do you think?”

  He wasn’t l
aughing, so that was a start, in fact, he looked quite serious. “I don’t think it’s a bad theory, really. Except that I can confirm Sam’s alibi. Adele isn’t covering for him. He really was in Vermont.”

  Shannon raised her eye brows, “And how do you know that for sure?”

  Now he smiled that sheepish smile again. “Because after you got so bent out of shape about the police suspecting Paul, I pulled a few strings and checked out Sam’s alibi myself.”

  “Aha!” Shannon bleated out more emphatically than she intended. “So you think it might have been someone else too.”

  “I’m not saying anything really. Other than I thought he should be eliminated as a suspect since he did have a pretty good motive. But it wouldn’t have been Sam’s way anyway. If he had found out about Adele and Preston, he would have forgiven her, or divorced her, or do whatever she wanted, that’s just the way he is. Anything to please Adele. Nobody in town can understand it, but the guy worships the ground she walks on. And believe me she took every advantage of that.”

  “I believe you. I met her this afternoon. She is really something. She just seemed to act kind of strange when I brought up the murder. That’s why I thought she was maybe protecting Sam.”

  “The only thing Adele would ever protect is her own interest. I’ll bet she was glad to get her valuable jewelry back though.” They both had a good laugh at that.

  “Well, nobody else would want it that’s for sure.”

  Kevin nodded in agreement. “And while we’re on that subject, how do you suppose the earring got into the boathouse?”

  Shannon couldn’t resist a little mischief of her own. She leaned closer, and spoke in a hushed voice. “Seriously, I’m thinking it was the Blue Lady. I think she put it there for me to find as a clue to the murder.” Kevin looked at her with such a stunned expression on his face that she couldn’t stay serious. “Just joking,” she assured him. “Got you though didn’t I?”