Much Ado about Nutmeg

by Sarah Fox

  On my walk to the pancake house, I noticed a bank of clouds off in the distance, but they were puffy white ones and didn’t block out the rising sun. A couple of sailboats were already out on the sparkling water, and a seagull dipped down toward the waves. The scene was so beautiful that it belonged on a postcard.

  As usual, Ivan and Tommy were already at work in the kitchen when I arrived at The Flip Side. I said a quick hello to them before going through my usual morning routine. When copies of the local paper were delivered, I paused to have a look at one. As expected, the murder had made the front page, along with a story about the Golden Oldies Games.

  I flipped through the paper without reading the articles; I figured I’d do that later. I was about to return the paper to the stand by the front door when another story caught my eye. The article was a short one, so I read it right then. Apparently someone had stolen Felicia Venner’s racing gear the day before. When asked by the reporter if the loss would affect her performance, she’d replied, “I won’t let it. I’ve got backup gear. Those were my favorite shoes, but if this was meant to throw me off my game, it won’t work. I intend to persevere despite the theft.”

  I folded up the paper and set it on the stand. Hopefully the theft was a onetime occurrence. The Golden Oldies Games didn’t need any more shadows cast over the event.

  By then all that was left to do was to flip the Closed sign over at seven o’clock, so I returned to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea.

  “Did you read the paper?” Tommy asked.

  “I read about the theft of an athlete’s gear, but otherwise I only glanced at the headlines. Why?”

  “You know the new reporter for the Weekly?”

  “You mean Rob?” I poured hot water over my tea bag. “What about him?”

  “He found out something, just in time to get it in today’s paper.”

  My ears perked up at that. “Something interesting?”

  “Yvonne had drugs in her system when she was killed. Drugs that could have made her drowsy.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “That’s definitely interesting.”

  “We already knew she was murdered,” Ivan grumbled as he placed a tray of breakfast scones in the oven.

  I fished my tea bag out of my mug. “We did, but this suggests that the murder was planned.”

  “Because someone drugged her so she couldn’t fight back,” Tommy said.

  “Exactly.”

  “Or she took the drugs herself,” Ivan said as he punched a button on the oven to set the timer.

  “Okay, that’s a possibility,” I conceded. “Maybe she took something for pain, or maybe she was addicted to drugs.” I addressed Tommy. “Any idea what type of drug it was?”

  “Nope. Only that it could have made her sleepy.”

  “Then we can’t rule out that she took it herself. But, if the killer drugged her, then he or she had an opportunity to do so. The drug could have been injected or slipped into her food or drink. Too bad we don’t know if there were any needle marks found on her body.”

  The kitchen door swung open. “Needle marks?” Sienna echoed as she came into the room. “There were needle marks found on Yvonne’s body?”

  “No,” I said quickly. “Well, actually, we don’t know.”

  “The sheriff will know,” Ivan said with a pointed look in my direction. “Because it’s his job to investigate.”

  “And not mine,” I finished for him. “I know.”

  “You know you can’t stop her,” Tommy said to Ivan. “It’s pointless to try.”

  Ivan grunted at that and cracked an egg into a bowl.

  “There’s nothing wrong with talking about it,” I said.

  Before anyone had a chance to suggest that I wasn’t likely to stick to merely discussing the murder, I picked up my cup of tea and headed for the door.

  “Come on, Sienna. We’ll let the guys work in peace.”

  As soon as the kitchen door shut behind us, Sienna whispered, “Why were you talking about needle marks?”

  I filled her in on what Tommy had told me and Ivan.

  “So the killer might have given her the drugs,” she said once I’d finished.

  We looked at each other and said in unison, “Bryce Harcourt.”

  “He’s a pharmacist,” Sienna said.

  “So he has access to drugs.”

  “It must be him! He’s the killer!”

  “We don’t know that for sure yet,” I cautioned.

  “But he lied about being in town when Yvonne was killed. And she was his ex-wife. Maybe he got sick of paying alimony.”

  “We don’t even know that he was paying alimony.”

  “I bet it was him.” Sienna was undeterred. “But how do we prove it?”

  “I’ll tell Ray that I saw Bryce in town on Friday. He probably already knows Bryce is a pharmacist, but I’ll mention it just in case. Since he’s Yvonne’s ex, I bet Bryce is near the top of the official suspect list. Or he will be once Ray knows he was in Wildwood Cove. Did Bryce show up at the B&B last night?”

  “Yep. Around eight o’clock.”

  “So Ray didn’t arrest him.”

  “But if he was in Port Angeles all that time, there was a lot of questioning.”

  “Was he at the sheriff’s office the entire time?”

  Sienna shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “How did he seem last night?”

  “I only saw him for a few seconds. He seemed… normal, I guess. Not that I really know what normal is for him.”

  So we didn’t know if he’d merely been questioned for information about Yvonne or if he’d been grilled as a suspect.

  “I’d better phone Ray,” I decided.

  Leigh arrived at that moment, so I flipped the sign on the door and headed for the office. I had to leave another voice mail for Ray. I kept it short, letting him know I had more information for him. If I didn’t hear back from him soon, I’d leave him a longer message, detailing what I knew. While I waited to see if he’d return my call, I tried to keep myself busy with work, but the mystery of Yvonne’s death was never far from my thoughts.

  * * * *

  The pancake house got a bit hectic during the breakfast rush, so I left the office to help Leigh and Sienna with serving customers. All of the tables, inside and out, were occupied, and a short line stretched from the door onto the promenade. The booming business brought a smile to my face, despite the unfortunate incidents of late. The discovery of Easton’s body was a hot topic of conversation that morning, but I was relieved to hear many customers also having enthusiastic discussions about the various sporting events going on in town.

  The Flip Side was still busy by midmorning, but not overwhelmingly so, and there was no longer a line at the door. Although Leigh was taking a short break, I left Sienna alone so I could make a quick trip to the washroom. On my way back down the hall, I passed the break room and noticed Leigh sitting at the table, her head in her hands. I stopped short and poked my head into the room.

  “Leigh? Are you okay?”

  She jerked her head up. As soon as she recovered from my sudden appearance, she released a heavy sigh.

  “I’m okay,” she said. “Just…”

  I stepped into the room. “What?”

  A strand of bleached blond hair had escaped from her messy bun. She tucked it behind her ear. “You don’t want to hear about my problems.”

  “Of course I do. If you want to share them.”

  Leigh stared at the tabletop for a moment. “I’m worried about Greg,” she said, referring to her husband.

  “Is he sick?” I asked with concern.

  “No. At least, I hope not. I don’t know what’s wrong. That’s what’s worrying me.”

  I sat down across from her. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”
>
  “He’s been acting strange. Preoccupied.”

  “Did you ask him about it?”

  “I did, but he swears it’s nothing,” she answered.

  “You don’t believe him?”

  Leigh shook her head. “The last time he acted like this he’d lost his job and didn’t want to tell me. It took three days before he finally broke the news to me.”

  “Do you think that’s what happened this time too?”

  “I wondered, but the other day I peeked into the hardware store and saw that he was working, just as he was supposed to be.” Worry clouded her hazel eyes. “What if something’s really wrong? What if it’s something terrible?”

  I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “There’s no point in jumping to conclusions. You could be worrying for no reason.”

  “Something’s going on,” she said.

  “Maybe you should try talking to him again.”

  “Maybe.” She got to her feet slowly, as if her worries were weighing heavily on her shoulders. “I’m sorry about this, Marley.”

  “Don’t be. Let me know if there’s anything I can do, okay?”

  She thanked me and gave me a weak smile before returning to the dining room. I followed her there to see how things were going. When I was satisfied that Leigh and Sienna had everything under control, I decided to head to the office to deal with some invoices. I’d only made it a few steps when Ray walked into the pancake house.

  “Morning, Marley,” he said, removing his hat as I approached him. “I got your messages. Since I was in town, I thought I’d stop by for a chat. Can you spare a few minutes?”

  “Of course.”

  I glanced around. The pancake house was still nearly full, so the dining area wouldn’t offer much privacy.

  “How about we talk in the office?” I suggested.

  Ray nodded his assent.

  “Can I get you some coffee? Maybe something to eat? Ivan just took a tray of breakfast scones out of the oven.”

  A hint of a smile touched Ray’s face. “I won’t turn down either one. Thank you.”

  I told him I’d meet him in the office and stopped by the kitchen to pick up a cup of coffee for Ray and a scone for each of us. I added a splash of cream to the cup of coffee, knowing that’s how Ray liked it. I’d come to know him and his wife, Gwen, quite well since I’d moved to Wildwood Cove, thanks to numerous gatherings with Brett’s family. I didn’t know their daughter, Jourdan, quite as well yet, since she was away at college most of the year, but I was hoping to see her a few times while she was in town during the summer.

  Once I’d carried the food and coffee into the office, Ray and I settled into the two chairs in front of the desk.

  “You must have your hands full this week,” I said as Ray took the first sip of his coffee. “Two deaths, a theft, and all the extra traffic from the tourists and athletes.”

  “It’s been hectic, that’s for sure.” He tore a small piece off his scone. “I gather from your messages that you’ve been busy too.”

  He kept his tone even, so I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or not.

  “Business has been booming here at The Flip Side, but I don’t think that’s what you’re referring to.” I didn’t need to wait for confirmation. “I really haven’t done all that much snooping. I’ve just learned some things from talking to people and observing what’s been happening around me.”

  “If you talk to the wrong people about the wrong things, it can be more dangerous than you might think.”

  “I know,” I assured him. “And I have no intention of getting mixed up with another murderer.” Before he could say he’d heard that before, I hurried on. “But I’ve heard and seen some things that I thought you should know about.”

  He nodded at me to continue as he took another sip of coffee.

  I began by telling him about the night of the opening ceremonies when I’d seen Claudia arguing with Yvonne. “Claudia had reason to hate Yvonne,” I said, going on to detail why that was the case. “And she’s not the only one.”

  I filled him in on Nash’s history with the reporter and mentioned what I’d heard about Felicia Venner.

  “Oh, and there’s the ex-husband,” I added. “I know you’ve talked to him already, but do you know he’s a pharmacist?”

  “I do know that,” Ray said after swallowing the last bite of his scone.

  I tore a piece off my own and savored the delicious flavors of apple, cinnamon, and maple. “So he had access to drugs. And I’ve heard that Yvonne had drugs in her system when she was killed. Drugs that could have made her drowsy and easier to kill.”

  Ray raised an eyebrow.

  “I didn’t get that from snooping,” I rushed to assure him. “Not that last part, anyway. It was in the paper.”

  Ray didn’t comment on that. Instead, he wrote something down in the notebook he’d produced while I was relaying all my information.

  “Has there been an autopsy on Easton Miller yet?” I asked as he snapped his notebook shut.

  “It’s underway as we speak.”

  “So you won’t know if he had drugs in his system for a while yet?”

  “I have no reason to suspect that the two deaths are related,” he said, catching on to my line of thinking. “Of course there won’t be any official ruling until the postmortem is complete, but the most likely scenario is that Dr. Miller simply fell overboard and drowned. It’s unfortunate and tragic, but these things happen every year.”

  He picked up his hat from where he’d set it on the desk.

  “There’s something else,” I said before he could get up to go. “I met Bryce Harcourt at the Driftwood B&B right before he paid you a visit in Port Angeles. He said he’d just arrived in Wildwood Cove and that he’d never been here before, but that’s not true.”

  Ray’s eyebrows drew together. “What makes you say that?”

  “I saw him at Wildwood Park on Friday night.”

  I clearly had Ray’s interest now.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “I’m sure. He was talking to Pippa Hampshire.”

  Ray opened his notebook again and jotted something down. “I’ll look into it,” he promised before standing up and placing his hat on his head. “Thank you for the information. But, Marley…”

  “I know,” I said as I got to my feet. “Leave the investigating to the professionals. But I wanted to make sure you had all this information.”

  “And I appreciate that.”

  He sounded a bit weary. I wondered if it was because of the hectic week or because he was tired of giving me the same warnings over and over.

  “Thank you for the scone and coffee.”

  I walked him to the door before returning to the office. I knew what he’d said was true—there were boating accidents and drownings every year. From everything I’d heard, it certainly sounded as though Easton’s death had been a sad but simple accident. Even so, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that two deaths were somehow related.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Later on in the day, when the lunch rush was winding down, Levi arrived at the pancake house and got settled in at a small table. I wondered if he was planning on meeting Pippa, but when Leigh asked if he was ready to order, he didn’t indicate that he was waiting for anyone.

  Once Leigh had taken his order and provided him with a glass of Coca-Cola, I approached his table.

  “No Pippa today?” I said once we’d exchanged greetings.

  “One of her friends has a tennis match, so Pippa’s cheering her on. I’ll head back over there in a bit, but I needed something to eat and the food here is fantastic.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” I said with a smile. “How did Pippa’s match go this morning?”

  “Great.” A proud grin stretched across his face. “S
he won, so she’s moving on to the next round. She plays again tomorrow.”

  “That’s great. She must be pleased.”

  Levi’s grin faded. “She is, but she’s not able to enjoy it as much as usual.”

  “That’s understandable. How’s Rowena doing?”

  “Not so good.” Levi paused long enough to take a sip of his Coke. “She and Easton go way back. They even knew each other when they were kids.”

  “I remember someone saying that they went to school together.”

  “Yep. And they grew up in the same neighborhood. They didn’t start dating until their senior year of high school, but they’ve been together ever since.”

  “Wow.” My heart ached for Rowena. “So he’s always been in Rowena’s life.”

  “And now she has to learn to live without him. It won’t be easy for her.”

  “Have you known the Millers for a long time?” I asked.

  “Nah. I’ve been dating Pippa for a year, and I’ve known Rowena and Easton for less time than that. But long enough to know they were really in love.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how Rowena’s going to cope.”

  “I’m glad she’s got Pippa, at least. I’m sure that’s a great comfort to her.”

  “It is. They’re best friends.”

  I was about to leave him in peace when he spoke up again.

  “Any word about who killed Yvonne?” he asked. “You must hear a lot of news and gossip in a place like this.”

  “I don’t know much about the official investigation,” I said.

  That was true enough. I didn’t want to share that I had my own suspicions.

  “The sheriff’s probably got a list of suspects a mile long,” Levi said. “That woman was a real piece of work.”

  “You didn’t like her?” I wasn’t all that surprised.

  “Did anyone?”

  Leigh arrived with Levi’s order of bacon cheddar waffles, so I excused myself and left him to eat. As I worked, my mind drifted back to the topic of Easton’s death.

  Maybe Ray was right and the drowning was purely accidental. Rowena was the only person on the yacht with him at the time he went overboard. And if what Levi said was true, the Millers had been a devoted couple, very much in love.