by Sarah Fox
“I think he knows there’s going to be cheese,” I said.
Brett gave Bentley a pat on the head. “It’s like a sixth sense. We haven’t even opened the fridge.”
Bentley gave another bark and ran into the house through the open French doors.
“Who’s going to tell him we’re not eating until later?” Brett asked as he got up from the swing.
“I’ll leave that to you. You know what happens when he looks at me with sad puppy dog eyes.”
“He’s got you wrapped around his paw.”
“It’s not my fault he’s so cute.”
“I’ll break the news to him.” Brett took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
My stomach gave a loud rumble of hunger.
Brett laughed. “Sounds like we should get moving so we can have those nachos.”
“The sooner the better.”
* * * *
We set an easy pace for ourselves because of the heat. After following Wildwood Road into the center of town, we veered off into a quiet residential neighborhood with shady, tree-lined streets. Several other locals were out and about enjoying the beautiful evening, some with canine companions and some without. Many of the people we passed were heading toward the beach. We saw several familiar faces, but we only exchanged quick greetings as we continued on our way.
The air smelled of the ocean and freshly cut grass. Many of the houses had window boxes or hanging baskets bursting with colorful flowers. The pleasant sights and smells helped to soothe me, as did the steady rhythm of running.
Once we decided we’d strayed far enough from home, we headed back toward Wildwood Road. Before we got there, I slowed to a walk and Brett did the same beside me. We were on Leigh’s street and I’d spotted her out in her front yard, talking with a neighbor while Greg mowed the lawn. Their youngest daughter, Kayla, sat on the front steps, combing her doll’s hair.
Before we reached Leigh’s house, her neighbor went back to weeding her garden and Leigh turned our way. I waved, catching her attention. When Greg noticed us too, he shut off the lawn mower.
“Beautiful evening, isn’t it?” Leigh called out as we approached.
“Gorgeous,” I said as Brett and I stopped on the sidewalk.
“I can’t say I’d choose to go running in this weather, though,” she said, eyeing our running gear. “Aren’t you two on the verge of getting heatstroke?”
“Not quite,” Brett said. “But we do plan to jump in the ocean when we get home.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Greg commented.
Leigh and Greg’s oldest daughter, Amanda, appeared at the top of the steps. “Mom, Grandma’s on the phone and she wants to talk to you!” She held up a cell phone and waved it in the air.
“Sorry,” Leigh said to us. “I’d better take that.”
Brett and I said good-bye to her as she jogged up the front steps and into the house.
“How are you doing these days?” Brett asked Greg.
“All right, thanks. How about you guys?”
“Pretty good,” I answered. Before I could think better of it, I added, “I saw you at the hardware store the other day, but you disappeared before I had a chance to say hi.”
Greg’s gaze shifted away from mine. “Oh? That’s too bad.”
“I got the feeling you didn’t want to talk to me.”
Greg kept his eyes fixed on the lawn mower as he cleared his throat. “I was probably just busy. Why would I not want to talk to you?”
“I don’t know. Something to do with Leigh, maybe?”
I could feel Brett watching me. I knew he was wondering why I was grilling Leigh’s husband.
Greg finally looked up from the lawn mower, a crease across his forehead revealing how worried he was. “Did she tell you something was wrong?”
“She’s worried that you’re hiding something from her,” I said. “Whatever it is, I know it’s not my business, but if you can put Leigh’s mind at ease…”
Greg glanced over his shoulder at the house. His wife hadn’t reappeared. He let out a deep breath, his shoulders sagging. “I was trying to do something special for our fifteenth anniversary, but I’ve messed everything up. I know Leigh thinks I’ve been acting cagey, and I thought she might have asked you to figure out why.”
“She didn’t,” I said. “She just confided in me that she was worried about you.”
“How did you mess up?” Brett asked.
“The night I proposed to Leigh we were in Seattle to see The Phantom of the Opera at the Paramount. We had such a great time that we still talk about that night. Our anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I found out that Phantom is playing again at the same theater. I knew Leigh would love it if I got us tickets. I was going to book us a room at the same hotel and take her out to dinner before going to the theater.”
“So what went wrong?” I asked.
“The tickets are all sold out. I called the box office a couple of times, hoping more tickets would come available, but they haven’t. It was a perfect plan, and now I feel like nothing else will measure up.”
“But if Leigh didn’t know about your original plan, she can’t be disappointed,” Brett pointed out.
“I know. I just really wanted to do this for her, you know?” He glanced at the house again, but Kayla was the only one in sight. “I guess I need to get over it and make reservations at a nice restaurant closer to home.”
“You might need to give Leigh an idea why you’ve been so secretive,” I said. “Even if you don’t tell her everything.”
Greg rubbed the stubble on his chin. “You’re probably right about that. I never meant to worry her.”
“And don’t give up on your plan yet,” I said, the wheels turning in my head.
Greg’s forehead creased again, this time with confusion. “I really don’t think I’ll be able to get tickets to the show.”
“I might be able to help,” I said. “I can’t make any promises, but give me a couple of days and I’ll see…”
I trailed off as Leigh emerged from the house and came down the steps to join us. All three of her daughters followed after her.
“The girls want to go for ice cream,” she told Greg.
He glanced at the small patch of lawn left untrimmed. “Give me five minutes to finish this and we’ll all go.”
“You want to join us?” Leigh asked me and Brett.
“We’d better pass this time,” Brett said.
“We’re going to have dinner in a bit,” I added.
The girls were getting antsy for their ice cream, so we exchanged a few more words and then left Greg to finish cutting the lawn. We walked instead of jogging, both of us too hot to want to go any faster.
“What was that all about?” Brett asked when we were out of Leigh’s earshot. “Do you really think you can help Greg?”
“I’m not sure yet,” I said. “But after we’ve had our swim, I’ll call my mom and find out.”
* * * *
Our short swim in the ocean was exactly what we needed after getting uncomfortably hot. The water was blissfully cool, and I had goose bumps on my arms by the time we left the water and walked up the beach to our house. While Brett made guacamole and grated cheese to go on top of our nachos, I curled up on the porch swing and phoned my mom. She and her husband, Grant, lived in Seattle, where I’d grown up, and one of her closest friends had worked at the Paramount Theater for years. She’d taken early retirement a year or so ago, but I was hoping she still had some connections there.
After chatting for several minutes about life in general, I explained to my mom why I’d called.
“I’ll talk to Tracy,” she promised once I’d filled her in. “I know she’ll want to help out, but whether she actually can…”
“I know it’s not a sure thing
,” I said. “But I thought it was worth a try.”
“It definitely is. Leigh’s husband obviously wants to make this a special anniversary for her. A laudable goal, if you ask me.”
“I agree.”
We chatted about the upcoming wedding for a while but when I caught the scent of dinner in the air, I brought the call to an end. I’d barely hung up when Brett carried a platter of nachos out to the table on the porch. He returned to the kitchen, reappearing a moment later with a tray holding salsa, guacamole, and two tall glasses of ice water.
My stomach grumbled loudly as I snagged a nacho laden with cheese and black olives. “These smell delicious.” I added a generous dollop of guacamole and took a bite. “Mmm. And they taste even better.”
“Any luck with the tickets?” Brett asked as he grabbed a couple nachos of his own.
“Mom’s going to talk to her friend Tracy. Hopefully she’ll be able to help us out.” I took a long drink of water. “At least one mystery is solved now. Ever since Greg dodged me at the hardware store, I couldn’t stop wondering why.”
“He should have realized that acting suspicious would only make your sleuthing senses tingle.”
I smiled, knowing he was teasing. “At least there’s nothing bad going on between them. I think it’s romantic that Greg wants to make their anniversary so special for Leigh.”
Brett piled guacamole and salsa onto his nachos. “But he might be setting the bar too high for the rest of us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Now I’ll have to make sure I come up with anniversary plans that measure up.”
“As long as we get to spend our anniversaries together, whatever we do to celebrate will be perfect.”
“Can I quote you on that next summer?” Brett asked with a grin.
“You won’t need to,” I assured him. “I’ll still feel the same way next year and every year after that.”
Brett leaned over and kissed me. “You’d think we were in love or something.”
“How could I not love a guy who makes such delicious nachos?”
“It’s only one of my many talents.”
This time I kissed him. “Don’t I know it.”
Chapter Twenty
The rising sun almost blinded me when I looked out over the water the next morning. The waves sparkled so brightly in the dazzling light that I had to turn my eyes away. I walked along the beach on my way to work, enjoying the incredible beauty of the summer morning. Since it was so early, hardly anyone else was in sight. A young couple walked hand in hand toward the eastern end of the cove, a German shepherd trotting along beside them, and closer to town a man was jogging through the soft sand, getting a good workout.
As I drew closer to the man, I thought I recognized him. A few steps later I was sure I did. I almost called out a hello, hoping to catch Levi’s attention and draw him into a conversation. After what Jay had said about Levi’s feelings toward Yvonne, I wanted to figure out if his animosity toward the reporter was strong enough to provide a motive to kill her.
I thought I was about to get my chance to get his attention when he slowed to a stop. He kicked off his running shoes, stripped off his T-shirt, and broke into a jog again, this time heading over a sandbar to the water. When he was almost waist-deep in the water, he dove into an oncoming wave, resurfacing seconds later.
I slowed my pace, wondering if he’d gone into the ocean for a quick swim and would emerge from the water almost right away. Luck didn’t seem to be with me, though. He struck off, swimming parallel to the shoreline, his strokes as sure and as strong as a competitive swimmer’s.
Not wanting anyone to catch me staring at him, I continued on my way. When I reached the paved promenade that would lead me to The Flip Side, I paused and glanced back at the water. Levi was still swimming. His shirt and shoes weren’t too far away from where I stood now, though. Maybe I could still have a word with him.
Picking up my pace, I let myself into the pancake house and dropped off my tote bag in the office. I said a quick hello to Ivan and Tommy, and then maneuvered one of the small tables meant for outdoor dining through the front door. Each day after closing I moved the tables indoors for safe storage. Maybe I shouldn’t have bothered, but it gave me peace of mind. I’d had trouble with vandalism in the past, and although the person responsible was now dead, I felt better keeping everything locked up.
When I had all the outdoor tables in place, I strolled to the end of the promenade and shaded my eyes, searching for Levi. This time I had more luck. He was heading out of the water and up the beach. I walked casually, not wanting to appear too eager, and met up with him close to the spot where he’d left his shirt.
“Morning,” I called out cheerfully.
Levi ran a hand across his face, scattering a few droplets of water. “Morning,” he returned when he’d had a chance to recognize me. “You’re a fellow early bird, I see.”
“I’m definitely a morning person. And the pancake house opens at seven, so I always get an early start.”
Levi grabbed his T-shirt from the sand and shook it out before using it as a towel, wiping down his face and upper body.
It wasn’t difficult to see why Pippa found him attractive. With his well-toned physique and good looks, he wouldn’t have been out of place on the cover of a surfing magazine. I wondered if Jay’s description of him as Pippa’s boy toy was accurate, or if the couple had a deeper connection. That wasn’t what I really wanted to know about, however.
“How’s Rowena doing?” I asked.
“About as well as can be expected, I guess.” Levi pulled his damp T-shirt over his head. “Pippa’s taking her to watch some of the track and field in the afternoon. Hopefully it’ll be a bit of a distraction.”
“I’m glad Rowena’s got Pippa as a friend.”
“Yeah. The two of them are close. And Pippa… she’s got a good heart. She’d do anything for a friend, especially Rowena.”
I didn’t fail to notice the way his blue eyes softened when he mentioned Pippa’s name. To me that was like announcing he was in love with her without having to say the words.
“Have you heard any news about the murder investigation since we last talked?” I asked. “I know there haven’t been any arrests yet.”
“Nothing so far.” Levi ran a hand through his wet hair. “Sometimes those investigations take months, even years.”
“True,” I conceded. “But with the games almost over, a lot of witnesses and maybe even the killer could be getting ready to leave town.”
“You think it was someone who’s only in town for the games?” He shrugged before I had a chance to respond. “I guess that makes sense. Yvonne probably didn’t know anyone in Wildwood Cove until she got here.”
“I guess the murderer could be someone from the peninsula,” I said. “But there seems to be a lot of people connected to the games who disliked or even hated her.”
Levi’s gaze tracked a seagull as it circled over the water.
It seemed he wasn’t going to reveal what I wanted to know without more prompting. “You didn’t like her.”
His gaze snapped back to me. “Who told you that?”
“You gave me that impression the other day.”
Levi snatched up his shoes from the sand. “There wasn’t much to like.”
“That doesn’t really surprise me,” I said. “One of The Flip Side’s regular customers was really taken by her, but I overheard her saying some nasty things behind his back.”
“That sounds about right. She was a real piece of work.”
“How did you know her?”
“I didn’t. Not until I arrived in town.”
“But your paths crossed in the days before her death?” I guessed.
“Unfortunately.” A note of bitterness had entered his voice. “She wanted to interview Pippa.�
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“Didn’t Pippa want to be interviewed?”
“About her participation in the games, yeah.”
“Yvonne was a sports reporter. Isn’t that what she wanted to talk about?”
“No. All she wanted to focus on was Pippa’s relationship with me. People look at us as a couple and all they see is the age difference. And okay, I guess I get that, at least a little bit. But really, it’s not anyone’s business.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“And Pippa’s an amazing woman. An amazing athlete. So, yeah, it ticked me off that Yvonne only wanted to write about our relationship. It was rude and totally unfair to Pippa. It upsets her when people grill us about our relationship. Makes her feel judged. I don’t care what people think about us, but it gets to Pippa, you know?”
“I can imagine,” I said.
“Anyway, I’d better go. Pippa will be awake now. I might see you later, though. Your place serves the best food in town.”
I smiled at that. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Catch you later.”
He set off across the sand, heading in the direction of the B&B.
So it was true that Levi didn’t like Yvonne, but had the reporter upset Pippa enough that Levi would have wanted revenge? It seemed like a flimsy motive for murder, but it wasn’t something I could discount entirely.
Even though the sun was already warm on my shoulders, a slight chill prickled over my skin. Someone had killed Yvonne Pritchard, and if Ray and his deputies didn’t catch the murderer soon, I feared the investigation would stall. And with an unsolved murder hanging over Wildwood Cove, it wouldn’t be easy to carry on as normal.
* * * *
A little over an hour after The Flip Side opened for the day, Lisa and Chloe showed up. We’d arranged to meet up at the pancake house that day, so I wasn’t surprised by their arrival. The law office where Lisa worked had shut down for a couple of weeks of summer vacation, and Chloe was on summer break from her job teaching second grade in Port Angeles. We’d decided to take advantage of their free time to chat about their bridesmaid dresses.