by Ginny Gold
Kori still hadn’t found her voice but tried her best to convey a look of thanks to Zach. She knew that he was going way out of his way to let her stay out of jail and in her home. And this would give her an opportunity to learn what else was going on from him.
“That surveillance will be starting now,” Detective Gunn said coldly and left with the knife in an evidence bag.
As soon as he was out of the café, Zach sat across from Kori and waited for her to make eye contact with him. “Don’t worry, Kori. Innocent until proven guilty. I know you’re not guilty. And I’m sure that weapon will clear you. But I have to be honest, it doesn’t look good finding it in your kitchen. Off the record, can you explain that?”
Kori shook her head and looked back down at her hands on the table. She remembered the feel of his hands on hers in the interrogation room and wished he’d offer the same comfort and support right now. “I don’t know about any of this. I didn’t even know Tessa was dead until after you guys arrested me. And Betsy told me this morning what the murder weapon was.” She looked back up, confidence growing inside of her with the memory of Betsy knowing that detail. “Why would she have known about the murder weapon?”
“We’ve questioned her,” Zach admitted. “She’s on our radar. Maybe just a witness. But we’re still checking her out.”
“If she’s a witness, why wouldn’t she have more details to prove she’s innocent? Like having seen whoever killed Tessa?”
“That’s why she’s still on our list. But I have to be honest, you’re the top suspect. Especially with this knife showing up.”
Zach’s word twisted Kori’s stomach into a knot again.
“Let me help you clean up the kitchen,” Zach offered, getting up from the seat across from Kori.
She obediently followed. When they reached the threshold to the kitchen, she was overwhelmed with frustration. Her carefully organized kitchen had been torn apart. Pots and pans were on the floor. A bag of flour had been punctured, leaving a white dust on everything. And there was even a broken bottle of vanilla slowly spreading across the floor.
“I’m so sorry about this. I tried to get to certain areas before Gunn did. But obviously I didn’t succeed.”
Kori nodded and picked up the broken bottle, grabbing the dustpan and sweeping up the shards of glass from the puddle. She’d have to make more and luckily she had the ingredients. It would just take a couple weeks to be useable. Zach picked up the pots and pans and placed them on the counter.
“Thanks for staying,” Kori finally managed to say once she had mopped up the vanilla.
“It was the only way I could keep you out of jail.”
“I appreciate that more than you know.”
They worked in silence, Kori’s mind running away without her permission. She kept sneaking glances at Zach and often found him doing the same. Each time they made eye contact, she relaxed just a little bit more.
When they had finally put things away as well as they could, and to Kori’s satisfaction, she said, “Since you’re my surveillance team, want to head over to Nora’s early? We could pickup dinner on the way.”
“That sounds great. Thai?”
“Yeah. Here’s a menu.” Kori handed him one that she kept in a drawer in the café’s kitchen.
“I don’t need a menu. I always get their sesame chicken.”
“Great. I’ll call in our order.”
Kori ordered pad Thai for herself and panang curry for Nora—their normal choices when they needed a quick meal together and neither felt like cooking. Then she and Zach walked next door to pick up their dinner and Kori texted Nora to let her know their new plan.
***
“Come on in,” Nora invited them when they arrived at her house. They’d driven separately, even though Zach would be following Kori for the foreseeable future.
“We brought beer, too.” Kori handed over a twelve pack and Nora put it in the fridge and took three bottles out.
“But I won’t be drinking. I’m on the job,” Zach said.
“Glasses?” Nora asked, intentionally looking to Kori.
Kori shook her head and brought the bottle with her to the table. “Bring plates and forks,” she instructed her friend.
All three of them sat around the table and helped themselves to the Thai dinner.
“So what happened this afternoon?” Nora finally asked Kori when they had eaten enough to pause and start a conversation.
“Zach and Detective Gunn searched The Early Bird’s kitchen and found Tessa’s murder weapon,” Kori calmly said, watching Zach the whole time.
“What?” Nora just about jumped out of her seat. “Who put that there?”
“Whoever’s guilty. Right now, either Betsy or Dylan.” Kori shoveled another forkful into her mouth.
“Actually, I have someone else to add to the list,” Nora added.
“A list?” Zach asked. “You two are playing detective?”
The women looked at each other sheepishly. “Kind of,” Nora admitted. “We know Kori’s not guilty, so we figured it’d be fastest to find out for ourselves who is.”
“Well, that is my job. But go ahead and give me everything you’ve got.”
“Okay. So we have Dylan. And I want to add Jenna,” Nora said.
“Jenna?” Kori asked, surprised. “The owner of a daycare? How can she be a suspect?”
“She’s not,” Zach jumped in.
“Well, she’s our suspect then. Even if she’s not yours. She comes by sometimes to get fresh veggies for her daycare. And she stopped by today. We all know she lives and works next door to Tessa’s café, so I asked her if she heard or saw anything. She was super evasive and almost forgot to pay me. She was in such a rush to leave and get away from my questions. Even if she’s not guilty, she definitely knows something.”
“Knowing something doesn’t make her guilty,” Zach reminded them.
“Right. But it’s worth looking into,” Nora argued.
“I agree,” Kori said.
“Okay. I can look into it tomorrow. I don’t want you two getting any more involved.” Kori and Nora exchanged a look that Kori understood to mean they might have made a mistake bringing Zach into their sleuthing. At least, that was what she meant.
“Zach,” Kori started and paused to take a sip of her beer. She wanted to lighten the mood. “You said earlier that you know I’m not guilty. How long will it take to check out the blood and fingerprints on the knife?”
“We’re getting it rushed, so it should all be in tomorrow morning.”
“So I have one night before my name is cleared.”
“I know you’re innocent, so let’s just hope this proves it. If that knife was planted, then the murderer could have planted your DNA or fingerprints too. We don’t know who we’re up against.”
“What do you know about Dylan Doyle?” Nora asked.
“I know he’s not guilty. He’s suspicious but innocent. He was in New York when Tessa died.”
“When did she die?” Kori asked.
“About six thirty,” Zach revealed.
“What time did Betsy get to The Early Bird?” Nora asked Kori.
“I don’t know, six forty five? I could check what time she paid.”
“That’d actually be really helpful. She doesn’t have a great alibi, so we’ve been checking into that. But knowing when she was at your café could prove her innocence,” Zach explained.
“I don’t want her to be guilty but proving her innocence certainly doesn’t help me.” Kori took another sip of her beer. “Nora, I didn’t even tell you the best part of this afternoon. Zach has been assigned to follow me. That’s why he’s working and not drinking.”
“What a job. So you’ll be sleeping outside her house?” Nora asked him.
“I’m not sure I’ll be doing much sleeping, but yes, I’ll be outsider her house tonight.”
“How do you like your coffee?” Kori asked Zach. “I’ll bring you some in the morning.”
“Bla
ck. Thanks.”
“Of course. It’s the least I can do since you’re helping to prove my innocence. And you kept me out of jail. Hey, and while I have you here, my tire was slashed on Monday afternoon. Jay still has it. I was hoping you could get a fingerprint off of it that wasn’t mine or Jay’s. I assumed Tessa had done it since she thought I’d thrown a rock through her window but now I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you report it on Monday?” he asked.
“It kind of slipped my mind when I was arrested for a crime I didn’t even know about.”
“Right. We can swing by the Auto Body on our way back to your café.”
“Look at you two talking about ‘we’ and ‘our’ and what you’re going to do together. I’ve waited way too long to hear that.” Nora laughed as Kori and Zach both blushed and exchanged a look that made them both look down at their hands. Kori took a sip of her beer.
Neither Kori nor Zach responded.
“Oh, Kori. Tell Zach about that call Derek got. Maybe that’s something else he should know too,” Nora pushed. Kori was thankful she changed the subject.
Kori gave a detailed account of the phone call Derek got Monday morning from an angry Tessa. “What if she was so mad that she attacked him and he defended himself with the nearest knife he could reach?” Kori finished.
“That seems like a stretch. But I’ll talk to Derek about the phone call. It could be completely unrelated but worth looking into.”
The three of them spent the next couple hours hashing out different scenarios that were less and less likely to be true as they worked their way through many more beers. Finally, Kori and Zach were ready to go. Kori collected the eggs she’d left earlier and thanked Nora for finally getting her together with Zach. Even if it was an undesirable circumstance, she’d had a really fun time and she’d laughed more than she had in the past few days.
“Let me call Jay so he can meet us at the Auto Body. He’s probably home already,” Kori said, standing outside of her car.
She made plans to meet him there in fifteen minutes and then they each headed down Nora’s driveway and back toward town.
Jay gave Kori a curious look when she pulled into the Auto Body followed by Zach Gulch. He knew as well as anyone else in town that Zach had always had a crush on her. But she brushed off his unasked questions and handed the tire to Zach.
“This is great. Thanks for holding onto it, Jay,” Zach said when he had the tire safely stowed in his trunk. “I’ll have to get it to Detective Gunn so he can scan it for fingerprints and see if he can determine what was used to cut it. This could be a clue we need.”
By the time Kori was back inside her home above The Early Bird Café, she was totally drained. She felt only slightly guilty knowing that she would enjoy a good night’s sleep while Zach had to stay awake, watching her from his car.
She flipped through her mail—mostly junk credit card offers or magazines she couldn’t remember subscribing to—while she got comfy on her couch with mindless TV in the background.
Suddenly, a postcard from New York City caught her attention. On the front was an aerial shot of the city. She turned it over and nearly dropped it in surprise. She knew right away that it was a man’s handwriting but she didn’t know whose. Dylan’s? Someone else Tessa was connected to in New York? Had she been having an affair?
You know too much.
CHAPTER 8
Kori considered going straight downstairs to give the postcard to Zach. She knew she could trust him but he didn’t want her involved in this case. Well, involved as an investigator. She was already involved as a suspect.
Instead, she checked that her doors were locked and that she could see Zach’s patrol car on the street. Then she went to bed, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep before she had to be downstairs preparing for Thursday’s breakfast.
Thursday’s breakfast! She hadn’t even thought for a second what she would make. That only woke her up more. She had to force herself not to go downstairs and start planning her menu. Instead, she lay in bed and tried to completely clear her mind of everything that was going on.
She was surprised when she woke to her alarm feeling well rested at four o’clock. But as soon as her feet touched the floor, she remembered what had kept her awake and worrying last night.
You know too much.
What did she even know? That Tessa was dead and someone was trying to frame her? That was only her suspicion. She didn’t know that was what was happening.
She didn’t know why Tessa had been murdered.
She didn’t know why Tessa had even moved to Hermit Cove.
Then it hit her: Tessa had been running from someone or something. Before Tessa had turned über competitive, Kori had told her about Hermit Cove. Tessa had been more than a little interested. She’d asked questions that Kori hadn’t considered at the time, but now that she put everything into context it all made sense.
Tessa had asked about career paths and the economy; normal questions if you were thinking of moving somewhere. But then she’d asked about banks and drugs and crime.
After graduating from culinary school, Tessa’d only moved to New York to keep Kori close. Her plan had always been to move to Hermit Cove, Kori was now sure of that.
But who had sent the postcard? Was it a warning? Would Kori be the next target? Could it be Dylan?
Kori threw on clean jeans and a t-shirt and headed downstairs. She’d promised Zach coffee, so she got that started. She was already buzzing from the path her brain had taken since she’d woken up but she knew she’d need a cup later.
She finally made it into the kitchen and was once again reminded of yesterday afternoon’s activities. The kitchen was put away but it would take days to replace lost inventory and get things where they really belonged. She didn’t have time for that this morning.
Inside the walk-in freezer, she pulled out muffins that she’d made when fruits were in season. She had apple cinnamon with and without walnuts, strawberry, and blueberry. She turned on the oven to defrost them and she would offer them as part of her menu this morning.
There were plenty of eggs now that she had restocked, so she considered her options and decided on a limited number of popovers and eggs any way with toast and a side of fruit salad. She knew she needed to keep things simple if she was going to let her mind continue to run away. Finally, she’d offer banana pancakes and cinnamon French toast—two staples.
When the menus were all written on their blackboards, she checked the muffins and took out a blueberry one to defrost faster in the microwave. Then she filled a mug with coffee and brought them both outside to Zach.
“Morning,” she said when he rolled down his window and put his seat back into the seated position.
“You look well rested,” Zach teased her.
She couldn’t help but smile. “I brought you breakfast. I hope you like blueberry muffins.”
“They’re my favorite. Thanks.”
“Anything happen while I was sleeping?”
“Nope.” Zach took a bite of the muffin and Kori could see him enjoy it immediately.
“Well, I have something for you.” Kori handed him the postcard.
Zach studied the front, then put his coffee and muffin down to turn it over and read it. “You know too much? Who is this from?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I saw it last night after I got home. Do you think it’s connected to Tessa’s murder?”
“That’s my first thought. What do you know that you’re not telling me?” His tone was friendly but the question immediately put Kori on the defense.
“Nothing. Everything I know I told you yesterday.”
“But you’ve known Tessa for a while.”
“Yes.”
“And you would know her colleagues and acquaintances in New York.”
“Not really. We never worked at the same place but we were always in the same food space.”
“I think it’s time you and I talked more ab
out her past,” Zach said. “There are probably missing pieces for both of us and together it could make more sense.”
“Can it wait until I close for the day? And does Detective Gunn have to be there?”
“It can wait. And yes, he’ll be there. I’ll set some strict rules, don’t worry.”
“Do you at least want to come inside and shower?” Kori offered, relaxing again knowing Zach was fully on her side, whatever side that was.
Zach shook his head. “This coffee is all I need to get me going. Thanks.”
“One last question, Zach. Do you think it’s someone local or from out of town?” Kori asked.
“We have suspects in both of those categories. Tessa hasn’t made many friends since moving here and it sounds like plenty of enemies. But there are a lot of holes in what we know about her life in New York. So talking with you this afternoon should help narrow that list down.”
Kori turned and headed back to her café and turned the sign around to open when she walked inside. Much to her delight, Jenna was the first person to enter only moments later. After Nora’s information about Jenna’s behavior, Kori wanted to see if she could get anything else out of her.
“Morning Jenna. Your regular?”
“Hi Kori. Yeah. Thanks.”
“How’s it going? I haven’t seen you since Monday. Busy with kids this week?” Kori asked, starting the conversation off light as she got her coffee ready and Jenna read over the menu.
“I actually had to take Tuesday off with the murder right next door. It didn’t feel right having kids next to a crime scene.”
Kori was surprised how relaxed Jenna was. She’d been expecting her to be withholding and standoffish. But she was just the opposite.
“Makes sense. How did families take it? They must depend on you.”
“Yeah, I was worried about that too. But it was okay. I offered them each a free night of babysitting in the future.”
“That seems like a fair trade.”
“Honestly, I just needed a day off too. I wish I had someone working for me, or a sub I could call once in a while.”
Kori could relate perfectly. “I hear you. This week I’ve been thinking the same thing. Hey, you didn’t hear anything when Tessa was killed, did you?”