Ginny Gold - Early Bird Café 01 - Rise and Die

by Ginny Gold

  “Thankfully no. But I did see a car with New York plates at her café on Monday. I never saw the driver and haven’t seen the car since. But that was the first thing that crossed my mind. It must have been someone from her past.”

  “Her ex-husband is in town. He’s from New York. It could have been his car,” Kori suggested. Everything Jenna was offering seemed legit and like she didn’t know enough to be guilty. Kori also didn’t think she was hiding anything, like Nora had suspected.

  “I’ve seen a second car from New York since Tuesday when she died but not the same one. This one that’s in town now is white. The one I saw on Monday was red.”

  “What kind of car, do you remember?” This could be the information Kori needed to help Zach find the murderer before Detective Gunn put Kori behind bars.

  Jenna shook her head. “Some fancy thing that’s never in Hermit Cove. Not even tourists drive that kind of car. We usually get a lot of SUVs or family type cars, you know? This was a Jaguar or Mercedes or BMW. Something that stuck out like a sore thumb.”

  “You know what you want yet?” Kori asked, changing the subject but making a mental note to remember Jenna’s description.

  “Yeah. Just a blueberry muffin. You toasting them?”

  “I can. Butter on it?”

  “Lots. Thanks.”

  Kori got to work in the kitchen buttering the griddle and cutting the muffin in half. She was suddenly hungry herself and realized she hadn’t eaten anything since she’d gotten up. She grabbed a strawberry muffin from the warm oven and added hers to the hot griddle as well.

  “Rumor has it that you’re involved in this somehow,” Jenna said, shocking Kori into speechlessness and making her turn around to face her. Jenna was clearly studying Kori’s reaction to the accusation.

  “What makes you say that?” Kori asked as calmly as she could.

  “Well, of anyone in town, I probably saw the most of Tessa. She didn’t have good things to say about you. She thought you were out to get her.”

  Kori laughed but she could hear the falseness of it as it left her mouth. “I didn’t know you two were close. She’d only been here a couple weeks.”

  “I wouldn’t say close but given the proximity of my home business to her café, we bumped into each other pretty regularly. Mostly just small talk but hers seemed to center around you and your past relationship with her at school and in New York.”

  Kori was flabbergasted. She’d had no idea that Tessa had been talking about her behind her back. She would have confronted her and attacked the problem head on but now she had to live with whatever stories had been tossed around. And they had to be stories. Kori couldn’t think of a single time that she’d been anything but civil to Tessa.

  “I can’t say we were close friends but I never thought of us as enemies,” Kori told Jenna.

  “Well, I just thought you should know. Thanks for the muffin,” Jenna said as Kori placed it in front of her.

  Then Kori dug into her own breakfast and tried her best not to look at Jenna again. She was lucky that more customers started coming in only minutes later.

  At eleven thirty, there was an unusual lull in business. Kori usually worked straight through without a single break. So after looking up Betsy’s payment time on Tuesday—seven twenty three, which would have put her in The Early Bird after Tessa’s murder—she got to sit down. She didn’t expect the break to last but when no one came in for a half hour, she decided she should go outside and see why.

  To her horror, a second police car was parked right in front of her door. And Detective Gunn was sitting inside. He definitely had something out for her.

  “Ms. Cooke, what a surprise. I thought you’d be busy with customers,” Detective Gunn said, getting out of his car.

  “I haven’t had any customers for the last half hour. Can you tell me why you’re turning them away from my business when I’m not doing anything wrong?” Kori had to do everything to try to control herself.

  “Since your friend Lieutenant Gulch over there decided to keep you out of jail even though you’re our prime suspect, it didn’t seem right that you were profiting while you should have been sitting in a jail cell. So I’ve just been evening the score a little.”

  Evening the score? What score? And with whom? With Detective Gunn? Her mind reeled with questions but she kept her mouth shut.

  Kori decided it’d be best to ignore him. She walked back inside, turned the sign to closed and headed upstairs to shower. She’d just be done for the day. She’d already been able to clean everything up to her satisfaction in her down time, so she considered her options.

  She knew she had to talk to Zach but a call to Nora first wouldn’t hurt. She wanted to update her on the postcard, her conversation with Jenna and that Betsy was likely not in The Early Bird when Tessa was killed.

  “Kori, are you okay?” Nora asked after only one ring. It usually took her at least three rings to get her hands clean enough to answer her phone.

  “I’m fine. Annoyed but fine. Why?” Kori asked, confused.

  “I just got back from Hermit Cove Market and I saw two police cars outside The Early Bird. I know Zach had to be there but why the second one?”

  “Oh. That’s it? You sounded a lot more worried. That was just Detective Gunn trying to shut me down because he thinks I should be in jail so shouldn’t be making any money.”

  “What a jerk. I’m glad you’re still home then. You are home, aren’t you? I don’t have to come bail you out, do I?”

  Kori chuckled. This was all getting so ridiculous. Never in her life had she been arrested until this week and now Nora thought she might have been arrested again. “Yeah, I’m home. I closed early because Detective Gunn was killing the vibe. And I wanted to tell you what I got in the mail last night and what Jenna told me this morning and where Betsy wasn’t during Tessa’s murder.”

  “Great. I’m sitting. Go.”

  Kori caught Nora up on all of the sleuthing she’d done that morning, including Jenna’s suspicion of Kori’s guilt. That only sent Nora into a rant about small town gossip and how we should all be on the same side. Never mind innocent until proven guilty.

  “I’ve actually gotta go talk to Zach about the postcard so we can try to figure out who it came from,” Kori said when she had spilled the rest of the details.

  “We, huh? I like the sounds of that.”

  Kori blushed, even though she was just on the phone and not in front of Nora. “Don’t worry, Detective Gunn will be there to kill the mood. I’ll call you later.”

  “Thanks. Keep me posted.”

  Kori hung up and took a quick shower before changing her clothes and heading back downstairs. There, Detective Gunn was waiting for her and promptly put her in handcuffs.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Is this really necessary?” Kori asked as politely as she could. She didn’t think she had much bargaining room. And how had Nora seemed to know that she was so close to being in jail?

  “Yes it is, now that your friend isn’t here to keep you out of them.”

  Kori looked around in a panic. Where had Zach gone? Hopefully just home to shower. She couldn’t bare being alone with Detective Gunn. She didn’t trust him, as he’d given her no reason why she should.

  “Where did Zach go?” Kori asked as Detective Gunn pushed her head down and into the back of his car.

  “He told me to bring you in so we can all chat. That you have some new information you need to get off your chest. I’m hoping for a full confession.”

  Kori decided to keep her mouth shut. She crossed her fingers that Zach would already be at the station when they arrived.

  Thankfully, his was the first face she saw when Detective Gunn roughly escorted her into the building.

  “That’s not really necessary. Take those off,” Zach instructed when he saw Kori handcuffed. The first thing Kori noticed was that he was clean shaven and in a freshly ironed uniform. She couldn’t really blame him for wanting to get cl
eaned up but she pretended he’d done it for her. “I’ll take her from here.”

  Detective Gunn unlocked the cuffs and Zach gently took her arm and led her into an interrogation room, the same one she’d seen too many times already this week.

  “Is he going to join us?” Kori asked nervously.

  “After that behavior, I don’t think that will be necessary. Water? Coffee? Don’t get coffee. It’s not nearly as good as what you make.”

  “Thanks for the heads up. Just water then.”

  Zach left the room for only a few seconds and came back with two cups of water.

  “What else have you figured out?” Kori asked as soon as they were both seated across from each other at the table. “Am I in danger?”

  “I have to be honest with you. That postcard is going to help your case significantly. If you’d killed Tessa, why would someone be threatening you with knowing too much?”

  “Great. So why’d I just get handcuffed and brought in?”

  “You’re not in the clear yet. It’s just looking good.” Zach relaxed back into his seat, giving Kori confidence that she wouldn’t be on the suspect list much longer.

  “What about my tire?” she asked.

  “Forensics came back. But there was nothing useful. No fingerprints that came up in any system. And there were only two sets, so we had to assume they belonged to you and Jay. And it was definitely slashed with a knife. Maybe the same knife that was used to kill Tessa. We’re still working on that.”

  “Do you want my fingerprints to make sure? I’m sure Jay would be willing too.”

  “Maybe down the line. But what I really want to talk about is this postcard and Tessa’s life in New York. What can you tell me?”

  “Well, Jenna told me that a fancy red car with New York plates was at Sunrise and Shine on Monday and she hasn’t seen it since. She lives next door, so she just happened to notice it.”

  Zach was furiously making notes and Kori paused to let him catch up. “Keep going,” he said without looking up.

  “She never saw the driver and I don’t know anyone with a fancy red car who would have known Tessa. In fact, I don’t know anyone in New York with a car. Or at least I didn’t know they had a car.” Kori could hear herself babbling and Zach stopped writing. She knew what she was saying wasn’t helpful.

  “What about past bosses? Lovers? You said her ex was in town—Dylan?”

  “Yeah. He didn’t seem too distraught over her death. The last I knew, they were separated. That was before I moved two years ago. I guess they never went through with the divorce, or hadn’t yet but I never knew them to really get along.”

  “So if she was sleeping with someone else, it wouldn’t really have been a problem?”

  “I wouldn’t think so,” Kori said, blushing because she was talking about sex with someone she knew was interested in her. And she had to admit, she wasn’t uninterested in Zach. He had aged well and now she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him.

  “Okay, so a possible ex-husband. But no lovers that you know of?” Kori shook her head. “What about her past jobs? Or in school, any leads there that we should be looking at?”

  That’s when it hit Kori like a ton of bricks. “Our professor, Alex Marks. I can’t believe I didn’t see this sooner!”

  “See what sooner? Who’s Alex Marks?” Zach wrote the name on his pad of paper and then looked up, waiting for Kori to continue.

  The wheels were spinning in Kori’s mind. “He taught a pastry class our first semester. And he had a wildly successful bakery. He always let one student work there while he was their teacher. That student was Tessa.”

  “Okay,” Zach said, drawing out the two syllables.

  “He called me on Monday. It didn’t make any sense at the time. I didn’t think twice about it because my mom interrupted me and I cut the conversation short. But he called looking for Tessa. And then she came in less than an hour later and accused me of doing something I didn’t even know about. Later, I thought she was accusing me of throwing that rock through her window but that wasn’t it at all. She was mad because I’d told Alex where she was.”

  “Why wouldn’t she want Alex to know where she was?” Zach asked.

  “I don’t know. That’s what I need to figure out. I need to call him. Follow up on that phone call. See if he knows anything. That postcard, can you fingerprint it?”

  “We can but it’s traveled through who knows how many hands. It’ll be a long shot.”

  “What about the knife? Whose fingerprints came back on that?”

  “None. Just Tessa’s DNA. It wasn’t helpful.”

  “And the car? What if you looked up Alex’s car?” Kori was on a roll and couldn’t slow down.

  Just then, Detective Gunn stormed into the interrogation room. “This conversation is over. I will not let a civilian—who is a suspect, no less—be involved in my investigation!”

  “Your investigation?” Zach asked him, standing up and staring him down. He was taller and had broader shoulders and looked intimidating when he was angry, which Kori couldn’t remember ever having seen him before.

  “Yes, my investigation. Need I remind you that I’m the lead detective on this case?”

  “No, you don’t. And since I’m your lieutenant, I know I don’t have to remind you that I’m your supervisor, Detective Gunn.”

  Zach stood his ground and Detective Gunn turned and stormed out much the way he’d entered.

  “I think it’ll be best if we end this conversation. And I don’t think you should stay at home tonight. With the postcard in evidence, you’ll be cleared so I don’t have to monitor you anymore. Can you stay with Nora tonight?” Zach asked, giving Kori a sympathetic look. “And Kori? Please don’t call Alex.”

  Kori nodded but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to follow that last advice. She knew he was involved and needed to figure out how.

  Zach gave her a ride back to her café. She threw a few things into a bag and drove over to Nora’s.

  Nora was in the driveway before Kori had even shut off her car. “I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t think you should be staying at home if whoever sent that postcard knows where you live.”

  “Yeah, Zach had the same idea. So here I am! Can I crash here tonight?” Kori asked, grabbing her bag from the back seat.

  “Of course. Come on inside. Where are you coming from if you closed so long ago?”

  “The police station.”

  “What?” Nora put her hand on Kori’s arm in surprise. “I thought you called me from your house.”

  “I did. But then I went downstairs to head to the station to talk to Zach, and Detective Gunn put me handcuffs again.”

  “What’s with that guy? He seems to have something out for you.”

  “I know, right? I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

  “So then you talked to Zach?” Nora opened the door and Milo and Otis nearly ran them over.

  “Yeah. Open a couple beers and I’ll catch you up.”

  ***

  Hours later, and many beers in, Kori finally convinced Nora that it was a good idea to call Alex. “He’s involved. I don’t know how but he’s definitely involved.”

  “Before you call, let’s look him up on Facebook,” Nora suggested as her last line of defense.

  “Perfect. I’m actually friends with him. Let’s check out his recent activity. See if he checked in anywhere near here. Or if he has a photo of his car. Or who his friends are.”

  Kori started looking at his profile on her smartphone but Nora brought out her computer. “If we’re going to really check him out, we need to be able to see what we’re looking at. Here, login on this.”

  Kori did as instructed and pulled up his profile. “I’ll start with his friends,” she said and clicked on the tab. She immediately searched for Tessa Doyle, who was listed. Kori wondered what happened to Facebook accounts of the deceased.

  “What about anyone else from Hermit Cove?” Nora asked.

&
nbsp; “Why would he know anyone else from here? To the best of my knowledge, he’s never been here. Unless he was here on Monday. What about his photos? Let’s look at those instead.”

  She clicked over to the photos and scrolled through them at a moderate pace. “Wait! Stop. Go back up,” Nora said, pointing to the screen. “That one. Is that—”

  A loud knock on the door followed by ferocious barking by Milo and Otis interrupted Nora’s question but Kori had already seen the photo. It was Alex and Detective Gunn standing in front of a bright red BMW. Just like the one that Jenna had described.

  CHAPTER 10

  “Call Zach!” Nora shouted as she ran for any weapon she could find. “The dogs don’t bark like this for just anyone.”

  Kori knew the dogs would protect Nora but she wasn’t so sure about herself, so she followed Nora and grabbed a knife from the counter. She was nearly positive that the person at the front door was Detective Gunn. He knew where she was staying because he’d been listening to her conversation with Zach. And he had something against her and it was slowly becoming clear what that might be.

  Knife in hand, she followed Nora out the back door and toward the barn. They could stay out of view of the front of the house but the muddy ground would leave an easy trail for anyone to follow.

  When they reached the barn, they hid in the loft and Kori dialed Zach’s cell phone number rather than 911. She didn’t want her call broadcast over the scanner to alert Detective Gunn of her whereabouts. But if that was really him, he already knew where she was.

  “Kori, what is it? Are you at Nora’s?” Zach asked. She could hear the worry in his voice.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” she whispered.

  “Did you call Alex Marks?”

  “No. I didn’t. I was going to. But someone’s here. I think they’re after me,” she said, skipping all the details. She could tell him later. She just needed to get him here. Now.

  “What? Who?”

  “I don’t know. I think it’s Detective Gunn but we didn’t see him. We ran into the barn. We’re hiding in the loft. Just come. Fast!”