Muffins and Mobsters

by Leena Clover

  Jenny showed him to a table near the window. He seemed comfortable in the café. She brought out a big platter, loaded with a three egg omelet, toast, juice and a flask of coffee.

  “I’ll be around if you need anything,” Jenny told him.

  She watched him from the kitchen. He took his time buttering his toast. Then he picked up his knife and fork and ate his omelet in small bites. Someone had definitely taught him the right table manners. Jenny remembered Captain Charlie’s words. Her homeless guy must have come from a good life.

  “More coffee?” Jenny asked him when he had eaten everything on his plate.

  “Thanks,” the man finally spoke.

  “Did you like the food?” Jenny asked earnestly.

  “Best I have eaten in a while,” the man conceded. “Are you a trained chef?”

  “Trained in the school of life,” Jenny smiled.

  “I thought about where I got the jacket,” the man said. “It was somewhere around here, on this beach.”

  Jenny tried to curb her excitement.

  “Was it lying somewhere?”

  The man looked thoughtful.

  “I don’t think so. A man gave it to me.”

  He pointed a finger to his forehead.

  “Memory’s not what it used to be. It all runs together.”

  “Take your time,” Jenny encouraged him. “There’s no rush.”

  “I was sitting on the beach in my chair. This man was walking around. He hung out here a lot, just like me.”

  “Do you remember what day it was?” Jenny asked.

  “A few days ago,” the man said. “Don’t remember the exact day.”

  “Can you describe the man?” Jenny asked.

  She wanted to ask if he was a hobo too. The man must have guessed what she was thinking.

  “He was scruffy,” he said thoughtfully. “But I don’t think he slept on the beach, know what I mean?”

  “That’s a big help,” Jenny said, thanking the man. “Did he say why he gave you the jacket?”

  “Didn’t ask,” the man muttered. “Kind of threw it away without a backward glance. It was a perfectly good jacket.”

  The man stood up to leave. Jenny told him he was welcome at the café anytime. She packed a few muffins in a brown paper bag and handed it to the man.

  “Thank you for your help.”

  “Good luck,” the man nodded and left.

  Jenny stood at the café door, waving goodbye as he pushed his cart down the street.

  Jason Stone came up the street and hailed Jenny.

  “Got any breakfast left? I’m starving.”

  “You won’t believe who that was!” Jenny beamed with excitement as she set a loaded plate before Jason.

  “Why did the guy throw away the jacket?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrows.

  “He wanted to get rid of it, of course!”

  “We can agree it was deliberate.”

  “It also means this wasn’t an accident,” Jenny said. “The guy ditched the jacket to avoid suspicion.”

  Jason cut off a big bite of omelet and wolfed it down.

  “We always come back to the same point, Jenny. It was a man on this beach. Now who do we know who was definitely going to be here?”

  “This homeless guy said the man was scruffy. He wasn’t exactly a hobo but he wasn’t normal either.”

  “Do you know anyone who fits that description?” Jason quizzed.

  Jenny sat down before him, glad to rest her feet.

  “You know what? I do!”

  Jenny thought of the man who used to walk up and down the beach.

  “There was a man here,” she told Jason eagerly. “I spoke to him once or twice. He used to walk around here all the time, writing something in the sand.”

  “Writing what?”

  “I don’t know,” Jenny said. “He used to scribble something with a stick and wait for the waves to wash it off.”

  Jason rolled his eyes.

  “Where is this man now?”

  “Haven’t seen him in a while,” Jenny said thoughtfully.

  “Did he talk to anyone other than you?”

  Jenny didn’t have an answer for that. They talked about how they could look for the man. Jenny decided to talk to some of the beach regulars, like the woman who walked her dog every day.

  Barb Norton came in, followed by a small mousy woman. She commandeered the biggest table in the café and sat down, setting a big pile of files down with a thud.

  “I’m putting you down for five dozen chocolate cupcakes,” Barb began, pointing a finger at Jenny. “And five dozen each of oatmeal raisin and lemon cookies.”

  “What are you talking about, Barb?” Jenny asked, bewildered.

  “The bake sale?” Barb reminded her. “The Extermination Committee is holding one day after tomorrow. You would have known that if you had come to the last town meeting.”

  “But that’s impossible,” Jenny cried. “I told you I can’t bake more than two dozen cookies.”

  “You have plenty of people to help you,” Barb scowled, staring suggestively at Jason.

  “I’m getting out of here,” Jason mumbled.

  “Sit down!” Barb ordered. “I’m not done with you.”

  “I’m no baker,” Jason protested.

  “Spread the word,” Barb ordered. “Call clients up and down the coast. Get them here for the bake sale.”

  “Is that really going to help, Barb?” Jason asked. “How much money can you possibly raise selling cookies and cakes?”

  Barb pulled out a sheet of paper from her file. Jason’s eyes widened when he read what was on it.

  “You can’t possibly …”

  “Leave that to me,” Barb snapped. “You just focus on getting people here.”

  “Jason will do that,” Jenny said, “but I can’t contribute any more this time, Barb. I am already pushing the envelope here.”

  “You are one of us now, Jenny,” Barb wheedled. “Don’t you want to do your bit for the town?”

  “The Boardwalk Café has always done its bit for the town,” Jenny said firmly. “But I am sitting this one out. I have more important things to do.”

  “You’re just blowing me off, girl. I won’t forget this.”

  “Why are you harassing them, Barb?” Betty Sue Morse boomed. “Still yapping about those mosquitoes?”

  “Someone has to do right by this town,” Barb said pompously.

  “You just manage to get everyone riled up,” Betty Sue said.

  The older women argued over past events where Barb had thrown her weight around. Jason crept out silently. Jenny went into the kitchen, clutching her head.

  “Are they still at it?” Heather asked gleefully.

  She was chopping celery for the chicken salad.

  The lunch crowd began trickling in as soon as Barb left. Jenny thought the day would never end. She forgot all about the man on the beach until dinner that night.

  They had a simple meal of grilled fish and salad. It was a cool evening so they chose to sit in the cavernous family room at Seaview. Jenny closed her eyes and let herself be lulled by the sound of the ocean.

  “We need to plan Petunia’s memorial,” Star reminded her. “At least finish planning the menu.”

  “I want to make all her favorites,” Jenny said. “Vinny told me she liked those tiny cocktail meatballs.”

  Star looked surprised.

  “I never knew that. She went along with pretty much everything.”

  They talked about Petunia for some time. Jenny’s heart was heavy. She forced herself to go out for her walk.

  She ran into Adam and Tank a few minutes later. Tank put his paws on her chest and licked her face.

  “Get down, Tank,” Jenny laughed. “Get down.”

  Adam smiled at her. Unlike Jason, Adam wasn’t into impromptu hugs. Jenny was getting used to his standoffish nature.

  “You remember that foliage trip we talked about last year?”

  �
�We never made it,” Jenny said.

  “Why don’t we go this weekend?” Adam asked eagerly. “I checked the foliage cam. The leaves are in peak color. It will be a beautiful drive.”

  “Are you serious?” Jenny asked.

  “Of course. Skyline Drive is really beautiful this time of the year. We’ll have a good time, Jenny.”

  “How can you be so insensitive, Adam?” Jenny glowered. “I haven’t even buried my friend yet. Her killer is roaming around scot free.”

  “But …”

  Adam bit his lip and looked away.

  “No matter what I do, I can’t seem to please you, Jenny.”

  “I appreciate the thought, Adam,” Jenny said, swallowing a lump. “It’s just not a good time for me right now.”

  “You mean it’s not a good time for us!”

  Chapter 19

  It was a windy day at the beach. A middle aged man helped his two toddlers build a sand castle. A young couple waded into the ocean waves, hand in hand. Out on the deck of the Boardwalk Café, the Magnolias sampled the cinnamon apple muffins Jenny had baked that morning. She was trying out a new recipe for autumn.

  “How’s that Hopkins boy treating you?” Betty Sue asked Jenny.

  Jenny had spent another sleepless night, agonizing over what she had said to Adam.

  “He wants us to go away for the weekend,” Jenny told the Magnolias.

  The frothy waves of a high tide crashed against the shore. The Magnolias were enjoying their second cup of coffee.

  “That sounds romantic,” Heather sighed.

  “It’s callous, that’s what it is,” Jenny bristled. “I told him that.”

  Star and Betty Sue shared a look.

  “You have to get on with your life, Jenny,” Star said gently. “We all do.”

  Molly took Jenny’s side.

  “We all grieve at our own pace. I think Jenny’s right.”

  “You might be pushing him away,” Star warned. “He’s already miffed because you didn’t move in with him.”

  “I finally have a place I can call my own,” Jenny said.

  She had been a model wife for twenty years. Her husband had kicked her out one fine day. Jenny had vowed she would never give another man the opportunity to treat her like that again. When her divorce settlement came through, the first thing she had bought herself was a house. She intended to grow old in it, with or without a companion.

  “You said it yourself, Star. We have to plan Petunia’s memorial.”

  “We are all going to pitch in for that,” Heather said. “If you want to spend a romantic weekend in the mountains, we will understand.”

  “Time and tide wait for no one,” Betty Sue said heavily. “Petunia would want you to be happy, Jenny.”

  Jenny felt hemmed in from all sides.

  “I’ll think about it,” she sighed.

  Later, Jenny closed the café for the day and walked to Jason’s office. She had remembered something and she needed his advice.

  “Howdy Partner!” Jason greeted her.

  “Am I disturbing you?”

  “Not at all. I just finished up some paperwork. I do have court tomorrow, though.”

  “That man I was talking about yesterday,” Jenny burst out. “He’s the one who pulled that gun.”

  “Gun? How do I not know this?”

  “This guy was arguing with someone for a long time and he suddenly pulled a gun out of his pocket. He ran off before anyone could report it.”

  “Who was he fighting with?”

  Jenny’s hands flew to her mouth.

  “How could I forget that? It was Peter Wilson.”

  “The auto shop guy?”

  “Yes! The guy Petunia was supposed to meet on the beach that fateful day.”

  “How is he connected to the man with the gun?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “But surely he knows the guy if he was fighting with him?”

  “Let’s find out.”

  Jenny didn’t know where Peter Wilson lived. Jason told her that wasn’t a problem.

  “He must be at his shop. Let’s go over there right now.”

  Jason pulled out his car and they reached Wilson’s Auto Shop a few minutes later.

  Peter Wilson recognized Jenny. He came over to greet them.

  “Any new leads?” he asked hopefully.

  “Not really,” Jenny said. “But I have a few questions for you.”

  Peter smiled encouragingly.

  “Remember the guy on the beach who pulled a gun on you?”

  “Mason?”

  Jenny turned toward Jason and groaned.

  “That’s right. I completely forgot his name was Mason.”

  “What do you want with him?” Peter Wilson asked.

  “How is it that you know him?” Jenny asked. “Does he work for you?”

  “No, he doesn’t,” Peter said. “He doesn’t have a job as far as I know.”

  “Is he new in town?” Jason asked.

  “Came here a few months ago,” Peter nodded. “The Newburys hired him. But they let him go.”

  “Why?”

  Peter Wilson shrugged.

  “No idea. He wasn’t a big talker.”

  “What were you fighting about that day?” Jenny asked curiously.

  “I offered him a job,” Peter explained. “Nothing big, just washing and detailing cars that come in here. He turned it down.”

  “That was nice of you,” Jenny said. “Why did he pull a gun on you?”

  “Said it was beneath him,” Peter Wilson shrugged. “Accused me of working for his wife.”

  “Wife?”

  “I’m as clueless as you are. Maybe the Newburys can tell you more.”

  Jenny and Jason thanked the mechanic and went back to their car.

  “The Newburys are everywhere!” Jenny exclaimed. “They really do have a finger in every pie, don’t they?”

  “We’ll have to go talk to them,” Jason said. “Do you want to call ahead?”

  The Newburys were the richest family in Pelican Cove. Rumor had it their riches came from sunken treasure. Ada Newbury considered herself a notch above the people in town. She didn’t lose any opportunity driving it home.

  “Ada will probably be too busy for us. I have an idea though.”

  Jenny asked Jason to make a pit stop at the Bayview Inn. She needed Betty Sue’s help. Betty Sue and Ada were staunch rivals. Betty Sue’s ancestor had been the original owner of the island. It had been called Morse Isle then. In addition to her impeccable heritage, Betty Sue was married to John Newbury, the head of the Newbury family. Although long separated, Jenny knew the couple held each other in high regard.

  “You are saying Ada knows this man with the gun?” Betty Sue asked.

  “He’s connected to the Newburys,” Jenny explained. “We want to find out more.”

  Betty Sue called John Newbury and made sure he would be on hand to meet Jenny.

  Jason drove up a hill toward the Newbury estate. Jenny watched the red, yellow and russet leaves on the trees and thought of Adam. She was sure she had done the right thing, refusing to go on the foliage trip.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” Jason said, his face stretched in a smile.

  Jenny noticed the deeply etched laugh lines in Jason’s face and the crinkles around his eyes. Jason’s emotions were clearly written on his face. He seemed to be recovering well from his breakup. Jenny was glad to see shades of her old friend in that smile.

  “Just enjoying the view,” Jenny blushed.

  “Me too, Jenny, me too,” Jason winked.

  Jason pulled up before a pair of massive iron gates. The guard in the small cabin spoke to someone with a walkie talkie and waved them through.

  Jenny recognized the old housekeeper who let them in. She showed them into a cozy sitting room.

  John Newbury stood up to greet them. He was a spry old man in his eighties, with a shock of thick white hair. Jason knew him well.

 
Ada Newbury sat stiffly in a wingback chair. She gave Jenny a slight nod.

  A maid brought in a tea service. Jenny offered to pour the tea. Jason picked up a tiny cucumber sandwich and popped it in his mouth. John Newbury made some small talk. Ada glanced at her watch a couple of times.

  “Feel free to leave any time, Ada,” John said. “We don’t want to hold you up.”

  Ada’s nostrils flared but she said nothing.

  John waited until Jenny took a few sips of her tea.

  “What brings you here, dear?” he asked. “Betty Sue said it was urgent.”

  “Thank you for seeing us at such short notice,” Jenny began.

  Jason picked up a shortbread cookie from a tray and nodded.

  “Do you know a man called Mason?”

  “Mason Bush?” John asked. “We hired him as chief of security a while ago. But we had to let him go.”

  “May I ask why?”

  John set his cup down and sighed.

  “We hired him for the dispensary project. But it never materialized.”

  The Newburys had proposed setting up a medical marijuana farm and dispensary in Pelican Cove a few weeks ago. The town had strongly protested the idea. The outcry against the whole project had been so effective that the Newburys had failed to get the required licenses from the government. The project was scuttled before it got started.

  “I am sorry about that,” Jenny said sincerely. “I think it might have helped some people.”

  John shrugged.

  “It wouldn’t have worked without the town’s approval.”

  “What happened to this guy after you fired him?” Jason asked.

  “He was a good worker,” John said. “Was in the military, you know. We offered a generous pay package and a house to live in. He moved his family here from somewhere in the mid-west.”

  “So he wasn’t local,” Jenny murmured.

  “He was excited about living in a beach town,” John said. “His life went downhill after we let him go. His wife left him and filed for divorce. She wouldn’t let him talk to the kids.”

  “But it wasn’t his fault he lost the job?” Jenny asked.

  “That’s right,” John said. “But the wife blamed him.”

  Jenny told him about the man she had seen wandering on the beach.

  “I had no idea things were that bad!” John exclaimed. “We gave him a good severance package. I even offered to act as a reference.”