Sprinkles and Skeletons

by Leena Clover

  “Do you celebrate her birthday every year?” Jenny asked.

  She was really curious.

  “We used to, for a few years.” Mrs. Turner had pulled herself together. She pulled a fresh box of tissues from under a table and dabbed at her eyes. “Now I just bake a cake. My husband finds it silly, you know.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Jenny said, trying to cheer her up. “Did she like cake?”

  “She loved desserts,” Mrs. Turner said, brightening up. “She wanted red velvet cake for her birthday every year.” A fresh stream of tears rolled down the woman’s eyes. “Red was her favorite color.”

  Adam coughed and cleared his throat. Jenny imagined he was feeling uncomfortable with this open display of grief. Jenny debated going back home without asking any of her questions. She didn’t want to prey on a helpless woman. Then she told herself she had to be strong if she wanted to find out the truth.

  “Can I get you something?” Jenny asked Mrs. Turner. “How about a cup of tea?”

  The woman led Jenny inside. They came back a few minutes later, carrying a tray loaded with a teapot and some cups. Jenny poured the tea and handed it around. Mrs. Turner looked better after a few sips.

  “I hope you will pardon me,” she began. “I’m sorry you had to see all this drama.”

  Jenny assured her she understood.

  “What brings you here?” Mrs. Turner asked. “Have you found something?”

  Her eyes filled with anticipation and she leaned forward eagerly.

  Jenny shook her head sadly.

  “It’s too soon, Mrs. Turner. I had some more questions for you. I can come back later if you don’t feel up to answering them now.”

  “I already told you everything about Emily.”

  Jenny nodded at Adam. He pulled out the chain from his pocket and handed it over.

  “Have you seen this before?” Jenny asked.

  Mrs. Turner took the chain from Jenny and looked at it.

  “Looks like some cheap trinket. What does this have to do with my Emily?”

  “Why don’t you open that locket?” Jenny asked.

  The woman found the clasp and the locket sprang open. Her eyes popped out of their sockets as she spotted the photo inside.

  “Emily!” she whispered hoarsely.

  Her head sprang up and her gaze moved sharply between Adam and Jenny.

  “Where did you get this?”

  “Do you confirm this is your daughter, Mrs. Turner?” Adam asked.

  “Yes, Yes,” the woman almost screamed. “This is my daughter Emily.”

  “We recently had a suspicious death in Pelican Cove,” Adam explained. “This chain was found in the dead man’s room. We are guessing he must have known your daughter.”

  “Dead man?” the woman mumbled.

  She looked so bewildered Jenny had to believe her surprise was real.

  “His name was Keith Bennet,” she said, watching Mrs. Turner keenly. “He used to live in Pelican Cove.”

  “Keith …” the woman muttered. “How could it be?”

  “Did you know him?” Jenny asked sharply. “Did you know Keith Bennet, Mrs. Turner?”

  Mrs. Turner gave a slight nod.

  “We heard that he was in love with your daughter. In fact, he loved her so much that his life went awry when your daughter disappeared. He started taking drugs. He drifted around, possibly searching for her. Do you know any of this?”

  “You don’t have to tell us anything,” Adam warned. “But we need to know the whole truth if you want us to find your daughter.”

  Mrs. Turner looked like she was going to lose her composure again. But she pulled herself together.

  “We knew she met someone from out of town,” she admitted.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Jenny demanded.

  “My daughter was perfect. Do you blame me if I want to preserve that memory?”

  “Was she really perfect,” Adam drawled, “or did you just want her to be?”

  “How did a sixteen year old go meet a boy in a town ten miles away?” Jenny pressed.

  “She hitched rides,” Mrs. Turner said under her breath. “Emily met this boy somewhere. I don’t know how. But he got into her head. He was older than her, almost 19. That makes a big difference at that age.”

  “You didn’t approve?”

  “We thought he was a bad influence.”

  “You said she hitched rides,” Adam stepped in. “Do you realize how dangerous that can be? Did you tell that to the police when your daughter went missing?”

  “We didn’t want to tarnish her reputation,” the woman said. “Look, Emily was a good little girl all her life. She followed the rules. Then she turned sixteen and everything changed for the worse. She started staying out beyond curfew. She didn’t tell us anything.”

  “So age was the only thing you had against Keith?” Jenny asked.

  “He was madly in love with her. You could say he was obsessed. We felt Emily was too young to seriously commit to anyone.”

  “What did Keith want? Wasn’t he in college at that time?”

  “He wanted to marry her,” the woman burst out. “How ridiculous was that?”

  Jenny wondered if Keith had always been a bit weird. Had Lily’s disappearance pushed him off the edge?

  “He had suffered some personal setbacks that year,” Jenny told the woman.

  “We knew that. We felt sorry for the boy. But what could we do?”

  “Did he ever threaten Emily?”

  “Not to my knowledge,” the woman said. “Do you think he hurt my baby?”

  “We can only speculate.”

  “Did Emily bring him here to meet you?” Jenny asked.

  “No, she never told us about him.”

  “Then how did you find out?” Adam asked.

  He had been following the conversation quietly.

  “We tried to keep tabs on her,” Mrs. Turner said. “We had to, once we learned she was going out of town without telling us.”

  “Did you have her followed?” Jenny asked, trying to hide her disgust.

  The woman nodded.

  “She didn’t like it but what were we supposed to do? We wanted her to be safe.”

  “But the inevitable happened anyway,” Jenny murmured. “So did you ever meet Keith?”

  “He came here,” Mrs. Turner explained. “Three days after she went missing, he came looking for her.”

  Jenny and Adam sat up.

  “What did he want?” Jenny asked urgently.

  “She was supposed to meet him one night but she never turned up. He thought we had held her back.”

  “Was that the first time you saw him?”

  “Yes. We were surprised he came here. He thought we had sent Emily away. He begged us to let him meet her.”

  “Did you believe him?” Jenny asked eagerly. “Or did you think he was putting on an act?”

  “My husband and son were convinced he had hidden her somewhere. But I thought he was telling the truth.”

  “Did you tell the police about him?”

  The woman shook her head. Jenny wondered about how much the Turners had managed to keep from the police. Then she thought of Mrs. Bones and felt her heart race. If that was Emily, they would learn her fate soon enough. But would they ever find her killer?

  She looked up at the mantle crowded with photos of a beloved daughter. Her gaze fell on an old black and white photo. A young boy and girl stood arm in arm, smiling into the camera. The face struck a chord with Jenny.

  “Who’s that?” she asked Mrs. Turner, walking over to the mantle to point at the photo frame.

  “That’s my son,” the woman said proudly. “He is two years older than Emily. They were like two peas in a pod.”

  Chapter 22

  Jenny could barely sit still on the ride home. She wanted to know what Adam was thinking.

  “Do you agree he must be involved?”

  “Hold your horses, Jenny,” Ada
m cautioned. “Don’t jump to conclusions without any proof.”

  “Are we going to get that proof?”

  Adam looked grim as he took his foot off the gas pedal to accommodate a slow moving car.

  “Why don’t you leave this to the police now? You have done enough.”

  “I will gladly do that. Will you promise to look into this right away?”

  “I need to sit down and revisit the whole thing.”

  Jenny rolled her eyes and turned her head to stare out of the window. Adam could try her patience. But at least he wasn’t ruling out her theory like he usually did.

  “You have to agree he had a motive?” she pressed Adam. “All this time, we hardly had any suspects. It’s all clear now.”

  “So you think he took revenge,” Adam sighed. “You think he would do something so dramatic after all these years?”

  “He loved his sister. He has been grieving over her for twenty five years. It’s like a wound that festers.”

  “If you’re right about this, he could be dangerous.” Adam was grim as he glanced at Jenny. “I want you to promise me you will stay out of this.”

  “Okay, Okay. I won’t go looking for him.”

  “Try not to be alone,” Adam continued. “Stay with Molly or Heather at all times.”

  “Are you going to lock me in a room now?”

  Adam shook his head in frustration and muttered to himself.

  “I just want you to be safe, Jenny. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “I’ll take care,” Jenny promised reluctantly.

  Although she wasn’t sure what she would do if she came face to face with the killer.

  The read-a-thon was in full swing when they got back to Pelican Cove. There was a line at the concession stand and Petunia looked done in. Jenny hurried to relieve her.

  Molly walked up, looking for something to eat. “I put in six hours since this morning,” she bragged. “I need a break.”

  “Remember what I said,” Adam reminded Jenny as he walked off to the station.

  “You’re hiding something,” Molly squealed, peering at Jenny through her thick Coke-bottle glasses. “Spill it.”

  Jenny changed the topic by asking Molly what she had read.

  “I already finished Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Mansfield Park. I am reading Persuasion now.”

  “So you’re on track to win that Austen prize,” Jenny said.

  Molly was excited.

  “Chris and I are looking forward to a romantic dinner in the city.”

  Barb Norton walked up with Dale in tow.

  “Hey Jenny!” she exclaimed. “Anything left for us?”

  She picked up a muffin and started peeling off the paper.

  “You have done an excellent job with the food. Half the people said they came here to taste your desserts.”

  “Thanks for setting all this up, Barb,” Jenny said sincerely.

  The older women Jenny called friends were not too keen on Barb Norton. But Jenny could give credit where it was due. The success of the event proved Barb deserved any praise they could heap upon her.

  Barb beamed up at Dale and patted his arm.

  “This is my secret weapon. Dale has helped me so much, Jenny. You know he is the mastermind behind this whole concept. We would never have come up with such an event without Dale.”

  Dale seemed to puff up with pleasure. He kissed Barb on the cheek and grinned widely.

  “The people of Pelican Cove really came through.”

  The look he directed at Jenny was full of admiration. Jenny smiled back, trying to gauge the real expression behind his baby blue eyes. Was she looking into the eyes of a killer?

  There was a shout for help from the tent and Dale Turner walked away to handle it.

  Ricky Davis came out of the tent, holding Ann’s hand. They looked like they had been having a good time. Ann’s face lit up when she spotted Jenny.

  “How about some hot coffee, young lady?” she asked. “And I wouldn’t mind one of those cakes. Reading is hungry business.”

  “Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “Very much,” Ann said happily. “Whoever put this thing together did a very good job.”

  Barb Norton sprang forward and introduced herself to Ann.

  “I need to bring out a fresh batch of cupcakes,” Jenny said to Ricky. “Walk with me?”

  If Ricky had harmed Keith, confronting him was going to be dangerous. Jenny convinced herself her promise to Adam was limited to staying away from Dale.

  “You lied to me, didn’t you?” Jenny asked calmly, as she pulled out a fresh tray of cupcakes out of the big refrigerator.

  “Huh, what?” Ricky stammered.

  His face was mottled with red spots and sweat beaded his brow.

  “You were spotted arguing with Keith just one day before he died. Are you going to deny that?”

  Ricky leaned against a chair and sat down with a thud.

  “Look, it’s not what you think.”

  Jenny folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m listening.”

  “We were in the area, visiting a cousin near Washington DC. Keith called me. I thought he was in trouble again.”

  “What did he want?”

  “He insisted I come to Pelican Cove to talk to him.”

  Jenny pulled out a chair and sat down herself.

  “What was so urgent?”

  “That’s how Keith was,” Ricky said bitterly. “He was missing from the scene most of the time, but when he did turn up, he needed constant attention. You can say he demanded it.”

  “Why did you humor him?”

  “He was the closest thing I had to a brother,” Ricky said.

  Jenny sensed regret in his voice.

  “I loved him, despite what he turned out to be.”

  Jenny gave Ricky a few moments to settle down.

  “What did he want this time, Ricky?”

  Ricky smiled mirthlessly.

  “This concerns you in a way. He wanted us to buy back Seaview.”

  Jenny thought of what the place meant to her.

  “I would never have done that.”

  “He told me he was working on you. He was very confident he would convince you to sell.”

  “He told me the house was jinxed and it would bring me a lot of grief.”

  “That was his way of trying to scare you into submission.”

  “So my hunch was right. You sold the house to me without Keith’s permission.”

  “It wasn’t like that. He never cared about the place. He never expressed any affection for it.”

  Jenny didn’t think Ricky was lying this time.

  “So that’s what the argument was about? Seaview?”

  “Keith told me about the skeleton they found in your garden,” Ricky said reluctantly. “He was convinced it was Emily.”

  “So that’s why he came here to Pelican Cove!” Jenny exclaimed. “What happened afterwards?”

  “I tried to convince him to go back with me. He said he had unfinished business. I told him Emily was gone and he needed to move on. That didn’t sit too well with him.”

  Ricky told her they parted ways after that. Ricky drove back to his cousin’s home, hoping Keith would come to his senses and join them there. Two days later, Keith was dead.

  Jenny was too exhausted to go out for her walk on the beach that night. The final day of the read-a-thon brought a hefty crowd of tourists to town. Jenny scurried around, working in the kitchen, dishing out food and volunteering some reading time in between.

  A small stage had been set up to announce all the prizes. Betty Sue sat on the stage, next to Ada Newbury. Dale sat next to them, wearing a suit and looking important.

  Barb gave away all the small prizes and announced the total numbers. A cheer went up through the crowd. Jenny spotted Adam moving through the crowd, along with two policemen. They handcuffed Dale and took him along with them.

  Jenny was hopping
with excitement, wondering what was going on. Adam came to talk to her. Heather, Molly and Chris stood next to Jenny, wondering what was going on.

  “We did some good old fashioned police work,” Adam told them. “Dale was found stalking Keith a couple of times. He was very bold. Molly’s neighbor, old Mrs. Daft, spotted him going up the stairs to Keith’s room.

  “Do you think he will confess?” Jenny asked with concern.

  She need not have worried. Faced with all the evidence against him, Dale started talking.

  Adam held Jenny’s hand as they walked on the beach that night. They both wore sweaters to ward off the chill.

  “Why did he do it?”

  “Justice for his sister,” Adam said. “Just like you thought.”

  “So he always suspected Keith?”

  “He used to follow them years ago,” Adam explained. “Just to keep an eye on his sister.”

  “That sounds creepy.”

  “Emily was really young, I guess. If the twins had fixated on some older boy when they were sixteen, I might have done the same.”

  Jenny knew Adam was right. Parents always wanted to protect their children from wrongdoing.

  “Dale read about the skeleton they dug up at your house. He had his suspicions. He came to town offering to help with the read-a-thon. He saw Keith at your café. All the memories came flooding back.”

  “Did he confront him?” Jenny asked. “Did he give him a chance to defend himself?”

  “Dale wanted Keith to admit he killed Emily. Keith maintained he was innocent. Dale worked himself into a frenzy. He went to Keith’s room. Keith was lying asleep with a syringe by his bedside. The temptation was too much for Dale.”

  “Does he regret it?”

  “He thinks he got justice for Emily.”

  Jenny told Adam about the message she had received that day. She had a hunch about what was coming.

  A middle aged woman walked into the Boardwalk Café two days later. Her brown hair was faded and streaked with gray. The crow’s feet around her eyes made her look a lot older than she was. She sat down at a table near the window.

  Jenny walked up to her with a tray of coffee and muffins.

  “How was your drive?” she asked.

  “Nostalgic.” The woman smiled drily.

  “I’m glad you decided to come here, Emily.”