by Leena Clover
Emily Turner looked at Jenny with eyes as blue as her brother’s.
“I think I’ve done enough damage. If only I had come to my senses a few weeks ago, or a few months ago.”
“Are you ready to talk about it?” Jenny asked gently.
“There’s not much to say.” Emily’s voice was heavy with sadness. “I was a headstrong sixteen year old with stars in my eyes. I was attracted by the bright lights. I wanted to be a rock star.”
“Your mother knew none of this?”
“My parents thought I was their pretty little girl. They didn’t want me to grow up. I was tired of living up to their expectations.”
“Parents only want the best for their kids,” Jenny said softly.
Emily shrugged.
“What did I know? Then there was Keith. He followed me around like a puppy. He wanted to marry me. I wasn’t going to marry him at sixteen! And what, throw my life away cooking and cleaning for him?”
“So you planned it all?”
“I used to hitch rides to come to Pelican Cove,” Emily told Jenny. “I met a group of musicians. They traveled around the country, playing gigs in small towns. They heard me sing and offered to take me on.”
“You fell for it.”
“I was so hemmed in, you know. I felt trapped between my parents and Keith. I just wanted to fly and spread my wings.”
“Why didn’t you ever call? Let them know you were okay? Your mom still cries for you.”
“I came to my senses just weeks after I left. My life went downhill. I got pregnant and lost the baby. Then I got into drugs. I couldn’t face my parents after all that.”
“So the time was never right.” Jenny felt sorry for the woman sitting before her.
“What’s the use of coming back now?” Emily asked in an anguished voice. “I can’t save Dale.”
“Your mother’s still waiting for you,” Jenny told her. “She just wants to know you are okay.”
“Were you confident I would come back?”
Jenny thought of the ads she had strategically placed in the local newspapers.
“Actually, I was convinced you were buried in my backyard.”
Epilogue
The town of Pelican Cove was ablaze with the splendor of fall. The trees were painted in an array of bright colors, the reds, golds and yellows forming a sharp contrast to the blue-green ocean and the cerulean blue skies.
A party was in progress in Jenny’s garden. The roses bloomed at Seaview and their scent mingled with the salty breeze coming off the ocean. The new water fountain gurgled merrily, spraying anyone who ventured close with a fine mist.
Jenny’s son Nick had come home for the party. He was arguing about something with Adam’s twins. Heather pouted in a corner, sulking because Jenny hadn’t invited Gianni Costa to the party.
“He’s a doctor!” she wailed. “Aren’t you all happy I’m dating a doctor?”
“He’s fifteen years older than you, girl,” Betty Sue snapped. “Find someone closer to your age.”
“He looks shady to me,” Star added. “He wears more diamonds than I do.”
The women laughed at that.
Jenny brought out a big platter of nachos. She had kept the menu simple. A taco bar had been set up with all the fixings. She was ready to put her feet up and drink fresh apple cider laced with spiced rum.
“So, you did it again, Jenny!” Jason Stone said, raising his glass at her.
Kandy was nowhere to be seen. Jenny had invited her for Jason’s sake but she was busy working on a big case.
“Did Emily Turner go home?” Molly asked.
She sat next to Chris, her hand resting in his lap.
“She did,” Jenny told them. “Her mother was overjoyed to see her. They are busy catching up.”
“Ann was really generous, wasn’t she?” Molly gushed.
Ann Davis had written a big fat check for the library. Coupled with the money raised from the read-a-thon and the amount promised by Ada Newbury, the library was now flush with funds.
“I don’t have to worry about my job for at least three years,” Molly said happily. “Dale Turner did something good after all.”
“I don’t know about that!” Jenny said uncertainly.
A phone rang somewhere. Adam walked over to a jacket lying on a chair and pulled his phone out. His face settled into a frown as he listened to the voice at the other end. He let out an expletive as he shut off the phone.
“That was my contractor,” he told Jenny. “They are projecting a month to get all the work done.”
Adam’s roof had collapsed a couple of days ago. The twins hadn’t been home and luckily, Adam himself hadn’t been hurt. Jenny had invited him to stay at Seaview until he got his house back.
“I can’t impose on you that long, Jenny,” Adam protested.
“Why not?” Jenny asked with a smile. “There’s plenty of room. And I like having you here.”
“I live here too,” Star said sternly. “So don’t get any ideas.”
She threw back her head and laughed. Jimmy Parsons laughed along with her.
“At least let me pay rent,” Adam insisted.
“Now why didn’t I think of that?” Jenny said mischievously. “I’ll let you know how much you owe me, Adam Hopkins.”
Adam looked scandalized.
“So we still don’t know who Mrs. Bones is, do we?” Heather asked.
“Hush, girl. Think before you speak.” Betty Sue glanced fearfully at the stone fountain.
“All we know is it was a woman around fifty years old. Right, Adam?” Star had no qualms talking about the skeleton.
“That’s correct.” Adam and Jenny were sitting on a wicker sofa, munching on nachos. “She’s been buried for thirty years, give or take a few.”
“I’ve been thinking about this,” Jenny told the others. “It’s just a hunch, but I think I’m right.”
Nick and the twins stopped arguing and looked at her.
“Think about it.” Jenny widened her eyes as she stared around the group of people. “A fiftyish woman who lived around here twenty five or thirty years ago? A woman who was never seen again?”
Betty Sue’s face turned ashen and tiny beads of sweat appeared on her upper lip.
“You don’t mean …?” she stared at Jenny helplessly.
Jenny nodded at Betty Sue, a sad expression in her eyes.
“Lily!” Betty Sue spoke under her breath.
“Lily?” Heather exclaimed indelicately. “But she ran away with her lover.”
“Did she?” Jenny voiced the question running through everyone’s minds.
**THE END**
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Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the support of a number of people. I am thankful to my beta readers and advanced readers and all my loved ones who provide constant support and encouragement. A big thank you to my readers who take the time to write reviews or write to me with their comments – their feedback spurs me on to keep writing more books.
Books by Leena Clover
Pelican Cove Cozy Mystery Series
Strawberries and Strangers – Pelican Cove Cozy Mystery Book 1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CSW34GB/
Cupcakes and Celebrities – Pelican Cove Cozy Myst
ery Book 2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CYX5TNR
Beries and Birthdays – Pelican Cove Cozy Mystery Book 3
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D7GG8KV
Have you read all the Meera Patel books?
Gone with the Wings – Meera Patel Cozy Mystery Book 1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071WHNM6K
A Pocket Full of Pie - Meera Patel Cozy Mystery Book 2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072Q7B47P/
For a Few Dumplings More - Meera Patel Cozy Mystery Book 3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072V3T2BV
Back to the Fajitas - Meera Patel Cozy Mystery Book 4
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0748KPTLM
Christmas with the Franks – Meera Patel Cozy Mystery Book 5
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077GXR4WS/
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