by J A Whiting
Angie and Courtney were alone in the room. Angie stood up and whispered, “Good thinking to ask if Ryan and the dad had an argument. I wonder if they annoyed each other and Ryan hung up on them.” She looked to the door to see if the Allens were coming back in.
“I can imagine the conversation getting heated.” Courtney kept her voice down and positioned herself so she could see movement in the hall. “Ryan could be disoriented. He gives his parents directions and doesn’t understand why they can’t find him. The parents were in bed when the call came in. They’re driving around and Ryan isn’t where he says he is. I can certainly see things heating up as they get more and more annoyed with each other.”
Angie agreed. “Then Ryan hangs up and won’t answer when they call back.” She stepped closer to her sister. “Now the parents might be full of guilt that they got angry. They could be feeling guilty that if they had kept their son on the phone, they would know what happened to him.” Angie groaned. “What a mess.”
Courtney kept her attention on the door. “We’re just speculating. Maybe they didn’t get on each others nerves. Maybe Ryan didn’t hang up on them. Maybe something else caused the call to disconnect.”
“What a tangled web.” Angie squeezed her shoulders trying to rub away the tension. “If people would just tell the truth….”
An officer carried in a tray with a pitcher of water and five glasses. Shortly after, the Allens came back into the room and the chief entered right behind them. Water was poured and glasses were passed around to everyone.
“We won’t keep you much longer.” The chief assured the couple with a nod.
The Allens looked slightly less tense than before they took a break.
Angie smiled. “We understand that Ryan is quite the musician.”
Mrs. Allen’s face brightened. “He is. He plays a lot of instruments.” She looked over at her husband with a little smile. “We don’t know where he gets his talent, certainly not from us.”
“He started music lessons when he was young?” Courtney asked.
Mr. Allen said, “We have an old piano that’s been in my wife’s family for years. Ryan took to it immediately. He could pick out full songs on the keys. His mother decided to encourage his interest.”
“He was in a band?” Angie leaned forward.
“He was in a few bands throughout middle school and high school.” Mrs. Allen nodded.
“They disbanded when some of the members went off to college.” Ryan’s father informed them.
“Did he join a band at college?” Courtney questioned.
Mr. Allen shook his head. “He wanted to focus on his studies.”
“He still played music though, just on his own.” The mother clarified.
Courtney was pleased that the couple could talk about something nice in Ryan’s life. “We heard he was in the band called Vine.”
“Briefly.” Mr. Allen seemed to stiffen.
“Ryan was friends with the young man who was also in Vine? Darren Wilton?” Angie asked. “Darren went on to found a new band?”
“They weren’t really friends,” Mr. Allen offered.
“No?” Angie was surprised.
“They had musical differences. That’s how Ryan put it.” Mr. Allen looked uncomfortable.
“Did they stay in touch?” Courtney made eye contact with the parents.
“No. They went their separate ways.” Mr. Allen’s voice was more forceful than at any other time during the interview.
“Darren’s new band had a song on the radio last fall,” Courtney noted.
“So we heard.” Mr. Allen took a quick look at his watch. “We need to get to another appointment.” He turned to the chief. “Do you mind?”
The chief stood and thanked the couple for their time. “We’ll be in touch.”
The sisters shook hands with Mr. and Mrs. Allen and murmured their thanks. When the couple left the room and moved down the hall to the lobby, Courtney said, “Well, that ended quickly.”
“Didn’t it?” Chief Martin frowned.
“Did we touch on a sore point?” Angie guessed that there was bad blood between Ryan and Darren Wilton.
“The music thing might be worth pursuing.” The chief gathered up his things. “See what happened between the guys, find out if there’s still animosity between them.”
Unease flicked through Angie’s body as she made eye contact with Courtney and the chief. “And maybe see where Darren Wilton was the night Ryan went missing.”
8
Bundled up in her winter coat, hat, and gloves Angie headed down Main Street to the Sweet Cove Resort located in town on Robin’s Point. The point jutted out into the sea affording a panoramic view of the ocean, beaches, and cliffs. The Roseland sisters’ grandmother once owned a small cottage on the point that had been there for over a hundred years. The sisters and their mother had spent many weekends and several weeks each summer staying at their Nana’s place.
The town of Sweet Cove had leased the land on Robin’s Point to the cottage owners and eventually decided to end the leases and offer the cottage owners the chance to purchase the parcels. The cost of the land was too high so Nana sold her cottage to the town.
The town then sold the land to the Williams’ family and ten years later, Angie’s boyfriend, Josh Williams and his brother, Davis, built a hotel-resort on the point. The brothers had a small public park built next to the resort with access paths down to the town-owned beaches.
Josh was back in Sweet Cove for the day and invited Angie to the resort for lunch. Before heading into the lobby of the luxury hotel complex, Angie walked over to the park on the point. Whenever she and her sisters visited Robin’s Point, they could feel the spirit of their nana all around them and Angie and Courtney would experience a peaceful and comforting humming sensation that beat in their blood. Sometimes, when the girls were in danger, that same humming thrummed in their veins as a kind of warning for them to be on guard.
Stepping to one of the park benches, the familiar pulsing started to flow through Angie’s body. She sat down on the bench and gazed out over the dunes to the wild sea crashing against the beaches below. Angie flicked her eyes to the resort. She hadn’t seen Josh in over two weeks and despite knowing how busy he’d been lately, she couldn’t help but feel that they were drifting apart. A little sigh escaped her lips as she wondered if Josh might be going to break off with her and a sense of sadness squeezed her heart. After several minutes of looking out over the ocean, Angie stood up and headed to meet Josh.
Stepping into the warmth of the lobby, the elegant décor and colors of the walls and furniture of the space relaxed Angie and she marveled at how the decorators of the place knew just how to elicit a feeling of luxury and comfort. On one side of the room, two soft chairs and a sofa clustered in front of a roaring fire practically begged Angie to come and sit.
“Angie!” Josh Williams hurried around the corner into the lobby. His blue eyes sparkled when he saw the young woman standing there. He wrapped her in his strong arms and hugged her. “I’ve been missing you.”
Angie smiled up at the handsome man. An unruly lock of his sandy blonde hair hung over his forehead giving him a sweet, boyish look and the dimple in his right cheek nearly had Angie melting in his arms.
Josh took Angie’s hand and led her to the beautifully appointed dining room to the table-for-two set up near the wall of glass which afforded a sweeping view of the resort’s property and out over the ocean. “It’s so great to see you. How have things been?”
Angie took a sip of water from her cut-glass goblet. “Things have been quiet until recently. Have you heard about the missing young man from Sweet Cove?”
Josh’s eyes bugged. “What? No. I just got in from the trip. What’s happened? Who is it?” Josh and Davis had been on a business trip to New Zealand and Australia and had not kept up with the local news.
Angie gave her boyfriend a run down on what had happened and what she knew about the case.
/> “Has Chief Martin called you all in to help with the counseling?” Josh had been told that the sisters were trained in different aspects of counseling, but he did not know anything about the sisters’ special powers. That had been the only way the sisters could think of to explain being called on by the police for their assistance on some cases.
“Yes,” Angie said. “That’s how I know some details of the case.”
The two gave their lunch orders to the waiter and then Angie asked Josh about his trip.
“It was exhausting, really. I’m only here for the day and then I’m off to New York. There’s a lot that has to get done in a short time.” Josh had to stifle a yawn. He apologized. “I feel like I haven’t slept for days.”
“Why are things so busy right now?”
“Davis and I are reorganizing things.” A look of worry crossed Josh’s face. “He and I don’t always see eye to eye. You know how he is. Business is his life. He’s very hard-driving. I’ve learned a great deal from Davis and I shouldn’t be complaining, but….” Josh waved his hand in the air. “We’re trying to accomplish some things in a short amount of time and the whole thing is quite stressful. There are a lot of changes coming and change can be very hard.” His blue eyes darkened.
Angie’s heart dropped into her stomach. She wondered what sort of changes were on their way and worried how it might affect their relationship. She was about to ask a question when Josh spoke.
“Anyway, let’s not bother with all that right now. I need to forget about it for a while.” Josh held Angie’s eyes. “I’m so glad you could get away to meet me.”
The two chatted and enjoyed their meals and each other’s company until a young man dressed in a suit walked quietly to their table and handed Josh a note. Josh frowned while reading it and shoved the paper into his pocket.
“I have to be at the airport in an hour.” Josh leaned back in his upholstered chair and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I thought we could spend the afternoon together.”
Angie nodded. “It’s okay. I understand.” She tried to keep the disappointment from showing on her face, but it didn’t work.
“I know I’ve been letting you down recently and I don’t want to do that to you.” Josh was about to say more when the young man appeared again.
“The car is out front, Mr. Williams. Your luggage is in the lobby.”
“Stay and finish your lunch. We need to talk when I get back.” Josh stood up, went to Angie and kissed her.
“Have a safe trip,” Angie managed. She felt like she was about to cry. Keeping her head down in case some tears started to fall, she busied herself with finishing her lunch. Despite her feelings for Josh, Angie didn’t know if they could sustain things between them if one person was always away. She looked out the window at the crashing waves.
Someone spoke her name and she spun around in her seat to see Betty Hayes standing beside her table. “Betty. I didn’t hear you come up.”
Betty sat down across from the young woman. “Victor told me some things about the case. That poor young man. Where could he be? It’s been three days and he still hasn’t been found.” Betty’s eyes narrowed. “He must be dead, don’t you think?”
“Well, he might have taken off. Who knows why, but he might have left the state and gone somewhere else. He may be found days, or weeks, or months from now.” Angie gave a shrug. “Just because he’s missing doesn’t mean that he isn’t alive.”
Betty said quietly, “You think he’s dead, don’t you?”
Angie straightened up, surprised by Betty’s words. She really didn’t know what she thought. She’d been so involved in questioning and thinking about relationships between the parties involved that she hadn’t really focused on whether Ryan Allen was still alive or not. Since I haven’t had any feelings that he’s dead, maybe that means he’s still alive? Angie didn’t want to discuss the case at the moment, so she changed the subject. “Are you meeting Mr. Finch here for lunch?”
“I wish that was who I was meeting, but, no, it’s a business lunch.” Betty exhaled and rolled her eyes. “I’m meeting a very wealthy client. It could mean a huge commission, but the person can be, well … a bit difficult.” She looked out of the huge window. “I really do not care for the winter. Give me flowers and green grass any day.” Movement near the door of the dining room caught Betty’s eye. “Oh, here he is.” She was about to get up when she thought of something. She cocked her head. “By the way, have you heard anything about the resort being sold?”
“What?” Angie’s blue eyes widened.
“There’s a bit of rumbling on the Realtor pipeline. It’s probably nothing. Rumors start. I just wondered if maybe Josh mentioned something to you.” One of Betty’s eyebrows arched. “Those Davis Brothers better not contract with another Realtor. I have a relationship with them. I would be quite put out if they didn’t choose me to represent the sale.” Betty looked around the room and then leaned close to Angie. “Imagine the commission on the sale of this place. Woo. If that boyfriend of yours lets slip that they’re selling this place, you let me know.” Betty winked at Angie, plastered a smile on her face and waved to the man who was being shown to a table across the room as she strode over to meet him.
Angie sat dumbfounded. Is this what Josh wants to talk about when he gets back from his trip? Are Josh and his brother selling the resort? Is that one of the reasons he’s been so busy lately? If they did sell, then Josh would never be in Sweet Cove. An ache squeezed Angie’s heart.
She rose from her seat and headed to the door of the dining room. On her way out, she spotted Betty speaking animatedly with a young man who was sitting at the table with her.
Unable to pinpoint what it was about the scene that caused a flicker of something to pick at her, Angie shrugged it off and headed home.
9
“What’s wrong, Miss Angie?” Mr. Finch looked up from his newspaper, his bushy, gray eyebrows scrunched together in concern. Euclid and Circe sat on the refrigerator and looked down at the pretty young woman.
Angie removed her heavy coat and sank into the seat opposite Finch. Resting her elbow on the table and holding her chin in her hand, she frowned.
Jenna had just poured two mugs of tea and carried one to Mr. Finch. “You want tea, Angie?”
Angie declined.
Jenna sat with them. “How was your lunch with Josh?” She looked at her sister out of the corner of her eye.
“It was confusing.” Angie pushed herself up. “Josh seemed happy to see me and apologized for being absent lately. He’d just returned from a trip overseas and in the middle of lunch, his assistant came in and told Josh that his car was waiting and he needed to get to the airport, so he left. He was disappointed and so was I. We both thought we would have a few hours together.”
“When will Josh be back?” Jenna asked.
Angie’s eyes widened. “I don’t even know.” She shook her head. “Before Josh left, he told me that he needed to talk to me when he got back. Then Betty showed up in the dining room to meet a client and she came over and asked me if the resort was being sold.” A cloud settled over her face. “Are they selling the resort? Is that what Josh needs to tell me? If they sell it, then Josh will never be in Sweet Cove.”
Mr. Finch placed his mug on the table. “If the Williams brothers sell the resort, then your Josh will have plenty of money to buy a home here in town.” Leaning forward, he continued, “I have seen the way that man looks at you, Miss Angie. I don’t believe he will be leaving town.”
Angie stared at the older man and her mouth broke into a smile. “Mr. Finch, thank you for always making me feel better.”
The two cats trilled their approval.
Jenna chuckled. “I have nothing to add to Mr. Finch’s statements.”
Angie stood up. “I’m going to bake something. Mr. Finch, it’s your choice. What would you like for dessert tonight?”
“You know, I have a craving for ginger snap cookies. I would like to hav
e them along with a dish of the coffee ice cream that is in the freezer.”
“Then that’s what we’ll have.” Angie crossed to the kitchen island and took out the necessary ingredients and a large stainless steel bowl. “Did you work at your house today?” she asked Jenna.
“I did some painting. The living room is coming along. It’s looking good.” Jenna and Tom were renovating a big old house just two doors down from the Victorian. “I’m happy to see things coming together.” Jenna talked about the many things left to accomplish in the house. “Tom and I are talking about eventually moving into one of the carriage house apartments so we don’t have to wait for our house to be finished before we get married.”
Angie smiled. “So that’s why Tom is doing such a good job rebuilding the carriage house.” Angie measured and mixed the ingredients for the cookies while Jenna and Mr. Finch sipped their tea and read the newspaper. When Angie slipped the first cookie sheet into the oven, Finch put his section of the paper down on the table and faced the two sisters.
“What are your thoughts on the case?” Finch asked.
Angie folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the kitchen island. “A few days have passed since Ryan went missing.”
Jenna took the empty mugs to the sink and rinsed them before putting them into the dishwasher. “It’s not a good sign, but it’s not hopeless.”
The front doorbell rang.
“Is Ellie expecting new guests?” Angie wiped her hands on a dish towel.
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ll go.” Angie walked down the hall and into the foyer. A vase of flowers sat in the center of the dark wood table in the middle of the space. A cream, cranberry, and green area rug covered part of the gleaming wood floors. Angie opened the door to find Henry Whitaker standing on the front porch, his shoulders scrunched up against the cold. The tip of his nose was as red as a beet.
“Henry. Come in.”
“Sorry to bother you. Do you have a minute to talk?” Henry eyed the beautifully furnished foyer and dining room off to the right. “You own this place?”