Abby and Becky exchanged concerned glances before looking back at the parking lot where the men had gone. There was nothing to see, but Abby couldn’t help but feel a chill race up and down her spine. In the short time she’d been in town, things had been anything but slow and sedate.
Abby had come to live with Hazel Morgan, her deceased husband's grandmother, just a month and a half ago. In that time, her best friend, Becky, had been accused of murdering a local land developer, and then shortly after Abby had managed to find the real killer, a dead body had been found at the local water treatment plant. One they thought might have been Rob Morgan, the brother of Hazel herself, and for an uncomfortable amount of time, too many people had thought Hazel might have done the deed herself.
When it had turned out the body was not Rob, but the deceased sister of a United States Senator, the man had brought the state police to the town on a witch hunt that almost ended up with Abby and the local Sheriff being shot in front of the ancestral home of the Morgans.
Oh yes, things had not been calm.
Now, a week or so into November, Abby began to wonder if yet another bit of trouble was brewing in Red Pine Falls. She wasn’t surprised that Frank wasn’t doing well. He’d been fired after all, but now there were strange men sniffing around after him only a week or so after he’d scampered out of town. She’d seen way too many police drama’s where they didn’t end well.
She was just turning back to Susan’s office when she caught the knowing look on Becky’s face.
“What?” Abby said, defensively.
“Don’t what me,” Becky replied. “I’ve seen that look before.”
Abby snorted. “What look are you talking about?”
“The look that says’s you’re going to meddle,” Becky said and sniffed before heading into Susan’s office. The bank manager was off the phone now and smiling at the two of them as they came into sit down. “Isn’t that right, Susan?”
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” Susan said, shrugging apologetically at Becky.
Becky gave Susan a sour look while Abby beamed. Abby thought she had gotten away scot-free until Susan spoke next. “Does it have anything to do with the Hurricane Abby thing?”
Becky chuckled evilly and nodded, pointing at Abby. “See? Yes, it is totally about the Hurricane Abby thing. I don’t think you can help yourself.”
“Look,” Abby said, “It’s not like I planned any of it. You were in trouble and needed help; then it was all about my grandmother. I couldn’t just sit on my hands.”
“I don’t know,” Becky said as she tapped her chin, giving Abby a mock serious look. “I think you enjoy it. Solving riddles and taking down the bad guys.”
“Are we here to open up some accounts for you, or talk about my super hero powers?” Abby asked, giving Becky a stern look. “Because I have to retain my secret identity, and this isn’t helping.”
Becky and Susan both giggled, making Abby just shake her head and roll her eyes. Still, her thoughts began to drift as Susan and Becky began to talk about accounts. The man that had held the door open for her. What was his story? What and who had Frank gotten himself involved with? She tried to push the man’s face from her mind, but thoughts kept coming back as to how he was dressed. The expensive watch. The way the two men followed him around looked like thugs.
She knew it was silly, but the word mob kept jumping into her mind.
Chapter 4
After Becky had finished her business, the two women exited the bank with promises to catch up with Susan later. Becky had ended up with putting most of her settlement money into a high-end saving account, with only some of the money put into the checking account, ready to pay the workers that were diligently remodeling the café.
Abby enjoyed Susan’s company and looked forward to the three of them getting together for coffee or drinks. Susan was in her early thirties just like Abby and Becky, but she was quiet and unassuming most of the time which might be a perfect counterpoint to her more boisterous friend, Becky.
McGrady’s would most likely be Susan’s speed, though Abby was just about to ask Becky if there were any fun pubs in Salem when a police car pulled into the bank’s parking lot. She saw the bushy mustache of the Sheriff as he parked, and the man nodded a greeting to them both as he stepped out of the car, grimacing a little as he stretched his back.
“Morning, ladies,” The Sheriff rumbled in his deep, base voice as he walked out from between the parked vehicles. “I see the workmen are diligently removing everything out of your café, Miss Northridge. I sure hope you warned them about what to expect.” He quirked his eyebrow at Becky, smiling.
“Yes, Sheriff Pearson, of course, I did,” Becky said, sniffing. “Well, I almost forgot. I did call Mr. Clashaw the night before they were going to start and told him about the skunk smell. I’ll say, he doesn’t scare off easily though he did tell me his workmen weren’t terribly happy about it. At least the smell was only a quarter as bad as it had been.”
The Sheriff chuckled, shaking his head. “Becky, there’s no such thing as a quarter as bad when it comes to skunk. A couple of neighbors complained, but I told em just to be patient. It’ll go away once they get that trash bin out of there. Though,” he said, tipping his hat a bit. “I’d take it kindly if you might drop a bug into Mr. Capshaw ear?”
“Will do, Sheriff,” Becky said, wrinkling her mouth up. “I can’t believe people are already complaining. They just started today!”
“It’s the nature of people, Becky,” the Sheriff said slowly, shrugging. “Don’t worry, it’ll take as long as it takes, and they’ve all got their windows closed now due to the weather, anyway. They're just persnickety.”
Becky sniffed, clearly having a different opinion of her neighbors, but by then the Sheriff had turned his gaze onto Abby. “How’s the little trooper? I was going to drop by to check on Cheerio, but didn’t think I’d be welcome after the trouble we’ve caused Hazel.”
Abby smiled. She liked the Sheriff, and despite their occasional disagreements about where her nose belonged, he had slowly grown on her. That he cared about Cheerio was just more points in his favor. “He’s doing well, Sheriff. Still in a cast, but he’s able to hobble along fairly well on his own. I only have to carry him down the stairs about half the time now, but secretly, I think he’s faking it a little.”
The Sheriff chuckled softly. “They’ll do that, Mrs. Morgan. Just like kids sometimes, but about a hundred times better than people. Here. Can you give him this for me?” He fished something out of one of his pockets and gave it to her. It was a wrapped meat dog treat which made Abby like the man even more. To her knowledge, he didn’t have a pet, so having a treat just available spoke volumes about him.
“I will, Sheriff,” Abby said, tucking the treat into the pocket of her jeans. “But I’m sure you can drop by. Hazel doesn’t blame you. She knows you were just doing your job. Besides, it wasn’t you causing all of the issues. It was those detective’s.”
“Ah yes, Detectives Mike and Ed,” The Sheriff said, smiling. “You’ll be happy to know they both got a pretty serious reprimand from the Governor, herself. It seems she didn’t like some of the stories she’d heard about what they’d been doing.”
“Good,” Abby said, her tone aggressive. “I didn’t like them either. They were grade-A jerks.”
The Sheriff grinned and nodded. “That they were. Still,” he said suddenly a bit more serious. “I wouldn’t go speeding through Salem anytime soon. Most of those boys stick together pretty well. Anyway, I better get to my business.”
“You mean about those three men?” Abby asked, then gritted her teeth at the look on the Sheriff’s face. She wished she hadn’t of said that.
“Abby, I swear,” the Sheriff began, but he was cut off by a low rumbling that was getting louder. Abby didn’t recognize it at first, but then she saw the first of several motorcycles come into view. There were eight of them riding in a loose column as they he
aded down Main Street. Bikers.
Only these didn’t look like the occasional weekend warrior she’d spot on the highways or roads. These men looked like they meant business, with leather jackets decorated in large patches and chopped, dangerous looking motorcycles flaring and growling into the fall air. Abby didn’t like the look of them one bit, and when she looked at the Sheriff, he had a grim look on his face.
They all looked on in silence as the column of motorcycles prowled loudly down the street and then out of site. It didn’t sound like they’d stopped anywhere, and eventually, their thunder faded, but Abby once again felt a chill race up and down her spine.
“Hopefully they’re just passing through. Nothing to be worried about, Ladies,” The Sheriff drawled before turning toward the bank.
Despite his words, Abby saw the look of worry on the older man’s face and the fact he’d completely forgotten his ire at Abby. It wasn’t a good sign.
“Oh, jackrabbits,” Becky breathed, worry clear on her face.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Abby agreed.
Authors Notes
You are amazing for reading this book. I happen to live up in the Pacific Northwest and am quite happy to do so. The tall stately pines and good nature of the folks up here are exactly as I describe in the book. Polite. But that doesn’t mean things are boring. I hope you enjoyed this story, because I plan on writing many more about the exciting times Abby will have in Red Pine Falls.
I was inspired to write this Cozy Mystery by a good friend of mine, Carolyn L Dean, who writes an excellent little series set in Oregon as well. Her town, Ravenwood Cove, is set on the coast, and I was enchanted by her characters and setting. So much so I wanted to see if I could match her nostalgia but set inland instead. I am happy with the result, and hope you will be too. In honor of her, I’ve attached the links to her books below. I hope you get a chance to check them out.
Please leave a review. Reviews are very important for writers, not only for honest feedback from readers, but they help tell other readers if my book is worth reading. You would do me a GREAT service by doing so.
Books by Angela C Blackmoore
Hot Tea and Cold Murder
Cold Murder and Dark Secrets
Dark Secrets and Dead Reckoning (July 2017)
Other Authors (Mysteries)
Carolyn L Dean – Ravenwood Cove Mysteries
Bed, Breakfast, and Bones
Dune, Dock, and a Deadman
Mistletoe, Moonlight, and Murder
Sea, Sky, and Skeleton
Time, Tide, and Trouble
Sun, Sand, and Secrets
CeeCee James – The Angel Lake Cozy Mysteries
The Sweet Taste of Murder
The Bitter Taste of Betrayal
The Sour Taste of Suspicion
The Honeyed Taste of Deception
The Tempting Taste of Danger
CeeCee James - An Oceanside Mystery Book
Booked For Murder
Deadly Reservation
Claire Kane – The Menopause Murder Society Mysteries
The Demise of the Lotto Queen
The Revenge of Pooky Poo
Daphne DeWitt - The Rita Reincarnated Cozies
Twice Baked Murder
Constance Barker – Witchy Women of Coven Grove
The Witching on the Wall
A Witching Well of Magic
Witching the Night Away
Witching There’s Another Way
Witching Your Life Away
Witching You Wouldn’t Go
Witching for a Miracle
Cold Murder and Dark Secrets, A Red Pine Falls Cozy Mystery (Red Pine Falls Cozy Mysteries Book 2) Page 14