SCENT OF A MYSTERY...A CITRUS BEACH MYSTERY (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 2)

by Victoria LK Williams

  Lucy and Charlotte looked up as she approached and knew immediately that it was time for some serious discussion just from the look on her face. Charlotte gave her a smile of encouragement and then helped her out by getting Taylor and Lucy’s attention.

  “Beth, I know that you are excited to have your son back in the land of the living, so to speak, but there are concerns about what happened to him and why. I want you two to listen closely to what Megan has to say and remember that no matter what she tells you, we are all here for you.”

  Beth and Taylor looked over at Charlotte in surprise. They then turned to face Megan and the laughter died in their throats. Taylor put her arm around her grandmother’s shoulders and waited to hear what Megan had to say.

  “Taylor, Beth … the man that came with me this morning knew your father at the time of his disappearance. They were working together on something that was happening at Jamison Imports. I need to tell you that Aiden is not simply a friend, he is a consultant for the FBI, and he has a vested interest in your father’s story. We were all hoping that seeing you both would kick start the return of his memory, both for his sake and for the closure of the case they were working on together.” Seeing Beth’s look of dismay, Megan hurried on, “Aiden has assured me that Tom was not under any suspicion, but was working alongside the FBI. You see, your father contacted the FBI about some unusual activity that was going on in his business. Activity that he couldn’t account for. It seemed to be coming from the bonded warehouse side of the business and together, Tom and the FBI where gathering enough evidence to build a solid case--”

  “I knew I didn’t trust that Malcolm Fields! I’m sorry, Taylor, I know he is your stepfather, but I’ve never liked the man,” interrupted Beth.

  Taylor looked over at her grandmother and laughed at her outraged expression.

  “I gotta be honest, Nana, he’s not my favorite person either. A very poor substitute for the wonderful father I lost. That’s who was under suspicion right, Megan?”

  Megan looked uncomfortable and began to pace across the gazebo as she answered her new friend.

  “Yes, Malcolm Fields was the lead suspect in Aiden’s case. However, as more and more evidence came to light, suspension also began to focus on your mother too. I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this, Taylor.”

  “My mother? She didn’t have anything to do with Dad’s business, as far as I can remember. She just went to parties and looked beautiful.”

  “Taylor, you were just a little girl. To you, that would be all that could be seen. And you have to admit, when your father disappeared she was suddenly very active in the business.”

  “But that was because she had to; because my dad was gone. I mean, I know she wasn’t the best mother, but to be involved in an FBI investigation? That can’t be right. Can it?” Taylor looked over at her grandmother, who was shaking her head.

  “Taylor, you have no idea how bad the situation between your parents was getting at the end. Your father tried to keep all that unpleasantness from you. Then when he disappeared, you came to stay with me for a while. After that first summer, your mother sent you away to school. You just never saw what the rest of us did. I honestly think Gina started keeping you away from home so that you wouldn’t see how much she was with Malcolm. With you away, she made it perfectly clear that I was not welcome anywhere near her or the business, even though I own a small percent of the shares. My dear, that’s why I started to visit you at school and meet you there for long weekends and vacations. It was just too unpleasant to be with Gin, and she made it clear to me that she preferred it that way. More and more of your school holidays where spent traveling with me instead of going home. I’m sorry, Taylor, but I have no difficulty in seeing your mother involved in anything that Malcolm Fields was behind; she was enamored with the man.”

  Taylor looked long and hard at her grandmother and could only see the truth in her eyes. She sighed heavily after a few moments of soul searching, for she knew in her heart that her grandmother was right. She had known that her mother was happy to have her out of the way, safely kept at school. The visits from her mother had grown to be almost non-existent over the years. That was probably the reason they had not been able to get along since she had finished school and come home to decide on what would be the next step in her life. Her grandmother reached out and pushed a strand of hair that the wind had blown across Taylor’s face and smiled sadly at her before she turned to Megan.

  “I have a feeling you have more to tell us, Megan. Come, sit down, stop pacing, and let’s hear it all. We can’t move forward until we know what we have pulling at us from behind.”

  “I do, Beth. And you’re correct; there is more to tell you. You need to hear it all, because until Tom regains his memory, all three of you will be in danger.”

  Megan proceeded to sit with the others and fill them in on all the information that she and Aiden had gone over. She held nothing back; their very lives depending on finding out what was going on in the warehouse the night Tom disappeared. She was sure that once the news of Tom’s reappearance got out, then those involved with the smuggling operation would try anything to find him and what he knew. Even if that meant using his loved ones to force him to give up the evidence the FBI was sure he had.

  “The FBI thinks my mom had something to do with my dad’s disappearance, don’t they?”

  “At the very least, she knew about it. They don’t know if she and Malcolm took part in the actual attack, or leaving him injured in the swamp, but yes, Gina was very involved.”

  Everyone held their breath as they waited to see how Taylor would react to Megan’s answer. Beth herself had a look on her face that made Lucy very happy that Gina wasn’t within reach of the angry mother. The woman looked like she would have loved to tear into her daughter-in-law in a most physical manner. Taylor closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them, Lucy was surprised to see the same look reflected in her eyes. It was obvious that the two women would be standing behind Tom in his upcoming fight that was sure to come between him and his former wife.

  “Okay, then we need to help my dad any way we can. Megan, does your friend Aiden have a plan?”

  “We have some thoughts on how to proceed, but the most important thing is the safety of you three. I suggest we head back to the house. Aiden and Tom will have had time to go over everything in Aiden’s files by now. We want to keep the three of you together and thought that the cottage at Lady Fish Bay would be perfect. Aiden is arranging to have undercover agents there posing as volunteers and as a protection detail.”

  They stood at the same time, ready to proceed with the next step needed to find out what had happened to Tom and what was still going on at Jamison Imports. Taylor and Beth had to be honest with themselves at this point and they understood that Gina was involved somehow and had kept quiet about what Tom had been through for her own personal gain. As they walked towards the house with determination, all that that was lacking to complete the vision they made was a symbol of some secret club and a good soundtrack.

  When they joined the two men at the table, Beth and Taylor automatically went to Tom and stood on either side of him, silently showing their support. Aiden looked over to Megan, who nodded to indicate she had done as he asked and had filled the other women in on the details, as she knew them.

  “We are ready to do whatever you suggest, Aiden. What is the plan?” she asked

  “Thank you, ladies. I’m sure Megan has told you how dangerous this could be, we are working in the dark here. Not knowing what Tom did or saw in those last few hours puts us at a disadvantage. So we will work around that and look at things differently to come up with the answers. While you were all outside, I made some calls. There are undercover agents already on their way to Lady Fish Bay as we speak. They will secure the site and then act as added protection for the Jamison family.

  Megan, I want you, Beth and Taylor to go back to Charlotte’s cottage as you planned, with Beth traveli
ng with you. I will be following right behind you with Tom. Charlotte, I’m going to need to borrow one of your cars, please. No one knows that I am back, so I won’t be missed. Paul, I’m going to ask you, Lucy and Charlotte to stay here and act as if nothing unusual has happened. But I will need you to keep an eye out for anyone who might be new to town and asking questions. Gina and Malcolm know that Taylor has come up here to work. If they are watching Beth as well, then they may get curious as to why there is a sudden desire for you both to come up here too. By taking the three of you to the cottage, we will have more control of the situation.”

  Aiden went over his plan, listened to the suggestions from the others who knew the area so well and soon he was accepting the keys to one of Charlotte’s cars.

  “We need to get on the road. Megan, you, Taylor, and Beth should leave now so that you are getting up there close to the time you had told Robert that you would be back. Tom and I are just going to swing out to his cabin and pick up anything that might help us and then we’ll be right behind you. Charlotte, Sheriff Green knows that something is up, but I have not been able to fill him in on any details. If he has any questions, here is my secure phone number, have him contact me. Hopefully things will stay quiet here in Citrus Beach and he won’t have to get involved in any way. Paul, since Taylor came to Megan’s office first, there is a good chance you might have some nosy strangers stop by under the disguise of needing some repair work done. Just play along and keep me informed.”

  Everyone agreed with his suggestions and after a round of hugs and best wishes, Megan was pulling out of Charlotte’s driveway. Taylor claimed the back seat and Barney happily jumped in to curl up next to her on the seat. Beth joined Megan in the front and as they turned north, looked for familiar landmarks leading to Lady Fish Bay. To Megan, it seemed as if each trip back and forth between the two small coastal towns was shorter than the last and before she knew it, she was pulling up the driveway to Charlotte’s cottage.

  Robert met them at the car before they were fully out. After being introduced to Beth, he turned to Megan.

  “Your first batch of volunteers have arrived. They all look like an efficient bunch of men. Charlotte called ahead and told me they might get here before you and to put them to work on gathering items from the outer perimeters of the property. I’m sure they will be up before too long to meet you.”

  He looked long and hard at Megan and she caught his meaning; Charlotte had warned him about the invasion of FBI agents and they had arrived. Megan nodded to show she understood his silent message.

  “Taylor, why don’t you show your grandmother what we have been working on and I’ll speak to the volunteers when they come up. I’m going to let Barney stretch his legs before I join you.”

  Agreeing with her suggestion, Taylor led Beth to the tables under the overhang and started to show her the retrieved items. Sure enough, within minutes, three muscular men were walking up to Megan. They didn’t look like FBI, dressed in cutoff jeans and T-shirts, tanned from hours in the sun. But after she introduced herself, they quickly flashed their badges and told her they were there as part of the detail that Aiden had ordered. They didn’t stick around too long and soon were back to collecting, or rather patrolling. Megan felt the tension in her shoulders ease up a bit with the knowledge that they had some protection from the unknown. Deciding that Barney was now familiar enough with the area, she released him from his leash and told him to be good. The puppy looked at her in understanding and moved over to the tables where Taylor and Beth were looking over the collected items.

  “Megan, I know that we all have a lot on our minds with everything that Aiden has told us about my dad, but I think I would feel better if I was busy. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to put my grandmother to work and we are going to start cataloging these items and taking pictures.”

  “That’s a wonderfully sensible idea, Taylor. The work needs to be done and there isn’t anything that we can do about the case until more facts are uncovered, or something changes with your dad’s memory. Go ahead and get to work.” Megan left the third option silent, but it weighed heavily on her mind: would any action be taken against the three Jamisons?

  “I’m going to leave Barney here with the two of you. I want to walk down to the collection zone and see how much small work we have ahead of us, before we have to plan for moving the larger debris to continue searching. Please stay up here close to the cottage. Our protection detail is in place, so we should be fine. If anyone else shows up to work, send them down my way, okay?”

  The other women agreed and became engrossed in their work. Megan waved to Robert, who was working up on the deck and headed down towards the river’s cove automatically grabbing a basket to use for collecting. When she stopped at the area she wanted to work, she wasn’t surprised to find one of the agents shift his location so that he would be working in the same area she was. They didn’t say much to each other, working steadily. The man kept a constant surveillance on the area around them, but he also seemed to be interested in the work that Megan was doing. He would occasionally ask a question about whether an item was worth adding to her basket and seemed to have an eye for finding important items. Maybe it was due to his FBI training, but Megan found that he was an asset in their searching.

  They worked in relative silence for the next thirty minutes or so, occasionally asking a question about something one of them might have found, before the first car with real volunteers showed up. The agent working with Megan suggested, rather strongly, that she should spend the rest of her time working up at the cottage with Taylor and Beth. Megan nodded in agreement; it would be easier to keep an eye on them if they were all in one location, rather than spread out along the river’s edge. She wandered back up to join the others just as Aiden pulled in with Tom.

  She watched as the two men got out of the car, each looking around them at the storm damage and the work area that had been set up under the cottage. Aiden said something to Tom that she couldn’t hear and then he gave her a wave before heading towards one of the agents heading in his direction. Tom had nodded at Aiden’s words, and was now walking towards the work area. Once he reached Megan, he smiled at her and looked around for his daughter and mother.

  “Megan, this is a monumental task that you’ve taken on. We saw a lot of work and repair crews as we drove up and the work ahead of them is going to take weeks or months. It’s amazing that you were able to think of concentrating on this one small, but meaningful aspect of the work to be done. The residents of Lady Fish Bay are going to be very grateful for your work. Once they get past the overwhelming need of repairing their homes, then they are going to start to look for the mementoes that are so important to each family in its own way. You’ve looked ahead to meet that need before it was too late.”

  “Thanks, Tom, but it’s a group effort here. The only thing we want is to help. Finding your mother’s wedding album is what set everything in motion. Come on, I’m sure Taylor has things she wants to show you.”

  Megan brushed aside his praise and turned his focus to the young girl waiting for him at one of the tables beside her grandmother. Deciding to give the three Jamisons a few minutes alone, she wandered around to the ocean side of the cottage. She wanted to see if Paul’s crew had been able to make any progress on the repairs to the ramp and decking damaged by the storms winds and the force of the ocean’s storm surge. Turning the corner, she was delighted to see that they had already constructed a temporary ramp that would work for them until a permanent one was installed that would be equal, or knowing Paul, better than the old structure. This meant that they could fold up the small stairs under the deck and use an easier route into the cottage. Hearing Barney’s bark, she looked up and saw him at the top of the ramp; he had been the first one to try it out. Assured that Megan knew where he was, the puppy turned and ran through the open door of the cottage. Seeing that Barney was safely occupied, Megan turned back to assign collection areas to the car load of volunteers
that had arrived just before Aiden and Tom. Megan knew a few of them and with some basic instructions, sent them down to the river’s cove, close to where a couple of Aiden’s agents patrolled. She wanted to be sure everyone who was working on the site was safe, not just the Jamison family.

  While she had been giving the volunteers their assignment, Aiden had walked back up to stand next to her.

  “You’ve got this whole thing pretty well worked out, haven’t you?”

  “I think so. At least enough that I can turn it over to Taylor for her to take over and fine tune it the way she wants. She has some pretty sound ideas and wants this to be successful. She’s a sharp young lady and I’m glad she showed up at my office looking to help. I just hope that everything else goes well for her.”

  “It will, Megan. We’re on top of things now and even if we don’t have all the details we’d like, we can work the case once more and bring it to a close. How about if you and I take the three of them upstairs where we can talk without worrying about being overheard or interrupted?”

  “Of course, I’ll go pull them away from the treasure table and meet you upstairs. There should be bottles of water and iced tea in the fridge, help yourself.”

  Nodding in agreement, Aiden watched her walk back to the others, a smile on his lips. Megan Cassidy was a pleasure to watch and he was looking forward to getting some alone time with her. But that wasn’t going to happen while he was working on this case. Deciding that was another good incentive to get to the bottom of things, Aiden walked up the ramp.