A Fowl Feast

by Lyndsey Cole

  Rochelle stopped and leaned into the stall. “Joey!” she said sharply.

  A head covered with shaggy blond hair peeked around the open stall door. “Yeah?”

  Hannah couldn’t miss Rochelle’s clenched jaw as she spoke to the young man. “You just threw dirty shavings on my boots.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” He heaved another load toward the wheelbarrow, this time only a few stray pieces shooting beyond the target.

  “This is not acceptable, Joey. I don’t care if you are my cousin’s son, learn to do your job correctly or you will not have a job. Understand?”

  “Geesh,” he mumbled under his breath.

  “And don’t forget to make sure all the stalls are closed properly. I don’t want another escape tonight. Here’s a key for you for the barn and the apartment. If you’re the last one out, be sure to lock up.”

  Joey looked at the key. “Kinda gaudy horsehead on this keychain, don’t cha think?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “All righty, Aunt Rochelle.” He slipped the keychain into his pocket. “When’s my apartment gonna be ready?”

  “If you keep making mistakes, there will be no your apartment. Understand? I can take that key back just as easily as I gave it to you.”

  Joey had enough sense to keep quiet but not enough sense to hide his big eye roll.

  Rochelle turned and continued, at a fast pace, toward the end of the barn. She mumbled, “That kid will be the death of me . . . or of him if he doesn’t straighten out quickly. I don’t care what my cousin will say.”

  As if Rochelle just remembered that Hannah was at her side, she shook her head and in her cheerful voice said, “Well, here we are. I’ll let Cal show you around while I tend to some other business.”

  Rochelle left the barn, her back stiff and straight and her shoulders tense.

  Hannah walked through the door into the apartment. “Cal?”

  The hammering stopped. “Hey. You found me.” He spread his arms out. “What do you think?”

  Her eyes made a quick sweep of the space. “The apartment is amazing but what’s up with Rochelle and her nephew?” She sensed there was a lot more behind the quick exchange and it wasn’t all directed at Joey.

  “Joey? What do you mean?”

  “He accidentally threw some wood shavings on Rochelle’s boot and she read him the riot act. I think if he screws up again she’ll fire him.”

  “He’s not a bad kid but he has trouble focusing on what he’s doing. I don’t know what’s going through his head most of the time. Between you and me, I’m glad he’s not working for me.”

  Hannah walked around the apartment. A row of windows looked out at the field with the horses. “Nice view.”

  “I just finished up the last of the trim in the bedroom so now I just have to clean up my tools and vacuum up any sawdust remnants so Rochelle can get her decorator in.”

  “She’s hiring a decorator for this little place? It must be nice to have so much moolah.”

  “I’m sure the decorator’s budget is only a tiny fraction of the whole amount that has already been spent on this apartment. From what I’ve gathered, the decorator, Emma Carey, is a friend of Mack’s from way back and he likes to throw business her way when possible.”

  “All this,” Hannah swept her arm around the apartment, “is for Joey?”

  “Uh-huh. Rochelle is doing Al, her cousin, a favor by hiring Joey and letting him live here in exchange for taking care of the barn and the horses.”

  “Have you met Al? What kind of guy is he?”

  “Yes, unfortunately. He’s one person I’d rather not have to spend time with. I got the impression that he’s connected to some shady business deals and my gut tells me he twisted Rochelle’s arm into hiring Joey. You know, keep it all in the family type of thing and push Joey to become a little more independent.”

  “By handing him a job he doesn’t do properly and a designer apartment? I’m not a parent, but I think this kid needs a little tough love. Learn something the hard way.”

  “Like I said, I’m glad he’s not working for me. And I’ll add to that—I’m glad he’s not my son.” Cal shook his head. “Giving him all this isn’t teaching him anything.”

  Cal sat on a stool at a small granite counter that separated the kitchen from the living space.

  Hannah wandered into the small kitchen which was opposite the windows with the view of the fields. It had everything anyone would need—and probably more. She wiped her hand across the shiny speckled black granite counters. She pulled on what looked like a drawer but a trash can was hidden inside. “This is a nice feature.”

  “Rochelle thought of everything.” Cal tapped his boot on the floor. “This is bamboo which can take a beating. All the windows, doors, and appliances are top of the line. Even the bedroom has a great feature. Do you want to see it?”

  “Um, sure.”

  Cal chuckled. “You’ll love the closet. It’s deep with shelves built against the back and a bar in front to hang stuff.” He opened the folding door.

  “Wow. For a small apartment this place has a lot of extras.”

  Cal opened the door from the bedroom into the bathroom. “Check this out. Rochelle insisted on a shower and a claw foot tub with a view. Wouldn’t this be a great place to soak in a bubble bath while you watch the stars come out?”

  “Cal, you surprise me! I didn’t take you for a bubble bath kind of guy.” She did agree with his idea, though; the tub was nestled into a nook with windows that faced the fields.

  “Actually, I was imagining you in the tub while I served you a glass of wine and maybe something delicious to nibble on.”

  Hannah laughed. “Is it too late to add a tub like this in my bathroom? Is there room?”

  He tilted his head. “You know, that’s a great suggestion. I could make it work but you wouldn’t have a view since your bathroom is in the back.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll take no view, but the wine needs to be part of the deal.”

  While they stood in the bathroom and looked out the window, Cal draped his arm over Hannah’s shoulders. “This place is unbelievable but I’ll be glad to be done.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but there’s some weird vibe I get every time I talk to Rochelle and Mack. They give each other quick sideways glances as if they want to be sure the other one doesn’t reveal too much.”

  “About what?” Hannah felt her forehead crinkle with confusion.

  “That’s the thing, I have no idea. Maybe it’s all just in my imagination, but if my gut is even close to being right, this place smells like it’s hiding a deep dark secret.”

  Hannah tensed. Could Cal be right? Maybe Great Aunt Caroline’s notes in her old cookbook were somehow connected to Cal’s gut instinct. Before she had a chance to tell Cal about Caroline’s cookbook, he leaned forward and to the side to look out the window toward the driveway.

  “Speak of the devil,” Cal said. “It looks like Rochelle’s cousin is visiting again. I wonder what kind of argument he’ll get in with her this time.”

  Hannah craned her neck to watch the car for as long as possible. “Maybe we can sneak out unnoticed.”

  “If we’re lucky. The best I can gather is that there’s no love lost between Rochelle and Al. Having his son work here doesn’t seem to be helping, either.” Cal walked into the bedroom and gathered his tools.

  Hannah finally pulled herself away from the window. She handed a screw driver and needle nose plier to Cal. “You know how you told me this place seems like it’s hiding a secret?”

  Cal straightened. “Yes. Why?” His face grew serious.

  “I was looking through one of Great Aunt Caroline’s cookbooks today and I found her apple raspberry pie recipe.”

  Cal scrunched his forehead. “What does pie have to do with secrets at this place?”

  “Maybe nothing since the comment she wrote is from ten years ago.”

  “I’m still not
following you, Hannah.”

  “She brought her pie here for a Thanksgiving dinner. She wrote that the pie was delicious but the company left something to be desired. She had the feeling they were discussing a secret that Rochelle didn’t want revealed.”

  Angry arguing erupted in the barn right outside the apartment door, interrupting Cal and Hannah’s conversation. Cal had no time to digest what Hannah told him. He put his finger to his lips indicating she needed to be quiet.

  “It’s time to give me that money, Rochelle. It’s been ten years. He’ll be back for it any day. I need it to get out of town and out of your life or he’ll be looking for you, too. I don’t want to be looking over my shoulders every waking minute.”

  “You should have thought about that ten years ago, Al. You must think I’m really dumb if you think I’ll ever help you again. I agree with you on one thing, though, get off my property and take your son with you before your problems follow you to my doorstep.”

  Al snorted. “It’s just a tiny bit too late for that, Rochelle. You and Mack are in up to your eyeballs, too, from the minute you agreed to help me with that problem ten years ago. Think about it, Rochelle. I’ll be back for the money tomorrow.”

  Three

  “What do we do now?” Hannah whispered. Her hand covered her mouth and she stared at Cal, her heart beating like the wings of a hummingbird.

  Cal pulled her into the bathroom and quietly closed the door. He shoved a utility knife into Hannah’s hand and pointed to the labels stuck on the new window panes. “Get busy and scrape that off.” Then he spilled sawdust on the floor and turned his shop vac on.

  Hannah’s hand shook as she tried to get the angle right to scrape off the label. The blade caught under one corner just as she heard the door open. She kept her focus on the window and pretended she didn’t know someone had just walked in.

  “Cal?”

  Cal turned the vacuum off. “Oh, hey, Rochelle. I’m almost done. I’ve even put Hannah to work so we can get out of your hair for the day.”

  Hannah was impressed with Cal’s easy going tone. She couldn’t even hear any nervousness in his voice about the argument they’d just overheard. She hoped her own words didn’t betray her. She turned around with the bits of label in her hand and asked Cal, “Trash?”

  Cal opened a black garbage bag.

  “Good,” Rochelle said. “Emma, my decorator, is coming and she wants to get started with the fabric samples as soon as all the sawdust is cleaned up.” She started to close the door. “One other thing. I had to fire Joey. Do either of you know anyone that is hardworking, reliable, and would be interested in living in this apartment in exchange for taking care of the barn and horses?”

  The sound of tires scattering gravel as a car sped down the driveway filled the room.

  Rochelle rolled her eyes. “That’s my cousin leaving and making sure I know that he’s furious with me for giving up on his son. It doesn’t matter that he gave up on the kid a long time ago, I guess.” She shrugged. “Too bad. I don’t have the patience to hold that boy’s hand while he learns how to work.”

  “If I think of anyone for the job, I’ll let you know,” Cal said.

  “I pay well. But, of course, it depends on experience.”

  “Are you in here, Rochelle?” Hannah heard a high pitched voice call from outside the apartment.

  “I’ll be right with you, Emma.” Rochelle lowered her voice and huffed to Cal and Hannah, “She’s early, of course. I’ll take her to the house. How long before you think you’ll be done in here?”

  “A half hour probably,” Cal replied.

  “Fine. Oh, and don’t forget about dinner tomorrow night. I’m planning an early Thanksgiving feast with a home-raised turkey and all the sides. As soon as Emma’s out of here,” she rolled her eyes, “I have a few last minute items to pick up.” Rochelle turned to Hannah. “You’re coming too, I hope?”

  “Of course. Thank you for the invitation. I’m planning to bring an apple raspberry pie. It’s a recipe I found in my Great Aunt Caroline’s cookbook.”

  Rochelle’s body froze for a long four seconds before she smiled. “I’m already drooling.”

  “Maybe you remember the pie? Caroline wrote in the margin that she brought it ten years ago when you invited her for a Thanksgiving dinner. Isn’t that such a coincidence?” Hannah smiled. She felt Cal looking at her. She was sure he was wondering if she had lost her mind.

  Hannah studied Rochelle’s face. A twitch started at her temple. It was obvious that Rochelle remembered that dinner. But what happened back then?

  “Oh, now that you mention it, I do remember. Did Caroline write anything else about the dinner?” The question came out sounding casual enough, but Hannah couldn’t help but wonder if Rochelle was searching for more information that Caroline might have written down.

  Hannah shrugged her shoulders and turned her palms up. “It was only a note she jotted in the margin. She liked to tweak the recipes and make notes about what worked, what didn’t, and who she shared it with. That’s all.” Hannah laughed. “No gossip, if that’s what you were worried about.” Hannah forced herself to laugh again.

  “We’d better get back to the clean-up, Hannah. Rochelle needs to take care of her friend.” Cal’s hand wrapped around Hannah’s arm and he handed her the vacuum hose. “How about you finish up here so I can start loading my tools into my truck?”

  “I’d love a copy of that recipe, Hannah. With Caroline’s notes. Bring it tomorrow night since it will be some of the same people.”

  Hannah realized she never anticipated this request and now she’d put herself in an awkward, and possibly dangerous, situation. “Sure, no problem,” she said as her mind sped to figure out a way to hide the part of Great Aunt Caroline’s comment about Rochelle’s secret.

  Rochelle left the apartment and Cal glared at Hannah. “What on earth were you thinking bringing that up? Now you’ve got yourself in a mess.”

  Hannah turned on the vacuum. She needed a plan and she certainly didn’t want to talk about any of this in the apartment where someone might hear them.

  The first solution came to her quickly when she realized that all she had to do was cover the comments she didn’t want Rochelle to see before she copied the recipe to bring to the dinner.

  The next problem wasn’t so easy. Hannah was positive that Caroline’s comments in her old cookbook about a secret from ten years ago and the argument she and Cal just heard Rochelle and her cousin having in the barn about someone returning were connected. But what was that secret and who was the he Al referred to? She and Cal were mixed up in this whether they liked it or not since Hannah had a strong suspicion that Rochelle must have known they’d heard the argument.

  Cal made several trips to his truck while Hannah vacuumed up every last speck of sawdust in the bathroom and the bedroom. It gave her time to think.

  When she was done, she switched off the vacuum, coiled the cord, and pushed it toward the apartment door. “Anything else you need help with?” she asked Cal when he returned.

  He looked around. “Everything looks good. I’ve got my tools, the sawdust is cleaned up. You might as well head home. I’ve got some errands to run before I go to my boat.”

  “About before,” Hannah began. “I think—”

  Cal cut her off. “Let’s just get out of here. Rochelle will be coming in soon with Emma. How about I stop over to your cottage after I get myself cleaned up?”

  Hannah smiled. “Perfect. I’ve got some left over fried chicken and I can throw a salad together when you get there.” She stood on her tippy toes and kissed Cal’s cheek. “See you later.”

  She walked out of the barn through the opposite end that she’d arrived in. A gravel path led parallel to the field before it turned toward the parking lot. Hannah leaned on the split rail fence and watched the horses. It all looked serene. Peaceful. What hid below the surface, she wondered?

  Hannah made a beeline to her cottage. Since Cal
wouldn’t be coming over for a while, she had time to take Nellie, her golden retriever mix, and Patches, her beagle, for a walk on the beach. It was cold with the wind whipping across the ocean so she made sure to add a warm layer.

  The dogs danced around her legs, almost tripping her before she pulled on her warm jacket and opened the door to freedom for the two dogs. They knew the routine and dashed down the path, past The Fishy Dish snack bar, and up the beach.

  Hannah knew they wouldn’t get too far ahead as they sniffed and chased any seagulls that rested on the beach. Nellie woofed her enthusiasm and Patches tried to keep up with the younger, longer legged dog.

  All in all, Hannah thought, she was the luckiest woman alive at this moment to have this ocean beach all to herself. With the beauty, the cold, and her two faithful companions, she pushed all thoughts of a ten-year old secret out of her head.

  Nellie headed up the well-worn path between the boulders that led to Hannah’s friend’s house. Jack, her curmudgeon, eighty-one year old neighbor, was the first person she’d met after she found out that her Great Aunt Caroline had left the oceanfront property and business to her. He always welcomed Hannah any time of the day or night. With his open-door policy, it gave him the opportunity to give her his opinion, whether she wanted it or not.

  Nellie and Patches waited patiently for Hannah to catch up and open Jack’s door.

  “Hannah, is that you?” Jack’s voice, a bit panicked, called from his kitchen. “Pam just called. There’s a body at the marina.”

  Hannah’s heart beat so hard she was afraid it might pop through her chest as Jack’s words sank in. There was only one marina in Hooks Harbor and it was where Cal lived on his boat. Did Rochelle send someone to take care of Cal and she would be next for what they’d overheard? “What are you talking about?”