Ginny Gold - Early Bird Café 02 - Deadly Surprise

by Ginny Gold

  After some silence, Jay finally said, “Here we go, Tyler Roberts. Wow, he looks nothing like the last time we saw him.”

  “Well it has to be at least fifteen years. No, less. Dad’s funeral? No, Mom said they didn’t come. Wow, maybe it has been that long. You’re sure it’s him? What can you see about him?” Kori was desperate for information.

  “Almost nothing.”

  “Friend him,” Kori instructed and she saw Jay fiddle with his phone out of the corner of her eye. “Let’s hope he uses Facebook often enough to see it and accept it right away.”

  They drove on in silence. Kori was planning her next move to clear Jay’s name, and her next move with Zach. She wanted to go out with him again but she didn’t want to seem too eager either. Oh, who was she kidding? They’d been playing this game since high school. And being eager was probably important with Lani working next to him all day. She’d call him tonight and invite him hiking next weekend. Or, better yet, she’d invite him to Nora’s farm stand opening on Wednesday. It was always a potluck dinner that kicked off the town’s gardening season. Really, just Nora’s public gardening season. Kori bought plenty of vegetables from her but there were always extra. Kori had done every year since she’d moved back to Hermit Cove and had even come up a couple times for it when she was living in New York City. All of their friends from childhood went and the food was always better than expected. Kori would even offer to do the cooking for both of them so Zach wouldn’t have to bring anything. He wouldn’t have an excuse then.

  “He accepted,” Jay suddenly said, breaking through Kori’s daydreaming of officially dating Zach and becoming his girlfriend.

  “Oh good,” Kori said excitedly. “Check out his photos. Where does he live? Has he been to Scoter Circle recently? Does he know Heidi?” The questions poured out of her mouth before Jay had a chance to answer even the first one.

  “Umm … give me a few seconds … Here it is. According to Facebook he lives on the west coast. About as far from Scoter Circle as he could get and still be in the United States. What else did you want to know?”

  “Mutual friends. Do you two have any mutual friends?”

  She saw Jay flipping through Facebook as she continued driving. “No. Not even you.”

  “If I’d already been friends with him do you think it would have been so hard to find him?”

  “Right. But anyway,” Jay said sarcastically, “he’s not friends with Heidi. What if he didn’t even know her? What if it’s not his DNA there and it really is mine? Who would set me up?”

  “That’s what we’re here to find out,” Kori said with false confidence.

  “Here where? Where are you going?” Jay asked as she sped past the turn she wanted into Scoter Circle.

  “Oops.” She pulled over and turned around.

  “Where are we going to go when we get there?”

  “Let’s start with the yoga retreat location. Mom said it was at the conference center. Have you ever been there?”

  “No.” Jay pulled out his phone to get directions.

  On Kori’s second try she didn’t miss the turn and they were only minutes from Scoter Circle’s center. “Where to now?”

  “Umm. Turn right onto Willow Lane. It looks like the conference center is down there.”

  Kori did as instructed and they found their location with no trouble. Kori parked in the buzzing parking lot and got out of the car, knowing she’d figure out what she was going to say once she reached the front desk. Jay hesitated but eventually got out too.

  “Just follow my lead,” she told him with more false confidence. Turning back to Ibis, she said, “Don’t bark. We’ll be quick.” Then she felt ridiculous.

  Kori opened the front door to the conference center and was immediately struck by a swarm of police walking up and down the main hallway. She stopped in her tracks and she felt Jay bump into her.

  “What’s going on, you think?” she asked him.

  He shook his head and didn’t say anything so she led the way up to the front desk.

  “Good afternoon. How may I help you?” a short woman wearing a nametag that identified her as Meri asked, a cheerful smile on her face.

  “Um. Hi. What’s going on?” Kori asked, still looking around.

  “All I know is that this has been turned into a crime scene and police are working on getting everything worked through as quickly as possible. Are you here for the travel symposium? There’s only a short delay for it to begin.”

  “No. No. We’re actually looking for Brett Carr. He led a yoga retreat here this weekend and we were hoping he was still around.”

  “I’m sorry. He was here this weekend but doesn’t work here regularly.” Meri’s smile turned into a look of concern for being unable to help Kori and Jay.

  “Would it be possible to get us in touch with him? Does he live in town? Our mother attended his retreat and is now having some difficulty with her shoulder. We were just hoping to ask him a few questions about how she could fix that.”

  “You know, normally I can’t do that. But let me call him and see if he’s available to come in.”

  “That’d be really great. Thanks.” Kori was relieved. With the added chaos of a police investigation she thought they might have made the drive for nothing.

  “Just take a seat,” Meri indicated chairs across the hall from the desk, “and I’ll let you know when I reach him.”

  Meri picked up the phone while Jay and Kori walked to the offered chairs and took in the scene.

  Police were whispering in the halls, some running back and forth from one end to the other. Kori was surprised they were even allowed inside.

  “I’m going to go check on Ibis. Text me if Meri tells you anything,” Kori told Jay who nodded his acceptance and she walked outside to her car.

  Ibis was still calmly sleeping in the back seat, seemingly unaware of the panic that Kori felt growing inside of her. Why would Jay have been setup? And what had Gale done this weekend? Was she somehow involved? What was this current crime scene in the conference center? Kori suspected it was unrelated to Heidi’s murder but she couldn’t be too sure about anything anymore.

  When Kori opened the back door to let Ibis out, she quickly hooked the leash on her and started walking toward the road. She planned to just bring her around the block on the sidewalk to get her moving. She checked her pocket for a plastic bag in case she had any business to take care of but she came up empty. She’d have to make that become part of her normal routine now—always have something to clean up after Ibis.

  Kori and Ibis barely made it a hundred yards from the conference center’s parking lot when Kori’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She figured it was Jay telling her to come back inside because Brett was on his way.

  “Hello?” she answered without bothering to look at the name on the screen.

  “Kori? It’s Zach. Where are you? I’m outside The Early Bird and you’re not there.”

  She didn’t want to tell him the truth because he wouldn’t like what she was up to but she couldn’t imagine lying to him. She decided on being vague. “I had to help Jay with something. What’s up?”

  “I was just stopping by for a cup of coffee with the most beautiful chef in town.”

  Kori’s heart fluttered and she wondered if she was having a heart attack. She couldn’t help but smile. “I can stop by your place later if you want.” So much for waiting to see him at Nora’s opening.

  “I’m not sure when I’ll be home. This case that Scoter Circle has us working on is getting the best of my time. I really only had a few minutes and hoped I’d be able to fill them with your face.”

  Kori blushed. “Have you gotten any more information about the DNA?”

  “Nope. Sorry. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Great. Thanks. Hey, do you have plans on Wednesday night? Nora’s farm stand is opening for the season and I was hoping you’d come with me. She has a potluck dinner every year to kick off the season. I can cook for
both of us if—”

  “Sounds great,” Zach said, cutting her off before she could make any excuses for him. She could hear the smile in his voice at the other end of the line.

  “Great. I’ll see you Wednesday then.”

  “Wednesday.”

  Kori waited to see if he was going to say anything else but heard the phone click off instead. She smiled.

  But she didn’t have time to revel in her next date because her phone started buzzing again. This time she looked at the caller—Jay.

  She picked up and he was already talking. “Come back. He’s on his way. He’ll be here any minute.”

  “Okay. On my way.” Kori hung up and turned to bring Ibis back to the car. As they walked into the parking lot a car tore past them and parked in a hurry. She wondered if that was Brett, so instead of making him wait she decided to bring Ibis with her.

  As soon as Kori opened the front door, Jay got up to meet her and Meri rushed out from behind the desk. In an overly friendly voice Meri said, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you can’t bring your dog in here.”

  “Oh, sorry. She’s actually a retired therapy dog so she won’t bother anyone,” Kori protested. She really didn’t want to miss talking to Brett.

  “Even so, it’s our policy that dogs aren’t allowed inside unless they’re assistance animals.”

  Kori turned and looked behind her. The driver of the in-a-hurry car was now speed walking toward the front door. It was a man and she could only assume it was Brett.

  “I promise she won’t bother anyone,” Kori insisted again, not having a clue if that was true or not. She’d barely had her for a full day. “I’ll just stay in the lobby.”

  Meri looked past Kori at the man approaching. “Mr. Carr, thank you for coming in. This is Kori—I’m not sure I got your last name?”

  “Cooke. Kori Cooke.”

  “This is Kori Cooke and Jay,” Meri paused, letting Jay share his last name.

  “Cooke,” he said.

  “Kori, Jay. Call me Brett,” Brett said, not quite unfriendly but also not very inviting. He walked past them inside and Kori followed him before Meri could stop her.

  Brett turned left when he reached the front desk and then let himself into a small meeting room. The police had mostly congregated at the other end of the hall and had finally taped off everything to the right of the front desk.

  Brett, Kori and Jay all took seats around a small table and Ibis lay quietly at Kori’s feet. She was glad Meri didn’t come looking for them, and that Ibis didn’t make a sound to bring attention to her presence.

  “I understand you had some questions about the yoga retreat I led this weekend,” Brett said, getting straight to the point. Kori was thankful for that. There really was no point in small talk.

  “Yes. Our mother was a participant and she’s having some back and neck pain now. We wondered if there was anything in particular that could have caused that and what she can do now to get rid of it,” Kori said, feeling funny that she was lying so confidently.

  “Did she come with you so I could talk to her about it directly?” he asked, unsmiling.

  Kori and Jay both shook their heads.

  “Well, there’s really little information that I can give you then. I’d recommend seeing a chiropractor if it doesn’t get better in a few days. But I was only there in the afternoons. So any of the morning sessions I wasn’t a part of and am unfamiliar with.”

  Kori was surprised her mother hadn’t told her that detail. Gale had said Brett was there all day every day, hadn’t she? The timing of Heidi’s murder lined up with Brett’s absences from classes. What was Gale hiding by pinning the murder on him but omitting that scheduling detail?

  “Well, thank you for your time then.” Kori wasn’t quite sure how to ask him about Heidi’s death without giving away too much information. She figured this one piece of information was worth it and let any other interrogation go. She stood and offered her hand, which he shook. Jay did the same.

  “Sorry to be so unhelpful. I hope that your mother is feeling better soon.”

  With that, Brett made a speedy exit and Kori tailed him back to the parking lot. She noticed Meri give her a dirty look as she led Ibis back outside but she ignored her.

  “That wasn’t really that helpful,” Jay said, walking quickly to keep up again.

  “Shh. Just get in the car,” Kori whispered back, never taking her eye off Brett.

  As soon as he started his car, Kori did the same and then followed him out of the parking lot. He turned away from the main road—the opposite way than they’d come in—and Kori did the same.

  “Where are we going now?” Jay asked.

  “I’m going to follow him. Find out where he lives so I can come back if I need to and find him at home.”

  “This is ridiculous. You’re going to get yourself in trouble. Don’t we have enough trouble right now for the Cooke family?”

  Kori ignored her brother’s concerns and stayed a block behind Brett’s car. She was thankful that she drove a nondescript silver Subaru sedan that he’d be unlikely to notice.

  It was only minutes before he pulled into a short driveway, parked and got out of the car. A woman, well endowed in the looks department with measurements as close to Barbie as one could get and still be able to walk, came outside to greet him. Kori kept her eyes focused on the public display of affection as she drove past and then turned to look at Jay.

  “Who do you think that was?” he asked.

  “If I had to guess, Brett’s motive for killing Heidi.”

  CHAPTER 6

  “What do you mean?” Jay asked.

  “You really don’t watch detective shows, do you?” she teased. He shook his head. “If he never got back with Heidi, or they never remarried anyway, then he had to pay plenty of child support. Maybe Heidi wanted him back. Or was blackmailing him. Or was somehow preventing him from being with that blond bimbo. Or who knows what. Then he might have needed her out of the picture.”

  “Wouldn’t he still have to pay child support in the form of raising his own kid?”

  “You have a point. But maybe Heidi was getting it super inflated. Who knows? But I think it’s suspicious that his ex-wife is dead—and who knows when they finally ended things—and he’s already making out with someone else in his front yard.”

  “I guess you’re right. How are we going to find out more about that?” Jay asked.

  “Pull out your phone. See if you can find Heidi’s obituary. It’ll say who she outlived. And it might even tell us about a memorial service and funeral.”

  Kori continued driving, heading back home. It was already late afternoon and she had work to do and wanted to stop by Nora’s so Ibis could meet Milo and Otis. She knew Ibis would need some dog friends for play dates after spending her mornings cooped up in the café. She waited for Jay to find what they were looking for.

  “Here it is,” he finally said. “Outlived by her son—doesn’t give the name—and her parents. No mention of a husband.”

  “What about a service?” Kori asked.

  “Tomorrow night, Tuesday. Just a memorial. No funeral until the investigation is closed.”

  “Perfect. Make sure you take tomorrow afternoon off. I think we have another trip to Scoter Circle we’ll have to make.”

  “We’re going to the memorial?” Jay asked. Kori could feel him shooting daggers at her from his eyes.

  “Of course we’re going. We’ll see if we can get more information about her and her relationships from her friends. Find out more about her history with Brett. If he had a history of violence, maybe she was the target in the past.”

  “You really are crazy. What about Wesley, Oscar, Larry and Tyler? Can’t we just focus on them instead?”

  “We’ll look into them, but Tyler doesn’t have any connection to Heidi. And we’re starting from zero with Wesley, Larry and Oscar. I think talking to her family and friends—and coworkers—will be our best shot at information.”
>
  Jay was silent for a moment while he digested Kori’s plan. “Fine.”

  “Great. Look up Wesley while I drive home. I bet there’s information about him on a company website or something. You said he works on Wall Street. He’s not going to be anonymous online. I could call looking for investment advice. Or we could go to Heidi’s bank and you could ask about her friends. You’d just have to play up being her boyfriend. We could even do that before the memorial tomorrow.”

  Kori snuck a glance at Jay and saw that he didn’t particularly like the idea of that plan.

  “Let’s just get home for now. I have to go talk to Spencer about missing work this afternoon.”

  “Yeah sure. Think about it, though. I’ll do some more research tonight.”

  Kori drove the rest of the way home brainstorming how she was going to get close to Oscar, Larry and Wesley to learn more. Just in case Brett didn’t turn up guilty.

  Back in Hermit Cove close to five o’clock, she dropped Jay off at the Auto Body and then went home. She headed straight to the café’s kitchen to get things ready for tomorrow. Thankfully she still had plenty of eggs and greens from her visit to Nora the day before.

  The smoothies continued to be a hit so she would offer them for a third day in a row. She decided to make overnight oatmeal with apples, cinnamon and a splash of syrup or brown sugar when it was served, so she got that all setup in the crock pot and turned it on.

  For eggs, she’d make popovers again in the morning and offer veggie omelets. She had plenty of spinach, onions and mushrooms and she could even offer avocado on the first few lucky customers until they were gone. She didn’t have many.

  For her sweet-tooth customers, she assembled baked French toast that she’d stick in the oven tomorrow morning and she’d whip up pancake batter and slice bananas for either plain or banana pancakes again.

  Satisfied with her menu, she brought Ibis outside and got back in the car to go to Nora’s. As soon as she pulled up, Milo and Otis came storming out of the nearest greenhouse, likely smelling a new dog. Kori knew they would get along with any dog, but this was her first time introducing Ibis to a dog. Given her past, she was hopeful they would all get along.