by Lyndsey Cole
“Right! You sat next to him in study hall. While he did your homework. ”
“Okay. You win.” Hannah stopped laughing and got serious. “This is different. This is important for you and Olivia.”
“I know. I’ve been trying to distract myself by picking on you. I hope your plan gets us somewhere.”
Nellie started to bark.
“Mommy?” Olivia’s tiny voice called from the bedroom. “Someone’s outside the window.”
Hannah reached Olivia before Ruby. She sat in the middle of the mattress clutching Theodore, her eyes round circles.
“What did you see, sweetheart,” Hannah calmly asked Olivia as she held the little girl in her lap.
“I heard something. It woke us up.” She squeezed Theodore tighter.
“What should we do?” Ruby whispered.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Hannah said, trying to sound confident. “You stay here with Olivia and I’ll take a look.
Hannah clutched her big flashlight and went outside with Nellie at her side. Nellie charged off the porch, leaving Hannah alone. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She moved the flashlight beam slowly along the edge of the cottage. Her heart raced.
“Don’t shoot,” a voice teased. “Is that the weapon of choice in this hick town?”
Hannah moved the beam of light from the two boots about five feet in front of her, up to two hands held palms out, and then to Rocky’s face. A big, goofy grin stretched from one ear to the other.
“What are you doing outside my cottage? You … ” she was at a loss for the right word. “Were you looking in my windows?”
“Whoa, slow down, Doll Face. I’m looking for Petunia. She’s out here somewhere and Nana won’t go to bed until I get the pig back inside.”
Hannah felt her body relax. It was only Petunia that scared Olivia. “I’m sure Nellie will find her.”
“Nellie? That crazy dog that almost ran me down? Who keeps an animal like that, anyway?”
“She’s trained to kill on my command. She’s my weapon of choice,” Hannah hissed as she jabbed the flashlight toward his chest.
That wiped the grin off Rocky’s face. He backed away from Hannah. “I don’t mean no harm, Doll Face. Don’t sic that animal on me.”
Fortunately, Nellie trotted back toward Hannah with Petunia at her side. She looked up at Rocky and woofed. He backed away. Hannah covered her mouth so Rocky wouldn’t see her laughing.
“She ain’t gonna bite me, is she?”
“Not if you don’t come near me. She’s extremely protective.”
“No problem with that. I saw that carpenter dude at the marina and he told me to stay away from you. You aren’t even my type. I was only asking you out to please Nana.”
“Not your type? You have a type?” Hannah never felt so insulted. Rejected by Rocky Amato—a preening, cigarette smoking, full of himself hoodlum. Ouch. “Maybe I could have been a bit friendlier.” She lowered the flashlight and patted her leg for Nellie to stand next to her. “I could use your help with something.”
“Oh yeah? I get it. Now you need me so you’ll be nice.” He flicked his wrist dismissively. “Forget it, Doll Face.” Rocky hooked the leash on Petunia and led her past Hannah to Cottage Two.
“Come on, Nellie. Tomorrow has to be better than today.” Hannah double checked that all the doors were locked when she got back inside. Just in case.
Chapter 9
Hannah woke up to the sound of someone pounding on her door. Nellie wasn’t barking.
“Come in,” she hollered as she slipped a sweatshirt over her pj’s.
The door rattled but didn’t open. “It’s locked. Since when do you lock your door?” Hannah let Jack in and relieved him of the bag he carried. “I’ll make coffee here.”
“There’s more than coffee in this bag. What else did you bring?”
Hannah hefted the bag up and down, feeling the weight before she attempted to unpack the bag. Jack snatched it away. “A surprise.” He looked around the room. “Where are your guests? Didn’t Ruby and Olivia stay here last night?”
Hannah tilted her head toward the closed bedroom door. “They must be awake by now with all the racket you made.”
Jack checked the time. “The school bus will be here in a half hour.” Jack started the coffee and took plates from Hannah’s cupboard.
“I forgot.” Hannah cracked the bedroom door and called quietly, “Ruby. Olivia. Time to get out of bed. Jack brought a surprise.”
Olivia appeared in two seconds flat, bright eyed and happy.
Ruby plopped herself into a chair, eyes puffy, and only half opened. “You kicked me all night, Hannah. I forgot what a restless sleeper you are.”
“Jack’s got coffee brewing. I’ll make Olivia’s lunch for school so you can sit and take your time waking up.”
“Here’s my surprise,” Jack said. He put a large canning jar of homemade granola on the table. “Oatmeal, nuts, and coconut, sweetened with maple syrup. I also have,” he reached his hand back into the bag, “cider donuts.” He pulled one from the bag with a great flourish. “Someone here likes these if I remember correctly.”
“I do. I do.” Olivia bounced in her chair. “Can I have two?” She quickly added, “Please.”
Jack’s eyes crinkled at the edges. “You’re not going to feed them to that bear, are you?”
Olivia looked at Theodore sitting next to her. “You’re silly. Theodore doesn’t eat donuts.”
Hannah poured Olivia a glass of milk and gave her one donut. “I’ll save the other one for an after school snack. Hurry up and I’ll walk you to the bus stop.” She set a mug of coffee in front of Ruby and a bowl. “Want some of Jack’s granola?”
Ruby sipped the coffee. “Ahhh. This is the best.” She helped herself to the granola. “Don’t forget to help Olivia brush her teeth.”
“Right.” Hannah and Olivia reappeared, Olivia with her favorite red long sleeve t-shirt on with a picture of a teddy bear, and Hannah carrying her niece’s backpack with Theodore safely tucked inside with her lunch.
Hannah also carried her coffee. “Oops. We’ve got to run. I see the bus.”
The bus stopped and waited for Olivia to climb on. She waved to Hannah through the window as the bus pulled away.
Nellie followed Hannah back toward her cottage. “I have to figure out how to keep Ruby from moving again,” Hannah said to her dog. “Olivia is so happy here.”
A scream pierced the morning air making Hannah’s arm jerk and her coffee splash all over her cream colored shirt. What met her eyes made her laugh out loud, distracting her from the hot coffee seeping through her shirt. Sherry ran away from the snack bar, holding one arm above her head. Petunia followed at a trot. Sherry kept looking over her shoulder but Petunia was intent on catching her and getting whatever treat Sherry refused to share.
Another hysterical scream followed the first, before Sherry caught up to Hannah. “Call 911,” she managed to say between her gasps for air.
“Did she hurt you?” Hannah asked, worried that Petunia did some damage to Sherry besides to her mental health.
“She? How do you know the murderer is a she?” Sherry’s face was as white as the foam on the waves.
“Murderer?”
Sherry pointed toward the snack bar which was jacked up on one end, waiting for the final new beam to be put in place. She pulled Hannah closer and jabbed her finger toward the corner of the shack.
What met Hannah’s eyes made the color drain from her face, too. A bright green sneaker, attached to a leg, stuck out. She looked at Sherry. “Who is that?”
“I don’t know, but he’s not moving. When I walked by a minute ago, the pig came out from under the shack. Do you think the pig did it?”
Hannah moved closer. More came into view—two bright green canvas sneakers, no socks, and the bottom of the hem of a pair of plaid shorts. Something about the shorts looked familiar. Was it the turquoise color? She dialed 911 and managed to tell the dis
patcher that there was a body under her snack bar before she leaned over and threw up Jack’s delicious coffee.
By the time her stomach was empty, Cal, who had just driven in, jumped from his truck and rushed to Hannah’s side. Jack and Ruby were only seconds behind. “We heard screams,” Jack said as they all huddled around Hannah.
Pearl came running and waved her arms. “I heard someone scream. Is Petunia all right? She’s so smart, she figured out how to open the door. Oh, there you are, you naughty girl.” Pearl crouched down and made cooing talk to the potbelly pig.
Hannah straightened and pointed behind her to the green sneakers.
“Is it Lenny?” Ruby asked, her hand covering her mouth.
“Who’s Lenny?” Pearl wanted to know. “And what’s he doing under that building?”
“Sherry found him,” Hannah said. “Or maybe it was Petunia.” Hannah looked left and right. “Where did Sherry go?”
Rocky joined the growing crowd, shirtless and running his fingers through his hair. “Geez, can’t a guy sleep in around here without so much racket?”
Aaron, with his arm around his wife’s shoulders, walked toward their car. “What’s going on?” he asked before his eyes registered the body and his mouth dropped open.
Jack kneeled next to the legs and inched partway under the raised floor of the snack bar. “I don’t feel any pulse. And from the look of this knife sticking out of his back, I don’t think it’s an accident either.” He looked up at the waiting faces. “Anyone have any idea who this is?”
Ruby dropped down next to Jack and peered under the snack bar. Silently, she looked at Hannah and nodded her head slightly.
Hannah pulled Ruby back. Sirens wailed closer and closer.
Jack whispered to Hannah, “I saw Ruby nod to you. If it’s Lenny, that will take care of Ruby’s problem with him.”
“Maybe, unless your daughter makes the connection between Ruby and Lenny. The lie Ruby told Pam about not knowing him will be a huge problem. Especially now.”
“I see where you’re going. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.”
“Then her problems escalate significantly. Like, she could be the prime suspect.” Hannah sighed. She felt an arm on her shoulder.
“What’s the matter, Doll Face? Never saw a dead guy before?”
Hannah jerked away from Rocky. “You were roaming around outside last night. Maybe it was you sticking a knife in his back.”
“Whoa. What’s up with you? Can’t a guy offer some comfort without being accused of murder?”
Cal stepped between Hannah and Rocky, putting his arm around Hannah. “Back off.” Cal glared at Rocky.
Police cruisers raced into the driveway, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Sherry tapped Hannah on her shoulder. “I’m checking out of this loony bin. I’ve finished packing and I want to settle my bill.”
“Sorry. No one’s going anywhere yet,” Officer Pam Larson said to the group in general. “Not till I figure out what’s happened. So, who called in a body?”
Hannah stepped forward.
“You, Ms. Holiday? Why are you always in the middle of the drama in Hooks Harbor? Show me what you found.”
Hannah felt a comforting pat on her arm from Cal as she showed Pam the legs sticking out from under the snack bar.
“Did you touch anything?”
Hannah shook her head.
Jack approached his daughter and offered an air of calm. “I checked for a pulse.”
Pam turned around to address the group—Hannah, Ruby, Cal, Jack, Pearl, Rocky, Aaron, Laura, and Sherry. “I’ll need statements from each of you, so make yourselves comfortable.” She waved her hand toward the ocean. “Enjoy the view while you wait.”
More police cars, fire trucks, an ambulance, and every volunteer in town descended on Hannah’s small snack bar. Yesterday was terrible, but today was already turning into a nightmare and it wasn’t even ten o’clock in the morning. She looked at her poor snack bar waiting for the last beam to be replaced. It looked like it was impossible that she’d be able to open on time as she watched Pam unroll the yellow police tape.
“This couldn’t be much worse,” Hannah heard Ruby whisper in her ear. “What am I going to tell Pam? If I continue the lie, and she knows it’s a lie, I’ll look guilty. But if I tell her I lied and why, I’ll still look guilty.”
“You have an alibi—you, me, and Olivia were all sleeping in the bedroom together.”
Ruby stood wringing her hands. “I went outside after you fell asleep. Just to sit and listen to the waves. The sound relaxes me.”
“Pam doesn’t have to know that.”
“I think Rocky saw me. He was outside too.”
“Where?”
“By the snack bar.”
A piece of paper blew up against Hannah’s leg. She picked it up. “I hate it when people just throw their trash on the ground.” She glanced at it quickly, then turned away from everyone and grabbed Ruby’s arm “Look at this. We have to compare this to the map on Lenny’s camera. Was he under the snack bar looking for the treasure?”
Hannah paced and Ruby clenched her hands. Cal worked on the picnic tables for outside the snack bar. Jack tried to follow his daughter around, giving her advice about what to look for until she told him to get lost.
Finally, Pam rounded everyone up to question them one by one. Alone in Hannah’s office. Starting with Sherry.
While Hannah waited for her turn, she talked to Jack. “Look what I found.” She passed him the folded up map. “Don’t let anyone else see it.”
Jack sat on a big rock at the edge of the parking area. His eyes met Hannah’s after he spent a minute looking at the front and back, then the front of the map again. “Where’d you find this?”
“I thought it was a piece of trash blowing in the wind. Should I tell Pam?”
Jack rubbed his chin. “You should come clean with her. She’ll find out everything eventually. Ruby too. This so-called buried treasure could be key to the murders.”
“Murders? What are you talking about?” Hannah’s eyes narrowed.
“The other guy? Found yesterday morning? He didn’t drown. It was in the news this morning.”
Hannah blinked. “How did he die?”
“Stabbed.”
Chapter 10
Petunia trotted her little feet right through the middle of all the detectives and disappeared under the snack bar.
“Oh dear,” Hannah heard Pearl say to Rocky. “I better get over there and retrieve Petunia before she upsets someone.”
“Too late for that,” Jack said to Hannah and Ruby, with a smile plastered on his face. “This should be interesting.”
Pearl, with her flowing colorful muumuu streaming behind, marched over to the group of detectives. “I need to get my little Petunia.”
“Huh?”
Pearl’s brows shot up and her mouth dropped open. “Are you deaf? I have to get my Petunia.” She pointed to the snack bar. “She’s under there.”
The second detective took Pearl’s arm, firmly, and pulled her away. “What are you talking about? This is a murder scene. You can’t go over there and contaminate the area.”
“Hey, there’s a pig coming out from under the floor. Where’d that pig come from?” the first detective shouted.
Pearl stomped her foot. “That’s Petunia. If you had listened to me in the first place, you’d know that. Keep your voices down or you’ll scare her.”
The two detectives stared at each other, obviously at a loss for words about Petunia and, most likely, Pearl, too. “Okay lady, the pig’s gotta go. I’ll have to shoot her.” He slipped his handgun from his holster.
“NO!” Pearl shrieked and lunged at the detective. “You’ll have to shoot me, too.”
Without thinking, Hannah rushed toward Petunia, furious that the detective even considered shooting the defenseless pig. In one scoop, she had Petunia in her arms and carried the squealing pig away from the snack bar. “You ough
t to be ashamed,” she scolded the detective.
“Well, get it out of here. Next time, I won’t give a warning.” The detective glared at Hannah. “What’s your name?”
“Hannah Holiday,” she said loud and clear, but knowing deep down that this would come back to haunt her.
“Oh, Petunia. Are you all right?” Pearl glared at the group of detectives. Hannah could see that she was shaking with anger. “Hannah, you saved my baby. I’ll be indebted to you forever.” Pearl took Petunia and kissed her head. She attached the leash and walked back to Rocky. “Are you just a dumb coward? Why didn’t you rush in and save Petunia?”
Rocky flicked his wrist. “It’s only a pig. We coulda had her for dinner.”
Pearl slapped Rocky on the cheek. “You stupid kid. You’d better watch your tongue or—”
Rocky cut her off and hissed, “Be quiet Nana before you say something—” His eyes darted to all the other people watching their drama. “Before you say something you can’t take back.” The scent of sweat lingered in the air as he stomped away from Pearl and passed close to Hannah.
Sherry left the office and headed straight for Hannah. “You’ve certainly made a mess of my vacation. I wanted a scenic quiet spot to relax and,” she waved her hand around, “all it is here is chaos, pigs, and murder! Don’t expect me to pay for this. I’m letting you know right now that I’m demanding a refund.”
“So you’ll be checking out? I’ll refund the unpaid balance,” Hannah said, trying to remain calm.
“No, I’m not checking out. I’m not allowed to leave this … this … this joke of a vacation paradise. I expect a refund for the whole week I prepaid.” Sherry stood with one hand on her hip and jabbed the finger of her other hand in Hannah’s face.
“Unbelievable,” Hannah replied under her breath as she turned her back on Sherry. What had she gotten herself into, dealing with psycho guests like this nut case? Was it true that the customer was always right? Hannah didn’t think so. Not in this case when the events were completely out of her control.
Pam motioned for Hannah to join her in the office. “Not how I expected to start my day. How about you, Ms. Holiday?” Pam closed the door behind Hannah.