A Fortunate Encounter

by J A Whiting

  “It’s possible.” Bonnie’s hand shook as she lifted her mug. “Jade did not kill herself.”

  “I know,” Claire told her.

  “We’ve organized ten different searches of several areas,” Bonnie said. “I’ve talked to Jade’s friends and I’ve gone through her emails, her texts. The police did the same. We get nowhere, we find nothing.”

  “There is still a lot to do,” Claire used a reassuring tone. “I talked to AJ Phelps, but I need to speak with him again. He told me he and Jade went back to the bonfire after leaving it for a little while. The convenience store clerk told us Jade was waiting inside while AJ filled his gas tank. We need to know if Jade was in AJ’s car when he returned to campus.”

  “Did you ask AJ about that drug dealer?” Bonnie asked.

  “No. I’ll bring that up next time we meet. I’d already caught him in a lie and I didn’t want to scare him off,” Claire said.

  “Try to talk to him again soon,” Bonnie said. “Winter’s coming. We’re running out of time.”

  15

  “Why did you want to come back here?” Nicole asked as she and Claire and the Corgis left the car and walked onto the Bayside town beach.

  The day was unusually warm with the sun shining in a bright blue sky, and a number of people sat in chairs while others rested on blankets soaking up the sun on what was surely the last beach day of the year. A few brave people were even body-surfing in the chilly waves.

  “I don’t know why. Since I was here with Ian, something’s been itching at me to come back.” Claire let the dogs off the leashes and they raced off to meet and sniff another dog.

  “It’s a great day for the beach so it’s fine with me.” Nicole spread a blanket and the young women sat down. “A chance to get a little more sun before the snow flies in a month or two.” With a sigh, she asked, “Where does the time go? The summer was over in a flash. It’s October already.”

  “Jade loved this beach,” Claire said as she looked out over the blue sea.

  “I can see why. It’s a beautiful spot. The family was lucky to live so close by,” Nicole said.

  “Bonnie Lyons told me she felt badly when Jade had to live at home this semester. Money was always tight and when their roof had to be replaced unexpectedly, there went the college room and board money. Bonnie said Jade claimed she didn’t mind living at home and was happy to spend more time with her mom, and that it gave her more time to come down to the beach,” Claire said. “Jade sounds like a good person.”

  “We haven’t heard a single bad thing about her,” Nicole agreed. “Everyone has had good things to say.” Eyeing her friend, she asked, “Do you have any feelings about any of the people we’ve talked to? Does anyone stand out on your paranormal radar?”

  Claire smiled at Nicole’s description of her skill. “I’ve had odd sensations with almost everyone we’ve talked with, but nothing really stands out. AJ is suspicious. Badger was at that convenience store when Jade was there. Blake Rhodes cheated on Jade when they dated and recently got in touch with her. Why did he? Kyle Vallins didn’t seem that upset about the situation, but he had begun distancing himself from Jade anticipating a breakup. Maybe none of these people had anything to do with Jade’s disappearance. It could have been random. Jade might have been walking back to campus and someone snatched her.”

  “The police still don’t have any leads?” Nicole asked.

  “Ian says no, but the investigators up here might not be sharing everything with him.”

  “Look at those nutty dogs,” Nicole said with a chuckle. “They’re digging down to the center of the earth.”

  Claire looked to the left to see Bear and Lady digging together in the sand. She whistled to them, but they ignored her. Pushing herself up from the blanket, she headed to where they were making the hole. “I don’t want them digging like that. Someone will come by later and twist an ankle.”

  When she called to the dogs, Lady lifted her head, but kept right on pawing the sand. Claire clapped her hands and spoke their names in a firm voice. “No, no.”

  With reluctant looks, the dogs stopped digging and barked at Claire.

  “Hush now. Come on. We’ll get kicked off the beach.” When Claire turned around to go back to the blanket, a young woman stood nearby admiring the Corgis.

  “What beautiful dogs.” The woman had long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and big blue eyes. She wore a tank top and shorts and carried her flip-flops in one hand.

  When Bear and Lady spotted her, they trotted over to the brunette to receive some petting.

  Claire said, “They’re good dogs, but they’re excited to be here and they’re having a hard time listening to me this afternoon. That one’s Bear and the other one is Lady.”

  The young woman chuckled as Bear licked her hand. “A bit of selective hearing? Only hearing what they want to hear today?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Are you visiting?” the young woman asked. “I don’t remember seeing the dogs here before.”

  “We live in Boston. The weather is so great today, we decided to come up. Do you live nearby?”

  Nicole walked over and introduced herself, and then joked. “No one would ever talk to us if we didn’t have these two dogs around.”

  “It’s true. I’m Claire by the way.”

  “Maggie. I live a few blocks away. I grew up in town.”

  Claire’s head buzzed.

  “Do you know Jade Lyons?” Nicole asked.

  Bear and Lady whined softly.

  Maggie’s face took on a pained expression. “Yes.” The young woman swallowed. “Jade and I were friends since we were little.”

  “Do you go to the same college?” Nicole questioned.

  “No.” Maggie shook her head. “I was never good at school. College isn’t for me.”

  “What do you do?” Claire asked.

  “I went to school for hairdressing. I’ve been saving since I was a little kid. I just opened my own shop on Main Street,” Maggie told them. “It’s small, but it’s a beginning.”

  Nicole and Claire offered their congratulations.

  “Did you still see Jade? Did you still have time to see each other, what with her in college and you starting your own business?” Nicole asked.

  “We kept in touch. We’d get together once in a while, have dinner, come to the beach. She was living at home this semester so we got together a few times. Jade brought flowers over to my shop to wish me well.”

  Claire smiled. “Jade sounds like a nice person.”

  “She was always nice to me.” A soft smile lifted the corners of Maggie’s lips. “Some of the girls didn’t bother with me because I wasn’t in the top classes with them, but not Jade. She always treated me as an equal. She’d help me with math or writing a report. Jade always said being smart in school didn’t decide a person’s success. It was about knowing what you wanted and working hard to get it. She made me feel good.” Maggie’s face became serious. “You know what happened, right?”

  “Jade is missing,” Nicole said.

  Maggie nodded. “It doesn’t make sense. Jade is a great person. She’s nice to everyone. She wants to be a physical therapist so she can help people. How can she be missing? What could have happened?”

  Bear rubbed his head against Maggie’s leg.

  “When was the last time you saw Jade?” Claire asked.

  “The day she brought me the flowers.”

  “When was that?” Claire questioned.

  “The day before she disappeared.” Maggie’s eyes had misted over. “Jade came to the shop with the flowers. She asked if I had time to go for a walk on the beach. I didn’t. I had a million things to do. I was opening in two days. I should have gone with her. I should have left the shop for a while and gone for the walk.” Maggie brushed at her eyes. “What if I never see her again?”

  Claire’s heart clenched. “I’m sure Jade understood. You had to get the shop ready.”

  “Jade
said she’d try to come back to help me out,” Maggie said shaking her head. “She didn’t get the chance.”

  “Do you know Cori Ball?” Nicole asked.

  “Cori grew up in town. She was Jade’s roommate at Whittemore … until this year.”

  “Were you and Cori friends?” Claire asked.

  “Not really. Friendly, but not friends. Cori could be kind of snooty with me.”

  “Jade got along with her?”

  “Yeah, she did. Jade told me Cori had changed though. She could be very moody. Jade said whenever a guy talked to her, Cori would get all jealous. She wasn’t that easy to live with, I guess.”

  “Did Jade ever talk about trouble with Cori?” Nicole asked.

  “Not really trouble. More like she wished Cori would be more easy-going.”

  “You must know Kyle Vallins?” Claire asked.

  “Sure. He’s lived in town since he was little. Kyle is Jade’s boyfriend.”

  “Do you know him well?”

  “Pretty well. Some of us would hang out together. He liked to talk to me. People tell me I’m a good listener.”

  “Did the two of you date?”

  “Us? No. Never. It wasn’t like that. Kyle always liked Jade. Even in elementary school. He and I were always friends.”

  “Have you seen Kyle lately?” Claire asked.

  “He came by a couple of days after Jade went missing,” Maggie said. “I was working late at the shop, cleaning up, finishing some painting I didn’t get to. He’d had too much to drink.” The young woman took in a long breath. “He was crying, sobbing really. He was so upset about Jade. I was upset, too. We both cried together.”

  Bear let out a low growl and Claire looked down at him.

  “What did Kyle say when he was with you at the shop?” Nicole asked.

  Maggie’s forehead creased. “He went on and on asking why did this happen? Why did he have to lose Jade? Things like that. He was a real mess. He brought a six pack into the shop, but he was already drunk. It seemed like he didn’t hear a word I was saying to him. He just sobbed and sobbed. It was heartbreaking. I started drinking with him. I was already upset about Jade before Kyle came to the door. I was thinking how Jade would never see my place all finished. Jade always encouraged me, said I’d make a great businessperson. I would have liked her to see what was happening for me.”

  “Do you think you won’t see Jade again?” Claire asked gently.

  “I’d love to be wrong, but she’s been gone a week now.” Maggie’s lip quivered. “I don’t have much hope.” The young woman shifted her gaze out to the water. “You know, I’ve been dreaming about her. She’s under water, in the ocean. She can’t find her way to the top. She’s panicking. Then I wake up in a cold sweat. Why do I always dream she’s drowning in the ocean?”

  The image of Jade under the water unable to surface made Claire’s palms go clammy and her heart pound.

  Bear barked causing Claire to startle.

  “From what I’ve heard, Jade loved the beach and the sea,” Claire said, trying to keep her voice even and calm. “You associate Jade with the ocean. Somehow, she’s gone missing. Jade, the ocean, and the sense of distress mix together in your mind when you’re dreaming.”

  “It makes sense,” Maggie said. “I’d better get back. I always have a lot to do.”

  The women said goodbye and Maggie bent to pat the Corgis before heading back to the road.

  Claire turned and stared at the ocean before moving her gaze to the pier. “Why do I think that running into Maggie was a fortunate encounter?”

  Nicole narrowed her eyes. “Because it was.”

  16

  The late afternoon sky was slate gray and heavy with rain threatening to fall at any moment. Claire, Nicole, and Robby had just arrived after closing the chocolate shop for the day and they stepped out of the car wearing rain slickers and boots.

  “Of course, it couldn’t be sunny and warm like the other day when we were here.” Nicole closed the buttons on her raincoat.

  “Let’s hope we can find something that will help the case.” Robby adjusted his baseball cap as he looked over to the pier. “Should we wait for Mrs. Lyons or should we go look around?”

  “Let’s wait,” Claire said.

  After meeting Maggie Burns on the beach yesterday, Claire called Bonnie Lyons to talk about Jade.

  “I feel the town beach could hold a clue,” Claire had told Bonnie. “I don’t know why, but I’m drawn there. I think we should take a closer look around the pier.”

  The phone had been silent for so long that Claire thought the call had dropped, but then Bonnie made a sniffing sound and her voice was heavy when she said, “The beach has been on my mind, too. It’s not far from Whittemore or the convenience store where Jade was last seen. At night … in the fall … there wouldn’t be many people around. It would be easy to drive up and….”

  The woman didn’t need to finish the sentence for Claire to know what she meant. It wouldn’t be hard to dump a body there.

  “I’m going to the pier to look around,” Claire had said.

  “I’m going with you,” Bonnie said, and despite Claire’s concerns that it might be best for the woman not to be with them should they find something about Jade or maybe, find her body, Bonnie wasn’t having any of it. “I’m not going to sit here at home twiddling my fingers. I’m going along. I’m going to search for my daughter.”

  With a sigh, Claire had reluctantly agreed and they made arrangements to meet at the beach the next afternoon.

  Bonnie Lyons arrived wearing a knitted hat pulled down over her head, a yellow slicker, and work boots. Her face was tight as she shoved her hands into her pockets.

  “I thought we could walk the beach first,” Claire suggested, so the group spread out along the sand and began to move down the beach to the jetty.

  “Kyle Vallins grew up in Bayside,” Claire said to Bonnie who was walking along beside her. “Does he come to the beach much? Does he like the water?”

  Bonnie’s voice was hoarse. “He keeps kayaks by the pier on the harbor side. He can sail. He worked a few summers on the lobster boat tours taking guests out to see the process of lobstering. Kyle and Jade liked coming down to swim and boogie board.”

  The breeze kicked up and blew some sand into their faces.

  “Why are you asking about Kyle and the beach?” Bonnie looked sideways at Claire.

  “I’m trying to find out who might know things about the area.” Claire didn’t want to admit that Kyle was on her suspect list. “What about Jade’s former boyfriend, Blake? Did he come to this beach?”

  Bonnie said, “Blake didn’t grow up here. He wasn’t familiar with the town. He and Jade came down to swim a couple of times. Jade told me he wasn’t a very good swimmer.”

  “Do you know AJ Phelps?” Claire asked.

  “I know who the family is. We don’t exactly move in the same social circles. They live in Boston, but they also have a house on the hill overlooking the harbor. A mansion, actually. I’ve never met any of the Phelps family. They keep boats in the harbor, a speedboat, a sailboat … I think there’s a cabin cruiser, too. The whole family seems to know their way around boats. I’ve seen them heading in and out of the harbor.” Bonnie wiped some moisture from her cheeks. A heavy mist and fog was in the air which decreased the group’s visibility to a few feet in front of them. “Why are you asking about the Phelps family?”

  Claire didn’t want to give Bonnie a lot of details. “AJ knew Jade at school. He’s a senior at Whittemore, too.”

  “The three young men … are they suspects?” Bonnie’s tone was hard. “Kyle, too?”

  “Everyone is a suspect in my eyes,” Claire sighed. “I don’t have anything on the young men. I’m just covering bases and gathering information.”

  Bonnie bent and picked something up from the sand and after checking it, she tossed it back down. “I thought it might be a ring. Let’s move closer to the tide line.”

&nb
sp; The tide was high and huge waves crashed against the shore sending a cool mist into the air. Claire’s long hair was damp and dripping.

  “You think Jade went into the water?” Bonnie asked softly.

  Claire looked the woman in the eye. “I don’t know. If she did, she didn’t go voluntarily. I don’t have any strong reasons to be down here looking around. I don’t have any reasons to point the finger at one particular person. It’s just … I don’t know. I didn’t think it would hurt to look around even though I have no idea what I expect to find.”

  “I have the same feelings,” Bonnie admitted as she wiped at her eye. “Every time I come down here, I feel Jade. It’s probably because we spent so much time here, I remember all of our happy times. Being on this beach makes me feel close to her.”

  The group approached the jetty.

  “Do you want to walk out on it?” Robby had to raise his voice over the crashing waves and the wind that had picked up.

  Claire watched a few waves break over the far end of the jetty. “I think it’s too dangerous to go out there.”

  Bonnie moved closer to the jetty and hunched over looking at the nooks and crannies in the piled up rocks. The others did the same thing, but without climbing up on the jetty.

  Nicole sidled up to Claire. “This search freaks me out. I’m a nervous wreck. I want to find something that will help, but I do not want to find a body. Every time I think I see something, my heart stops. I don’t know how Bonnie can handle this.”

  The fog rolled in and obscured the pier from view. It was time to head in that direction.

  When the four of them got closer, Claire could make out the seaweed and old fishing nets wrapped up together and tucked around the base of the pier’s support columns. Some pieces of driftwood, an old, broken-up lobster trap, and various shells could be seen when the waves rolled in and out. Rain started and mixed with the fog and the spray off the ocean.