“I don’t know about that. Sometimes I think I’m good at picking up on clues, and other times I don’t think so. For example, you’re a mystery that I can’t solve.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it seems like we’ve become partners in solving this, but I still know very little about you. You’re very secretive.”
“I don’t mean to be. I don’t like advertising my personal business to everyone, but I don’t mean to keep secrets from the people who are becoming my friends. Is there something you’re wondering about specifically? Why I moved to New Jersey when I seem to hate it?”
Lydia took out her keys and moved closer to her door. “I did wonder that, but I try not to dwell on it. You not liking Jersey is a bit of a sore spot for me. I don’t like when anyone dislikes it. But I guess what most people in town are wondering is if you’re single.”
“Most people?” Daniel asked, crossing his arms. “There are big discussions about this?”
“At the hair salon,” Lydia said. She laughed to cover up how uncomfortable she was starting to feel. She unlocked her door and prepared to say goodnight.
“If you really want to know…” Daniel began.
“Keys!” Lydia exclaimed. Part of her was annoyed that she had cut Daniel off when she did want to hear the answer to that question, but the other part was too excited about her discovery.
“Keys?”
“Leo told me what was in Chase’s pockets. It was his wallet and phone, but there weren’t any keys there.”
Daniel smiled. “And that doesn’t seem likely around here. People travel with their house and car keys when they go out.”
“Sadie also told me that she gave Chase a key to her Surf Shop so he could get his board. He would bring his keys to the beach.”
“So, what happened to the keys that night?”
“I think they either fell in the ocean or the killer has them,” said Lydia.
Daniel nodded. It looked as if this had ignited some ideas in his head. He gave her a small smile. “I’m looking forward to continuing our investigation tomorrow.”
He walked away, and Lydia headed inside her house. A yawning Sunny came out to greet her. The dog stared up at her, wondering why she had been gone so long.
“Let’s have a late night snack,” Lydia suggested. “I have a few things I want to think over before I’ll be able to get any sleep.”
“Snack” and “sleep” were Sunny’s two favorite words. She wagged her bottom appreciatively.
The next morning, Lydia hurried over to the taffy shop. She made sure that they were well-stocked on all of their flavors and grabbed a few double chocolate taffies for the road. Jeff assured her that he would be all right manning the shop while she investigated what happened to Chase.
“It’s cloudy out, so I don’t think there will be too many people wandering the boardwalk,” he said. “And I want you to catch Chase’s killer. Maybe that will help me want to surf again.”
“I hope so,” Lydia said. “I don’t want you to miss out on something you love.”
“I tried to take one of those baby waves you suggested yesterday after we closed.” Jeff frowned. “But I couldn’t do it. I started imagining drowning like Chase did when my feet hit the water.”
“I’m glad you tried.”
Jeff smiled and wished her well with her search. Then, Lydia went to meet Daniel on the boardwalk. He said that he was pretty sure that he recognized Jenna and that she worked at a nearby smoothie stand. They were hoping to catch her there.
“I like that interviewing this suspect also means that we can get a snack,” Lydia joked. “I like smoothies, and sometimes the combinations of fruit flavors gives me ideas for future taffy recipes.”
“Do you get your inspiration from many different places?” asked Daniel.
Lydia nodded. “From all sorts of things. Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of making a lifeguard taffy. I could make it red and white like your uniform.”
“But, what would it taste like?”
“That’s what’s been stumping me. I’d like to make it beachy if I can.”
“Just as long as it doesn’t taste like seaweed and sunscreen.”
Lydia smiled. She continued walking at his side as they passed the boardwalk shops, falling into a rhythm with their steps.
“Last night I accidentally cut you off when you were about to say—“ Lydia began.
However, this time it was her turn to be interrupted. Daniel pointed ahead. “That’s the smoothie shop. And it looks like Jenna is at the counter.”
Truthfully, Lydia was annoyed that they had reached the shop before she could ask Daniel to resume what he was about to say about his relationship status. However, aloud she said that she was glad that the day was overcast and there were no other customers out to buy smoothies.
“Good morning. Our special right now is Cherry Berry.” Jenna paused. “Wait a second. I know you two. You came to our mini memorial for Chase.”
“That’s right,” Daniel said. “Thank you again for letting me join in.”
“We’re sorry that we crashed the gathering,” said Lydia. “Everyone seemed pretty upset when that other lady did.”
“Don’t even get me started on Nicole,” Jenna said angrily. She grabbed two cups a little too forcefully. “Now, what can I get you?”
Lydia and Daniel each politely ordered a smoothie. With the blenders roaring, it was impossible to ask any more questions. However, as soon as they were handed their drinks, Lydia spoke up again.
“Thank you. This looks delicious. And I am sorry that I brought up Nicole. I didn’t mean to upset you. That’s the way it seems to go, isn’t it? When you want to avoid a topic, someone always manages to bring it up. I just wanted to say that I was glad our arrival last night didn’t have the same effect as hers.”
Jenna was shaking her head in annoyance. “She had some nerve showing her face there.”
“Did she have something to do with Chase’s drowning?” asked Daniel.
Jenna’s eyes widened in shock. “No. But what she did was awful. She made Chase cheat on me.”
“You were dating Chase?” Lydia asked. “No one mentioned that at the gathering.”
“I don’t think the gang knew exactly where we stood. Chase and I had been dating for a while. He cheated on me with that terrible Nicole. Then, he said he felt really bad about it. He wanted to reconcile. But I was still mad at him. And I’m still mad at him about that. But now he’s dead. And I miss him so much. I don’t know what to make of my conflicting feelings.”
Jenna ripped a piece of paper towel and used it to dab her eyes that were starting to water behind her glasses.
“This must be so difficult for you,” Lydia said.
Jenna nodded as she sniffled. “Everything is so complicated. I wish Chase were still here to help sort it out. But he decided to go swimming that night and died? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Do you think he was with someone then?” asked Lydia.
Jenna stopped crying as an angry look came across her face. “Do you mean was he with Nicole that night? He probably was. She had a way of manipulating him. I wouldn’t be surprised if she convinced him to do something stupid.”
“And dangerous?” asked Daniel.
“Now I just sound bitter,” Jenna said. “But yes. I could see this all being Nicole’s fault.”
Daniel and Lydia exchanged a look. They knew who they wanted to talk to next.
10
The Other Woman
Most of what else Jenna told them about Nicole was just a series of insults. However, she did also tell them that Nicole had a boat and she would most likely be near it in the afternoon.
After they finished their smoothies, Daniel offered to drive them out to the marina so they could have a word with Nicole. Lydia was eager to continue with their questioning and agreed.
“This is embarrassing,” Daniel said as he started up his silver pickup truck o
nce they were seated.
Lydia wondered what he could be talking about. She had never seen a cleaner vehicle. Her car always managed to get sand on the floor, and there were always a few stray taffy wrappers around. There were also blankets and chew toys in the back seat from when she traveled with Sunny, and her trunk was filled with beach supplies.
“Do you mind if we stop for gas on our way there?” he asked.
“Not at all. Thank you for driving.”
They left the parking lot near the boardwalk and headed further inland. As they drove past the beach houses and businesses, they discussed their interaction with Jenna.
“There’s really no evidence,” Lydia pointed out. “Jenna might want to blame Nicole because she was the other woman. There might be no basis for the claim.”
“Right now his friends all seem to think that the manner of his death was odd, but they’re not jumping to the conclusion that it was murder,” said Daniel.
“If he really was afraid of the dark, then I don’t think that Chase would have gone swimming that night alone.”
“Your brother might argue that the alcohol might have helped him get over this fear.”
“I think it’s more likely that he was with someone the night he died,” Lydia said. “And the fact that no one reported that something happened that night makes me think that it wasn’t just an accident.”
“The competition doesn’t seem like as likely a motive as we originally thought. At least based on the way they were all acting. No one jumped at the chance to take Chase’s spot.”
“Unless they were acting that way in case anyone was suspicious about the death.”
“True,” Daniel said with a nod before driving his truck towards the gas station and parking. “And we know now that Chase was involved in some romantic complications. That’s often a motive for murder.”
“What are you doing?” Lydia asked.
Daniel paused. He was beginning to climb out of the pickup after turning off the engine. “Getting gas?”
“We’re in Jersey,” Lydia teased. “We don’t pump our own gas.”
Daniel settled back into the car and re-buckled his seatbelt. “That’s right. I keep forgetting where I am.”
The gas station attendant walked up to their window, and Daniel asked him to fill the tank.
Lydia decided to test asking a personal question. “Where did you live before you came here?”
“Most recently – North Carolina.”
“Were you a lifeguard there too?”
“Not exactly.”
Lydia stopped her questions. She wasn’t getting very thorough answers. It seemed Daniel had slipped back into his secretive mode. It was strange how sometimes he was willing to open up to her and other times not at all. Was his past something that he needed to hide? Was he not just a handsome, mysterious, stranger to Ocean Point? Was there something dark that he needed to keep secret?
Daniel paid the attendant. He hesitated before starting the ignition.
“Is everything okay? You have a strange look on your face. Did I break another NJ taboo?”
“No,” Lydia assured him. “I just had some questions running through my mind.”
“I have several things that I want to ask Nicole too.”
He started the truck, and they continued to the marina. There were a few people working on their boats, but it wasn’t bustling. Daniel and Lydia walked down the pier, looking for signs of Nicole.
They found her on a boat called Star Struck. It looked like it could seat about a half dozen people comfortably and was decorated with a starfish theme. Nicole was scrubbing the railing, looking like she was working off some frustration as she did so.
“Nicole?” Lydia asked.
Nicole stopped and looked up at them. “Yes. Who are you?”
“I’m Lydia, and this is Daniel. I know this is out of the blue, but we just wanted to apologize. We were at the gathering for Chase’s memory last night. We didn’t know everything that was going on, but we wanted to say that we were sorry for the way you were treated.”
“You knew Chase?” Nicole asked.
“Daniel is the one who tried to save him.”
“I wanted to pay my respects with his friends,” Daniel said. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to.”
Nicole set down her cleaning rag. “That’s really nice of you to say. Do you want to come on board for a moment?”
Lydia and Daniel thanked her and accepted the offer. Nicole offered a hand to Lydia.
“Be careful getting on.”
Lydia accepted the help and climbed aboard. She and Daniel took a seat and Nicole dropped into a cushioned spot across from them.
“It’s a beautiful boat,” Lydia said, gesturing to all the decorations that had been added to give it a personal touch. There were colorful starfish painted on different surfaces, and there were some small metal starfish near the ledge where they entered. A large starfish statue wearing sunglasses was adorned near the helm.
“Thanks. Chase always appreciated my décor.”
“He was on your boat?” asked Daniel.
“That’s how we moved from being friends to something more,” Nicole said. “He enjoyed going out on the water with me. Of course, he hadn’t visited me in a while. Jenna made sure of that.”
“Jenna was jealous?” asked Lydia.
“You saw that she couldn’t even be in the same room as me! But it’s ridiculous. They’re trying to make me out to be the bad guy, but it’s just to cover their guilt.”
“Guilt?” Daniel asked, casting an eye toward Lydia.
“That’s right. Maybe Chase and I started seeing each other before he officially broke it off with Jenna. But Jenna was seeing Logan at the same time too. It’s pretty unfair to say I’m the only one at fault.”
“Jenna was dating Logan too?” Lydia said with surprise. “His best friend?”
Nicole nodded. “Logan has a boat here too. I’d been pretty suspicious about it when I saw him bring Jenna here. But I didn’t want to be the one to tell Chase. I didn’t want him to think I was jealous. But I know that he knew about it. He called me.”
“When?” Lydia asked, leaning forward.
“The night he died,” Nicole said, looking out toward the water. “Things had been a little complicated between us since Jenna found out about me. Chase felt guilty. But that night he called and said that he found out about Logan and Jenna. He was pretty upset.”
“Did he say what he planned to do?” asked Daniel. “Confront them?”
“Well, he was debating what to do. He said he also lost his keys and was locked out of his house. I told him he should calm down before he did anything.”
“Did you see him in person that night?” asked Lydia.
Nicole shook her head. “I didn’t want to see him until he had things figured out. I wanted him to choose me outright. You can understand that, right?”
“Sure,” said Lydia. “I just wish I understood what led to Chase’s drowning.”
“That was an accident, wasn’t it?” asked Nicole. “But I guess with the way I’m talking you might suspect there was something more to his death. You’ll think Logan killed him for his spot in the competition next. You did hear about that, right?”
“We did. That’s what Chase’s friends were discussing at the bar that night,” Daniel said. “But no one was jumping at the opportunity.”
“That’s strange,” said Nicole. “Because Chase and Logan had been fighting for the opportunity. Chase told me that Logan was upset that he had been beaten.”
“Then, why is he avoiding the competition now?” asked Lydia.
Nicole shrugged. “Nothing seems to make sense anymore. Best friends betraying each other, and the best surfer in town accidentally drowning.”
Lydia uttered some words of comfort, but inwardly she was determined to try and make sense of it all. She was now pretty sure that someone involved in this love triangle had murdered Chase Harris, and she was de
termined to find out who it was.
11
The Best Friend’s Boat
“Are you thinking what I am?” Lydia asked Daniel as they walked down the pier and away from Nicole.
“That it would be advantageous to talk to Logan? And you’re crossing your fingers that he’ll be near his boat too?”
Double Chocolate and Death Page 5