Gunpowder Chowder (10 page)

Hannah made herself comfortable, suspecting Jack was the one who wanted to talk about what was on
his
mind, but she didn’t pry. Instead, she entertained him with her visit to the ub and Poo all which actually got a laugh from him.

“I warned you about that place.”

She nodded. “But I got some info about Vern having a girlfriend.”

Jack waved that information off with a flick of his wrist. “Everyone knew that. He and Kelley were as good as divorced anyway.”

Hannah leaned forward. “Did you know that’s why he rented the cottage from Caroline? That’s where they would rendezvous.”

“Odd. I never saw his car parked at the cottage.” Jack jumped up. “There’s another way in. It would involve a short walk, but a car, or even two, could easily be hidden from spying eyes.”

“Just what I want to hear. Now I’ll have to sleep with Caroline’s shotgun under my pillow. Only problem is, Pam took the gun.”

“Don’t worry so much.” Jack paced back and forth across his small living room. “Shall I walk you home?” he offered, revealing his own worries about Hannah’s safety.

Hannah took the hint. Jack wasn’t going to share anything but, at least, he provided a clue to why she never heard anyone drive to the cottage on her first night. That had been puzzling her. She never considered herself a sound sleeper but nothing disturbed that first night’s sleep. The crashing waves lulled her to sleep better than any sleeping pill and Nellie never barked until the gunshot in the morning. She felt a tiny bit better knowing they both didn’t sleep through the sound of a car driving right past her window. But dread also settled into her stomach knowing someone could sneak up on her unheard.

Nellie dashed through the open door, chasing shadows and boogeymen away before they made it the short distance to her cottage.

One more night before Cal would start gutting the place. It wasn’t too late, she thought. She could get a head start on cleaning out Caroline’s closets before climbing into her sleeping bag. It shouldn’t take too long. With a living room-dining room-kitchen area, and a small bedroom, how much stuff could someone accumulate?

Two hours later, Hannah had the answer to
that
question. Some assorted clothes that would mostly be donated to the local women’s shelter, a couple dozen books that Hannah would keep or recycle to her guests, and an old suitcase full of letters. The letters looked intriguing, but with her eyes getting heavy, Hannah decided they would have to wait for another day. She tucked that suitcase back inside the bedroom closet.

She climbed into her sleeping bag, patted the space next to her for Nellie to curl up on, closed her eyes, and was asleep in seconds.

The backup alarm of a truck jolted Hannah from a deep sleep. She shook her head, not sure where she even was for a couple of seconds. Not until Nellie woofed and ran to the door. A loud knocking got her moving fast. She tripped as she tried to step out of her sleeping bag, falling with a crash against a wooden chair.

“Are you all right in there, Hannah?”

“Hold on, I’m coming.” At least no one was around to see that clumsy maneuver.

Cal held out a steaming cup. “I wasn’t sure how you take your coffee, so I added a little cream but the sugar’s on the side if you want any.”

“Thanks. Cream and no sugar it is then.” Her phone beeped with a text message.
Where are you? Thought you were picking us up at 8!
“Uh oh, I’m in trouble. I have to pick up Ruby and Olivia and I’m late. Want me to bring back some breakfast for you?” She looked around her cottage. “I won’t be cooking anything here for a while.”

“Sure. There’s a diner in town. Okay food, well, adequate, decent prices. I’d recommend the breakfast burrito with extra salsa.”

Hannah pulled her jacket on. “Sounds good to me. Okay if I leave Nellie here with you?”

Cal was already back at his truck, lowering the tailgate. “Sure. If she gets in the way, I’ll call Jack to get her.”

Hannah slammed the door of Ruby’s rental car and headed into town. This was not a good way to start the day with Ruby. She was a person of strict routines and schedules, and being late didn’t work for her. Hannah sighed. She had to find out exactly how long Ruby was planning to hang around.

News trucks and reporters clogged the driveway into the Paradise Inn. Hannah maneuvered her way past the crowd waiting outside the office door, finally finding a spot to park. Without thinking that she could be a target for the cameras, she wound her way through the crowd to the stairs to find Ruby.

Climbing two steps at a time, she rushed toward room number twenty, annoyed that Ruby wasn’t waiting for her downstairs so they could escape the chaos quickly. A door opened, causing Hannah to jump sideways. Meg pushed a cleaning cart out to the hallway.

“What are you doing here?” Meg asked, pulling Hannah into the room she had just exited. “It’s crazy downstairs and your sister is in the thick of it. Get her out of here before she makes trouble for you.”

Hannah darted back downstairs, her eyes searching the crowd milling around. Sure enough, Ruby, with Olivia at her side, was smiling and chatting to one of the reporters.

“This can’t be good,” Hannah mumbled, just as Ruby’s eyes looked into hers. “I better see what she’s up to.”

Meg grabbed Hannah’s arm. “Wait. Don’t let them know you’re the new owner of Caroline’s Cottages or you won’t get a moment’s peace.”

“I’m afraid that ship may have already sailed.” Hannah hurried away before Meg could ask for an explanation.

Olivia rushed to Hannah’s side as soon as she made it to the bottom of the stairs. “Can we get breakfast now?” Olivia asked.

“You betcha, honey,” Hannah answered and took Olivia’s hand. “Let’s get your mom.”

Olivia skipped alongside Hannah. “Mommy has a new friend.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I don’t really like the lady. She didn’t even say hello to me.”

Ruby was walking toward Hannah with a newswomen at her side. “There you are, Hannah. I’ve been telling Missy Sharpe, all about how you found the body.”

Hannah clenched her jaw, staring daggers at Ruby. “Is that so?” She tried to maneuver Ruby away from the reporter and get her moving in the direction of the rental car.

Missy held her hand out to Hannah. “Yes. So nice to meet you. And Ruby will be working with me on the exclusive story.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?”

“My new job, Hannah,” Ruby explained, her voice rising with excitement. “Missy called her boss at the Coastal Chronical news channel and told him she needed a personal assistant and, well,” she shrugged and held her hands out, palms up, “one thing led to another and he said he would think about it.”

Hannah looked at her watch. It was eight thirty. “You texted me at eight. All this happened in the last half hour?”

Missy put her hand on Ruby’s back in a friendly but dominant way. “I’ll let you two sort this out. See you,” she checked her schedule on her phone, “at eleven? Does that work for you?”

“Perfect!” Ruby said as she basically pushed Hannah and Olivia toward the car.

Chapter 12

“Before you say anything, Hannah—“

“Say anything? No, you can’t just waltz into my life and take over like you always do.” Hannah’s hand flew to cover her mouth. She was beyond furious but also angry at herself for lashing out at her sister.

Olivia looked up at Hannah with her big brown eyes. “Why are you two arguing? I want you to get along so we can live near you.”

All the built up anger inside Hannah melted with that comment. Hannah picked Olivia up and hugged her. “Your right,” Hannah glanced over the top of Olivia’s head to look at Ruby. “We can figure this out like big people.”

Ruby let out a sigh. “I need this job. I’ve got nothing. And if I live near you, it’s a win-win for Olivia. Right?”

Hannah nodded.

“Ready for breakfast?” Ruby held her hand out for the car keys. “My treat.”

“I’ll treat today since I offered to pick up something for Cal, too. You can treat after you get your first paycheck. Okay?” Hannah held her breath, hoping Ruby wouldn’t be insulted. She suspected Ruby didn’t have much money, and getting into credit card debt, again, wouldn’t help Ruby or Olivia. Or Hannah, for that matter, since she would be the one to bail her out.

“Alright, but I will hold you to that.” Ruby slid behind the wheel. “Which way?”

They parked in front of Shipwreck Diner, chatting around the looming conflict of Ruby’s employment while they waited for breakfast burritos to go.

On the way back to Hannah’s cottage, Ruby asked, “Can Olivia stay with you while I have my meeting?”

Of course Hannah wanted to spend time with Olivia but, at the moment, she had a million and one things on her plate.

Ruby hastily added while looking in the rearview mirror, “You won’t be any trouble, right, sweetie?”

Hannah knew when she’d met her match. Ruby always could manipulate situations to make it work for her. It was impossible for Hannah to ignore Olivia’s innocent and hopeful eyes. She turned her head to look at Olivia in the back seat. “You can help me with Nellie. How does that sound?”

Olivia nodded her head vigorously. “And can we visit Cal on his boat? And Theodore?”

“Cal is working on my cottage today. Maybe when he takes a break, you can ask him about Theodore.”

Ruby remembered how to get back to the cottage without any help from Hannah. “I’ll drop you two off and head back to the Inn to get ready for my meeting.” She blew a kiss to Olivia. “Wish me luck, Hannah. This could be my big chance to get my dream job as a T.V. reporter’s personal assistant. The story about the murder is airing later today.”

Hannah faked a smile, knowing Ruby was too involved in her own moment to notice. Poor Ruby, she always got her hopes up so high only to be disappointed time after time. Maybe this would be different, but Hannah had a sinking feeling that Ruby was headed into more than she could handle.

“Ready for a break?” Hannah called to Cal and held up the bag of food. She took in the sight of his lean body, carpenter belt, tousled hair, and dust speckled clothes. She could get used to this view, she thought, as her lips lifted into a half-smile.

He unbuckled his carpenter belt and tossed it onto the tailgate of his truck. “I see you brought another helper.” Cal beamed at Olivia. “And some nourishment. How about we sit and enjoy the view while we eat.”

Olivia was already off after Nellie. Hannah and Cal made themselves comfortable and dug into the burritos.

After wolfing down half of his breakfast, Cal asked, “What’s going on with Ruby? She seemed to be in a big rush to get somewhere.”

Hannah shook her head and rolled her eyes. “You noticed?” She ate in silence, not sure what she wanted to share with Cal. She peeked at him from the corner of her eyes. He was relaxed, watching Olivia. It would be nice to have someone to unload on.

“I’m not too happy with her at the moment.” Hannah finally broke the silence.

Cal lifted an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“She’s talking to someone named Missy Sharpe from the Coastal Chronicle T.V. show. Have you heard of her?”

“Talking about what? That woman is a shark, always after blood to boost her career up the ladder. There’s nothing wrong with trying to get ahead, but Missy, well, she’ll use anyone and anything to get what she wants.”

Hannah finished her burrito and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “I forgot to get some napkins, want me to look inside for some?” She started to push herself up off the chair.

Cal’s hand shot out to stop her. “Are you kidding? Look at me?” He pointed to various stains on his clothes. “Paint, grease, pine pitch, I don’t even know what this is.” He looked closer at the stain. “I think it’s blood. Must be when I cut myself this morning. Believe me, I can live without a napkin. But thanks for offering.”

Olivia climbed into the chair next to Cal, and Nellie flopped in the sand at her feet. “I’m hungry,” she announced.

Hannah handed the last burrito to Olivia. “Try not to make a big mess.”

“You haven’t filled me in on your sister,” Cal said.

Olivia piped up. “Mommy has a job offer. I didn’t like the lady she was talking to very much but,” Olivia shrugged, “I hope she gets the job so we can stay here with you and Hannah. And Nellie,” she quickly added.

Cal’s brows drew together. “A job?”

“Yeah, Ruby has worked with reporters in the past. I think she shared a bit too much with Missy, in her zeal for impressing her and hoping for a job.”

Before Cal had a chance to respond, a shout interrupted their conversation. “Cal, hurry.”

Cal jumped from his chair and rushed toward cottage number four with Hannah following behind. Monica’s wheelchair was tilting sideways, one wheel sinking into the soft sand.

“What are you doing riding over here by yourself? Why didn’t you call me?” Cal heaved the wheelchair backward onto firmer ground.

“I did call,” Monica said. “Why didn’t you answer?” She glared in Hannah’s direction, clearly blaming her for monopolizing Cal’s time.

Cal patted his empty back pocket. “My phone must have slipped out. It’s probably in my truck. Sorry about that. Did you come along the beach?”