A Fishy Dish (A Hooked & Cooked Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) (6 page)

“They have to be connected,” Sean responded. “Matt White and Gavin Abbott have a history.” He swiveled around on his stool. “Didn’t you see them argue at The Chowder House?”

Samantha rolled her eyes. “Of course we saw that. Everyone at the restaurant witnessed that spectacle.” She shoved a big piece of fried haddock into her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and continued, “What’s the history between them?”

Hannah pushed the final beer in front of Sean. She hoped it would help to keep his tongue loose. They might not get another chance to pick his brain.

He smiled at Hannah. “Thank you.” He looked her up and down. “You’re kinda young to own a nice place like this. What’s your story?” he deftly changed the subject.

Hannah felt her skin crawl under his gaze. He was the complete opposite of her taste in men with his pasty skin, khaki pants with a perfect crease down the front of each leg, and, the worst part, his long sleeve button shirt was buttoned all the way to the top. Eww.

He was staying at a beachside cottage, for crying out loud, and he was dressed like he was headed to an office. And one more strike against him—he wore so much cologne it almost drowned out the ever-present briny ocean smell.

And one more thing, which was the most important of all, she had a crush on Cal Murphy—the exact opposite of Sean Payne.

Cal Murphy, one of the first people she met after she inherited her Great Aunt Caroline’s business. Cal Murphy, who helped her bring the cottages and snack bar into the modern era. Cal Murphy, tall, sun-bleached hair, and eyes that matched the ocean.

“So?” Sean repeated without taking his eyes off Hannah’s face.

“Interesting story,” Meg said, saving Hannah from Sean’s intense stare. “After Hannah’s Great Aunt Caroline died, she left this paradise to Hannah.
But
, she decided to stick around to make sure Hannah could manage on her own.” Meg shrugged. “Caroline shows up once in a while to help out with whatever’s happening. Like this murder. I suspect Caroline is following everything and will float in at some point.”

Sean took off his glasses. He buffed them with a corner of his shirt. “You’re kidding, right? I don’t hold any stock in all that voodoo stuff.” He slipped his glasses back on and met Meg’s unwavering gaze.

Samantha poked Sean in his side, and everyone was rewarded with the screech of a schoolgirl being chased on the playground by the boy she thinks is cute. Sean nearly fell off his stool in surprise at Samantha’s poke, and maybe even the sound that came from his mouth.

The others howled with laughter.

“Gotcha,” Samantha said as she wiped laughter-tears from her eyes.

Meg finished cleaning up the mess from frying the fish. “I’ve got an early start tomorrow. Jack? Will you give me a ride home now? Please?”

“Love to. I guess I’ll have to pick you up in the morning, too. Otherwise, The Fishy Dish will have a long line of unhappy—and hungry—customers. Especially since you’re the only fish joint in town for the foreseeable future.”

Meg and Jack left together, arguing about the pickup time.

Hannah gave Samantha a look that she hoped the older woman understood to mean:
don’t you dare leave me alone with this nerdy guy or I’ll blow your cover
.

“Sean,” Samantha said. Hannah sent her a silent thank you. “What’s the history between Matt White and Gavin Abbott? You started to talk about it before we got sidetracked with talk of ghosts.”

He looked around the small dining area in The Fishy Dish. Did he think there were spies hiding in the corner? Or Great Aunt Caroline’s ghost? He lowered his voice, just in case. “Years ago, something happened between Gavin Abbott and Matt White’s sister, Jan. The details were sealed as a term of the settlement and Jan disappeared. I’m sure you can fill in the blanks as well as I can. Now, flash forward twenty years. Matt’s daughter, Sally, decides to work for Matt’s old enemy and all those emotions are brought right back to the forefront for him. If he thinks Gavin had anything to do with Sally’s disappearance, who knows what Matt might do?”

“Murder?” Hannah whispered.

“Murder.” Sean nodded. He tilted his bottle up and drained the malty liquid. “Thanks for the food and beer. I’ll be sure to give your place a plug in my article.” He winked when he looked at Hannah before he walked out of The Fishy Dish and headed up the path to Cottage Four.

Hannah raised her eyebrows at Samantha. “If he’s right, the police have the wrong guy in custody since Matt White is in Cottage Two.”

“Or they didn’t have enough evidence to hold him,” Samantha said.

Chapter 7

The sound of Nellie’s nails clicking across the floor of Hannah’s apartment Friday morning brought her halfway to consciousness.

The smooth-as-melted-chocolate voice of Cal Murphy talking to Nellie jolted both of Hannah’s eyes wide open. She grabbed the first two items of clothing her fingers touched, stepping into the jeans and pulling a comfy shirt over her head before she followed Nellie to the main room of her cottage.

Cal laughed, smile lines transforming his eyes into those she looked forward to seeing every day.

Hannah looked down at what she had just pulled over her head. “Right. I was looking through Great Aunt Caroline’s old trunk and kind of liked this shirt.”

“
I’m really a Mermaid
?” Cal read. “Hmmm. It most definitely works better on you than it did on Caroline.” He plopped down on Hannah’s couch. Nellie sat patiently at his feet while Cal dug around in the pocket of his work pants and retrieved a bone. “Is this what you want, Nellie girl?”

Nellie held one paw up.

“Good enough.” Cal gave her the treat. He eyed Hannah. “What trick do you have for the treat I brought for
you
?”

Hannah sat and pulled her silly t-shirt as far down as possible. “What did you bring? Then maybe we can negotiate.” She tilted her head, crossed her legs, and grinned an
I dare you to ask me to beg
look.

He chuckled. “It’s on the table. What happened around here while I was gone? I can feel an electricity in the air telling me I’ve missed a lot of something.”

Hannah opened the bag Cal pointed to. She closed her eyes, bent her head, and inhaled deeply. “Ahh, cider donuts. You know me too well.” Her fingers daintily extracted a sugarcoated delicacy and her mouth chomped a huge bite, turning the fat round treat into a
C
.

“And coffee.”

Hannah brought a coffee and donut to Cal and sat opposite with her own. It disappeared in three more bites. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and inhaled the toasty aroma of the warm drink, then set it on the coffee table.

“Here’s the short version: Sally White is missing and there’s a vigil for her tonight—there is bound to be a lot of drama. Gavin Abbott, owner of the new Chowder House restaurant was murdered yesterday—no one seems to be particularly upset but several people think the two tragedies are connected. I have
interesting
, to say the least, guests in the cottages.” She paused. “And, how were
your
last couple of days?” She wiped her hands together and wished it were as easy to vanquish big problems, as it was to remove sugar from the palms of her hands.

Cal’s eyes grew bigger with each revelation. “My days were quiet, peaceful, and I left the fish I caught with Meg. She kissed me on both cheeks.” He tilted his head and waited for, what Hannah assumed, was a similar treatment from her.

She was happy to oblige.

“Who are your guests? Let’s start there since something tells me there’s a good chance they could be connected to the other events.”

Hannah brought the bag of donuts to the coffee table. “No point in getting up again,” she explained. She extracted a second donut, devouring it just as quickly as the first. She licked the sugar off her fingers.

“Sally White’s parents, Matt and Leah, are staying in Cottage Two. She’s mousey and he’s a volcano about to explode. Sean Payne—”

Cal interrupted, “Payne? Are you serious? Let me guess.” He chuckled. “I picture anyone with that last name wearing glasses, is a know it all, and hates the beach.”

Hannah laughed. “That’s good. I don’t know about hating the beach, but his skin is so pasty white that he would burn to a crisp in five minutes on the beaches of Hooks Harbor. He’s in Cottage Four.” Hannah admired Cal’s tanned skin, which contrasted nicely with his sun-bleached hair.

“How about Cottage Three?”

Hannah leaned forward. “An old friend of Great Aunt Caroline’s. Can you believe it?”

“Of course. Seems fitting that your great aunt manages to show up in some form every time there’s anything interesting going on.”

“Her name’s Samantha Featherstone. But get this; she was a private eye and went by the name of Sam Stone.”

Cal slapped his leg. “Huh. That sounds somewhat far-fetched. What’s
she
doing here?”

“She’s trying to find Sally White. Don’t blow her cover.”

Cal nodded. “A missing girl’s devastated parents. A private eye. And what’s the deal with Mr. Payne in the neck?”

Hannah laughed. “I never said that.”

“Right. But you also didn’t deny it. What’s his story?”

“He’s writing a series for the paper on missing children. Sally White is his last case.”

Cal rubbed the stubble on his chin. Hannah’s mind wandered as she wondered how scratchy it would feel on her face.

“And you are involved . . . how?”

“I’m not involved. Well, maybe a little. I’m intrigued to see how Samantha puts everything together. Without pissing Deputy Pam Larson off.”

Cal stretched his arms over his head and arched his back. “I better get over to your sister’s place. I promised Ruby I’d get her addition done before Olivia was out of school for the summer. I’ve missed that deadline and she is not happy with me at the moment.”

“Promise to take Olivia on your boat and Ruby will forgive you. By the way, if you come back for lunch, don’t be surprised if you have to wait in line. I’m expecting a crowd.”

“And how is Meg handling all the customers at The Fishy Dish?”

Hannah rolled her eyes in answer.

“That bad?”

Hannah leaned forward. “And I just discovered, by accident, that Meg and Jerry Sewall, you know the guy that has the wholesale fish business?”

Cal nodded.

“They’re dating.”

“Is that creating a conflict for you?”

“Not yet. As a matter of fact, it sounds like it’s helping. Meg told me that Jerry gives me a ten percent discount.”

Cal finally pushed himself off the sofa. “I’m surprised to hear that. The scuttlebutt around town is that Jerry is in a bit of financial trouble. He over invested on his new truck and warehouse. No harm in keeping a close eye on his invoices to catch any mistakes. Either intentional or not, you don’t want to be throwing money away.”

“Thanks for the advice, but not something I’ll mention to Meg. He seems like a nice enough guy. I can sympathize with his problem; it’s not easy for us small business owners. I hope he gets his finances straightened out.”

“Hey,” Cal playfully punched Hannah’s shoulder, “I hope you aren’t implying that I overcharge you for
my
work?”

Hannah’s thumb and forefinger stroked her chin. “Now that you mention it . . .” She couldn’t keep a straight face. “No, I wouldn’t even be open for business if it wasn’t for all your hard work.”

Their eyes met and Hannah’s heart fluttered like a seagull’s wings in a storm.

“Thanks. Dinner on my boat tonight?”

“Sure, before the vigil for Sally White.”

They walked out of Hannah’s cottage with her shoulder brushing against his arm. “Ask Ruby if she could start helping out in The Fishy Dish. Jack and Nellie will keep an eye on Olivia. At least, I’m assuming Jack will say yes after I ask him.”

Cal laughed. “I’ll tell Ruby that The Fishy Dish is the perfect place to meet someone tall, dark, and handsome.”

Samantha stopped in front of Hannah’s cottage, interrupting their conversation. A wide-brimmed straw sunhat shaded her face, and bright blue capris poked from beneath a Hawaiian style man’s shirt.

“Ooo, you are a ruggedly handsome sight for these old eyes. Did you just arrive in town for the vigil?” Samantha asked. Her eyes twinkled with delightful playfulness at Cal.

“And you, young lady, look like you’re ready for an outing,” Cal said with his arm cocked for Samantha to hold onto. “I can escort you to your car, if you’d like.”

Samantha wiggled her shoulders and giggled like a schoolgirl. “Hannah, this one’s a keeper.”

“Samantha, meet my . . . friend, Cal Murphy. And you want to know something else about Cal?” Hannah asked Samantha. “He lives on a boat. At the Bayside Marina, right here in Hooks Harbor.”

Samantha’s free hand covered her bosom. “How romantic is that?”

Cal actually had a blush peeking over his tanned cheeks. “You could join us—me and Hannah—for dinner tonight if you’d like.”

“That sounds wonderful but I’d hate to butt in,” Samantha politely replied.