Clambake Murder: A Rocky Cove Culinary Cozy - Book 2 (6 page)

Becca
was standing in her front yard talking to the officer who had inspected her
house, and was trying desperately to keep from breaking down in front of him as
she described Poppy, when she saw Detective Reynolds muscling Hubert Finch into
the back of a police car. When the patrol car carrying Hubert pulled away from
the curb, Reynolds went back inside and came out a few moments later carrying
some sort of bundle in his arms. As he crossed the street, Becca shrieked with
relief and started running.

“I
thought you might be missing her,” the handsome detective smiled, handing Poppy
over to her weeping owner.

“Oh
my gosh, thank you so much Detective,” she cried, hugging a very disgruntled
feline to her chest. “But why was she over at Hubert’s? She must have run away
when someone broke into my house, I guess.”

“Ummm…not
exactly,” Reynolds replied. Before he could explain, Gramble came around the
side of Hubert’s house and headed over.

“We
got him?” Reynolds asked his partner.

Gramble
nodded. “Yep, we definitely got him. Spray paint cans, the missing cookware
from the clambake, items taken from the victim’s home before the fire, a jerry
can that used to be full of kerosene – we have everything we need.

Becca
was horrified. “Hubert Finch did all of those things? Why would he do something
like that?”

Detective
Reynolds responded. “It makes sense. As a person who had lost everything,
Hubert had nothing left to lose, but with the tidy sum that Foster offered, he
had everything to gain. If he chased you and the other neighbors out of town so
that Foster could build the resort and the condo complex, he’d be able to take
his money and make a new start somewhere else. Foster or Jenkins may have even
paid him to cause the mischief and swore him to secrecy. We’ll find out, you
can be certain of that.”

“I
bet he was the man with the heavy New England accent who called the newspaper
about the ruined clambake too. He knew what had happened because he was the one
who caused it. It all makes sense now,” Becca realized. “Wow, I’ve lived across
the street from Hubert for years, I knew his wife, it’s just so painful to
think that he’s capable of such terrible things.”

“People
are capable of all kinds of things that you’d never imagine when they get
desperate enough,” Reynolds observed grimly. “But at least it’s over now. You
can feel safe in your home again, and Poppy is where she belongs. I’ll run back
over to Hubert’s to get her food and bowls, and then you can finally rest
easy.”

“Thank
you so much, Detective. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. Sad, but relieved,”
Becca shook his hand gratefully.

“I
can only imagine,” he smiled.

The
City Council firmly rejected Foster Development’s request for a zoning change
after evidence was presented to suggest foul play. Hubert Finch had sung like a
canary once he was in custody, implicating Foster Development in general, and
Samuel Jenkins in particular, in a scheme to scare non-compliant residents from
their homes. Gareth Foster himself escaped unscathed, despite evidence which
suggested that he had attended high profile functions in town in order to
spread foul rumors about Becca’s catering business. Becca was still considering
bringing a civil suit against him for slander, ironic considering his threat to
do precisely that to her. True to his word, Simon Langworthy, Becca’s
ex-husband had actually done nothing wrong, and really was trying to be helpful
when he had warned her about Foster. Hubert had an unlikely accomplice, one of
the newest members of Becca’s kitchen staff, who told him when and where events
were going to happen, as well as times when Becca was either at home or at the
office, so that he knew his vandalism would not be interrupted. The staff
member was fired, and police were considering charging the young man with
malicious conspiracy.

Mrs.
Crestwood made a statement to the reporter from the Tribune, letting him know
that she had nothing but the highest praise for the way that Becca had come
through and saved her event, against all odds. Almost every one of the clients
who had cancelled, called back to re-book, and the season was busier than ever.

Becca
and Katie sat on the couch with a bottle of wine between them that was
disappearing at an alarming rate.

“All’s
well that ends well,” Katie proclaimed raising her glass.

“Indeed,”
Becca clinked her glass against her friend’s. “I’m going to miss Sally though.”

“Yeah…a
toast…to Sally, an awesome neighbor,” Katie raised her glass again.

“To
Sally.”

They
sipped their wine, lost in the moment and in their own thoughts, finally able
to relax after a very long and painful couple of months.

“Hey,
some good news though!” Becca remembered suddenly.

“Yeah?
What’s that?”

“We
may be catering a major event for a celebrity on the 4
^th
of July,”
she announced excitedly.

“A
celebrity? Who?” Katie sat forward.

“I
don’t know yet. I was contacted by an agency out of Los Angeles. Whoever it is
will be filming a movie in the area, and they want the best caterer on the East
Coast to make sure the stars are happy,” she explained.

“No
way!” she set her wine glass down and clapped her hands.

“Way!”
Becca laughed. “Aaaaaand…with the kind of budget that they mentioned, if we do
this, I may be able to open up a café as well as operating the catering
business.”

“Oh
my gosh, Becca, that’s awesome!” Katie gushed.

“It’ll
definitely be awesome for you,” she nodded. “Because if I open a café, you’ll
be completely in charge of the catering side of things.”

Her
friend’s eyes sparkled, already plotting, planning and cataloguing ideas for
things that she’d like to do with the catering business. Becca looked at her
fondly, glad that in this crazy thing called life, she was fortunate enough to
have great friends, a great business and a bright and promising future.

A letter from the Author

To each and every one of my Amazing readers:
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing
it.  Let me know what you think by leaving a review!

I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks so to stay
in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff)
Join my Book club
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Stay Curious,

Summer Prescott