Gunpowder Chowder (13 page)

The air was buzzing with the sound of everyone talking at once. Missy smirked into the camera as she babbled on about the town of Hooks Harbor and speculated on where Caroline Holiday could be hiding out.

The last thing Hannah heard was Missy suggesting that Caroline was staying right under everyone’s noses in one of the cottages behind them. She turned and pointed at Hannah’s cottage. “Look at all the work going on. Is there a secret room for her to hide in? Why haven’t the police investigated this turn of events? Is everyone in this town conspiring to hide and protect a murderer? Let’s see if we can get an answer from the,” Missy put her fingers up in air quotes, “new owner.”

Hannah tried to back away from the microphone that Missy pushed into her face. “What’s your input on this exciting theory, Ms. Holiday? Did you actually see the body of Caroline Holiday to confirm she is truly dead?”

“I can’t say I did, Ms.—what is your last name? I believe someone told me it’s
Shark
?” Hannah asked with a flutter of her eyelashes, feigning innocence. Even if she didn’t know Jack’s plan, she could play along and add to the drama.

“It’s Missy
Sharpe
, with a
P
, to clear up
that
misinformation.” A muscle in her jaw twitched as she scrutinized Hannah with a piercing stare. “Mr. Jackson has certainly offered an interesting and clever new theory as to what happened,” she pointed to Hannah’s cottages, “right behind us and right under your nose. How convenient that you were sleeping a mere few hundred feet away from the murder but never saw anyone.”

“You mean the ghost of my Great Aunt Caroline carrying her shotgun in a white gauzy nightgown?” Hannah floated her arms around in a ghostly manner.

“No. I mean Caroline Holiday, alive and kicking and out for revenge.”

Hannah opened her mouth to throw another zinger at Missy but she moved away from Hannah, obviously loving having the spotlight on her and not wanting to risk another unexpected attack of sarcasm from Hannah.

Jack cozied up to Missy and smiled from ear to ear. He looked everywhere but at Hannah until Missy pushed him away from the camera. She walked off to the side with a self-satisfied grin. Then he winked at Hannah and followed Missy.

What now? Hannah wondered. She felt someone tap her shoulder.

“What is Jack doing?” Cal bent down and whispered in her ear. “Has he lost his mind?”

“He has a plan. I don’t quite understand it yet, but one thing I’m sure of, it’s going to get a lot of attention.”

Hannah finally looked at Ruby who was glued to her spot, her mouth hanging open and her face pale as the ocean foam.

“I better do some damage control before Ruby dies from the shock she’s going through.” Hannah pulled Olivia along and maneuvered Ruby away from all the commotion.

“Close your mouth and smile, just in case anyone is watching us.” Hannah tucked a few stray hairs behind Ruby’s ear and whispered to her, “Don’t expect me to explain what’s going on because I don’t know, but we’re going to play along with Jack’s plan. With some luck, it will work out in your benefit.”

Ruby’s eyes blinked three times. She closed her mouth and picked Olivia up. “And here I was, hoping
you
had a clue. Caroline is the murderer? Who came up with that cockamamie idea?”

Hannah laughed as if Ruby had just told her the funniest joke. “Your new friend Missy
Shark
took it hook, line, and sinker. My guess is, Jack is trying to make her look like a complete idiot on camera.” Hannah took a quick glance in Missy’s direction. “I think it’s working.”

To add more drama to the already bizarre experience, Officer Larson pulled up to the crowd of gawkers. With a flash of her badge, she forcefully encouraged the onlookers to move along and clear the street. The crowd dispersed, leaving only Missy and her crew.

Pam, with her ‘don’t mess with me’ look on her face, approached Missy. “Time to pack up. You’re trucks are blocking the street.” She lifted her arm to look at her watch. “Five minutes and I want you out of here.”

Missy whined in Pam’s face, “But we’re waiting for Caroline Holiday to show up. I promised my viewers an exclusive.”

“Four minutes.”

“How about we move off to the side?”

“Three minutes.”

Missy huffed and stomped off, rounding up her crew. They loaded up their equipment and drove off. Missy glared at Pam through the passenger window.

Pam, with her hand on her hips, stared at Hannah. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“You got here just in time,” Jack said, saving Hannah from Pam’s glare. “For some crazy reason, that Missy character thinks Caroline Holiday is alive and she murdered Vern for revenge.”

“Now, where would she come up with
that
ridiculous idea?” Pam tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her mouth from twisting into a grin. “Clever though, if it were true. Who would suspect a dead woman?”

Jack slapped his thigh. “That’s exactly what
she
said.” He started to walk off toward his house but stopped. “Oh, and Missy thinks Caroline might be making another appearance tonight. At my house. She thinks Caroline and I are in some sort of relationship.” Jack wiggled his eyebrows.

“That woman is dumber than a bag of rocks if she bit on that worm. Everyone knows that Caroline was one of the guys and wasn’t looking for romance.” Pam’s radio called her. “I’ll have to catch up with you later. Kelley Mason is at the police station filing a report about a theft at Simply Sweets.”

Jack smiled. “Come back when you can. Any news about Noah?”

Pam shook her head and drove off. Jack headed toward his house. “I’ll be back with some of my special coffee and we’ll wait for inspiration from Caroline.”

Chapter 16

“How about I show you what I’ve done in your cottage so far?” Cal asked, gesturing with his hand for Hannah, Ruby, and Olivia to go inside ahead of him.

“Can I stay out here with Nellie and build a sand castle?” Olivia asked her mother.

Ruby looked at the ocean. “I’ll stay out here and keep an eye on her.”

Hannah went inside, followed by Cal. The cottage was surprisingly clean but naked with the old kitchen appliances, sink, and counter ripped out.

“Not much to see,” Hannah said as she surveyed her cottage.

“Actually, I want to ask you what’s going on with Jack,” Cal said. “I’ve never known him to fabricate such an outrageous story, or did you plant the idea?”

“Me? No! I’m as surprised as everyone else. He wants to stick it to Missy in a big way—revenge for Caroline he said.”

“Oh, that old feud about Missy’s report of Caroline serving food that caused food poisoning. He always suspected she poisoned herself to give Caroline a black eye.” Cal shook his head. “Jack never forgets and I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side. He’s as patient as a cat at a mouse hole. What’s his next step?”

“I’m not sure. I think he’s hoping to bring Caroline back from the dead to threaten, or at least scare the living daylights out of Missy.”

Olivia and Nellie dashed into the cottage with Ruby right behind. She held the door for Jack, who had his hands full.

“Do you have mugs in here someplace? For the coffee?” Jack asked as he set the coffee on the small round kitchen table alongside a paper bag.

Hannah opened a cupboard door and carried over five mugs. Olivia picked out the mug with a spouting whale and Ruby filled it with milk. Jack filled the other mugs with his delicious smelling secret blend of coffee and offered Olivia a cider donut from the bag.

“My friend makes these cider donuts and dropped a dozen off at my house earlier. I think she’s trying to fatten me up.” Jack laughed and patted his flat stomach. “She thinks I eat them all myself and can’t figure out how I stay so slim and trim. I told her it’s my nasty personality.”

“Can I have two?” Olivia asked with her hand already in the bag.

Ruby gave her a look and shook her head. “No, honey. Finish your milk. We’ll go into town and get some dinner as soon as I finish my coffee.”

Jack put up his hand to stop Ruby. “Don’t leave yet. You need to hear this. I invited our friendly reporter to visit tonight so she can meet Caroline in person.”

Ruby twisted around to stare at Jack, sloshing coffee down the front of her shirt. “You’re officially off your rocker and I’ll never get a job now.”

Jack held his hands up, palms facing Ruby. “Calm down. Didn’t you see how giddy Missy was when she talked about Caroline being alive and being Vern’s murderer? I got her hooked and, now, we just have to convince her that Caroline is out to get her next.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Revenge. You and Hannah wouldn’t know this, but Missy bashed Caroline’s clam chowder last summer with a false accusation about food poisoning. Business tanked for a few weeks. I think she was hoping to drive Caroline out of business. Now she wants to shut Hannah down before she even gets started. She has an agenda with that property. I don’t know what it is, but she’s up to something.”

Ruby set her coffee mug down. “I did think it was odd that Missy was so eager for me to be her right hand man. Now I’m starting to see the bigger picture.”

“I’m relieved to hear that,” Jack said, wiping his brow for dramatic effect.

Ruby worked, unsuccessfully, to mop the spilled coffee off her white shirt. “This is ruined. Oh well.” She abandoned her task. “I have some news, too. This morning, when I arrived for my meeting with Missy at the Paradise Inn, she was in a huddle with Kelley. They had a map out on Kelley’s desk. At the time, I didn’t pay too much attention, but thinking back, I’m sure it was a map of the ocean frontage in Hooks Harbor.”

Jack paced across his living room. “Can you get that map? It might be the key to what those two are cooking up.”

A loud knock on Jack’s door made everyone turn.

“Maybe it’s Caroline,” Hannah joked. “But she probably wouldn’t bother knocking—she’d simply walk through the door.”

Hannah opened the door to find Meg with her hand raised, about to knock again. “What took you so long? I need to talk to Jack. When I didn’t find him at his house, I thought this place might be worth a look see.” She walked past Hannah without waiting for an invitation and stopped abruptly when she finally noticed the others in the room. “What’s this? Some kind of conspiracy?”

Jack pushed the door closed behind Meg. “You could say that. We’re waiting for Caroline to show up; thought you were her.”

“I’ve wondered when you would completely lose it.” She stood with her arms folded across her chest. “Well? Who’s going to fill me in?”

Hannah explained what Jack told Missy and that Missy now seemed to believe Caroline was alive and was the murderer.

Meg stared for several seconds before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. After gasping for air she managed to say, “Too bad Caroline isn’t alive to hear this. She’d love it. Any more coffee in that carafe for me?” She helped herself to a cider donut while Hannah found another mug and filled it for Meg.

Meg looked around the cottage. “Are you fixing the place up for when Caroline comes back?” She chuckled and sat down, sighing as if the weight of the world was finally off her feet. “I have some information.” She sipped the delicious brew. “I overheard Kelley yelling on the phone. I think she was talking to someone at the police station.” Meg leaned forward. “She said someone robbed the cash from her safe at Simply Sweets.” Meg pursed her lips and looked at Jack. “She said the thief was Noah.”

“Noah?” Jack fumed. “I can’t believe it. How would he know the combination to her safe?”

“Why does Kelley think it was Noah?” Cal snorted. “Her daughter probably stole the money. Kelley always blames someone else and protects Tasha.”

Meg finished her donut and took a swallow of coffee. “Kelley’s been trying to break those two kids apart ever since I started working for her. Maybe even longer. The more she badmouths Noah, the more she pushes Tasha right into his arms. They spend as much time together as possible and I noticed they wear the same necklaces. Tasha told me she misplaced hers and asked if I’d seen it at the Inn’s front desk.”

“When was that?” Hannah asked.

“Saturday morning I think. Anyway, she must have found it because she’s wearing it again.”

Ruby pulled her jacket on. “I promised Olivia we’d take a look at the shops in town. Need anything?”

“Surprise me,” Hannah said. “And don’t forget your mission at the Inn.”

After Ruby and Olivia left, Meg raised an eyebrow and asked. “Mission at the Inn? You people have too many secrets.”

“Maybe you know something about this,” Hannah said. “Ruby saw Kelley and Missy studying a map of the Hooks Harbor waterfront. Are they up to some plan?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me, but I don’t know anything. I’ll ask my brother if he’s heard something buzzing around the Pub and Pool Hall.”

Cal wheeled Hannah’s new appliances into the cottage. “You all can keep talking but I’m getting back to work so Hannah has a place to entertain Caroline when she returns from the dead.”

Jack grinned. “You know something? I hope Caroline is listening to our conversation because she’d be loving it to know she’s still such a big part of our lives. As much as I miss her, I have to say, at least she brought Hannah to us.”