Gunpowder Chowder (15 page)

“Monica doesn’t intimidate me.”

“That’s what Caroline always said, too, but I think Monica wore her down. That’s why she agreed to sell to Vern. Lucky for you Caroline died before the closing. Or maybe I should say,
unlucky
.” His mouth twisted into a smile and he winked at Hannah. “Don’t forget that I’m still interested. I’d kill for that property.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Chase blanched. “Not literally, of course,” he added, flustered.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Especially the killing part,” Hannah said to his retreating back.

“Are you okay?” Cal asked.

Hannah pressed her lips together. “Huh?” Her mind returned to Cal’s problem. “Yeah. What did you find out about the fire?”

“The firemen already have it under control. I guess I’m lucky. It’s just some cosmetic damage. And,” he held Theodore up, “look who came out without one singed hair.”

“He barely has any hair left
to
singe,” she teased. “Olivia will be relieved. Who cares about the boat as long as Theodore made it out safe and in one piece?”

“Talking about safe and in one piece, what was Noah doing in cottage number four?”

“I think he’s at the age where he knows so little, he thinks he knows everything,” Hannah said. “His plan is to run away with Tasha. And you can’t run away from the kind of mess he’s right in the middle of.”

Cal tilted his head and peered at Hannah. “What mess are you talking about? Is he involved with the murder?”

“He was nervous and evasive when we asked him questions. He knows something, probably a lot is my guess. And, most likely, Tasha was right there with him. He’s not ready to share any details of what he knows or saw, yet, but his medallion didn’t end up in the sand in front of my cottage by itself.” The thought of what he might be involved in made Hannah shiver involuntarily.

The fire chief approached Cal. “We’re all done. You were lucky someone noticed the smoke and called the fire in when they did or you’d be looking at nothing but a burned out hull.”

“Did you figure out what caused the fire?”

“My best guess is a bad ignition switch. That would have caused all the smoke and, like I already said, we got here before it turned into a full blown raging fire.” He slapped Cal on the back. “You won’t be going anywhere with that boat anytime soon, Cal, but you can still live on it. That is, if you don’t mind the smoke smell.”

“Who called the fire in? I want to thank him,” Cal asked.

The fire chief pointed to the office. “Chase Fuller. Lucky for him, too, because if the fire got out of control, it could have spread to the dock and other boats. I suppose that must be one of his biggest fears as the marina owner—fire, along with hurricanes.”

The fire chief took one last look around before climbing into his SUV and leaving.

“I can’t blame Chase after all. I suppose I have to swallow my pride and go talk to him. I never thought about what a fire would mean to the marina. Do you mind waiting?”

Hannah laughed. “I don’t exactly have a choice. It’s either wait for you to give me a ride back or start walking. No worries, I’ll enjoy the scenery. I assume you won’t be long.”

“You’re right about that.”

Hannah meandered around the parking lot, noticing details she overlooked when she came for lunch and then dinner. There was a swimming pool, covered for the winter, surrounded by tables.

She walked slowly down the dock toward Cal’s boat, reading the names on the stern of the other boats—Ocean Mist, Boat Bums, She Got the House, Freedom, Dream Boat. You could learn something about the owner from the name they chose, she thought. Cal’s boat was named Seas the Day—nice play on words and the perfect advice for where she was in her life at the moment.

She was surprised to see very little damage, only some black near the steering wheel on the top.

Hannah felt a hand on the small of her back. “That was easier than I expected. Maybe I need to reassess my opinion of Chase. Give him a chance to show me he’s not an idiot like I always assumed,” Cal said.

“Seas the Day?” Hannah asked, pointing to the lettering on the back of Cal’s boat.

Cal laughed a deep belly laugh. “Good one. Yeah, I should take my own advice. Holding a grudge against Chase isn’t very healthy, especially since it’s Monica’s issue. For some reason, she doesn’t like Chase so I thought I was being supportive by disliking him, too. I need to learn to let Monica fight her own battles.” He guided Hannah back toward his truck. “Let’s go and see how Jack is holding up with Noah.”

Hannah was tired after all the drama of the last couple of days. What she was looking forward to was an hour or so to relax with a good book, then slip into her sleeping bag. But, of course, when she saw Pam’s police cruiser parked in front of her cottage, she knew peace and quiet wasn’t on the agenda for her evening.

Chapter 18

Jack was standing with Pam, his hands pointing one way, then another.

“I don’t like the look of this scenario,” Cal said to Hannah before they climbed out of his truck.

Pam immediately confronted Hannah. “You’ve been hiding my son here in one of your cottages? And it’s the murder scene, no less?”

Hannah took a step away from Pam. “Listen. I didn’t know he was hiding there until Jack and I went inside. He had a key that I knew nothing about.”

Pam glared at her father. “You didn’t tell me he had a key. What’s that all about?”

Jack put his hand on Pam’s arm. “I was only trying to protect you from information I didn’t think was important.”

She twisted away from Jack’s touch and snarled between clenched teeth. “Let me decide what’s important.” She glared at her father. “Tell me everything. Now.”

Jack told Pam about the shell where Vern hid the key and how Tasha and Noah were allowed to use the cottage.

Pam’s mouth fell open. “I don’t believe he would do something like that.”

“Believe it or not, but that’s what he told us. And after Hannah left, he told me a few more things.” Jack stared at Pam. “You won’t like this either.”

She sucked in a deep breath and leaned against her car. “Go ahead. I need to know what I’m up against.”

“Noah and Tasha planned to meet at cottage number four early Saturday morning since they couldn’t use it Friday night.”

“What time?” Pam asked.

“Early. Before Tasha had to help her mother at the candy shop.”

“So, that sounds like well before Vern was shot.”

“Maybe. Here’s the thing,” Jack said. “Noah didn’t wake up, so he was late going to meet her.”

Hannah could see Pam’s tense muscles relax slightly. “He was home when I saw his car in the driveway. I wasn’t sure about that,” she said, her voice filled with relief.

Jack nodded. “Yes, it sounds like that’s the case. But what about Tasha? Did she go to the cottage anyway?”

Pam slammed her hand on the hood of her car. “And why did he run away?” She turned toward her father again. “How could you let him slip out from under your nose like that?”

Hannah gaped. “Noah’s gone? Weren’t you with him?” she asked Jack.

“Don’t
you
start on me, too. When I went outside to see what Nellie was barking at, Noah must have climbed out the bedroom window. By the time I realized he was gone, I called Pam and got a flashlight but there was no trace of him.”

All eyes turned as a big SUV roared into the driveway and screeched to a halt.

“This can’t be good,” Cal said. “That’s Kelley’s car.”

Kelley practically fell out of her car when she opened the door and the heel of her boot caught on her car mat.

Cal elbowed Hannah and she had to cover her mouth to hide her smirk. Nothing was funny about the situation with Noah, but the image of Kelley sprawled in the sand face first wouldn’t upset any of them.

Once she recovered her dignity and smoothed her coat, Kelley pointed her finger at Pam. “Where is your son? My safe got cleaned out and now my daughter has vanished, too. And don’t tell me you don’t know anything about it.”

Pam plastered an obviously fake smile on her face. “The only fingerprints found on your safe were yours and Tasha’s. When is the last time you saw Tasha?”

“She was supposed to close up Simply Sweets for me since I’ve been overwhelmed with all the work at the Inn. After that, she was supposed to come to the Inn to help me get rooms ready for the big crowd coming in for the Clam Chowder Cook Off. Meg quit so I’m short-handed. How inconsiderate of her to leave me stranded when she knew perfectly well I’m swamped with work.”

“Tasha?” Pam tried to steer Kelley back to the important issue.

“She never showed up. I would have come sooner, but I had to get all the beds made first.”

“Of course,” Jack said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Beds are
sooo
much more important than knowing the whereabouts of your daughter.” His eyes burned with anger. “If you hadn’t been so self-absorbed, maybe you could have stopped her from running off with Noah.”

“Tasha would never do something like that. She knows I depend on her to be my right hand to keep these businesses afloat.”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Do you always blame someone else for your problems? I’ve only been here for a few days and the blame game seems to be your specialty.”

Pam held up her hands to stop the arguing. “Listen. We have to figure out where those two kids could be going or hiding out. Any ideas?” She looked at Jack and Kelley.

Kelley puckered her lips. “I’ll check Vern’s house. They might think no one would look for them there.” She climbed back into her SUV. “Call me if you find them,” she hollered out the window before roaring away.

“No wonder Tasha ran off. With a mother like that, who needs enemies?” Hannah said.

Pam looked exhausted. “I’ll call around to other towns and put the word out that we’re looking for Tasha and Noah.” She hugged her dad. “Sorry to unload on you, this has been tough for me.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call if I hear anything.”

After Pam drove off, Jack said, “Anyone hungry? We can eat and figure out a plan at my house.”

Hannah nodded vigorously. “I can’t remember when I ate last.”

“Well, I’ve got a surprise for you, then. How about you, Cal? Are you coming too?”

Cal hesitated. “I should clean up the mess at my boat . . . but what the heck, food sounds better.”

As they walked toward Jack’s house, Hannah asked, “Is Caroline cooking for us?”

“Ha! I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but look at that car parked in front of my house. It looks like our friend Missy
Shark
arrived to wait for Caroline’s arrival. I’ll have to let her down easy.”

They all burst out laughing.

Jack knocked on Missy’s car window with Cal and Hannah watching behind him. Missy had been busy looking at her phone and she let out a tiny yelp. Her hand went to her chest.

“You startled me,” she said through her half open window. “Am I too late?”

“I’m afraid so. Caroline called and said she wasn’t feeling too well and wouldn’t be stopping for a visit. She also asked me to tell you to watch your back. She hasn’t forgotten what you did to her last summer.” Jack leaned right up to the car window. “You might want to just skedaddle out of town. You know—for your own safety.”

Missy’s mouth fell open. “Are you threatening me, Mr. Jackson?”

“Me?” he said sounding totally innocent. “Of course not! I’m only passing on a message. Now, you take it any way you please, young lady. But if it was me, I don’t think I’d want to hang around with
that
unknown making me watch over my shoulder all the time.” He reached through the window and tapped Missy on her shoulder.

She let out another shriek and twisted her head around as if she suspected there was someone in the back seat of her car.

Hannah walked around the back of the car, followed by Cal. It was all they could do to keep from bursting into laughter. Missy’s car tire spun in the sand before it shot away into the darkness.

Jack slapped his thigh. “Did you see her face? I sure gave her something to think about.”

“You certainly did,” Hannah managed to squeak out through each new snort of laughter. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if she wet herself when you tapped her shoulder.”

After they managed to pull themselves together, Jack commented, “The lights are on inside. Let’s see if the food is ready.”

“Who’s the mystery guest? Caroline?” Cal asked.

“Sort of,” Jack said.

That hint only made Hannah more curious. She knew it was preposterous, but could Caroline actually still be alive? From what everyone said about her, if anyone would fake their own death, she sounded like the perfect candidate. Hannah shook the thought away as she walked through the front door that Jack held open for her.

The most delicious seafood smell filled Jack’s house. Clanging sounds, mixed with a bit of cursing, came from his kitchen.

“It’s about time you got here. The clam chowder’s starting to stick to the pot. If it’s ruined, I’m blaming you, Jack.”