Gunpowder Chowder (7 page)

“Yes. Noah always wears it. I don’t know what this means but, yes, I’m very worried. For him.”

Chapter 8

Ruby started her rental car. “Tell me the way.”

Hannah smiled to herself. That was exactly what she said earlier when she went out with Jack and Cal. Now, she was already the guide. Quick learning curve. She directed Ruby to town with no trouble and they parked on the street.

“A little walking will give you a chance to do some window shopping. And we can enjoy all the Christmas decorations on the shops.” Hannah held onto Olivia’s hand as the little girl skipped beside her, jumping over any cracks in the sidewalk.

“Here we are. The jewelry store. I haven’t been inside yet, but look at the display in the window.”

Hannah and Ruby feasted their eyes on the beautiful handcrafted jewelry but Olivia pulled Hannah’s hand trying to get her to the door.

“Come on,” she whined. “You promised.”

As they entered the store, a bell over the door tinkled. Hannah held Olivia’s hand tightly so she didn’t have the freedom to dash around the store and knock anything over. That wasn’t a concern. Olivia was drawn like a moth to a low table filled with necklaces and bracelets made especially for little girls. There were even smooth colorful rocks.

Olivia examined everything before picking up a blue stone, polished to a smooth finish. She held it in both of her tiny hands, rubbing it between her palms. “This one.” She held it up for Hannah to see. “This is the one I want.” Her big brown eyes stared at Hannah with a childish innocence.

“Perfect,” Hannah said. “That’s the prettiest stone I’ve ever seen. You hold on to it until your mom is done picking out something for herself.”

Ruby was mesmerized by the earring display, turning the stand around and around until she chose silver earrings with pieces of blue sea glass dangling on a delicate silver strand. She held them up to her ears. “What do you think?” she asked her sister.

Hannah nodded approvingly. “Beautiful.” She paid for the earrings and Olivia’s stone.

Back on the street, she guided Ruby and Olivia into the next shop. The chocolate shop. Maybe not such a good idea, she thought as the smells made her mouth water. She didn’t want to ruin everyone’s appetite before they got to Cal’s boat.

“How about we pick out something to have
after
dinner,” she said. “That way we can share with Cal, too.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Olivia agreed. She pointed to chocolate covered candy canes. “Can we get those?”

Hannah looked at Ruby before answering. Ruby shrugged so Hannah waited her turn to pay while Ruby and Olivia went outside. She bought four of the chocolate covered candy canes, two milk chocolate and two dark chocolate.

Hannah handed Tasha the money. “Interesting medallion you have. Does Noah have one like that?”

Tasha’s hand clutched the jewelry, quickly tucking it under her shirt. “Why do you ask?”

“I found one like it earlier today,” Hannah said in a quiet, soothing tone. “His grandfather said it belonged to Noah.”

A look of panic flashed across Tasha’s face, gone almost before it was even there. She handed the bag of candy canes to Hannah without looking in her eyes. “It couldn’t be his,” she stated, but a slight shake in her voice exposed her uncertainty.

Tasha’s mother entered the shop from the back of the store. “I’ll take over now, Tasha,” she said cheerfully. “You can restock the gift card display.”

Tasha walked to an unopened box and carried it to a tall card rack. Her shoulders were tense and she held her arms close to her sides. The glance she shot at her mother was filled with hostility.

Hannah filed her observations away, determined to ask Jack or Cal more about these dynamics. Especially Jack since his grandson, apparently, was in love with this girl.

“Ms. Holiday?” Kelley Mason said in a syrupy voice. “Do you have a minute?”

Hannah looked through the front window to check on Ruby and Olivia but she couldn’t see them. “A minute, but I need to catch up with my sister.” She pointed outside.

Kelley approached Hannah, placing her hand on Hannah’s arm. “This is a bit awkward, but I can’t let Vern’s death interfere with business, now can I?” Not pausing for an answer to the question, she continued, “I know Vern had a deal with Caroline to buy her property and I’d like to renegotiate the terms. Well, your property now, I guess.” She looked expectantly at Hannah.

Hannah, knowing where this conversation was headed, chose to play dumb and make Kelley squirm for information.

Silence as the two women stared at each other. Kelley looked away, licking her lips and tapping the heel of her foot.

“Right. I’ll just cut to the chase here. I’m prepared to make you a generous offer. You don’t look like the type of person cut out for running a business on the beach.”

The hairs on Hannah’s neck stood up. She controlled her face to hide her anger. Instead, she smiled sweetly. “What kind of person
is
cut out for the business?” She had learned a long time ago, the best way to have this type of conversation was to throw a question right back at the other person. Take control and don’t let them see their rude behavior get under your skin.

Kelley’s cheeks had a slight tinge of pink when she looked at Hannah. She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t take it the wrong way, dear,” she said condescendingly, “but you are a bit young.”

Hannah smiled again. “It must be quite convenient for you now with your husband out of the way.”

Kelley’s eyes popped open and darkened to almost black. “My husband and I may not have seen eye to eye on many things but we had a strong business relationship. I’m only continuing the negotiations he started with Caroline.”

“Just out of curiosity, Ms. Mason, where were you yesterday morning around eight o’clock?”

Kelley leaned right into Hannah’s face, causing her to tilt as far backward as possible. She sneered, “What are you implying?”

“What are you hiding?” Hannah said, refusing to let this rude person intimidate her. “Where
were
you? It should be a simple question to answer.” Hannah straightened, moving herself into Kelley’s personal space.

“Don’t expect Chase Fuller to make you a better offer. He’s got some financial difficulties at the moment.” She spun around and hustled to the back office.

Hannah watched the well-groomed woman disappear, slowing her breathing to calm her nerves. Now she was even more curious as to Kelley Mason’s whereabouts. An unanswered question left many possibilities. Did she kill her husband?

Laughter erupted by the card display. “Good one, Hannah. You told her. Not many people stand up to her bullying, except my stepdad. They were two peas in a pod. They thought they could bully Caroline into selling but, you know what? Caroline played them against each other to her amusement.”

Hannah moved across the shop and stood closer to Tasha. “And how did you fit into their plans? Were you in the middle of your stepdad and your mom?”

Tasha shrugged. “I hated my stepdad but I figured out how to make it work for me.”

The shop door opened. Ruby and Olivia walked inside. “Aunt Hannah, come
on
,” Olivia whined. “I want to go to the
boat
.”

“Yup. Let’s go.”

Hannah made a quick stop at the liquor store for the beer she promised to bring. She added a bottle of red wine, too, for her sister who wasn’t a beer drinker. She parked in the Bayside Marina lot and pointed out Cal’s boat to her niece and sister.

“Looks cramped to me,” Ruby said.

Hannah didn’t let the jab affect her. “I prefer to think of it as cozy.” Hannah held Olivia’s hand as they headed down the dock toward Cal’s boat.

Chase was heading in their direction. “Well, well. Ms. Holiday. What a nice surprise to see you again.” He casually leaned against one of the dock uprights, arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other. “Are you interested in renting a boat slip?”

“You didn’t buy a boat already, did you, Hannah?” Ruby asked in disbelief.

Hannah ignored her sister. “As a matter of fact, Chase, I’m very curious where you were yesterday morning around eight o’clock. I asked Kelley Mason and she never did give me an answer. Were you running on the beach near my cottages by any chance?”

“That is the route I take every morning, but I’m not sure what your interest is in
my
whereabouts.”

“As you recall, and as I told the police, I overheard you tell Vern nothing would get in the way of you buying my property.” She leveled her gaze on Chase.

Chase smirked. “And it was
your
gun that killed him, so I don’t think my words can mean a whole lot in the big scheme of things. Maybe you’ll need to sell that property to pay for a good lawyer.” He laughed and unfolded his arms. He patted her on the shoulder as if they were buddies. “Be sure to ask your friend Cal why
he
was on the beach yesterday morning.” Chase laughed again and continued down the dock in the opposite direction than Hannah was heading.

Ruby grabbed Hannah’s arm. “Are you going to be arrested? You should sell that property before it ruins your life. It must be worth a fortune.”

Hannah stopped and faced her sister directly. “Listen Ruby, I’m not selling. I can’t, even if I wanted to with the way Caroline set up the inheritance. As far as the murder goes, I don’t think I’ll be arrested. Yes, the murder weapon belonged to Caroline and I did pick up the gun. Some people could think I threatened Vern and Chase the night before Vern was shot, but I was only holding the gun when I asked them to get off my property. And besides, what kind of motive do I have? There was a lot of tension between Vern, the dead guy, and the jerk I was just talking to. It seems that a lot of people with a bone to pick with Vern were either near my cottage or they don’t have an alibi at the time he was shot.”

“That guy,” she nodded her head in the direction Chase had disappeared. “He said Cal was on the beach yesterday morning. Does
he
have a motive?”

“Vern owed Cal a lot of money for renovations to his Inn. Vern refused to pay, but that’s all I know. You should book a room there and see if you can weasel some information from the employees. It’s called the Paradise Inn. As far as I know, his estranged wife, Kelley Mason, will be inheriting the Inn.”

Ruby stepped back, almost losing her footing and falling into the water before Hannah pulled her back to safety. “You want me to do some
spying
?” Ruby’s eyes blinked several times before her lips turned up at the edges into the beginning of a smile.

Olivia’s fingers slipped out of Hannah’s hand as she dashed down the dock to Cal. He scooped her up and carried her onto his boat as her happy chattering drifted back to Hannah and Ruby.

Hannah’s hand stopped Ruby from continuing. “Before we join them, I just want to say, let’s keep our spy plan a secret between the two of us.” She raised one eyebrow waiting for Ruby to answer.

“Don’t you trust Cal?” she whispered.

Hannah sighed. “I want to, but the fact is, I barely know him and he
was
on the beach yesterday morning. At this point, let’s trust each other and no one else until we are one hundred percent positive we can.”

“So we shouldn’t have dinner with him?” Ruby asked.

“Of course we should. I didn’t say we couldn’t hang out with him, and besides, he can fill us in on the people in town.”

“Are you sure hanging out with him doesn’t have anything to do with those ocean blue, save me from drowning in them, eyes?” Ruby asked.

Heat spread across Hannah’s checks. She turned her head away from Ruby so she wouldn’t see that her comment hit a nerve. A nerve Hannah wasn’t ready to admit to herself. Yet.

“That’s another reason we have to be careful.” Hannah had been hurt by a handsome man before and she didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. Especially if there was a chance that this handsome man might be a killer. “He’s a good resource. Same with Jack. But we shouldn’t blindly trust anyone. We need to be smart and careful.”

Ruby shivered and bumped her shoulder into Hannah’s. “This could be exciting. I could use some excitement in my life right about now.”

“It could be dangerous. Don’t forget that for one minute,” Hannah reminded her sister.

Chapter 9

Delicious smells drifted from Cal’s boat as they got closer. Olivia’s giggling made Hannah smile. She was thrilled to have Olivia around even though it meant she would have to work on her relationship with Ruby. But if Ruby did stay in Hooks Harbor at the Inn, the extra pair of eyes and ears could come in handy.

Hannah helped Ruby step on to the back of the boat. She didn’t want to risk another near miss of Ruby falling off the dock or overboard into the frigid Atlantic. She’d never hear the end of
that
disaster.

“Hello ladies,” Cal said as they ducked their heads and entered his tight quarters. “I have an amazing helper tonight.” He waved one hand in Olivia’s direction. She sat on a big blue pillow, dipping corn chips into a bowl of humus, focused on her snack and not on the adult conversation.