Kelly's Koffee Shop (A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystey Book 1) (2 page)

She turned to Mike. “I
didn’t want to frighten her, but now I’m really worried. Ginger and Bob have
enough to worry about just making ends meet between the bookstore Ginger owns
losing its customers to the Internet and Bob’s handyman jobs, which are few and
far between. I’m probably his best customer, but there’s only so much business
I can give him.”

“I’ll go out to Brandon’s
place this afternoon and talk to his parents and him. If anyone knows where she
is, it would be Brandon. See you at seven,” Mike said, tipping his white
Stetson hat as he walked out the door.

Promptly at 7:00 Kelly
heard two knocks on her door. Even though the town was small and everyone knew
everyone else’s business, Kelly kept her door locked and always looked through
the peephole to see who was there before she opened the door. One thing Kelly
had learned over the years was that towns near the ocean seemed to attract
drifters and people hoping to lose themselves. It hadn’t helped the small
Oregon town when a number of states legalized marijuana. It was rumored that
several local farms and ranches looked like they were growing the usual types
of farm products or running cattle, but they were actually fronts for
profitable marijuana farms.

The
owners planted rows of legal crops to make it look legitimate, but the rows of
plants hid the main crop, marijuana. Cattle ranchers used their remote pastures
to grow marijuana behind locked gates. Mike had made several arrests over the
last few years, but there were several farmers and ranchers that proved to be
elusive. Mike had always suspected Brandon Black’s father, but he’d never been
able to prove it.

Mike
knew where Kelly kept the emergency key in the planter on her front porch. He
knew of her fear of drifters, so when he used it he always knocked twice, to
let her know it was him. “Mike, I’m so glad to see you. Any word on Amber?”
Kelly asked as they walked out to the deck that overlooked the bay. “Before you
answer, you look like you could use a glass of wine. Pinot okay with you?”

“I
could definitely use a glass and yes, a nice Oregon pinot would be great.”

“Make
yourself comfortable, I’ll be back in a minute.” He smiled to himself as she
walked into the kitchen, thinking what a good looking woman she was even if she
was in her early 50’s. She had a beautiful smooth white porcelain like
complexion which she’d been wise enough to keep out of the sun over the years.
A couple of extra pounds spoke to her love of cooking, but didn’t detract from
her voluptuous figure.

Anyway,
that suited Mike just fine. He had never been a fan of skinny women. His ex-wife
had been thin and hungry, hungry for the things a county sheriff could never
give a woman. She’d found a wealthy doctor when she’d gone to Las Vegas for a
“girls’ trip.” Later Mike discovered that she’d found the wealthy doctor on the
Internet well before she’d gone to Las Vegas and there had been no “girls’
trip.” When she returned from Las Vegas, she filed for divorce. Mike felt if
there was a silver lining in their failed marriage, it was that they had never
had children.

“I
haven’t heard anything about Amber. Has Ginger called? Any word from her?” he
asked. As county sheriff, it was his job to protect the citizens of the county
and a missing young woman was always a cause for concern.

“No.
It’s as if Amber disappeared into thin air. Just like I told you earlier,
Ginger saw her this morning when she left the house and that was the last time
anyone has seen her. I’m really worried. Did Brandon know anything?”

“No,
and I believe him. He was really distraught and I don’t think he was faking it.
I talked to his parents, Jeff and Marcy. They said the last time they’d seen
Amber was a couple of days ago when she joined them for dinner at the ranch.
I’ve told you before I don’t have a good feeling about Brandon’s dad. They may
be running cattle on that ranch, but I can’t shake the feeling he may be doing
something more. Looks like Marcy’s got a big new diamond ring, at least I’ve
never seen it before. That thing must be three carats. You’ve got to sell a lot
of cattle to afford something like that, more than I think Jeff has. His place
is fenced with barbed wire and I would swear I saw a couple of guys with guns
on their hips towards the back of the property, but I don’t have a valid reason
to search it. I’m not even sure Brandon would know if something was going on
back there. At that age, kids seem to be pretty oblivious to everything with
the exception of what’s directly affecting them.”

“Well,
what do you plan to do now?”

“If
Amber doesn’t show up tonight, I’m going to go see Ginger and Bob in the
morning and get a list of all her friends and relatives and then start making
some calls. Someone must know something. It’s as if she’s completely vanished.”

“You
might want to start with Madison Riley. I know she’s been Amber’s nemesis for a
long time. Amber told me once that Brandon stopped seeing Madison so he could
be with Amber. Evidently she also resented Amber being the head cheerleader and
homecoming queen. I don’t know if that will help, but…”

“I’ll
talk to her after I see Ginger. To change the subject, what’s for dinner
tonight?”

“Well,
since you didn’t eat lunch at the coffee shop, I thought you’d enjoy the
brisket, potatoes, and mini monkey bread. I made a salad from the garden and
there’s some leftover cheesecake. That should hold you.”

He
stood up and walked over to her. “Kelly, I know you think I like you just for
what you cook…”

Mike
was interrupted by his ringing cell phone. “Sorry, I better pick up that call.”
He listened for a few minutes and grimly told the person on the other end that
he’d be there momentarily. He pushed end on the phone and turned to Kelly.

“Kelly,
that was Rick who works the night shift at the gas dock down at the marina. A
man was fishing from shore and snagged something heavy on his line. It was so
heavy he was afraid he’d break his rod, so he kept backing up until he brought
it onshore. It was Amber. She was dead. Her body was tied to a burlap bag that
had weights in it. He said it looked like she was murdered. From what he told
me, I’d have to agree. I think you better go over to Ginger and Bob’s and tell
them. They shouldn’t hear it from someone on the phone.”

“Oh
no! I can’t believe it. You’re right. It’ll be all over town in minutes. I’ll
go there right now.”

 “I’ve
got to get down to the dock. Poor kid. I’ll call you later.” Mike grabbed the
white Stetson hat he always wore and turned to Rebel who sensed something was
wrong. He let out a low growl. “Hold the fort, boy. Everything’s going to be
okay.”

Kelly rang the doorbell on the old,
dilapidated house which was badly in need of a paint job. Bob was a handyman
and could have easily fixed the sagging porch and replaced the broken shutters,
but there wasn’t any extra money for the needed materials. Bob and Ginger Cook
lived a hand-to-mouth existence and were thrilled when they learned Amber had
been accepted at Oregon State and awarded a scholastic scholarship. She was her
parents’ pride and joy. They knew it was a chance for her to have a much better
life than they had led.

Bob answered the door. He
took one look at Kelly’s face and knew something had happened to Amber. “Have
you found something out about Amber?” He turned and yelled down the hall.
“Ginger, Kelly’s here.”

Seconds later a short
red-haired freckle faced woman joined them. “Kelly, what is it? What’s happened
to Amber?”

Kelly put her arms around
her best friend and the mother of her godchild. “Ginger, I’m so sorry to have
to be the one to tell you this. Amber’s body was just brought up on shore. A
fisherman thought there was something uncommonly heavy on his line and
discovered Amber. Evidently she drowned and before you hear it from other
people, I need to tell you that the man who called Mike said it looks like she
was murdered. Mike’s at the scene right now.”

Ginger began screaming and
crying at the same time. “No, no, no, not Amber! What did she ever do to
deserve this?” Bob put his arms around Ginger who was shaking and led her to
the couch. Tears were streaming down both of their faces.

“I’m going to call Dr.
Amherst,” Kelly said, “and see if he has something he can give me for both of
you.” She quickly punched in some numbers. “Doctor, it’s Kelly Conner. I’m
sorry to bother you, but something terrible has happened.”

“Yes, Kelly. I just heard
about Amber from Mike. I’m on my way to the dock right now. What do you need?”

“I just told Ginger and
Bob about Amber. Any chance you could swing by their house and give them
something to help them get through the next few hours?”

“Yes, I’ll be there in a
couple of minutes. Why don’t you meet me in their driveway? Mike wants me down
at the dock immediately.”

“Thanks. See you in a few
minutes.”

She walked outside and
within a few short moments saw Dr. Amherst’s old red truck turning the corner.
He rolled down the window and handed her a plastic drug bottle. “They can take
one of these pills every four hours. It won’t bring Amber back, but it might
help them make it through the next couple of days.”

“I’ll make sure they take
them. Ginger’s sister lives up in Sunset Bay. I’ll give her a call and see if
she can come over here and stay with them. Remind Mike to give me a call when
he knows something.”

Several neighbors came to
the Cook house as soon as they heard the news about Amber and offered to stay
with them until Ginger’s sister arrived. Kelly gave the bottle of pills to
Ginger and Bob, thanked the neighbors and left, telling them she needed to make
some calls. She drove the few blocks to her house, mentally planning who she
needed to call. The first call she made was to the high school principal who
said he would hold a meeting at the high school first thing in the morning to
tell the students and faculty.

Next on her list was the
editor of the town newspaper. He’d already had a call from someone who had seen
the body brought up. “Kelly, I’ll write a eulogy to Amber as well as a story
about her death. Based on the call I got, I’m calling it a murder, but of
course there’s also the possibility that it’s a suicide or an accidental
drowning. I know she worked for you. Any hint she was having problems?”

“None. You know as much as
I do. If she was having problems, I sure wasn’t aware of them. It looked like
she was headed for a far better life than Ginger and Bob have had. Oh gosh, I
just realized no one has probably told Brandon. I better go out there and tell
him before someone calls him. If you find out anything, let me know.”

She drove as fast as it
was safe to the Black’s ranch. The large house was situated on a cliff
overlooking the ocean accessible only by the long driveway that led up to it
from the road. Kelly heard the roar of the surf as soon as she opened the
minivan door.
This has got to be the most beautiful location in the world
for a house
, she thought,
but if I lived here I’d do something about
that smell.
She knocked on the front door of the sprawling ranch house and
was greeted by Brandon’s father, Jeff Black. “Well, Kelly, I’m hoping you’re
here because you’re bringing me some sweet rolls to go with my morning coffee,
but somehow I doubt that’s the reason for your trip out here. What’s up?”

“Jeff, is Brandon here?”

“Yes. What’s the problem?
He’s in his room studying for a final exam he has tomorrow. Want me to call
him?”

“Please, and while you’re
at it, better ask Marcy to come as well.”

He was back in moments
with Marcy and Brandon, all of them wondering why Kelly was there. Each of
their faces showed concern.

“I’m really sorry to have
to be the one to tell you this Brandon, but Amber’s body was recovered from the
bay a couple of hours ago. It looks like she drowned.” She took a deep breath
and continued, “Brandon, the man who called Mike and told him about it said it
looked like she’d been murdered. Mike and Dr. Amherst are at the scene.
Evidently she was discovered by a fisherman.”

Everyone in the small town
knew that Marcy Black liked to spend money and some said that her husband,
Jeff, was pompous and thought he was far better than the other citizens of the
small town, but it was very evident to Kelly that Brandon was the number one
priority for his parents that night. Tears streamed silently down Brandon’s
face, as his parents sat beside him on the couch, showing their support for him
even though they knew there wasn’t much they could do. It was something he
would have to go through by himself.

“Are you sure it was her?”
Brandon asked. “Who identified her? Maybe it was someone who just looked like
her.”

“No, Brandon, there were
several people on the dock who knew her. I’m sure Mike will be out to talk to
you about it, but I didn’t want you to hear about it over the phone.”

“Kelly, thanks for coming.
I know this must have been hard for you. I’ll walk you out to your car,” Jeff
said.

“You’re right, this is not
the kind of news anyone wants to deliver.”