Hannah felt her face heat up. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure if I’d get much of a welcome two days ago with my arrival in town. When I had to threaten Vern and Chase with Caroline’s shotgun on my first day, I wasn’t sure I’d make it. And then finding Vern’s body in cottage number four.” She shook her head. “Ever since I discovered Caroline’s suitcase full of old letters, which I haven’t had time to read yet, I feel like she’s been watching over me.”
“A suitcase full of letters?” Jack asked, his voice full of anticipation. “That’s a sign. Who knows what you’ll find inside, but I wasn’t far off when I said she returned. Let’s have a look around cottage number four and see if there’s anything the police overlooked.”
“Finally,” Cal joked as they headed out the door. “I thought you’d never leave me in peace and quiet.”
Hannah walked between Jack and Meg. She pointed beyond the cottage. “There’s the path I discovered. Let’s take a look before we go into the cottage.”
“These are strange tracks in the sand,” Meg said, squatting down and measuring the width of the track with her hand.
“Monica used this path with her beach wheelchair. The path goes through these scrubby trees to the road and then it’s not far to her house,” Hannah explained.
“I wonder why she came over here,” Jack said. “Monica and Caroline weren’t exactly drinking buddies. I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Cal, but when Pam suggested Monica could be the murderer, it made me pause.” He looked at Hannah and Meg. “It
is
possible. Vern is the reason Monica is in a wheelchair. He ran a red light, never slowed down.”
“Wow.” Hannah puckered her mouth. “That
is
interesting, and another layer to peel away in the murder.”
Hannah couldn’t help but wonder if Cal was protecting Monica or vice versa.
With Jack dawdling behind Hannah and Meg, looking at the best viewing spot to see the cottages, Meg broke the silence. “I quit my job at the Paradise Inn. Well, Kelley was probably going to get rid of me anyway, so I decided to beat her to it.”
“Why would she let you go?”
“Vern hired me after Caroline died and, well, Kelley and I never got along.” She shrugged. “With Vern dead, Kelley has big plans for the Inn and I don’t fit into those plans. I don’t mince my words and she doesn’t want anyone disagreeing with her decisions. Are you planning to hire anyone?”
“I will need help.” Hannah hesitated. Should she hire someone already when she didn’t even have an income?
Meg continued, “Not right now, of course. I can survive for a few months. But if I know I have something when you’re ready, I can relax a little.”
“That sounds perfect to me. I don’t know
what
I don’t know about running this business! And with your expertise, hopefully we can make Caroline proud.”
Meg slapped Hannah on the back. “I like your spunk. Caroline sure did make the right choice leaving this place to you. You’ve got her spirit and determination.”
“I’m not sure about that, but I will give it my best shot, and thanks for the vote of confidence,” Hannah said. “All I’ve been hearing for the past two days is—
are you up to this challenge
? That
has made me more determined than anything.” Hannah stopped in front of cottage number four, waiting for Jack to catch up. “Once Cal is done with the renovations and I have a chance to catch my breath, we can have a meeting and make a plan to be ready for a grand spring opening.”
Meg hugged Hannah. “Thanks. I can’t wait to get back to work here.”
Hannah watched Meg head to her beat up car. If Caroline relied on Meg for all those years, that was good enough for Hannah. Besides, she told herself, what did she know about making clam chowder, crab salad, or fried haddock sandwiches? Hannah knew she could manage the financial part, but she definitely needed someone like Meg to help her learn the food part. Once she had time alone, she would look through Caroline’s papers—in the office and Caroline’s suitcase. With some luck, the recipes would turn up.
The sound of crunching sand broke Hannah from her thoughts.
“Ready to look inside?” Jack asked.
Hannah took the key from her pocket and attempted to insert it in the lock. She jiggled it, flipped it over, jiggled it some more, and finally got it to turn. “I better ask Cal to change these locks before this key refuses to work.”
She pushed the door open. She sniffed the stale, cold air. An odd smell hit their noses. “What is that?” Hannah asked Jack. “Does it smell like garbage in here?”
“It sure does. Vern must not have cleaned the place up before he decided to get himself shot. Very rude of him, don’t you think?”
“I’ll clean it out before mice or rats are attracted.” Hannah opened the cupboard door under the sink, looking for a trash container. “Here’s the culprit.” She pulled out a garbage bag overflowing with take-out containers, tuna fish cans, and every type of snack food package imaginable.
Jack peered over Hannah’s shoulder. “Odd selection for someone who was fairly health conscious.” He reached into the bag and pulled out an empty soda can. “I know Vern didn’t drink soda. He was diabetic. Someone else was using this cottage.”
A floorboard creaked. “Did you hear that?” Hannah grabbed onto Jack’s arm and scooted behind him. “Or, maybe someone else is
still
using this cottage.”
Jack moved quickly across the room and opened the bedroom door. “I thought it might be you in here.”
Hannah held her breath. Who was Jack talking to?
Chapter 17
Her curiosity was stronger than her fear and Hannah inched behind Jack. She saw a boyishly handsome teenager— hands in his pockets, head bowed, and shoulders sagging.
Jack’s voice softened. He put his hand on the small of Hannah’s back and urged her forward. “Hannah, this is Noah. My grandson. You two haven’t met yet.”
Noah’s eyes peered over his dark rimmed glasses. His mouth fell open as he raised his head. “You look like Caroline,” he said in shock. “A younger Caroline,” he clarified.
Hannah smiled. She didn’t know what to say to this scared boy, but she wanted to know what he was doing in her cottage. The cottage where Vern’s body was found.
“I can explain,” Noah mumbled.
“We’re all ears,” Jack spoke for Hannah, too.
“When that reporter said the gold chain found in the sand belonged to the murderer, I freaked out and ran away.”
“You didn’t get too far,” Jack said, relaxing his body and leaning on the door-jamb.
“Yeah. But who would look here? And besides, Tasha gave me the key. She’s going to meet me later and she said she has a plan.”
Jack sighed. “Let’s sit down while you explain everything. But first, which one of you has a cell phone?”
“You can’t call mom. She’ll arrest me.”
Hannah handed Jack her phone.
“I’ll tell her you’re safe. She’s sick with worry.” Jack dialed and had a brief conversation with Pam, insisting Noah was safe, uninjured, and Jack would take care of him. “No. I’ll call you when he’s ready to come home.”
Jack dragged three chairs into the bedroom. “It might be safer to sit in here. You never know who might be watching this cottage from the trail.” He pointed to a chair, and with a no nonsense voice, told Noah to sit in it.
Noah sat. He squeezed his hands together, twisting them in his lap. “Grandpa, I didn’t kill that guy.”
Jack’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t ask you if you, did but it sounds like you have a guilty conscience. Do you know who
did
kill him?”
Noah glanced toward the window. He looked everywhere but at Jack or Hannah. “No.”
Hannah sensed he was hiding something, or could he be protecting someone?
“What do you know? Hannah saw you on the beach the night before Vern was killed.”
Hannah didn’t bother to correct Jack. In hindsight, she realized it was Noah but she didn’t know that at the time and only told Jack she saw some kids on the beach.
Noah’s face paled. He looked at Hannah. “We saw you but it was creepy. We thought it was Caroline and that didn’t make any sense. We were going to hang out here but Vern was using the cottage.”
Jack crossed his legs. “Interesting. What was Vern using the cottage for?”
Noah squirmed in the chair. His face reddened. “Sometimes he met his girlfriend here. And then he told us to stay away.”
Hannah leaned forward. “Let me get this straight. I know Vern had some kind of arrangement with Caroline to rent this cottage. How do you and your friends fit into that equation?”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Vern rented it for Tasha so she could get away from her mother and hang out with me. For some reason, Kelley doesn’t like me and she wouldn’t let me and Tasha hang out at her house. Vern was just trying to be nice.”
“Yeah right,” Jack mumbled. “Didn’t it occur to you that sneaking around behind Tasha’s mother and yours,” Jack raised his eyebrows for emphasis, “was blatantly wrong on so many levels?”
“I just wanted to hang out with Tasha.” He shrugged. “And Caroline didn’t mind. She’d bring us food and let us watch movies here.”
Jack paced across the room. “Who kept the key?”
“We hid it under the big shell on the side of the house. If the shell was upside down, we knew Vern was inside, but if it was upright, we could use the cottage.”
“Hannah,” Jack said so quickly that she startled. “Can Noah stay here for a bit longer until this mess is sorted out?”
Noah stood up. “I won’t be here. As soon as Tasha comes, we’re leaving together.”
“That takes money, young man.”
“Tasha’s taking care of that.”
Jack smacked the side of his head. “Did she steal it from her mother’s shop? Because if she did, Kelley is blaming you for the theft.”
“I didn’t steal anything. Why would she say that?”
Jack put his hand on Noah’s shoulder. “Listen to me. The world is not a nice place sometimes. You’ve lived in this little town your whole life. Nineteen years.”
“Eighteen, almost nineteen to be exact,” Noah interrupted.
“Okay, eighteen years. You have no idea what’s out beyond these boundaries. You need family, a support system, not another teenager leading you down the wrong path.”
Noah stood up. “You’re just like all the other old people. Everyone except Caroline. She said to follow our dreams.” He glared at Jack. “You can’t stop me.”
Hannah moved to the bedroom door. With her hand extended to show him the way out, she decided to call his bluff. “Go. If you think you’ve got all the answers, head right out this door. You’re right, we can’t stop you, but think about what’s waiting for you outside this cottage before you rush headfirst into a disaster. Once everyone knows the medallion belongs to you, it puts you at the scene of a murder. You had access to the cottage, and you knew when Vern was here by the position of the shell. Kelley is accusing you of stealing from her shop. And—this is the most important detail—if you run away, it
makes
you look guilty.” She sat down again, watching to see what Noah would do and hoping her instinct was sound.
Jack added, “You won’t get far.”
Noah hesitated. Before he made a move, yelling outside the cottage made all three of them jump.
Cal rushed into the cottage. “Hannah. Jack. My boat is on fire.”
Jack gestured for Hannah to go with Cal. “I’ll stay here with Noah.”
Hannah hurried out, zipping her jacket against the cold December wind. “What happened?”
Cal climbed into his truck and Hannah jumped into the passenger seat. “I don’t know yet. Monica called me. She heard it on her scanner.”
Jack’s knuckles were white. His jaw clenched. “I bet Chase is behind this. He’s been trying to get rid of me ever since I bought my boat.”
“If he didn’t want you there, why did he rent you a slip?”
“I bought the boat at the slip and the previous owner negotiated the deal without Chase knowing it was me moving in.” Cal swung his truck into the Bayside Marina, parking off to one side away from the fire engines. “It doesn’t look as bad as I expected. Maybe it won’t be a complete loss.”
The first person to spy Cal was Chase Fuller. A smirk adorned his face. “Well, well, well. Lookie what the cat dragged in. Too bad about your boat,” Chase said with a voice that dripped of sarcasm.
Cal ignored Chase and headed toward the fire chief.
Chase’s smirk disappeared when he turned to Hannah. “You’ve become awfully cozy with our town’s carpenter. Watch out for that sister of his if you know what’s good for you.”
Chase started to walk away but Hannah’s hand grabbed onto his coat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I guess Cal hasn’t told you this part of his family history. Monica has had her eyes on your property since before Vern ever made an offer. She wants to tear the whole thing down to have more beach to herself. The settlement she got after her accident set her up with the money to do it, too.” He scrutinized Hannah’s face. “I hope you’re ready to deal with her just down the beach from you, because the first time you step out of line, she’ll be after you before you can blink.”