Sweet Friend of Mine (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 8) (2 page)

C
irce
, the family’s black cat, sat on the second row seat between Courtney and Mr. Finch. Euclid perched on Finch’s lap so that he could stare out the window. Ellie drove north out of Sweet Cove, through Silver Cove, and into the small town of Mission River. For the last several miles, thick woods lined both sides of the road and the bare winter branches of the trees looked like skinny silver-gray bones reaching skyward. A light dusting of snow gathered around the base of the trunks. When the chief saw the police cars up ahead on the side of the road, he said, “Here we are.” He pointed to where Ellie should pull in behind the vehicles.

One officer approached the van with the intent to shoo them away, but when Chief Martin stepped out, the young man’s demeanor changed and he huddled in conversation with the chief. The sisters and Mr. Finch got out and waited for instructions. They kept the cats in the vehicle and Euclid was so loud howling his annoyance with that decision that the officer took a few concerned glances at Ellie’s van.

“It’s a cat,” Chief Martin assured the young man.

“I wasn’t sure.” The officer finished updating the chief and then walked over to stand beside one of the police cars.

Chief Martin gestured for the group to come forward. “Why don’t we have a look around and if it seems suitable, we can come back for Euclid and Circe.”

They followed the chief a few yards up the road and stopped when they saw Ryan Allen’s car in a ditch on the side of the roadway. The late-model, beat-up, dark red sedan was facing down the embankment at an angle. The position of the car made it hard to see from the road. The four sisters and Mr. Finch stood quietly trying to pick up on what might have happened. The wind kicked up and everyone pulled their coats around themselves or adjusted scarves and gloves against the cold breeze.

“So here it is.” Chief Martin stared at the vehicle. “The driver’s side door was unlocked. There’s a sweatshirt on the backseat, otherwise, nothing much. No sign of a struggle.” He turned to Angie. “The officer just updated me about the phone records.”

“Do they indicate that Ryan called his parents from this spot?” Angie wondered if maybe someone had moved the car.

“Yes. The initial call was placed within this area. Though the records can’t pinpoint the exact spot.”

“Ryan and his friend must have had a few drinks.” Courtney stepped closer to the edge of the ditch and looked down. “How else would he have become disoriented?”

“That is unknown at this time,” the chief said.

“Like we said before,” Ellie reminded them. “He could have hit his head when the car went off the road, maybe he has a concussion.”

Mr. Finch looked the car over. “Perhaps the young man was fumbling with his phone or the radio and lost control, spun out, and went off the road and over the edge.”

Jenna looked around at the woods lining both sides of the road. “His friend lives here in Mission River?”

“He does.” The chief took out a notebook and jotted some observations.

“Nearby?” Jenna wondered how close the friend might have lived and whether Ryan may have headed in that direction.

“No,” said the chief. “The friend lives with his parents about five miles from here.”

“Have you spoken to him?” Angie asked.

“Not yet, but I will. Some other officers talked to him to find out when he last saw Ryan.”

“Why is Ryan’s car heading this way?” Ellie fiddled with the ends of her hair. “Shouldn’t it be facing south? Towards Sweet Cove? He was heading home, right?”

“That’s what Ryan told his folks.” The chief turned sideways and started down the steep embankment. “Why don’t you stay here? I’ll just have a look at the car.”

“Maybe the car spun around and ended up looking like it was headed away from Sweet Cove.” Angie walked around the berm looking for skid marks or anything that might indicate that the car skidded out on the gravelly road. “The road’s dry, but last night there could have been black ice. Ryan might have hit the ice and the car went flying.”

Courtney ran her foot over some of the gravel on the side of the road. “We should ask the parents if Ryan mentioned ice on the road when he called them last night.”

A tow truck pulled up and the driver maneuvered it into position angling the back end as close to the edge of the ditch as was possible. The man jumped out and worked a metal cable down to the red car where he attached it and then pressed on something that caused the cable to go taut.

Angie wanted to walk around the car before it got towed away. She made eye contact with Chief Martin. The chief nodded, walked over to the tow truck operator, and then turned to Angie and waved her down.

Jenna took her twin sister’s elbow. “I’ll go with you.”

“Not me.” Ellie planted herself firmly where she stood.

Courtney leaned into Ellie. “Why don’t you go get the cats and we can have them take a look around.” She touched Mr. Finch’s arm. “Shall I help you down?”

“I think I’d better not attempt it, Miss Courtney. The embankment appears unstable. I’ll remain here with Miss Ellie.” He nodded to the young woman encouraging her to descend the slight hill.

Courtney, Jenna, and Angie walked a few slow circles around the car and peeked inside to see the front and back interiors. As Angie leaned down to look through the passenger window, she rested her hand on the side of the door. Tiny jolts of electricity bit at her fingers and she pulled her hand back in surprise. Shaking it, she again gently placed her hand against the metal and while the shocks flashed against her skin, she closed her eyes and tried to open her mind to any sensations from last night that might have lingered on the air. A wave of anxiety washed over her, but the feelings were vague and unfocused. She lifted her hand and shoved it into her pocket.

Angie could feel Euclid staring at her and she turned to see the huge orange cat sitting at Mr. Finch’s feet at the edge of the road, his plume of a tail flicking back and forth. The urge to get away from the car ran through her veins and she hurried up the hill. “Anything?” she asked Finch.

“I have a feeling of unease and worry rushing over me. However, I don’t have a clear sense of the origin. Perhaps it is just the normal concern that anyone would experience knowing that a young man has gone missing.” Finch leaned on his cane.

Angie looked down at the cat and Euclid met her gaze and let out a low rumble from deep in his throat. She told Finch and the cats about the jolts that bit into her fingers when she placed her hand on the car.

Finch narrowed his eyes. “Puzzle pieces begin to gather.”

Ellie came up to them, her long hair blowing out behind her in the breeze. “Why does the puzzle always have to be so difficult?”

“Where’s Circe?” Angie turned her head from side to side scanning the area for the black cat.

“She was here a second ago.” Ellie flicked her eyes around trying to locate the ebony feline.

“Angie.” Jenna called from below. She waved at her sister to come down.

When Angie joined her two sisters and the chief next to the red car, Courtney pointed. Circe was furiously pawing and sniffing at the frozen ground near the passenger side front tire.

The chief said, “Let’s get the car out of the way.”

Jenna scooped up the cat and Chief Martin gave the truck operator a wave to start the engine and tow the red car up the embankment. The group stepped back as the truck engine roared to life and the squealing and grinding of the tow line against the metal pulley filled the air. The old car lurched and moved slowly up the hill like a fish on a line.

The three Roseland sisters and the chief stared at the spot where Circe had pawed near the tire. When the car was finally back up on the road, the four stepped forward, with Jenna still holding the cat in her arms. Something on the ground sparkled in the sunlight and Courtney went to inspect. She knelt and leaned forward. “There’s something here.” Keeping her hands away from the object so as not to compromise any fingerprints, she gestured to the spot on the ground.

Chief Martin put on a surgical-type glove and picked up the item.

“What did you find?” Jenna stepped closer with Angie right on her heels.

Still on one knee, the chief held it up to the light.

Angie squinted. “A ring?”

The chief stood with the object held in the palm of his upturned hand. The simple white gold band sparkled in the light. There was a vine of leaves engraved around the middle of the band. Chief Martin lifted it and eyed the inner part of the ring. “Nothing engraved on the inside.” He glanced at the black cat. “Nice work.”

Circe purred as Jenna ran her hand over the dark fur and scratched the cat’s ears.

“How did the ring end up next to the tire?” Courtney scowled.

“That’s a good question.” Angie looked up at the car and then let her eyes travel down the hill to the section where the car had come to a stop. “The frozen ground hides the tire marks and there’s very little vegetation here so nothing looks run over or trampled.” She shook her head in exasperation.

The chief continued to look around at the ground where the car had stood and finding nothing more, he bagged the ring in a plastic evidence bag. Nodding to the hill, he said, “Shall we?”

The group trudged up the embankment.

“I’m going to catch a ride back to the station with Officer Talbot. I’ll arrange a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Allen and with Ryan’s friend. If you can sit in on the interviews, I think it would be helpful.”

Courtney and Angie agreed to attend.

The chief started away to the police car. “Thanks for your help. I’ll be in contact.” He gave the black cat a tip of his cap.

Jenna pulled her woolen hat down over her ears. “If Ryan Allen lost control of his car and went off the road, how could his ring come off and get wedged under the front tire?”

Shivering, Angie rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “A very good question. Let’s get out of this cold and go home.”

“Time to put our heads together.” Courtney reached over to Circe still snuggled in Jenna’s arms and scratched her cheek. She gave the cat a wink. “I think you deserve a silver deputy’s badge, too, little one.”

A
s soon as
they returned home to the Victorian,
Angie put an apron over her head, pulled out a big mixing bowl, and took flour, butter, vanilla, and sugar from the cabinets.

Courtney took a seat at the kitchen island. “Oh, good. What are you making for dessert?”

“Cupcakes. Different flavors. Pistachio, for one.” Angie removed the measuring cup and spoons from the drawers of the island. “I’ll take suggestions for other flavors. You can vote.” Angie could always think better when she was baking, but she had to be careful of what was going through her mind as she worked because she had the ability to transfer intention into her baked creations. Angie was often happy and optimistic and when people ate her baked goods, they would be filled with the same emotions that she was feeling as she mixed and baked. Once, Mr. Finch ate muffins that Angie had baked while she was thinking of her boyfriend, Josh Williams, which caused the older man to immediately fall in love with her. Thankfully the “spell” only lasted for a few hours.

“What intention are you putting into the cupcakes?” Jenna sat on a stool next to Courtney.

Angie had a smudge of flour on her nose. “I’m trying for clear-headedness. Is that even a word? We need to approach this case with clarity.”

The two cats sat on top of the fridge watching the young woman mix the ingredients and Euclid trilled his approval.

Mr. Finch put the tea kettle on and hooked his cane over the edge of the countertop while he reached for the mugs and lined them up on the counter. Ellie took milk and cream from the fridge and put the sugar bowl on the kitchen island. No one had said much about the visit to Mission River while driving in the van or since they’d arrived home. Each one had been quietly mulling over the scene on the country road of the car in the ditch and what they’d heard from Chief Martin about the case.

Angie slid the tin with the pistachio muffin-cupcakes into the oven and set the timer. “What other flavor should I make?”

“Red velvet.” Courtney licked her lips.

“Tom loves your chocolate ones.” Jenna helped Mr. Finch prepare the tea.

“I’ll make a batch of each if that suits everyone.”

Murmurs of agreement had Angie reaching for the cocoa powder.

Jenna’s fiancé, Tom, and Ellie’s boyfriend, Jack Ford, were joining the family for dinner and Ellie had begun preparing the filling for the veggie enchiladas. Jenna and Courtney helped Mr. Finch up onto one of the stools and the three sipped their tea as they watched Angie prepare batter.

“We need to talk.” Courtney crossed her arms on the top of the island. “What does everyone think is going on with this guy, Ryan Allen.”

“Something happened at the car. What, I don’t know.” Angie cut squares of butter into the flour mixture. “I felt sparks of electricity when I touched the car.”

Even though she had her back to her sisters and Finch as she cut up some red peppers, Ellie was listening to every word and a little gasp of alarm escaped from her throat when Angie mentioned feeling something at the scene.

“Ryan’s ring was partially under the tire.” Jenna glanced up at Circe and smiled.

“Which suggests,” said Mr. Finch. “That the young man lost or removed his ring after getting out of his car once the vehicle plummeted into the ditch.”

“Maybe the ring slipped off when Ryan was checking the tires for damage?” Courtney was thinking out loud.

“Or, perhaps, Mr. Ryan had some help removing the piece of jewelry.” Mr. Finch lifted his teacup to his lips.

Everyone turned and stared at the man.

“Are you thinking foul play?” Ellie’s jaw had dropped. “I’ve been hoping that Ryan just wandered off.”

“If he just wandered off,” Courtney asked, “then where is he?”

“You think it was foul play, too?” Ellie’s voice shook.

Courtney pulled her honey-colored hair into a ponytail. “I don’t know what it is. I’m not saying he
didn’t
wander off. He could have. But where is he?”

Angie looked at Mr. Finch. “What are you thinking? A fight between Ryan and someone and the ring got pulled off in the tussle?”

“Perhaps. I don’t think we can rule out someone else in the car at the time it left the road.”

“Good point.” Jenna nodded. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Hmmm.” Courtney tapped her chin. “So someone else might have been in the car. Maybe an argument started as they were driving. Maybe they threw a few punches or shoved one another inside the car and that’s what caused it to fly into the ditch.”

“Or.” Mr. Finch had another idea. “Someone may have been following the young man. Mr. Ryan may have been forced off the road and when he emerged from his vehicle, a fight may have broken out with the person who was tailing him.”

Ellie said, “But Ryan didn’t tell his parents anything like that when he called them.”

Mr. Finch looked over the top of his glasses at Ellie. “Did you tell your mother everything that happened to you?”

Jenna knew the answer to that question. Even though they were close with their mother, sometimes they kept things from her so as not to upset her or to keep from getting into trouble. “Ryan may not have wanted his parents to get angry or upset right then. He might be like us. We sometimes told mom things
after
the fact. Maybe Ryan planned to spill his nighttime adventures to his parents the next day.”

“Or the next week.” Courtney chuckled. “Or the next month.”

‘Well, you’ll find out some things when you go talk to Ryan’s friend tomorrow.” Ellie had gone back to cutting up the vegetables.

“It may not be tomorrow,” Jenna said. “We haven’t heard from the chief yet.”

Angie’s phone was on the counter and it began to buzz and jiggle as it slid a bit on the smooth surface. Angie eyed Ellie as she picked up the phone. “It’s Chief Martin.” She wiped her hand on a dish towel and took the call. When she rang off after speaking with him, she gave Ellie a pointed look. “You did it again.”

“What?” Ellie blinked.

“Chief Martin said Courtney and I should meet him tomorrow at the police station. Ryan’s friend is coming in to be interviewed.”

Courtney sighed and looked at Ellie. “How do you know what’s going to happen before it does?”

“I don’t,” Ellie protested. Her voice was high. “I didn’t know the chief was going to call.”

Angie narrowed her eyes. “But you knew we were going to speak with Ryan’s friend
tomorrow
. You said so.”

“I just assumed things would move quickly.” Ellie picked up the knife she’d been using.

A knock sounded at the back door and in swooped Betty Hayes, Mr. Finch’s girlfriend and successful Sweet Cove Realtor. She glanced at Ellie holding the knife. “What’s the argument about?” Betty rushed to Finch’s side and plastered a big kiss on the man’s cheek. “Such a handsome man. How did I get so lucky?”

Finch blushed and the two cats trilled.

Betty bustled about the kitchen starting to make herself a cup of tea. “Do I want wine?” she asked. “Maybe later. Now I’ll have tea.” She turned the burner on and took a mug off the shelf. “Have you heard the news? Everyone’s talking about it. A missing boy from town. He disappeared last night. Good grief. There’s always something, isn’t there? It’s just one thing after another lately. Someone in the office said there must be a curse on the town.” Betty whirled around. “Do you believe in such things? Could there be a curse?” She hurried to Mr. Finch and took his hand. “What do you think, Victor? You’re always so sensible. Could there be a curse?”

Finch patted Betty’s hand to comfort her. “Miss Betty, bad things happen everywhere. One need only listen to or read the news to hear about the bad things. It’s not just in our fine town. The bad things get all the attention. There are far, far more good people and good things in the world than bad. That is what we must hold onto.”

Betty smiled. “You are a gem … and
you
are what I intend to hold onto.” She placed her hand tenderly on the side of the older man’s face … which turned the color of a beet even though Mr. Finch’s eyes twinkled from his sweetheart’s attention.

“Okay,” Courtney moaned. “Enough with the mushy stuff.”

“Yeah.” Jenna teased her sister. “Mushy stuff is only allowed when Rufus is around.”

“It smells delicious in here.” Betty sniffed the air.

“Miss Angie is making cupcakes,” Mr. Finch informed Betty. “And Miss Ellie is making enchiladas for dinner.”

“You’re staying?” Angie invited Betty. “Tom and Jack are coming, too.”

“I’d love to.” Betty took Finch’s arm and handed him his cane. “Why don’t we go into the living room and have a glass of sherry before dinner?” The two left the kitchen arm and arm. Euclid and Circe jumped off the refrigerator and padded down the hall after them.

“Those two.” Courtney shook her head as she watched Betty and Finch leave the room. “They’re like teenagers.”

Angie smiled. “I like it. It’s sweet that they found each other.”

The back door opened. “And it’s sweet that I found that beautiful brunette over there.” Tom came into the kitchen and made a beeline for Jenna. The tall, dark-haired man had a rugged build. He wrapped his fiancée in his arms and she beamed up at him.

“No smooching in the kitchen,” Courtney admonished them.

Still standing with his arms around Jenna, Tom glanced over his shoulder at the youngest Roseland sister. “Since when are you against love?”

Angie answered. “Since Rufus has gone to Boston for a few days to see a friend from Oxford who’s here visiting from England.”

“Ah.” Tom made himself a cup of coffee. “You all heard the news about the missing guy from town?” He looked at the sisters. “Did Chief Martin call you in?” Tom knew that the four sisters and Mr. Finch had special powers and that they sometimes used their skills to help the police with cases.

Jenna nodded. “We went with the chief this afternoon to see Ryan Allen’s car in the ditch.”

“Weird case.” Tom shook his head and carried his coffee to the kitchen island. “Where the heck is the kid? You think he just took off?”

“You think maybe he faked the whole thing?” Jenna prepared the rice. “Why not just leave if he wanted to go somewhere else? Why make his parents worry?”

“Who knows? You’ll all get to the bottom of it.” Tom smiled at Jenna.

Ellie turned to reach for some seasoning for the veggies. “Oh. Jack.”

Jack Ford, wearing a dark green bowtie, stood just inside the kitchen from the entrance to the back door. He held a bottle of wine in his hand. Jack looked from one to the other. “How will
you
all get to the bottom of the missing man case?” He tilted his head to one side in a questioning posture. Jack was unaware of the sisters’ powers.

“What?” Ellie stammered as she went to kiss her boyfriend and take the wine from him.

Tom covered for what Jack had heard him say. “I said ‘
they’ll
’ get to the bottom of it, meaning the authorities.”

For a moment Jack looked like he might ask something else, but then he focused his attention on Ellie who had taken his hand and was leading him out to the dining room.

When he was sure that Ellie and Jack were far enough down the hallway, Tom whispered, “I’d better be more careful. I didn’t realize he was there.”

Something about Tom’s words caused a shiver of unease to run over Angie’s skin.