CHAPTER 9
A fter finishing up the coffee klatch with my bestie, I hightailed it back to the reception counter where I helped an entire gaggle of guests check in and out of the inn.
And we are fortunate to have our fair share of crowds. In fact, the Country Cottage Inn is booked for most of the year for both good and bad reasons.
The good is, well, pretty obvious. The inn is a stately structure that stands tall against the Maine sky. It’s white with ivy-covered walls and bright blue shutters. There are over seventy rooms and three dozen cottages scattered around the property that people can rent or lease.
Jasper and I live in a cottage, as do Emmie and Leo, and even Georgie has been a long-time resident here. Nothing beats coastal Maine at any time of the year, but I have to admit, it does feel a little more special in the fall.
Grady, Nessa, and I finish up with the last of the crowd and I let them take a quick break together.
Grady Pennington is tall with dark hair and hails from Irish descent. Nessa Crosby is a cute brunette who also happens to be Emmie’s cousin. Both Grady and Nessa have worked for me for years now, and over the years they’ve not only cultivated a friendship, but they’ve fallen in love. So, yes, there have been lots of stolen kisses, lots of stolen everything between the two of them as of late. But I can’t blame them. They’re in their dating-honeymoon phase, and they haven’t been too shy about it either.
Fish jumps up onto the counter as Sherlock, Chestnut, and Acorn come around to where I’m standing and I offer each one of them a quick pat.
“How are you doing?” I ask as I pick up both Chestnut and Acorn.
As good as can be. Chestnut sighs. Fish and Sherlock really are helping.
That’s right, Acorn chirps. He’s about half the size of Chestnut and his voice has the most adorable squeak to it. And you’ve been nothing but kind. We’re more than grateful. And we know that our mama would be grateful, too.
Now what’s this big news you hinted at as we left the café? Chestnut asks with her big brown button eyes looking up at me with wonder.
I quickly and quietly relay the images I saw back in the café with Emmie and lay my assumptions before them as well.
Murder? Sherlock barks. That means there’s a killer on the loose!
And that means we’re going to track them down, Fish mewls. Hopefully before Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t mind enjoying a slice of pie with a side of justice.
“You and me both, sister,” I tell her. “But for that to happen, we need to start our investigation right this minute.”
What about Jasper? Sherlock gives a soft woof.
What about him? Fish hisses.
He’s the lead homicide detective, in case you forgot, Sherlock growls as he says it.
In name only, Fish meows before looking at Chestnut and Acorn. It’s Bizzy who brings down the killers around here. If anyone can track down who did this to Blythe, it’s my Bizzy. Now where do the two of you propose we start? Did your mama have any enemies?
Or anyone she may have had a disagreement with lately? Sherlock adds.
“And what do you know about this person or people who were harassing her?” I ask as well.
We thought everyone loved our mama , Chestnut sniffs as she exchanges a quizzical look with Acorn.
Everyone but that mean woman with the dark hair and a straight line for a smile. Acorn looks up at me. She’s the mama of the trio. That’s what Mama called her stepchildren. She didn’t care for our mama too much. But then, our mama didn’t care for her too much either.
Oh yes, Magda. Chestnut all but rolls her eyes at the mention of the woman.
“Magda? Magda Cooper?” I ask and they both nod, affirming the fact. “I just met her at the Friendsgiving event. In fact, I was introduced to her, but no one mentioned her connection to Blythe to me.” I think back on my interactions with the woman. “Of course . It all makes sense. She made some snippy remark as she was about to part ways with Blythe, something about mingling with her real friends.”
Not to mention the dark thoughts she had by the sand once Blythe’s body was discovered, but I keep that morose tidbit to myself. She said something to the effect that she had to make sure it looked as if she cared. And then mentioned celebrating with some bubbly once she got home. Clearly, she didn’t care for Blythe at all.
“Okay,” I say, suddenly invigorated. “We’ll start with Magda. And I know just where to find her. As soon as Grady and Nessa get back, we’ll head off to that grocery store she owns in Rose Glen. A grocery store sounds like a sane and peaceful start to our investigation.”
A man and a woman walk through the double doors of the inn, swinging their hands like a couple of teenagers, but it’s not Grady and Nessa. It’s another newly minted couple—my sister, Macy, and Emmie’s brother, Jordy.
Macy is my older sassy sister who dyes her hair platinum and wears it in a razor-sharp bob. She owns Lather and Light, a soap and candle shop down on Main Street, but what she hopes to be known for one day is her formidable maneater years. She’s rather proud of the fact she’s chewed up and spit out her fair share of handsome men.
And Jordy? Well, he’s sort of the male equivalent—and he just so happens to be my ex-husband.
It was nothing serious. We were married for less than a day. It involved Vegas, a bad Elvis impersonator, and some questionable liquor. My brother tested out his newly-minted legal eagle chops and quickly put the kibosh on that travesty to holy matrimony. But anyway, I digress. Yes, Jordy is handsome to a fault with his dark hair, blue eyes, and that boyish smile that never leaves his face. All of the above has worked wonders for him in the bedroom as well—of which I have no knowledge, thankfully.
He’s also the handyman here at the inn. Without Jordy, this place would have collapsed on itself long ago.
The two of them are basically the same person with different skin. And I’ll admit, they’re quite the pair.
Before they crest the threshold, Macy’s adorable Samoyed, Candy, bounds ahead of them, and soon Chestnut and Acorn bounce out of my arms as they join Fish and Sherlock in greeting them. Fish quickly does the introductions, and soon she’s sniffing and bolting up and down the main hall with the rest of the pooches.
“Top of the morning,” Macy sings as they head this way.
“Top of the afternoon,” I correct. “What are you two up to today?” I ask just before I regret the words. I have a feeling I don’t want to know. Just last week I caught them in what was supposed to be an empty room upstairs. All that hair and tangled-up flesh? Heaven knows I can never bleach that image out of my mind.
“Thinking about taking my woman to the café for a quick bite.” Jordy lifts her hand to his lips and takes a playful bite out of it.
Good grief.
“Looks like we all have food on the brain,” I say as I gather my things. “I’m heading over to Rose Glen. They’ve got a fancy boutique grocery store I’ve been dying to try out.”
“I know that place!” Macy gasps as she looks at Jordy. “We should go eat at the Cozy Corner Grocer and Gourmet,” she suggests with far too much enthusiasm.
“No, you shouldn’t,” I say a little too quick.
The last thing I need is Macy putzing up my investigation. She’s far too blunt and far too rude for me to garner any traction with. And Lord knows she loves to poke her nose where it doesn’t belong.
Some might say that’s a trait we’ve both garnered from our mother, but I will never claim that trait for myself. Although Jasper might be quick to do it.
“Yes, we should.” Macy presses on as she nods at Jordy. “They’ve got the best smoked chicken and a salad bar that goes on for miles.”
Jordy’s brows hitch in the middle as he laughs. Is she really trying to rope me in by way of a salad bar? He chuckles to himself. She’s cute, I’ll give her that. Heck, Macy could rope me into just about anything with nothing more than a single leaf of lettuce.
The rest of his thoughts flit to white noise and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
White noise is nature’s kind default system that quickly cuts me off from any unchaste thoughts a person might be having.
And believe me, I’ve thanked my lucky stars for that feature more than once.
“Oh, and they welcome pets into the store,” Macy offers. “They even have a doggie bar at the café inside. Candy just loves their Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey biscuits. If we leave now, we can beat the lunch rush.”
The next thing I know, they’re bolting out the door with Candy in tow.
“So much for a sane and peaceful start to my investigation,” I mutter just as Grady and Nessa come back.
I let them know I’ll be stepping out for a bit as I collect my purse, my pets, and what’s left of my sanity.
Macy and Jordy might be noshing on smoked chicken, but I’ll be dining on a heaping scoop of justice. And hopefully more than a few clues as to why someone would shoot Blythe Betty dead on the sandy shores of my inn.
Blythe may have been silenced forever—but Magda Cooper, you’re about to start talking.