Crook, Line and Sinker (A Hooked & Cooked Cozy Mystery Series Book 4) Read online

  Crook, Line and Sinker

  A Cozy Murder Mystery

  Lyndsey Cole

  Contents

  Crook, Line and Sinker

  Copyright

  Connect with me:

  Book Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  A Note from Lyndsey

  About the Author

  Also by Lyndsey Cole

  Crook, Line and Sinker

  A Hooked & Cooked Cozy Mystery Series

  Lyndsey Cole

  Copyright © 2016 Lyndsey Cole

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author and/or publisher. No part of this publication may be sold or hired, without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the writer’s imagination and/or have been used fictitiously in such a fashion it is not meant to serve the reader as actual fact and should not be considered as actual fact. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Connect with me:

  [email protected]

  www.facebook.com/LyndseyColeAuthor

  Book Description

  Hannah Holiday can’t help herself when a down-and-out guy shows up at The Fishy Dish with his sad-eyed beagle. She offers him a part-time job, even though everyone warns her that he’s a cup short of a disaster.

  When trouble arrives in the form of a mysterious amount of money, everything heats up. To make matters worse, Hannah, with the help of her hunky friend, Cal, stumbles on a body. Any way Hannah slices the unfolding secrets, the biggest riddle of all will make someone richer than rich. And Hannah suspects that someone is the killer.

  But when evidence piles up and excuses layer on top of motives, Hannah looks like she’s the one with the biggest motive for murder. Armed with information she thinks will smoke out the real killer, Hannah walks right into a red hot fire.

  1

  “He’ll never work out, Hannah,” Meg warned her employer as she hefted her favorite chopping knife. “I’ve known Dwayne Dunn forever. Don’t hire him. He used to be known as one of the smartest kids to grow up in Hooks Harbor.”

  Meg diced the potatoes for her clam chowder with a vengeance. The muscles in her jaw clenched as if that was the only way to force more words to stay unspoken.

  Hannah restocked her drink cooler in The Fishy Dish with cold drinks—lemonade, iced tea, sparkling water, and various fruit mixtures.

  She valued Meg’s opinion. Usually. But those comments really got under her skin. She didn’t like it when Meg told her what to do. It was her business, and if she wanted to give Dwayne Dunn a chance, she would.

  Hannah knew they each approached people from opposite directions. Meg thought tough love was the only way but Hannah believed it couldn’t hurt to give someone a second chance, along with positive reinforcement, of course.

  Dwayne belonged in the second chance category as far as Hannah was concerned.

  Sure, he was homeless. But how could he afford a place of his own without a job? And sure, he had some problems, but he was smart and friendly. She decided to hire him for some part-time work around her snack bar, The Fishy Dish, and her Holiday Hideaway guest cottages. Simple jobs, like picking up bits of litter, sweeping the porches, carrying luggage to guests’ cottages, and maybe even walking her golden retriever, Nellie.

  Hannah needed to free herself from those mundane tasks—even if she loved the time alone with Nellie on the beach, she didn’t always have time—and if she could give Dwayne a few hours of work a day and a meal, it was well worth it in her mind.

  And, she had to consider Patches. When Dwayne first showed up at the kitchen door of The Fishy Dish, looking for work, his hair long and scraggly, covered by a floppy hat, his jeans torn and dirty, she almost turned him away.

  Until she looked into the gentle dark eyes of his beagle, Patches.

  Who could resist those eyes? Not Hannah.

  If helping Dwayne helped Patches, she would see it as a win-win.

  “And one more thing.” Apparently Meg lost her battle to keep her words in. “Everyone suspects him of stealing. He can’t help himself. How else would he be able to support himself? And you know what the worst part is?” Meg didn’t wait for Hannah’s response. “He was the one that everyone thought would be the most likely to succeed.” She shook her head, disgusted. “It’s a terrible waste.”

  Hannah pushed the hairs stuck on her sweaty forehead away with her arm. “I’ve made up my mind.”

  “Well, lock everything up or else he’ll be dipping his fingers in your cash box before long. You might even want to install a security system.” She returned to her manic dicing.

  That would be a lousy way to treat an employee, Hannah thought. But, on the other hand, what if someone decided to frame him since he was already suspected of crimes he had yet to even possibly commit? She would talk to Cal about a security camera.

  With a smile at the thought of tall, handsome, beach-bum–looking, more-than-a-friend, Cal, Hannah was ready to get to work next to Meg. But a voice behind her made her smile grow before she even had a chance to break free of her daydream.

  “Hi, gorgeous. Got a minute to go over the plans for your new cottage?”

  Hannah brought a bowl of clam chowder to the counter for Cal without asking if he wanted any. She knew what he liked.

  “You read my mind. I didn’t have time for lunch today,” Cal said as he tore open the little package of oyster crackers. “Anything new happening around here? By the look of Meg’s sour puss face, I’m guessing you two had a disagreement about something.”

  “Uh huh,” Hannah replied. She busied herself with cleaning the counter and straightening up all the condiment containers as a way to avoid talking about her conflict with Meg.

  Cal dug into the chowder as if he hadn’t eaten in days. “Ahhh. That hit the spot.” He leaned back and twisted until his spine made a loud crack. “So, fill me in.”

  “I hired someone part-time to do some of the daily chores like cleaning up litter, carrying luggage, that sort of stuff.”

  “About time. You shouldn’t be doing any of those things around here. Who’d you hire?”

  “Dwayne Dunn.”

  Cal’s eyes bugged out. “Are you—”

  She held up her hand. “And before you say anything, I’m giving him a chance to prove himself with some small responsibilities. If it doesn’t work out, he’ll lose
the job.”

  “It won’t work out,” Cal muttered. “I’m not sure if he’s ever had a job, and the last year or so have been worse than ever for him. His wife threw him out and I heard that he’s homeless. Are you going to let him move into one of the cottages next?”

  Hannah slammed her hands on the counter. “Listen, I refuse to argue with all of you about this. I’ve made up my mind.” She started to turn away. “Besides, he has a dog.”

  Cal sighed. “A dog. That’s what this is all about? Just offer to give his dog some food and a home, without Dwayne.”

  “I can’t do that. Patches looked at me with his soulful brown eyes and I couldn’t turn them away.”

  “Okay, but I’m installing a security system for you. I’ve been thinking you should have one anyway, and now it jumped to the top of my to-do list.”

  “All right. I’ll agree to that.” Hannah grabbed herself a cold iced tea from her drink cooler and held it against her cheek. “Want one?”

  Cal took off his cap and wiped his brow. “Please. Let’s sit outside under one of the umbrellas and enjoy your beautiful spot on the ocean before you risk losing everything with this business decision.”

  Hannah frowned. Why was everyone on her case about hiring Dwayne Dunn? Was he that bad? Was she making a mistake? She was determined to be extra careful and vigilant. Just in case.

  She slid in next to Cal with her shoulder leaning into his arm. She could never get tired of how he made her feel; or the view over the beach to the ocean and beyond. Once again, she gave a silent thanks to her Great Aunt Caroline for having enough faith in her to leave this incredible property on the coast of Maine and her guest cottages and snack bar business to her.

  She hoped she didn’t let her down.

  Not that Hannah really believed that her Great Aunt Caroline was hovering around as some type of ghostly presence keeping an eye on her, but it was possible.

  Cal spread out the blueprint for Hannah’s new cottage. It was just like she had imagined—on the knoll behind, and a little to the side, of the other four guest cottages, high enough to have an unobstructed view of the ocean, and far enough away to be blissfully quiet except for the rhythmic music of the waves rolling in and out.

  “I’ve got all the materials ordered, the foundation is done, and I’ll start framing tomorrow.” He looked at Hannah. “Any last minute changes?”

  “I don’t think so. You took all my ideas and made them better. As long as I have a big wraparound porch with a hanging swing, I’ll be happy.”

  “What’s your plan with Cottage One? Will you enlarge the office portion?”

  “Nope. Samantha Featherstone has her eye on moving in. Permanently. She’s tired of paying the weekly rent in Cottage Two and is chafing at the bit to have a long term rental in the apartment half of Cottage One.”

  Cal’s eyebrows shot up under his cap. “To do private investigating?”

  “No, at her age she’s finally given that dream up. But I’m under no illusion that she’ll ever stop sticking her nose into any interesting story that crosses her path. Eighty years old or not, she’ll never give up her obsession with solving problems. Other peoples’ problems,” Hannah added.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Cal said. “Have Samantha keep an eye on your new employee. That will keep her busy and out of your hair, and when Dwayne steps out of line, you’ll know immediately.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Deadly serious. Don’t mess around with Dwayne. Go ahead and give him a chance, but be smart about it.”

  She sent a puff of air up to blow stray hairs out of her face. “Okay. I’ll talk to Samantha.”

  “Great. I’m glad we solved that problem so we can move on to the next one.” His eyes twinkled as he looked at Hannah. “Dinner at my boat tonight?”

  Hannah looked into Cal’s ocean blue eyes and grinned. “I never say no to that kind of problem. What do you want me to bring?”

  He draped his arm around Hannah’s shoulder. “Just you. I’ll take care of everything else. Once I get going with your cottage, I won’t have time to make dinner for you so tonight it’s my surprise.”

  “Perfect. Pizza and beer then?”

  Cal laughed but only answered with, “I’m not telling.”

  Hannah walked to her office and found her octogenarian neighbor, Jack, and her almost-new tenant, Samantha, in a heated discussion.

  “I’m sure I saw a picture of the guy that’s hosting the big garden party fundraiser in the paper. He’s some sort of big hotshot CEO of something or other,” Samantha said.

  Jack rolled his eyes when Hannah entered. “That’s probably why you’re private investigating career never went anywhere, Samantha. You can’t remember his name or the name of the company. What good is that?”

  Samantha huffed and shook her silver curls. “Details. Who cares about those details?”

  Hannah leaned against the antique desk that once belonged to her Great Aunt Caroline but was now covered with Hannah’s invoices and the guest register for her Holiday Hideaway cottages. “I’ve got a surveillance job for you, Samantha.”

  Samantha’s eyes opened wide with a bright glow, probably from the light reflecting off the window when she turned, but it certainly made her look excited. “I’d love to,” she responded.

  “Aren’t you even going to wait to hear Hannah’s plan?” Jack asked.

  “Nope. This old body needs a shot of adrenaline or else it might just wither away to nothing. Can’t let that happen.” She swiveled her chair around to face Hannah. “What do you have in mind?”

  Hannah picked up a paper from the bottom of the pile on her desk and handed it to Samantha. “I hired this guy. Part time. Odd jobs. Keep an eye on him.”

  Samantha scanned the paper. “Dwayne Dunn. Forty two. No employment history. No address.” She looked up at Hannah. “Is this a joke?”

  Jack leaned across the desk and snatched the paper. “Dwayne Dunn? Why on earth are you giving him a job? You’ll be lucky if he ever shows up, and if he does he’ll probably steal you blind.”

  Hannah rubbed her jaw, counted silently to ten, and grimaced. “He’s got a dog named Patches and he starts tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like this job is right up my alley.” Samantha jumped out of her chair as quickly as her stiff joints allowed, which meant not as quickly as she would have liked. “I’m on it. I’ll see what I can discover on the internet, and I’ll watch him like a hawk tomorrow.”

  Jack shook his head. “Why do you encourage her?” he asked Hannah. “Just when she finally came to grips with the fact that she’s really not a private investigator, you dust off her obsession and feed it with a cup full of sugar.”

  “It can’t do any harm for Samantha to keep an eye on Dwayne while he’s working.”

  Jack cocked his head. “You think she’ll stop at that? She’ll be following him all over town. Probably get herself in a heap of trouble.”

  “Well, I’m glad everyone is so sympathetic to this guy’s problems,” she said with her voice dripping sarcasm. “Lock up the office when you go home. I’m heading out to have dinner with Cal.”

  “Wait a minute, Hannah. It’s great what you are trying to do, but don’t you know that everyone has given Dwayne a million chances over the years and he’s blown every one of them? He just doesn’t understand how to get along with people. Sometimes tough love is the only way.”

  “I hope this opportunity proves all of you wrong. And don’t forget about his dog. I think that anyone who treats a dog right can’t be all bad.” She walked through the door that connected her office to her apartment.

  She fumed and couldn’t wait until Cal got her new cottage ready so she could be farther away from the drama connected to her business. A bit more distance was a welcome thought.

  After her shower, she braided her long wet hair, slipped a sundress on, found her flip-flops, and took a quick look in the mirror. “Looks good enough to me. Come on, Nellie, let’s see what ki
nd of pizza Cal has for me tonight, and I’m sure he’ll have a yummy dog treat for you.”

  Nellie woofed in agreement.

  Hannah patted Nellie’s head. “Thanks for understanding. Sometimes it feels like I’m swimming the wrong way against the tide, but you’re always right there at my side, aren’t you?”

  Another woof and a tail wag that smacked Hannah’s leg made her feel one step closer to leaving her troubles at home for the night.

  As she left the parking lot in her ancient dark blue Volvo station wagon that once belonged to her great aunt, she was surprised to see Dwayne and Patches walking toward her snack bar.

  Hannah slammed on her brakes and turned around.

  2

  Hannah parked just as Dwayne reached the split rail fence that separated the parking area from the path to The Fishy Dish.

  “Dwayne? Are you looking for me?” Hannah asked through her rolled-down window.

  “Oh, Ms. Hannah. Yes, I am, as a matter of fact.”

  Hannah slipped from the driver seat and stood with the door ajar, waiting for Dwayne to continue.

  He set his backpack down and Patches sat next to it. Patches also seemed to be waiting patiently for Dwayne’s next move. He carefully placed his floppy hat on top of his backpack and patted Patches before he turned toward Hannah.

  “Nice place you’ve got here, Ms. Hannah.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  His head turned slowly, taking in the view, before his eyes settled on Hannah’s face. “Is the snack bar closed?”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “I’m not, but I was hoping to buy something for Patches.”

  This is awkward, Hannah thought. She looked at Nellie sitting in the backseat of her car. “You can share some food with Patches, can’t you Nellie?”