Mobsters and Lobsters (A Hooked & Cooked Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Page 3

  Hannah smacked his arm. “Yeah, her, but she’s a bit too old for you. Jack skinny dipped with her and Caroline many moons ago.”

  Cal wiggled his eyebrows and elbowed Jack. “Sounds like a catch.”

  “I’m going home for breakfast. I’ll be back in a while,” Jack said, ignoring Cal’s dig.

  “Is she that bad?” Cal asked

  “I’ll let you judge for yourself. But watch out for her pig, Petunia.”

  “What?”

  Hannah laughed at Cal’s confused expression and walked to her office, hoping to have some luck sorting out her new weird problem.

  The first thing Hannah noticed when she opened her office door was the smell of cigarette smoke. The second thing was the sound of Pearl sobbing. Hannah waved her hand in front of her face and coughed. “Sorry, but there’s no smoking in here.”

  Pearl stabbed her cigarette out in an empty coffee mug. She hastily wiped her cheeks. “I gave up smoking ages ago but I keep one for emergencies. Hearing the news about poor Caroline made me remember how we used to sneak out of her bedroom window when we were kids to smoke on the roof. That cigarette was for her, wherever she may be.” Pearl made a grand gesture upward with her arms.

  “About accommodations,” Hannah began.

  Pearl stroked Petunia. Hannah couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like Petunia was purring, or maybe it was soft grunting. Whatever it was, she was beginning to think Petunia was adorable.

  “Don’t worry. We don’t need anything fancy. You can put us anywhere.” Pearl dabbed her eyes carefully, just enough to absorb the tears but not smudge the purple eye shadow. “And there’s something else.”

  Hannah sat down opposite Pearl and Petunia. She waited as patiently as possible.

  Pearl sighed. “Now that I’m getting over my initial shock and I have a good look at you, I should have realized from the moment I saw you that you must be Caroline’s great niece, Hannah. The new owner.”

  Hannah nodded.

  “You are the spitting image of Caroline.” She cocked her head sideways. “It’s a bit eerie, to be truthful.” She smoothed a piece of paper on the desk and slid it toward Hannah. “Take a look at this. It came with the letter.”

  Hannah picked up the paper. It was a crudely drawn map. She’d seen something like it right after she moved in. A treasure map that Jack was keeping safe and sound as far as she knew.

  Pearl continued. “To tell you the truth, the map is what really intrigued me. Caroline and I had a falling out years ago so I was actually a bit worried about seeing her again.” Pearl placed Petunia on the floor and she stood up. “Where am I staying?”

  For some reason Hannah couldn’t turn Pearl away. Was it the connection to Caroline and the possibility to find out more about her great aunt? Or was it the treasure map? Or was it Pearl’s quirkiness and Petunia’s endearing cuteness? Whatever it was, Hannah didn’t have time to do any deep analysis. Instead she said, “Follow me.”

  Hannah led Pearl and Petunia to Cottage Two. She had no idea what she would do if Lenny showed up but she’d cross that problem when she had to. Plus the issue of his camera bag. She unlocked the door, holding it open for her guests to enter. “You can stay here for as long as you like.”

  “I don’t expect I’ll stay for longer than a week. Petunia and I have reservations for a cruise.”

  The door closed just as Hannah heard Cal call her name. As she turned, her flip flop skidded on the sandy wood and she found herself sprawled at the bottom of the deck steps. Her knees and the palms of her hands burned from the slide. She groaned. Bad karma for letting Pearl stay in Lenny’s cottage?

  “Hannah, what happened?” Cal crouched down in front of her.

  She kicked off her flip flops and dusted the sand off her hands as best she could. “I slipped.” She pushed herself to her knees and Cal helped her to her feet. “You called me. What’s the problem now?” She heard the annoyance in her voice and felt bad to take it out on Cal. He was only trying to help.

  “I just heard that a body has been sighted,” he answered as they walked toward the office.

  She froze. “I have to go into town to find out more.”

  Chapter 4

  Hannah drove straight to Ruby’s house in town. She pulled up in time to join Ruby as she walked Olivia to school. The short walk and Olivia’s calming chatter gave Hannah time to sort her thoughts and make a plan. Olivia hugged her mom and aunt before running off to her kindergarten line.

  “I wasn’t expecting to see you this early, don’t you have a million things to take care of before your snack bar opens on Saturday?” Ruby asked as they walked side by side.

  “This visit wasn’t on my agenda until about twenty minutes ago when Cal informed me that a body was sighted. We need to find out if it’s Lenny. He never returned to his cottage so my guess is he won’t be bothering you anymore.”

  Ruby opened her front door. Hannah inhaled the scent of coffee. “Have anything to go with that coffee?”

  “Blueberry muffins? How does that sound?”

  “Perfect.” Hannah found two mugs and poured coffee while Ruby put the muffins on a plate. They sat opposite each other at the small round table in Ruby’s kitchen.

  “Here’s what I’m thinking,” Hannah said. “We’ll head over to the Bayside Marina and find out what Chase Fuller knows. He rented the boat to Lenny that capsized, so with some luck, he may be able to fill us in with some details we don’t already know. I can use the excuse that Lenny was renting a cottage from me and I’m concerned about his whereabouts, blah, blah, blah. Chase likes to talk about himself so you can stroke his ego about how great his Bayside Marina looks or what a flattering haircut he has or whatever you think of. Just figure out how to flatter him so he wants to share information with us.”

  “So if the body is Lenny, we wipe our hands and walk away like we know nothing about him?” Ruby asked.

  “Exactly.”

  “And if the body isn’t Lenny?” Ruby asked with a fearful look in her eyes.

  “Who else could it be? Was anyone else at that house when you visited him?”

  “I didn’t see anyone, but if I know anything about Lenny, he always had an escape plan.” Ruby chewed on her lower lip and absentmindedly picked blueberries out of her muffin.

  “You think he planned this accident to fake his own death?”

  “Listen Hannah. I don’t know what to think, all right? I’ve been running away from this man for over five years and he always manages to pop back into the edge of my life like a bad nightmare. Until I see the body, I refuse to assume he’s dead.”

  Hannah nodded her head. “Fair enough. I’ll add see the body to our plan.” She wrote an imaginary note on an invisible piece of paper.

  “Another thing that has been bothering me,” Ruby paused and waited for Hannah’s full attention, “why did he show up to rent one of your cottages and leave his bags behind? Do you think he could have connected us and now he’ll use you to get to me?”

  Hannah waved her hand dismissively. “Of course, that would assume he’s still alive. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.” Or was it, she wondered. The remark Lenny made to Hannah about whether they met before and how he studied her face now had new meaning. Anyone would know in the blink of an eye that Ruby and Hannah were sisters. He knew. It must be part of his game plan. Hannah decided not to alarm Ruby with that detail. Yet.

  Hannah finished her coffee and last bite of muffin before she pushed her chair back. “Let’s get going. I do need to get back to my cottages before Sherry Wolfe runs into Petunia again. With my luck, Petunia will root around in Sherry’s backpack and eat her snacks.”

  Ruby gave Hannah a puzzled look. “Who is Petunia?”

  “Actually, she’s a potbelly pig that arrived this morning with an interesting, to put it mildly, old friend of Great Aunt Caroline’s. You’ll have to bring Olivia around after school. She’ll love Petunia.”

  They walked to the marina with the so
und of helicopters overhead. “I thought you said they found a body,” Ruby said.

  “Yeah. That’s what I heard.” They continued in silence, Hannah worrying more and more that if a body was found and if they were still searching, it could only mean one thing—the body wasn’t that of Lenny DiMarco.

  Hannah was startled from her daydream when Sherry Wolfe called to her. “Hannah? Is that you?” Sherry picked up her pace to catch up with Hannah and Ruby. “What’s going on here? I was walking on the beach and the peace and quiet was completely destroyed by the horrible helicopter flying overhead and boats patrolling the shoreline.”

  “There’s been an accident, Sherry. I don’t know the particulars yet.”

  Sherry’s hand went to her mouth. “Oh dear. A boating accident?”

  “Yes. That’s what it sounds like.”

  “Oh dear,” she said again. “This vacation is not turning out to be the relaxing getaway I was so hoping for. That pig almost gave me a heart attack, and now this.” She pulled a packet of crackers from her pocket, removed the wrapper, and stuffed one in her mouth. “I hope things get back to normal. What is normal for this town?” she asked with bits of cracker spraying from her mouth.

  Hannah smiled, hoping to distract Sherry. “This is a wonderful town with lots of interesting activities. Since you like walking, you might want to join the birder group on Saturday or go to the open house at Simply Sweets and sample their new chocolate creations.”

  “Oh, chocolate, now you’ve hit my weak spot. Thanks for the tips. Toodle-oo.”

  “One of your guests?” Ruby asked after Sherry was out of earshot.

  “Yup. Kind of needy, I think she’ll be a handful.”

  They turned into the driveway for the Bayside Marina, and by the looks of the parking lot, it had been transformed into rescue central. The parking area was cleared of cars for a landing space for the helicopter. Hannah saw the back of Officer Pam Larson and, over her shoulder, Chase Fuller’s scowling face. He was getting a grilling which wouldn’t put him in an agreeable mood. Hopefully Ruby was on her best charm and flatter A-game if they had any hope of pumping Chase for information about Lenny.

  Pam marched off when the helicopter landed. Fortunately, she never saw Hannah and Ruby.

  Hannah called to Chase. He hesitated, then walked toward the two women. “I’m busy, and this disaster is hurting my business. What do you want?”

  Hannah started in, “I know exactly how you feel, Chase. Lenny was staying in one of my cottages and I’m trying to find out what happened to him.”

  Ruby moved closer to Chase. “You’re marina is much too popular for this to have any lasting repercussions.” She fluttered her lashes shamelessly.

  “Well,” Chase’s shoulders relaxed. He looked around and hustled them to a far corner away from the police milling about. “I don’t know much but I’ll share this—Lenny DiMarco came across as an arrogant know-it-all, and if he got into trouble on the rocky point where the boat capsized, he’s got no one to blame but himself. I tried to warn him to stay away from that area, especially at high tide. The unfortunate thing is,” Chase lowered his voice, “the body they found isn’t Lenny.”

  Ruby’s fingers tightened on Hannah’s arm. “Who was it?” she asked.

  “I can’t figure it out. I never saw anyone get in the boat with him. That’s what Officer Larson was interrogating me about. She thinks I’m hiding something to help Lenny.”

  “Why would she think that?”

  Chase shrugged. “Because I rented the boat to him? I don’t know. I never met the guy before.”

  “Thanks for the information, Chase. One more question—did they identify the dead guy yet?”

  “If they did, they aren’t sharing the information.” He waved his arm up in the air. “And as you can see, they’re still searching for Lenny. No one thinks he could survive the cold water or the rocks. He may never be found if he got battered to bits.”

  “Wouldn’t something float ashore?”

  “It’s possible. Maybe some clothing. He could even be wedged in an underwater crevice. At any rate, I don’t think you should expect him back at your cottage, Hannah.” Chase walked through the police to his office and slammed the door.

  “Let’s get out of here, Ruby. I don’t want Officer Larson to spot us.” Hannah pulled Ruby’s arm to get her moving.

  Ruby didn’t budge. “Lenny’s not dead. I know it,” she mumbled.

  Officer Pam Larson turned around and spotted Hannah.

  “Come on Ruby.” Hannah tugged with more force.

  Too late. Pam was stomping toward them.

  “Don’t say anything,” Hannah whispered to Ruby. “Let me answer the questions.”

  “The Holiday sisters. What brings you to the marina? Are you planning a boating excursion?”

  “Hello Pam. Just chatting with Chase. We’ll be on our way now,” Hannah answered as she tried to pull Ruby along with her.

  “Not so fast. How did you know Lenny DiMarco, Ruby?” Pam stared at Ruby.

  Just what Hannah feared. How would Ruby answer that general question? Ruby couldn’t lie, but was Pam bluffing? Did she find something in Lenny’s duffle bag? Hannah gave herself a good mental smack for not checking that bag, too, before Pam took it.

  “Ruby?”

  Ruby’s mouth opened. She looked at Hannah. Hannah held her breath.

  “I don’t know him,” Ruby lied.

  “Have you ever seen him?” Pam asked.

  Ruby’s eyes darted between Pam and Hannah. “No,” came out more like an exhaled breath of air than a word.

  Pam nodded. “Let’s hope he shows up safe and sound.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Hannah demanded.

  “You figure it out,” Pam answered as she was walking away. She stopped and turned her head back toward Hannah and Ruby. “He was a photographer. I wonder what happened to his camera.”

  Hannah didn’t give Ruby a chance to answer. She dragged her sister back to the road and back to Ruby’s house.

  “Will you be okay here by yourself?” Hannah asked Ruby after she got her settled on the couch.

  “I don’t know. What if Lenny shows up?”

  “Come home with me. Call the school and have Olivia dropped off at the cottages. She’ll be happy about that change.” Hannah dashed around throwing extra clothes into a bag. “Let’s go. It might be time to talk to Meg’s brother at the Pub and Pool Hall. He always hears what’s going on around town. The juicier the better.”

  Hannah’s phone beeped with a message from Cal. Where r u? Got a bit of a problem here.

  Chapter 5

  Hannah couldn’t even pull her old Volvo station wagon into the driveway to her cottages. She parked at Jack’s house. Who did all these cars belong to, she wondered as she walked to her office and Ruby vanished into Hannah’s cottage.

  Jack sat at Hannah’s desk. “You’re not going to like this. Pearl has some visitors.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, her first husband, Tony Amato, and their grandson Rocky. I don’t know who the other three characters are, but I’m not sure if they have a brain between them.”

  “They all came in separate cars?” Hannah swiveled her head to look out the window. Five big Cadillacs were parked behind Pearl’s red Mazda Miata, pulled in all willy nilly, blocking the entrance for anyone wanting to go in or out of the driveway. Great, this would give Sherry one more thing to complain about. Her little sedan wouldn’t be leaving until Hannah figured out how to get rid of these people.

  Cal stomped inside, obviously angry. “I can’t get my truck around these boats out here, Hannah. I’ve got a truckload of material to unload.”

  Hannah put her hands up. “Okay. I’m on it.” Hannah was steaming. She let Pearl finagle a cottage because of her connection to Great Aunt Caroline, but guests? This was too much. She knocked on the door of Cottage Two.

  The door opened a crack. “Hey Nana. There’s a cute girl out here. Ca
n I let her in?”

  Hannah’s outrage flew off the chart. She stuck her foot in the door to be sure she wouldn’t be locked out. She shrieked when her bare toes came in contact with something warm and wet.

  The door opened a bit more. “Don’t worry, Doll Face, it’s just a little pig.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m Rocky, who are you?”

  Hannah ignored the loudmouth and pushed into the room. Besides Casanova Rocky at the door, four other men either lounged on the bed or slouched on chairs watching TV. The room was filled with enough smoke to create a haze and she wondered why the smoke alarm wasn’t screeching. Hannah’s hands clenched into tight fists. “Who dismantled the smoke alarm? Pearl? We need to talk.” Hannah stomped out to the cottage’s porch and waited.

  And waited.

  And waited.

  Petunia joined Hannah and looked up at her like she was expecting a treat. Hannah softened a bit. It wasn’t Petunia’s fault. She made a mental note to keep a handful of treats for Petunia in her pocket along with Nellie’s dog treats.

  Finally, Pearl walked through the door dressed in a long loose multi-colored muumuu and a towel wrapped around her head “Sorry. I was in the shower. Had to get the cigarette smell out of my hair.”

  Hannah raised her eyebrows. “The room is so filled with smoke, I almost called the fire department. Which one of your lovely guests disconnected the smoke alarm? I already have the building inspector giving me grief. Do you have any idea what he’d do if he found out about that?” Hannah clenched her jaw. “What’s going on in there, Pearl? The cottage isn’t big enough to accommodate all these people.” What she kept to herself was that she had less than zero desire to even try to accommodate any of them, except Petunia.

  “You think I want them here? My ex-husband, Tony, is inside. I can’t stand him. The only reason I let him in was because Rocky’s been looking out for him. They’re kind of a package deal. Did you meet Rocky? My grandson, my pride and joy. He’d be perfect for you. You know, if you’re in the market.” Pearl looked hopefully at Hannah.

  “I’m not, and they have to go. Now. My guests and my employees can’t even get into the driveway.” Hannah’s voice went up with each word.