Murder at Jade Cove (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 2) (8 page)

“No problem. Mike and I
were just finishing up. Mike, see you at home. Let’s not make any plans for the
weekend. Can you take a little time off from this case? We haven’t spent much
time together lately and I’d like to talk to you about our wedding. I know
you’re not terribly interested in the details, but I’d like to run some things
by you.”

“Sure,” Mike said as he
stood up. “Since we’ve been engaged a few months now, it’s probably time to
make this thing legal. Don’t forget I asked your kids for permission to marry
you. They may begin to wonder if I just wanted to move in with you, so yeah,
let’s plan on doing that this weekend.”

As Kelly walked into the
kitchen, Mike bent down and put his plate under the table so Rebel could lick
the scraps off of it and whispered, “Don’t tell her about this. It’s our little
secret.” When Kelly opened the swinging doors of the kitchen a few minutes
later, the plate was back on the table, clean as a whistle, Rebel was on his
bed near the cash register, and Mike was getting into his sheriff’s car. She
may have suspected what had occurred between Mike and Rebel, but without proof,
it was only just a suspicion.

*****

Zen Master Scott Monroe was the head
of the White Cloud Retreat Center that was located about ten miles south of
Cedar Bay. People came from all over the United States to take part in the
retreats and residential programs he led as well as the workshops the center
held. The beautiful large two story wood-faced house that was the center of the
retreat area had been a lumber baron’s in the last century and had a commanding
view of the ocean from the hill where it sat. White clouds often settled around
the hill and when Scott bought it from the lumber baron’s heirs, he decided to
name the center for the perpetually cloudy setting. He’d converted the large
living room into a meditation room. Several other rooms in the main building
and outlying buildings had been made into teaching and workshop areas. Twenty
acres of vineyards surrounded the buildings and flourished in the cloudy and
misty setting. The wine produced from them was a major source of income for the
center. Zen students who stayed at the retreat center for the residential
programs were required to work several hours a day in the vineyards.

Kelly had attended a
couple of yoga workshops there over the years and had become friends with
Scott, as he preferred to be called. He was a Zen Master whose feet were firmly
planted in the here and now. The only time he wore the Zen robes was when he
was leading something that required him to look official. He and Kelly had a
shared interest in food and from time to time he stopped by the coffee shop to
talk to her and occasionally bring her a bottle of wine that had been produced
at the center. The center had a large wine tasting room which was open to the
public and had developed quite a reputation for having excellent pinot noir
wines.

The bearded burly man
standing at the cash register dressed in jeans and a leather jacket bore no
resemblance to what one would envision as a Zen Master, particularly one of the
most revered contemporary Buddhists in the entire country. “Scott, it’s so good
to see you,” Kelly said, kissing him on the cheek. How are things going out at
the retreat center?”

“Busy, Kelly, really busy.
There’s been increasing interest all over the United States in meditation and
every program we’ve recently offered has been filled to capacity. I’m even
thinking of building two more dormitories to house all the people who want to
come to the center. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy we’re doing so well, but the people
that come expect to spend some one-on-one time with the Zen Master and it
really is impacting my time. I had a chance to escape today, so I dropped by to
give you this bottle of wine. Consider it an early wedding present. I hear that
you and Sheriff Mike are getting married and I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“Well, you’ll definitely
be at the top of the invitation list. If I wasn’t Catholic, I’d want you to
marry us, but right now I’m hoping Father Brown can perform the ceremony. I’ve
known him so long he’s kind of like family to me.”

“I understand, but if for
some reason that doesn’t work out, keep me in mind. We’re starting a week long
Introduction to Zen program tomorrow and all the new students will be arriving
in a few hours so I need to go back and get ready for them. Anyway, I hope you
enjoy the wine and I’ll see you at your wedding. Have you set a date yet?”

“No, funny you should ask.
You just missed Mike and I was telling him we needed to discuss it this
weekend. I’d like to get married around Valentine’s Day. I know it’s kind of
trite, but I think it would be romantic.”

“Well, if that’s what you
want to do, then just do it, and I don’t think it’s trite at all. I’m sure
everyone else would agree with me. By the way, weddings can be pretty stressful.
You know you’re always welcome to come to the center and take a class or two.
Hope to see you soon!”

“You’re right. I’ve been
thinking I need to do that. I always feel better when I take some classes. I
just put it on my high priority list. Thanks again for stopping by and bringing
the wine. I know we’ll enjoy it and do me a favor, try not to work too hard.
You’re training all these people on how to deal with stress, but are you
practicing what you preach?”

Scott threw back his head
and laughed. “Isn’t there some old saying about how the shoemaker’s children
had no shoes? I keep reminding myself that I can’t stop my meditation practice,
no matter how busy it gets. You haven’t been out there in a year or so, but I
have a pretty full staff. I’ve got seven monks and five nuns who assist me.
Matter of fact, I even talked my brother into moving to the center from where
he lives back East and helping me out. He’s teaching some classes on stress
reduction and yoga. He was a high-powered advertising executive who just burned
out from too much stress and pressure at work. Even with the extra help, I’m
still the one who often needs to make the final decision about something, and
yes, that can be a little stressful. See you later.”

“Bye, Scott. You take care
of yourself!”

Kelly checked the kitchen as she got
ready to lock up for the day and noticed that there was half a cheesecake on
the counter.
Roxie must have forgotten to put it in the walk-in. If I take
it home I’ll probably eat it, and since I’m going to have to fit into a wedding
dress in the near future, I probably better avoid it. I know what. I’ll take it
out to Marcy. I’d like to talk to her anyway and I’m curious if she’ll say
anything about Gabe.

It took her about fifteen
minutes to get to the driveway that led up to the Black’s ranch house. She
remembered her conversation with Bonnie the day before and her description of
the little rundown shack on the adjoining BLM property.
I thought I knew
pretty much everything about the land around here, but I’ve never seen that old
abandoned shack. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been on that piece of land.
Wonder if I can even get on it. The way she described it, sounds like the shack
is about half-way to the point.

Kelly decided she wanted
to try and see if she could find the shack, so she drove past the long driveway
that led to the Black’s ranch, slowed the minivan down, and looked for a way to
get onto the fenced BLM property. A few hundred feet up the highway she saw a
small sign with the words “BLM Property – No Trespassing” on it. She drove a
few hundred feet past the sign and pulled off onto the shoulder.

“Come on, Rebel. Let’s see
what this abandoned shack’s all about. Doesn’t look like anyone’s around, so we
shouldn’t get arrested. Even though it’s gated, I think there’s enough of a gap
in the gate that we can slip through.” They crossed the highway and easily
entered the property. Ahead of her she could just make out a small narrow path.
“Looks like a footpath. I don’t see any tire tracks and anyway, it’s too narrow
for a truck or an ATV.”

Through the heavy forest,
she could just make out the cliffs that dropped off dramatically to Jade Cove
and the swirling ocean below. Dappled sunlight made it hard for Kelly to see as
she made her way along the path. She almost missed the tiny shack just off to
the left side of the path. She walked over to it and saw the door hanging at an
odd angle from one badly rusted hinge. She gently pushed it open and thought,
Bonnie
was right. The only creatures that live here are birds and little critters
.
The windows were nonexistent, having been broken out long ago. From the looks
of it, no one had been there for a long time. She looked around, curious as to
why the old shack had been built in the first place and who had used it. The
view of Jade Cove and the ocean beyond it was breathtaking. She stood and
looked out through one of the broken windows at the ocean for a long time.

A developer would kill for
this land. This view is even better than the one from the Black’s ranch house
. She walked over to the
other window to check out the view from it. At the end of the cove,
approximately a hundred yards away, she could clearly see both the shack Jeff
had converted into an office and the ranch house beyond it. 

Dirt had replaced several
of the rotted-out floorboards beneath her. She pulled her attention away from
the view, suddenly aware that Rebel was furiously digging in the dirt. “Rebel,
stop. What are you doing? Did you find an old bone or some animal?” He looked up
at her and barked and began digging again, then pushed something on the ground
with his nose. She bent down, picked it up and gasped. It was an expended brass
cartridge from a gun.

“Good boy, Rebel. That’s
really bizarre. From what I remember when my dad used to hunt, it looks like
that cartridge came from some type of a hunting rifle. Why would anyone use
this shack for hunting? With the steep cliffs, this doesn’t seem like a place
where game would be found. It doesn’t make any sense at all. Why would a hunter
be in here?”

She searched the little
shack for a few more minutes, but she didn’t find anything else.
Well,
someone was here and shooting at something, but I don’t understand why
. She
looked out at the ocean and took another look at the Black’s ranch house to see
if Marcy’s car was there, but no vehicles were parked in the circular driveway
in front of the house.

Interesting. Because of
the wide panoramic view, whoever was here could have seen what was going on at
the Black’s house and at Jeff’s office, all at the same time. Oh no,
she thought.
Maybe it
wasn’t a deer or some other big game that the hunter was after, maybe it was
Jeff. There’s no other explanation for the brass casing. Whoever was here might
have seen Jeff going to his office and shot and killed him. Maybe that’s why
the casing is here. Someone shot Jeff right here from this window and didn’t
want to stay and try to find the casing because they were afraid of being
caught. I’ve got to tell Mike.

“Rebel, come.” They
quickly walked back down the path to the road and as she started to get into
her van, she saw a note underneath the windshield wiper with writing on it. She
slid it out and read the words, “This is a warning. This BLM property is
private. Didn’t you see the No Trespassing sign? Don’t come back.” As she held
the note in her hand, she realized her hand was shaking.

“Someone saw us go in
there, Rebel, and they still may be around. We’ve got to get out of here. Oh,
darn, I forgot I put the cheesecake in the trunk. Well, maybe Marcy’s home by
now.”

She made a U-turn and
drove back to the entrance to the ranch driveway. When she got to the ranch
house she saw a car she didn’t recognize parked in the driveway.
That’s
funny. I would swear it wasn’t there when I looked at the ranch house from the
shack. It must have just gotten here
. She got out of her van and as she
passed the car, she noticed a bumper sticker on the rear bumper that read
“Oregon Needs Lumber.” She knocked on the door of the ranch house, but there
was no answer. She knocked again, but no one came to the door. She waited for a
few minutes and then put the cheesecake back in the trunk and got in the van.

Sure enough if I left it
here some animal would eat it. Anyway, it’s one of Mike’s favorites. She drove
back to the highway and was home in a few minutes.

“Mike,” Kelly yelled when she entered
the house. “You won’t believe what I found. Where are you?”

“I’m right here in my
favorite spot in the house, looking at the ocean. The sun will set in a few
minutes and this time of year I think the sunsets are even more spectacular
than usual. Come join me. You sound pretty excited. What’s up?”

She walked over, kissed
him, and reached into her pocket. “Mike, I found this at the old shack out on
the BLM property.” She handed him the spent cartridge. “Well, Rebel actually
found it and I just picked it up. Look at the bottom of the cartridge. The
stamp on it says 30-30. Didn’t you tell me that’s the caliber of gun that
killed Jeff? Do you think this could be from the gun that killed him?”

He looked at the expended
cartridge and carefully examined it. “Kelly,” he said, looking up at her,
“Where, specifically, did you find it?”

Kelly sat in the chair
across from him and told him exactly where she was when she and Rebel had found
it.