Tea Cups and Carnage (12 page)

The guy had more energy than I did. And I wasn’t going to complain about it today.

“I’m surprised to see you out here.”

I jumped, grabbing my tote and turned toward the beach side where Ivy Corbin was climbing up the stair access to the road. I relaxed my shoulders, but kept my hand on my tote. This woman was starting to ring my warning bells for some reason. Not that I knew or trusted Kathi, but her sister was just enough off-center she made my skin crawl. I looked up and down the road.

“Did you walk all this way?”

“I like the fresh air. I used to walk from the farm all the way into town twice a week when I lived at home. I learned to shop light at the store, and if I was going to the library, paperbacks were my friends.” She fell in step with me. “Are you heading back to town or the party down at the beach?”

“The beach to check on the food truck and then home. I’m about partied out.” I hid a yawn behind the back of my hand. “It’s been a long day.”

Ivy considered me, then glanced over her shoulder. “Did you hear what was happening at that hotel down the road? I swear I’ve never seen so many news trucks.”

“False alarm apparently. That’s where I started walking. My boyfriend is the police detective here in South Cove, so he had to stop to handle the issue.” I could smell the food cooking now. Diamond Lille’s had opened a booth where they were serving gourmet burgers for the festival goers.

“So did you hear what was happening?” Ivy asked the question a second time and I glanced over at her. “Why were the news crews even there? Was there another dead body?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know the details, but I heard it was a family dispute. Probably a husband and wife got into it and the maid overreacted. But who knows.”

“Did you hear about the murder there a few days ago?” Ivy’s voice held an undercurrent of excitement. Was she one of those drama vampires? People who liked it when bad things happened to others? My internal alarm bell was clanging like a fire alarm had gone off. I paused and looked at her, but Ivy was staring back in the direction of the Inn, like she expected someone to come after her.

“Just that some guy died. Nothing exciting.” We were steps away from the parking lot. For a second, I’d considered asking Ivy if she could work while Aunt Jackie was out, but there was something holding me back. For a visitor, the woman was excessively interested in the bad things that were going on in South Cove. Maybe I could talk to Kathi about her. I really needed to hire someone soon. Like, for tomorrow’s shift.

When I reached the food truck, my cell rang. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this.”

Ivy just waved and headed down to the beach, directly to Lille’s burger booth. Maybe she’d already found a job? I sat on a bench on the edge of the parking lot and answered my cell. “Hello?”

“Your aunt wants to talk to you.” Harrold’s voice sounded amused.

“Is she okay?” I kicked myself for leaving the hospital so soon. I should walk back up to the Inn and get Greg’s truck. If he was still there. I glanced at my watch.

Harrold’s voice brought me back to the conversation. “She’s fine, she just wants to make plans for tomorrow.”

“Wait, what?” I realized I was speaking to dead air. Harrold had already passed the phone to my aunt.

“Jill, you’ll need to deal with my shift tonight.” My aunt’s voice sounded normal, no pain or tiredness coming through the phone.

“It’s already handled. You need to rest. I can figure out staffing without your assistance from the hospital bed.” I’d expected to hear from her about staffing, but not until tomorrow at the earliest. Typical Aunt Jackie, wanting to keep her finger in everything.

“I know you’re probably stressing about the festival staffing. We’ve talked and Harrold and I will deal with my shift tomorrow at the shop. I won’t be able to help out on Sunday in the truck, but we were closing the shop anyway, so you should be fine.”

I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn’t see my reaction to her martyr offer. “I can deal with the shop on my own, you don’t have to come in.”

“Now that’s just a lie and you know it. Harrold and I can staff the shop. His son has already agreed to manage The Train Station on Saturday. I’ll stay off my feet and on the couch while Harrold does all the heavy work.” I heard him chuckle in the background.

“I’m being called into servitude,” Harrold called out from Jackie’s bedside.

A grin landed on my lips. “Welcome to my world,” I shouted back, knowing he probably couldn’t hear my response.

“Now, don’t be cute.” My aunt brought me back to reality. “If the festival wasn’t going on, I would stay out of the shop and on the couch reading or watching old movies. I just can’t leave you in a lurch, not now.”

“I could hire someone temporarily.” I still worried about Aunt Jackie pushing herself too hard.

“No need. The doctor said I should be dancing by next weekend. I’ll have Sunday through Tuesday off. Just plan for me to be gone on Wednesday too just in case and deal with tonight’s shift. Other than that, I’ll be there.” My aunt’s words had a finality to them that told me it wouldn’t do any good to argue.

“If you’re sure.” I had to admit, it made my life easier. I watched Ivy chatting up Lille at her booth. If I called around, I might be able to find someone who wanted a few hours, but the summer hiring had already drained the pool of available help in the area. Hiring Ivy was off the table. There was just something that bothered me about Kathi’s sister.

As I said my goodbyes, I realized I hadn’t asked her about Josh’s strange request. He’d asked me to keep it from Jackie, but I wondered if she knew what the antiques dealer was planning. Probably a shopping trip for some estate sale. The guy kept his dealer life under wraps, hoping that no one would get the good stuff before he could manage to buy it all cheap.

I tucked my phone into my tote and headed back to the food truck to check on supplies. When things were back to normal, I was going to have a long talk with my aunt about hiring another part-time employee. At least during the summer when we were doing the food truck, we needed more manpower we could trust.

Toby greeted me as I walked into the truck. “Hey boss, how’s Jackie?”

“Word spread quickly.” I explained her injuries and that she and Harrold were still at the hospital, but heading home soon. As I talked, I checked the supplies. It looked like they’d barely been touched. “Slow day?”

Nick sighed. “No, heavy day. I just restocked everything a few minutes ago. We wanted to be ready for tomorrow’s opening. And Toby let me drive his truck.” The kid’s grin lit up his face. “It’s rad.”

Toby handed me the deposit bag. “I’ve already set up the drawer for tomorrow. But here’s today’s deposit.” He held on as I reached for it, watching my face. “Unless you want me to make the deposit on my way to the station?”

I pulled it out of his hand. “I’m heading that way anyway. I’ll do it.” The bank had already closed for the day but they had a drop box for business deposits. I’d walk into town, check on Sasha let her know the change in plans, and then drop the deposit for both the truck and the shop. If Lille’s wasn’t too packed, I’d stop there to grab food before I went home.

“Okay, then. You realize you could tell me if something’s going on, right?” Toby’s question made me nervous. The guy could read me like a book and he knew something was up besides Jackie’s injury. I just hoped Claire would figure out where the money went. If we didn’t get an answer tomorrow, it would be Monday before we’d hear anything else. When I didn’t respond, he looked beyond me toward the ocean. “I’m on beach patrol tomorrow afternoon and Saturday through the fireworks but I’ll stop by to see if you need anything.”

“Sasha will be relieving you at ten, and then she and Nick will work the late shift. I’d love it if you’d check in with her. I’ll be at the shop until Aunt Jackie and Harrold come in to replace me.”

“Jackie’s feeling that good?” Toby asked.

I shook my head. “No, she’s feeling
that
stubborn.”

* * * *

By the time I got home that night, the sun had already begun to set into the ocean. A faint breeze carried a mix of summer florals with the always present salty sea smell that made me feel at home. There was a packet leaning against my front door. In dark block letters, someone had written on the front–For Jill Gardner’s eyes only.

There was only one person who would leave that type of message for me. I took the envelope into the house and laid it on the table as I let Emma out and poured myself a glass of iced tea.

I pulled out a formal power of attorney, several deposit slips, and a ten-page document explaining how to make a bank deposit. Josh had left his instructions.

Antiques by Thomas was closed when I walked by the next morning on my way to open the shop. That in itself wasn’t unusual. Coffee, Books, and More opened four hours earlier than Josh’s place. I glanced up at the apartments above the store. Lights shown in the one on the left where Kyle, Josh’s assistant, lived. The second apartment, the one where Josh lived, was dark. He’d left South Cove.

A part of me worried that this was about Aunt Jackie and Harrold. Josh had been devoted to my aunt so when she’d started dating Harrold, Josh had been crushed. I knew when he found out they were taking their relationship even further, it would hurt him even more deeply.

I glanced over at Tea Hee. The outside of the building looked almost ready to open. The construction crew had built a fake porch on the building, complete with picket fence railings. They had painted the entire thing white to make the shop look like your grandmother’s house. If your grandmother lived in a little southern town, that is. Several wooden rockers sat on the porch, just waiting for someone to take a load off. I wondered if Kathi was still on board with us serving her signature tea at the shop. I made a mental note to make sure I talked to her about the joint venture. And maybe we could talk about her sister and what was going on with the family.

As I unlocked the shop’s front door, Greg’s truck pulled up across the street and I paused in the doorway. This was two days in a row he’d met me at the shop when I’d opened. I could get used to starting my day with the guy. I waved as he got out of his truck and he paused, looking back at Tea Hee. He crossed the street and met me at the door.

“Hey, you.” He pulled me into a hug. “How did your evening go? I saw Harrold dropped off your Jeep last night.”

“Yep. I have to admit, he was really sweet and concerned about her.” I leaned against the doorway. “I guess I could do worse than Harrold for a new uncle.”

“You’re still freaked out, aren’t you?” Greg ran his hand over my hair and pulled me into a hug. “It’s going to be okay, one way or the other. You know that, right?”

I relaxed into his hug. “I’m being a spoiled brat about this, aren’t I?”

“A little, but I think you’re more concerned about making sure Jackie’s okay. And there’s nothing wrong with that.” He kissed me on the head. “I’ve got to go to work.”

I looked up at him. “I thought you’d come to see me and have coffee?”

He shook his head. “Sorry honey, I’m on the clock. I need to talk to your new neighbor.”

“Why?” I held up a hand. “Forget I asked. I already know what you’re going to say. You can’t tell me what’s happening in the investigation.”

He tapped me on the nose. “You’re learning. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow out at the beach. I just hope tonight’s not too crazy. I don’t think Toby’s been sleeping much.”

“Are you telling me that I’m going to have to cut his hours?”

Greg shrugged. “I know he’s trying to buy a house. He can’t keep burning the candle at both ends. Let’s just keep an eye on it. I’d hate to force him to make a choice.”

We said our goodbyes and I went into the shop to make coffee. I glanced at the work schedule for the next week. With the festival going and Jackie limited in what she could do, I needed Toby. Besides, I worried about how much traffic our Barista Babe brought into the shop. If Greg told him he had to quit the second job, I’d be hurting in more ways than one.

Life was ganging up on me this week.

Instead of brooding, I got busy. I did all the morning and evening chores, hoping that Harrold and Aunt Jackie could handle the walk-in traffic.

It was noon when Kathi Corbin appeared in the shop. She collapsed into a stool at the counter.

I handed her a glass of water. “What can I get for you?”

“Double shot espresso.” Her hands shook as she lifted her water glass.

I started the coffee, but kept my eyes on her. “Are you all right? You look frazzled.”

Kathi drank down the entire glass of water. Then she sighed. “I’m sure you know that Greg came to see me this morning.”

“I saw him, but he didn’t tell me what he was doing.” I kept my eyes down as I finished her coffee.

“Well, he wanted me to come with him to the county morgue. The body that they found out at that motel on the highway was someone I knew.”

I stopped pouring the coffee. “Who?”

“The motorcycle guy that died a few days ago?” Kathi started to explain.

I finished pouring her espresso and handed it over. “I don’t mean what body. How did you know him?”

“Oh.” She took the coffee from me. “Darryl was my cousin. I told you I used to work for his dad at the general store. Uncle Pride died a few years ago and Darryl thought he needed to take on the role of family patriarch, even though he doesn’t have an idea of how to run his own life, let alone a family.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. Did you know he was in town?” First Ivy, then her cousin. There was one thing both of those people had in common: Kathi. If I was investigating this murder, I’d be looking at the former beauty queen’s motives hard. But I was sitting this one out, even though my fingers were itching to find out more.

She sipped her coffee. “No. Ivy told me that Darryl wasn’t happy and had sent her here to bring me home, but I never expected him to come in person. I mean, it’s not such a big deal, right?”

“What’s not a big deal?” I was confused and didn’t know what she was talking about.