Лейганн Доббс - A Twist In The Tail

Ron’s eyes gleamed. ‘Not with a guesthouse full of people. But everyone knows that you don’t serve dinner. Can you arrange something in town where your guests get a discount somewhere tomorrow night? We’ll help make sure everyone goes out to take advantage of it.’ Ron pointed to the clam bag. ‘You know, like you made it so obvious that there was a special at Salty’s.’

My cheeks prickled with heat. Had I been that obvious? Is that why Ron and Iona had gotten takeout? Oh well, it all worked out in the end. ‘I think I can arrange something. Tony down at the Marinara Mariner owes me one.’

I could maybe get him to make a special twenty percent off coupon for the guests in exchange for making sure no one ever found out about him and Tina. Blackmail? Sure. But it was for a good cause.

‘And one more thing to make it irresistible,’ Ron said. ‘When you are spreading the rumor, make sure it is known that you will be out of town until the next morning, but the guesthouse will remain unlocked so that your guests can come and go after dinner.’

‘Okay,’ I said.

‘Good, maybe if you can get that rumor started tomorrow morning, we can have our killer in handcuffs by tomorrow night.’

‘Sounds good,’ I said. ‘I know exactly where to start.’

Twenty

The next morning I was up with the gulls. Looking at them through the kitchen window, I wondered if they would stop dying off once Stella was in jail. There were only two over her deck now and I swear a month ago there would be six or seven in the morning.

Now what for breakfast? I wished I hadn’t spent so much time trying to come up with the best way to spread the rumor and sweet-talking Tony into getting me coupons last night. Mom and Millie had picked them up and were supposed to deliver them here any minute.

I was rummaging through the recipe file—still no sour cream coffee cake —when I heard a tap on the kitchen door.

Mom and Millie were outside with sneaky looks on their faces, glancing back behind them and whispering. I motioned for them to come in and the door squeaked as Millie opened it. I made a mental note to oil the hinges later on, or whatever one did for squeaky doors. I had enough going on right now.

Millie presented the special coupons from The Marinara Mariner. ‘Tony made these up special, just like you asked him to.’

‘He was very nice to us.’ Mom leaned in and whispered. ‘Didn’t want us to tell his little secret.’

The cats trotted over and purred at Millie’s feet while she fed them some sort of fishy smelling treats. I didn’t have those types of treats here for them and I wondered if she’d been holding out on me and keeping the most savory treats for herself so she would still be their favorite.

Millie scowled at the stove, peeked in the oven and then turned her frown on me. ‘You haven’t started breakfast yet?’

‘I was just trying to figure out what to cook.’

Millie glanced at her watch. ‘It’s almost seven thirty, not much time to make something.’ She pressed her lips together and glanced at the pantry. ‘Hmm… I know. Do you have any breakfast ham?’

I glanced in the fridge. Two ham patties sat wrapped in their plastic covering. ‘Yep.’

‘Good, then we’ll make Ham and Cheese Muffin Puffs. It will only take twenty minutes and the guests love them.’ Millie rushed into the pantry and grabbed the Bisquick. ‘Get out the ham and some eggs, milk, cheese and olive oil.’

I did as I was told and twenty minutes later the kitchen was filled with the smell of homemade biscuits. Millie pulled golden biscuits with pink dots of ham and gooey cheese out of the oven. I added a fruit bowl and milk and cereal and we headed to the dining room where the guests had already gathered.

Ron and Iona shot me a knowing look. Tina gave me a nervous glance. About the only one I didn’t have a secret with was Ava. She was looking around with a twinkle in her eye as if she was onto the fact that there were questionable goings on at the guesthouse.

‘I have a nice surprise for everyone,’ I announced, after I’d laid the food out and they were milling about the buffet table making their selections. I held up the coupons. ‘The Marinara Mariner has offered a wonderful 50 percent discount on dinner between 7 and 9 tonight for guests of the Oyster Cove Guesthouse only.’

‘The food there is wonderful,’ Ron said.

‘That’s a good deal,’ Iona added.

‘Marinara gives me heartburn.’ Ava squinted at the coupon.

‘I’ve never heard of the place, is it good?’ Tina’s demeanor dripped with faux innocence but her sideways glance told me that Tony had already alerted her to my blackmail demand.

‘Yes and since Josie has to go out of town tonight, it will be good for you all to have a night out. The guesthouse will be unlocked for you when you get back,’ Millie said.

Ava’s eyes narrowed. ‘So, would the last person in lock the front door, then?’

That stumped me. ‘Err… that’s not necessary. It’s not like someone is going to break in and steal things. Very low crime here.’ Except for the recent murder. ‘And of course your individual rooms are locked, so no one can go in there.’

Ava studied me for a few beats then nodded. ‘Okay then. Sounds good. I do have a hankering for garlic bread.’

With breakfast served and the dirty deed done, I headed back to the kitchen with Mom and Millie. I didn’t have time to waste. I had to get to the post office during peak gossip hours in time to let the news that the guesthouse would be empty and unlocked make its way to the killer.

The post office was always the most crowded at 11 a.m., so I timed it to get there then. I wanted to maximize the amount of people who overheard me to ensure the rumor got spread around quickly. I knew that Stella liked to keep track of everything that went on around town, so I was positive it would get back to her.

‘Hey Josie,’ Jen looked over at me as she wrestled Priority Mail tape onto a ginormous package that little old gray-haired Lottie Cox had hefted onto the counter.

‘Hi Jen! I just stopped by to say goodbye before my trip tonight.’

‘You’re going on a trip?’

‘Just overnight. Be back in the morning.’

‘Umm… okay.’ She put the last of the tape on the package and punched something into the postal machine, then turned to Lottie ‘That will be $23.21.’

‘$23.31!’ Lottie clutched her purse against her chest. ‘Highway robbery!’

‘Sorry Lottie, but I don’t set the prices. I could send it regular mail?’

Lottie’s lips pursed. ‘How long would that take?’

Jen consulted the screen in front of her. ‘Seven days.’

‘Forget it.’ Lottie creaked open her purse and counted out the money. ‘Darn government is getting greedy.’

While Jen completed the transaction, I continued, ‘Yeah, so my guests are eating at the Mariner tonight. Tony has a special coupon just for the Oyster Cove Guesthouse. Isn’t that nice?’

Jen’s left brow quirked up at the mention of Tony. ‘All the guests?’

I hadn’t yet filled her in on the fact that I’d discovered the Weatherby’s true identity and our plan to dupe Stella into revealing herself as the killer. ‘Yep. And it’s a shame I have to go away too because I may have found an important clue as to the identity of the person who killed Charles Prescott.’

The hubbub of conversation among the post office customers stopped.

‘A clue? Like what?’ Jen asked.

‘I can’t really say, but the police are meeting me tomorrow morning to take it. I’d do it tonight but already had the plans to go away.’

‘Right. Plans. So, I guess the guesthouse will be empty?’ Jen said loudly. She’d been a quick study in high school and apparently that hadn’t changed. She must have caught on to my intentions.