Festival Turmoil (Sweetfern Harbor Mystery Book 7) Read online

  At the bottom of the stairs, she heard a scream coming from the room she just left. When she got to the doorway, her heart hammering in her chest, Thomas was peering through the window. Rachel’s ashen face was a mask of fear.

  “What happened?” Brenda asked. Rachel pointed to the window. Brenda followed her line of sight. Thomas paced and then stared into the yard. Rachel found her voice.

  “There was a creature with dark eyes staring at us. He pressed his face right up against the window and made threatening signs toward us.”

  In the winter, this time of early evening was already dark. However, Brenda took note that it was possible to see dark eyes if pressed on the glass, due to the light inside. The windows were such that one could look out and have a clear view, but anyone outside was prevented from peering inside the room unless they were right up next to the glass.

  Rachel twisted her fingers until they resembled knots. Thomas glanced again through the window.

  “Whoever it was is long gone now,” he said. This did not reassure his wife. “There’s nothing to worry about. Someone just tried to get us upset by playing a prank on us. Probably a teenager.”

  Rachel sat down and then jumped back up. “I’m not so sure, Thomas. Those eyes were menacing. Who was it?” She sat back down and clasped her hands tightly.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of things,” Brenda said. “We’ll get to the bottom of it and whoever it was won’t do it again.” She wished Mac was here. Instead, she went into the hallway away from her guests and called Bryce. Wearily, she explained what had happened and requested assistance.

  Detective Bryce Jones arrived in a short time with several state police. They combed the premises and the nearby streets and yards, and questioned the Wellingtons several times.

  “There is no one on your premises, Brenda, or in the neighborhood.” Bryce’s forlorn look told her he hoped they would find whoever it was. He didn’t have to say out loud what they were both hoping – that this could be a clue leading to the person who attacked Mac.

  “It’s all right, Bryce. I need to get back to the hospital. It’s time to tell Mac that Jenny is missing.”

  Chapter Five

  Search for Clues

  Brenda bent down and kissed Mac. She smoothed his thick hair back and hesitated.

  “What is it, Brenda? Do you know who did this to me?”

  Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “I must tell you something, Mac.” They locked eyes. “No one can locate Jenny. I’ve called her many times since your attack and she isn’t answering.” Mac shot up in bed. His hands went to his forehead in pain and she gently pushed him back down. “Don’t do that, Mac. The doctors said to lie still.”

  “I can’t just lie here and wonder about Jenny. I have to get out there and find her. Maybe she’s back home now. Maybe her cell phone is dead. Did you try again?”

  “Every officer who knows you is on this. Nothing will be missed. She will turn up. You may be right about her cell phone going dead.”

  Brenda and Mac both knew that by now Jenny would have gone to Sheffield Bed and Breakfast if her phone didn’t work, or used the phone in her shop. She certainly would have gone to the police station and checked in with her father. Bryce will find her, thought Brenda fiercely. But she was scared that wasn’t true. Was Bryce focused on Mac’s attacker? Was the same person responsible for the petty thefts and Mac’s assault and a possible kidnapping? It was too horrible to contemplate.

  When Chief Bob Ingram entered the room Brenda and Mac looked at him expectantly. He knew Brenda had told Mac about Jenny. He shook his head and sat next to the bed. “We will be up all night looking for her, Mac. You try to get some rest and let us do our work.”

  A nurse entered and told Mac it was time for his medication, handing him a pill the he swallowed. She informed him it would help ease the pain in his head. Brenda followed the nurse out into the hallway. “What was the pill really for?”

  The nurse glanced toward the nurses’ station. When she was satisfied no one could overhear her, she said. “It is to get him to relax. In other words, it’s a mild sedative. The doctor doesn’t want him to have a sleeping pill, just something just to relax him so he will rest better until morning. He’s agitated and his heartrate has been elevated. If he doesn’t get some rest, it will only take longer to heal the concussion.”

  The medication worked and Mac, though worried about his daughter, accepted that he couldn’t physically do anything to help find her until he was discharged from the hospital. He finally sank back against his pillow, his eyes heavy-lidded with sleep. At last Mac gave Brenda a wan smile as he drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning, Brenda awoke in the easy chair she slept in. Mac looked surprised to see her there as he came awake in the early morning light. He chided her for trying to rest in a chair and told her to go home and sleep in her bed.

  “I’m hoping you can come with me, Mac. I’ll wait for the doctor’s report on you today.”

  The pain had subsided in his head. Only a darkening bruise was visible and the color had begun to return to Mac’s face. A tray that held his breakfast arrived and behind that Chief Ingram came in.

  “There’s been another shop break-in,” he told Mac. “Sweet Treats was vandalized early this morning. Hope said when she arrived at seven, she noticed the clock had fallen from the wall just inside the back door. It shattered when it fell, and the clock was stopped at six o’clock. It had to be this morning, since Hope didn’t leave the shop until nine last night.”

  Mac groaned, this time from frustration, not pain. “I have to get out of here and back to work.”

  Bob and Brenda both knew he would heal faster if back at work. “If the doc says you can leave then you’ll still have to go easy for a couple of days,” the Chief warned him. Mac nodded, silent.

  An hour later, the doctor told Mac he could go home. “Don’t go back to work as if nothing happened. Take it easy for a day or so and see how you feel.”

  The Chief and Brenda exchanged glances. The three of them knew that wouldn’t happen. Sweetfern Harbor needed all the help it could get.

  “Let’s go home first,” Brenda said. “You’ll need to freshen up and get some clean clothes.”

  “I’ll get a shower and go from there.” On the drive home, Brenda told him about the incident in the sitting room with the Wellingtons. They discussed the guests.

  “I wonder about that photographer,” Mac said. “He said he takes candid pictures at random. Is he really a photographer?”

  Brenda told him she didn’t do background checks on her guests, of course. “I know he came from Canada and is here to photograph the upcoming Winter Festival. It’s against the law to run a background check without someone’s permission, as you know. But perhaps Chief Ingram can run a check on the guests, since they were all around during the time of your assault.”

  Brenda parked around the back of Sheffield Bed and Breakfast and they went in through the back door. She cautioned Mac to walk up the stairs slowly. They were on the back stairs and Brenda felt better using that way now that Mac was with her. The yellow crime scene tape had been removed from the stairs, though the closet where Mac had been discovered was sealed.

  Mac’s cell rang as they walked down the hallway to the apartment. Bryce told him they had not found Jenny yet but he and an officer were combing her house again for clues.

  When Mac hung up, Brenda could see that he was worried for his daughter. She was worried that he might no longer think clearly regarding his own attack. While he showered, Brenda called Bryce. “I know Mac will get right back to work. Can you stick by his side when he gets to the police station? You are both going to give full attention to finding Jenny, so it won’t be like you have to babysit him.”

  Bryce laughed for the first time since his fiancé’s whereabouts had come into question. “I never think I’m babysitting my own boss. He will be an asset in finding Jenny.
We’ll leave nothing uncovered.” When Brenda started to give him more advice, he assured her he would make sure Mac was all right during the workday ahead.

  After his shower, Mac came out in clean clothes, running a towel over his hair. He told Brenda that it had to be a guest who attacked him. The back door was always locked and only someone with a key could enter. The front door was open only during business hours. No stranger would enter that way unless Allie or another staff member let someone in.

  “Whoever attacked me is the one who has caused Jenny’s disappearance. I’m sure of that.” Brenda had drawn the same conclusion.

  Excited voices drifted upstairs. At the top of the steps, they looked down to see Phyllis and William in the foyer. Brenda left Mac alone and raced down the steps to hug Phyllis.

  “I’m so glad you two are back. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  “Mac was attacked and now Jenny is missing,” Allie said worriedly.

  Phyllis and William answered with shocked faces.

  “I guess we’ll catch up quickly right now,” Brenda said. She told them everything that had happened. Mac joined her and after assuring their friends he was fine, told them he was on his way to the police station to catch up on details. Then he planned to spend every minute looking for his daughter until she was found safe and sound. William told him he would take him down to the station. William was well-known in Sweetfern Harbor and the surrounding area. He had ties with several people in high places. He kissed Phyllis and told her he would see her later.

  After they left, she turned to Brenda. “Is Mac well enough to go back to work so soon?”

  “He doesn’t know it, but I put Bryce in charge of sticking by his side to make sure he stays safe and doesn’t overwork himself. He’s determined and we’re all so worried about Jenny.”

  Since Allie didn’t mention anything about the break-in at her mother’s shop, Brenda told her about Sweet Treats and reassured Allie that her mother was fine. David, her father, was at the shop taking inventory to see if anything had been stolen, along with the cops.

  “Call your mother in a few minutes and if she needs you there, go on down. We can handle things here. No one is checking out today and no more guests are expected, since we have a full house.”

  “I want to grab some things from my apartment, Brenda,” Phyllis said. “I’ll get everything out sometime this week and get moved completely in with William.”

  “I want you to keep the apartment, Phyllis. There may be some nights when you and William will want to stay here.” She hadn’t asked Phyllis if a replacement was needed. With William’s wealth, she knew her housekeeper wouldn’t have to work. She had a pang in her heart to think of losing her live-in best friend.

  “If you’re wondering, I’d like to keep my job here, Brenda. Unless you have hired someone else, of course,” Phyllis said.

  Brenda hugged her. “I haven’t done that at all. We’ll talk later, but right now I will go with you and chat while you pick up whatever you need.”

  Brenda told Phyllis everything about the recent events in more detail. They decided to go downtown and look at Jenny’s Blossoms for possible clues. Brenda quickly drove them downtown and was relieved to think she might help move the investigation forward, finally.

  A young officer was removing the tape from around the property just as they arrived. Brenda used the key that Jenny had given her for emergencies and they went inside. The display window remained in shambles, though it had been covered over with a sheet of plywood to keep the snow out. Silently both women started to clean it up. They salvaged some of the winter display and Phyllis managed to reconstruct it, though not back to its perfectly detailed state that Jenny had arranged it in. Brenda swept the last debris into a dustbin when something in the corner of the display platform caught her eye.

  It was the same type of paper with a typed message on it, just like the one found at the bed and breakfast. She unfolded it completely and read it aloud. “Detective Mac Rivers can now pay for putting me behind bars. I lost everything. He will lose his daughter and know what that feels like.”

  The women looked at one another. Reality hit them. Jenny was in grave danger. Without words, they hurried to the car and left for the police station.

  Mac and Bryce were climbing into their squad car in the station’s parking lot. Just then, the screeching of tires on concrete caught their attention. Mac was startled to see Brenda’s car pulling to a halt. Brenda ran to them and handed the note to Mac, explaining where it had been found. Mac looked half dazed and half enraged, but he kept his temper in check.

  “It could be Sleazy,” Bryce jumped in, realizing Mac was at a loss for words. When asked, he explained to the women the man’s real name was Robert Waters. “He kidnapped two women and tied them up. He was ready to stab one when the other got loose and jumped on his back. She was a Karate instructor and knew what she was doing. Waters was left with a slash from his own knife on his left hand. Mac and another officer tracked him down. He spent time in jail.”

  “Surely he’s still there,” Phyllis said.

  “No. He spent time in prison but the judge let him out early because of good behavior.”

  “And because jails are already overcrowded,” Mac finally spoke up. “We can’t be sure it’s Robert Waters. If it is him, it couldn’t be the same person who attacked me since he doesn’t work there and he isn’t a guest for sure.”

  “I’m going to do some detective work of my own,” Brenda said.

  “I’m going with you,” Phyllis said.

  “The two of you be careful. We can use all the help available,” Mac said, “but watch your backs.” The two detectives had their own investigative trails to follow, and quickly departed in their squad car.

  “Let’s go to Jenny’s house first,” Brenda said. It was sobering to realize that they now had proof that the vandalism and petty thieveries around town were connected to Jenny’s disappearance.

  The house Mac once shared with his daughter looked the same as usual. Evidently the police officers who had stopped by earlier had crossed the lawn to the front door. Brenda could see their boot tracks leading to and from the curb to the door. Light snow covered the tracks that Jenny’s car made leading into the garage. Brenda decided someone must have halted her before she had time to open the garage door. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw scuff marks in the snow at the driver’s side of the car.

  “We can go inside,” Brenda said. “Bryce told me the entire place has already been searched for clues.”

  Phyllis knew that the police didn’t always pick up every clue. That’s where Brenda’s expertise came in. She rarely missed the small details of a crime scene. Phyllis noticed this same trait when Brenda examined her bed and breakfast before special events and before guests arrived. Everything was looked at with meticulous care. That’s why Phyllis had faith that her boss and friend would find something the cops had overlooked.

  However, Brenda found nothing but frustration inside the house. After going through every room, Brenda turned up nothing of significance. They went back outside and Brenda stooped down and examined the scuff marks again. The boot prints were almost covered over with new snow. Indications of two sets were obvious enough to know one set was Jenny’s and the other someone with a larger shoe size. But that was where the trail went cold. Jenny’s car was gone, and so was she, seemingly without a trace.

  “I’m ready for a coffee break,” Brenda said with a sigh. “Let’s head for Morning Sun Coffee.”

  Phyllis smiled to her friend. “I’d better get down there anyway. Molly will be upset if I don’t show up soon.”

  Phyllis was eager to reassure her daughter Molly that she was home safe, but she knew Brenda had more reasons than a cup of hot coffee to go to the coffee shop. Molly Lindsey’s shop was the main meeting place for town gossip.

  Chapter Six

  Guests

  When they entered Morning Sun Coffee, voices buzzed louder than u
sual. Molly raced toward her mother and hugged her. When she stood back, they saw her stricken face smeared with dried tears. Fresh tears flowed again.

  “Have they found Jenny yet?” Molly asked. Brenda shook her head no.

  Marilyn Martin heard her question when she and Richard came in. “She will be found soon. I take it you and the detective’s daughter are close friends?”

  Molly nodded, unable to speak. Richard’s eyes drifted around the shop until they rested on the crown moldings and then to the door. Brenda felt out of sorts already and lost patience with him for some reason she couldn’t explain to her own self.

  “Are you looking for anything in particular?” she asked Richard.

  Richard jerked to reality and smiled at her. “I’m just interested in Sweetfern Harbor’s architecture. This shop in particular has unique moldings. I’m impressed.”

  Marilyn seemed exasperated with her husband but refrained from speaking to him about his answer which she felt was out of context to the events going on around them.

  Moments later when a flash illuminated the shop, Brenda didn’t have to question who entered. She glared at Philip Turner, who snapped photos right and left. A few customers posed for him. He went to the counter where Molly had returned to wait on her customers. Brenda walked to him and stood to his left. His hand rested on the counter while he waited for an espresso.

  A long scar marred his strong hands. The fact that his nails were perfectly manicured was inconsequential next to the shock of seeing the ugly scar.

  “How did you get that awful scar on your hand?” Brenda asked, forgetting her irritation with his photography.

  Philip shrugged. “Several years ago I got into a fight with someone trying to steal my prized camera. I almost won except for the knife he had in his hand. The slash worked to deter me from fighting more.” He laughed. “I was lucky to get away with my camera intact when a cop on the beat showed up.”