Sweet Friend of Mine (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 8) (11 page)

T
he next afternoon
, Lottie met Angie at the bake shop once it was closed for the day. The two young women sat at a table looking out over the snow-covered lawn. Lottie’s hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a black turtleneck sweater. Taking her phone out of her big slouchy purse, she placed it on the table in front of her and set the purse on the floor next to her chair. Lottie kept nervously pushing her bangs to the side and shifting slightly in her seat.

Angie brought two lattes to the table. “Thanks for meeting with me.” She smiled warmly hoping to put the woman at ease.

“I’d like to help if I can.” Lottie blinked fast a few times trying to keep her tears from falling. She glanced out the window and when she spoke her voice was soft. “How could this have happened? How could Ryan be gone?”

Angie waited a few seconds before asking, “When was the last time you saw Ryan?”

“Right before Christmas. Ryan’s classes were over and he drove up here to stay with his parents for a few weeks. My classes finished up and I stayed in Boston to work with Darren on some songs. My parents were traveling for the holidays, so I stayed in Boston with a friend. Darren came up here as soon as he heard about Ryan. I came up to visit my aunt the day before Ryan went missing.”

“How did Ryan seem when you got together that last time before the holidays?”

“Fine, really. He was glad to have finished the semester and was looking forward to having some time off.”

“Nothing was bothering him?”

“Well, he wasn’t thrilled to have to go and stay with his parents, but his dad expected it and Ryan wouldn’t disappoint him.” The young woman’s eyes got watery and she brushed her hand at the corners. “If only Ryan
did
disappoint his parents, he’d still be alive.”

“Did you know Mr. and Mrs. Allen?”

Lottie bristled. “I only met them a couple of times. I dated Ryan in high school. Ryan’s dad didn’t like me. He said I wasn’t ambitious enough, that I wasn’t smart enough for his son. He said that I wasn’t an appropriate choice. Mr. Allen insisted that Ryan break up with me. He said if Ryan kept dating me, he wouldn’t pay for Ryan’s college studies.” Lottie’s jaw set and her eyes darkened. “So we broke up.”

“But you stayed friends?”

“At first we didn’t, but then we started to hang out again because we were involved with Darren and the music.”

“I heard that you and Ryan wore rings with the same design on them.” Angie glanced to Lottie’s hand. “Do you still wear it?”

Lottie straightened and she narrowed her eyes. “I lost it. A long time ago.”

“Oh.” Angie tried to pick up on whether or not the girl was lying. “When did you lose it?”

“Right after my freshman year of college. In the summer.”

“Were you swimming and it slipped off?”

“No. A bunch of us went to a friend’s place in Boston for a party. I think I left it on the sink after washing my hands. It must have fallen down the drain because no one ever found it.” A wistful expression passed over Lottie’s face.

“Was Ryan at the party?”

“Yeah. Darren, too.”

“Any other people from Silver Cove or from around here?”

Lottie’s forehead creased in thought. “It was so long ago, I forget who was there. I think some people from the high school chorus were there, and the band members of
Vine
. Ryan’s friend, Henry, was at the party. Some other people I can’t remember. ”

“Henry Whitaker was there?” Angie asked.

“Yes.”

“Ryan was with Henry shortly before he went missing.”

Lottie’s face seemed to flush slightly. “Was it just the two of them who got together that night?”

“That’s what Henry told the police.” Angie nodded. “When they parted ways, Henry said he went home and Ryan drove away in the direction of Silver Cove. Henry said the two of them had dinner at a pub and played darts for awhile.”

“Henry must have loved that,” Lottie muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“Henry was fixated on Ryan. It started before high school. He acted like Ryan’s shadow. He wanted to be with him all the time. It was annoying. Lots of people couldn’t get along with Henry, but Ryan was good to him. He had him help out moving the instruments and setting up the equipment at venues. I couldn’t stand Henry. He was selfish and self-centered except where Ryan was concerned.”

“Did Ryan and Henry hang out together in Boston?”

Lottie rolled her eyes. “Of course. Henry was like a puppy following Ryan around.” Lottie leaned forward. “I heard that Henry stopped going to classes last semester and flunked all of his courses. He can’t return to school until next fall. He has to skip the spring semester.”

“Why did he do that? Was he ill?”

“Who knows why?” Lottie shook her head. “Ryan tried to help, tried to get Henry on track. It would help for a while and then Henry would just slip back into his ways of not going to classes and not doing any work. Ryan was too good. He wouldn’t give up on him.” Lottie smiled sadly. “Ryan was persistent …he wouldn’t give up on anything, especially a relationship with someone.”

Angie said gently, “But his dad made him give up on his relationship with you.”

Lottie held Angie’s eyes and so many emotions flashed over the young woman’s face that Angie couldn’t sort them out.

Angie asked, “Did you two start to date again after you’d broken up?”

Lottie shook her head and looked out the window again. “No.”

“Are you dating anyone at the moment?”

“No.” Lottie turned back and gave Angie a stern look. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“In some cases, jealousy can play a roll.” Angie put both hands around her cup. “What about Darren?”

“What about him?”

“Did you ever date him?”

“No.” Lottie’s eyes flashed. “We never dated.”

“Your Aunt Francine told me you were staying with her in Silver Cove the night Ryan went missing.” Angie asked.

“Yeah.”

“Were you at home that night or did you go out?” Angie kept her eyes on Lottie’s expression.

“I went out to meet a friend.”

“Where did you go?”

A flush of pink colored Lottie’s cheeks. “Why?”

“I wonder if you might have heard something that you brushed off at the time. If you were at a bar or something, someone might have made a comment about Ryan or a car going off the road … something like that.”

Lottie pushed at her bangs again. “The evening got cancelled. I was driving to meet my friend and she called me and said she didn’t feel well and we’d have to postpone.”

“So you went back to Francine’s?”

Lottie nodded.

“Did you stop off anywhere? Visit anyone else?”

The young woman looked down at her cup and when she moved her hand to pick it up, Angie thought she noticed that Lottie’s fingers trembled slightly. “I drove around for a while thinking if there was anyone else I knew who was home for the holidays and might be free.”

Angie said, “Ryan was home. Did you think about calling him?”

A look of annoyance flickered over Lottie’s face and she pushed at her bangs. “I certainly couldn’t call Ryan at his parents’ house.”

Angie thought that Ryan’s parents wouldn’t have known if the young woman had texted Ryan, but she didn’t want to say so in case the comment antagonized Lottie.

Lottie looked down at her phone to check the time. “I should get going.” She stood up. “Thanks for the coffee.”

Angie stood up, too. “Thanks for talking with me. Could I contact you again if anything comes up?”

“Sure.” Lottie pulled on her winter coat, took her phone from the table, and shoved it into her pocket.

Angie glanced down when Lottie reached to the floor for her open purse. Something about the slouchy bag picked at Angie’s skin, but she couldn’t understand why or what bothered her about it.

Lottie slung the purse over her shoulder and left the bake shop.

M
r. Finch sat
at the kitchen island as Ellie prepared the late afternoon snacks for the B and B guests. Euclid and Circe sat in their usual spots on top of the fridge. Jenna came in to join everyone just as Angie was removing a tin of muffins from the oven.

“Smells great.” Jenna rubbed her tummy. “Have any extras muffins? I’ve been working on jewelry since right after breakfast. I forgot to eat lunch.”

Angie set the tin on a rack. “Sure, just let them cool for a few minutes.”

Courtney breezed in through the back door with Betty Hayes right behind her. “
I
could never forget to eat lunch.”

Betty removed her scarf. “I always forget to eat. I get so involved in work it just slips my mind.” Hanging her coat in the closet, the woman beamed at Finch. “There’s that handsome man I know.” She bustled over and smothered the older man in a bear hug. “Speaking of food, would you like to have dinner with me tonight over at that cozy spot on Sterling Street? They’ll have a fire going in the fireplace and we could ask for that nice table in the corner.”

“I would be delighted to join you.” Finch smiled.

Betty kissed the top of his head and then turned to the sisters. “Where is Darren? He isn’t answering my calls. I have the perfect place to show him. Is he here?”

As Ellie lifted a tray laden with sweets for her guests and started for the dining room to set them out, her brow wrinkled. “I think Darren’s in his room.” She looked at Betty pointedly. “Do you think it’s a good idea to talk to Darren about real estate right now? He just lost a close friend. Maybe now isn’t the time.”

“Now is precisely the time.” Betty adjusted the cuff of her white blouse. “He could use the distraction of looking at a house.”

Ellie breathed out a little sigh. “I’ll call up to his room.”

Following Ellie into the hall, Betty looked over her shoulder at Angie. “Oh, I almost forgot … which I don’t know how that’s possible since I am incensed by the sale, but the Sweet Cove Resort has just been sold. A colleague of mine informed me an hour ago of the deal closing. Wait until I see those Williams brothers. I plan to give them a piece of my mind for using a Realtor other than myself.” Betty tsk-tsked and headed for the dining room.

Finch, Jenna, Courtney and the cats stared at Angie who stood by the oven with her mouth hanging open.

“It doesn’t mean anything.” Jenna went over to her sister.

Angie frowned. “Just that Josh won’t be around Sweet Cove anymore.”

“Wait, Miss Angie,” Mr. Finch said encouragingly. “Wait to hear Mr. Josh’s explanation before jumping to conclusions.”

Angie nodded, but the corners of her eyes and the sides of her mouth drooped in a hang-dog expression.

“Tell us more about what Lottie said to you earlier when you met her in the bake shop.” Jenna wanted to get Angie’s mind onto something other than Josh Williams.

Angie gave herself a little shake and started to remove the muffins from the tins that were lined up on the counter. She picked up the story of her conversation with Lottie where she’d left off before Courtney and Betty arrived. “So I wondered why Lottie felt she couldn’t text Ryan at his parents’ house.”

“Maybe Ryan told her never to contact him when he was with his parents.” Jenna put a muffin on a plate, sliced it in half, and used a knife to spread butter over it. “Maybe his dad would ask to know who was texting him. The man sounds like a very controlling father so I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason Lottie couldn’t contact Ryan.”

“That’s a good point.” Courtney slid onto the stool next to Mr. Finch.

Angie placed some of the muffins into a basket. “Something about Lottie’s comment seemed off to me though.” Angie’s mind kept going back to Josh and the sale of the resort and she tried to push him from her thoughts and keep focused on the case. “And I got a funny feeling when Lottie picked up her purse.”

“What kind of a feeling?” Finch watched Angie working at the counter.

Angie looked off across the room. “Like a clue was staring me right in the face just waiting for me to see it.” She shook her head. “But I didn’t see it.”

Ellie came into the kitchen to make the tea and coffee that she would put out for the guests. “Darren was in his room. His phone was off because he was writing some lyrics.”

A shiver traced down Angie’s arms.

“Did he go with Betty to see the house?” Courtney asked.

“Yes. He said he could use a distraction.” Ellie boiled water on the stove. “Betty said she’d call you when she was done, Mr. Finch, and she’ll come by to pick you up for dinner.”

“Will you repeat what you just said?” Angie asked Ellie.

Ellie turned. “What do you mean?”

“I got a feeling when you spoke. I’m missing something about this case.”

Ellie tried to repeat exactly what she’d told everyone when she came back into the kitchen. She looked at Angie. “Anything?”

“I think it has something to do with the phone.” Angie rubbed her temple. “I had the same feeling when I talked to Lottie.”

Ellie’s eyes narrowed. “Well, the phone went dead when Ryan was talking to his parents that night. Does your feeling have anything to do with that? I mentioned that Darren’s phone was off when Betty was trying to reach him. Lottie said she couldn’t call Ryan at his parents’ house.”

Courtney nodded. “Comments about phones and calls are making you sense things. It must have to do with Ryan’s disconnected call to his parents the night he went missing.”

Euclid stood up and let out a low growl.

“Euclid agrees with you.” Mr. Finch made eye contact with the orange cat and then looked at Angie. “Your senses spark at the mention of phone calls and they are trying to alert you to a clue.”

“I should talk to Mr. and Mrs. Allen again.” Angie wiped her hands on a dish towel. “I’ll text Chief Martin and ask if he can arrange a meeting.”

As Angie walked to the kitchen desk to get her phone, the front doorbell rang and everyone stilled.

“I think it’s for you, Miss Angie,” Finch told her. He shifted his eyes to Jenna. “And for you, too, Miss Jenna.”

Courtney said, “We’ll wait in here.”

“Good luck,” Ellie called to her sisters as the two left the kitchen for the foyer.

* * *

H
er heart pounding
, Angie opened the front door to find Donna Allen standing on the porch. “Mrs. Allen, come in.”

Donna Allen’s eyes flicked about as she hurried inside. She pushed her hands into her coat pockets and shifted from foot to foot.

Jenna gestured to the woman’s coat. “May I hang up your coat?”

Mrs. Allen didn’t react for several moments, but then quickly shrugged out of the heavy wool overcoat and handed it to Jenna.

Angie led the woman to the living room where the three of them sat down on the sofa and chairs arranged around the coffee table. The sisters offered Mrs. Allen a beverage, but the woman quickly declined. “I can’t stay. I have to get home.” She kept folding and unfolding her hands together in her lap.

Euclid and Circe came into the room and settled on the rug in front of the fireplace.

“What can we help you with, Mrs. Allen?” Angie looked kindly at the obviously stressed out woman.

Donna Allen’s short hair was disheveled and stringy. Dark circles showed under her eyes and her face appeared gaunt and pasty as if she’d lost too much weight too quickly. “I … I … um….”

“Would you like to tell us something?” Jenna’s voice was gentle and she leaned slightly forward.

“The night Ryan went missing.” Mrs. Allen seemed to flinch when she spoke her son’s name. “We went to look for him.”

Angie nodded.

“We drove all around. We couldn’t find him.” Mrs. Allen’s hands shook and she folded them together again and held them firmly on her lap.

The sisters waited for her to go on with what she wanted to tell.

“My husband was driving. He told me to call Ryan, so I did. Ryan gave us directions to where he was, but we couldn’t find him.” The woman bit her lower lip. “Bob grabbed the phone from my hand and shouted at Ryan. He thought Ryan was playing games with us making us drive all around. I said he might be confused because he was in an accident. My husband yelled at me to be quiet.”

Angie and Jenna shared a quick glance.

Donna Allen’s face was deeply lined with creases in the forehead and along the sides of the mouth. “Bob and Ryan yelled at each other. Then the call ended. I think Ryan hung up on his father.”

“What happened then?” Jenna asked.

“Bob jerked the car around and floored it. He was so angry, ranting about teaching Ryan a lesson. He drove home and pulled into our driveway and told me to get out and go to bed. I tried to calm him down. He screamed at me and I ran inside the house.” The woman’s cheeks flushed pink. “Bob jerked out of the driveway to go find our son.”

Euclid stood up, his back arching slightly as he stared at Mrs. Allen

“Your husband found him?” Angie’s heart was ready to leap from her chest.

“He came home about an hour or so later. Of course, I couldn’t sleep. Bob came into the room and got into bed. I asked him where Ryan was. Bob said Ryan was going to find his own way home. I didn’t dare ask him what he meant. We both just lay in bed awake for two hours waiting for Ryan to come home. Finally Bob got up and called the police.”

“Did your husband tell you what happened when he went out alone to find your son?” Jenna’s facial muscles were tight and tense.

“No,” Mrs. Allen squeaked.

“Did you ask him if he found Ryan that night?” Angie could see the fear on the woman’s face.

“Bob doesn’t like to be asked questions.”

Euclid let out a low hiss.

Angie asked, “The ring with the vine on it, you bought it for your son?”

“Yes. Ryan’s band meant a lot to him. I decided to give him that ring.” Mrs. Allen’s face clouded. “My husband was furious. He didn’t want me to encourage Ryan’s music. Bob wanted Ryan to be an engineer.” The woman checked her watch. “I need to go. Don’t tell Bob I was here. Don’t tell him I told you what happened.” Mrs. Allen flicked her eyes between the sisters. “You won’t, will you?”

“We won’t tell him.” Angie promised. “We’ll have to tell Chief Martin, but he won’t betray your confidence.”

Mrs. Allen gave a quick nod and then seemed to shrink in her seat. “Bob told me he didn’t hurt Ryan.” Swallowing hard, she added, “I believe him.”

Angie and Jenna couldn’t say the same.