HOPE ISLAND a gripping murder mystery full of twists (Coffin Cove Mysteries Book 3) by JACKIE ELLIOTT

Author:JACKIE ELLIOTT [ELLIOTT, JACKIE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime mystery, thriller and suspense
Published: 2022-04-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

It was late afternoon and chilly enough for a jacket. Andi walked down to City Hall for the mayor’s promised press conference about the Hope Island development. With the news about the human remains, Andi expected the presser to be an interesting one.

She found a space at the back of the conference room. She was early. She’d abandoned the office in frustration. Jim hadn’t been there again and wasn’t answering calls. Andi didn’t know what to make of his strange behaviour.

From her vantage point, Andi could see Peggy Wilson and a group of Coffin Cove business owners. She assumed they were representing the new business association and wondered what questions they would have for the mayor. She could already hear Peggy’s strident tones, and she guessed this meeting would be contentious.

Never a dull moment, she thought as she pulled out her notebook. She’d already jotted down some questions she wanted to ask.

The conference room was filling up and the noise level was rising as more people squeezed into the room. The staff had moved the tables and chairs for standing room only. At one end there was a makeshift stage, so the mayor and the RCMP spokesperson, Andi assumed, could make an official statement and take questions.

Andi worked her way to the front, smiling and nodding at people she knew. Peggy Wilson looked in Andi’s direction and then, deliberately, turned her back.

Right on time, Mayor Jade Thompson arrived with Sergeant Matt Beaufort and, to Andi’s surprise, Inspector Diane Fowler. Chief George Timms followed them in and stood beside the mayor.

Inspector Fowler briefly locked eyes with Andi and frowned.

Andi sighed to herself. Nobody was happy to see her today.

One of the mayor’s staff called for quiet, and the noise volume dropped.

The mayor was direct and to the point. “As most of you will have heard, human remains were found on Hope Island. Because of the position of the remains, they were determined not to be part of the ancient burial site recently surveyed by our provincial archaeologists.”

She spent a few minutes explaining the work of Grace Hurst and her team, and how the remains had been found. Then she introduced Inspector Fowler.

“The human remains are those belonging to a young female, probably aged in her late teens or early twenties. This young lady did not die of natural causes. The remains have been on Hope Island for over forty years. Although this is a long time, if anyone has any information—”

A loud murmur rippled around the room. “Another murder? Is that what she means?” Andi heard someone say.

“What’s that going to do for business?” Peggy Wilson shouted.

Inspector Fowler was still speaking, but a man raised his voice to interrupt.

“Inspector, about the female murder victim — was she aboriginal?”

Andi stood on tiptoe to see who had asked the question.

What the hell? Dad?

It had been five years since Andi had seen her father, apart from the quick glance outside the office a couple of evenings ago. As she watched her father speak, she was back at her mother’s funeral.

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