Pancakes and Parrots by Clover Leena

Author:Clover, Leena [Clover, Leena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

The weather took a turn the next day, the forecast promising thunderstorms. Beach goers huddled inside the Boardwalk Café, impatiently waiting for the rain to stop. Jenny made a big pot of tomato soup for lunch. The temperatures were still in the 70s but soup was always welcome.

Adam arrived for lunch and chose to sit out on the deck. Jenny took him his soup and sandwich, wondering why he was there.

“Why don’t you join me, Jenny?”

“Do you have any updates?” she asked eagerly.

Adam’s response was short and to the point.

“Negative.”

Jenny watched him eat. He had always been partial to chicken salad. She wondered if he still liked eating her food. Then she berated herself for caring about what he thought. Part of her wished he would finish his meal quickly and leave.

“Did you talk to Grace?”

Jenny stopped ruminating over the past and looked up. It took her a minute to catch up.

“Oh? About her mysterious visitor? Oh no.”

It had completely slipped her mind.

She must have looked guilty because Adam’s face broke into a hesitant smile.

“Happens to the best of us.”

“Have you talked to your classmates?” Jenny asked. “How are they holding up?”

She had a fair idea since many members of the class of 1988 spent a few hours at the Boardwalk Café every day. They were pretty vocal with their opinions.

“Getting restless,” Adam replied. “They are eager to go home.”

“The situation is quite hopeless, isn’t it?” Jenny asked honestly. “There are hardly any leads.”

“You’ve been there before.” Adam smiled. “You have solved a lot of impossible cases, Jenny King. I have complete faith in you.”

Jenny stared at his back as he climbed down the stairs to the boardwalk and sauntered off. His limp was barely visible nowadays, thanks to the extensive physical therapy sessions Jenny had coaxed him to sign up for.

Did he remember that? What did she care? Once again Jenny chided herself for thinking about Adam. Maybe the Magnolias were right. It would be better for everyone involved if Adam left town and never came back.

Grace Cotton sounded eager to talk to her. They agreed to meet at the pub later.

Heather tagged along with Jenny as they walked to the Rusty Anchor. The Cotton family had run the pub for 146 years. Eddie Cotton, David’s uncle, was the current proprietor. The pub had been closed for ten days while the family grieved.

“Hello Jenny.” Eddie greeted her with a nod. “The Cotton family’s hopes are pinned on you. Find out who shot my boy and bring him to justice.”

“I’m trying my best,” Jenny assured him.

Grace sat at a table, playing with a glass of wine. Jenny let her catch up with Heather.

“Did you get a chance to think about your visitor, Grace?” she asked.

“Nothing rings a bell.” Grace looked defeated. “He must have given a name, right? How did I let him in?”

Heather pulled out a laptop and placed it on the table.

“No need to agonize over it, Grace. Are you up to looking at some photos?”

Heather loaded the link the photographer had sent and flipped through the photos.

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