Shooting by the Sea by Ellen Jacobson

Author:Ellen Jacobson [Ellen Jacobson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ellen Jacobson
Published: 2021-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

8

Trawlers vs. Sailboats

After our disastrous visit with Cassie Newton—we had watched her sleep for a half an hour before giving up and leaving—the rest of the week was unproductive in terms of the investigation. Chief Dalton was tight-lipped about pretty much everything—who Cassie had said killed her husband, if he was intending on making an arrest, and when he was planning on proposing to Anabel.

However, I did get some useful information from Charmaine Buttercup. Apparently, the chief had been in a foul mood after he had gone to see Cassie, grumbling about how she had called him out to the Hazelton Estate only to tell him that she had a hunch who the killer was, but no hard evidence of any kind to substantiate her theory.

As the week wore on without Miguel being arrested, or even questioned further by the police, the Lopez family started to breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe the killer had been an outsider who had fled town, and the murder of Robert Ronaldo would remain an unsolved mystery.

While the investigation came to a standstill though, I was swamped with preparations for the protest march. The day after Scooter and I had seen Cassie at the Hazelton Estate, her lawyer had letters hand-delivered to the tenants of the Seaside Center. She had taken control of the premises and the letters confirmed that she intended to move forward with terminating their leases.

The tenants were more determined than ever to fight Cassie’s plans to lease space at the shopping center to chain stores. Planning meetings were held each night at the Tipsy Pirate and by the time Saturday morning rolled around, the group was fired up.

We assembled at the far end of Main Street, near Melvin’s Marine Emporium, all the tenants wore matching t-shirts which said, “Keep Coconut Cove Local.” I marveled at how many people were gathered, ready to support the cause.

Somehow, a simple protest march had turned into a full-blown parade complete with the high school marching band and cheerleaders, the town’s fire engine and ambulance, and representatives of various community groups including the library volunteers, the senior center, and the animal shelter. The local FAROUT chapter was out in full force and the floral society, led by Mrs. McDougal, had even constructed a float covered in roses.

“Isn’t the turnout amazing?” Alejandra was grinning ear-to-ear. “With all the tourists in town for Labor Day weekend, our protest is going to get a lot of visibility. When Cassie sees the community support we have, she’s bound to change her mind.”

Anabel frowned. “Hopefully, she sees it. She’s been holed up at the Hazelton Estate. No one has seen her around in days.”

“Oh, I think we’ve got that covered,” I said. “Penny’s arranged to meet Cassie at the bandstand in the waterfront park. She’ll have a front-row seat as the parade marches past her.”

“How did she manage that?” Anabel asked.

“She wants to sell her trawler so they’re meeting up to discuss the listing.”

Ben and Scooter walked up to us holding “Keep Coconut Cove Local” signs.

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