Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Deek Kerr, one of my baristas, was late getting to the shop to replace me. I called him at eleven to remind him he'd agreed to come an hour early so I could get to my rescheduled class. I was watching the door when he stumbled in from upstairs. "Finally."

"Sorry, I was writing and got in a zone. And I'd forgotten about the time change. So I needed to get dressed." Deek was writing a book. Or actually, several. He'd written one and had an agent now. The first book was being shopped to publishers. While he was waiting, he was writing another one. The boy was hooked on the process. He washed his hands in the sink while I grabbed my tote. "Anything I should know?"

"Nothing, except Mandy Jensen seems to be missing, so if you see her, have her call Greg and Josh. Maybe Greg first." I turned toward the back door, where I'd parked my Jeep behind the building.

Deek dropped a roll of cups on the counter. "Wait, Mandy's missing? What happened?"

I grabbed a cookie from the display case. "All I know is she didn't go home on Tuesday night. Look, I've got to go. That's all I know."

"Don't worry about it. By the time you get back from class, Inspector Deek will have all the answers." He saluted me as I stepped away and into the back room.

"Bye, Deek," I called as I walked out.

"I'm not kidding," was the response that came back.

I unlocked and relocked the back door as I pulled it closed. We didn't have a lot of crime in South Cove, but if my shop got robbed just because I didn't lock a door, Greg would never forgive me.

It's hard being the fiancée of the local police detective.

The class was a waste of time. The professor's attention was somewhere else, probably already thinking about his evening appointment. It was probably a date, the way he kept rubbing his hands on his pants. The guy was sweating bullets.

"The only good thing about that class was he let us out an hour early," I said to Meg, a woman who seemed to be in all my classes this semester. She ran a quilt shop in Bakerstown and, like me, wanted to know more about the business of business. "Since my evening plans changed, I'm heading to the library. What about you?"

"I have to get back to the shop. My mom watches the front while I'm at class, but I don't want to abuse her generosity." Meg turned toward the parking lot. "I'll see you next week. Have fun with your friends this weekend."

"I didn't tell you." I stopped and turned toward her. "I have to find a new venue for the wedding. So if you have any ideas, let me know. It's in…"

"October, I know. Let me think about it." Meg waved, and we parted ways.

When I got to the library, I headed straight upstairs to my regular spot. Professor Wellborn sat at my table, books were stacked around him, and his glasses were on the top of his head.

"Professor Wellborn, it's nice to see you again. Twice in a week. I'm surprised." I opened my bag and took out my laptop and notebook. I loved setting up for a few hours of work. It made me feel like I was a scholar, not a student. Someone who worked with words and thoughts all day long and came up with smart ideas they then wrote about in books that then were placed on the wooden bookshelves all around us. One person, one thought at a time. Then one book fed the discussion onward. I was beginning to understand Deek's original goal of being a perpetual student. Now that he'd found his love of writing, he still took classes.

But his mother had insisted he finally move out of her basement, and so Deek was renting the apartment above the shop. As he said, he was an adult.

Professor Wellborn looked up like he'd just noticed my existence. "Oh, Miss Gardner. I didn't hear you come up. I'm so excited about what I'm finding today. Did you know that there's a cove on the coast where outlaws and bank robbers used to hide from law enforcement? I found a local map, but it's not showing the cove. I guess it wouldn't, right?"

"I'm not sure." I actually wasn't keeping up with the professor's logic. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I just need to check something in my office." Professor Wellborn grabbed his laptop and notebook, stuffing them into his leather satchel. "It was nice to see you again."

I watched as he hurried off, running into a student as he crossed his path to the elevators.

"Dude," the man cried as his books went sprawling, but Professor Wellborn didn't stop. He hurried into an elevator, and as the doors closed, his gaze met mine. He looked scared.

I settled into my studies and made a note in my planner to check in on him next week when I got back into town. I know, too big of a to-do list, but this item was important. I was really worried about him.

My phone beeped out an alarm at six, and I realized I had stayed working longer than I'd planned. I bundled up my laptop, pleased with what I'd done for the day. If I kept this pace, I'd be finished before I knew it. I checked the phone to see if anyone had called. I'd missed three calls from Greg already. I tucked my phone into my pocket and hurried out of the building to where I'd parked my Jeep. I would call him from the road.

When I got into the Jeep, I called him back. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Where are you?" Greg said, his voice lowered.

"At school. Since dinner wasn't happening, I stayed to work. Why?" I turned onto the highway.

"Josh is here."

"What?" I rolled up the windows so I could hear him better. "Why is Josh there?"

"He came for dinner. And to see what progress I've been making on finding Mandy." Greg sighed. "Just get here. I'm grilling burgers, but I don't know if I can keep this up much longer."

"I'm on my way. Hey, tell him about me meeting Professor Wellborn. Maybe that will get him talking." I hung up and headed back to South Cove. Greg just needed to hold the fort for another thirty minutes or so, and I'd be home. Then I could ask Josh what he and the professor were messing with. And why they were both acting so strange.

Emma sat on the front porch waiting for me when I arrived home. She ran to greet me at the gate. I leaned down and gave her a hug. "Did you get banished?"

Emma stared at the door and whined.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get you back inside." I opened the door, and she followed me inside. "Hey, I'm home."

"We're in the kitchen making a salad," Greg called back.

Josh wasn't helping Greg make the salad. Instead, he was sitting at the table with a notebook and a pen. Josh was in his early forties, but since he'd lost weight and had started doing things outdoors with Mandy, he looked younger. His green eyes gazed over my appearance in the room. "Oh, and her cousin Grace lives in Santa Clara. Maybe she's heard from her."

"Hi, Josh. How are you doing? I can't believe what's going on with Mandy. Have you heard from her or anyone?" I put my bag on the floor in the living room. Emma stayed back by the couch, staring at Josh.

"Put that notebook away, Josh. We're going to have dinner and not talk about where Mandy might be. You need to eat." Greg went to take the notebook away from Josh.

Josh grabbed it and held it to his chest. "What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything else until Mandy's back home. I love her."

"We know you do, but Greg's got everyone looking for her. All we can do now is wait for a break in the case. Hopefully, she's just off on a trip and it was a miscommunication. Maybe she thought she left a message for you on one of your phones." I went over and put my hand on Josh's shoulder, meeting Greg's gaze. We had to get him to calm down.

"Jill's right. I bet she's somewhere picking out a wedding dress with a friend or something. Maybe her phone died and she didn't have her charger." Greg set the salad aside and sat at the table with Josh. "I know you're upset, and you have a right to be, but you have to be strong for Mandy. What if she needs you, and you can't do something because you're too weak from hunger."

"I guess." Josh deflated into his chair.

I took it as a good sign. "Hey, I ran into Professor Wellborn at the library twice this week. He said you two are working on finding a buried treasure. That has to be interesting."

"He told you?" Josh's face turned beet red. "We agreed we were keeping this quiet. Who knows who else is looking for the treasure?"

"He gave me a message for you. He said to keep the journal safe. He told me you were looking for a cove on the beach?" I grabbed an orange to peel. Dinner was going to be late, and I was starving.

"He needs to keep his mouth shut." Josh stood up. "I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood for dinner or small talk. I'm going to the shop to check to see if Mandy left a message there. I'll come to the station tomorrow morning."

"I can call you if anything develops," Greg offered, but Josh waved him off.

As he hurried out of the house, Emma followed him, stopping to watch him leave through the front door.

"I better go see if he wants a ride into town." Greg stood and nodded to the salad. "Can you finish that for me, and I'll put the hamburgers on when I get back?"

"Sure." I stood and grabbed the bag of pre-cut carrots. I finished the salad while I thought about Josh's behavior. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that his concern when he left was not about Mandy but about whether he'd locked up the journal.

I needed to find out more about this journal and what kind of treasure he and Professor Wellborn were working on.

Greg came back in after just a few minutes.

"He didn't want a ride?"

Greg shrugged. "He had already disappeared up the hill. I guess he ran. Tell me the story about this buried treasure. How crazy is that professor?"

* * * *

Friday morning, I was at the coffee shop early. I'd already packed my bag and had the Jeep parked behind the building. I'd called Amy last night and told her I needed to go try one more time to talk Martha out of booting our wedding ceremony from the mission chapel. I was leaving town early. Amy, Esmeralda, and Darla were gathering at five as soon as they got off work. Amy promised they'd be brainstorming wedding venue ideas as they drove down. I had the folder I'd made last year with all the places I'd considered and dropped once I found the mission. It was going to be a long weekend, but I hoped by the time we left Santa Barbara Sunday evening, I'd have a new wedding venue. At least for the ceremony.

"Earth to Jill, do you want to help me carry in the trays?" asked Sadie Michaels, baker and owner of Pies on the Fly. Sadie was the sole treat supplier for Coffee, Books, and More as well as Diamond Lille's. She was also one of my best friends and now she was engaged to Pastor Bill from the local church.

"Oh, sorry, Sadie, I didn't hear you come in." I hurried to meet her at the door.

She studied me as she handed me a tray of cookies made into flower shapes. "You look upset. I guess you heard about Mandy. I didn't know you were that close to her."

"I wasn't. I mean, yes, I heard about Mandy, but I'm kind of freaking out about the wedding. The mission says I can't have the wedding there if I'm not part of their flock." I took the tray and held the shop door open for Sadie.

"You could always have it at Bill's church, then move the reception to the mission. Or have the ceremony on the beach near the mission. There's a lot of options. And besides, it's not until October. You have time." Sadie carried two trays, and I followed her into the back room, where we stacked them on the prep table. "Don't stress about the little things."

"Easy for you to say. You're having your wedding as well as the reception at Bill's church. You have to." I followed her out to the van for more desserts. Limited choices made planning so much easier.

"I don't have to. But this is my second wedding. If I'd had my druthers, it would be a very small affair with just us and our friends. But since this is Bill's first, and last as he says, he wants to include his family and every person he's ever met since grade school."

"Okay, so I guess you're saying every wedding has its challenges?" I grabbed the last tray as Sadie shut the van door behind me.

"You got it. I guess one of my new responsibilities as the pastor's wife is going to be counseling the brides if they get cold feet on the way to the altar. I just hope I don't talk someone into a marriage that's not in their best interest." Sadie handed me the invoice for the delivery and then sat down at the counter. "Can I get a large coffee? My meeting with the deacons last night kept me up later than I wanted."

"You couldn't talk anyone into a bad marriage. You are the most insightful person I know." I poured her a coffee and refilled my own, since it had gone cold.

"Yeah, but now I'll be talking for God, not just stating my opinion." Sadie sighed. "I love Bill so much, but I didn't realize what I was getting myself into when I said yes. He doesn't have a job; he has a lifestyle."

"One that you've been a part of for years. You volunteer together. You have the same moral compass. I have no fear of what your counsel might be to a young, vulnerable bride. I have more concern about how mad the males in your venue might be when you speak your mind. You're a good person. You'll do fine."

Sadie brightened as she thought about my words. "You give good counsel yourself."

"Think of it as payback for talking me off the wedding-venue ledge a few minutes ago." I laughed and sipped my coffee. "But back to Mandy, that's so sad. Josh finally finds the one, his soulmate, and she disappears just before the wedding. I'm worried about him. He's determined to find her."

"Losing someone you love is hard. No matter when it happens." Sadie rubbed her hand, where now a small engagement ring sat. For years, she'd worn her wedding ring from her first marriage. Her husband had been dead since I'd known her, and still she held his memory close. Love was hard.

"We're a cheery bunch this morning, aren't we?" I leaned back against the chair. "I guess you just have to find joy in each moment you have and let the future take care of itself."

"Plan for the worst, expect the best?" Sadie smiled. "Speaking of love. I saw the picture of Olivia on the bulletin board last time I was here. She's getting big."

"Sasha and Olivia are coming into town next weekend. At least I hope it's next weekend, since I'm taking off for Santa Barbara with the girls right after my shift. I wish you were coming with us."

"I've got a business to run. These cookies don't bake themselves." Sadie laughed. "Besides, my sleep schedule is so messed up with my baking, I wouldn't be awake when you girls were. I think I'm going to hire a baker when I marry Bill. I'll still do deliveries and manage the bakery, but I think it's time for me to get a bit of that life everyone talks about."

After Sadie left, I felt a little better about not having a venue for the ceremony. I'd do my best to change Martha's mind today, but then I'd find somewhere else for Greg and me to tie the knot. He wanted me to have the wedding I'd wanted, but he was more like Sadie. He would have agreed to getting married at the county courthouse with a judge. Then a small party and spend the rest of the money on an amazing honeymoon. I wanted more. My first marriage had been rushed. I didn't get the dress or the trappings. Since this was the last one, I wanted the bride treatment. And the fun party afterward for our friends and family. Another reason I didn't complain when Greg's mom asked to change the date. She got one delay. This time it was happening. Even if we had to say "I do" on a beach during a hurricane.

When I got into the car, my phone rang. It was Greg. "Hey, I was just thinking about you."

"Are you on your way to Santa Barbara yet?"

"Just got on the highway. Why? Do I need to come back? I let Emma out before I left town." I glanced at my clock. I needed to be at the mission before three, or Martha would be gone for the weekend and I'd have to come back next week.

"No, it's fine. I just wanted to tell you before someone else did."

I paused, thinking about all the things it could have been. Finally, I went with Mandy. "Did you find her?"

"Not yet. Although I'm thinking we need to look into this buried treasure idea you talked about last night. Your friend, Professor Wellborn? He was found dead in his office at the school last night."

"Oh no. I had just seen him in the library. Was it a robbery?"

Greg answered my question with a question. "Did he have anything with him in the library?"

I thought about my last image of Professor Wellborn in the elevator. "He had a leather bag. He had a notebook in it that he was working with on Josh's buried treasure mystery."

"They didn't find a bag. It looks like the professor was hit in the head with something heavy. The office is a mess." Greg sighed. "Look, I need to get back to this meeting. I just didn't want you to find out on the news."