COFFIN COVE a gripping murder mystery full of twists (Coffin Cove Mysteries Book 1), JACKIE ELLIOTT [most recommended books txt] 📗

Andi said as patiently as she could. “I lost a career because I didn’t have proof. All I had was a made-up story from an unreliable source. Right now we have innuendo and speculation.”

“She’s right,” Jim said. “We need more information before we can write a story or get the police involved. And if we do this half-cocked, go to the police or publish something now without concrete facts, we could put Brenda in more danger. We’ll let Hilstead know we’re investigating. If he did kill Gerry Roberts and Mason, he must have been feeling cornered. We don’t want to make that worse.”

Harry was silent.

“Hilstead talked to Adrian Palmer, right?” Andi said. “Told him enough for Palmer to get worried. What we need is Hilstead to talk again. To say enough to tie him to Mason and Roberts. Get him on the record.”

“How do we do that?” Harry asked.

“I have an idea,” Andi said. “Now I need to make a phone call.”

Soon it was all settled. Harry would catch the morning flight to Vancouver. He couldn’t take his boat. It would take too long, and besides, Vega’s team wanted to search it.

* * *

Andi chose a table at the back of the Java Time Café. The last time she was here, she’d sat at the window overlooking the waterfront. But this time she thought her interviewee would prefer somewhere more discreet.

Andi ordered coffee and a scone and took a seat at the table where she had a good view of the entrance.

It was mid-morning, and the café was quiet. The sea walk in Nanaimo was deserted, too late for morning dog walkers and joggers, and too early for the lunchtime crowd.

Andi hadn’t brought her laptop. She had promised that the interview would be entirely off the record, so she wanted this meeting to be relaxed. She wondered how Mason’s wife was dealing with her recent bereavement. The police had omitted her from any press statement, and although Andi had scoured all the online search records and press archives that mentioned Mason, she hadn’t found a single mention of a wife.

It must be hard, she thought, to lose your husband and have to grieve in secret.

Andi sipped her coffee and ate the scone, letting her thoughts wander over the events of the last weeks. She’d never worked as hard on a story before. In the city, she had always found people with information who were willing to hand it over to the press. Usually, they had an angle or were looking for some kind of payout. Politicians and their aides leaked selectively, spinning information to distract or distort facts, other people traded information for cash or benefits in kind, or used their secrets for leverage. Information was currency.

Here on the island it was different. There was no shortage of gossip and drama. Andi had seen how Coffin Cove came alive with morbid fascination after Mason’s death. But there were secrets in that town. Someone knew something about Sarah McIntosh’s murder. Someone knew who killed Mason. And Andi still believed that the two deaths were connected. And she hoped that Mason’s wife could shed some light on this story.

Andi got the first text from Terry Pederson the photographer as she ordered her second coffee. He’d picked up Harry from the airport, and they were on their way to meet Adrian Palmer and Brenda, just as they had discussed on the phone the night before.

I’ll keep my ears and eyes open, Terry texted, showing that he understood that Andi wasn’t entirely sure about Harry.

Andi hoped that Jim was right about Harry. She had conflicting feelings about the man. Something about the way Harry talked about Brenda gave Andi the feeling that they were close. For some reason, this realization had disappointed her. Harry had been abrupt with her — unpleasant, almost — and Andi still suspected that he knew more than he was saying.

Harry was connected to everyone in this story — Mason, Gerry Roberts, Steve Hilstead, Hades Fish Co. and Joe McIntosh. His gun was the murder weapon in one of the homicides.

So why was she dismayed at the thought of Harry in a relationship?

Andi pushed her confusion to one side. She didn’t have time for this, and she certainly didn’t have the appetite for a relationship, not after Gavin, she told herself. And anyway, Harry wasn’t her type at all. He was older, for a start, and they had nothing in common.

Jim had been evasive about what he was doing today. He’d asked for one of his old boxes of files back and told Andi he had an appointment. She was surprised but didn’t press him. Jim would tell her when he was ready.

She hoped that Terry would come through for her. He’d never let her down in the past. He was a first-rate photographer and knew how to work a crime scene. He liked mystery and intrigue, and Andi had employed him for surveillance and undercover work before. His services came with a high price tag, something that she didn’t mention to Jim, but she knew his work was worth it. Although he was always ready with an off-colour joke and the latest conspiracy theory, he was a professional. He also had many useful contacts on both sides of the law.

The second text she received from Terry directed her to her emails.

As the café filled up with passengers who had just disembarked from the floatplane, Andi checked her inbox.

Hilstead investigated by DFO last year re: poaching abalone. Big operation, went to court. Hilstead got off on a technicality. Investigators suspected he was a small fish, part of a bigger operation. His lawyers were Dunn and Grant Associates. They also represent Paul Nguyen — organized crime, named in casino scandal, so far coming up clean. Might be looking for a new retail outlet?

 

Talk later,