The Bigfoot Blunder (A Charlie Rhodes Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read online

  I immediately reached for the seatbelt when settled, taking a moment to watch Bay and Landon through the window. They didn’t speak, but they said a lot with their expressions. Landon’s jaw was tight when he leaned forward to press a kiss to Bay’s mouth, something unspoken passing between them. They were both friendly and calm when they climbed into the Explorer.

  “Did you find anything in the archives?” Landon asked, firing up the vehicle and directing it toward the main road.

  “I found a few stories of wild bear attacks and some others where people claimed to see the Dog Man,” I replied. They seemed relaxed, Landon using his right hand to hold Bay’s left, rubbing idle circles on top of her knuckles. I could sense a bit of unease between them, although it wasn’t overwhelming. “There was nothing in there to explain the most recent attack, though.”

  Landon appeared surprised by the statement. “Did you think there would be?”

  I shrugged. “Legends survive through decades – centuries even – for a reason,” I answered. “Don’t you ever wonder how some legends start? For example, I was going through the archives and at first I didn’t see anything about the Dog Man or similar creatures, but there was plenty about witches.”

  “Witches, huh?” Landon kept his eyes facing forward. “What did it say about witches?”

  “Just that there was supposedly a coven around these parts and that people believe some lines still survive today. Of course, that article was written by someone named Edith in the sixties, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. That was a long time ago.”

  “That’s the legend Hemlock Cove was founded on,” Bay said softly.

  “I … oh. That hadn’t even occurred to me.” I leaned forward. “So you know the story about the witches, huh?”

  Bay nodded. “There have been stories about witches in these parts since long before I was born. When the Walkerville council members decided to focus the town’s future on tourism they thought they’d take advantage of the history and build from there,” Bay explained, smiling. “It wasn’t as hard as you might expect to take those legends and run with them.”

  “And the town has definitely run with them,” Landon added with a chuckle. “When I first started spending time here all I heard about was witches.”

  “It obviously worked for you guys, though,” I pointed out. “Hemlock Cove seems to be thriving.”

  “The town does pretty well,” Bay confirmed. “Most of the inns sell out throughout the spring, fall and summer. There are some small gaps in the winter. My mother and aunts do robust business throughout the year. They’re never hurting for guests.”

  “And your father?” The question was out of my mouth before I thought better about asking it. That’s a common practice for me.

  Bay stiffened and Landon slid a worried look in her direction.

  “The Dragonfly does fine, too,” Bay replied, her tone clipped. That was as far as she planned to take it, which was a relief. But Landon was the exact opposite.

  “How do you know about Bay’s father?” Landon asked. “Have you been asking around about her?”

  “Oh, I was at the bakery this afternoon and I spent some time talking to Mrs. Gunderson,” I admitted, squirming. “She mentioned that Bay was close to the police chief and said he was kind of like her father, even though she had a father who left town when she was younger and recently came back to open his own inn.”

  Did I mention that I babble when I’m nervous?

  “It seems you and Mrs. Gunderson had quite the talk.” Bay mustered a nervous laugh. “All of the inns in the area do well.”

  “Yes, well … um … I’m sorry if you think I was invading your privacy,” I offered lamely.

  “It’s fine.” Bay waved off the apology with minimal effort.

  “It’s not fine,” Landon corrected. “Why are you chasing stories about Bay when you’re looking for Bigfoot?”

  “I … wasn’t chasing around stories about Bay,” I protested.

  “You were obviously doing something,” Landon countered. “I doubt the story about her father just came up. Mrs. Gunderson isn’t gossipy about anyone not in her age bracket.”

  “I’m sorry.” My voice ratcheted up a notch. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “You didn’t upset me,” Bay assured me quickly. “It’s fine.”

  “It’s not fine, Bay,” Landon growled, his eyes in the rearview mirror now narrowed. “She has no reason to poke her nose into your business.”

  “She was merely asking questions,” Bay shot back. “It’s fine. Don’t worry, Charlie. I ask questions for a living. It’s not a big deal.”

  Bay said the words, but I couldn’t help but wonder if she really meant them. Thankfully I didn’t have long to dwell on the conundrum before Landon pulled up in front of The Overlook. I was eager to escape the couple’s thoughtful and weighted looks.

  “Thanks for the ride.” I bolted from the Explorer and hurried to the inn as fast as I could, sucking in huge mouthfuls of oxygen to calm myself once on the other side of the lobby’s front door. I’d clearly stepped in it. I couldn’t blame them for being angry. I’d be upset if someone poked into my background, too. I couldn’t shake the niggling worry that they were upset about something else, though. It wasn’t just that I found out about Bay’s father. It was that I asked questions at all. I was almost sure that was the case.

  I didn’t have long to fixate on my thoughts, because the sound of raised voices in the dining room caught my attention. I scampered in that direction, thankful to have a reason to put distance between the door Landon and Bay would walk through at any moment and me. When I hit the dining room, I found a fascinating sight.

  Tillie stood on her chair at the end of the table, a glass of wine in her hand. She looked almost regal as she stared down at the other members of my group.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, breathless.

  Jack spared a glance for me. “I’ve been trying to text you. Do you ever answer your phone?”

  “I … um … had it on. At least I think I did.” I dug in my pocket and when I retrieved my phone I found it was turned off. “Oh, sorry. I thought I had it on.”

  “I’ve been worried,” Jack snapped. “I thought you needed a ride back to town, but when you didn’t answer my texts … .” He broke off, perhaps realizing how ludicrous the statement sounded given the size of Hemlock Cove. I was hardly going to wander off and get lost in the crowd or be attacked by gangbangers by wandering to the wrong side of town.

  “Landon and Bay gave me a ride back.”

  “Great. I guess.” Jack squared his shoulders.

  He was acting odd even for Jack. “What’s going on here?” I gestured toward Tillie. “She seems … upset.”

  “She’s off her rocker,” Laura snapped, her eyes flashing as she stared down the rambunctious Winchester matriarch. “She’s crazy. There can be no other explanation.”

  I wasn’t ruling out Tillie mental state, but something told me Laura had instigated this incident. “What did you do?”

  “Me?” Laura was incredulous. “How could you possibly think that I had anything to do with it? She’s crazy!”

  “I shall call down the thunder and smite you,” Tillie intoned, her voice deepening to almost comical proportions.

  “Do I even want to know what you’re doing?” Landon asked, strolling into the dining room with Bay close at his side.

  “I’m cursing the wanton woman so she will have nothing but unhappiness for the rest of her life,” Tillie replied, never moving her gaze from Laura’s face.

  “Great. While you’re at it, make Bay smell like bacon for me,” Landon suggested, reaching for one of the bottles of wine at the center of the table. “Don’t forget to make her taste like bacon, too.”

  Jack snickered at Landon’s calm demeanor, amused at what clearly had to be a family joke. “You put in curse requests? Does she do this often?”

  “At least three times a week,” Landon
replied. “The bacon curse is my favorite.” He handed the bottle of wine to Bay and smiled. “Can you please open that for me, sweetie? I think I’m going to need to get drunk to get through the night.”

  Bay wordlessly nodded, flicking a worried look at Aunt Tillie before heading to the buffet for a corkscrew.

  “And, you,” Landon said, swiveling back to Tillie. “Who are you threatening?”

  “The wanton woman,” Tillie replied, her voice positively dripping with fake dramatic flair.

  “You’ll have to be more specific,” Landon prodded. “Which woman is wanton today? I don’t see Thistle, so she can’t be in the line of fire. I guess that means you’re talking about one of those three, huh?” He gestured toward Hannah, Laura and me.

  Tillie nodded. “That one,” she hissed, pointing at Laura. “She’s on my list.”

  “She keeps saying that,” Laura whined. “I have no idea what list she’s talking about or why it’s so bad to be on it.”

  “Oh, you definitely don’t want to be on it,” Landon wagged his head while taking an empty wine glass from the table.

  “Definitely,” Bay echoed.

  “If you’re already on it, though, that might be good news for the rest of us,” Landon added. “If Aunt Tillie is focused on you she can’t torture the rest of the world. Maybe you should consider staying on her list.”

  “I’m an excellent multi-tasker,” Tillie sniffed. “I can curse more than one person at a time.”

  “Just remember bacon,” Landon whispered, grinning before he shifted his blue eyes to Laura. “What did you do to her?”

  “I didn’t do anything to her!”

  “Tillie was telling us a story about the time she wrestled Bigfoot and won. Laura said it was a crock of crap, and things pretty much fell apart from there,” Bernard offered from the opposite end of the table. He seemed to be enjoying the show. “Then Tillie started talking about her list, and Laura said she was making stuff up as she went along. That brought out more talk of the list. I’m honestly dying to see how this ends.”

  “You and me both.” Jack grinned. “Do you have any suggestions about how we should handle this, Agent Michaels?”

  Landon nodded as Bay returned with the bottle of wine and the two settled into chairs at the table. “I do. Abandon Laura to her fate and try to stay off the list for the rest of your stay here.”

  Everyone but Laura chuckled.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Laura asked, her eyes flashing. It was as if she couldn’t believe Landon wasn’t running over to rescue her.

  “It means you’re in trouble,” Tillie replied. “You’ll be sorry you ever met me before this is all said and done.”

  “Oh, don’t worry.” Laura adopted a snotty tone. “I’m already there.”

  “Good!” Tillie bobbed her head knowingly. “You’re now at the top of the list. You should start running now.”

  11

  Eleven

  “Are you ready?”

  The only thing I was ready for after the longest – and freaking loudest – dinner I’d ever sat through was a good night’s sleep. That’s why Millie’s appearance at my door, seconds before I was ready to slip into my pajamas and call it a day, threw me for a loop.

  “Ready for what? Are you here to romance me?” The snarky response slipped out before I had a chance to think better about uttering it to a woman in Millie’s age bracket.

  “You’re funny,” Millie said, clearly enjoying my answer. “That’s not what I was talking about, though.” She cast a furtive look up and down the hallway.

  I followed her gaze, curious. “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re going on a little adventure.” Millie’s smile was mischievous so I couldn’t help but feel my interest pique.

  “We are? Did you see the Winchesters doing something? Are they hiding bodies on the property or something?”

  Millie made a face right out of a sitcom. “Why would they be hiding bodies?”

  “Because I’m pretty sure they’re hiding something big.”

  “I’m pretty sure you’re right, but I don’t think it has anything to do with bodies,” Millie said, shoving me out of the way so she could stroll into the bedroom and grab my hoodie. “Put this on. You’ll need it.”

  “But … where are we going?”

  “We’re going back to the resort,” Millie replied, making a “well, duh” face as I slipped into the hoodie.

  “We are?” I rolled the idea through my head. It didn’t make sense. “Why? Do you think one of Penny’s boyfriends is going to kill again?”

  “You’re full of drama, girl,” Millie said, clicking her tongue against her teeth as she shook her head. “You’re gung-ho – I’ll give you that – and I think you’ll be fun once we pull that stick out of your you-know-what.”

  I knit my eyebrows. “I don’t have a stick in my you-know-what.”

  “You need a stick in your you-know-what,” Millie countered. “Unfortunately you seem to have one up your behind instead, because you’re trying to be employee of the month or something. Here’s a hint: The foundation doesn’t give out awards for being happy and helpful on the job.”

  I balked. “I am not trying to be happy and helpful. Wait … that came out wrong.”

  Millie snorted. “You’re a bundle of nerves. I get it. You’re twenty-five and this is your first real job. It happens to all of us. You’ll outgrow it.”

  “I’m twenty-four.”

  Millie’s mouth dropped open. “You’re twenty-four? Why are you working if you’re twenty-four? You’ should be out partying and having sex with any guy who looks at you sideways. That’s what I did when I was twenty-four … and twenty-five … and forty-eight, for that matter.”

  Millie boasts one of those faces that make you wonder if she was ever twenty-four. “I have bills to pay.”

  “Bummer. You should be fornicating until you can’t fornicate a second longer. You know your body is never going to get better than this, right?” She gestured toward my lean frame. “You’re a little light on top, but your butt and thighs are nice. You should exploit them.”

  My cheeks colored under her serious gaze. “I cannot believe we’re having this discussion.”

  “Well, believe it,” Millie said, holding up a set of keys. “I stole Chris’ keys when he wasn’t looking, so we should have no problem getting back to the resort.”

  “And why are we going back to the resort?” I grabbed my room key from the dresser before shutting my bedroom door. “Do you think we’ll catch the killer?”

  “Well, I don’t think we’re going to find Bigfoot, if that’s what you’re asking,” Millie shot back. “As for finding the killer, I’m fairly certain he won’t be where we’re going.”

  “But … where are we going?”

  Millie shot me a sympathetic look. “We’re going to take care of your stick problem.”

  I tilted my head to the side, confused. “Which stick problem? You said I had two.”

  “If we’re lucky we’ll handle both of them,” Millie said, grabbing my arm. “Come on. I guarantee you won’t want to miss this.”

  “THIS IS a terrible idea.”

  That’s how I felt the minute I realized Millie probably shouldn’t be driving – especially because she technically stole Chris’ rental vehicle. She weaved all over the road, got distracted by signs and was convinced every flash she saw on the side of the road was a deer about to race out in the road in front of her. Once she punched in the ambulance code to get behind the gate she had shown us earlier and made me hike through the woods in the dark, my feeling intensified.

  “Oh, suck it up,” Millie intoned. I couldn’t see her eyes in the darkness, but I was sure she was rolling them. “You’re twenty-four. You should be excited about an illicit rendezvous in the woods.”

  “I’m with you! How illicit can it be?”

  “Would you be okay if you were with a man?” Millie slowed her pace and swiveled to f
ace me. The muted moonlight allowed me to make out some – but not all – of her features. “How about if you were with Chris?”

  Thankfully the darkness hid the flush of my cheeks. “Chris? Why would I want to be out here with him?”

  “Because you think he’s cute.”

  “He’s my boss.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’s not cute.”

  She had a point. Still … . “I do not have a crush on Chris.”

  Millie remained silent for a beat and then relaxed her shoulders. “That’s probably good. The boy is head-over-heels for Hannah, even though she doesn’t realize it. I think they’ll find each other eventually, but it’s like watching stone statues trying to mate.”

  I bit my cheek to keep from laughing at the visual. I didn’t want to encourage Millie, but she was definitely funny. “I noticed that myself.”

  “What about the FBI agent?” Millie challenged. “I’ve seen you looking at him.”

  “I have not!” My voice carried over the night air, causing me to cringe. “Besides, in case you haven’t noticed, he’s got a girlfriend.”

  “One he loves,” Millie said sagely. “Anyone who looks at that boy can see he’s gone … and he’s never coming back.”

  “I don’t know why you’re telling me this.” I shifted from one foot to the other, uncomfortable. “I don’t have a crush on Landon.”

  “You do, but it’s okay,” Millie countered. “He’s an attractive man, and it’s not as if you actually think you’ll get him. Laura’s infatuation with him is much more annoying. She actually thinks she might have a shot, even though that blonde could knock her on her fat butt without breaking a sweat.”

  “Bay? She doesn’t strike me as the type to get down and dirty.”

  “No?” Millie cocked a confrontational eyebrow. “Look at her again. That woman clearly knows what she’s doing when it comes to a fight. She learned from her great-aunt.”

  “Tillie?” I rolled the idea through my mind. “I bet that she fought a lot in her younger days. She seems the type.”