Free Sage Advice to Cover Up a Murder! (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 2) by Phoebe T. Eggli Page A

dad back. The young man was always worried that his dad would be disappointed if he didn’t always act like a “man”. Up until last year, Logan rebelled from that notion. He gave his parents a hard time regarding everything. Last summer had changed him. His parents had noticed their son seemed more responsible, less troublesome. They just hadn’t taken the time to let Logan know they had noticed.
     
    Melissa appeared in the hallway just as the two men moved further into the house. Logan offered to take his dad’s suitcase to the guestroom as the brother and sister greeted each other. After a long overdue hug, John David pulled away and looked into his beloved sister’s face. “Migraine, huh? I can’t imagine why,” he remarked. He always could tell when Melissa’s headaches had set in, even when she tried to hide the agonizing pain she was in. She assured him she would be fine. The medicine hadn’t done the job as fast as she would have liked, but hopefully a tall dose of caffeine would assist.
     
    The three family members settled down in the kitchen as the coffee brewed and Logan scrambled eggs. Melissa and Logan filled John David in on the events as they understood them. The young man added that he spoke with Emily that morning and that she and her grandmother believed they had nothing to do with Mr. Hawkins’ death. His father scowled as he reprimanded his son for contacting the young girl in the first place. If she wasn’t convinced of his innocence in the matter, she could easily try to illicit information from him that could be used against him later. Neither Logan nor Aunt Mel believed Emily would do that, but still they realized they should be more cautious in the future. John David glanced over at his sister. He hated to ask, but it was important. “Mel, any word from that cop beau of yours? Is he going to be a help or a hindrance in proving your innocence?” It was a valid question. Honestly, she wasn’t sure. Aside from the voicemail yesterday after she had been questioned at the precinct, she hadn’t heard from him at all.
     
    Over at the Hawkins’ residence, Emily camped out in her room to avoid both her father and her grandmother. Things were still tense between the mother and son. Joey was convinced his mom was ignoring the obvious that his dad was murdered just because it was inconvenient for her. With the case re-opened, the insurance company wouldn’t cut the check to her for the life insurance. Sophie Hawkins was angered that her son wouldn’t just accept the fact that William died of natural causes. She failed to comprehend why he insisted that it was something else. Emily just wanted to hide from them both.
     
    Joey left mid-morning to visit the police department to see what else they had uncovered. The loud slam of the front door shook the entire house. Just as Emily was about to emerge from her room, she heard Sophie on the phone in the office next to her bedroom. According to the shrill tone in her voice, she could tell Grandma was upset and letting someone have a big piece of her mind. Curious, Emily put her ear up to the wall. Didn’t help much. She still could only make out a few muffled words. What she did overhear made her nervous. Sophie threatened whoever was on the other end of the line that they better fix this NOW, or she would… Drats! Emily couldn’t make out the rest of what was said. “She would what?” she pondered.
     
    A few moments later, there was a soft knock on her bedroom door. The young woman decided to not let on that she heard anything. She pretended the knocking had just woke her up. Rubbing her eyes, she opened the door. Grandma Sophie was all smiles as she greeted her grandchild. She informed Emily that there was plenty of scrambled eggs and bacon left over from breakfast if she were hungry. However, she needed to run some errands so she would see the young woman in a little while. After reassuring her grandmother that she would be fine alone,