Free Killer Colada: a Danger Cove Cocktail Mystery by Sibel Hodge, Elizabeth Ashby Page B

been hanging in the same spot for twenty years, gathering dust, waiting for Jenna's hopeful return. There were a couple of cardboard shoe boxes on the top shelf, which I rifled through, but they only contained a pair of cork wedged heels, a pair of boots, and several pairs of flip-flops, nothing that showed Jenna was alive and well today.
    We finally gave up, and on the way out we passed Pandora's mailbox. I opened it up and pulled out a pile of letters, handing them to Ian. "Do you want to check through these?" If Pandora had received a letter from Jenna, maybe there was another one in here.
    "Can you do it? I need to get out of here. I need some time to get my head round things."
    "Of course," I said.
    "Are you staying here while you're in town?" Vernon asked.
    "I…I hadn't thought about it. I guess so, for a few days maybe. But right at this minute I need to be alone. Can you drop me off at Two Mile Beach? I need to walk."
    "Sure," Vernon said.
    We drove in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. When Vernon and I returned to the tavern, the place was heaving, so it wasn't until nearly 10:00 p.m. when I got a chance to go through Pandora's mail. I sat at the bar and opened the first envelope. It was an invitation to a holistic healing exhibition in Seattle. The next one was a generic letter from her bank, inquiring if she wanted a loan. The last one was on letter-headed white paper from Seattle General Hospital, confirming an appointment with Dr. Trower the following month, and letting Pandora know the results of some recent tests she'd had.
    "Guys, look at this." I waved Ruby and Vernon over. "Dr. Trower is an oncology consultant." I handed Ruby the letter and watched her face droop as she read.
    Vernon studied it over her shoulder. "So Pandora had a brain tumor? And judging by these test results, it was inoperable. I wonder how long she had left."
    "Not long enough, thanks to Tim Baxtor," Ruby muttered.

CHAPTER TEN
     
    I woke early the next morning, made a chamomile tea, and stood in front of the large windows in my lounge, staring out at the breathtaking scenery, mulling over Pandora's death and Jenna's disappearance. What had happened to the whole family as a result of Jenna's disappearance had started a chain reaction of tragedy. And it looked like Ian still wouldn't find any long-awaited answers. Had Pandora really found something that would connect Tim to killing Jenna all those years ago? If so, what could that possibly have been? Whatever it was, it looked like those answers went to her grave with her.
    I glanced down onto the pub garden and cliffs, noticing Harvey arriving with more equipment. Someone else was with him. She had straight blonde hair hanging down to her narrow waist, a heart-shaped face, and pouty lips. She wore denim cutoff shorts that revealed long, slim legs, along with plenty of cheek, and a T-shirt with the word Whatever written across her ample chest. It was so tight it looked like it could cut off her circulation, and so low that the whole neighborhood would be treated to a free lacey bra-cup show. With the amount of makeup she had on, it looked as if she was going to a nightclub.
    So this was the help that Portsmouth Naval Museum had sent over to assist him with his find?
    A prickle of jealousy flared inside, and I tried to push it away. So what if she was gorgeous? Harvey and I were together now. And yes, even though we'd both been too busy to spend much time with each other lately, things were fantastic between us.
    I watched as they chatted. He bent down to put the equipment on the ground outside the privacy tent. She bent next to him, leaning in close to his ear. She put a hand on his arm, saying something I couldn't hear. Then she rubbed that hand up his arm toward his shoulder, his neck, and ruffled the hair at his nape.
    Hey! Stop touching him!
    Hopefully, I was hallucinating. I blinked several times, but she was still there. As she ran her fingertips toward his chest, I