Free A Fishy Dish (A Hooked & Cooked Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) by Lyndsey Cole Page B

after the treatment she received from Deputy Pam Larson. She wanted to leave the hospital smells and sounds, and fill her lungs with the salty ocean air instead.
    Samantha’s voice brought her away from her beach vision.
    “This is Essie Holmes, Leah White’s next door neighbor.” Samantha patted Essie’s knee. “Leah and Essie walk together every morning.”
    “Yup, that’s right, except, of course, for the past few mornings since Matt and Leah haven’t been home. But all those pushy news people are still camped outside on the road. Hoping for a sighting, I guess.” Essie stirred her drink and took a sip. “Such a terrible situation for Leah.” Essie leaned in front of Samantha to get a clear view of Hannah. “I’m not surprised about poor Sally though. She and her dad—” Essie didn’t finish her thought but shook her head back and forth.
    “They didn’t get along?” Hannah prodded.
    “Ha. That’s putting it mildly. He didn’t let that poor girl do anything on her own. He said it was for her own good so she didn’t end up like his loser sister Jan.”
    Hannah caught Samantha’s sideways glance with her eyebrows raised.
    “I’m sure that’s the reason Sally took the job at The Chowder House working for that better-than-everyone-else, Gavin Abbott. Sally had to know her dad would lose it.” Essie tsk tsked her disapproval. “And now she’s gone and vanished. Of course I suspected Gavin did something to that girl, but now he’s dead and we’ll never know.”
    “Unless Sally turns up safe and sound,” Hannah suggested.
    “I suppose that could happen, but these cases don’t usually have a happy ending. Of course, I didn’t tell Leah that. I always said, Leah, Sally will walk right through that front door one of these days.”
    “And what about Gavin? Did he have a lot of enemies?”
    “I don’t know about enemies , except for Matt White and maybe Matt’s sister Jan. It was more like people just didn’t like the guy. You know, he didn’t fit in with the rest of us.”
    “Do you have any idea who might have killed Gavin?”
    Essie patted her already perfectly coiffed hair into place and looked up at the ceiling before she lowered her voice. “Well, I hate to start a rumor, but you did ask my opinion. Mind you, this is only my opinion.”
    “Of course,” both Hannah and Samantha responded together.
    “ If I was a bettin’ gal, and I assure you I’m not, I’d put my money on Matt White. He hated Gavin Abbott ever since, well, I don’t know exactly when it started because it’s been for as long as I’ve known Leah. It started even before I met her. And those two had that argument at The Chowder House last night.”
    “You were there?”
    “Oh yes. Everyone in town was there. And I imagine everyone came to the same conclusion I came to about Matt White killing Gavin Abbott. Matt had murder in his eyes, if that’s such a thing. Everyone saw it, same as me. Everyone except for the police,” Essie said with disgust lacing her voice. “I don’t know what they’re waiting for. If Matt gets locked up maybe poor Sally would feel safe enough to come home to her mama. If she’s still alive.”

Chapter 11
     
    Essie’s friend arrived to give her a ride home.
    Finally.
    Rumors were interesting, Hannah told herself, but she was more concerned about finding the truth. Essie Holmes, and all of Hooks Harbor by the tone of her opinion, had Matt White guilty of Gavin Abbott’s murder.
    Of course Matt was angry. And worried. And half out of his mind. His daughter was missing. Didn’t anyone else see the bigger picture?
    Samantha and Hannah walked through the automatic doors into the late morning sunshine. Hannah shaded the sun from her eyes with her hand.
    “That was an eye opener,” Samantha said as she slid behind the steering wheel of Mini May. “How was your visit with Jack?”
    “He’ll be fine, but . . .” Hannah hesitated.
    “But what? I’m feeling a bad vibration at the