Page 32 of In Her Bed
The kettle began to whistle, its high-pitched sound cutting through the quiet kitchen.Frank moved it off the burner and poured steaming water into three mugs.The comforting aroma of chamomile and mint filled the air as he brought the mugs to the table.
Frank’s voice broke through the quiet, a gentle admonishment in his tone.“Let these steep a bit,” he suggested, placing a steaming mug in front of both Jake and Jenna.Then with a slight grunt, he bent down to pull out a dish from the refrigerator, its contents hidden by an opaque lid.From one of the overhead cupboards that had seen better days, he pulled out a loaf of bread.
“From the looks of you two,” Frank said as he placed the items on the table, “You’ve forgotten to eat.”
Jake hadn’t realized how much his body craved sustenance until Frank pointed it out.The day had been long and arduous; food had been far from their minds.
Frank revealed what was in the dish - remains of a meatloaf that looked delicious.He also set out condiments along with plates and knives – an invitation to help themselves.
“You’re right,” Jake admitted quietly as he reached for a slice of bread.He layered on some meatloaf, added mustard and ketchup before capping it off with another slice of bread–a simple sandwich but one that promised to fill him up adequately.
He glanced over at Jenna who seemed to be following suit, albeit more slowly, her sandwich smaller.Her movements were mechanical as if she was only eating because she knew she should rather than because she wanted to.He wondered if this was how it would always be - them grabbing meals in between cases.But as he took a bite of his sandwich, he realized that it had been worth waiting for.Frank’s meatloaf was excellent.
Frank sat down at the table, looking satisfied as they plunged in.
“That’s new,” he said, nodding toward the brooch pinned to Jenna’s uniform shirt.“Is that an opal?”
Her fingers moved to touch the brooch, a gesture that seemed almost unconscious.“It is.I found it in an abandoned well in Whispering Pines.”
“The result of a dream?”Frank asked.
Jenna nodded.“The ghost of a teen named Patricia Gaines led me to it.I’m still not sure why or what it means, but...”
“But you’re hoping it might be connected to Piper,” Frank finished for her, his voice gentle.
Jake observed the subtle shift in Jenna’s expression – the flicker of hope in her emerald eyes, quickly tempered by years of disappointment.He knew how deeply her twin sister’s disappearance had affected her, how it had shaped her entire life since that day twenty years ago.
“I took it to Mr.Tyler’s pawnshop,” Jenna continued.“First time I’d been there in ages.He couldn’t tell me anything about it.He doesn’t remember Piper buying it from him.”
“Did you show it to your mother?”Frank asked, lifting his mug to blow softly across the surface of the hot tea.
“Yes.She didn’t recognize it.”
The disappointment in her voice was subtle but unmistakable.Jake resisted the urge to reach out, to offer some physical comfort.Instead, he took a sip of his tea, letting the warm liquid soothe his throat.
“Frank, does it look familiar to you at all?”Jenna asked, her tone carefully neutral.
Frank studied the brooch for a long moment, his brow furrowed in concentration.Finally, he shook his head.“I can’t say that I’ve ever seen it before.But that doesn’t mean it’s not significant.Let’s put a pin in that for now.Tell me more about this body that was strapped to the radio tower.”
Jake watched as Jenna visibly shifted gears, her posture straightening as she slipped back into sheriff mode.
“Marcus Derrick, 42, lived in a mobile home outside of Pinecrest,” Jenna began.“Reclusive, paranoid about modern technology.”
“He’d recently purchased an old vacuum-tube ham radio set at Howard Mitchell’s estate sale,” Jake added.
“Which brings us to Harris Lynch,” Jenna said.“Owner of Golden Legend Treasures in Pinecrest.Specializes in oddities and antiques, including old electronics.He had tried to buy that same ham-radio set from the estate sale.Lynch was angry about how Mitchell’s daughter sold the radio to Derrick instead of to him.Colonel Spelling and the Pinecrest police chief consider him a likely suspect.”
“But you don’t share their opinion,” Frank asked, a skeptical edge to his voice.
Jake exchanged a glance with Jenna.“The evidence is thin.“
“Doesn’t sound like much of a motive,” Frank said.
“No, and if the killer was Lynch,” Jenna replied, “it seems odd that he didn’t take the radio.It was still right there in Derrick’s mobile home.”
Frank took a long sip of his tea, his eyes thoughtful.“So you’ve got a paranoid recluse, a shopkeeper with a tenuous connection, and a body displayed in a way that suggests something more than a simple dispute over merchandise.”
“That about sums it up,” Jake said.
