Lavender Lass Books - Thursday Newsletter 15

Welcome to Lavender Lass Books - Thursday Newsletter! Abigail and I have decided to publish The Magic of Burrows Bay one chapter at a time. As always, you can find out more information on these and all our other books at the Lavender Lass Books website.

And a reminder that we have a few FREE ebooks and offer 25% off all other ebooks at our Lavender Lass BookShop!

And we’ve created a group on Facebook just for our Thursday newsletter! It’s a fun place to talk about all things Burrows Bay related…and as we progress through the story, you’ll find out why we post all those 1920s-inspired dresses. Hope you’ll join us!

Finally, here is the next chapter of The Magic of Burrows Bay! We’ll have a new chapter every Thursday, so we hope you enjoy the story!

Maggie McCrae knew her granddaughters were not ready for the legacy she must leave them. The house, the grounds and everything that went with it would now be theirs. She vowed she would do all she could to protect them and hopefully, give them the time they needed to fulfill their destiny. Gabriella and Moira must learn to trust themselves and each other as they discover the true magic of Burrows Bay.

And remember, you can always catch up on all earlier chapters here.

Chapter 15

Moira liked the café the minute she walked in.  It felt cozy and welcoming with the red booths along the windows and the shiny white tables.  “This is nice,” she said to Jack as he nodded at the waitress and they chose a booth in the back.

“I like it,” Jack replied, watching her carefully.  She really did seem to like it, which is more than he could say for the last two women he’d brought here.  He had a theory.  If they didn’t like a café, they weren’t cut out to date a police detective.

“Do you want to split a piece of pie?” has asked, setting his hat on the table. 

Moira laughed.  “Actually, if it’s as good as you say, I’d like my own.” 

Jack smiled.  “Two pieces of apple pie and two coffees,” he told the waitress as she walked up to their table.

She nodded and went back to the counter.  Jack looked at Moira.  “If you like the pie here, their meatloaf is amazing.” 

“Maybe, we can try it sometime,” Moira said, without thinking.  Then, blushing slightly, she added, “Or I could bring my cousin.”

Jack laughed.  “Actually, I was hinting that I would like to take you to dinner.  Are you free on Friday, around seven?”

“That would be nice,” Moira replied, smiling. 

After the waitress brought their coffee and pie, Jack waited until she walked away.  “As for that other matter,” Jack began, “we did find a meth lab in Henderson’s barn.  And he was not happy when we showed up Saturday evening.”

“What happened?” Moira asked, her eyes wide.  “Did he start any trouble?” 

Jack stared at those green eyes, then shook his head.  “No, we surrounded him before he had a chance to do anything about it, but I’m sure there are other people involved.”  He stopped, looking at her closely.  “I want you and your cousin to be very careful if you walk in those woods.  He may have told his partners about the two women who happened to show up the afternoon of his arrest.”

“We’ll be careful,” Moira promised.  She took a bite of pie.  “This is good!”

Jack nodded.  “Best on the Island.”

Moira thought for a moment.  “So, this Henderson…who do you think his partners might be?”

“That being official police business, I shouldn’t speculate,” he replied.  As Jack saw Moira’s disappointed look, he added, “But since you are directly involved and need to know any possible threats…”

“Yes?” Moira asked, her eyes sparkling.

“We suspect he has at least a couple of people working with him.  One to bring the supplies and another to distribute the meth.  And we have a pretty good idea who those men might be.  Amos Parker and Cal Harrington.  They’ve both been arrested in the past, but we’ve never been able to get the charges to stick.  Whenever we stop them, they don’t have the drugs on them.  Maybe this time, we’ll get lucky.”

Moira smiled.  “I’m glad my cousin and I were able to help.  Maybe that would explain the lights, too?”

“I don’t know,” Jack considered her question.  “When I first arrested Henderson that’s what I thought, but why go through the woods when they could simply use his private drive?”

“Moira nodded.  “That makes sense, but someone is shining lights in our woods at night.  Not every night, just now and then.”  She smiled at Jack’s puzzled expression.  “Gabbi and I have been checking.  We haven’t seen any more since we called you.”

“That fits with what Maggie reported.”  Jack brushed his hand over hers.  “I really am sorry about your grandmother.

“Thank you,” Moira replied, feeling that spark again as his hand touched hers.  She wondered if he felt it, too when his cell phone started ringing.

“Excuse me,” he said.  “This is Detective Stewart.  Yes,” he paused.  “All right, but I’ll be a few minutes.”  Another pause.  “I’ll see you then.”  He flipped the phone closed.  “Sorry, but I’ve got to drive over to the Tribal Police Station.  Officially, I’m off duty, but we only have a few detectives on the island.”

“I understand.”  Moira looked at her watch.  “I can take a cab back home if you need to leave.”

Jack smiled.  “It’s just paperwork.  I can wait a few extra minutes.”  Then he paused, debating with himself for a moment.  “If you want to go with me, we could stop and have dinner on the way back.  It should only take about an hour.”  

Moira smiled.  “I would like that if you’re sure it won’t be any trouble.”

“My pleasure.”  Jack picked up his hat and tossed ten dollars on the table. He stopped and spoke to the waitress on the way out.  “Tell little Mike that we expect to see him at practice this weekend.”

“He’ll be there,” she replied, smiling.  “Thanks, Jack.” 

“You and the kids take care.”  He opened the door for Moira.  “Her husband Mike was killed in the line of duty two years ago.  We all take an interest.”

Moira nodded.  “What’s practice?”

“Basketball.”  Jack smiled.  “He’s on a team I help coach on Sundays.”

“Did you play in high school?”  Moira asked.

“Yes, and in college.  I’ve always enjoyed the game, but knew I wanted to be a police detective.  Like my father.”

Moira got into the car as he held the door.  “He must be very proud.”

“I hope he would be.”  Jack replied.  “He was killed in the line of duty eighteen years ago.”

As Moira was drinking coffee with Jack, Gabbi was walking around the public market with her shopping list.  Definitely not worth dressing up, she observed.  At two thirty on a Monday afternoon, the only people shopping were women with small children and some retired couples. 

“Excuse me,” said the man behind the booth as she looked at his fish display.  “Do you want the salmon or not?”

“I’m still debating,” Gabbi replied, then gave him a closer look.  “Hey, is this all you have?  I’m not some tourist.”

He looked at her and shrugged.  “Maybe, I’ve got some stuff in the cooler I keep for special customers.”

“Consider me a special customer.  I’m a chef and I don’t buy day old fish.”  She pointed at the salmon in front of her.  “This fish has been sitting on ice for at least a day, right?”

“Keep your voice down,” the man whispered.  “I’m trying to make a living here.”

Gabbi smiled.  “Show me your best stuff, and maybe I’ll keep your little secret.”

He rolled his eyes and pulled out a few that impressed her, but she managed to look only mildly interested.  “Well, these look a little better…”

“A little better?  Sister, this is the best of the best!  I keep twenty set aside for one of the chefs at the Pirate’s Trove.”

Gabbi shrugged.  “What vegetable stand does this guy frequent?” 

He looked to his right. “I usually see him going over to Pete’s after he finishes here.  You going to buy these or what?”

“I’ll buy two,” she replied.  “I don’t want to take all his salmon.  As she started to walk away, she turned and smiled, “Thanks for the tip.” 

Twenty minutes later, she had discovered the best fish, vegetables, fruits and bread at the Anacortes market.  Not everyone had been as difficult as the first vendor.  Most wanted her business and were happy to show her the best they had to offer.  Telling them she was a chef helped, but the woman at the fruit stand had wanted an extra twenty.  “I’ll remember you next time, Sweetie,” she’d said.  “Get here early Thursday and I’ll sell you some nice apples and plums, but I’ll save aside the seedless Concord grapes for a twenty.”  Gabbi decided to take a chance on it.  She had a soft spot for fresh grapes.

“What I really need are some strawberries.”  Gabbi looked around.  “Do you have any strawberries?”

The woman shook her head.  “No, I’ve been out for a month, but Myrna over there gets a constant supply from her nephew.”

Gabbi thanked her and went to see Myrna.  Ten minutes later, she was headed back to the car with all of her purchases plus three pounds of luscious looking strawberries. 

“Can I help you with those?” asked a handsome man with dark hair and brown eyes.  He was a few inches taller than Gabbi and had an impressive physique.  Even with the T-shirt, she could tell he worked out a lot.

“Why, thank you,” she replied, looking up at him and smiling.  “I really do appreciate it.”

He walked with her to her car and then handed the packages to her as she put them in the back seat.  “Where did you find the strawberries?” he asked.

“Do you like strawberries?” Gabbi asked, thinking this might end up being a better day for shopping than she’d hoped.

“I do, but my husband just loves them.”  He nodded towards a good-looking blond, who was about six feet tall.  “I thought you might share your supplier if I helped you with your packages.”

Gabbi smiled and shook her head.  “Sure.  Why not?”  She waved at the blond and said, “Try Myrna over at that last stand, just past the jams and curds.  You can’t miss her.”

He smiled, thanked her, and the two of them disappeared into the crowd.  Just my luck, Gabbi thought.  I finally meet a good-looking guy and he’s married.

Join us next week for the another chapter of The Magic of Burrows Bay!