Read Online A Fatal Visit (A Harbor Cove Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Emily Page - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Emily Page
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of the night rolled, Nichole was fully stretched out on the sofa in front of her.
“You happy, Skyler?” Nichole asked through a half-stifled yawn.
Without missing a beat she dryly responded, “Yes, dear. I love you very much. I’m reading right now, though.”
Nichole sighed. “Witty.” She paused and faced Skyler, legs crossed underneath her. “I meant generally. With your life, your job, the way things are in Harbor Cove?”
Skyler looked up from her book and shrugged. “Things could be worse. Why’d you bring it up?”
“Aubrey dropped out of college when she had Chase’s baby, didn’t she?” She frowned. “That must have been frustrating. She ended up here again, working in a restaurant.”
Skyler closed her book. “I know you. You’re stressing about something. Spill.”
“Harbor Cove is a small place. Sometimes I worry that it isn’t enough for me, for what I want to be. But, at the same time, I love my job, and I do love this town.” She paused and scratched her leg. “I guess I have a lot of conflicting thoughts and feelings about all this. You know?”
“Hang on a sec.” Skyler stood and left the room. She came back with a shiny black plastic, wire-bound notebook in her hand. “This is one of my spares.”
Nichole looked puzzled. “Uh, that’s nice, Skyler. You have actually been sleeping lately, haven’t you?”
Skyler rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, it’s for you. I found that, once I’d started keeping a journal, it filtered out my invasive thoughts and shone some clarity onto them. Maybe it’ll help you, too.”
Her roommate cocked her head and then smiled, taking the notebook. “Thanks. I’ll give it a shot.”
~~~
There was a chiller breeze on the tearoom patio today, and the intermittent clouds meant the light was constantly changing from grey back to the bright sunshine. Skyler was sitting with her notebook in hand, and a cup of green tea steamed on the table beside her. A young woman walked out and looked around as if searching. Skyler waved.
“Skyler Avery?” she questioned.
“Yes. We spoke on the phone, didn’t we?” The woman nodded, and a strand of black hair fell across her forehead, which she quickly pushed away again. “Kelly, was it?”
She nodded. Her words came out rushed. “I’m not going to be in the newspaper, am I? I really don’t want—”
Skyler held up a hand and shook her head. “As much as I want to write a good story, I want to find out who really murdered Chase Myers. I’m talking to a lot of people from the restaurant.” She tried her best to offer her a reassuring smile. The girl was young, seventeen or eighteen Skyler would have guessed. Perhaps younger; she had heavy makeup around her eyes and on her cheeks.
“I’ll try my best to help.” A waitress set down a mug of tea beside her, and Kelly stirred into it three cubes of sugar. She blushed. “I’ve always taken my tea really sweet.” It came out like an apology.
Skyler grinned at her. “Me too. My mother always despairs.”
“Same!” A smile spread over her face. “She’s always trying to get me to join her on these crazy diets.”
“It gets easier, I promise.” Skyler flipped open her notebook and drank some of her own tea. “So, to start off with, why don’t you tell me about Dustin Cole? What do you think of him?”
“I like him.” She blushed. “I mean, that is to say, he’s a nice person. But he’d been fumbling a bit, tripping up. The higher staff were kind of mad at him.”
“Did he ever seem angry to you? Act strangely in any way? Have you ever heard him mention Chase Myers?”
She shook her head. “No. Dustin’s always been pleasant and friendly.”
Across town, back at the apartment, Nichole was sitting at their kitchen table, her laptop open. She had found a page for a dental practice for a Mr. and Mrs. Perkins,
“You happy, Skyler?” Nichole asked through a half-stifled yawn.
Without missing a beat she dryly responded, “Yes, dear. I love you very much. I’m reading right now, though.”
Nichole sighed. “Witty.” She paused and faced Skyler, legs crossed underneath her. “I meant generally. With your life, your job, the way things are in Harbor Cove?”
Skyler looked up from her book and shrugged. “Things could be worse. Why’d you bring it up?”
“Aubrey dropped out of college when she had Chase’s baby, didn’t she?” She frowned. “That must have been frustrating. She ended up here again, working in a restaurant.”
Skyler closed her book. “I know you. You’re stressing about something. Spill.”
“Harbor Cove is a small place. Sometimes I worry that it isn’t enough for me, for what I want to be. But, at the same time, I love my job, and I do love this town.” She paused and scratched her leg. “I guess I have a lot of conflicting thoughts and feelings about all this. You know?”
“Hang on a sec.” Skyler stood and left the room. She came back with a shiny black plastic, wire-bound notebook in her hand. “This is one of my spares.”
Nichole looked puzzled. “Uh, that’s nice, Skyler. You have actually been sleeping lately, haven’t you?”
Skyler rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, it’s for you. I found that, once I’d started keeping a journal, it filtered out my invasive thoughts and shone some clarity onto them. Maybe it’ll help you, too.”
Her roommate cocked her head and then smiled, taking the notebook. “Thanks. I’ll give it a shot.”
~~~
There was a chiller breeze on the tearoom patio today, and the intermittent clouds meant the light was constantly changing from grey back to the bright sunshine. Skyler was sitting with her notebook in hand, and a cup of green tea steamed on the table beside her. A young woman walked out and looked around as if searching. Skyler waved.
“Skyler Avery?” she questioned.
“Yes. We spoke on the phone, didn’t we?” The woman nodded, and a strand of black hair fell across her forehead, which she quickly pushed away again. “Kelly, was it?”
She nodded. Her words came out rushed. “I’m not going to be in the newspaper, am I? I really don’t want—”
Skyler held up a hand and shook her head. “As much as I want to write a good story, I want to find out who really murdered Chase Myers. I’m talking to a lot of people from the restaurant.” She tried her best to offer her a reassuring smile. The girl was young, seventeen or eighteen Skyler would have guessed. Perhaps younger; she had heavy makeup around her eyes and on her cheeks.
“I’ll try my best to help.” A waitress set down a mug of tea beside her, and Kelly stirred into it three cubes of sugar. She blushed. “I’ve always taken my tea really sweet.” It came out like an apology.
Skyler grinned at her. “Me too. My mother always despairs.”
“Same!” A smile spread over her face. “She’s always trying to get me to join her on these crazy diets.”
“It gets easier, I promise.” Skyler flipped open her notebook and drank some of her own tea. “So, to start off with, why don’t you tell me about Dustin Cole? What do you think of him?”
“I like him.” She blushed. “I mean, that is to say, he’s a nice person. But he’d been fumbling a bit, tripping up. The higher staff were kind of mad at him.”
“Did he ever seem angry to you? Act strangely in any way? Have you ever heard him mention Chase Myers?”
She shook her head. “No. Dustin’s always been pleasant and friendly.”
Across town, back at the apartment, Nichole was sitting at their kitchen table, her laptop open. She had found a page for a dental practice for a Mr. and Mrs. Perkins,
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