High Tide

  High Tide

  Brookhaven Cozy Mysteries Book 2

  S.E. Biglow

  HIGH TIDE (A BROOKHAVEN COZY MYSTERY) Copyright © 2022 by S.E. Biglow.

  * * *

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  * * *

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  If you enjoy this work, please consider leaving a review.

  For information contact; www.sarah-biglow.com

  Edited by Under Wraps Publishing

  Cover Design by: EmCat Designs

  Print ISBN: 978-1-955988-19-3

  * * *

  Published by S.E. Biglow: August 2022

  * * *

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  High Fidelity Blurb

  A FREE Story For You…

  About the Author

  1

  It felt strange to say that I’d grown used to the relative silence of Tia Tania’s Bed and Breakfast in the few short weeks I’d lived there when I’d been the only other guest. Of course, Vera had lived there for the short time she’d been in Brookhaven before her murder, but it still felt unnatural to have another boarder just two doors down the corridor from me. One would think the unassuming man who’d taken up residence in Room 6 would have been easy to overlook. Yet, I was acutely aware of his presence. Maybe it’s because he served as a stark reminder of the unfinished business in this house.

  Walter Lawson, our newest boarder, had come to Brookhaven looking for his missing sister, McKenzie. He was convinced she had come to town and was still here, even though the police had found her ID and phone among Vera’s belongings. Plus, the town’s Chief of Police, Rick Hayes, had determined that the woman who Walter believed to be his sister, was in fact Vera Chase, girlfriend to a dangerous New York drug dealer. That drug dealer had hunted Vera down, killed her for stealing from him, and tried to frame me in the process.

  That mystery still hung like a thick cloud around the bed and breakfast, even as the summer sun shone through the windows in the kitchen in early September. I stood there, coffee mug in one hand, studying the way the plant in the hanger by the window reached toward the sunlight, as if it had never felt the warmth from above before. In the back of my mind, I heard it whispering of its hunger. Since I’d come to stay, Tania had been placing potted plants all over the house. She claimed it was to help keep the air clean. I suspected she had ulterior motives.

  It was nearly impossible for me not to hear the call from the greenery around the house thanks to my hedge magic. I was still very much a novice at my craft and I had a hunch this was Tania’s not-so-subtle way of forcing me to practice using my skills on something other than marijuana seedlings.

  “All right.” I sighed as I watched the plant struggling to open its leaves. Setting my mug on the table I moved to stand by the planter and gently pinched the stem below the leaf that remained curled up.

  I focused on envisioning what the plant could be if it were only able to open up and soak up the much needed sunlight. The tips of my fingers grew warm where they made contact with the stem and I heard the soft crinkle of a leaf unfurling. When I opened my eyes, the pigment in the leaf had brightened and its whispers of hunger had faded.

  “You should feel good about that,” Tania’s voice said from the other end of the kitchen.

  I turned to see my landlady standing there in a sleeveless blouse the color of red wine and a floor length skirt in a complimentary dark purple hue. Even just a few short weeks ago, her statement would have both baffled and discomforted me. Tania is an empath and not shy about reading people, especially in the confines of her home.

  “It barely needed my help,” I noted and reclaimed my coffee.

  “Don’t sell yourself short, Darcy. You’ve been practicing and it shows,” she said with a smile.

  “Someone hasn’t given me much choice,” I noted, gesturing into the dining room where she’d placed a window box full of newly sprouted daisies.

  She chuckled. “I have gone a little overboard, I suppose.”

  “I tried to tell her that, but no one ever listens to me,” Sam—the bed and breakfast’s resident ghost—bemoaned as he materialized wearing a pair of skin-tight leather pants and a sparkly sequin jacket.

  “My hero,” I teased. I still knew very little about Sam. He was the only ghost I’d ever met. His clothes oscillated between flamboyant and verging on a 70s era Elton John impersonator. I’d made several mental notes to ask Sam about his existence and extensive wardrobe, but had never found the right time to broach the subject.

  “Am I interrupting something?” Walter’s voice cut into the conversation before Sam could throw a snarky retort back at me.

  Despite the fact that Walter had some form of magic, he still couldn’t see Sam. Maybe because Sam hadn’t warmed to him yet or perhaps because he hadn’t used his magic much since arriving in town. Besides, it wasn’t like he had to hide his abilities. As Tania had told me when I’d first settled in Brookhaven a month ago, this town was a safe place for those with magic and other supernatural gifts.

  “Nothing important,” I said, waving Sam away as I downed the rest of my coffee and set the mug in the sink to soak. “I was just getting ready to head to work.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” he offered and pivoted on his heel to open the front door.

  I followed him into the oppressive summer heat. As I glanced back over my shoulder at Tania who moved to stand in front of the stove, I hoped she wasn’t planning a trek outside in those dark colors. The humidity this early in the morning had already triggered a thin layer of sweat on my exposed forearms. Summer in New England was still a new phenomenon for this born-and-bred Brit.

  We left the bed and breakfast behind and started down Main Street toward Birch Street, the illuminated sign for High Time rising up above us. You couldn't miss it, lit up with a giant shoe sporting a marijuana leaf at its center. Almost on accident I’d landed a job there. My burgeoning plant magic coupled with the fact I’d saved the owner on an insurance claim by uncovering a theft by an employee had put me in the good graces of my boss.

  As we walked, I noted the slight slump in Walter’s posture. I didn’t need to be an empath to sense his anxiety. He’d been trying to track down his sister, McKenzie, because he felt he’d pushed her into exploring her magic before she was ready. Every day that passed without a hint of where she might be hiding wore on his nerves.

  “We’re going to figure out what happened,” I told him as we waited for the walk signal at the light across from High Time. As I waited for him to speak, the ghost of a memory flashed before me. I was in Tania’s little VW Bug and we were on our way to the boardwalk for fireworks when a stolen truck had hit us in its getaway. Most people would have never come back after an experience like that, and yet here I was grateful to be in a place that wouldn’t make me stifle my powers.

  “I just don’t understand how she could know I’m here and not at least try to reach out. I’m worried something else might have happened,” Walter lamented as the walk sign on the opposite side of the street changed to a pale figure.

  “How can you be sure she knows you’re here?” I pressed as we crossed to in front of High Time.

  I didn’t fully comprehend Walter’s magic. I knew generally that magic fell into one of two categories: elemental and emotional. It seemed far more common that magic fell on the emotional side of things, like with Tania’s empathic abilities. Not to mention Ginny Hayes—town gossip and owner of the only coffee shop in town—who could sniff out the truth. And then there was Maggie, the town’s resident healer. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling as an image of her with her short hair, strong arms, and kind smile filled my mind’s eye. She was beautiful in every way and had saved my hide more than once with her healing magic. But like me, McKenzie’s magic according to Walter was elemental. She was drawn to water.

  “I know McKenzie’s and my abilities are different, but I can just tell that she knows I’m here. But I can’t feel if she’s scared or angry or misses me.” He rubbed at his neck. “I also know that my ability to sense her has diminished in the last few days. I don’t know what that means, but it can’t be good. If she’s left again, I’ve got no idea where she’d go next.”

  I was about to suggest we needed Tania’s assistance, but it wasn’t’ my place to rope my landlady into this search. I’d done that enough to her in the last few months. “Have you talked to Chief Hayes about helping you look for her?”

  “He’s put out some alerts, but says there’s not much else he can do. After all it’s not like she’s done anything to run afoul of the law.”

  It sounded like an excuse not to do his j
ob, but I have a strained relationship with the local lawman. I’d ended wrapped up in two different investigations in the span of a few months. In fact, I’d even been a suspect one of those times. He was also the person I liked least knowing about my magic. I couldn’t quite explain why, but Chief Hayes just rubbed me the wrong way.

  “Yeah, but you reported her missing. They should be out searching.”

  “But I didn’t report her missing here. Seems like it’s not high profile enough, now that Vera’s case has been wrapped up.”

  Even though until a few weeks ago, McKenzie could have been laying in the morgue.

  “Well, like I said, we’re going to find her.” I should have asked Sam to check his usual haunts to see if she showed up anywhere. After all, she had to eat and sleep. But there’d been no word about any break-ins, stolen food, or clothing. I’d been making it a point to visit Ginny’s cafe more frequently just to see if I could catch any snatches of gossip she blared out to the surrounding patrons.

  “I’m going to head to the pier. Sometimes I still feel her there. Maybe it’s all in my head or some stupid confirmation bias, but it’s all I have,” Walter said, sounding resigned.

  I gave him a small encouraging wave before I headed to the side entrance of High Time. It was still early enough that I didn’t expect to see many of my co-workers. I spotted Sage’s truck in the parking lot. I might also run into Thomas, one of the bakers. It depended on whether he was on good terms with his roommate. I wanted to tell him he should find a new roommate, but it wasn’t my place. We were work friends—the kind of people who shared surface level things once in a while. Not the kind of people who gave life advice, especially unsolicited.

  The kitchen was eerily dim and quiet as I walked in. Making the familiar trek through the employee break area and stopping just long enough to pull on my ID badge before heading for the growth room. It was a little more humid than it had been the day before. I closed my eyes, listening to the plants and I could hear their discomfort. Seedlings are very temperamental things. I fiddled with the thermostat on the wall until I heard the ventilation system kick in and begin circulating cooler air.

  “That should be better,” I said to no one in particular.

  “Morning, Darcy,” Sage called from the doorway leading out front to the counter where customers made their purchases.

  Sage had startling pale blue eyes that matched her turquoise-dyed hair. She wasn’t what I’d call a hippie. Though she had far more chill than any person had any right to have, given the tragedies that kept befalling her and her business. She hadn’t ever asked me directly if I had magic and I’d never broached the topic myself, but it felt less embarrassing now with her walking in on me conversing with the plants. I could always use the excuse that there was some research that pointed to improved plant growth when you talked to them.

  “Morning,” I greeted.

  “Before things get into full swing, I’m asking everyone to meet in the break room. I made the announcement last night after you left about making sure everyone, even those not on shift this morning came in. Sorry, I meant to tell you sooner.”

  “Is everything okay?” My heart started hammering in my chest.

  “Everything’s fine. I’ll see you in about ten minutes,” she said, patting my arm before moving through the growth room and disappearing from view.

  Right when I could have used the distraction of trying to decipher the plants around me, they went quiet. I tried not to let the myriad of possibilities spiral out in my head as I waited, only to hear other voices coming from the kitchen area. I spotted Thomas’ head bob in and out of view, and took that as my cue to go join everyone else.

  There wasn’t more than about twenty people all told, but we also didn’t generally all come in at the same time or occupy the same space. So, the break room felt cramped as I squeezed in beside Thomas. He offered me a friendly smile and tucked a dreadlock up into the hairnet around his head.

  “Thanks everyone for coming in. I know for some of you this your day off,” Sage began and a hush fell over the room. “Now, I know it feels a bit ominous when the boss calls a big meeting with everyone for practically the crack of dawn—”

  “You aren’t shutting down are you?” Sherry, one of the confectioners interrupted.

  “No, the business is fine. In fact, we’re up over last quarter,” Sage replied. “I wanted to acknowledge that we’ve been through a bit of a rough patch the last few months and I really appreciate that all of you have stuck with me. It was your support that kept my spirits high.”

  Someone on the far side of the room started a slow clap that got half a dozen more people in on it before it died down. Sage chuckled and waved off whoever had started it.

  “So, to say thank you, I wanted to announce that we will be closed for Labor Day weekend and I’ve bought everyone tickets for the harbor cruise on Monday. Now, it is not mandatory,” she paused and looked at one of the other hair netted employees on the opposite side of the room, “I know some of you aren’t fond of boats. But I wanted to make the offer and for those of you who aren’t interested in the cruise, I’m offering a voucher for the price of the tickets as an extra bonus on top of your holiday pay. I hope you’ll at least come out to the pier with the rest of us.”

  A mixture of excitement and apathy went up from my co-workers. I’d seen the harbor cruises come through when I’d been down on the pier. I’d been under the impression they were shutting down for the summer. Maybe this was one last hurrah before the boats were moored for fall and winter? Either way, it appeared to be a fun way to spend a free weekend. Anyways, being close to the water, maybe I’d get lucky and find a clue that might lead me to McKenzie and give Walter some much-needed good news.

  2

  I didn’t think through the fact that Sage’s team-building activity involved actually being out on the water. I’ve never been a huge fan of open water. When I was about seven, I’d gone on a trip with my parents and they’d insisted we do some whale watching. The sea had been rough and the weather had turned from sunshine into strong gusts and downpouring rain as soon as we left the dock behind. The captain had been a stubborn old bloke, who insisted that we’d paid for the time. I’d been miserable and spent the entirety of the trip below deck trying not to lose my breakfast.

  “Sage did say she didn’t mind people staying on land,” Tania reminded me on Monday morning as I gripped a mug of chamomile tea to calm my nerves.

  “I feel like I’m still so new that I ought to go just to get to know people,” I replied.

  “That is very brave of you,” Tania said.

  “Well, try not to ruin that outfit,” Sam chittered from his ghostly perch across the table from me.

  “Worrying about her clothes isn’t going to help,” Tania chided in a disapproving tone.

  “What? I’m dead, not blind. That outfit is gorgeous. It would be a tragedy to ruin it,” he argued.

  “I’ll do my best,” I offered as my stomach did a flip.

  “You could also just take sea sickness medication,” Tania pointed out.

  Maybe a stop by the pharmacy wasn’t a bad idea. I felt a blush creep up the nape of my neck at the thought of seeing Maggie again. She’s not the only person who works there, I reminded myself as I rinsed the mug and set it to dry before grabbing my purse.

  “Where are you headed?” Walter called from the second to last step of the stairs leading to the second floor.

  “Pharmacy for some sea sickness medication. Sage is taking us on a cruise off the pier and I’m afraid I’ve got a weak stomach,” I admitted.

  “I didn’t realize they were still running,” Walter said. “Why didn’t I think of that?”