Page 91 of The Lighthouse on Plum Island
“When I arrived here a few days ago, I ran into that wannabe author and screenwriter that’s been trying to lobby their work around the New York movie scene these past few months.” Vanessa shuddered. “They were carrying a box of stinky fish out of the hotel.”
“What author?” Caroline’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“I don’t know their names?” Vanessa flapped her hand in the air. She looked at Brad. “Ask your friend Alex. He was trying to woo her.” She clicked her fingers. “She’s Clover’s cousin as far as I know. She was introducing the author to everyone.”
“Her?” Caroline and Brad said in unison.
“Yes!” Vanessa nodded, then continued with her dog story. “While I waited for the slowest elevator in the world, I noticedClover coming into the hotel. She stopped and hugged the author, then got into the elevator with me, reeking like a dead fish.” She pulled a face. “That’s why Mr. Dingle bit her and then me because I tried to stop Clover from patting him and got the fish juice on my hands.”
“Dead fish?” Caroline and Brad looked at each other before turning to Officer Crowley. “Is there news about the bacteria scare at the bay?”
“It hasn’t been made public yet, and the beaches are only being reopened tomorrow. But it was a false alarm, just some dead fish that were…” Officer Crowley’s eyes widened as he realized what was going on. “Dumped there.” He looked at Vanessa. “You say you don’t know the author’s name?”
“No, only her face,” Vanessa told him.
“The stolen laptop was only two weeks old,” Caroline said out loud. “That’s why it was stolen because the thief needed to put the spyware on it.” She looked at Vanessa. “Did you notice anything about the person who locked you in the house?”
“Yes, at first I thought it might have been Harriet as she was about the same height as Harriet but was tubbier,” Vanessa said and ran a hand over her chin. “Oh, and she smelled like…” She clicked her fingers.
As Vanessa said that, a memory of the night Caroline was attacked flitted through her mind. “Clean sheets having been dried in the warm sun!”
“I guess so.” Vanessa agreed.
“So we’re looking for a woman that’s about five-seven, that’s slightly tubby, and smells like clean sheets,” Officer Crowley looked from one to the other.
The three people staring back at him nodded.
“I’m going to need Miss Turner to come to the station with me and sit with our sketch artist,” Officer Crowley sighed.
“Gladly,” Vanessa told him.
“Where’s your town car?” Officer Crowley asked her, glancing around.
“I told my driver to go because I thought I was meeting Brad,” Vanessa answered.
“Do you need a ride back to the lighthouse?” Officer Crowley asked Brad and Caroline.
“We could use a ride to the vet,” Brad told him, pointing to a suspiciously quiet Blue Beard.
“I’m not riding in the car with that crazy bird.” Vanessa pointed at the macaw and took a few steps back.
“He’s hurt,” Brad pointed out.
“We can take you,” Jennifer and Harriet rushed toward them.
They’d been so engrossed in conversation they hadn’t heard them pull up.
“Thank you,” Brad said.
Officer Crowley took Vanessa to the station while Brad, Caroline, Blue Beard, Sandy, and Melton piled into Caroline’s SUV that Jennifer had used. They discussed the day’s events as they drove toward Newbury Port, where the nearest vet was.
Forty minutes later, Caroline, Brad, Jennifer, Harriet, Melton, and Sandy sat in the veterinary clinic waiting for Blue Beard.
“I’ll call my father,” Brad offered.
“I already did,” Harriet told him. “He’s waiting to hear back from us before deciding whether or not to pull the production.”
“I didn’t plagiarize Cobble Cove Mysteries!” Caroline said in frustration.
