Chapter 6
Chapter Six
After shooting video around town for the next hour and a half, we walked to Kelly's Pub, which occupied a weathered building near the harbor.
Inside, exposed brick walls were covered with framed photographs showing the pub through different eras.
The bar itself was dark wood, and behind it, shelves of bottles glowed in the soft light.
Nautical touches were everywhere, with fishing nets draped in corners, a ship's wheel mounted on one wall, and old brass lanterns hanging from the ceiling.
It was only four-thirty, which was a little late for lunch and a little early for dinner, so only a dozen people were scattered about.
An older man sat at the far end of the bar nursing what looked like whiskey.
Two middle-aged women occupied a corner booth, laughing over glasses of wine.
A group of younger guys played darts near the back, their competitive banter punctuating the low rumble of conversation and the classic rock playing from speakers I couldn't see.
A man stood behind the bar, wiping down glasses.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt that showed muscular arms covered in tattoos.
His dark hair was longish, curling slightly at his collar, and his eyes were a deep blue.
He gave us a friendly smile as we sat down at the bar.
"Hello, ladies. What can I get you?"
"How about a name?" Tessa asked with a flirty smile. "You wouldn't be Sophie's brother, would you?"
"I am. Finn Kelly. And who might you be?"
"I'm Tessa, and this is Cassidy," she replied. "We met Sophie at the inn this morning. She told us this was the best pub in town."
"She's right. You must be the New York City writers she was telling me about. Have a seat. Sophie's in the kitchen, but she'll be out soon."
We settled onto barstools, and Finn immediately placed cocktail napkins in front of us. "Can I get you drinks? Food?"
"What do you recommend?" Tessa asked.
"Shipyard Ale if you like beer, and definitely my burgers. I know everyone says that about their local burger place, but I swear these are legitimately the best on the coast." He grinned. "Made with my own special sauce. Won't tell anyone the recipe, not even my sister."
"A man with secrets," Tessa teased. "I'm sold. Burger and a Shipyard for me."
"Same," I said, thinking how good Tessa was at being fun and flirty without really even trying.
Finn grabbed two glasses and started pouring our beers with practiced efficiency. "What do you two write?"
"We're working on a book about historic inns. That's why we're staying at the Stonecross Inn," Tessa said. "We wanted to see how it works from the inside."
"That inn definitely has history," he said, setting our beers in front of us. "It's over a hundred years old. My parents actually got married in the garden there."
"That's interesting," I said. "So, you grew up here in Stonecross?"
"I did, but I was gone for about twelve years while I was in the Army."
"When did you come back?"
"It's been about two years now. I hadn't really planned on going into the family business, but that's the way it worked out."
The kitchen door swung open, and Sophie emerged, her face lighting up when she saw us. "You came! I'm so glad. And I see you met Finn."
"I'm going to put their order in," Finn said as he moved away from the bar, heading into the kitchen.
"How was the library?" Sophie asked. "Did you learn anything interesting?"
"Margaret was helpful," Tessa said. "She told us about the death of Ellen's husband."
"That was a sad story from what I've heard.
He died before I was born, so I never met him, but my parents knew him as well as Ellen's son, David.
He left shortly after his father died and Ellen doesn't talk about him.
There's some bad blood there." She paused.
"Are you going to put that story in your book? "
"We're just gathering information," I said.
"We're looking for more atmosphere," Tessa added. "Ghost stories, local legends, that kind of thing. Facts are great, but we need the stories that make a place memorable."
Sophie smiled. "I've heard a few guests say they thought they heard voices in the night, but I'm pretty sure it was just the wind. The inn is old and creaky. It's always rattling."
"So, nothing?" Tessa asked with disappointment. "No resident ghost?"
"I don't think Mrs. Clarke would allow that. In fact, I would be careful what you write about the inn. If you say anything negative, she'd probably sue you. That inn is her whole life." Sophie straightened as the door opened, and a uniformed officer stepped up to the bar.
He had dark hair that was peppered with gray, a little too much weight in the middle and appeared to be in his fifties. He carried himself like someone used to being in charge and obeyed, and Sophie suddenly seemed a bit nervous.
"Sophie," he said with a curt nod. "Is Cole here?"
"I haven't seen him today, Sheriff," Sophie replied, and there was a carefulness in her tone that hadn't been there before.
The sheriff turned to us with a questioning gleam in his eyes. "Hello. I haven't seen you two in here before. I'm Sheriff Tom Holloway."
"I'm Tessa, and this is Cassidy," Tessa replied. "We're staying at the Stonecross Inn."
I was happy she hadn't used our last names, which seemed to be a deliberate choice on her part, probably because she didn't think I'd be able to say my fake last name without stumbling all over myself.
"How are you enjoying your stay?"
"It's been great so far," Tessa replied.
"How long are you in town?"
"Just a few days," she said.
"Sheriff," Finn said as he returned to the bar. "Can I get you something?"
"Just a coffee, thanks," Tom said, his tone clipped. "I'm looking for my son. Have you seen Cole?"
The door opened again, bringing with it a gust of cold air, and Finn said, "He's here now."
I turned to see two men approaching. The first was probably in his late forties, with an easy smile and tanned skin. The second appeared to be in his early twenties. Both looked happy and relaxed, until they saw the sheriff.
"There you are, Cole," Tom said, an edge to his voice. "I've been calling you for an hour. Where the hell were you?"
"Uncle Jeff needed me on a charter, and I left my phone in the truck," Cole said, not sounding that apologetic.
"You were supposed to be working at the boatyard this afternoon, remember? I asked Henry to give you some weekend hours so you could make extra money."
Cole's smile faded. "Oh, yeah. I forgot."
As Tom's gaze swung to Uncle Jeff, the man put up his hands in apology. "I didn't know anything about that, Tom. Cole didn't tell me."
"It's not a big deal," Cole said. "I'll apologize to Henry. I'm sure he didn't really need me anyway; he was just doing you a favor."
"And I was doing you a favor," Tom stated, anger reddening his face. "That's the last time."
"Got it," Cole said shortly. Turning to Sophie, he said, "Can I talk to you for a sec?"
She nodded and motioned toward the kitchen. Then she told Finn, "I'll be back in a second."
"I could use a beer," Jeff interjected. "Can I buy you one, Tom? Seems like you could use a drink."
"I'm on duty. And I have a coffee."
"Like you need more coffee. You need to calm down. You haven't been yourself since Diane—"
"I'm fine. I just need you to stop encouraging Cole to follow in your footsteps."
"You should be happy he wants to work with me. Otherwise, he probably would have left a long time ago. You have a history of driving people away."
The sheriff started to say something, then realized we were avidly listening to their conversation. "Sorry about this, ladies. I hope you enjoy your stay in Stonecross." He tipped his head, then took his coffee and walked out of the bar.
Jeff slid into the seat on the other side of Tessa.
"I don't think we've met. I'm Jeff Holloway, Tom's brother, Cole's uncle, in case you hadn't figured that out," he said with an easy smile.
"Tessa…Cassidy," Tessa said, tipping her head to me. "We're visiting."
"I figured. You're staying at the inn, right?"
"How did you know?" I asked.
"The inn gets a lot of visitors about your age these days. Ellen definitely found a way to drum up some new business, not that any of us are complaining. I run a boat charter service if you want to go out on the ocean."
"That sounds fun," Tessa said.
"Holloway Charters. I have an office on the pier, and if I'm not there, someone else will be. Or you can check our times and prices on the web. I'm always happy to give customers of the inn a special deal."
"We might take you up on that," Tessa said, pausing as Finn appeared with two plates loaded with burgers and fries.
"Why don't I show you to a booth?" Finn suggested. "You'll be more comfortable."
"Okay," Tessa said. "It was nice to meet you, Jeff."
"You, too."
Tessa and I followed Finn to a booth against the wall.
"Fair warning—these are messy," Finn said as he set down our plates. "Sophie is bringing you extra napkins. I know she wants to talk to you about New York, so I told her she can take a break, and she'll be right out."
"Great, thanks," I said.
"Was that a little weird?" Tessa asked. "Finn moving us to a booth?"
"It is more comfortable."
"Or maybe he didn't want us talking to Jeff Holloway."
"Why would he care? Jeff seemed friendly enough. Although he was in trouble with his brother."
" Family drama is everywhere."
"I wonder if we should talk to Jeff about the woman who took the boat out and then disappeared. If he runs a charter service, he might know something about that."
"Good idea, but I thought we were concentrating on Natalie."
"You're right, but still something to think about."
"Right now, all I'm thinking is about how good this burger is," she said, her mouth full of her first bite.
I laughed and joined in, completely agreeing with her assessment as the secret sauce overwhelmed my taste buds with its deliciousness.