The Crêpes of Wrath: A Pancake House Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

well.”
    “There’s something about the taxi that doesn’t make sense to me.” I explained how Jimmy didn’t trust taxi drivers and the reason behind his lack of trust.
    “Maybe he made an exception,” Georgeson said. “If he wanted to get home badly enough and he knew you’d be busy, it’s possible.”
    “I suppose.” The idea still didn’t sit quite right with me. “What’s going to happen to Jimmy?”
    “There’ll be an autopsy. At this point, I can’t say when his body will be released.”
    My throat burned. I stared hard at the horizon until the threat of tears lessened.
    “Brett tells me you’re from Seattle.”
    “Yes.”
    “How long are you planning to stay in Wildwood Cove?”
    “I was planning on staying another week or so, but now…I’m not sure. A few days at least.”
    “Do you have a cell number?”
    I rattled off my phone number and he copied it down in his notebook. He snapped the book shut and handed me a business card. “My contact information.” He got to his feet. “I might need to ask more questions later.”
    “That’s fine,” I said as I stood up from my chair and pocketed his card. “I’ll help any way I can.”
    Georgeson placed his hat on his head. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”
    I thanked him and he descended the porch steps. I wandered after him, lingering at the base of the steps as he climbed into his car and drove away. When I turned back toward the porch, I stopped, a dark mark on the bottom stair catching my eye. I crouched down for a closer look.
    My stomach turned. Was that blood?
    There was only a small splatter of it on the wooden step, but upon closer examination, I discovered more of the dark red-brown substance in the scuffed, sandy dirt at the side of the steps. I told myself that I had no reason to be disturbed. Jimmy had died on Myler’s Point. Even if the dark substance was blood, maybe it was from a nosebleed or a minor injury. Whatever the source, it couldn’t have anything to do with Jimmy’s death.
    Even so, I folded my arms over my chest in an attempt to ward off the chill creeping through my skin and into my bones. Tearing my eyes away from the dark stain on the stairs, I made my way down to the beach, not knowing where else to go. It was as if the events of the morning had set me adrift, leaving me lost and out of sorts.
    As I walked across the soft sand, my gaze strayed toward Myler’s Point. Although I was too far away to see anything in detail, I was able to pick out a van parked up in the picnic area above the rocks. The medical examiner’s vehicle, maybe?
    I hoped the sheriff’s office and medical examiner would uncover vital clues, ones that would lead them to Jimmy’s killer. I still couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to harm Jimmy, but apparently someone had.
    My thoughts meandered back to the questions Sheriff Georgeson had asked me. I wished I could have provided him with more helpful information, but maybe it wasn’t too late for that. Even though I didn’t know if Jimmy had problems with any of the locals, I could talk to people who would know. Jimmy worked with Leigh and Ivan five days a week and had known both of them for years. Surely they’d have some idea of what was going on in his life. I needed to find out what had happened to Cousin Jimmy, but first I had to take care of a difficult task.
    As much as I didn’t want to, I had to let my mom know what had happened to Jimmy. She was in Boston visiting her fiancé’s family and I didn’t want to spoil her trip, but I knew she’d want to know about her cousin as soon as possible. He was one of our few remaining relatives and my mom was fairly close to him. She’d known him her entire life and she’d always made an effort to visit him at least once a year, also keeping in touch by phone on a regular basis. No matter where she was or what she was doing, I knew she’d want me to call her about this.
    Angling myself away from Myler’s Point, I sat on