A Dangerous Scoop (A Seaside Ice Cream Shop Mystery Book 12), page 15
A DANGEROUS SCOOP
A SEASIDE ICE CREAM SHOP MYSTERY (BOOK 12)
ANGELA K. RYAN
JOHN PAUL PUBLISHING
Copyright © 2025 by Angela K. Ryan
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or deceased, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions or locales is completely coincidental.
Cover Design © 2023 MariahSinclair.com
A Dangerous Scoop/Angela K. Ryan. -- 1st ed.
ISBN: 979-8-9913260-5-6
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
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Sneak Peek: Corpse at a Cape Cod Inn
Sneak Peek: Condos and Corpses
About the Author
CHAPTER 1
Anna took a stroll to the cove from her ice cream shop, Bella’s Dream. It was one of those rare late July afternoons with low humidity and plenty of sunshine. She breathed in the salty air as she made her way across the sand, which was laden with beachgoers. Even after having lived in Seagull Cove for nearly a year and a half, it never got old to live in the town where she and her family vacationed when she was a child and, later, as a young adult.
She made her way to the jetty on the far side of the cove to collect her thoughts for her meeting that evening with Joe, Jeremy, and Grayson. The previous Sunday, they had spoken by phone with Bella and confirmed that Todd Devonshire, a man who she thought had been a friend, was actually Bella’s stalker, and the one who killed Benjamin and Rebecca. Now, they had to prove it so that Bella, who was on the run in a location that only Bella knew, could return home for good.
Anna perched herself on a rock on the cove’s jetty that extended into the Atlantic Ocean, where she watched the waves crash onto the shore. She smiled as she noticed a small boy and girl run away from the waves, squealing with delight.
Then, her gaze settled on two of her friends, Velma and Wanda, walking together along the shore. They stopped in front of a dilapidated lifeguard stand. It was rotting to the point where the lifeguards needed to survey the cove from the sand. She wondered why the town hadn’t yet replaced it. The other one on the opposite side of the beach was in equally poor condition.
She pulled her attention from the beach and gathered her thoughts for the meeting when the ringtone of her cell phone startled her.
The number didn’t look familiar, so she considered declining it. She had been receiving too many calls from telemarketers lately, but in the end she decided to accept the call. She was happy to have an excuse to put off thinking about the case, since she didn’t know what their next move should be.
“Hello.”
“Good afternoon. Is this Anna McBride?”
From the sound of her voice, Anna guessed that the woman on the other end was in her sixties. Anna looked around instinctively. Ever since she learned who Todd really was, and since the previous two weeks she had sometimes felt that someone was watching her, she had been more on edge. But there was nobody around her who looked suspicious. “Yes, this is Anna. Who’s calling?”
The woman breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad I was able to reach you. My name is Marlene McDaniels. I was hoping we could speak in person about a very important matter.”
Anna’s heartbeat quickened. That didn’t seem like a safe idea. It could be a setup Todd was using for this woman to lure Anna somewhere. “I don’t understand. What was it that you wanted to discuss? I’m not in the habit of meeting strangers without knowing the reason why.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m a little nervous. As I said, my name is Marlene. I used to work for Todd Devonshire as his personal assistant until…well, until I quit after seeing some things. I have some information I’d like to share with you, but I’d rather give you the scoop in person. Um, no pun intended. I know you own an ice cream shop. I promise this will all make more sense when I show you the information that I have.”
“Why me?” Anna asked. “Why not go to the police? And what do you know about my relationship with Todd?”
There was a pause. “My sister, Beatrice, is the editor at the Marblehead Times, and I know that you are one of the people who discovered Rebecca Crenshaw’s body. Also, I convinced my sister to tell me that you were the one who wrote the letter to the editor a couple of weeks ago.”
Anna had written an anonymous letter in order to pay tribute to Rebecca Crenshaw and to scare the killer by letting him know that they wouldn’t rest until he was found. They were hoping to trip him up and cause him to do something foolish that might reveal himself.
“I know that you are looking for the killer, and I have some information that could help you,” Marlene continued.
That made Anna feel a little bit better, since Beatrice was a friend of Jeremy’s, although she wasn’t thrilled that Beatrice had revealed her identity, even to her sister.
“How do I know I can trust you?” Anna asked. “You said that you’re connected to Todd Devonshire.”
“No, not anymore. I used to work for him, but I quit seven years ago.”
That would have been shortly after Rebecca and Benjamin were murdered. It was possible that Marlene knew something that could help put Todd behind bars, but Anna couldn’t be sure that she wasn’t working on Todd’s behalf. He could be sending her to try to find out what Anna knew, or worse—he could be sending her to hurt Anna.
“We could meet in a public area,” Marlene said. “You name the place and I’ll be there.”
Anna paused to reflect, but in the end it was too enticing an offer to refuse. She was desperate for new leads in order to prove Todd’s guilt. She could always tell Joe about the meeting and ask him to keep watch from a distance to make sure that she was safe.
“Can you meet me at Cove Coffee?” Anna asked. “It’s a coffee shop on Main Street in Seagull Cove.”
“I know the one. I live in town. Could we meet this afternoon?” Marlene asked nervously. “I need to get this off my chest as soon as possible.”
“I suppose,” Anna said. “How about 4:30?” She said a prayer that Joe would be available.
“Perfect. I’ll see you in an hour,” Marlene said.
With new plans for the afternoon in place, Anna walked back to Joe’s apartment, which was above her ice cream shop, to see if he was home. If not, she would try Jeremy next, but with Joe’s experience as a retired private investigator, he was her first choice.
She climbed the wooden staircase on the side of the building that led to Joe’s apartment. She smiled when he appeared in the doorway.
“Our meeting with Jeremy and Grayson isn’t until later, right?” Joe asked, looking confused that she had come so early.
“Right,” Anna said. “But I need your help with something else first.” Anna relayed to Joe her phone conversation with Marlene McDaniels.
Joe crossed his arms. “That makes me a little nervous. We have no reason to believe that Todd knows we’re onto him, but if he somehow does, it could be a setup. He could be fishing for information.”
“I thought the same thing. That’s why I asked Marlene to meet me at Cove Coffee. I was hoping that you would come with me and sit nearby and to scan the area to make sure that Todd isn’t with her. I don’t feel comfortable going alone, but if she really does have information that can help us, it’s an opportunity we can’t ignore.”
“All right. Let’s do it,” Joe said. “You could be right, and I don’t imagine I’ll be able to talk you out of going, anyway.”
“I’m meeting her at 4:30. If she actually has some useful information about Todd, it will be good to know about it before our meeting at 7:30 with Jeremy and Grayson.”
Joe glanced at his black sports watch. “All right. I’ll see you at Cove Coffee in forty-five minutes.”
“Thanks, Joe. I knew I could count on you.”
Anna went downstairs to the ice cream shop and worked behind the counter until 4:15. A Friday in July meant a hectic day, so despite having three employees working, an extra set of hands was always useful. Then she headed next door to Cove Coffee.
Joe was already sitting at a table by the window, where he had a clear view of both the coffee shop and Main Street, and he had a muffin and a coffee in front of him.
He nodded when she took her coffee to a table a short distance from his.
Anna glanced at the clock behind the counter. It was nearly 4:30. She wished she had asked Marlene for a description, but there were no women sitting alone in the shop, except for a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. Marlene sounded much older on the phone.
Anna nursed her coffee until it was gone. By the time she was finished, twenty minutes had passed, and there was still no sign of Marlene. She waited fifteen more minutes, then she walked over to Joe’s table and sat down. “I don’t think she’s coming.”
Joe shrugged. “Maybe she got cold feet. It happens.”
“I’m sorry I wasted your time. We might as well leave. I’ll call Marlene when I get back to Bella’s Dream and find out why she changed her mind,” Anna said.
As they stepped onto the sidewalk, an ambulance sped past them. It came from the direction of the beach.
“It looks like they’re in a hurry,” Anna said.
A police car followed a short distance behind the ambulance.
“That’s not a good sign,” Joe said.
The ambulance turned right onto a side street, and the police car followed suit.
“Let’s see what’s going on,” Anna said, grabbing Joe’s forearm and pulling him along.
They walked north on Main Street and turned onto the same street as the ambulance and police car. Both were parked in front of an alley, which was connected to the side street. A small crowd gathered, and a police officer tried to reassure them and to keep them away from the alley.
A second police car parked behind the first one, and Detective Charlie Doyle exited the car. He made his way through the small crowd of people that had gathered. Anna and Joe also walked through the crowd. Anna tried to look as confident as possible, so it would seem as if she belonged. Finally, they arrived at the base of the alley. They couldn’t go any further, since one of the police officers had just sectioned off an area with yellow crime scene tape.
Anna peered into the alley and gasped when she saw a woman lying on her back with a pool of blood gathered around her head.
They stood there for a while, hoping to learn who it was. When Charlie spotted Anna and Joe, he came over to them. “She’s gone. The coroner is on his way.”
“Who was it?” Anna asked. But something in the pit of her stomach told her that she already knew the answer to that question.
“Her license says, ‘Marlene McDaniels.’”
CHAPTER 2
“Are you okay, Anna?” Charlie asked. “You look as white as a ghost. Did you know the victim?”
Anna glanced at Joe and then back at Charlie. “Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?” Charlie asked.
“I was supposed to meet with Marlene this afternoon at 4:30 in Cove Coffee. Now I know why she didn’t show up.”
“If you didn’t know her, what were you supposed to meet about?” Charlie asked.
Anna opened her mouth to explain, but she wasn’t sure where to begin. “It’s a long story.”
“Let me finish up here, and then I’ll meet you at Bella’s Dream. I have a feeling it’s a story that I’m going to want to hear.”
Anna and Joe walked back down Main Street to Bella’s Dream to wait for Charlie. Anna hopped behind the counter, and Alex served Joe his usual two scoops of cookie dough ice cream.
An hour later, Charlie arrived in the shop, looking more worn out than she had seen him in a long time. Anna and Joe joined him at a corner table in the dining room, where they wouldn’t be overheard. She brought him a scoop of rocky road ice cream. “You look like you could use this,” she said, placing it on the table in front of him.
“Thanks. It looks like it’s going to be a long night.”
The week before, Anna had a long discussion with Charlie in which she caught him up on everything that had been happening with Bella over the past fifteen months. He knew that her sister was alive and hiding out in an undisclosed location. However, she hadn’t had the chance to tell him they discovered the next day that Todd Devonshire was Bella’s stalker and the one who killed Rebecca and Benjamin.
Joe relayed the story of how Jeremy and Grayson kayaked down the coast to find a home that looked like the one Bella described, where she had seen the killer dispose of a body, which they now knew to be Benjamin’s and not Rebecca’s. “Jeremy and Grayson narrowed it down to two homes, and we were able to locate both houses. The owner of the first house was an older couple, but the owner of the second one matched Bella’s description of the man who stalked her. His name was Todd Devonshire.”
“What? The same guy who likes to hang out in your shop?” Charlie asked.
“And the same guy who I’ve been using as a financial advisor,” Anna said. “He fooled us all.” She also recounted their conversation with Bella the previous Sunday, during which Bella confirmed from a photo on his business website that Todd was indeed her stalker. “At first, we assumed that it was Rebecca’s body that was in that sack Bella saw being taken out to sea. But after we found Rebecca’s body in the park, we started operating under the assumption that Benjamin was the second victim. Everyone thought that he must have killed Rebecca, since he disappeared after her death. Nobody considered that he was murdered, too.”
“Now that we know that Todd is the killer, we just need to prove it,” Joe said.
Charlie leaned back in his booth and let out a sigh. “Wow. A lot has happened since we spoke last Saturday. So, where does Marlene fit into all this?”
“She called me out of the blue this afternoon and asked to meet with me. She said her sister was the editor of the Marblehead Times, and she told her that I was the one who wrote the anonymous letter to the editor a couple of weeks ago. She said that she used to work for Todd Devonshire, and that she had some information that would be useful in our investigation. I was hesitant, because I was afraid it was a set-up, so I insisted that we meet at Cove Coffee. Joe was there in case anything went wrong, but she never showed up.”
“We were afraid that Todd knew we were on to him, and he was using Marlene to obtain information,” Joe said.
“We waited for over a half hour, and then we figured she must have changed her mind. We were just leaving the coffee shop when we saw the ambulance and police car whiz by, then turn onto one of the side streets. So, we went over there to see what was going on,” Anna said.
“I can’t help but wonder if her death was connected to our meeting,” Joe said.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Anna said. “One possible scenario is that Todd killed her because he knew she was coming to give me some information that could implicate him. If that’s the case, then he knows we’re onto him.”
“It would also mean that Todd now has the blood of three victims on his hands,” Charlie said.
“Marlene must have been telling the truth. She had some information that she said could be useful in our investigation. After hearing from Bella about how vicious and ruthless Todd was toward her, I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed her,” Anna said.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Joe said. “But if it’s true, it means that Todd is getting nervous. Maybe that means he’s getting sloppy, too.”
“Marlene McDaniels was definitely murdered,” Charlie said. “The coroner hasn’t yet ruled the manner of death a homicide, but she was shot in the back of the head. Judging from the angle of the wound, there is no way that she could have done that to herself. Someone wanted her dead, and it sounds like Todd Devonshire is our prime suspect.”
“At least now the Seagull Cove PD can question Todd,” Joe said.
Since Rebecca’s murder took place in Marblehead, it was out of Charlie’s jurisdiction. But since Marlene’s murder happened in Seagull Cove, Charlie could investigate.
“You’re right. At least now we have an avenue to help put Todd behind bars and bring your sister home,” Charlie said. “As her former employer, we have every reason to question Todd.”
“Can you keep us posted?” Joe asked.
“Under the circumstances, I think we should share information and keep one another up to date on our investigations,” Charlie said. “Of course, we’ll be looking into other suspects as well.”
“The four of us will also continue to investigate Rebecca’s and Benjamin’s deaths,” Anna said.
