Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(16)

In a quest for clues, a hotline was set up. One anonymous tipster claimed Chelsea had once complained that Adam didn’t love her anymore, had quit sleeping with her, did not want to marry her. The tipster further hinted that Chelsea may have had something on Adam—something really damning—and was using it to blackmail him into marrying her. The police were unable to track down the tipster. And they didn’t uncover any evidence to support the outlandish allegation. In fact, Adam’s past turned out to be squeaky clean, so it seemed unlikely he’d been a target for blackmail. Reaching yet another dead end, the police finally began to let up on him.



I set the files aside. So that’s how it all went down.

I had to admit, blackmail would be a strong motive for wanting to silence someone. But I didn’t want to believe Adam had anything to do with Chelsea’s disappearance. Surely, the police would have uncovered something if he had. With enough money, anyone can hide anything, a traitorous voice whispered in my head.

No, Chelsea’s life had been full of secrets and lies. I was more inclined to believe someone from her tawdry past had caught up to her. But the question remained, who?

My head was starting to ache; I’d been poring over the case files for hours. I slid the folder back into the bookcase and, in preparation for my visit to the café, began to look over the instructions for ordering groceries.

Residents were to place their orders with Helena, either through an online ordering system or by taking in a hard copy to the café. Pay options were available online, or payments could be made in person. Nate would then deliver the groceries within a couple of days. A web address and several printed copies of the ordering forms were attached to the instructions. Simple enough. I checked off the items I wanted, wrote in a few not on the list, and left for the café.

It was raining like crazy, so, once I arrived, I parked in front, lowered my head, and made a mad dash for the door. I didn’t see Nate under the huge awning that sheltered the café entrance from the rain until the last second, and I pretty much collided with him as we both reached for the door handle at the same time.

Stepping aside, I blubbered, “Oh my God, I’m sorry—”

“Maddy!” Nate interrupted, laughing and pulling me into a much-unexpected hug. “It’s good to see you. We heard you were going to be staying here on the island with us for a while.” He pulled back, holding me at arm’s length. “Wow, you look great.”



The café door opened, and Helena appeared in the doorway. “Nate,” she said, clearly exasperated. “Don’t make the poor girl stand out there in this weather.” She propped the door open with her hip. “Come on in, Maddy. And welcome to Fade Island.”

The café interior was warm and inviting. There were a few small wooden tables scattered about, a plush sofa covered in a nubby, maroon fabric off to the left, and a coffee bar in the back. A menu board hanging behind the bar held only the chalky smears from a swipe of an eraser, but nevertheless, the smell of freshly brewed coffee punctuated the air.

After a few customary niceties of the recently reacquainted, I said, “Oh, I wanted to drop off my grocery order.” I pulled the folded form from my back pocket. “I’ll probably order online next time, but I really wanted to stop in, see the café, and say hello of course.”

Helena took the order. “I’m glad you decided to come in. I thought I saw you drive by yesterday in Adam’s old Lexus.”

Aha, so I was right about the car!



“Yeah, that was me,” I replied, feeling somewhat foolish that I’d been noticed and had not stopped in.

“How ’bout some coffee?” Nate chimed in. “It’ll warm you up before you go back out in this mess.”

Helena added, “I was about to make myself a cappuccino. But I can make you whatever you like. I even have soup today since we’ve had a lot of fishermen stopping by lately.”

“Just a cappuccino is fine,” I said as I sat down at one of the tables in the middle of the café.

Just as Nate was about to sit down in the chair across from me, the café door swung open. I fully expected it to be a fisherman or maybe Max. But no.

It was Adam who stepped in, clad in a dark brown field coat, jeans, and hiking boots. Very outdoorsy, very handsome, I noted. He looked especially good as he ran his fingers through his wet hair, and a trickle of rainwater trailed down his temple.



Adam caught me watching him and started to smile, but then Nate distracted him as he waved him over. “We were just getting caught up with Maddy,” Nate said.

Adam came over to the table, and Nate motioned to the chair across from me. “Here, have a seat.”

Adam glanced at the empty chair, and then, smirking, he said, “Actually Madeleine and I had a rather unexpected, but certainly not unpleasant, opportunity to get reacquainted last night. I think it’s safe to say we’re all caught up.” He looked my way and added, “Isn’t that right, Maddy.”

Nate looked perplexed, and I tried to explain lest he think the worst from Adam’s vague, innuendo-laden comment. “We sort of ran into each other yesterday evening.”

Adam coughed to stifle a laugh. I shot him a pointed look, but he pretended not to notice.

Nate, surely catching all this but being too much of a gentleman to comment on it, said to Adam, “OK, well, what brings you down to the café today, then?”