The Wrong Bones (Widow's Island #10)(6)

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Tomorrow, Alyssa Collins’s parents would learn their daughter’s terrible fate.





3


At seven in the morning, Tessa’s stomach rumbled as she parked in front of Black Tail Bakery. Bruce had come on duty, and the bones were now safely stored in the evidence locker. Logan had headed off to the state park. In lieu of sleep, she needed caffeine and sugar.

She climbed out of her vehicle and walked into the bakery. Tessa’s best friend since childhood, Cate, had bought the bakery and bookstore a few months back. Cate was also Logan’s sister.

The bell rang as she pushed the glass door open. Tessa inhaled. The store smelled like heaven. She waited until Cate had rung up three customers and the store went quiet.

“Finally, the church lull,” Cate said. “We’ll have a huge rush before and after services—” Cate stared at Tessa. “You’re going to need some heavy-duty concealer for that.”

“Yeah. I know.” Tessa sighed.

Cate shook her head. “What can I get you?”

“Three breakfast sandwiches.” Tessa leaned on the counter. She’d bring food home for her mother and sister too.

“With or without bacon?” Cate asked.

Tessa gave her a look.

“Extra bacon it is.” Cate selected everything bagels from the case. “You have good timing. I’m ready for second breakfast.”

Tessa followed her into the back of the bakery, where Cate’s grandmother, Jane Sutton, was icing a tray of her famous cinnamon buns. At a long table, the third member of their childhood trio, Samantha Bishop, decorated sugar cookies with icing orcas. Tessa gave Sam a quick hug.

Tessa resisted the urge to scarf down five or six of the cinnamon buns. She might be relaxed about the wedding, but she would like to be able to zip her dress up next week. A loaded breakfast sandwich and cinnamon buns seemed excessive.

But she still wanted them.

“How do you feel?” Tessa asked.

“Pretty good.” Cate cut the bagels, put the slices in the toaster, and rested a hand on her belly. Still early in her pregnancy, Cate didn’t look even remotely pregnant yet. “Though I’ve had some weird food cravings. All I want this week is bacon.”

Tessa laughed. “Nothing wrong with that.”

Cate and Henry had married a few weeks ago. Her friend’s happiness made Tessa excited for her own wedding.

Sam picked up the tray of finished cookies and headed to the front of the shop. Tessa waited until she’d disappeared to talk to Cate about the case. Tessa was hesitant to discuss any violence in Sam’s presence. Sam had been kidnapped as a child and held for years. She’d borne a son in captivity. Tessa and Cate sheltered her as much as possible.

“Henry told me about the bones.” Before becoming a local shopkeeper, Cate had been a special agent for the FBI, which was one reason Tessa had stopped for breakfast—to pick Cate’s brain.

“I wanted to ask you if you ever dealt with a case of someone trying to bury remains in a cemetery.”

“No.” Cate broke eggs into a frying pan and warmed up slices of precooked bacon. “Usually, people are trying to steal from graves.”

“Right?” Tessa poured herself a cup of coffee.

Jane returned the icing to the cooler. “Will you need someone to sit with your mother today, Tessa? I assume you’ll be working the case.” Jane ran the Widow’s Island Knitting and Activist group. The island had an official government, but the knitting group was the organization that really kept the island running like a slightly rusty machine. Tessa’s mother needed constant supervision, and the knitters took turns.

“That would be very helpful.” Tessa tried not to overburden her younger sister. “Patience is supposed to hang out with a friend. I hate to ask her to give up her whole Sunday, and I could use Logan’s help with the investigation.”

“I’ll arrange it.” Jane pulled her cell phone from the pocket of her apron and stepped out the back door. A second later, she returned. “It’s done. Someone will be there within the hour.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” But Tessa knew the answer. Without the group’s assistance, her mother would need to be moved to a memory-care facility. The closest one was on the mainland. Even with help, Tessa knew that caring for her mother would become more challenging over time, which was why she and Logan had rushed their wedding plans. She wanted her mother to be there when she married.

“It’s a two-way street,” Jane assured her. “You serve us, and we help you do so. We are a community.” She tore off a piece of a cinnamon bun and popped it into her mouth. “Some people are connected to the island and don’t do well once they leave. I think your mother is one of those people.”

Tessa didn’t believe in superstition, but she did trust Jane’s instincts, which was the reason she was doing everything in her power to keep her mother at home. “I think you’re right.”

The bagel slices popped. Cate plucked them from the toaster and assembled the sandwiches. She wrapped each in wax paper, put them in a bag, and handed the bag to Tessa.

Tessa sniffed it and smiled. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Cate refilled her own coffee mug.