I scooped up Damon while Stefan attacked Kai and Kallie. Luckily, neither dog seemed to mind a bit.
“Oh, good, you’re here,” Josie greeted. “Jemma’s upstairs finishing up some work, and Parker just called, and she’s on her way.”
“Something smells wonderful.”
“Lasagna.”
“I thought we were doing takeout. Parker mentioned Chinese food.”
“I decided that lasagna sounded better, and I had all the ingredients, so I called Parker and told her that I’d just cook. I hope that’s okay. You do like lasagna, don’t you?”
“I love lasagna,” I answered. “I’m not sure I’ve ever had any that didn’t come from a restaurant. It seems like it would be a lot of work.”
“It is, but it’s one of my favorites. If you like lasagna, you’ll love mine. I use my grandmother’s recipe, which in my opinion, is better than you can get at any restaurant.”
“I can’t wait to try it.”
Josie automatically poured me a glass of wine, which I accepted.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.
“Actually, there is. I’m preparing a fruit and cheese tray since the lasagna won’t be ready for a while. There are grapes soaking in the sink that can be dried and cut into small bunches. I washed the apples, but they need to be sliced. If you want to do that, I’ll grab the cheese.”
I grabbed the carving board from behind the canisters that were lined up by size on the counter and began slicing the apples. The only person I’d ever lived with other than my dad and my college roommate was my best friend, Keni, when we lived in New York. Neither she nor I cooked, so we mostly went out to eat. When I’d lived with Dad, it was mostly sandwiches and mac and cheese, and when I was in college, I mostly ate in the cafeteria.
“I’m anxious to hear what Parker has to say about the case she told us about last night,” I said.
“Me too,” Josie agreed as she began slicing cheese. “I remember the case from five years ago, but to be honest, I really didn’t know the family and didn’t pay a lot of attention to the whole thing. Of course, everyone was talking about it in the weeks after the family disappeared, but I didn’t take a lot of time to think about it.”
“I drove by the Hamish house today,” I informed her. “I guess Parker’s story really captured my imagination. What I found to be the oddest was the fact that the house is still empty. It seems odd that after so much time has passed that someone wouldn’t have done something with the property.”
“Yeah, I guess that is odd. I’m not sure why no one has ever sold the house,” Josie said. “I guess it might be tied up in some sort of a probate situation.” She paused. “I never heard if they found any next of kin. I guess they must have figured that all out by now.” She gave both dogs a treat she’d had ready for them after they’d finished playing with the kittens and wandered into the kitchen to see what we were doing. “I guess we can ask Parker when she gets here. I’m sure she knows.”
“Parker mentioned having notes,” I agreed.
Josie nodded. “She told me that she has files and files of information. She really tried to figure this whole thing out five years ago, but she wasn’t able to pull it all together. I didn’t know Parker well back then, but I do know that she did a lot of digging at the time. She spoke to neighbors, co-workers, and friends of the children who were allowed to speak to her, although I also remember parents who were scared and kept their children reined in. She interviewed Deputy Todd. Parker really didn’t know Jemma yet, so she didn’t have access to her master hacking skills, and she didn’t know you, so she didn’t have access to your PI know-how. I think she’s hoping that with the new team she has access to, she can figure out now what she couldn’t figure out then.”
“What do you think happened?” I asked.
Josie paused, holding the tip of the knife she was using in the air. “I’m not sure. I guess it feels like the family simply fled. I suppose they might have been kidnapped and forcefully removed from the property, but it seems that if that happened, there would have been some sort of evidence left behind.”
I thought about bringing up my conversation with Vanessa Hudson about the blue sedan but decided to wait until everyone was here. “I had a similar thought,” I replied instead. “I ran into Hope today while I was out at the Hamish place, and she mentioned that Gooseberry Bay is a good place to disappear if you really need to. After thinking about it, I realized that the place really is isolated. It must be a good thirty miles from the main highway that serves the peninsula, and it’s a long drive or a ferry ride to reach any large cities. I have to wonder if perhaps the Hamish family wasn’t hiding from someone who finally caught up to them.”
“Perhaps. Hope is right about Gooseberry Bay being the sort of place where someone on the run might finally decide to settle,” Josie agreed. “There’s a cook at the bar and grill. Emily Brown. She showed up about a year ago with her daughter, Ashley, in tow. It was early in the day, before opening, so she knocked on the kitchen door that leads out to the alley. Tegan had shown up early to do breakfast prep, and I’d stopped by to have coffee and chat, so we let her in. Emily told Tegan that she was passing through town and had run out of money. She said she needed to find work for a few days and wondered if Tegan needed anyone to help out in the kitchen. She assured Tegan that she was a good cook, but also assured her that she’d be willing to do anything that needed to be done.”
“It seems odd that she’d be passing through a town on a dead-end road leading to nowhere.”
“Exactly,” Josie said. “It seemed obvious to me that the passing through town thing was a ruse from the beginning. Everyone knows there is no passing through once you get this far south along Gooseberry Bay. Anyway, I remember watching Ashley as her mother spoke to Tegan. She was staring intently at some day-old pastries Tegan had left on the counter and planned to donate to the local church for their bible study. I could see that she was hungry, so I asked her mother if she could have one. Emily seemed relieved that I’d offered. I gave one to Ashley along with a glass of milk, and then I offered one to Emily along with a cup of coffee. Both mother and daughter ate those down as if they were starving. I think Tegan noticed as well because she asked Emily if she would be willing to make an omelet as a trial for a part-time cook position. She agreed. The omelet really was perfect, and after Tegan cut off a small bite and declared it as such, she cut what was left in half and offered it to Emily and Ashley, claiming she’d already eaten.”
“I take it Tegan gave her a job,” I said.
“She did. Emily asked to be paid in cash. She told Tegan that since she didn’t have a bank account, she had no way to cash a check. Tegan is the sort who normally follows the dictates of the law when it comes to her employees, and she’s meticulous about the payroll records she keeps, so I honestly thought she might turn her down. But she must have realized the woman was in real trouble since not only did she agree to pay Emily in cash, but she offered her three meals a day for both her and Ashley as part of her compensation package. She also gave her the use of the small apartment over the main dining room.”