Cottage on Gooseberry Bay: Deadly Ties

by Kathi Daley

Genres: Mystery; Amateur Sleuth; Animal Cozy Mysteries; Female Sleuths

Synopsis

Cottage on Gooseberry Bay is a heartwarming mystery series about finding answers, fostering hope, and building lasting friendships while embracing the magic of life by the sea and small-town celebrations.

In Book 21, Ainsley is left reeling after the sudden death of one of her clients, Teyana Trenton, who came to Gooseberry Bay searching for answers about her biological parents. What initially appears to be a tragic rollover accident—one that also claims the life of the town’s beloved fire chief—soon proves to be something far more sinister. Evidence reveals that the vehicle was intentionally forced off the road and into the gully below.

As Ainsley, Parker, and Dani begin untangling the circumstances surrounding Teyana’s past and the fatal crash, they uncover a web of long-buried secrets connecting both victims—secrets far more complicated than anyone imagined. With the annual Gooseberry Festival in full swing—complete with a bake-off and the town softball game—long-hidden truths begin to surface, threatening to shatter lives and change the community forever.

Release date: April 7, 2026

Publisher: Kathi Daley Books

Print pages: 168

Sample

Chapter 1

“Ainsley Holloway’s here,” the young woman staffing the front desk of the Gooseberry Bay
Sheriff’s Department said into an intercom after I checked in upon arrival.
Deputy Dani Dixon must have instructed the young woman to escort me to her office since
that’s exactly what she did. When we arrived, the door was open, so I stepped inside.
“Deputy Dixon,” I greeted the deputy, who’d transferred to Gooseberry Bay a year and a half
ago after the death of Gooseberry Bay’s longtime deputy, Deputy Todd.
“Thank you for coming in. Please have a seat.” Deputy Dixon motioned toward the chair that
was positioned on the opposite side of the desk from where she was sitting.
I sat down as directed and waited for the deputy to explain the reason for my summons. If
she had a question that she hoped I could answer, she’d usually either call my cell phone or stop
by my office, Ainsley Holloway Investigations. Since she had formally requested that I meet
with her in her office, I figured that something big must be up.
“Do you know a woman named Teyana Trenton?” the deputy asked.
“I do,” I replied. “Teyana is a client.”
“How long has Ms. Trenton been your client?”
“Just a few weeks.” I paused to think about it. “Maybe four, I guess.”
“And what exactly did Ms. Trenton hire you to do?”
I found it odd that Deputy Dixon was asking so many questions about my new client, but I
figured there was no harm in answering her queries. “She hoped I’d be able to help track down
her birth parents. She was adopted as an infant, and her adoptive parents refuse to share the
details of her birth with her. After an awkward family get-together a few months ago, which
resulted in tension between Teyana and her adoptive parents, she decided to look into it on her
own. She doesn’t have a lot to go on, but she does have reason to believe that her biological
mother may have lived in Gooseberry Bay at one point.”

Deputy Dixon jotted down a few notes and then asked the next question. “And why did Ms.
Trenton think that her birth mother may have lived here?”
“Teyana was surrendered to the local firehouse when she was just a few hours old. The
individual who left her didn’t leave any clues that would help identify her biological parents, but
Teyana is determined to find answers to her past, no matter what it takes. She took a leave from
her job and came to Gooseberry Bay.”
Dani tapped her pen on her notebook in a manner that seemed to indicate either boredom or
impatience. I wasn’t sure which at this point. “And how long ago did this occur?”
“Teyana’s twenty-four, so twenty-four years ago.”
She jotted down a few more notes. I wasn’t sure what she was writing in her little notebook
since I hadn’t said anything of relevance, but perhaps note-taking was just part of her process.
She continued. “And during your investigation, did you find anything at all that might identify
the person or persons who left the newborn at the firehouse?”
“No, I didn’t. Before I agreed to take on the case, however, I warned Teyana that we didn’t
have much to go on since I wanted her to be prepared for an outcome other than the one she was
hoping for. But she didn’t want to give up. Having originally come to Gooseberry Bay searching
for answers to my past, I understand her determination.” I paused and then continued. “Do you
mind my asking what this is all about? I haven’t stepped on anyone’s toes, have I?”
“No, you haven’t stepped on anyone’s toes. I called you in today because your business card
was found on Ms. Trenton’s body after it was recovered from a rollover incident.”
“Rollover incident. Is Teyana dead?”
Deputy Dixon confirmed that to be the case.
For a moment, I could barely breathe. Based on the questions Deputy Dixon had been asking,
I suspected something unusual was going on, but I hadn’t expected this. Once I caught my
breath, I asked Deputy Dixon to share the details of what had occurred.
“We aren’t sure. Early this morning, a passing motorist discovered an overturned vehicle at
the foot of the canyon off Hillsdale Road. They called nine-one-one, and a team of first
responders was dispatched. When the first responders arrived, they found that the vehicle
belonged to one of their own, Fire Chief Grange Dillinger. Fire Chief Dillinger was dead at the
rollover site, as was his passenger, a female who was later identified as Teyana Trenton. At this
point, we don’t know why Ms. Trenton was with Fire Chief Dillinger or how the rollover
incident occurred. The men and women I’ve spoken to who work with Dillinger assured me that
the man is an excellent driver.”
“Fire Chief Dillinger is the one who found Teyana when she was a baby,” I informed Deputy
Dixon.
Dani raised an eyebrow. “During the course of your investigation, did you speak to the man
about the role he played in Teyana’s first hours after birth?”
I nodded. “I did. Actually, Teyana and I spoke to him together. The man was kind and
seemed willing to talk about the night Teyana was surrendered, but he didn’t know anything that
would help us with our search.”

“What exactly did he tell you?”
“He told us that he was just getting started as a firefighter back then and was considered to be
the junior member of the team. He was on overnight duty when he discovered a baby in a box
just inside one of the firehouse’s bay doors. I guess the door had been left open after the truck
returned from a routine call earlier in the day, and he noticed the box when he went to close it.
After discovering the baby in the box, he brought the baby inside and handed her to the EMT
working that night, a woman named Bailey Santiago. Ms. Santiago conducted a brief
examination to ensure that the baby didn’t need medical attention. While the baby was being
examined and made comfortable, Dillinger contacted child protective services. CPS arrived a
short time later and took the baby. According to Fire Chief Dillinger, that was the end of his
involvement with the newborn.”
“I’m assuming there was a full team on shift that night.”
I nodded. “According to Fire Chief Dillinger, there were six firefighters on the property. Five
men and one woman. Of the six, only three, Fire Chief Dillinger, EMT Bailey Santiago, and Cole
Brown, are still on the team. The other three men, Jake Lansing, Will Oswald, and Sam Swindel,
have either retired or transferred.”
“Were you able to speak to all of these individuals?”
“The only firefighter we were able to speak to during our first visit was Fire Chief Dillinger.
Ms. Santiago, while still active with the team, is currently on medical leave. I’ve been trying to
track her down, but she isn’t returning my calls. We were later able to track down and speak to
Cole Brown. He was cooperative, but didn’t seem to know anything. I’ve only been able to
contact two of the three men who are no longer with the Gooseberry Bay Fire Department. Jake
Lansing and Sam Swindel. Will Oswald has not returned my calls.”
“And did either Jake Lansing or Sam Swindel have anything to add to the accounting of the
events on the night your client was surrendered?”
“No, nothing. It sounded like Teyana was handed over to CPS shortly after she was found.”
Dani clicked her pen open and closed and then asked the next question. “Can you think of
any reason your client would have been traveling on a remote section of road with Fire Chief
Dillinger late last evening?”
I paused before answering. Normally, I wouldn’t say anything without speaking to my client
first, but since my client was deceased, speaking to her wasn’t an option. “I can’t be sure why
Ms. Trenton was with Fire Chief Dillinger. While my client didn’t mention that she planned to
speak to Fire Chief Dillinger again on her own, I know that she wasn’t satisfied with the answers
the fire chief gave when he was asked about the night she was surrendered. She seemed to think
the man was holding something back; possibly something important that might lead her to her
answers. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that she decided to take matters into her own hands
and speak to him again.”
“And what did you think about your interview with Fire Chief Dillinger?” Deputy Dixon
asked. “Did you think he was holding something back?”
“Honestly, yes. Fire Chief Dillinger’s answers were concise but delivered in a mechanical
and emotionless manner. They seemed to have been rehearsed. I suppose that the man might
have just been the stoic sort, but Teyana was emotional during the interview. It just seemed to me

that having the chance to speak with the baby you helped save twenty-four years after she was
surrendered would elicit some emotion.”
Dani didn’t offer her opinion, but she did jot down a few notes.
“Has it been determined that the rollover incident was an accident?” I asked.
Deputy Dixon wrinkled an eyebrow. “We’re not sure at this point. While it’s entirely possible
that the man merely lost focus, overcorrected, or swerved to avoid hitting something, there are
indicators that the crash might have been caused by another vehicle. It’s too early in the
investigation to determine that with any degree of certainty, but at this point, we are looking at
the incident as a potential homicide.”
“Have Teyana’s parents been notified?”
“They have been,” Deputy Dixon assured me. The deputy shifted in her chair a bit and
picked up a second folder. “Do you know a woman named Reenie Rowland?”
I was surprised at the abrupt change in topic and couldn’t help but wonder if Dani had
intentionally diverted my attention from the incident that had killed my client. I wasn’t sure why
she’d do that, but that did appear to be what was going on.
“If you’re asking about Reenie Rowland, the social media personality, I know of her,
although I’ve never met her in person. I’ve seen her YouTube show Everyman’s Eyes a few
times.”
“Do you have reason to believe that Ms. Trenton and Ms. Rowland were in contact with each
other in the hours before the rollover incident?”
Even though the question gave me pause, I answered. “Teyana didn’t specifically tell me that
she planned to reach out to Reenie Rowland, but I can see why she might have. Reenie’s show
features a ‘man on the street’ approach to solving crimes and finding missing people. Teyana was
desperate to find her biological parents, so it fits that she may have reached out to Reenie when I
wasn’t coming up with the answers she wanted. Reenie had an interesting approach to finding
her answers, and she had hundreds of thousands of followers nationwide who were always
willing to pitch in if she asked for the eyes of the man on the street. Why do you ask?”
“There appears to have been a third occupant in the vehicle when it crashed. My team found
blood on the back seat of the vehicle Fire Chief Dillinger was driving when he died, but despite a
thorough search, they never came up with a third body. I’ve had the blood tested and typed, but
all we know so far is that it doesn’t belong to either Teyana or Fire Chief Dillinger.”
“Do you think Reenie may have been in the back seat?”
“We believe that’s a possibility. In addition to finding your business card on Ms. Trenton’s
body, we also found Reenie’s business card in her possession.”
It seemed this case had just become a lot more complicated. “When you first found the blood
and the business cards, did you think I might have been the missing occupant?”
She nodded. “The possibility did occur to me. I was happy when you returned my call.”
I was happy that I hadn’t been the third occupant of the vehicle as well, but all of a sudden,
the enormity of the situation hit me, and I mourned for those lives that had been lost. I didn’t
personally know Fire Chief Dillinger and had, in fact, only spoken to him the one time, but I

could picture sweet, optimistic Teyana with her long, dark hair and huge smile as a tear cascaded
down my cheek.
“I assume you’ve tried locating Reenie Rowland,” I asked. “Called her or visited her home.”
“We have. We sent the Seattle P.D. to her home, but the apartment was vacant. We’ve called
and left numerous messages on her cell phone, but so far, Ms. Rowland hasn’t returned our calls.
We were able to speak to a woman named Gloria Oatman. Ms. Oatman assists Ms. Rowland with
editing and other tasks. She said that Reene went out of town for a wedding and decided to go
offline during her trip. The last time Ms. Oatman spoke to her was Thursday of last week, when
she made it clear that she didn’t want to be disturbed and would handle anything that came up
once she returned on Monday, which was yesterday. As of a few hours ago, when I spoke to her,
Ms. Oatman hadn’t been able to get in touch with Reenie to confirm that she was back.”
That didn’t sound good. Reenie lived her life in front of the camera, recording segments for
her various social media platforms. For her to go completely silent for five days was not at all
like her.
“You said that Ms. Rowland asked her viewing audience for help solving crimes she chose to
investigate and finding missing people. Can you describe this process for me?” Dani continued.
Again, this seemed like an odd question to ask me since Dani could have easily looked up her
show if she was really interested. It also seemed that, given the fact that she was in law
enforcement, she would be familiar with Reenie’s work. Even though I had a feeling that she had
an ulterior motive for asking for so much detail, I decided to respond. “I’ve only seen the show a
few times when I was with Josie, who watches it all the time, but basically, Reenie shows her
viewers a photo of the person or object she’s looking for and then asks that everyone keep their
eyes open. Her listeners are instructed to call her tip line if they have eyes on the person or object
being sought. She also asks for viewers who have information that might lead to the person or
object being sought to call the line as well. It sounds like the same sort of thing the police might
do, but lots of people who don’t trust the police trust Reenie. She’s actually fairly successful. I
know she helped police in Portland to find a missing child by going public with the child’s photo,
and she was instrumental in tracking down a human trafficker after posting a photo of the blue
van he was driving.”
“I guess having hundreds of thousands of eyes on a problem would be powerful.”
“It was more than that. Reenie asks her viewers to share the photo she features and her call
for help with friends and family. These friends and family then share it with their friends and
family, and so on.” I leaned forward and rested my arms on Dani’s desk. “Once the call for help
is out, people respond by calling in various types of tips. Some call in because they have
personal videos that may have captured an image of something relevant in the background, while
others have tips or video accounts provided by private security cameras or dash cams. The
woman was a powerful force, although it did seem that many in law enforcement were about at
the end of their patience with her interference.”
“It’s these self-promoters who want to solve the crime by making every aspect of the
investigation public that usually end up destroying any progress the police may have made,”
Dani voiced the same sentiment voiced by many of her colleagues.

I guessed that I could see both sides of this argument. While Reenie and her Everyman’s Eyes
show did appear to have done a lot of good, I was sure that there were times when her
interference had actually made things worse.
“Knowing what you do about the method used by Reenie to track down her answers, does the
case your client brought to you seem like the sort of thing Reenie might decide to look into?”
Dani asked.
“Actually, no. Reenie asks viewers to keep their eyes open for something or someone
specific. Teyana had no idea who she was looking for, so I’m not really sure how having eyes on
the street could help.”
Dani jotted down a few notes. “I know you said that you never really got anywhere with the
case Teyana Trenton brought you, but I’d still like to know what you tried that failed.”
“Do you mind if I ask why you want to know this?”
Dani answered. “If the rollover was caused by another vehicle, and the second vehicle
intentionally caused the rollover, it seems at least possible that Teyana Trenton was the target.
Any little thing you might be able to tell me could be a clue in identifying the individual who
caused the rollover in the first place.”
“Do you think that someone wanted to silence Teyana and they sent a vehicle with three
occupants into the ravine?”
“I think it’s possible, although it’s still early to settle on that conclusion. Still, knowing what
you know about Teyana’s search could be important.”
“Okay,” I said, sitting back in my chair and taking a moment to gather my thoughts. “I’ll
share what I can. Keep in mind, however, that I really don’t know a lot.”
“That’s okay. Just tell me what you do know.”
I nodded, gathered my thoughts, and then began to speak. “By the time Teyana came to me
with her quest, she had already tried a few things. She’d taken a DNA test and then joined
several of those family history sites, hoping to find blood relatives that way. She came up empty.
She also tried visiting the local hospital, hoping that they had records of a baby born on the day
she was surrendered to the firehouse, but they wouldn’t give her anything. Once she hired me, I
asked Parker to use her connections to get the information we needed.” I referred to investigative
reporter Parker Peterson, who also happened to be a good friend. “We were able to determine
that there were no babies born locally either on the day of the surrender or in the two days
preceding the surrender.”
“So the baby wasn’t born in Gooseberry Bay.”
“She wasn’t born in the local hospital. I later searched nearby hospitals and came up blank.
The baby was only a few hours old when she was surrendered, so at this point, I’m thinking it
was a home birth.”
“If the parents wanted to hide the birth from the world, I guess a home birth makes sense.
Anything else?”
“I rechecked all the DNA sites and asked Avery to run Teyana’s DNA through the FBI site.”
My sister, Avery Carmichael, was an agent for the Seattle office of the FBI. “Again, no familial

match was found. I also stopped by the firehouse to talk to anyone who might have been around
back then, but it’s been twenty-four years, and as I mentioned earlier, I only found three people
who were there when Teyana was surrendered and are still around now. As you remember, Fire
Chief Dillinger found the baby, but then almost immediately turned her over to child protective
services.”
“And did you speak to child protective services?”
“I did. The baby was assigned to a case worker, Jennifer Grove. I hoped to speak to her, but
unfortunately, she passed away twenty years ago. Ms. Grove had an assistant, a woman named
Kim Carnnigan. She left her job in two thousand fourteen, but I was given her last known
address. She moved from the address she left with CPS in two thousand nineteen, but I’ve been
trying to track her down. I have some feelers out, but so far, I haven’t had any luck. I can forward
you everything I have once I get back to my office.”
“That would be helpful.”
“Do you think it’s possible that someone rolled the vehicle Teyana and Fire Chief Dillinger
were riding in to prevent the truth about Teyana’s parentage from coming out?”
Dani frowned. She appeared to be taking a moment to think things over before she answered.
“I’m not sure,” she eventually replied. “But that is an angle I will need to consider. I hadn’t heard
a thing about Teyana’s quest until you mentioned it to me, so I haven’t had the opportunity to
follow that thread. On the one hand, if the facts behind Teyana’s conception were messy enough,
I suppose that the secret that Teyana’s biological parents hoped to bury when they surrendered
their baby may be one deemed worthy of killing for.” Dani sat back in her chair and then
continued. “On the other hand, Reenie’s eyes on the street approach to solving crime must have a
lot of people scared if her efforts are as successful as you say they are. It seems possible that if a
third occupant was in the vehicle when it crashed, and if Reenie was that third occupant, she
might have been the target and Teyana might merely have been in the wrong place at the wrong
time.”
“And Fire Chief Dillinger?”
Dani slowly shook her head. “I’m really not sure at this point. The vehicle that rolled down
the embankment and into the ravine belonged to him and would have been recognized by locals,
so it seems at least likely that he was the target and his passengers were just collateral damage. It
really is impossible to know what sort of motive the individual who caused the crash might have
had, assuming, of course, that we find that the crash was caused and not simply an accident.”
This wasn’t going to be an easy case to unravel, and while I knew that Dani would give the
appropriate amount of attention to the task, I wasn’t sure she had the support she needed to solve
the case within her department.
“If Reenie was the third occupant, what do you think happened to her? Since you didn’t find
a body, is the assumption going to be that this third occupant was taken from the vehicle after the
crash?”
“That’s the theory that makes the most sense to me. As I mentioned before, my team did a
thorough search of the area around the crash site, so it’s unlikely someone was thrown from the
vehicle. Given the steep terrain and the fact that the crash occurred in a remote area after dark, it
also seems unlikely that the person survived the crash, got out of the vehicle, and then hiked up

to the road for help. The only conclusion left is that the third occupant was kidnapped after the
person who caused the rollover confirmed the other two were deceased.”
It was early in the investigation, but Dani’s theory made the most sense to me as well. While
I felt bad about what had happened to Teyana, there wasn’t really anything I could do to help her
now. It was the third occupant, I decided, who really needed to be the focal point of the
investigation from this point forward. Of course, the entire town was going to be up in arms once
Fire Chief Dillinger’s death became known. He’d served the people of Gooseberry Bay for many
years and was liked and respected by most.

 

Chapter 2

Once my interview was finished, I headed to my office to forward the information I’d
promised to send to Dani. Once that was done, I grabbed my copy of the file and headed back to
my cottage, where I knew my Bernese Mountain Dogs, Kai and Kallie, were waiting. Normally,
when I was away, I’d leave them with my friend, Jemma Hawthorn, but Jemma had a work-
related client meeting this morning, so I left them in my cottage. Jemma was due to return by
lunchtime, so I figured I’d head to her place once I took the dogs out for a quick run. Other than
Parker, who had a mind for news and mystery, Jemma was probably the best person to talk to
when I needed help organizing my thoughts.
As luck would have it, Jemma pulled into the parking area just as I did. I asked her about her
meeting, and then I shared my news with her.
“I can’t believe Fire Chief Dillinger is dead. He’s practically an institution in Gooseberry
Bay. I know you said you didn’t know much at this point, but I’d like to hear what you do know.”
“Let me run home and take Kai and Kallie out for a quick run, and then we’ll come over. Is
Josie still at the academy?”
“She is. I rarely see her anymore.”
Josie Wellington, Jemma’s roommate, had been spending a lot of time out at Winchester
Academy, the private high school for underprivileged kids my fiancé, Adam Winchester, and his
brother, Archie, had founded. Josie’s boyfriend, Hudson Hanson, was a teacher at the academy
and needed to be on site a majority of the time during the school year, but was normally off for
the summer. The boys had left for summer vacation two weeks ago, but with the expansion at the
academy underway, Hudson had volunteered to stay and help until July first. Adam had been tied

up at the academy as well, but now that the boys had left, I hoped he’d find time to spend on the
peninsula.
“Josie should be home this evening or perhaps early tomorrow morning,” Jemma added.
“She’s been working on perfecting her gooseberry pie recipe while she’s been staying at the
academy, but I know she wants to use our kitchen to bake the pie for the pie bake-off. She also
plans to sell baked items featuring gooseberries from her catering truck, so she’ll need to get a lot
of baking done tomorrow.”
This weekend was the Gooseberry Festival, a community celebration to welcome summer
and honor the berry for which the town was named. The celebration included a lot of random
events in addition to the pie bake-off. The highlight of the weekend was a softball tournament.
Eight teams were competing in the four-day tournament, including a team sponsored by
Winchester Academy, which Josie was helping Adam’s brother, Archie, organize and manage.
Since there were four games to be played in round one, two games would be held on both
Thursday and Friday. Our game was scheduled for five o’clock on Thursday. If we won, we’d
play again on Saturday. If we lost, we’d be done.
“I have ingredients for deli sandwiches I can bring over, and we can eat while we talk,” I
offered as Jemma closed the door of her hatchback.
“That sounds good to me. I’m going to run upstairs and change out of my business clothes,
so just come on in when you get there.”
As the dogs always did when I’d been away for even a short time, they jumped around in a
dance of pure joy as soon as I opened the door. The fact that they were always so happy to see
me gave me a lift, even on those days when the weight of the world tried to beat me down.
“Hey, guys,” I said, taking a moment to greet each dog individually. “I see you missed me. I
missed you, too.” I crossed the room and grabbed two leashes. Given the isolation of the
peninsula where I lived, I rarely leashed the dogs, but often brought leashes on our walks and
runs in case they were needed. “Let’s go out for a quick run on the beach and then we’ll go to
Aunt Jemma’s for lunch.”
The dogs headed toward the bay as soon as I opened the door. Kai jumped in for a swim
while Kallie just waded along the waterline. I’d need to run the dryer over the dogs’ fur before
heading to Jemma’s, but they knew the drill, and I had a good dryer, so it wouldn’t take long.
Once the dogs had been given the chance to expend some of their pent-up energy, I headed back
to my cottage to dry their coats, make a couple of sandwiches, and grab my file before heading to
Jemma’s.
The first thing I did once the dogs and I arrived at Jemma’s was greet her three cats, Elena,
Stefan, and Damon. Once I’d given adequate attention to each feline, I asked about Hank, her
boyfriend, Cooper Fairchild’s dog, who Jemma often kept when he had a helicopter charter.
Jemma informed me that Hank had gone along with Coop on his run today and that both man
and dog had promised to be home for dinner.
“So fill me in,” Jemma said after the two of us took the deli sandwiches out onto her deck so
we could enjoy the gorgeous early summer weather while we ate.
I filled her in the best I could. I didn’t know a lot at this point, but I tried to remember
everything that Dani had told me so that I could share those facts with her.

“I try to catch Everyman’s Eyes when I can,” Jemma informed me. “I’m not a huge fan like
Josie is, but some of the cases she decides to tackle are really interesting. I’m not sure that
reaching out to the man on the street is the most effective strategy in every situation, but I guess
you can’t argue with her success rate.”
“I’m afraid I’ve only seen parts of the show when Josie has been watching, but I have heard a
lot about it, and I’ve seen some of the shorter clips she’s posted to social media.”
“You can catch her archived episodes on YouTube. The series she did a few months ago,
relating to the Jimmy Donohugh murder, was really interesting.”
I knew that Jimmy Donohugh had been a Seattle-based activist whose body had been found
propped up in one of the legendary Seattle Ferris Wheel at Pier 57 gondolas. No one had ever
been able to figure out who killed him or how they managed to get the body in the gondola
without being seen.
“I heard that the police picked up some new leads,” I said.
“That was all Reenie,” Jemma informed me. “Once Reenie decided to highlight Jimmy
Donohugh’s murder on her YouTube show, tips from all over the city began to pour in.”
I supposed that it might be worth my while to look into Reenie’s work further, but right now,
I was most interested in finding out where Reenie was and if she had been kidnapped from the
rollover incident site.
“So tell me more about your client and why Dani suspects she might actually be the one to
provide the motive for the rollover,” Jemma asked.
“I don’t know a lot at this point,” I informed Jemma. “I brought the file I started when
Teyana first hired me, but there isn’t a lot in it. A few notes, several photos, and the names and
phone numbers of people I talked to, along with others I needed to follow up with. I guess we
can look at all of that after we eat.”
“This sounds like the sort of case Parker might be interested in. Do you know if she’s
currently working on anything else?”
Parker had a knack for investigation and was usually an invaluable asset whenever we had a
tough case to solve. “I’m not sure,” I responded. “I’ll call her and see what she has going on.”
As it turned out, Parker was on the ferry on her way to Gooseberry Bay to help publish this
month’s edition of the Gooseberry Monthly Gazette and to participate in the Gooseberry Festival
when I called. Once I explained what was going on, she agreed to stop by and speak to Jemma
and me as soon as she finished in town.
“Is she going to be in town long?” Jemma asked me after I hung up.
“She said something about a few days.”
Parker split her time between Gooseberry Bay and Seattle, where she worked full-time for
the Seattle News as a crime beat reporter. The Gooseberry Monthly Gazette was a labor of love.
Since it wasn’t designed to make a profit, she ran it as a volunteer endeavor, joining forces with
others who were willing to volunteer, which was the only reason the monthly news magazine
was able to exist.

Jemma and I had gone over everything at least a dozen times by the time Parker showed up.
Since Coop and Hank would return from the charter soon, Jemma announced that she was going
to start dinner for all of us while I caught Parker up. Of course, by this point, Parker had spoken
to her staff at the Gazette, who’d filled her in, so Parker already knew more about the situation
than I did.
“Reenie has been found and is no longer a person of interest in the case,” Parker informed
me.
I had to admit that I was surprised to hear that. It hadn’t been all that long ago that I’d spoken
to Dani. “So it wasn’t her blood on the back seat of the vehicle,” I confirmed.
“It wasn’t. Apparently, Reenie attended a wedding this weekend and felt the need for a little
downtime, so she told her assistant and her producer that she would be offline and not to call her.
Of course, when it appeared that she might have been a passenger in the rollover incident that
killed your client and Gooseberry Bay’s fire chief, Dani tried calling her, and when she didn’t
answer, it was cause for concern. As it turns out, Reenie met a man at the wedding, and the two
of them decided to take an impromptu trip to Rome, where he had business plans. Reenie told
Dani that she put her cell phone on airplane mode for the flight, and didn’t receive her messages
until after she landed.”
I guessed it could have happened that way.
“And did Reenie have an explanation for why Teyana had her business card in her pocket?” I
asked.
“Reenie told Dani that Teyana had reached out to her about her case a few days before she
left town to attend the wedding. While Reenie had listened to her story and even offered
sympathy for her situation, she didn’t think she could help her without a name and photo of the
people she wanted to track down. Reenie told Dani that she had given Teyana her card and told
her to call her personal cell phone number if she identified the individuals she was looking for
and needed help finding them. Dani assumes that was why she had the business card in her
pocket along with yours.”
“What about the blood on the back seat?” I asked.
“Dani still doesn’t know who it belongs to. She isn’t even sure the blood indicates the
presence of a third occupant. It’s possible the blood could have been left on the back seat long
before the rollover occurred.”
I suspected that was a possibility. Dillinger had been a fire chief, so it stood to reason that he
might have transported someone to the hospital using his own vehicle if an ambulance wasn’t
available.
“So are you going to get involved in this case on behalf of the newspaper?” I asked Parker.
“I am. Even though Alfred isn’t all that interested in the story now that Reenie is no longer a
potential missing occupant, my Gazette staff is certain our readers will want to know what
happened to Fire Chief Dillinger. The man was a local hero who had saved multiple lives during
his twenty-five years with the department. He deserves our attention. I hoped Dani would have
more to get me started, but she didn’t seem to have much, so I guess I’ll dig in the first thing
tomorrow.” Parker referred to Alfred Sutton, a Seattle News crime reporter and her boss.

“You know I’m happy to help you in any way that I can,” I said. “And while Teyana was
only my client for a short time, I really would like to find out what happened to her.”
“Do you think it’s at least possible that Teyana’s biological parents are powerful individuals
whose reputations would be marred by a teen pregnancy and would kill to protect their secret?”
“I think it’s possible, and less likely things have occurred in the past. Still, at this point, I
have no proof to back up a story like that.”
“I suppose all we can do is start digging and see where we end up,” Parker said as she looked
around the room. “Where is everyone?”
“Coop’s on his way from the airfield and should be here in thirty minutes or less,” I
answered. “And Josie’s still hanging out with Hudson at the academy, but Jemma mentioned that
she’d be here later this evening or early tomorrow morning.”
“I guess she must be busy with the big four-day event this weekend.”
“She has taken on a lot. In addition to being a contestant in the pie bake-off, she’s selling
baked goods at the food court and helping Archie with the softball team being sponsored by the
academy.”
“Josie texted and asked me about being part of her softball team for the tournament. Are you
both in?” Parker asked.
Jemma and I confirmed that we both planned to play.
“I asked Josie about inviting Ryker to play, but she said that all team members need to be a
Gooseberry Bay resident,” Parker added. “I reminded her that I lived in Seattle half of the time,
and she reminded me that I had a lease for the cottage here on the peninsula, which made me a
resident.” Parker referred to Dante Ryker, an FBI agent, whom she was currently dating.
“We used the lease angle to get both Avery and Bex signed up as well,” Jemma said. Avery
Carmichael was my sister, and Bexley Cosgrove ran a dog and cat rescue as well as two pet
adoption centers. Both primarily resided in Seattle, but both had also signed the lease for the
cottage they shared on the peninsula in Gooseberry Bay.
“So is the sale of the peninsula final? Are you and Adam going ahead with your plans for the
big house?” Parker asked, changing the subject somewhat abruptly.
I nodded. “The sale of the peninsula and all the cottages from Hope to Adam and me has
been completed, and Adam and I eventually plan to build a larger home on the property, but not
this year and possibly not even next. Adam and I talked it over and decided to get all the
construction that’s going on with the expansion of the academy done before we even think about
starting a project on the peninsula.”
Hope Masterson had inherited the peninsula and its cottages from her uncle after he passed
away, and had only recently sold the property to Adam and me.
Parker crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head slightly. “So now that you’re my
landlord, are you going to raise my rent?”
I smiled. “No. We’re leaving all the current leases exactly as they are and have no plans to
change anything any time soon.”

Parker looked relieved, which surprised me since I didn’t think she could possibly have
thought that I’d raise her rent. Parker was my friend. I’d never do that. I thought she knew that as
well.
Coop and Hank showed up right about then, so Jemma began putting dinner on the table.
Once we’d all served ourselves, we settled into an easy discussion related to the town hall
meeting and changes to the town ordinances that were being proposed. Nothing that was said
really affected me personally, so I just listened to what the others had to say.
Once that thread had come to a natural conclusion, Parker asked me about the other project I
had going on with Adam, in addition to the purchase of the peninsula. Our wedding.
Since Parker chuckled, I must have made a face.
“Based on the look on your face, I’m going to take a guess that your plans for a lifetime of
wedded bliss may have hit a snag.”
“Our plans for our marriage are fine; it’s the plans for the wedding that are giving me fits.”
“Care to expand?” Parker asked.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about it, but Parker was a friend, and she had asked. “I’ve
always pictured my wedding as a small and intimate affair. Very simple and relaxed. The
problem is that it was quickly made clear to me that Winchester weddings have traditionally been
huge events, with hundreds of guests from all segments of society residing on both sides of the
pond.”
“Hence the frown when I asked about the wedding.”
I nodded.
“Is Adam putting pressure on you?”
“No, not Adam. It’s more his family, his friends, his parents’ friends, and the men and
women who sit on the board of directors for both the Winchester Foundation and Winchester
Academy. Adam is a popular guy, and apparently, everyone he has ever met is expecting an
invitation to attend such a huge event.”
“Maybe Adam can just let everyone know that you have other plans.”
“Maybe, but it’s complicated. Adam really does want me to have the wedding of my dreams,
but he’s also the sort to take his family responsibilities seriously. I’ve tried to put on a brave face,
but I suspect that Adam picked up on the anxiety that started to build the moment we began
sharing our news. He suggested that we hold off planning the actual event until after the
expansion at the academy is complete. I, of course, wholeheartedly agreed to his suggestion.”
“So you have a brief reprieve.”
“I guess I do. I’m hoping that I’ll have had enough time to get used to the idea of a huge
wedding and the whole thing won’t feel so overwhelming by the time it’s necessary to sit down
and come up with a plan.”
Parker reached out and squeezed my hand. “It will be fine. Adam loves you. He strikes me as
being the sort of guy who would do anything for you. Just be sure to make your needs known,
and then trust him to take those needs into consideration when it comes time to begin making
decisions.”

Parker was right. Adam did love me, and I loved him. While I’d always envisioned
something small and intimate, I would be willing to embrace something large and lavish if it
would make things less complicated for the man I loved and planned to spend the rest of my life
with.
Once dinner was over, the conversation segued from our wedding to our plans for the
Gooseberry Festival. The four-day gooseberry-themed event was bursting with a crazy mix of
activities, including a softball tournament, craft show, food court, kiddie carnival, and pie bake-
off.
When the conversation about the Gooseberry Festival was wrapped up, I decided to head
home. It had been a really long day, and I felt like I needed to wrap my head around Teyana’s
death. It was obvious to me that it would be the death of Fire Chief Dillinger that was going to
monopolize the news in the weeks to come, but I wanted to be sure that Teyana wasn’t forgotten
in the shuffle and realized it would be up to me to keep her name in the mix.
As I did every night before turning in, once I’d put my pajamas on, I called Adam.
“I spoke to my Aunt Caroline yesterday,” Adam informed me after customary greetings had
been seen to. Since Adam hadn’t asked about the rollover incident, I wasn’t sure that he’d even
heard about it, but he seemed to have something specific on his mind, so I decided to listen to
what he had to say before I brought it up.
“Aunt Caroline is the aunt who isn’t really an aunt.”
“Exactly. Aunt Caroline is the daughter of Estelle, a woman I’ve mentioned previously, who
befriended my great-grandmother on my father’s side when she was a child. Estelle was as much
a sister to my great-grandmother as any blood relation, so Archie and I grew up calling her Tia,
given her Spanish roots, while her daughter was Aunt Caroline.”
“Wouldn’t an aunt’s daughter be a cousin?”
“If you try to make sense of the relationships and honorary titles, it will only give you a
headache since they really don’t make sense. I merely go with it, and I suggest you do as well.”
“Okay. So what did Aunt Caroline have to say?”
“She called to speak to me about our engagement. She hoped that we hadn’t made our
wedding plans yet, so she would have the opportunity to convince us to be married in England.
Caroline lives on a grand estate she inherited when her third husband passed away, and she
wanted us to marry in the church in town and then have the reception there at her estate.”
My heart sank just a bit. “And what did you tell Aunt Caroline?”
“I told her that we weren’t planning to even begin planning our wedding until after the
expansion at the academy is completed, and that wouldn’t be for at least another year. I also told
her that I was sure that once we began planning the wedding, we would most likely be planning
to have it here, in Gooseberry Bay.”
“And how did she take that bit of news?” I really did want to have our wedding here, but I
didn’t want Adam’s family to hate me before they’d even met me.

“She was disappointed, but she seemed to understand. She countered her offer of hosting our
wedding by insisting that we come out this summer so she can throw us a proper engagement
party.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “And what did you say to that?”
“I said I’d talk to you about it. I realize that both of us are really busy this summer, and it will
be hard for Archie and me to be away at the same time. But since most of my family lives in
England, I would like for everyone to meet you and for you to meet and get to know them.”
I actually was curious about Adam’s family. “I’d like to go, and nothing I have going on is
more important than meeting your family. I know you have a lot to consider on your end,
especially if the trip turns out to be an extended trip, but I’m in if you’re able to work it out. Just
let me know when you want to go, and I’ll clear my calendar.”
“Thanks, Ainsley. I’ll call Caroline back in the morning and let her know that while we are
open to the idea, we need to work out the specifics. She’s going to be so happy to do this for us.
She really is one of the best people in my life. I think you’re going to love her as much as I do.”
I was sure I would love her. The way Adam and Archie talked about her, it sounded like she
was a real kick with a zest for life and a gift for living that life on her own terms.
“So what’s going on with you?” Adam asked.
I filled him in on the rollover incident and the deaths of both Fire Chief Dillinger and my
client, Teyana Trenton. He hadn’t heard, so I took a few moments to give him as many details as
I’d been able to pick up. He’d never met Teyana, but he knew Fire Chief Dillinger quite well, so
he had a lot of questions that I didn’t have answers to. I assured him that Dani would likely have
a better handle on exactly what had occurred by the following day. I also promised to keep Adam
in the loop if he wasn’t able to speak to Dani personally. He shared his plans to be in town for the
softball practice game tomorrow and would come early, if possible, to speak with Dani about the
fire chief’s death. ...