CHAPTER ONE
“Doc, good to see you, as usual, and Liz, this is a pleasant surprise. You never come in here with Doc for lunch. I rather doubt that Kelly’s Koffee Shop could survive without him,” Kelly, the owner of the coffee shop said with a grin.
“Now Kelly, make nice,” Doc said. “It’s true I’ve been coming in here for lunch every day with the exception of the weekends, which amounts to about six years now, but consider it the ultimate compliment. There’s nowhere else I’d rather go for lunch.”
“Careful, Doc, remember your wife is with you, and she makes your lunch on the weekends. You may want to rethink that statement,” Liz said in a teasing voice.
Doc held up his hands in mock surrender. “Let me rephrase that statement. When I go out to lunch during the week when I’m at work, I thoroughly enjoy coming to Kelly’s Koffee Shop. However, when I’m at home on the weekends, I look forward to spending lunchtime there with my lovely wife.”
He smiled at Liz. “Was that better?”
“Yes, you’re forgiven,” Liz said. “I see Roxie motioning to us. I think she’s holding your booth for you.”
“In that case, let’s go. I probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy my lunch if I had to eat at some other booth,” Doc said.
Kelly walked into the kitchen to check with her cook, Charlie, and see if there was anything he needed.
“I’m good, Kelly. See that Doc and his wife are here. Let’s just hope there aren’t any physical or emotional emergencies in Cedar Bay during the next hour,” Charlie said with a grin.
“Good point. With him being the only doctor in town, and her being the only psychologist, that could be a problem. “Thank heavens their medical building is just a few blocks away. They could be there in a couple of minutes.”
Kelly picked up a couple of orders on the counter and said, “We’re just starting the lunch rush, so don’t be shy if you need some help.”
“Kelly, I’ve been doing this for about ten years now for you. Tell me something. Have I ever asked for your help?” Charlie asked, keeping his head down while he concentrated on what he was cooking.
“Now that I think about it, Charlie, can’t say that you have.”
Kelly took the two orders she’d picked up and delivered them to the table next to Doc and Liz. When she started to walk away, she heard Liz say, “Kelly, if you have a little time while we’re here, I’d like to talk to you. Nothing urgent.”
Kelly turned towards Liz and said, “Now’s about as good of a time as any. It’ll start picking up in a few minutes, and Roxie will give serious thought to quitting if she sees me sitting at a table while she’s hustling around.”
Kelly scooted into the booth across from Doc and Liz and said, “What’s up?”
“I’ve got a proposition for you,” Liz said.
“That sounds intriguing. What do you have in mind?” Kelly asked.
Liz looked over at Doc, who nodded, and she said, “Doc thinks I need a vacation. I’ve really been under the gun lately with some emotionally-draining clients. He suggested that I ask you to join me at a spa in the Willamette Valley. As you probably know, that area of Oregon is quite beautiful and, of course, is famous for the quality of wines that are produced there. Doc’s even said he’ll pay for everything.”
“Wow, this comes out of the blue,” Kelly said as she sat back in the booth.
“Kelly, there’s a little more to it than that,” Doc said. “That was just a bit of a teaser. Liz needs your help. You see, when she was young and had just started graduate school, she became pregnant. After she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, she placed the child for adoption with a couple her uncle, who was an attorney, knew.” Doc turned and looked at Liz with a worried look on his face.
“It’s okay, Doc,” Liz said, putting her hand on his arm. “I can talk about it. Don’t worry about me.”
Liz turned towards Kelly and said, “I came from a small town and things like that were simply not allowed in that day and age, and particularly since my parents were very strait-laced religious people. They’ve since passed on, but that was the climate in which I grew up. Because of that experience and the whole tenor of the town, I’ve never been back, but now I think I have to.”
“I’m old enough to remember that time,” Kelly said, “and your story was a very common one back then.”
“It certainly was. My daughter’s adoptive family and I have remained in contact over the years. By our agreement, my daughter and I have never met, in fact I don’t know if she even knows my name or how to get in touch with me.”
“This is all very interesting, Liz,” Kelly said, “but I fail to see what I have to do with any of this.”
“She’s getting there, Kelly. Just be patient,” Doc said.
Liz took a deep breath. “The people who adopted my daughter became very wealthy. One of those fluke things. He bought a lottery ticket and won millions. They took the money and purchased a five-star resort with a spa and vineyard in the wine country area of the Willamette Valley, not too far from the town where I grew up.”
“So is that where we’ll be going? Won’t that feel kind of awkward?” Kelly asked.
“Normally, I would have said yes to your question, and I would never have gone back to that town, however, something has come up,” Liz said.
“I’m getting the feeling that the other shoe is about to drop. Would I be right?”
“Yes, and it concerns a situation involving my daughter.”
“How old is your daughter and where is she?” Kelly asked.
Liz sighed deeply and said, “She’s twenty-three, and at the moment she’s in jail.”
“I see. I assume her parents contacted you.”
“Yes, they wondered if there was anything I could do to help,” Liz said.
“Please don’t tell me that you told them you had a friend who had been involved in solving a lot of criminal cases.”
“No, I didn’t,” Liz said, looking over at Doc.
“Liz didn’t, but I did,” Doc said. “Liz had put the phone on speakerphone, and I answered for her, because she was momentarily overwhelmed. I told them about you, and said that you might be able to help.”
“Swell. And?”
They were interrupted by Roxie who was bringing their lunch to them. “Doc, Liz, didn’t even bother to bring you the menu, because I knew you’d want the special of the day, Charlie’s chicken fajitas, and his apple pie. I’ve already had both, and speaking from experience, best thing on the menu today.”
“Thanks, Roxie,” Doc said. “You’ve never led me astray yet. Looking forward to this.”
“Liz, Doc, I can see Randi waving to me,” Kelly said. “Looks like there’s a call I better take. I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later Kelly returned to the booth where Liz and Doc were sitting, wearing a wide grin. “That was Cash. He and Kendra just got back from the doctor in Portland, and the baby is a boy. I’m going to have a grandson, woo-hoo! This is just perfect. I have two granddaughters, and now I’ll have a grandson. Mike will probably get him a gun as a welcome to the world gift when he’s born.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a sheriff, and I’m sure you wouldn’t either,” Doc said. “Congrats to the family.”
“Thanks, now let’s get back to what we were talking about. Why is your daughter in jail?” Kelly asked.
“Murder,” Liz said, a tear rolling down her cheek.
“Oh no!” Kelly said. “That’s awful. Tell me everything you know.”
Liz looked at Doc and he said, “We don’t know much at all. Kelly, we hate to do this to you, but Liz really needs your help, and I mean like right now. I took the liberty of calling Mike and telling him about it. He thinks you and Liz should leave immediately and go there. He said he’d take care of everything at home, and he knew Roxie could handle things here.”
“You’re kidding. This is completely out of the blue. I’d need to pack, and I guess Mike is right, he can handle the house, and Roxie can take care of the coffee shop. But Doc, I’ll be completely out of my element there. At least around here I know people, and I think that’s pretty much why I’ve been successful in solving a couple of unfortunate murder cases.”
“No, Kelly, you have a talent for this type of thing, and very few people do. Anyway, Mike said time is of the essence in a case like this. I think his exact words were, ‘You don’t have the luxury of taking your time with something like this.’”
“But Liz, what about your practice?” Kelly asked. “You’ll have to cancel your patients.”
“I already have Kelly. I’m free for the next week. It’s a two-hour trip, and we can be there by late today. I’ll drive. I can follow you to your house while you pack and then we can take off. My bag is in the car.”
Kelly swallowed a couple of times and then she said, “Let me tell Roxie she’ll have to take over for me for the next few days. I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”
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