A Fishy Dish (A Hooked & Cooked Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) Read Free

you won’t be right next to each other.”
    “Great.” Sean slung his backpack over his shoulder. “I spend most of my time inside anyway, reading my notes, writing, and editing. Maybe it was just bad timing. You know, that I ran into the Whites when I arrived.”
    Hannah couldn’t help but wonder what else Sean Payne had done to anger Matt White. That level of resentment didn’t happen from one question.
    Jack nudged Hannah. “You’ve got the key and he’s halfway up the path. Having a change of heart about him?”
    Hannah rolled her eyes. “If it was only that easy to rent only to people who didn’t say annoying things.” She jogged to catch up to Sean Payne and laughed when his full name registered—Payne or Pain? Sometimes names could be quite revealing.
    After Sean Payne—with a Y—was settled into Cottage Four, Hannah checked with Meg to see what she needed help with in the snack bar. Meg hustled around the small kitchen area between a big pot of clam chowder on the stove and a bowl filled with the ingredients for the lobster rolls: lobster meat, mayo, lemon juice, celery, parsley, and salt and pepper. A few customers sat outside on the picnic tables enjoying the ocean view while they waited for their orders.
    Meg slid a tray in Hannah’s direction. “Here are two fried fish platters for the two guys under the red umbrella. They also need a bottle of lemonade and iced tea. I’ll have the other order ready when you get back inside.”
    The smell of the fried fish platter wafted to Hannah’s nose, making her stomach growl. She’d help herself to some hand cut fries and a small piece of fish after the customers were served.
    “Such a tragedy,” she overheard one of the young men say to his friend as she approached their table. “Sally’s boyfriend was nothing but trouble and she was about to dump him.”
    “Are you going to the vigil?” Hannah asked.
    “Of course. Everyone will be there.”
    Hannah leaned on the table. “Do you know Sally well?”
    The first guy stuffed several fries into his mouth and nodded. “Yeah,” he answered after he swallowed. “We all went to school together.”
    Hannah glanced toward Cottage Two. “How about her parents? Did Sally get along with them?”
    The same young man shrugged his shoulders. “I know she recently had an argument with her dad. A bad one. About her boyfriend. Sally’s dad threatened to kick her out of the house but he was always saying stuff like that. I don’t think Sally believed he’d actually do it.”
    “What do you think happened to Sally?” Hannah leaned close. “Did she run away?”
    “Man, I hope that’s all that happened. She’s an awesome girl and she’s been working hard so she could afford her own place. I hope someone gets a lead on her whereabouts.”
    “Let’s hope so.” Hannah smiled at the two young men. She tapped the picnic table with her knuckle. “Enjoy your food,” she said before walking away.
    The second guy nodded enthusiastically. “Best fried fish platter in town.”
    That was what Hannah wanted to hear. So much for her worries about Mr. Gavin Abbott’s new seafood restaurant and his fancy new chef. As long as Meg kept up with the fantastic quality of her cooking, the locals would stay loyal to The Fishy Dish.
    At least, that was her hope.
    Besides, Gavin Abbott’s Chowder House could never compete with the location of her small snack bar right here on the beach. The sun, breeze, waves slapping on the beach, and the squawking of gulls as they swooped overhead, made her spot priceless.
    “Quit with all the chit chat,” Meg scolded when Hannah returned inside. “Or else you’d better get your sister, Ruby, over here to help out. That other table needs two bowls of clam chowder, two sparkling waters, and a small order of onion rings.”
    Hannah focused on keeping the customers—and Meg—happy while she thought about her competitor at The Chowder House and the missing girl, Sally White.

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