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

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    Hannah watch as a peanut of a woman approached the open window of the snack bar.
    “Meg? Are you still working at this dive?” the silver haired woman asked.
    Meg turned around and her face wrinkled with a huge grin. “Samantha. What the heck are you doing here? You didn’t even show up after Caroline died.”
    Samantha leaned on the counter. “What’s the point of coming after she died? I’m kicking myself for waiting too freaking long and missing one last hurrah with the old gal.” She reflected quietly for several seconds before continuing. “So, I heard Caroline left this place to some young whipper snapper from California. I bet she doesn’t have a clue how to manage anything but her own fingernails, or some other equally useless talent.”
    Meg chuckled and pulled Hannah over to the window. “I guess you should meet her yourself and figure out what you think about Caroline’s decision.”
    Hannah stood stiffly, feeling like she was a piece of fish being inspected for one of her fried fish platters.
    Samantha’s mouth dropped open. “This is Caroline’s replacement?” Her voice contained complete shock. “I thought my meds were making me hallucinate and Caroline was standing here in front of me.” Samantha slapped the counter. “Well, I’ll be a tongue tied nit wit. If you look this much like Caroline, you can’t be a complete idiot.”
    Hannah couldn’t help but laugh. Finally. Samantha definitely didn’t filter her thoughts, much like Meg, but the spicy mix of words certainly weren’t hard to listen to. “I have been known to channel my Great Aunt’s spirit at times.”
    “Of course you would.” Samantha leaned forward laughing. “If I remember anything about dear old Caroline, she wouldn’t leave this world without a trace. You, my dear, seem to have received the great honor of carrying on Caroline’s work. And her good looks.” Samantha winked. “I hope you do them both justice.” Samantha waved her hand in a broad arc. “So, where’s my place? These cottages look cute enough on the outside.”
    Hannah’s eyes darted to the side to gauge Meg’s reaction. Meg leaned on the counter with her eyebrows raised and gave a shrug.
    “We’re booked. Did you make a reservation?”
    Samantha rolled her eyes. “Of course I did. I talked to Jack and he filled me in on a few things around here.” She made herself comfortable on one of the bar stools at the snack bar window, her elbows bent in front of her on the counter. “How about a cup of clam chowder, but only if it’s as good as Caroline’s. I don’t want any of that canned or frozen crapola some of these places try to trick you with.”
    “You can’t get anything better than what we serve here at The Fishy Dish,” Meg said. “ I’m making it now.”
    “You’d better not say that loud enough for Caroline to hear or she’ll figure out a way to add a nasty ingredient to get even.”
    They both laughed.
    Hannah carried over a steamy bowl of chowder and a small packet of crackers.
    Samantha held up the crackers and studied them. “I never could figure out why these salty little hexagonal crackers got named oyster crackers. They certainly don’t taste like oysters.”
    She opened the packet and dumped them into the bowl. She dipped her spoon into the thick, creamy chowder, blew on it, and savored the taste with her head tilted back and her eyes closed. “Oh yeah, just how I remember clam chowder is supposed to taste—warm and rich, not fishy, but with a hint of the ocean.”
    Hannah waited for Samantha to open her eyes and return her focus to the two people she sat across from. “I’m so glad the chowder meets your approval.” She lowered her voice. “I’m not sure how to tell you this, but all the cottages are spoken for. Are you sure you made a reservation?” Hannah hoped that Samantha didn’t fly off the handle and make a scene about a possibly botched reservation. “One guest hasn’t arrived yet, but