Sweet Friend of Mine (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 8) Read Free

long blonde hair over her shoulder. “We can tell by the looks on your faces that the chief isn’t here on a social call. What’s wrong? What’s happened?” She and Jenna pulled up chairs and joined the circle. Their sisters, Chief Martin, and Mr. Finch took turns recounting the tale of the missing young man.
    “Oh.” Ellie’s face paled and she rubbed at her temple. “How awful. What could have happened to him?”
    “I knew something was about to happen.” Jenna took off her jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. “I could feel it. I’ve had weird dreams, too.”
    Mr. Finch raised an eyebrow.
    Jenna’s long brown hair had a few snowflakes in it. “The dreams are dark. I can’t see anything, but I’m trying to find something. Someone needs our help and we’re searching everywhere.” She noticed the look on Mr. Finch’s face and she asked, “You, too?”
    Finch gave a slight nod and Ellie let out a groan. Some of the family members had experienced the exact same dream not long ago when they were involved with another case.
    Jenna went to Finch’s coffee machine and made two lattes. She brought one to Ellie just as Chief Martin’s phone buzzed.
    He stood, took the call, and listened, occasionally saying a few words. Clicking off, he turned to the group, his face serious. “Want to take a drive? They’ve found Ryan Allen’s car.”
    “And the young man?” Finch asked hopefully.
    Chief Martin shook his head. “Just the car.”
    “Where was it found?” Angie asked.
    “About three miles north of where Ryan said he went off the road. The car is on the north side of Mission River.”
    “So Ryan was mistaken about where he was.” Courtney’s forehead wrinkled in thought.
    “Ryan could have been drinking.” Jenna rinsed her cup in the sink. “That could be why he was mixed up about where he was and could also be the reason why he drove off the road.”
    “We’ll have to talk to the parents again and have a visit to Ryan’s friend. Find out if Ryan was drunk or not.” The chief shrugged into his wool coat. “It might be helpful if some of you could sit in on the conversations.” He raised an eyebrow as he made eye contact with the four sisters and Finch.
    “Not me.” Ellie reached into her bag for the keys to the van. “You know I’m no good in those kinds of situations.”
    “Courtney and Angie should sit in,” Jenna told the chief. “They have experience doing that with you and are good at picking up on what people say. I can help in other ways.” Jenna had a sixth sense and could often feel or see things that had happened ... and sometimes, she could see ghosts.
    Ellie downed her coffee and stood up. “My van’s outside. We may as well all drive together.”
    The group gathered their things and headed outside. Before locking the shop door, Mr. Finch turned the sign to “Closed.”
    As he opened the van door, the chief asked sheepishly, “Can we pick up the cats?” Chief Martin understood that the cats were able to sense things, too. He was still uncomfortable talking about it because it seemed so impossible, but he was fully aware that there were things in the world that couldn’t be explained.
    “That’s probably a good idea.” Angie opened the passenger side door and waited for Jenna to climb in.
    One side of Jenna’s mouth turned up in a half-grin. “So much for peace and quiet.”
    “I have to admit that things were getting boring.” Mr. Finch winked. He held Courtney’s arm as he pulled himself into the van. “Much better to be needed.”
    “Yeah, and who wants a mini-vacation anyway?” Courtney smiled.

3
    C irce , the family’s black cat, sat on the second row seat between Courtney and Mr. Finch. Euclid perched on Finch’s lap so that he could stare out the window. Ellie drove north out of Sweet Cove, through Silver Cove, and into the small town of Mission River. For the last several miles, thick woods lined both sides of the road and the bare winter