Kelly's Koffee Shop (A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystey Book 1) Read online

  Kelly's Koffee Shop

  By

  Dianne Harman

  Copyright © 2014 Dianne Harman

  www.dianneharman.com

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Website, Interior & Cover design by Vivek Rajan Vivek

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1503015630

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  As always, I could not have written this without the help of my husband, Tom. He has become a master chef and gardener, as well as king of the laundry! Thank you!

  To Rhys, Pamela, Kay, Deanna, Charlene, Kathleen, Janice, Christoph, Dave and Jeanie, and all the rest of you who so willingly helped me and gave me feedback, thank you! A book becomes a living thing, and all of your input definitely made it healthier.

  And to all of you who have read my books and taken the time to contact me and give me your input, please know how very much it’s appreciated. Readers, none of this would be possible without you. Thank you!

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  Recipes !

  ABOUT DIANNE

  CHAPTER 1

  The fading moonlight cast a warm glow on the quiet waters of Cedar Bay as Kelly and her big boxer, Rebel, drove the six blocks from her home to Kelly’s Koffee Shop located at the end of the pier that jutted out into the bay. At this early hour of the morning, the only traffic was the occasional logging truck that rumbled through town. Cedar Bay was quite small and only had one stop light, at the intersection of Main and Cedar. The city fathers had installed it many years ago to keep the logging trucks from speeding through town.

  Lush cedar forests surrounded the town, named after the lumber industry that had given birth to it. When the town was first built on the central Oregon coast, ships anchored in the small harbor, and then transported the lumber to its final destination. Even when the large ships were replaced by the railroads and logging trucks and the harbor was converted into a small marina for recreational boats, the loggers still came to Kelly’s Koffee Shop whenever they wanted a good, home-cooked breakfast or lunch.

  Kelly pulled into the harbor parking lot next to the pier and noticed that Amber’s car wasn’t in its usual place and there was no sign of her. She was usually standing at the door, waiting for Kelly to open up. Wonder what that’s all about, she thought.

  “Amber, are you here?” she asked in a loud voice as she opened the door and turned on the lights. Kelly had given her an emergency key, but Amber was to use it only for that purpose. She wondered if Amber had gone into the coffee shop even though no lights were on when Kelly had pulled into the parking lot. Her question was met by an eerie silence. There was no answer from Amber.

  Swell, this is not a good way to start the day. This is a first. Wonder why she’s not here.

  She plugged in the big commercial coffeepot and turned on the ovens, knowing that within an hour, the popular coffee shop she owned would be filled with hungry and thirsty regulars. Kelly knew nearly every shop owner and citizen in the little town and knew that many of them would be starting their mornings or having lunch at the coffee shop in the coming week. A few minutes later, Roxie, the longtime waitress at Kelly’s, came through the front door, followed by Charlie, the short-order cook.

  “Roxie, did Amber mention anything to you about not coming in this morning?”

  “No. I said goodbye to her yesterday afternoon after we finished cleaning up, just like I do every day,” the blond blue-eyed waitress said. Kelly had come to rely on Roxie, who had been with her for over ten years. Roxie never forgot a customer’s name, really cared about what was going on in each of their lives, and while she didn’t have the looks of a movie star, her welcoming smile and friendly blue eyes made her just as attractive to the customers of Kelly’s Koffee Shop, particularly the male customers.

  Kelly and Roxie were like Mutt and Jeff. In contrast to Roxie, who at 5’3” was rather short, Kelly was tall with jet black hair she wore pulled back either in a ponytail or twisted and secured at the back of her head with a large tortoiseshell clip. Intelligent sea-green eyes never seemed to miss anything that was going on at the coffee shop, or for that matter, anywhere else. It was a casual seaside town and Kelly’s signature uniform was jeans and a red T-shirt, covered with a white apron with the words “Kelly’s Koffee Shop” embroidered on it in large red letters.

  “Well, maybe she overslept,” Kelly said, “although that sure isn’t like her. Glad you and Amber set the tables before you left yesterday.”

  Promptly at 7:00 a.m. the first customer opened the door. “Morning, Rebel, morning, Kelly,” the big burly county sheriff said, bending down and scratching Rebel’s ears. The more he scratched, the faster Rebel’s tail wagged. “What’s the special breakfast casserole today?” He was in his standard uniform which consisted of a grey shirt, loden green pants, white Stetson hat, and his gun in its holster on his hip. His hairline was receding and there were a few extra pounds on his 6’3” frame, but he carried himself with an air of authority. You only had to take one look at the man to know this was someone you didn’t want to cross.

  “Sausage and eggs, Mike, plus I’ve got some sweet rolls about ready to come out of the oven,” she said smiling at him as she poured his coffee.

  “I swear Kelly, no woman should look as good as you do this early in the morning. What’s your secret?”

  “Wish I had one, but I don’t. Mike, I’m a little concerned about Amber, She didn’t show up this morning and she’s never been late before.”

  “With graduation coming up next week, she’s probably playing hooky. I wouldn’t worry. She’s a good kid. Pretty impressive that she and Brandon, two of the town’s own, are going to Oregon State in the fall on full scholarships. As tight as money is for Amber’s parents, she probably couldn’t have gone to college without the scholarship. Course Brandon’s family doesn’t need to worry about it. His parents could pay for him to go anywhere he wants. Do you think they’ll continue seeing each other after they’ve settled into college life?”

  “Who knows? Been my experience not many high school sweethearts stay together once they get to college.”

  “Speaking of romance, what are the chances of me coming by for dinner tonight?” Mike asked with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Pretty good. Say about seven?”

  “See you then. I know, no more talking. You need to get to get to work.” He looked at the large piece of the breakfast casserole and the sweet roll Roxie placed in front of him. “Thanks, Roxie. Looks great!”

  “Wish I could say it was my recipe, but it’s from Kelly’s mom. It’s one of our customers’ f
avorites.”

  Mike cut a piece off of the large swirled cinnamon and glazed sweet roll and put it in his mouth. He turned his eyes up and made a swooning gesture and said out of the side of his mouth, “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

  “Oh you! I know it’s good, Mike, but I think you may be overdoing it,” Roxie said, playfully swatting his shoulder.

  “Trust me, this is manna from heaven. If starting out the day with this sweet roll is any indication, then it’s going to be a very good day.” Later that evening, he remembered those lighthearted words because it turned out it would be a day the citizens of Cedar Bay would long remember, a day that turned out not to be a very good day.

  Rebel, Kelly’s big boxer, was in his favorite spot in the coffee shop, lying on his dog bed next to the front door, not far from the cash register. Every time someone opened the door, he acknowledged them by looking up and hoping they’d scratch his ears for a couple of minutes. A number of them did just that before they sat down at the counter or at one of the tables. Rebel was a gentle giant, but the regulars knew he felt his one purpose in life was to protect Kelly at all times. If she went in the kitchen, he did too. She was never out of his sight.

  “Roxie, I’ll have the usual,” the handsome suntanned man said as he walked in and sat down at the counter after first stopping to greet Rebel. He gave the room a once-over. “You know, every morning when I come here I look around at all the old photos on the walls of how the town looked years ago. There’s everything from photos of the mule teams dragging logs to the harbor, to lumberjacks using huge handsaws to fell the old growth cedar trees, to the Native Americans who lived here before Cedar Bay was built. It’s kind of like a glimpse into the past of this area. I seem to always find something in the photos I hadn’t noticed before.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. Kelly’s grandparents were some of the original settlers here. You can see how the town grew just by lookin’ at the photos,” Roxie said as she poured his coffee.

  Chris Jones was a fairly recent arrival in Cedar Bay. From what the townspeople knew, he’d come to Cedar Bay a year ago from Idaho, smarting from a bitter divorce. The local high school hired him as its English teacher and football coach. The Cedar Bay football team won its first conference title in eighteen years under his guidance. He was something of a loner and although he preferred to keep to himself and spend time living alone on his boat which he kept docked in the marina, he was a hero to the townspeople.

  Even though Cedar Bay was a small town of only a few thousand people, and it was a month before tourist season would be in full swing, Kelly’s Koffee Shop was doing its usual good business. It had become something of an institution in the small town. The coffee shop had been part of Kelly’s life from the time she was born. Her grandmother had baked pies that she and Kelly’s grandfather sold out of a small building on the pier. Most of their customers were the loggers who worked in the timber industry. Over time, as the business grew and as her customers began to ask for other kinds of food, the small shop had expanded several times. When Kelly’s parents had taken over the coffee shop, they named it Kelly’s Koffee Shop in honor of their daughter. They’d retired many years ago and moved to a seniors’ community near Phoenix.

  It was a given that Kelly and her husband would run the coffee shop when her parents retired. A few years later when Mark, Kelly’s husband, died unexpectedly at an early age from a rare type of bone cancer, the coffee shop provided the money Kelly needed to raise their children and also gave her a reason to get up in the morning. No one expects their husband to die when he’s just thirty-one years old. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d managed to be both a mother and father to her daughter and son. Julia lived in San Francisco and worked for a large bank in their loan department. She usually came to see Kelly at least once a month. Kelly’s son, Cash, was a career Marine presently stationed in the Middle East, but he too, made it home as often as he could. It had only been recently that Kelly had made room in her life for Mike, the county sheriff. The children were gone, she was lonesome, and he was a good man. A lot of relationships started with less.

  The morning flew by with regulars and a few tourists, all hungry and thirsty. The popular coffee shop was only open for breakfast and lunch. If you wanted to eat at Kelly’s, you often had to wait for a seat.

  Like clockwork, promptly at noon the door opened and Doc walked in, pausing for a moment to scratch Rebel’s ears. “Hi Kelly, what’s the special today?”

  “We just ran out of the breakfast special, but I’ve got that barbecued brisket you like. Got some great au gratin potatoes and a mini-monkey bread to go with it. How does that sound?”

  “Great. I’d also like a tall iced tea. It’s starting to get warm. We may be in for a long summer. Where’s Amber? I didn’t see her when I pulled up. She and I usually come in at the same time now that she doesn’t have cheerleading practice after class.”

  “Don’t know. She didn’t come in this morning. I’ve been meaning to call Ginger and ask her if Amber’s sick, but it’s been so busy I haven’t had a chance. I’ll call in a few minutes. How are things out on the ranch?”

  Doc lived about five minutes outside of town in an old ranch house surrounded by ten acres. Ever since he’d come to Cedar Bay, he’d been a mystery to the townspeople. No one knew anything about him other than that his nickname was Doc. Like a few other people in the area, Doc apparently wanted to “live off the grid.” All Kelly or anyone else knew about him were his food choices. He didn’t even bank at the First Federal, Cedar Bay’s only bank. Grizzled and deeply tanned, the only time anyone ever saw him was during the week at noon at Kelly’s Koffee Shop. Kelly’s was closed on Saturdays and Sundays and there was some speculation among the town gossips about what Doc did for lunch on the weekends.

  Kelly looked up as the door opened. “Hi, Mike. To what do I owe the pleasure of a second visit on the same day?” she asked, laughing.

  Mike had a serious look on his weathered face. He looked every day of his fifty-four years. “Have you called Ginger yet? I checked with Suzie over at the high school and Amber wasn’t in class today. Brandon was in school so it doesn’t look like they decided to take a ditch day. Did a little asking around and no one’s seen her all day.”

  “I’ll call Ginger right now,” she said, picking up the phone.

  “Hi, Ginger, it’s Kelly. Wondering if everything’s okay with Amber.” She paused. “No, she never came to work today. Mike checked with Suzie over at the school and she wasn’t in her classes.” She listened. “She left earlier than usual and said she wanted to get here and do some studying for a final exam? Well, don’t worry; I’m sure it’s nothing. She’ll probably come in soon and help me close up and get ready for tomorrow. I’ll call you if I find out anything. If you hear from her, I’d appreciate it if you’d call me.”

  She turned to Mike. “I didn’t want to frighten her, but now I’m really worried. Ginger and Bob have enough to worry about just making ends meet between the bookstore Ginger owns losing its customers to the Internet and Bob’s handyman jobs, which are few and far between. I’m probably his best customer, but there’s only so much business I can give him.”

  “I’ll go out to Brandon’s place this afternoon and talk to his parents and him. If anyone knows where she is, it would be Brandon. See you at seven,” Mike said, tipping his white Stetson hat as he walked out the door.

  CHAPTER 2

  Promptly at 7:00 Kelly heard two knocks on her door. Even though the town was small and everyone knew everyone else’s business, Kelly kept her door locked and always looked through the peephole to see who was there before she opened the door. One thing Kelly had learned over the years was that towns near the ocean seemed to attract drifters and people hoping to lose themselves. It hadn’t helped the small Oregon town when a number of states legalized marijuana. It was rumored that several local farms and ranches looked like they were growing the usual types of farm products or running catt
le, but they were actually fronts for profitable marijuana farms.

  The owners planted rows of legal crops to make it look legitimate, but the rows of plants hid the main crop, marijuana. Cattle ranchers used their remote pastures to grow marijuana behind locked gates. Mike had made several arrests over the last few years, but there were several farmers and ranchers that proved to be elusive. Mike had always suspected Brandon Black’s father, but he’d never been able to prove it.

  Mike knew where Kelly kept the emergency key in the planter on her front porch. He knew of her fear of drifters, so when he used it he always knocked twice, to let her know it was him. “Mike, I’m so glad to see you. Any word on Amber?” Kelly asked as they walked out to the deck that overlooked the bay. “Before you answer, you look like you could use a glass of wine. Pinot okay with you?”

  “I could definitely use a glass and yes, a nice Oregon pinot would be great.”

  “Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be back in a minute.” He smiled to himself as she walked into the kitchen, thinking what a good looking woman she was even if she was in her early 50’s. She had a beautiful smooth white porcelain like complexion which she’d been wise enough to keep out of the sun over the years. A couple of extra pounds spoke to her love of cooking, but didn’t detract from her voluptuous figure.

  Anyway, that suited Mike just fine. He had never been a fan of skinny women. His ex-wife had been thin and hungry, hungry for the things a county sheriff could never give a woman. She’d found a wealthy doctor when she’d gone to Las Vegas for a “girls’ trip.” Later Mike discovered that she’d found the wealthy doctor on the Internet well before she’d gone to Las Vegas and there had been no “girls’ trip.” When she returned from Las Vegas, she filed for divorce. Mike felt if there was a silver lining in their failed marriage, it was that they had never had children.

  “I haven’t heard anything about Amber. Has Ginger called? Any word from her?” he asked. As county sheriff, it was his job to protect the citizens of the county and a missing young woman was always a cause for concern.