CHAPTER
ONE
Ashton
Detective Ashton Reynolds sighed; he thought this day would never end. He and his partner, Detective Hank Somerset, had been following up on leads related to a recent murder in the area, and he was beat. But at least it was Friday, and hopefully he wouldn’t get called in for anything tomorrow, seeing as he had plans for at least part of the day.
Shrugging into his jacket, he squeezed Hank’s shoulder as he walked past and said, “Have a good weekend, partner.”
“You, too,” Hank replied. “Doing anything special?”
“I’m volunteering at A Helping Hand.” Ash stopped and turned to Hank. “Want to join me?”
“Is that the community kitchen in Plymouth?”
“Yeah. They’re also trying to expand into some other support stuff too. Clothing, counseling, and eventually, a small retail store. It’s a really worthwhile cause.”
“I’ve gotta take a pass on tomorrow, but I’ll keep it in mind for the future. I told Janice I’d go antiquing with her.” Janice was Hank’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. Seemed like she was on again, at least for the moment.
“Tell her I said hi,” Ash said. “And you two have a good time.” He chuckled as he left the squad room. For all he knew, they’d be off again by Monday.
He sat in his SUV, debating what to do next. It was almost seven, and he needed to eat, but he knew his refrigerator was practically empty. He was usually good at keeping his freezer stocked with homemade meals, but he’d gotten lazy of late.Ah, well, the Gray Whale it is, then.
The parking lot was crowded, but it was, after all, Friday night. He probably should have just walked from the precinct. The Whale, as folks here referred to it, was a popular venue. A combination restaurant and bar, it was the local watering hole and gossip central.
A spot opened up at the bar a few minutes after he walked in, and he sat, waving at Phil, who was working behind the bar.
“Hey, Ash,” Phil called out, “wanna beer?”
“Yeah, but just one. I’m beat, and I wouldn’t want to get pulled over when I drive home,” he joked. He didn’t expect to see any patrol officers in the three minutes it would take him to get to his house.
Phil placed the icy brew in front of him and asked, “Need a menu?”
“Nah. I’ll just have a cheeseburger. Medium with mustard. And fries, please.”
“You got it.”
Ash sipped his beer, scanning part of the room mostly out of habit. All the tables were full, and he recognized most of the customers. The few strangers were most likely tourists, of which Hawthorne Bluff got a few, given their proximity to Plymouth, Boston, and even Cape Cod.
He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see his cousin Finn walking toward him.
“Hey, bro,” Finn said, giving Ash a one-armed hug. They really were more like brothers. When Ash had been just eight years old, his parents were killed in a car crash in Spain. Ash had been staying with Finn’s family at the time. His aunt and uncle had adopted him and folded him into their family. So yeah, Finn and his two siblings, Courtland and Mitchell, were more brothers than cousins at this point.
“What brings you into the Whale on a Friday night?” Ash asked.
“I’m meeting Clay here for dinner. It’s been a busy week for both of us, and we haven’t seen much of each other, so this is kind of a date night.” Clayton Bradley, manager of Bradley House B and B, was Finn’s new boyfriend. Even though they’d just started seeing each other, Ash got the impression that Clay might actually be the one for Finn.
“So it’s going well between the two of you?”
“Yeah, it is.” Finn’s smile lit up his entire face.
“I’m happy for you.”
“And what about you,” Finn turned serious, “dining alone on a Friday night?”
“You know what my schedule is like, Finn. I’ve got no time to meet anyone.”
“When’s the last time you actually went on a date?”
