Christmas at Saltwater Cove: a Westcott Bay novella Read online

  “Actually, I don’t think you need to trouble yourself. Hank got wind of the commotion and stopped by to check on everything.”

  Margie heard a muffled, “Hey honey!” in the background.

  She smiled. “And all this time I thought he was working.”

  “He is working,” said Sandy. “But now, apparently, he can make it part of his official duties to pick up those cookies for Barb. He said he’ll stop by now.”

  Margie laughed. “That’s perfect.”

  She prepared a container of cookies for Barb, carefully labeling each one so that she could still record her scores. Hank got to the barn just as she was finishing up; Margie was quite pleased that he found an excuse to stop by.

  “You’ve done it again,” he said, surveying the barn. “This is a remarkable testament to your decorating skills and top-notch holiday cheer.”

  “Thank you honey,” she said with a sigh. “Though I feel like things are falling apart.”

  He wrapped her in a bear hug. “Oh come on, that doesn’t sound like my positive ray of sunshine.”

  She wasn’t able to move even an inch. She let out a huff. “Maybe I need to shut this whole operation down before anyone else gets sick.”

  He squeezed tighter. “Now, now. You don’t mean that. Everything is fine, look at all of these smiling faces! Everyone’s happy. Don’t worry so much, okay?”

  Margie stopped trying to squirm away and released the tension in her body. It felt nice to rest her weight on him. “Okay.”

  He kissed her on the forehead and accepted the cookies. “I have to run, but I’ll bring Sandy back and then we can both cheer you up.”

  “That sounds nice,” Margie said with a faint smile.

  As promised, he returned with Sandy about an hour later. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any news on Barb’s condition. She seemed to be back to normal, but the doctor was able to convince Barb to spend the night in the hospital for observation.

  Sandy said it could have been a number of things – Bell’s palsy, a mini stroke, Lyme disease, or even something serious like a tumor.

  That one made Margie gasp.

  “I don’t think it’s anything like that,” Sandy assured her. “Her bloodwork was wonderfully boring. And it was so sudden – much more likely to be one of the other reasons.”

  Margie frowned. “It was so frightening. But you were so calm! How did you stay so calm?”

  “That’s my thing,” Sandy said with a smile. “And we know that it wasn’t the cookies or the food or something here at the barn – so don’t worry about that, okay?”

  Margie found it hard not to worry, but she managed to get through tallying up the scores and giving out the awards for the cookie contest.

  She was relieved when the party was finally over. She’d been so excited to bring people together and cover the barn in Christmas decorations, but it had turned into a nightmare. Margie went to bed early that night, exhausted.

  The next morning, she woke up early to give Hank a ride to the airport. He was flying to London to join his daughter for Christmas. Margie would miss him, but she was happy that he was able to make the trip and spend some time with her.

  When she got back from dropping him off, she was surprised to see that Sandy arranged some sort of breakfast spread.

  “Did you make this?” she asked, her eyes darting between the pile of pastries and plate of sliced cheese.

  Sandy laughed. “Of course not! But I found these places on my morning walk so I picked up a few things along the way. I got some pastries from a bakery down the road, picked up this fruit at the grocery store, and I even managed to find some good looking cheese. What do you think?”

  Margie smiled. “I think this is very considerate of you and I love you.”

  Sandy smiled and handed Margie a mug of coffee. They sat down to enjoy breakfast when Margie heard her phone go off.

  “Let me just check who that is. I’m hoping that it’s not Hank with his flight canceled or something.”

  “Take your time.” Sandy loaded a plate with pastries and fruit.

  Margie grabbed her phone out of her purse and saw that it was a text message.

  She gasped.

  Sandy looked up. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Linda.”

  “Oh – from the party?”

  Margie nodded. “She wrote, ‘Have you heard any more from Barb? I’m not feeling so well…headed to the hospital now.’ ”

  Sandy set her danish onto her plate. “Well…that’s not good.”

  Chapter 9

  “Not good? It’s terrible!” Margie said, both hands on her face.

  “It doesn’t mean that it has anything to do with you or the barn,” Sandy said gently.

  Margie started pacing. “This is the third person who’s gotten sick after coming to a party here.”

  “Third?”

  “Yes! It all started with Edgar when he said that the water made him sick, and – ”

  “Oh him?” Sandy shook her head. “I’m willing to bet he drank too much wine and needed to find something to blame to save face with his coworkers.”

  “Who knows how many more people are sick and haven’t told me yet? What if they’re just flooding the hospital!”

  Oh boy. The panic train had already left the station. “Margie, sit down. Relax. It’s fine! Ask Linda what’s wrong. She could be having a heart attack for all we know.”

  “I messaged her, but she hasn’t answered. And she asked about Barb, so she must think it’s related!”

  “Well, have you heard from Barb today?”

  Margie frowned. “No. Do you think she’s okay?”

  “Yes, I think she’s fine.” Sandy stood so she be closer to her sister – maybe a reassuring touch on the shoulder would help. “Why don’t you call her? And then we can tell Linda how she’s doing.”

  “I don’t want to bother her,” Margie said. “Oh my gosh – I’m supposed to catch the ferry to Anacortes in thirty minutes. I have a meeting with a vendor on the mainland, but maybe I should cancel so I can…”

  Sandy put up a hand. “No, don’t cancel. Don’t panic. How about I talk to Barb, and then I can stop by the hospital and see what’s going on with Linda?”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to ruin your day.”

  Sandy nodded. “I’m sure. And I would have a much worse day if I knew that you were worrying about all of this.”

  Margie stood, unmoved, staring into space.

  After a moment, Sandy prompted her again. “Really – it’ll be fine. Let me check into it. I’m sure that Linda is just on high alert after seeing Barb get hauled away in an ambulance.”

  “You might be right. How will you get there? I have to take the car on the ferry with me.”

  “Oh, right.” Sandy crossed her arms. Maybe she could get a reliable taxi for the day? Or… “Is Jade around?”

  Margie shook her head. “No – she had to meet with her lawyer about the divorce.”

  “Ah.”

  Margie looked up at her, a smile forming. “But I have an idea.”

  “What?”

  “Jack! I’m sure he doesn’t have anything to do.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Sandy said. “And now I’m wondering – is Linda really going to the hospital, or is this another part of your elaborate scheme?”

  “Of course not! I would never make something up like that.”

  “Fair enough. Well…I guess I don’t have a lot of other options. Unless you have a bicycle around here or something?”

  Margie shook her head. “What on earth would I do with a bicycle?”

  “All right – I’ll give him a call. Sit down and eat something, okay?”

  Margie nodded and took a seat, but her eyes were focused off in the distance.

  Sandy stepped into her room before calling Jack.

  “Hey stranger!” he said as soon as he picked up.

  “Hey Jack, how’re you doing today?”

&
nbsp; “I’m doing pretty well, and yourself?”

  She let out a sigh. “I’m doing fine, but Margie got some unsettling news. Apparently, another woman who was at the party yesterday isn’t feeling well.”

  “Oh – what kind of unwell?”

  “I’m not sure – we haven’t been able to get any answers. And we haven’t heard back from Barb, so naturally, Margie is certain that it had something to do with her party.”

  “Well that’s not good.”

  She continued. “I don’t believe that’s the case, though. I was thinking that I would stop over at the hospital and feel things out.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  She closed her eyes. “And I was hoping that you could maybe give me a ride? If you’re not busy.”

  “I’m not busy at all! I would be honored. When do you want me?”

  Sandy peeked her head out of the door and saw that Margie was still sitting there, frozen. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready.”

  “Okay, I’ll leave now. See you soon.”

  “Thanks Jack. See you.”

  Sandy gave Margie the update and managed to convince her to eat at least half of a danish. She also got both Barb and Linda’s phone numbers from Margie so that she could get in contact with them.

  Margie then insisted on getting Jack’s phone number – something Sandy had a feeling that she would regret, but she obliged.

  “You have to promise me that you won’t be freaking out all day,” said Sandy.

  Margie turned toward her. “I’ll make no such promise. Especially if my Christmas party is the source of all major disease on San Juan Island.”

  Sandy groaned. “Don’t be so dramatic. We don’t know anything yet – so don’t make things up in your head.”

  “I’ll try,” Margie said.

  Jack arrived just as Margie was getting things ready to leave for the ferry. Sandy gave her a hug and told her not to worry.

  Jack was waiting at the front door.

  “This is a beautiful house,” he said. “I didn’t get a chance to really talk to you about it yesterday.”

  Sandy nodded. “It is – and Margie has done a lot with it. Are you ready to go?”

  “Of course. My only regret is that I don’t have my motorcycle from my school days so that you could ride in style.”

  “After seeing the kind of injuries that happen on motorcycles, I would never get on a motorcycle again. So you’re safe there.”

  “Oh, right.” He stepped aside and dramatically swooped a hand over the car. “Which is why I have this very safe midsize sedan to drive you around in.”

  “Thank you.” She got into the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt.

  He buckled his own seat belt and they started the trip to the hospital. Sandy watched him for a moment – he did everything so carefully. From putting the car in reverse, to checking the road, to even driving the speed limit.

  He drove so responsibly; it was quite different from the young man that she remembered. Life had certainly changed him – just as it had changed her.

  “So we’re pretty certain that I poisoned everyone yesterday, right?” he asked, shooting her a smile.

  That made her laugh. “Of course not. Barb certainly didn’t react to the food. If I could just get a hold of her, I could find out what happened. And I have no idea what happened to Linda. I sent her a text message but she hasn’t answered yet.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have put so much gold dust in the soup. Could that lead to heavy metal poisoning?”

  She turned to him. “Wait – why do you put gold dust in the soup?”

  He laughed. “I’m kidding. I didn’t put any metal in the soup. Sorry – is it too soon to joke about that?”

  “Oh, no, sorry.” She let out a little laugh. “I’m just trying to think of anything that could make people ill.”

  “You’re right – I’ll try to keep the joking to a minimum.”

  “No, that’s fine. As long as you’re not panicking like Margie, then we’re good. She was really…jumping to conclusions.”

  “Understandable.”

  Sandy frowned. “Panicking doesn’t help, though. It prevents you from thinking clearly.”

  “Well,” he said, slowly taking a turn, “I believe you. But I also remember a time when you weren’t so good at keeping your cool.”

  Sandy looked out of the window so he wouldn’t see that she was smiling. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Think back. Way back. Biology lab in the eleventh grade.”

  Sandy narrowed her eyes. “I have a vague memory of this.”

  “The blacktop desks? The broken glassware? And the infuriating Mrs. Johnson?”

  Sandy groaned. “Yes. She hated me!”

  “She did seem to particularly dislike you,” he said with a laugh. “Now, do you remember some of the dissections we had to do?”

  Sandy shook her head. “Honestly I don’t. Did I block this out?”

  “There was a worm…a frog…and a pig.”

  “Oh my gosh,” she said, slapping her forehead. “Yes, that pig! I almost got suspended because of that pig.”

  “No, you almost got suspended because you weren’t able to remove the pig’s brain, like instructed, and you accused Mrs. Johnson of giving you dull scissors.”

  “I maintain that she did.”

  “And then you went on a rant about how wasteful it was for everyone to have their own pig when you didn’t even have the tools to properly dissect them…”

  The memory flashed in her mind and Sandy chuckled. “Okay, yes, it’s all coming back to me.”

  “And the principal asked you not to disrupt class like that anymore and instead write your impassioned speeches in the form of a paper, which he promised to read.”

  “You have a very good memory, Jack.”

  He shrugged. “For some things.”

  They got to the hospital and Sandy hesitated about what to do next – she hadn’t gotten any texts and it was unlikely that Linda would be sitting out in the emergency room lobby, easily accessible.

  It was also unlikely that the staff would let Sandy just waltz in and talk to her, either. She decided to try calling Linda.

  No answer.

  Hm. Only a moment later, though, her phone rang.

  She cleared her throat. “Hi, this is Sandy.”

  A man’s voice came through. “You’re Margie’s sister, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I’m Linda’s husband, David.” His voice cracked a bit when he said her name. “I’m with Linda at the hospital…she can’t talk right now.”

  “Oh – I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother – ”

  “She just – she just had to be intubated.”

  Sandy turned toward Jack with wide eyes. He mouthed a “what?” at her, but she turned away.

  “I’m so sorry David.”

  “Linda said you’re a doctor. Do you know what’s going on?”

  Sandy took a deep breath. “No, but I’m trying to figure it out. Are you in the hospital?”

  “Yes.”

  She unbuckled her seat belt. “I’m coming in. I’ll see you in a moment.”

  Chapter 10

  She turned toward him. “Linda was just intubated.”

  “Uh – I think I know what that means but can you just remind me?”

  “Yes, sorry. It means that she wasn’t able to breathe on her own, so they had to put a tube down into her throat so she could breathe on a ventilator.”

  “Right. Wow – that’s terrible.”

  Sandy nodded. “I’m going to go inside and talk to her husband – do you want to come, or…?”

  “Of course!”

  They walked into the emergency room lobby – there was only one person waiting. Jack assumed it must be Linda’s husband. Sandy walked right up to him.

  “David? Hi – I’m Sandy, Margie’s sister.”

  He stood up quickly and reached to shake
her hand. His skin was quite pale – especially his lips, which Jack found rather unsettling.

  “Hi Sandy – thanks for coming. They just…well, I don’t really know what’s going on.”

  Sandy took a seat. “Can you tell me what happened? When did Linda’s symptoms start?”

  He sat next to her. “Well, I guess it was last night, really. I’m not sure if it was related, but she felt nauseous. She didn’t throw up, but she just felt sick.”

  Maybe Jack’s cooking did have something to do with it. That was his worst nightmare. He shot a look at Sandy, but she was focused on David.

  “Okay. Was she able to sleep?”

  David nodded. “Yeah, she thought it might be something to do with her new diet.”

  “What kind of diet?”

  “She’s just been trying to lose weight, so she’s been fasting. She thought that maybe the nausea was just from the fasting. And maybe it was.”

  Sandy nodded. “Okay. How long does she fast?”

  “She became a night owl since she retired, and she’s been doing this really long fast where she only eats four hours a day. Between six and ten in the evening.”

  “Oh, wow.”

  Sandy paused and Jack realized that he was staring at her. Luckily, Sandy was completely focused on David and didn’t seem to notice that Jack was even there. Everything she was doing, from her posture to the way she asked questions, made it clear that her full attention was on David.

  She continued. “I was with her at the party yesterday – the Christmas party. Do you know if she ate anything there?”

  “No. And the doctor here asked the same thing, but Linda said she was fasting. She didn’t have a bite of anything.” A faint smile spread across his face. “She has an iron will.”

  “It sure sounds like it,” Sandy said, reaching out to rest her hand on top of his.

  David sighed. “We had dinner together. At home last night. That’s when she started feeling sick. And then this morning she woke up and she was dizzy. And she said her vision was blurry – like double vision. She started to get very weak and I brought her here.”