Chapter 2
The next morning, the 8 A.M. “teacher breakfast” loomed, a time to go over the schedule and a few “housekeeping” items for the retreat. When Cora found herself stressing because the retreat wasn’t as organized as she’d like, she reminded herself she was here to teach. This was not her retreat to run.
She met Jane and Ruby near the elevators. They were all on the fifth floor with incredible views of Sea Glass Beach. The small island, named after the large amounts of sea glass it was blessed with, gave rise to the Big Island Craft Retreat, part of the island’s establishment for fifteen years.
“Good morning, ladies,” Cora said to them. “Where’s London?”
“She’s outside with the day care people,” Jane said. “They’ll be keeping her busy. They have all sorts of activities for the kids. Best retreat ever,” she said, and smiled.
Ruby pressed the elevator button. “Sounds like an awesome arrangement. What the hell went on last night?” Ruby, a slightly stooped woman of a certain age, who had lived her whole life in Indigo Gap, was like a fish out of water in this high-tech, swanky resort. She lived in the gardener’s cottage on the property Cora had purchased for her own craft retreats and was grandfathered in to the purchase. When Jane and Cora found out she was an herbalist and crafter, they invited her to join them in their craft retreat business.
“Some kind of emergency on the beach. Didn’t you pick up the phone?” Cora asked.
“No, I didn’t reach it in time,” Ruby said. “And I couldn’t figure out how to use the bloody voice mail system.”
“It cleared early this morning,” Jane said. “A lot of people were on the beach already when I took London to the day care.”
As the elevator door opened and the three of them entered, the two women already inside nodded a good morning. As the door closed, one of them said, “Are you Jane Starr?”
Jane smiled. “Yes,” she said. “And you are . . . ?”
“I’m Jessica and this is May,” she said. “I’m so pleased to meet you. We’ve signed up for all your classes this weekend.”
“Great!” Jane said. “I look forward to it.”
“I have about twelve of your pieces at home,” May blurted. “Big fan here.”
Jane, an award-winning potter, was gathering quite a growing fan base. She could hardly keep up with her orders, especially for her goddess-mythology-themed pieces, and had been talking about hiring someone to help. Cora beamed. Jane had come a long way from the little girl she knew who loved to play in the mud—and the woman who’d married a troubled man. Jane was now her own woman.
Ruby caught Cora’s prideful expression and she grinned at her. Ruby hadn’t known them long, but she knew both of their stories, of course. Cora wasn’t sure, but she thought Ruby considered herself Jane’s patron saint of single motherhood. But what Ruby didn’t realize was Jane had it all figured out.
The elevator door opened and everybody exited. Each group went their own direction.
Jane, Ruby, and Cora found the restaurant down a plush carpeted hall with several hanging, glittering chandeliers and huge paintings. Chloe’s was one of the many eateries at the resort.
Mathilde Mayhue welcomed them to the table and made introductions. She was one of the first organizers of craft retreats. Fifteen years ago, she saw the market and the need for these retreats. It had become a measure of success to receive an invitation to teach.
Along with Cora, who was teaching a blogging-for-crafters class, Jane, who was leading a pottery class, and Ruby, instructing several classes including one on seashell candles, two other teachers were on the program. The headliner was Zooey, the macramé artist. Just Zooey. Complete with a limp handshake, Zooey seemed a type Cora often ran into at these retreats. She was manageable. Cora could get along with anybody, but she didn’t have to become friends with her. The other teacher was Ryan Anderson, a crochet expert. Cora liked him immediately.
Mathilde’s assistant, Hank Simmons, also sat at the large table, smiling at them with his gleaming white teeth on display. Cora wasn’t sure how she felt about him. All those teeth made her nervous.
“What happened on the beach last night?” Ruby asked after they were all settled in, each with plates heaped high with breakfast food from the buffet.
“Oh.” Mathilde waved her hand. “Who knows? I hate when that happens during the retreat. It startles people. I kind of wish they’d give me a heads-up so I could warn the retreaters before the alarm goes off. But most of the guests aren’t in yet. They will be arriving throughout the day.”
“Do you mean they never tell you what the emergency is?” Ruby asked, with a note of incredulity.
“They will eventually,” Mathilde said, and took a bite of her whipped cream and strawberry-topped pancake.
* * *
Cora was pleased she and her crew were here, but she hadn’t made up her mind about Mathilde yet, either.
But as she went over the rules for the craft teachers, Cora leaned more toward not liking her—especially with Mathilde’s “no socializing with students” rule. What was that about? Cora didn’t like that one bit. Nor the policy about extra craft supplies—if a crafter messed up, he or she was allowed one more try, with supplies covered by the cost of the event. After the limit, it was their responsibility to buy supplies. Cheap, Cora thought, especially at such an expensive retreat.
A server came up and whispered something into Mathilde’s ear.
Mathilde’s face turned ghastly white and her mouth dropped open.
What is wrong? Cora wondered, becoming concerned.
“Are you okay?” Ruby said, reaching for Mathilde. She was the closest one to her.
“I’m fine,” Mathilde managed to say. “I’ve just gotten some horrible news.”
“Drink some water,” Ruby said.
The group quieted. The sound of others’ voices in the place took on a louder quality. Plates and utensils clanging. Someone laughed.
Mathilde blinked. Her eyes watered. “I’m sorry.” She dabbed her eyes with a napkin.
My goodness. What is the problem? Cora thought.
“This has never happened before,” Mathilde said, stiffening. “But I might as well give you the news myself.”
Cora’s heart raced. What was going on? What had happened? Mathilde was falling apart right in front of them.
“There was a body found on the beach last night,” Mathilde said with a hushed tone.
“A body,” Jane said, her eyes wide. “What kind of body? What do you mean?”
“A human body,” Mathilde said.
They sat stunned.
“A drowning?” Cora managed to say.
“They’re not sure what happened,” Mathilde said, her voice cracking. “The poor woman was just married yesterday. The evidence suggests she died from a jellyfish sting.”
Cora coughed as she tried to swallow her coffee. “Was she married here? On the beach?”
Jane and Ruby turned to look at Cora.
“Yes,” Mathilde said. “Marcy grew up on the island and came back home to marry here. So sad.”
“Do you mean to tell me she was married yesterday and then murdered later the same day?” Ruby exclaimed. “How horrible!”
Mathilde nodded and took a sip of her cranberry juice before saying, “Tragic.”
Jane sat with her mouth hanging open, as if she wanted to find words but couldn’t.
The image of the beautiful bride still fresh in her mind, Cora’s appetite dwindled and she pushed away her plate.