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looked around. “What’s going on?”
    Hannah opened the closet door, scanning the keys hanging on hooks. “This is interesting. There are two keys for every cottage except cottage four.” She lifted the lone key from its hook. “Maybe that explains how Vern got inside.”
    Cal pointed to an empty hook. “What happened to the master key?”
    “Officer Larson asked for it for her investigation.”
    “You think Vern stole a key for cottage four?” Cal asked.
    Hannah shook her head. “No, Caroline gave it to him. He was renting it.”
    Cal’s eyes popped wide open. “What?”
    Jack handed Cal the letter Hannah found under the seat of the Volvo. He stroked the stubble on his cheek as he read the words. “What was he doing in the cottage?”
    “I don’t know, but whatever it was, I’ll bet this whole property that it’s the reason someone shot him.” Hannah declared.

Chapter 6
     
    Hannah reached inside the bag Cal left on the desk. She opened the box and offered a chocolate to Cal and Jack.
    “Kelley’s chocolate? I can’t say no to that,” Jack said as he chose the center piece. “I don’t like her but her chocolates are to die for.”
    Cal waved his hand. “None for me, thanks. I’m not a big chocolate fan.”
    Hannah raised her eyebrows. “How can anyone not love chocolate?” She nibbled the edge of a whale’s tail, savoring the creaminess as it melted in her mouth. “I’ll save the rest for later.” She closed the box, leaving it on the desk. Her desk now, she told herself. With a key for each cottage in her pocket, she said, “Let’s poke around in cottages two and three.”
    Officer Larson was reaching for the doorknob from the outside when Hannah pulled it open from the inside.
    “Just who I’m looking for,” Pam said in a neutral tone.
    Hannah squished the rest of the now soft chocolate against the roof of her mouth with her tongue and swallowed. She looked over her shoulder, wondering who Pam was looking for—her, Jack, or Cal.
    “Can we sit down inside?” Pam tilted her head, waiting for Hannah to reply.
    Cal and Jack walked past the two women. “We’ll wait outside,” Jack said.
    Hannah stood aside so Pam could enter. “Have a seat.”
    “That’s not necessary. I only have a couple of questions.” She slid her notebook from her back pocket and flipped through a few pages. “What time did you say you heard the loud bangs?”
    Hannah rubbed her chin. “I’m not sure but I think the first crack, the one that woke me up, was around eight and the other two were around eight-thirty.”
    Pam nodded. “That’s interesting. The blasting definitely didn’t start until eight-thirty.” She looked at Hannah. “Did you see anyone? Did you even look around at the cottages?”
    “No. Nellie ran to the beach and I wanted to find her. Then I bumped into Cal, and we walked to Jack’s house. When he told me it could be blasting, I forgot about it until—” Her voice tapered off, leaving her last thought unspoken.
    “So Cal Murphy was on the beach when you heard the later bangs?”
    “Yes. But I don’t know when he got to the beach.”
    Pam jotted some notes in her notebook and tapped her lip with her index finger.
    Hannah pulled Caroline’s letter from her pocket. “I found this a little while ago.” She handed it to Pam.
    Pam looked at Hannah before sliding the letter from the envelope. “Where did you find this?” Her face was a mask, betraying no emotions.
    “Stuck under the driver seat of my great aunt’s Volvo. I was trying to adjust the seat and felt something stuck there.”
    “And this check was with the letter?”
    Hannah nodded.
    “What about the key?”
    Hannah shrugged and walked to the closet. She pointed to the keys hanging on the door. “There were two keys for each cottage except cottage four. It doesn’t prove that Vern had the extra key, but it’s missing.”
    “If you find anything else, let me know. Take a look through Caroline’s books and see