Getaway Bay Cozy Mysteries Box Set 1

by Grace York

  When Justin had first moved to Melbourne for work, he'd tried to explain his job to Addison and Olivia. He worked in IT, and the most Addison could understand was that he helped different companies to use the computer systems that ran their businesses. Olivia had decided that 'working in IT' was code for 'I'm a spy', and it had been a family joke ever since.

  "For the thousandth time, I'm not a spy," said Justin. He pretended to be exasperated by the gag, but Addison knew he found it just as funny as they did.

  "I don't know," said Emily, getting in on the fun. "That would explain a lot."

  "Like what?" asked Justin.

  "The size of the computer you have at home, for starters. That thing takes up half the study. And your trips to the US. You never tell me exactly what you do over there."

  Justin launched into a long explanation of his job, but everything he said they managed to explain away as part of the secret of being a spy. As the discussion grew more animated, Addison was having so much fun she almost forgot how high it was at the top of the Ferris wheel.

  Until a loud crunch sounded, and their basket came to a juddering halt.

  2

  "What the…" said Justin, peering over the side. The basket rocked as he moved.

  "Please stay still," said Addison. She'd been fine while they'd slowly moved around the circuit of the Ferris wheel, but that crunching sound was disturbing. She didn't think a sudden halt like that was part of the ride.

  "Sorry, Mum," said Justin as he did his best to steady the basket.

  "That's okay. Can you see anything down there?"

  Justin carefully leaned over the side this time. "The ride operator isn't sitting on his stool anymore," he said. "He's got a cover open on the mechanics of the ride. There must be an issue."

  Addison felt the anxiety rising in her chest. Of course, they were right near the top of the circuit when the wheel stopped. They couldn't have been in one of the baskets near the bottom, could they?

  "Try and stay calm, Mum," said Olivia. She rested a hand on Addison's leg. "I'm sure we're perfectly safe as long as we stay inside the basket."

  Emily was nodding away, and in her head Addison knew they were right. A mechanical fault on a ride like this would most likely just result in them being stuck for a while. But logic and reason weren't terribly comforting at two hundred feet in the air.

  "Let's play I spy," Justin suggested. "I'll start. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with… T."

  "Trailers," said Olivia, pointing to the staff quarters they had noticed moments ago. Addison took a couple of deep breaths and looked down to where the trailers were lined up. She tried to focus on the shiny vans, and the people in red shirts coming and going amongst them. It helped to have something to watch.

  "Yeah. Your turn," said Justin.

  Olivia spied something, and Justin and Emily took turns guessing, but Addison stayed focused on the staff area. She counted the trailers, then she counted the people. Then she spotted the ropes strung between vans as clotheslines, but the basket they were in was too far up for her to be able to count the items of washing on the lines.

  She listened to the kids' voices, but it was too much to try and guess what they were spying. Counting things always calmed her. She looked over to the main thoroughfare of the carnival and counted how many stalls there were. One of the food trucks had a long line, and she counted how many people were in the queue.

  At some point the ride operator shouted something up to them, but Addison didn't catch it.

  "What did he say?" she asked, still watching the activity below.

  "There's a small mechanical problem," said Justin. "He says they'll have it sorted in ten minutes or so."

  "Ten minutes?" asked Addison. "I guess I can do that."

  "He says to sit back and enjoy the view," said Olivia. "Are you okay, Mum?"

  Addison nodded. "I've been stuck in worse places for ten minutes, I guess. Keep talking, all of you. It helps."

  They continued their game of I spy, and Addison continued to listen to the sound of their voices while she found things to count on the ground. Eventually the ride jerked back into motion and they began the descent. It took another couple of minutes before they were unloaded from their basket and Addison felt the sweet relief of the ground underfoot. It was then she realised how frightened she'd actually been, and her knees buckled.

  "Whoah there," said Justin, catching her just in time. The ride operator was quick to grab his stool and place it behind Addison. Justin guided her to it.

  "I think we'd better get you checked out," said Olivia. "I'll find someone."

  "There's an ambulance on the way," said a woman with a deep voice who appeared at Addison's side. She wore the Hanley Brothers uniform of red shirt and blue jeans, and she looked like a strong wind would blow her over. Her voice and her stance were at odds with that appearance, though. She issued instructions to the other staff milling around, and was clearly in charge.

  "Luc!" she called to a guy wearing clown makeup, but not much else. He looked like he'd come running halfway through getting dressed. "Get some bottles of water for these people. Davina, go wait for the ambulance and guide them in."

  The woman in charge stood protectively next to Addison as she continued to issue instructions. Addison started to feel better. "I don't think I need an ambulance," she said.

  The woman looked her up and down. "Probably not, but let's just be safe. You were up there for a while, and your daughter tells me you're not great with heights. I'm Harriet Hanley, by the way. Everyone calls me Harry."

  Addison hadn't heard any conversation between Olivia and Harry. She must be more stressed than she thought. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to get checked out by the paramedics.

  "Addison! Are you all right?"

  Addison noticed for the first time that quite a crowd had gathered at the base of the Ferris wheel. Pushing through them was Jason Sadler, the builder she'd had working on the beach house for the last couple of months. During that time Jason had moved well past contractor – she now considered the young man a good friend.

  "I'm fine," she reassured him, holding up a hand. "A longer ride than we expected, that's all."

  "What happened?" asked Kendall Short, Jason's girlfriend. Kendall was one of the local police officers, and Addison had had more than enough dealings with her in a formal manner than she cared for in her short time in Getaway Bay. In uniform, Senior Constable Short was an imposing force but off-duty Kendall was much more friendly.

  "We got stuck up the top," Olivia explained. "Mum's not great with heights, so we're just waiting for the paramedics to check her out."

  Addison was starting to get embarrassed at all the fuss. None of the other riders were bothered by the mechanical failure. Most of them had already wandered off, and the crowd was beginning to disperse. There were more red-shirted carnival workers there now than anyone else.

  She was about to suggest they walk it off and go find some food when the ambulance arrived. The worker named Davina guided the vehicle in through the crowds, and Harry told them where to stop. Now Addison was really embarrassed, but she couldn't leave. She figured she should at least let the paramedics check her out, if only so they hadn't had a wasted trip.

  Luc the half-dressed clown handed Addison a bottle of water, and at the instruction of the paramedics she took a few small sips. She let them fuss over her for a few minutes before assuring everyone the anxiety had passed, and she was fine. She even got to her feet and walked around a little to prove the point.

  "I'm happy if you're happy," said Harry to the paramedics. Addison was about to ask why Harry needed to be happy at all, when a stern look from the woman silenced her. Harry was obviously not someone to get on the wrong side of.

  After a few more questions and a second check of Addison's blood pressure, the paramedics were satisfied that she'd survived the ordeal unscathed. By that time Addison was more than a little embarrassed by the whole episode and was hoping f
or a diversion of her own.

  It came in the form of a blood-curdling scream from the direction of the staff trailers.

  3

  Kendall was the first to run off in the direction of the scream, followed closely by Harry and Jason. Addison and her children stared at each other for the briefest of moments, before they too set off to investigate.

  Luc the half-dressed clown did his best to stop the carnival patrons entering the staff area, but he was no match for such a surge of people. He gave up and went with them. The crowd stopped outside one of the bunks, where a woman dressed in a sequinned outfit was being comforted by a man in a matching sequinned suit. Addison recognised them as the magician and his assistant from the circus performance she'd seen on opening night.

  Kendall was at the door to the trailer, peering in, one arm held out behind her to stop anyone else from entering. Jason and Harry stood outside, Harry trying to see over Kendall's shoulder.

  "What happened?" Luc asked the magician. Addison remembered his name was Paolo, but she couldn't remember the assistant's name.

  "It's Frankie," said Paolo. "There's a knife in his back."

  Luc gasped, as did a number of others in the crowd. Paolo's assistant buried her head deeper into the magician's chest. More people in red shirts arrived.

  Addison couldn't believe what she'd heard. A knife in the back?

  Kendall stepped out of the trailer. "This is a crime scene," she said in a loud voice. "Who's in charge here?"

  "I am," said Harry.

  "Right. We're going to need to shut the carnival down." Kendall held her mobile phone to her ear.

  "Shut it down? Are you serious?"

  Kendall regarded Harry with a look that made it clear how serious she was.

  "A man's been murdered," she said, before turning her attention to whoever was on the other end of the phone.

  Harry took the briefest of moments to let that news sink in before she turned to the crowd and started issuing instructions. Addison watched as the woman organised staff, herded patrons, and brought an air of authority to the chaos, and would have been impressed if she wasn't so shocked to hear of another murder in Getaway Bay.

  "Come on, Mum," said Olivia. "Let's go find somewhere to sit down."

  "Hang on, I need to speak to Kendall first."

  Addison tried to get the police officer's attention, but Kendall was too busy guarding the crime scene and making calls. Jason was standing close by, so Addison called him over instead.

  "Is there really a body?" Addison couldn't help but ask.

  Jason nodded. "The knife thrower, by the looks of it. I only got a quick glance, but it seems someone may have stabbed him in the back with one of his own knives."

  "Brutal," said Justin.

  "I need to speak to Kendall when she has a minute," said Addison. "I might have seen something while we were up there." She pointed to the top of the Ferris wheel, which had a clear view of the staff trailer area.

  Jason nodded. "I'll let her know. Wilcox is on his way, apparently."

  "Good." Isaac Wilcox, the local detective, was also a friend. Addison could speak to both him and Kendall about what she thought she might have seen.

  Addison, Justin, Emily, and Olivia found a spot to sit on a low wall about fifty metres away from the crime scene. They were out of the way but could still see what was going on. Addison wanted to know when Isaac arrived.

  "Do you really think you saw something?" Olivia asked her mother.

  "I don't know," Addison replied. "But we were up there for a while, and I spent some time watching this area. I saw a few people coming and going. Maybe I can remember something." She closed her eyes and tried to picture what she'd seen from the top of the Ferris wheel. She didn't get far before she was interrupted.

  "Addison!" Addison opened her eyes to find Holly, a young woman from the carnival she'd befriended days earlier, standing in front of her. "What are you doing here?" Holly looked over to the trailer, which was now surrounded with crime scene tape. Constable Diaz had arrived, and was assisting Kendall with maintaining the perimeter. "What's going on?"

  "Hi Holly," said Addison. "It looks like something's happened to the knife thrower." She wasn't sure how much detail she should be sharing.

  "Frankie? Good. He's an a…" Holly stopped short of swearing in front of Addison. "He's not a nice person. What happened? Someone beat him up?"

  "Someone knifed him in the back," said Justin.

  Addison shot her son a look.

  "Sorry," he said. "But that's what Jason said. You can't keep a secret like that, Mum."

  "No, I suppose not."

  "Is he dead?" asked Holly.

  "It would seem so, dear," said Addison. She took the young girl's hand. "Are you okay?"

  Holly's eyes were wide with shock, but otherwise she didn't seem too affected by her colleague's death. "Yeah, I'm fine. Wow. He must have finally upset the wrong person." Holly took a seat on the wall next to Addison. Olivia, Justin, and Emily introduced themselves.

  The first day the carnival had arrived in Getaway Bay, Holly had visited Hazel's cafe in town. She'd tried one of Addison's cinnamon scrolls, one of the many treats Addison baked on a regular basis for Hazel's cafe. Holly had professed her undying love for the cinnamon scroll, and had been back to Hazel's every day since for another sweet fix. On the third day Addison had been at the cafe when Holly came in, so Hazel had introduced her as the creator of all the wonderful baked goods. They'd hit it off immediately.

  Holly was a sweet girl. From the few short conversations they'd had Addison gathered that Holly's home life had been troubled. She'd jumped at the chance to join Hanley Brothers a couple of years ago and travel the country. She worked in one of the food trucks, and had been trying to convince her boss to let her expand the truck's offerings.

  "So tell us about Frankie," Justin asked Holly. "What?" he added, when Addison glared at him.

  "Don't you tell us not to get involved," said Olivia with a sly grin. "That would be hypocritical, don't you think?"

  Addison had no answer for that. There'd been two murders in Getaway Bay since she'd arrived – one of them in her own house – and Addison had been deeply involved in both investigations. She couldn't very well tell her children to butt out of this one.

  "No, fair enough." Addison turned to Holly. "Why do you say he must have finally upset the wrong person?"

  Holly picked at the hem of her dress and shrugged. "I don't know. No-one liked him very much. Except old Mr Hanley, of course. He's the one who hired him. Frankie always sucked up to Mr Hanley, but to everyone else he was… well, let's just say he was unpleasant."

  "In what way?" Addison pressed. Like her children, she couldn't help herself. She'd recently started writing again, and murder mysteries were her favourite genre. As sad as it was that someone was dead, this real-life murder had already captured her inquisitive side.

  "Different ways with different people," said Holly. She nodded towards Paolo and his assistant, who were now sitting in plastic chairs a little way away from the crime scene. "Take Paolo and Gianna, for example. Paolo is an awesome magician. Harry says he's the best we've ever had. But Frankie wanted his job, and it seemed he was making progress. Corey told me Mr Hanley was thinking of giving him a trial in one of the last shows of the season."

  "I'm guessing Paolo wasn't too thrilled with that idea," said Addison.

  "No. Gianna wasn't, either. Gianna and Paolo are married. She works as assistant on stage to both of them, but she hated Frankie. She was always scared of him. She told me it was just about the knives, but I reckon there was more to it than that. She loves Paolo, but that never stopped Frankie trying it on with her."

  "He was trying to get her to go out with him?" asked Olivia. "Even though she's married to Paolo?"

  "Yeah," said Holly. "That about sums him up."

  "Wow. What a guy," said Justin. "You might be right about him upsetting the wrong person."

  "He's a real bu
lly," said Holly. "Or I guess I should say he was. None of the ride operators or the other staff liked him."

  Addison was about to ask who else specifically held a grudge against the victim, but Harriet was calling for Holly.

  "I'd better go," she said. "Are you sure you're all right, Addison?"

  "I'm fine," said Addison. "Make sure you come and see us at the beach house before you leave town," she added.

  "I will." She left with a wave, and Addison turned back to her family.

  "Interesting," she said. "I wonder who else had it in for Frankie?"

  Olivia nodded in the direction of the crime scene. "I guess that's what he'll be trying to find out."

  Addison followed her daughter's gaze. Detective Wilcox had just arrived.

  4

  "You look like death warmed up," said Addison when Isaac finally joined their little group. He'd spent a good ten minutes speaking to Kendall and Diaz and inspecting the crime scene before heading over to where Addison and her family waited on the low brick wall.

  "Thanks," he said, sniffling. "Hang on a minute." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose. The sound matched his physique – imposing and loud as thunder. "Sorry," he said, stuffing the handkerchief back in his pocket.

  "What are you doing here?" asked Addison. "You should be home in bed."

  "I was. But I can't leave a murder to Short and Diaz." He pulled his notebook out of his pocket then got as official-looking as he could manage with a red nose and watery eyes. "Senior Constable Short tells me you were a witness?"

  "Well, yes. At least I think so." Addison explained how they were stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel for a good fifteen minutes right before the body was discovered. She told Isaac how she'd been looking at the ground in this area for a lot of that time, leaving out the part about being afraid of heights.

  "Can you tell me what you saw?" Isaac asked.

  "There were a number of people coming and going in this area," Addison began. "They all had red shirts on, which I see is the uniform for the staff. I don't remember seeing anyone without a red shirt."