Some Like It Shot (Movie Club Mysteries, Book 6)

by Zara Keane

  My eyes met Beth’s. “The food poisoning? Did Harper do that?”

  “Yeah,” Storm said. “Apparently, she put laxatives in Judd’s and Eliza’s food.”

  “That witch,” my sister screamed. “I knew she didn’t like me, but that’s way out of line.”

  “That incident and the accidents you kept hearing about gave you the idea to hurt Eliza and deflect suspicion from yourself.” I raised my voice to attract her attention but kept my stance calm and relaxed. I had to keep her talking. Any moment now, Sile and the security team would be here.

  “My roommates were freaking out about those accidents, thinking there was a maniac trying to sabotage the movie.” Her lip curled. “Harper caused Judd and Eliza’s food poisoning, but I don’t think the other stuff was deliberate.”

  “But the existing tensions on the set gave the idea for the perfect alibi. If you made sure the accidents continued, everyone would attribute the trouble you caused to a continuation of the drama they’d experienced in Belfast. And even though my sister suspected the saboteur was trying to hurt her, she gave you a free pass because you weren’t part of the Northern Ireland team.” I pinned Storm in place with my unwavering stare. “Only there’s a significant difference between hemlock and laxatives. You must have known that before you added the poison to the tray of champagne shots and asked a waitress to deliver them to my sister’s table. How much did you pay the girl, by the way?”

  Storm jutted her chin in defiance but didn’t answer.

  “Not enough, apparently. The girl couldn’t wait to tell the police all about it.” I was in improvisation city at this stage. I had no idea if Storm had sent the waitress over to my sister, nor if the waitress had confessed to the police, but it was a decent guess.

  Storm took a jerking step toward my sister, the knife moving in her hand. “All Eliza had to do was drink one of those shots. I took a risk asking the catering staff to let me use their juicer to make a matcha smoothie. They had no idea I was only interested in turning hemlock flowers into a substance I could add to Coco’s shots.”

  “To just one tray of shots,” I finished for her. “A tray carrying the champagne-flavored variety because you knew my sister loves champagne.”

  The woman tugged at the collar of her T-shirt in an unconscious gesture. “Eliza stole all my hard work and took the credit.”

  “I didn’t steal anything.” Tears streamed down Beth’s face. “It wasn’t my choice to drop you from the makeup collaboration.”

  “But it was your choice to stay,” Storm snarled. “You could have stood up for me and walked away.”

  “Why should I have?” My sister glared back at her kidnapper. “Every shade that ended up in that palette was chosen by me. I picked the color story. I chose the finishes. I promoted it on my social platforms. It was my work.”

  Storm’s mouth twisted, and she raised the knife.

  “Stop,” I shouted. “You don’t want to do this, Storm. Theresa’s death was an accident. Noel is injured, but otherwise okay. If you hurt Beth, it’ll be premeditated murder.”

  The other woman opened her mouth to respond, but whatever she’d been about to say remained unsaid. At that moment, a streak of orange leaped through the window and landed in the only patch of floor that wasn’t strewn with broken glass or fake blood.

  “Get that cat out of here,” Storm screamed. “I’m allergic.”

  She slashed the air with her knife. Quibbles, correctly reading the situation as disadvantageous to his wellbeing, pounced. He flew through the air in a static whirl of fur. Storm, who weighed one hundred pounds at most, hit the floor with a sickening crunch.

  Quibbles attached himself to her face. “Can’t. Breathe,” Storm gasped. “Need. Inhaler.”

  My sympathy was limited. “You should have thought of that before you kidnapped my baby sister.”

  Storm raised the hand that held the knife and made a feeble attempt to stab the cat.

  Quibbles didn’t interpret this move as friendly. The cat hissed and yowled and applied his claws to Storm’s arm. Screaming in pain, her grip on the knife slackened. It fell to the floor with a clatter, and I sprinted forward to kick the weapon out of her reach.

  Storm lashed out at the cat, trying to dislodge him from her face. This attack enraged Quibbles, and he went in for the kill. Wheezing and coughing, the diminutive makeup artist jerked from side to side, trying to disentangle herself from the cat. She was no match for the angry Maine Coon. After a short but decisive tussle, Quibbles declared himself the undisputed winner. With a mewl of satisfaction, he sat on Storm’s face and refused to move off his prize.

  Exhausted from the adrenaline and the pain, I slid onto the floor next to my sister. “Quibbles,” I gasped, “I stand corrected. You are a very nice cat, after all.”

  34

  I’d love to say I acquitted myself with heroic aplomb after Quibbles took down the killer. In truth, I have little memory of the immediate aftermath. Sile Conlan burst into the cottage soon after Quibbles’ victory. She was accompanied by Noel, Magnum, and several security guards. Storm, who was having an allergy-provoked asthma attack, was cuffed and carted off to the hospital. In the middle of all this drama, I fainted. And, in the act of sisterly solidarity, Beth fainted too.

  In the end, Sile insisted we all go to the mainland hospital to be checked out.

  While Storm was admitted for treatment, Noel, Beth, and I were allowed to go home a few hours later. My wrist was now in both a cast and a sling, and I had a prescription for pain medication strong enough to sedate a horse. After our return to Whisper Island, I dutifully swallowed my new meds and slept for two days solid.

  I awoke on Monday afternoon to find Liam asleep in an armchair beside my bed with Bran snoozing at his feet. Liam sported two days’ worth of stubble and looked as though he hadn’t slept in just as long. My heart swelled at the sight of him. Joe the Sleazebag never would’ve kept vigil by my bedside. Liam was a good guy. The best, in fact. I was lucky to have him.

  As if sensing I was awake, Liam opened one eye and then the other. He sat up, a smile suffusing his face. “Maggie,” he said in a voice thick with emotion.

  Bran stirred at his feet but didn’t wake up. Liam jumped out of his chair, bent down, and brushed my lips with his. “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better than I did a couple of days ago.” I slid my arms around his neck and pulled him down on the bed beside me. “What have I missed?”

  “Plenty.” Liam chuckled and took my left hand in his. “Storm admitted everything, including sending the anonymous letters to your sister. She’s still in the hospital with a guard outside her room, but she’ll soon be released into police custody. No idea if she’ll stand trial. The girl’s certifiably bonkers.”

  “How are Beth and Noel?”

  “Noel has a mild concussion. He’s staying with his brother on Whisper Island until he’s fully recovered. Your sister, meanwhile, is basking in Luke’s adoration.” Liam dropped another kiss on my lips. “Turns out, he’s a very enthusiastic daddy-to-be.”

  I snuggled into his arms, relishing in the warmth and safety. “I expected as much. Has Luke persuaded Beth to set a date yet?”

  “That’s probably news she wants to share with you herself, but yes, a wedding date’s set and plans are in motion.”

  “Mom will be pleased.” I raised an eyebrow. “How’s Con taking the news that his female lead is pregnant?

  “Surprisingly well.” Liam stroked my hair. “I believe Coco calmed him down before he spoke to your sister. At any rate, Con’s confident they’ll finish filming before Beth starts to show. He’s already working on a PR spin about his bodyguard romancing his breakout star. They plan to make an announcement at the next Movie Club meeting.” Liam grinned. “Noreen is already planning to recreate Coco’s shots in honor of watching Some Like It Hot—only without the hemlock.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” I laid my head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat against
my cheek. “Noreen never misses an opportunity to pimp her café. Movie Reel Investigations will also do well out of this drama. Con owes Lenny and me the bonus for finding his on-set saboteur. That’ll prove useful for the business.”

  “Speaking of Lenny,” Liam pointed to the garish bouquet of flowers on my bedside table. “Those flowers are from him and Sile.”

  “Lenny and Sile? Well, well. Has he forgiven her for trying to arrest us?”

  Liam chuckled. “Yes. Apparently, Lenny didn’t have the whole story when he hared off in pursuit of you. Yes, Sile was sent to Dolphin Island to arrest you, but she was trying to explain to him that she didn’t believe either of you was involved in Theresa’s death. The fake blood on Noel’s kitchen floor didn’t help matters, and then Lenny panicked and took off like a hare to warn you.”

  “So, they’ve now kissed and made up?”

  His grin widened. “From what I understand, they’ve literally done just that—and more than once.”

  I whistled. “About time.”

  “I also owe you and Lenny thanks for helping solve my jewel smuggler case,” Liam said. “Tom Russell admitted everything. He’s behind bars at the police station, awaiting a court hearing tomorrow to decide on bail.”

  “Did you recover the stolen crystals?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Storm’s plan to use the crystals to fund her escape crashed on takeoff. Between the crystals Lenny found in Theresa’s bag, and the ones we recovered from Storm’s pockets, I was able to return almost all of them to HQ.”

  “So Lenny and I will get our bonus, you solved your case, and Trudy Nelson got her cat back. Not bad for a weekend’s work.” I beamed up at Liam and exhaled a happy sigh. “And Movie Reel Investigations will get media coverage for our role in taking down the killer.”

  Liam’s mouth twitched. “Yeah… About that…” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. After a few swipes across its screen, he handed the device to me.

  I stared at the front page of Ireland’s most popular newspaper, and my jaw dropped. A photograph of a familiar orange cat seated on a velvet cushion nestled under an appalling headline. “Quibbles is a national hero?”

  “Yep. Read on.”

  I skimmed the article accompanying the photo. “Not one single mention of Movie Reel Investigations,” I declared in disgust. “Seriously, that cat…”

  “According to Trudy Nelson, Quibbles will be appearing on several talk shows. He’s set to make a fortune. Con’s even considering giving him a cameo in Wedding Belles.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Just typical.”

  Liam raised my hand to his lips. “On the plus side, Robyn has offered to stay with Hannah next weekend if you and I want to take an impromptu weekend away. Are you up for it?”

  This news immediately cheered me up. “Definitely.”

  “There’s a catch, though, and I don’t think you’ll like it.”

  My heart sank. “There’s always a catch. Go on. Hit me with it.”

  “Trudy Nelson wants you to escort Quibbles to a cat show, and the chief superintendent is keen that I assist. Apparently, the cat’s newfound fame makes him a prime target for cat thieves.”

  I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose. “That cat is killing me.”

  THE END

  • Thanks for reading Some Like It Shot. I hope you enjoyed Maggie’s sixth adventure!

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  • And if you’d like to try Maggie’s favorite cocktail, I’ve included a recipe for Peppermint Creams on the next page.

  • Join my mailing list and receive a FREE Movie Club Mysteries novella! https://zarakeane.com/newsletter

  •I also have an active reader group, The Ballybeg Belles, where I chat, share snippets of upcoming stories, and host members only giveaways. I hope to join you for a virtual pint very soon!

  https://zarakeane.com/newsletter

  Happy Reading!

  Zara xx

  Would you like to try Coco’s chocolate-orange shots? Here’s the recipe!

  CHOCOLATE-ORANGE SHOTS

  2 oz (60 ml) Kahlua

  1 oz (30 ml) dark crème de cacao

  1 oz (30 ml) Grand Marnier

  Ice cubes

  Half-fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.

  Pour in all the ingredients and shake vigorously.

  Pour into shot glasses and serve immediately.

  Coco’s tip: Before you pour the shots, mix a little fresh orange juice with a little sugar. Then dip the shot glasses into the sugar mix to create a tangy-sweet rim.

  Also by Zara Keane

  MOVIE CLUB MYSTERIES

  Dial P For Poison

  The Postman Always Dies Twice

  How to Murder a Millionaire

  The 39 Cupcakes

  Rebel Without a Claus

  Some Like It Shot

  TIME-SLIP MYSTERIES

  Deadline with Death

  Fatal Front Page (Fall 2020)

  About Zara Keane

  USA Today bestselling author Zara Keane grew up in Dublin, Ireland, but spent her summers in a small town very similar to the fictitious Smuggler’s Cove.

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  She currently lives in Switzerland with her family. When she’s not writing, Zara loves knitting, running, unplugged gaming, and adding to her insanely large lipstick collection.

  * * *

  Zara has an active reader group, The Ballybeg Belles, where she chats, shares snippets of upcoming stories, and hosts members-only giveaways. She hopes to join you for a virtual pint very soon!

  zarakeane.com

  SOME LIKE IT SHOT

  Copyright © 2020 by Sarah Tanner

  Published 2020 by Beaverstone Press GmbH (LLC)

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  EBOOK ISBN: 978-3-906245-62-1

  PRINT ISBN: 978-3-906245-63-8