Daisy McDare And The Deadly Art Affair (Cozy Mystery) (Daisy McDare Cozy Creek Mystery Book 1)

by K. M. Morgan

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  Bonus 1 st Chapter Of “Daisy McDare And The Deadly Legal Affair”

  Prologue

  They arrested the wrong woman.

  Daisy McDare couldn’t get that thought out of her head, no matter how much she tried. She couldn’t believe the police had been so hasty. They didn’t even have all the facts yet. There were still leads to follow up on.

  Daisy knew something was funny with this case, and she wouldn’t stop until she got to the bottom of it. She refused to believe things were so cut and dry. Even worse, she was convinced an innocent woman was going to jail—for murder.

  She knew she had to take things into her own hands. But first, she needed to get some air.

  Daisy couldn’t believe the twists and turns her life had taken in the last forty-eight hours. It had been a roller coaster of emotions. She started the week excited about a new interior decorator job. Now she was caught in the middle of a murder investigation. Considering she lived in a small town like Cozy Creek, things sure knew how to get complicated.

  Life could feel free to get simpler any time now. She was looking forward to the days when her life would settle down. Instead new complications seemed to be waiting around every corner.

  Her life had been filled with all kinds of surprises lately. Unfortunately, none of them were good. Why did bad luck always have to come in bunches?

  In her younger days, Daisy would have sent up the white flag. She would have curled up on her couch drinking wine out of a box, eating brownie batter by the spoonful while buying a discount melon baller from some weirdly accented huckster on an infomercial.

  Things had changed. Daisy couldn’t afford to feel sorry for herself right now. There was serious business to attend to.

  That didn’t mean her chocolate cravings had gone away. If anything, the opposite was true. She always got a craving for sugar-based deliciousness when she was nervous. This time was no different. Her sweet tooth would have to wait however. She had a case to crack.

  Chapter One

  Two days earlier

  Daisy couldn’t believe she was awake at six in the morning. Her beloved West Highland Terrier Shamus was fond of dawn patrol wake up calls. She loved the little guy with all her heart, but he sure knew how to cost her some shut eye.

  Daisy dragged herself out of bed and threw on a baseball cap before taking Shamus out. She didn’t want to be seen with such frazzled hair, nor was she going to take the time to work it into shape with Shamus bounding around with so much energy to burn.

  She was in desperate need of some coffee. Usually one cup was enough for her to shake off the grogginess, but she could tell things would be different today. Part of that was because she’d barely slept the night before. Her favorite romantic comedy came on just before she was set to go to sleep.

  Everyone had movies they got sucked into. That they could watch a hundred times without ever getting sick of. For Daisy, that movie was “The Day I Learned To Love Again.”

  The plot was simple. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Then a comic misunderstanding tears them apart before their lips had a chance to meet again on top of the Empire State Building in the final act.

  Daisy didn’t love the movie because of its well-worn plot. She watched it because of the chemistry of the leads. Every time she watched the movie again, it made her feel like love wasn’t dead—at least in fictional form anyway.

  Reality had been filled with far more hiccups. The sad thing was, there was a time when she felt like a character in a romantic comedy. Everything seemed to be going right for her. Then it all came crashing down when her boyfriend Brent Patterson left her for the local short-skirted weather girl.

  Ugh.

  It had been five months since the breakup, but Daisy was still trying to pick up the pieces. Not to mention Cozy Creek hardly had a bustling singles scene. On top of that, thirty-three wasn’t the best age to be single. If she lived in a big city like Vancouver or Toronto, she’d have plenty of options. Most of the women her age there were on a career track.

  In her little hamlet on the coast of British Columbia however, couple’s paired off early. Baby fever hit the women here in their mid-twenties. High school sweethearts started having little bundles of joy one after another. It was a mommy paradise.

  For someone like Daisy who’d been focused on growing her interior decorator business, the pickings were getting slimmer by the day. It was a weird pressure cooker of a situation to be in. Sometimes she wondered if she’d have better luck moving to Vancouver. Problem was, she’d spent her whole life in her hometown. Her family and friends were all there.

  Besides, she loved the place. And why wouldn’t she? Cozy Creek was a picturesque town of twenty-five thousand nestled against the British Columbia coastline. The locals loved its quaint, quirky look and tree-lined streets while the tourists browsed the antique stores and boutique shops that ran up and down Main Street.

  Luckily during the town’s recent restoration, the city council voted to keep all the original Victorian storefronts. That ensured it would always have a nostalgic feel to it. Just off of Main Street were signs of modernity however.

  Bistros, art galleries, and chic clothing stores dotted the streets just outside of the historic district. In the summer, the population swelled to around forty thousand when the beach crowd hit the shoreline to work on their tans. Still, the residents did their best to make sure the town kept its quiet charm.

  To uproot and start over from scratch was an unappetizing proposition. Besides, with her mom still reeling from her recent divorce and her grandma moving to the Creekside Retirement Home, the McDare women had to stay close to each other.

  At that point, Daisy realized her mind had wandered off on a back trail to self-pity. It was time to follow the bread crumbs back to reality. She had a new client to think about. She needed to stay focused.

  Max Cash had a reputation around town. He was the local sleaze ball defense attorney. At the same time, he was also Daisy’s new client. The Law Offices of Max Cash were due for some new décor, and Daisy had been tapped to do the decorating.

  As much as she disliked the man’s bravado and insatiable ego, she wasn’t in a financial position to turn down work based on personal feelings. Her bills were begging to be paid.

  The question was, would Max Cash be willing to pony up a fair dollar for the designs he had in mind, or would he pinch pennies to keep more money in his pocket?

  Unfortunately, Daisy learned over the years that the richer the client, the tighter the hold on their wallet sometimes was. Maybe that’s why they were so rich in the first place. They held onto every dollar with a vice grip.

  Daisy had a feeling this would be one of those jobs that would test her patience and force her to bite her tongue a lot. She could be wrong, but she could usually trust her hunches. Just thinking about this job brought a pit to her stomach.

  Once again, Daisy’s head was stuck dancing around in the clouds. That would all change at the local dog park.

  Little Shamus was as rambunctious as a puppy, even though he was almost seven years old. He also loved being by Daisy’s side, so having to be cooped up indoors all day while she was at work could easily lead to disaster.

  Shamus was a nibbler. He’d gnawed his way through many different pairs of Daisy’s shoes over the years. He also had the appetite for mail too—her electric bill seemed to be his favorite, although he treated all her bills as his own personal buffet. The worst was when he broke into her box of jewelry beads.

  Daisy loved making bead necklaces and bracelets. It relaxed her all too active imagination. When beading, she had to focus on the project at hand. Besides, when she was done, she had some stylish fashion accessories to show for it.

  The day Shamus br
oke into her beads, a visit to the vet followed. The vet recommended that she let him burn off energy at the dog park before she went to work. The minute Daisy started taking Shamus there, she saw an immediate improvement. She hadn’t looked back since. That morning however, a surprise was waiting for them at the park.

  ***

  Shamus had a number of play companions at the dog park, but there was none he liked more than a Scottish Terrier named Angus. Daisy was fond of Angus as well. Unfortunately, she couldn’t say the same for his owner. So when Angus bounded over to Shamus at the park, Daisy knew trouble wasn’t far behind.

  Shamus and Angus sniffed each other and rolled around as Daisy felt a sense of dread. Then she heard Brent Patterson’s voice.

  “Come on Angus, time to go,” Brent insisted.

  Daisy’s stomach started to turn. Running into her ex was the last thing she needed right now. An awkward, fumbling conversation was inevitable.

  The dogs had plenty more catching up to do. They weren’t about to stop sniffing each other and running around just because their owners were uncomfortable being in the same hemisphere as each other.

  Daisy couldn’t believe her luck. Brent was never an early riser. The man could sleep through a meteor shower and snore with his mouth open the whole way through. Daisy thought the only benefit of Shamus getting her up so early would be that she wouldn’t have to run into her ex.

  Come to think of it, why was Brent up so early anyway? And why did it seem like he was in better shape than usual? Daisy secretly hoped after the break up that Brent would let himself go and lose the battle of the beer belly bulge. After all, Brent was fond of some ice cold Canadian brewski’s.

  Instead he was more svelte and handsome than ever. His abs were practically rippling through his shirt, making him look tempting, teasing, and mouth-wateringly pleasing.

  It didn’t make sense. He was never fond of motivation the whole time they were together. He was more passionate about managing his fantasy football team than putting in solid hours at the gym. So where did this bicep breakthrough come from?

  “Nice hair by the way,” Brent said, sarcastically.

  As if Daisy didn’t feel self-conscious enough. Just enough of her frizzy hair was peeking out from under her ball cap to dial up Brent’s snark-o-meter.

  She didn’t have to take this. They weren’t dating anymore. What was next, a jab about her curvy figure? At that moment, she just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

  “I didn’t know you’d be here waiting to judge me,” Daisy replied.

  “It was just a joke. Lighten up.”

  “Here’s a thought. Try being funny next time. And considering what you did to me, you’re in no position to tell me how to feel.”

  “Still have hard feelings I see.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? Considering you left me for Bubbly Von Shortskirt.”

  “I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk about Sunny that way.”

  Daisy still couldn’t believe her ex shacked up with a woman that went by the name of Sunny Sky. It wasn’t even her real name--that would be Geraldine Higginsworth. It turned out Sunny’s name wasn’t the only thing fake about her. The woman was a caricature.

  Sunny was also twenty-three and rail thin. If Daisy didn’t hate her guts so much, she’d want to buy the woman a hamburger. In the end, it was Brent’s fault. He spent all this time talking about how much he loved Daisy’s curves, then dumped her at the first sign of a young dumb blonde in a mini skirt.

  Daisy refused to acknowledge Sunny by her stage name. “I’ll talk about Geraldine any way I want.”

  Brent got exasperated. “Daisy, it’s been five months. How long are you going to hold a grudge?”

  “I didn’t know heartbreak had an expiration date.”

  “A lot can happen in five months. Take my life. Ever since Sunny signed me up for Belly Boot Camp, I feel like a changed man. I have more energy and verve. I feel like I’m twenty-three again.”

  Daisy shook her head in disgust for his lack of tact. “I can’t believe you.”

  “What? You should sign up for Belly Boot Camp. It could do wonders for you.”

  “First you insult my hair, now you insult my weight. That’s enough. Shamus, come on, we’re leaving.”

  Daisy then leashed up her dog.

  “Hey, I’m trying to do you a favor.”

  “Please--spare me.”

  “I’m just saying, it’s amazing how your life can change when you try to better yourself for your partner.”

  Daisy was outraged. Instead of walking away with Shamus, she turned right back around and narrowed her eyes at her ex. “Seriously?”

  Brent was confused. “What?”

  “You wouldn’t even change the channel on the television for me when we were dating. Now you’re giving me a lecture on change like some hussy of a weather girl has taught you the meaning of life.”

  “Fine, don’t let me help you. But don’t think I’m going to let you bring me down with your negativity. Sunny has helped me get my chakras aligned. I’m rocking the crap out of my inner peace here. Don’t spoil that,” Brent insisted.

  That right there was Brent in a nutshell. A man that could insult Daisy one minute, then warn against the dangers of the negativity the next. He was a man that lauded Daisy for her curves one day, then dumped her for a woman that was starved for a hamburger. Brent was as walking of a contradiction as she’d ever seen.

  At that moment, Daisy realized it was best if she just walked away before he caused her anymore pain.

  “I hope he steps in some dog poop,” she grumbled to herself.

  End of Bonus Sample.

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