Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Box Set

by Anna Celeste Burke

  “My gut tells me Danny would never have killed anyone unless he was protecting you. Let’s see what a fresh look at the old evidence tells us, though. I’ll keep an open mind.”

  We had reached the golf cart path next to the beach. I kicked off the low heels I had worn to dinner and stepped onto the sand. A rush of memories and emotions flooded me.

  “I wore tennis shoes that night and slipped them off so I could run down and put my feet in the water. I never felt freer or more alive. Danny laughed at my silliness and did the same thing. The water was freezing. He went ahead and lit the fire, so we could warm ourselves rather than waiting for Gil and Angie to join us. We’d brought marshmallows to toast when they showed up. It started off as such a lovely evening.”

  I walked to the fire pit. No fire was burning tonight, but I caught a whiff of smoke from the aftermath of an earlier fire. In that instant, I saw Danny’s guitar flash through the air in an arc. I heard a crunching sound as if that guitar had struck a hard object. Then another flash and that guitar lay broken on the sand. There was blood, too. I felt disoriented and must have wobbled a little on my shaky legs.

  “Are you okay?” Jack asked as he grabbed my arm to steady me.

  “Maybe Danny did hit Mark Harwell. With his guitar,” I explained what I had just seen or imagined. Not for the first time, either, although this was more vivid than images that had flitted through my mind previously. Was it an old memory or merely my poor addled brain trying to fill in the blanks about what had happened?

  Jack held me close. He didn’t say anything, but he must have been considering another possibility that occurred to me. If what I had just experienced was a memory of someone wielding that guitar as a weapon, had Danny been the target? That awful sound. Could anyone have survived that blow?

  “If you saw blood, the police photos of the scene should have captured that, even if water washed it away later. I’ll go through those too.”

  “Thank you. If anyone has overlooked anything, you’ll find it,” I said clinging to Jack. I watched as the latest wave that rolled onto the beach crept closer to us than the previous one. Could truth have survived the passage of tides and time?

  I carried my shoes as we walked back up the slope to the hotel level. Jack and I were both quiet as we walked along hand in hand. The moonlight lit our way. Under other circumstances, this would have been a romantic evening. There was a tenderness in Jack that tugged at my heartstrings in a way no one had since Danny. The hope of romance fighting to find its way out of that old devastation.

  Jack escorted me to the door of my suite, took my key card and opened it for me. I stepped into the lovely sitting room, pulling Jack in with me.

  “How about a nightcap?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Jack said. “I’d enjoy sitting with you a little longer out on the veranda. We won’t speak any more about the past. Let’s focus on the future. I want you to meet Beth. Watching you interact with Meredith tonight made me realize how much you’d enjoy that. She would, too.” Jack shut the door to my suite. I dropped the shoes I’d been carrying and headed toward a sidebar to get a couple of glasses. I froze.

  “Look! Flowers—wildflowers like the ones I received today at my office. How can that be?” I asked as I turned toward Jack. It felt like I turned in slow motion as if the air in the room had become as thick as molasses.

  “You mean the ones you figured that Boo-Boo the Bear kid sent you?”

  “Bobo Bear, not Boo-Boo! Boo-Boo is Hanna-Barbera’s little cartoon bear as in Yogi and Boo-Boo. You don’t want to confuse the two. At least not when Max is around. Sorry, I’ve heard Max correct people so often, I automatically reel off the spiel. Usually, I try to do it before Max can because he’s not polite about it,” I said. Am I cracking up? I wondered. It’s as if that spiel hadn’t come from me at all. Not on purpose anyway. I’d slipped away if only for a moment.

  “I don’t mind having you as my tour guide in the wacky world of Max Marley. No need to be sorry.”

  “I appreciate hearing you say that. I must be more on edge than I realize. To answer your question, though, yes. Eddie Winkler said he sent me something as a thank you for helping him get that job as Bobo Bear. I thought he meant those flowers. I must have been wrong.”

  “Let’s see if your secret admirer has left you a note this time. You’re sure they’re that much like what you received earlier?”

  “Almost identical. In fact, I’d swear it was the same bouquet.”

  “Do the flowers mean anything special to you? Did they mean anything when you were dating Danny?” Jack asked as he examined the bouquet carefully.

  “No. Danny sent me roses. There’s no connection that I can recall. He didn’t have flowers with him that last night we were together. I’m at a loss.”

  “Well, maybe it’s a bizarre coincidence. I don’t see a note. I’ll call the Front Desk and ask how they ended up in here.”

  While Jack made that call, I poured a couple of glasses of wine and took them out to the veranda. I was edgy all right. As skittish as one of Marvelous Marley World’s Clydesdales on parade on the Fourth of July.

  “Here’s the scoop,” Jack said as he joined me on the veranda a few minutes later. “Those flowers came from a local florist in San Albinus. There was no card with them, but the person who sent them has a standing arrangement with the resort to deliver flowers to guests. You’re going to love this—it’s Carolyn Chambers’ account.”

  “No!” I was shocked. “I could imagine flowers showing up after we ran into her at dinner and I offered to shell out big bucks for products at her store tomorrow. Why would she have sent that bouquet to me at work, today?”

  “I’m more than a little suspicious, Georgie. If she had sent you flowers earlier in the day, I’m certain Carolyn would have brought it up when she bumped into us.”

  “I hear you. Carolyn would have wanted to give me the opportunity to thank her.”

  “Why send them again?” Jack asked.

  “None of this makes any sense, does it?”

  “Not much of what Carolyn had to say made sense either. Maybe she sent them to welcome the ‘local girl makes good’ back to her hometown. Stranger things have happened,” Jack said shrugging.

  “I feel relief knowing that it’s not some psycho stalker. Not that I’d completely rule that out as a role Carolyn might play well. Those poor bike racers are going to be in for it at Copper Moon Beach.”

  “Cougars do stalk their prey,” Jack smirked.

  “You’re more likely to be her target than me then.” I batted my eyelashes at Jack and made him laugh. Mocking Carolyn like that made me feel a bit guilty. “What if I’ve got her all wrong? Jennifer told her I was visiting the resort. Maybe she did send flowers as a welcome gift. I’ll ask Carolyn about it when Meredith and I pay her a visit tomorrow.”

  “That doesn’t explain why you received the same bouquet twice. She needs to learn to send a note along with the flowers, too, if she intends to make the recipient feel welcome.”

  “I agree. That would be a more professional approach. On the other hand, a psycho would have sent a note, don’t you think? Something hateful or threatening, or a suggestion that I get out of town and stay out.”

  “You make a good point. No note’s not all bad. If there was a mix-up, the florist could have messed that up, too. At least we can tie those flowers to someone who can be questioned and held accountable. I’m sorry we couldn’t find the source of that music. That was no mix-up.”

  “Let’s hope we can figure that out tomorrow, too. Danny did play that song at the bar where the Harwell brothers and their friends were kicked out. Not until after they’d left, though. I hate to believe someone else still in town hates me as much as they did. Anything’s possible, I guess.” That was all I could take. I had to switch to a more pleasant subject before malice and paranoia seemed to fill the whole world around me.

  “Tell me what you have in mind about Beth. I would love to meet her
.” Jack and I spent another half an hour speaking about happier matters. I learned much more about his daughter and his life as a father. By the time I said goodnight, much of my skittishness had fled.

  I was grateful that a bit of friendly chatter had worked its way into the evening after all. We’d spent so much time in the past few days talking about me and my decade’s old problems. It was a pleasure to discover more about the man who sat beside me. The more I heard, the more I felt drawn to him. The warmth of his words, his decency, humor, and capacity for love were as tantalizing as the heat radiating from his body. Carol was right. Whatever was going on between us was more than friendship.

  Was Carol also right about what had happened here in Corsario Cove years ago? What I found when I returned to my suite and went into my bedroom set my mind reeling once again. Another coincidence? Was I so much on edge everything reminded me of Danny? Or was someone intent on driving me nuts?

  7 An Unfriendly Message

  Sunday morning, bells woke me. I reveled in the pure, sweet tones peeling from the tower in the original sanctuary at the cove. Surrounded by a forest preserve, the monastery sits high on the cliffs all but hidden from the public. Carol was correct that the monks owned a lot of land in the area. That had included the slope on which The Sanctuary Resort and Spa now stands. They had sold off that portion of their holdings to keep the monastery afloat financially.

  While growing up in San Albinus, I had heard all sorts of rumors about the monastery. Townspeople had little contact with it or the cloistered monks who resided there, so none of us had knowledge of what life was like in the monastery. Monks supplied herbs and other produce to the resort kitchens, so maybe locals had more contact with them now. One thing had not changed. On Sunday, the tower bells rang out every hour on the hour, ringing less often during the rest of the week.

  The musical notes struck by those bells resonated with memories of Danny and his lovely song haunting me once again. Alone, in my luxurious oversized bed, the silky bed linens did little to soften the loneliness I felt. Not even a big-mouthed Siamese cat to wake me up! Mile's favorite cat sitter would be the recipient of his melodious greetings this weekend. Confusion reigned as the events of the previous day crashed in on me. How could anyone who knew that song still be around so many years later, much less be playing it? Why?

  Another unsettling moment from last night hit me as I struggled to open my eyes. I inhaled tentatively at first, then more deeply. Nothing. Last night when I had stepped into the bedroom to undress, I had been taken aback by a familiar fragrance. Sandalwood. Danny’s favorite, all those years ago. It’s not as if that scent’s uncommon. Still, given the circumstances and events earlier in the day, it was unnerving to find myself confronted by yet another reminder of my past.

  “What is going on?” I asked aloud, repeating the words I had uttered last night. Housekeeping had obviously been in there with their turndown service. That was apparent by the telltale gold-wrapped truffle on the pillow. That didn’t necessarily explain that fragrance. Warily, I had flipped on a bedside table lamp as I made my way around the room searching for the source of that scent.

  I found it. A trio of candles lit in the master bath. The light cast an eerie glow. Their flickering flames had held me spellbound for a moment as my mind hurtled backward in time. Back to that moment right before the attack when Danny and I sat on the beach close to the campfire we’d built. Flames had danced in the growing darkness that night. Whispered words. Close, as if spoken into my ear: "…you'll never forget..." A black chasm had opened, and I felt myself falling.

  Then another whiff of sandalwood had given me the shivers, focused me on the moment, and propelled me into action. In rapid succession, I turned on the overhead lights in that lavish bathroom, doused the candles by tossing them into the sink and running water over them. Then I sealed them in a small plastic bag from an empty ice bucket. Even after dropping the candles into a trash can, I felt like one of those spooked cats you see in a Facebook video. I stood facing the door as I went through the motions of undressing in the large walk-in closet. No one was going to sneak up on me.

  After changing into my pajamas, I’d removed that waste can, putting it in the corridor outside my suite. I set it next to the flowers I’d already placed out there. I searched the suite once more—not even sure what I expected to find. No guy with or without binoculars was hiding behind the drapes. No more flowers or candles. No equipment capable of playing music. In fact, there was no sound at all except the measured cadence of pounding waves, accompanied by the fresh scent of the ocean breeze coming through locked screen doors. Six floors up, it had seemed safe enough to open the glass sliding doors, hoping to rid the room of any lingering scent of sandalwood from those candles.

  “Oh, come on. No monster in the closet or under the bed,” I’d chided myself. Still, I had shut and locked the glass sliding doors and then drawn the blackout drapes. Slipping under the covers, I tossed and turned until I’d convinced myself those candles exuding Danny’s favorite scent had been placed there by coincidence. That it had taken so much effort to do that seemed silly this morning.

  “You are losing it, Georgina Marie Shaw,” I muttered. How was I going to offer anything in the way of support to Meredith today if I couldn’t get my paranoia under control? Not to mention keeping my cool through another round with Carolyn Chambers on my itinerary.

  I rolled out of bed and pulled on a robe over my soft pajamas. In fairness to myself, it shouldn’t be surprising that returning to the beach had raised my anxiety. Hearing that song even had Jack worried. Still, if Jack hadn’t heard the music, too, I’d be more seriously concerned about my mental health.

  "No way I’m going to mention the attack of the killer candles to Jack," I vowed as I started my morning stretches. I opened the sliding doors and finished the rest of my routine, bathed in the glorious coastal California sunshine. As the fresh sea air rushed in, it carried a new wave of nostalgia bordering on dread.

  “Come on, Georgie, get it together,” I said aloud as I stepped out onto the veranda. The aroma of coffee swirled about me. Before I knew it, Jack was at my side.

  “This will help you do that,” he said, handing me a steaming cup of hot coffee as he planted a sweet kiss on my lips. I wasn’t sure about the coffee, but that kiss helped. All my senses were now on high alert.

  “More, please,” I said, getting a smile and another kiss from Jack.

  “Follow me, M’lady. Your table awaits.”

  Last night, before my encounter with the dastardly deeds of the hotel turndown service, we had opened the gate between our adjoining patios that ran the full length of both suites. The temptation to do more than that to close the distance between us had been intense. Prudence had prevailed even as I had uttered an almost breathless goodnight to the man after a series of electrifying kisses.

  I owed it to Jack to get my head on straight. He deserved the woman in his life to be fully present, not given to ghostly disappearances or spine-chilling encounters with her past. How right I was to feel that way had hit me again as I recalled the panic in which I’d dumped those sandalwood candles. I smiled to myself as I tagged after Jack, feeling like a silly fool.

  Jack had breakfast all set up on his side of the veranda. “Come. Have breakfast with me, and we’ll plan our day. Not only coffee but fresh fruit, quiche, and Iberian ham. I was going to wake you up the way Miles does it if I didn’t see you in a few more minutes.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t do it. One of Miles’ bellows could wake everyone on three floors!”

  “I’m getting pretty good at it imitating him. Fortunately, that bell tower did the job for me. Come on, let’s eat!”

  “I take it you’ve been up for a while since you had time to order this lovely breakfast for us.” I followed Jack and sat down. I could hear the waves lapping at the shore, off in the distance. The surf was up this morning, and surfers were out in the sparkling blue Pacific. Several rode on the surging
waters. A distant whoop of delight made its way to us.

  “Long enough to get an appointment with the local homicide detective. I scheduled a meeting with Detective Mitchum in San Albinus while you take Meredith to that Chamber Made gunk-and-goop shop.”

  “Gunk-and-goop shop! That’s a good one. Don’t let her hear that or you’ll lose your most-favored-prey status.”

  “I’m not sure it's such a good idea to put anything she makes on your face.” Jack laughed as he said that.

  “I doubt she makes anything herself. My guess is she does what a lot of shops like hers do—puts together expensive, designer label gunk-and-goop selected by her for you. Mainly, I want to give Meredith a chance to talk about how she’s doing. Maybe it’ll cheer her up to go home with a bag of goodies. She seems to be doing remarkably well. I was still a wreck after they released me from the hospital. I dropped out of college at that point. I didn’t want to go back until I knew what had happened to Danny. When fall rolled around, I still couldn’t go back to UC Santa Cruz without him. That’s when I enrolled in cooking school instead."

  "I can understand why you didn't want to go back to Santa Cruz. Your chef's training was an excellent way to keep moving forward while your life was tied up by the mystery of Danny’s disappearance. Let’s hope Meredith doesn’t have to wait too long for good news about her friend Kat.”

  “I agree. Meredith is so close to finishing her degree. I hope she can go back and wrap it up. That’ll be easier to do if Kat makes a speedy recovery.”

  “I’ve had time to go over all this in my head again this morning. It’s hard to believe they never found any trace of Danny, or Tommy Harwell, for that matter. I could understand Harwell taking a hike. Depending on what went on that night, he could have been in a lot of trouble. His history of violence makes him the most likely murder suspect, although I’m not sure what would have driven him to kill his brother. Did he and his brother ever fight it out?”