by Maci Grant
“No. I just want the truth.”
“Well, I didn’t kill anyone, so there’s your truth.”
“If you didn’t kill Kirk then why did you rent the SUV?”
“To go for a moonlit drive with my friends. That’s all.”
“Why would you be out so late on the night before the big contest?”
“Let me tell you a secret about these big contests. They’re not that big of a deal. I only do them to raise awareness about the environment.”
“So it must have bugged you that Yale used all of those dyes and things in the sand.”
“Yale? No. He only used organic stuff. I helped him with that. Kirk was the one that was polluting the beach.”
“How?”
“That powder that he used in the sand. It was a pesticide. He was so stuck up that he didn’t want a single bug in his sand. I mean, one ant can destroy quite a bit of work, but that’s no excuse for poisoning the sand.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that was what he was using.”
“No one did. I saw the powder once, and I tried to tell someone, but no one wanted to listen. Kirk was their golden boy.”
“That had to make you angry.”
“So what’s this evidence you claim you have?”
“I have the syringe that you used to poison Kirk.” Blu held her breath. She knew that she was taking a huge risk with her statement.
“No way. I didn’t do anything like that.”
“But it has your fingerprints.”
“It doesn’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I didn’t kill him.”
A sudden burst of wind caused the boat to shift from side to side. Blu lost her footing, as her shoes were soaking wet. As she tumbled toward the other side of the boat, she saw a few syringes roll across the floor.
Chapter 30
While Blu was still trying to get upright, she saw Bianca pick up one of the syringes.
In the next moment the woman’s arm was tight around Blu’s waist.
“Just another nanny, washed away by the storm—nothing to have a memorial for.” Bianca whispered. “Let’s see if you have any proof after this.”
Blu felt the tip of the syringe sink through the material of her sleeve. She took a deep breath as if somehow that might protect her from the poison.
The door of the houseboat burst open. It startled Bianca enough that she drew her hand back from Blu’s arm, but she didn’t release her grip around her waist.
AJ, rain-soaked and red-faced, filled the doorway. “Put the syringe down, Bianca.”
“No! If you take one step toward me, she’s as dead as Kirk.”
Blu squeezed her eyes shut to keep from crying. She tried to think of a way to escape.
“Bianca, you’re going to prison either way. Do you hear that?” AJ said.
Sirens rose above the sound of the rain.
“No way. I saw the way you looked at her last night. You’re not going to let me harm a hair on her head, are you? I’m just going to walk out of here before your buddies can get to me.”
Blu noticed the boat starting to lurch. She heard the roar of the wind. When she opened her eyes she caught AJ’s gaze. She stared at him hard.
“Why did you do it, Bianca? Just tell me that. I have to know.” Blu asked.
“What does it matter?” Bianca snarled. “The man was poisoning the sand. Sea turtles lay their eggs in that sand! He would have killed them all. For what? Because he’s a star? No! He didn’t deserve to live. He had to die. I killed him, and I gave him back to Mother Nature to do with what she would. She is the only force I answer to.”
Blu took a deep breath as the boat rocked again. “Well, it looks like Mother Nature is pissed!” She shoved her feet hard against the floor in the same moment that the boat lurched to one side.
The force of her movement knocked Bianca off balance. She, the syringe, and Blu slid across the floor to AJ’s feet.
AJ grabbed Bianca by the shoulders and hefted the slender woman up off the floor.
“Blu? Are you okay?”
Blu stared at the wood grain of the floor.
“AJ, what’s going on?” Chief Pitman burst through the door.
“We’ve got her, Uncle Paul.” AJ handed Bianca over to Chief Pitman. “I’m willing to bet you’ll find syringes filled with the same poison in here. I also have her confession.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Chief Pitman tilted his head toward Blu.
“Blu?” AJ crouched down beside her, and picked up the syringe that was lying on the floor. “Blu, no! We need an ambulance! Uncle Paul, right now!”
AJ pulled Blu up into his arms.
She looked into his eyes. “AJ.”
“Shh, Blu, it’s okay. It’s okay, I’ve got you.”
“I’m okay.”
“Shh.”
“No. I mean, I’m okay.” Blu opened her eyes wider. “I think I had the wind knocked out of me.”
“She didn’t stick you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“That’s not good enough. Let the paramedics check you out. Blu, what were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that someone had to care about Kirk.”
AJ brushed her wet hair away from her eyes and sighed. “I knew you were going to be more trouble than you looked.”
“Is that a compliment?” Blu smiled a little as the paramedics rushed to her side.
“With you, it’s always a compliment.” AJ smiled as he held her close.
Blu’s heart raced, not from fear—or even from excitement—but from being cradled in AJ’s arms. She heard the commotion of the officers around her, the rush of the wind as it rocked the boat, but none of it could compare to just how loud her heart was beating.
It made no sense to her that he had such an effect on her, but for just once, she didn’t try to figure it out. Instead, she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes.
The paramedics looked her over from head to toe, checking her vitals. “No evidence of injury. Her heart rate is elevated, but that’s to be expected.”
Blu looked up into AJ’s eyes. Maybe they expected it, but she certainly didn’t.
Summer in Diamond Bay
(Book 3)
Ice Cream and Intrigue
A Nanny Blu Cozy Mystery
By
Maci Grant and Lillianna Blake
Copyright © 2015 Maci Grant
Cover design by Beetiful Book Covers
All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
Blu stared out the window at the clear summer sky. It was another perfect day. The kids dawdled over their cereal while Blu took a few minutes to savor her coffee.
The relative peace was shattered by a quick knock on the door, followed by its being immediately thrust open.
“Guess what!” Maddie whisked her way into the kitchen with her two charges right behind her.
Twelve-year-old Brennan scowled as usual, and ten-year-old Chrissa looked as if she’d just stepped out of a magazine, with more accessories than Blu could count.
“Do you know what today is?” Maddie asked, her eyes wide with excitement.
Blu looked up from the coffee that she sipped. “Apparently it’s a good day.” She smiled at her best friend.
“Let’s see…what is the best day of summer in Diamond Bay? Think about it. Think about it.” She tapped her foot.
“Ice cream day!” Joey jumped up from the table. In the process he knocked over the remainder of his cereal. The bowl crashed to the floor with a splash.
“Oh, Joey.” Blu frowned and rushed to get a towel.
“Sorry, Blu.” Joey sighed and danced from one foot to the other to avoid the puddle of milk.
“No! No sad faces on ice cream day!” Maddie waved her hands through the air. “Okay, so we’re all going to have one of these.” She handed out hats that featured a scoop of ice cream with sprinkles on top. “This way everyone knows tha
t it’s officially ice cream day.”
“I can’t believe that you remembered.” Blu laughed as she tossed the towel and plastic bowl into the sink.
“You did tell me many times that it’s your favorite time of summer. Since you hadn’t had one yet, I thought the kids and I would join in. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it is.” Blu gave Joey’s shoulder a squeeze. “And Maddie’s right, no sad faces on ice cream day. Take your sister and get dressed, okay?”
“Sure!” Joey grabbed Marley’s hand and pulled her down the hallway. “It’s ice cream day, it’s ice cream day!”
“Ice cream, ice cream!” Marley shrieked with the kind of exuberance that only a four-year-old can muster.
“Can you give them a hand? It will get us to the ice cream a whole lot faster.” Maddie smiled at Brennan and Chrissa.
“I guess.” Brennan shrugged.
“I’m fixing Marley’s hair!” Chrissa ran after the younger kids.
Once Maddie and Blu were alone in the kitchen, Maddie stepped closer to her and lowered her voice. “I’m sorry for springing this on you. The kids’ dad has a court date today and I just wanted to do something to cheer them up.”
“How are they doing?” Blu frowned. “I forget sometimes that they are going through that.”
“I think they’re okay, but you know how hard it can be to tell with them.”
“Yes, I do. I think it’s a great idea that you’re doing this. It’s the perfect day for it.”
“Great.” Maddie smiled. “I have the treasure hunt all planned too.”
“Wow, Maddie. I’m impressed.” Blu finished her coffee and set the cup in the sink.
“I’ve learned everything I know from you.” She laughed. “I just hope that I don’t forget where I hid anything.”
“Let me just get a few things together and then we can start the hunt!”
Blu was eager to participate. It was even more fun that she didn’t have to plan it. Every summer she would declare an ice cream day and take the kids on a treasure hunt that would eventually lead them to their favorite ice cream shop. It was a great way to fill the day, and the kids loved the challenge of the hunt even more than they loved the ice cream.
Once she had everything she needed, she returned to the kitchen to find Maddie surrounded by eager, ice-cream-starved children.
“Alright, alright, let’s go!” Blu laughed.
She and Maddie led the kids down to the beach, which was only a few steps away.
“Okay, my hunt might not be as good as Blu’s, but all that matters is that it ends in ice cream, right, kids?” Maddie grinned. “The first clue is hidden somewhere on the beach!”
“What? That’s it? No other hint?” Chrissa flipped her hair over her shoulder. “That’s ridiculous.”
“It’ll be fun!” Brennan started to run off across the sand. “At least it’s something to do.”
Marley held up a bright red plastic shovel, ready to dig. Joey cupped his hands and dug in the sand also.
“Ready, set, hunt!” Maddie laughed and waved her hands through the air.
As the hunt began Maddie and Blu hung back while the children raced across the beach.
Chapter 2
“I’m really surprised you did all of this, Maddie,” said Blu.
“I took a page out of your book.” Maddie smiled. “You know, when you first suggested that I become a nanny, I thought you were nuts. Who would want to spend all of their time with kids? But now I think I get it. Sure, it can be difficult, but it can also be a lot of fun.”
“You basically get paid to play. What isn’t fun about that?” Blu grinned as she dug her toes into the sand. “I’m glad you gave it a try. If there’s one thing that’s great about kids, it’s that they never let you stay down in the dumps for long.”
“That’s true. Every time I start to think that I can’t go another minute without losing it, one of them will do something so absurd or adorable that I remember that this is the best job in the world.”
“I can agree with that.” Blu grinned. “Although sometimes I still wonder what it would be like if my first career choice had worked out.”
“It still could, you know.” Maddie studied her with a sympathetic smile.
“Maybe. But I don’t know. Everything changes so quickly, and I’m so out of touch with the newest standards. I still like to write my family newsletter to keep my brood in touch—that seems to satisfy my journalism bug.”
“That’s like running your own magazine with all of your brothers and sisters.” Maddie laughed.
“That’s true. The family reunion is coming up. You have to come.”
“Hm—I wouldn’t mind seeing your oldest brother again.” Maddie lifted an eyebrow.
“Maddie!”
“What? I’m single now.”
“So is he.” Blu shook her head. “He’s chronically single. Every time he gets serious about a woman he takes off to some new country to find himself.”
“I can’t blame him there. Sometimes I wish I had done that instead of rushing into marriage. You know, when we’re kids it seems like something to hope for—the loving husband, the cute little house, maybe a baby to cuddle, but that’s not what it is at all. Or at least it wasn’t that way for me, I guess.”
“I wouldn’t know.” Blu frowned. “Look at us. You regret taking the plunge, I wonder if I’ve missed my chance to even take the plunge.”
“Oh please, Blu, you have plenty of time. People fall in love when the time is right for them. You can live a life of untainted freedom and then decide to try out settling down in your eighties. That’s my new plan. Unless of course your brother wants company on his next excursion.”
“Maddie! Gross! Have you ever smelled his shoes?”
“Nothing a little air freshener can’t fix.” Maddie gave her a playful shove. “Don’t worry, I’m just joking. Besides, you and I are already promised to someone else. Remember?”
“Huh?” Blu looked over at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Please, don’t tell me that you don’t remember Alexander Dreme.”
“Oh! Alexander Dreamy!” Blu laughed so loud that the kids stopped digging through the sand to look up at her. Then they returned to their hunt. Blu thought they might dig up the entire beach before it was over.
“He was mine first.”
“No, he wasn’t. He tripped on your shoe and landed in your lap. That was a total accident, not an introduction.”
“All I’m saying is that I saw him first.”
“Do you remember those sketches he would draw?” Blu grinned. “We thought he was going to be famous.”
“I wonder if he is. I’ll have to look him up.”
“Do you think you can find him?”
“Are you kidding? With social media I can find anyone.”
“You have skills, lady.”
“If I find him, I’m not going to tell you though, or you might try to steal him.”
“He was mine first.” Blu laughed. “Remember the water fountain?”
“You cut in line in front of me! Otherwise it would have been me that he bumped into!”
Maddie and Blu were laughing so hard that they didn’t even notice that the kids had centered in on one area.
“I found it!” Joey shouted. He plucked a clue out of a pile of sand. It was a bright orange piece of paper. “Follow the trail of shells to the brightest bum on the beach.”
“Maddie?” Blu laughed.
“I didn’t say I was as clever as you.” Maddie grinned.
“Beach Bum!” Marley pointed toward the bar in the distance. “Beach Bum!”
“You’re right, Marley. Good job!”
The kids tore across the sand toward the Beach Bum.
“Hm, I wonder if AJ is having his annual brunch today?” Maddie smirked.
“Oh, you do think you’re quite clever, don’t you?” Blu bumped her elbow into Maddie’s.
“Innocent!”
She ran off after the kids.
Blu trudged along behind them. “I think I’ve created a monster.”
When they reached the Beach Bum there were plenty of cars in the parking lot. A banner hung over the entrance of the bar that declared the annual brunch for all of the local leaders of the community.
“But where’s the clue?” Joey looked around. “I don’t see anything.”
“The brightest beach bum.” Brennan frowned. “Maybe we have to look for a bright butt?”
“Brennan, it’s bottom.” Marley huffed.
“Oh, Maddie, you didn’t.” Blu looked over at her friend.
“He agreed to it.” Maddie grinned.
Chapter 3
Blu and Maddie stepped into the bar with the kids right behind them. Several large buffet tables were set up in the middle of the room. AJ stood in the center wearing bright orange pants.
“That’s pretty bright.” Blu raised an eyebrow.
“I was going to go with the yellow, but it washes me out.” AJ turned around and smiled at them. “This is for you.” He held out four tickets to the kids. Each snatched one from his hand.
“Thank you!” Marley smiled.
“Anything for you, princess.” AJ reached down and ruffled her hair.
“That’s it. You found the golden tickets.” Maddie clapped her hands. “Now you have to follow the path to the ice cream shop.”
As the kids began to scramble for the door, Blu started to follow after them.
“Blu, wait,” AJ said. “Can I talk to you for just a second?”
“I’m sorry, I have to catch up with the kids.”
“And I have a bar full of hungry people that think they are important. But I just want one second. Please?” He smiled.
Blu turned back to face him. It was the first time today she really looked him in the eyes. “What is it?”
“Hi.” AJ grinned at her.
“Hi?”
“How are you?”
Blu smiled. “I’m good. How are you?”
“Wonderful now.” He winked at her, then walked back toward the bar.
