She continued down the beach, but Dianna caught up with her. She cried out as Dianna pulled her hair, and knocked her down to the ground.
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Lydia said.
“Really? Because I think it’s the perfect plan. You’ll have decided to drown yourself because you can’t deal with your guilt after killing the realtor. Your brother should be willing to believe that. Especially if I put the realtor’s pen in your pocket.”
Anger coursed through Lydia’s veins. She pushed Dianna with all of her might, and the other woman fell back into the sand. Then, Lydia began running again.
She was near the rocks that jutted out into the water. She knew that there was a lifeguard stand nearby. There might be a possibility that Daniel was there.
She began yelling as she raced by the rocks but soon saw the lifeguard stand was abandoned. The rain must have kept him away too.
Lydia was trying to formulate a new plan when Dianna caught up with her again and tackled her. The two women began tussling near the rocks. Between the rain and the spray from the ocean, it was difficult to see.
“Stop fighting back!” Dianna demanded.
Lydia had no intention of doing that, but after Dianna grabbed her head and forced it to collide with one of the rocks, she felt her resolve failing. Her head throbbed, and she was struggling to remain conscious as Dianna pushed her into the water.
Lydia moved her arms as best she could to try and keep her head up so she could breathe, but she knew she was in trouble. The world was starting to look hazy, and things were starting to stop making sense. She coughed as water hit her in the face. She thought that she heard someone yell freeze, but then she began to sink under the water.
Lydia coughed up water and rolled over. She was lying on the sand, and the rain was still falling down. She coughed again and tried to make sense of what was happening.
Daniel placed a towel around her shoulders. She looked up at the lifeguard, and he said reassuringly, “You’re going to be all right. An ambulance is on its way, but you’re breathing now.”
“You saved me?” she croaked.
“Well, I did half the work,” Daniel said.
She looked where he gestured and saw Leo nearby on the beach. A furious Dianna had her hands cuffed behind her back. Leo had his weapon trained on her, but his focus was all on Lydia.
“Is she okay?” he called.
“She is,” Daniel said.
Lydia pulled the towel closer to her and took a few deep breaths. Then, she joked, “Now, do you believe me?”
Epilogue
“The ladies at my salon are going to be so jealous!” Trina said.
“There’s no reason to be,” Lydia assured her. “Mouth to mouth resuscitation is nothing like a kiss. There’s nothing romantic about it. I would have been dead if Daniel didn’t act.”
“So, he’s sort of a hero?” Trina asked.
The two women were in Lydia’s kitchen the day after the ordeal. She needed some time to recuperate, and her best friend wanted to keep her company. However, after everything that had happened, Lydia couldn’t keep still. She was in her kitchen creating some new tropical taffy concoctions.
“He is a hero,” Lydia admitted. “But so is my brother. And I think what I did was pretty heroic too. I was the one who figured out who the killer was.”
“And you went after her alone! What were you thinking? You should have at least called me.”
“I thought I had backup,” Lydia protested. “It was just that Dianna figured out what I was up to. Luckily, Leo was a little suspicious. He headed back to the shop and sent Detective Grey to go to the realtor’s alone. Leo saw Daniel on the boardwalk, and when they saw all the taffy on the floor of the shop, they began to search for me.”
“And it sounds like they were just in time,” said Trina with a shudder. “Honestly, Liddy, I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.”
Sunny barked from her pillow on the floor.
“Right,” Lydia said as if she understood what the dog said. “There’s no use worrying about that now.”
She heard a knock at the door, and Trina hurried to answer it while Lydia worked on the taffy. A moment later, Leo joined them in the kitchen.
“I just wanted to check that you were okay,” he said as Sunny strolled up to greet him. “But it seems like you are in very capable hands. And paws.”
“Thank for checking. And for, you know, saving my life.”
“You’re my sister,” he said. “You know I love you and I’d never let anything bad happen to you.”
“But you were willing to believe that I was a killer?” Lydia challenged.
“Maybe all that was part of a cunning plan to get the murderer to reveal herself,” said Leo. “Or maybe I was a bit jealous and pigheaded. I know you’re a good person. I’ve just been upset and confused about Uncle Edgar’s death.”
Lydia placed the taffy down so she could hug her brother. “He loved us both very much. I know that.”
Leo patted her back. “I know.”
“I’m not going to cry,” Trina mumbled to herself.
Leo and Lydia both rolled their eyes at this reaction from their friend, and then they both laughed.
Leo placed his hands in his pockets. “I’m probably always going to wonder why he left you a taffy shop and left me nothing. It was easier to blame you because he’s not here to talk to. But it’s not your fault. And I’m sure he had his reasons. And I’ll work on dealing with this.”
“It might help you deal with it if you actually try some of her taffy,” Trina suggested after wiping away the few tears from her eyes.
“Well, maybe one piece,” Leo said, relenting. He picked up a blue taffy from the counter that was finished. “What’s this?”
“Blueberry pie,” said Lydia.
“That’s new?”
She nodded, and he ate the candy. He made an encouraging noise as he chewed.
“This is great!”
“She’s going to sell them in her shop,” Trina said, proudly. “All sorts of new flavors.”
Lydia nodded. “I’ve decided to sell all the flavors I’ve been experimenting with, and I’ll add and change flavors every week. The real reason I want to own a taffy shop is to share my creations with the public, and this is the best way to do it. I also think that people will be avoiding the former most popular pineapple taffy for a while.”
“Maybe,” said Leo. “After I’m done here I’m going to go talk to that reporter. I’m not going to say “no comment” now that the case is closed. I want everyone to know that you had nothing to do with the murder and that Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets is a great place to visit.”
“Thanks, Leo.”
“No problem.”
Lydia couldn’t help grinning after Leo left. Things weren’t perfect between the siblings yet, but they felt more like a family again. It looked as if her taffy shop would survive the tragedy and her new flavor menu should bring in the tourists. Now here she was making a new delicious treat with her best friend and faithful Frenchie mix. What could be better?
“What are you grinning about?” asked Trina. “That things are better with your brother? That the taffy shop will be a success? Or are you thinking about that kiss with the rugged lifeguard?”
“It wasn’t a kiss!” Lydia protested. Trina laughed, and she knew her friend was just trying to get a rise out of her.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” said Lydia. “And even if he did save my life and I can admit that he is handsome – I still know next to nothing about him.”
“Well,” Trina said, giving her a mischievous smile. “It seems like you do enjoy a good mystery.”
This time Lydia joined in with the laughter too.
Author’s Note
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