by Molly Dox
Sunbaked Snowbird
Poppy Pepper’s Paradise Cove and Mini Golf
Molly Dox
Copyright 2014, Molly Dox
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Poppy Pepper's world just came to a stop. One of her guests, a snowbird from Pennsylvania, just turned up dead at her family’s small, retro camper resort. Paradise Cove and Mini Golf was a quiet vacation destination, popular with retirees looking to get away from cold winters up north.
As a one-time paramedic, Poppy missed the adrenaline rush of the challenging medic job. Channeling her unused energy, and with help from a friend, Poppy can't help but get herself involved in the case. Tangled in details, Poppy finds herself faced with multiple suspects and not enough clues.
Set in balmy Central Florida, "Sunbaked Snowbird" is perfect for a light weekend read. This cozy mystery is family friendly. (No foul language, no blood, no sex) “Sunbaked Snowbird” is book 1 in the ‘Poppy Pepper’s Paradise Cove and Mini Golf’ series.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 1
Reggie looked over at Poppy. “Did you do something different with your hair?”
Poppy shielded her eyes from the sun. “I colored it. You notice it now?”
They stood in front of the dead body that was baking in the Florida sun.
“How long do you suppose he’s been there?” Poppy turned to Reggie, knowing he was more schooled in crime being a sheriff, even though her own past as a paramedic helped her form an opinion.
“It’s hard to say.” Reggie tilted his head, and then looked to Poppy. “It’s nice, but I liked your hair better when it was lighter.”
“My hair again?” She shook her head. “Did you call dispatch?”
“Yeah, they have a couple of cars on the way over.” Reggie scratched his head. He might have been a sheriff, but seeing a dead body this close to home was unsettling.
“Did you notice his watch is gone? Look, there’s a pale strip that was normally covered. The rest of his arm is darker, well, burned actually.” Poppy commented, taking notice of the difference.
Vera Godshaw stood beside them with her arms clutched tightly across her stomach. The minute she saw her husband lying dead on the chair, she screamed like a howling monkey. She shook and rocked in place, trying to calm her nerves. Their winter snowbird trip wasn’t supposed to end this way. They came to Florida for the winter, since they’d retired. Home was in Pennsylvania the rest of the year.
Sirens cut through the air as they got closer. On arrival, a uniformed officer got out of his car. He nodded at the familiar face. “Reggie, how are you?”
“Good, good. We have a body over here; wife found him and realized he wasn’t breathing. Screamed, we heard it and came over.” He filled the officer in.
The officer turned to the woman. “Did you call 9-1-1 for an ambulance?”
She shook her head. “I was in shock. I screamed, and then these two came running and took care of it. Look at him. I’m not ready to lose you yet, Bernie. Why did you have to go and die on me?” She wiped her arm across her face, drying her tears.
Poppy chimed in. “Looks like a call to the coroner might be in order.”
“Yeah, I’ll get on that in a second.” He acknowledged and then turned his attention to Vera Godshaw. “I’m going to have to ask you a few questions, Ma’am. Don’t go anywhere.” The officer radioed dispatch letting them know the ambulance didn’t have to run hot and they’d need a coroner on site.
Poppy’s previous life experience as a paramedic gave her a strong stomach when it came to seeing dead bodies, though she’d been out of the field for as long as she could remember. When her mother died, she took over helping her father run their resort, Paradise Cove and Mini Golf.
Paradise Cove and Mini Golf was a staple in old Florida. It had been there for as long as she’d been living. Over time, its age was starting to show, but with a lot of hard work they were able to update it and made it a quaint and affordable option for those not looking for the standard hotel. The Orlando based theme parks were maybe twenty minutes away, but the resort offered a quiet atmosphere and a fair price. Unlike the crazy, busy theme park areas, once you got farther away it was true Florida. What people visited in the tourist land of ‘things to do’ was big business in Florida, but it was only a tiny segment of the large state.
The officer asked Vera some standard questions. The entire time, she couldn’t stop staring at the body of her husband, still propped on the lawn chair in front of their unit.
“When was the last time you saw him alive?” The officer jotted notes down as she filled him in.
“It was just after breakfast. He had his usual morning coffee, some breakfast, and then he came out to sun for a while. I stayed inside and was reading a book. I got absorbed and lost track of time. It wasn’t unusual for him to stay outside most of the morning. I came outside to ask him what he wanted to do for lunch. That’s when I found him.” She answered the cop between sobs.
“So hours had passed, you were inside reading a book all that time? Did he call out, did you hear anything, or did he say anything before he went outside. Did you hear any noises from outside?”
She shook her head. “It was a good book, I just kept reading. It’s what I do. I’m a bookworm. I didn’t hear a thing, but you know when you’ve been married for as long as we’ve been, you grow comfortable doing your own thing. A break from each other time to time helps, so we had our own morning routine.”
“Probably a heart attack, with his current age,” the cop stated. “I’m sorry for your loss Mrs. Godshaw.”
Reggie and Poppy stood aside, waiting for them to finish. By that point the squad had arrived and confirmed a coroner was needed. The paramedic on board confirmed the man was dead, but with protocol, the coroner was called in due to the unexpected and sudden death. Though an investigation would be a probability due to the fact that the woman didn’t call for help immediately and he was there for hours, and she never noticed. They’d want to know the man’s estimated time of death, and how it was caused.
Vera turned her back to her husband’s body. She couldn’t look anymore. “I’m going to be inside. The door is open if you have any questions. It’s just too hard to see him like that.”
Poppy followed her, trying to offer her condolences. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Can I get you anything? Make you some tea?”
“I’d really rather be alone right now. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I just never expected…” She stopped mid-sentence, pulled a tissue out of her pocket, and then blew her nose. “Anyway, I’m going to try to lie down for a little bit.”
“Sure, right.” Poppy let herself out, but before closing the door of the trailer, she turned to the woman in mourning. “If you need anything, let me know.”
“Thank you.”
“What happened? Bernie!” The high-pitched voice came from outside.
“Why that lousy, old hag; what is she doing here?” Vera jumped up and looked out the window. She came right back out behind Poppy. “You can just leave, now! You’re not wanted here. This is official business.”
“Bernie’s dead?” She turned and looked at Vera. “How did thi
s happen? Did you do this? You were always so jealous of me.”
Vera’s claws came out. “Me? Jealous of you? Ha, who would be jealous of a fake bleached blonde that’s all silicone and make-up?”
Reggie and Poppy turned to watch the confrontation.
The bleach blonde turned to the officer standing nearby. “What happened? Bernie is my ex-husband.”
“Ex,” Vera reiterated. “He’s since remarried. This is none of your concern.”
Poppy’s eyebrow went up. The ex-wife was here too. Things were getting interesting. How did they end up at the same resort? Or was it planned that way? Poppy looked at Reggie who was already thinking the same thing.
The sun was bright. It was another roaster of a day in Central Florida. Poppy wished she’d grabbed her sunglasses. She was rarely without them, but when she heard the scream, she was out the door in seconds. The last thing they needed was news of a dead person found at the resort. Even natural causes, nobody liked to know people died on vacation. It was never good for business.
Reggie turned to Poppy. “I need to get on with my day, I’m due in at three this afternoon, and I’ve got to make a quick pit stop at the house first.”
“Are you ever going back home, Reggie?” She meant well in asking. She liked his company. He’d moved into one of their camper units over nine months ago after his wife died. He couldn’t seem to go back home now that Gracie Jane was gone.
“What are you talking about? I am home,” was all he would answer, but he still couldn’t sell his house. He figured one day he’d go back there, but he just wasn’t sure when.
Chapter 2
Poppy asked Vera about the missing watch. “I noticed he usually wore a watch. What type of watch was it? It looks like it was missing from his wrist. There was a pale stripe where it would normally be.”
Vera sighed. “It was a gold Rolex; figures he’d lose it. It was a lower end one if you want to call it that, a basic model. It’s not like I was made of money or anything. I didn’t even notice it was missing until you said something. He was a gambler. I fear he pawned it, but who knows. That thing was a gift; I saved a long time for that. We were celebrating his retiring, and I knew his work would give him a cheap watch, so I’d been saving up and got him a really nice one. That man gave his company so many years of his life, and they find some discount watch as a thank you. It was practically made of tin, and a pocket watch. Who wears a pocket watch these days? Anyway, he’s worn it since the day I gave him the Rolex, never takes it off.”
Poppy thanked Vera for the information. “What can you tell me about his ex-wife?”
“You’re awfully nosy,” Vera answered.
“I’m sorry; I guess I’m just curious.” Poppy took it as a sign to back off. She’d go talk to the ex-wife and see if she could get any other scraps of information, like why she ended up at the exact same resort in Florida as her ex-husband.
Poppy Pepper had an insatiable curiosity, and a lust for knowing what was going on, especially after someone turned up dead at her resort. Well, hers and her fathers. Poppy Pepper’s Paradise Cove and Mini Golf was a family affair. Her parents had run it for years, and then after her mother’s passing, she came and helped her father run the resort, taking over the lead position. Her brother was too busy with his career to take over the task, so Poppy gave up her job as a paramedic in a busier town and moved back to the resort.
Panda Pepper, Poppy’s brother was a medical examiner. It wasn’t always easy having the name Panda, but he’d grown into it. Their parents wanted them to have creative and unique names, and found them cute and charming. Poppy and Panda on the other hand used to groan about the unfairness of having weird names that other kids made fun of. It took Poppy until her teens to finally appreciate your unique name when every other girl was a Jessica, Jennifer, or Katelyn. Panda on the other hand didn’t appreciate his name until his twenties, but he’d grown used to it.
Martin and Agnes Pepper were quite the pair. Martin still kept up pretty well, but as he got older, he slowed down. His hearing wasn’t what it used to be, but he swore he didn’t need a hearing aid. Agnes, God rest her soul, died a few years back. Nobody was completely surprised when she passed. Her hobby was a dangerous one, and well, it was always a possibility. Coming from a gator wrestling family, she refused to give up the adrenaline kick. Even into her old age, she never stopped, but boy her face would light up when she’d talk about her sport. Her family ran a gator camp for tourists, but once she married, her focus became Paradise Cove and Mini Golf with her husband, Martin, and the gator wrestling happened less and less.
Reginald “Rocky” Whitehouse moved in the park after his wife’s passing, and became part of the family of Paradise Cove. The only other semi-permanent resident was Chopper. He was an old stray cat that tangled in like tumbleweed, looking for food, and then lounged sunning himself all day.
Chopper was as much of a mess as Poppy was these days. His one ear was bent down and one of his eyes had swollen shut and never re-opened. When he showed up at Paradise Cove, he took to it immediately and adopted Poppy. He’d found his new hang-out and never left. Poppy wasn’t looking for a cat. She certainly didn’t need the responsibility of anybody relying on her, but Chopper wouldn’t have it any other way. She tried to scoot him away, but he just came back and made himself at home. Once she named him, she knew she’d accepted his companionship for what it was.
It was nearing check-out time, and after yesterday’s body incident, she was ready to put it behind them. A man in his thirties who stayed for three days, walked into the office with a smile. She couldn’t help noticing his watch. It was a gold Rolex.
“Nice watch,” she said, unable to take her eyes off of it.
“Oh, thanks. It was a gift from my wife. I need to check out.” He returned his key and settled his bill with Poppy.
“Can I see the watch? I’ve always wondered what makes the Rolex so special, like could I tell a real one from a fake,” she said.
The man slipped the watch off of his wrist and showed it to her. “Do you see the second hand? It’s smooth. In a fake, it doesn’t have the same motion. And a real one doesn’t make a ticking sound. Here, listen.”
Poppy brought it up to her ear and listened. Flipping it over, she noticed the engraving. It had his name on it, and was signed from his wife with love. Poppy handed the watch back to the man, hating that she’d jump to a conclusion so quickly on seeing the watch.
With a final few words, the man headed out to his car and left the resort.
She wanted to talk to the bleach blonde. What was her name again? She pulled the woman’s file. Cherry Jones, that’s right. Poppy wondered if she’d remarried or gone back to her maiden name after her divorce.
Panda had called earlier that morning with a tidbit of information he found interesting. The man that died at the resort had green felt beneath the surface of his nails. It was an odd finding. The only thing he could think of with green felt were the casino tables over on the reservation. They were investigating it as a possible homicide on the discovery of a few things. Also, he’d overdosed on Xanax, so they couldn’t rule out suicide.
Poppy stopped at Vera’s camper unit, one of the many Poppy rented out to snowbirds and tourists. The park had a retro vibe that gave it a charming feel in a tourist trap area. Being outside of the main destinations and tucked in a smaller town, it was a lot quieter.
“Mrs. Godshaw,” she said, knocking at the door.
The woman opened the door, looking worn and frazzled.
“What happened to you? Are you okay?” Poppy went inside when the woman opened the door.
“I haven’t slept. You know, with things going on. I’m thinking maybe I need to head back home and handle the details of Bernie’s death, but I’m not ready. I mean, it’s not like you’ll ever be ready for something like this, but I just want to be alone a little bit longer. I know the minute I go home, I’ll be flooded with people calling and visiting. I don’t thin
k I can handle that right now.” Vera plopped down on the small sofa in the camper.
“You can stay as long as you’d like,” she offered.
“Thank you. I’ll need to go eventually with a funeral and all.” The woman sighed.
Poppy hesitated and then finally asked, “Do you mind me asking something? Did your husband gamble?”
Vera nodded. “Yeah, he was spending way too much. I was nervous he’d end up gambling our retirement savings away. He wasn’t very good at it, but he was hooked.”
“Did he ever go to the casino down here?” She tried to ask without coming off too nosy. It was a fine line, but one she had to cross.
“Sure, during some of the afternoons. We’d have a quiet morning, then he’d head off for a while, and then we’d have dinner together. I’m not a gambler, but his nasty ex-wife was.”
“Oh, one more thing, did your husband take any prescriptions? They found Xanax in his system.” She watched the woman.
Vera’s shoulders tensed. “Yes, he had problems with anxiety. Why do you ask?”
“There was a lot found in his system. They’re wondering if he overdosed, maybe committed suicide or something. Was he depressed or did he mention anything about wanting to end his life? Had he been acting odd, done anything differently of late?”
“Oh, goodness.” She was rattled. “I thought he was happy. Well, we were happy. I don’t know, though he was burning through a lot of money way too fast. I hope he didn’t get in too deep. Oh Bernie, what did you do?”
“I’m sorry to have bothered you.” Poppy said and then excused herself.
Before she could leave, Vera mentioned she should probably be leaving soon. “I should head back to Pennsylvania sooner than later. I’m planning tomorrow or the next day. I just don’t know.”
“Like I said, take your time. As long as you need, or if you want to go early, it will all work out.” Poppy gave the woman a reassuring smile and then left. She headed straight to Cherry’s camper. Knocking on the door, nobody answered. Her car was gone. She’d have to check back later. As she turned around, she noticed the ashtray on the small table by the lawn chair in front of the unit. She bent to look, and saw a pack of matches had blown to the ground. Poppy noticed the name on the matchbook. It was from the reservation casino, Rock and Slots Casino. Interesting; she may need to pay them a visit. She couldn’t wait for Reggie to get back from his work shift, she wanted to fill him in on the latest slice of information she’d gotten.
