Hang Ten Australian Cozy Mystery Boxed Set

by Stacey Alabaster

“Never mind. Go, go.”

  She told me that Troy had actually come around to her side of things and then she ordered a giant stack of white chocolate pancakes with chocolate syrup. She told me she was not in training for anything at that moment, so she could eat whatever she wanted with no consequences. Well, I told her there would still be some consequences, and she told me to stop being such a Virgo.

  “I actually have some news regarding the case as well.” I stopped. Was this a ‘case’? It was starting to seem like one. I hadn’t meant to use that word. Sort of a Freudian slip.

  Alyson’s eyes grew wide. “Oooh, do tell!”

  I told her that I had been to the news station and spoken to Alex Higgles, one of the researchers. “Apparently, Meg could not swim.”

  Wow. That was it. That was the bait that Alyson had been looking for. She banged the table in excitement and tried not to squeal. “Do you know what this means?” Alyson said, leaning over and only bothering to lower her voice a tiny bit. “This means that Meg was dead before she even went into the water. I knew it.”

  “Now hang on, we can’t jump to any conclusions here…” But Alyson had jumped. She wasn’t even finishing her pancakes. She was out the door, leaving me to pick up the tab, yelling something about, “Save Sharkey!”

  But there was still doubt lingering in my mind. Meg’s inability to swim was an interesting cog in the machine, but it didn’t prove anything on its own. I decided that, for balance, I was still going to have to play devil’s advocate. Or at least remain impartial. I hadn’t fully come around to the “Save Sharkey” campaign just yet. Someone needed to keep a level head.

  When Matt texted me to ask if I wanted to hang out later, I had a sinking feeling. I started to type ‘yes of course,’ then erased the message and apologized and told him that I needed to take my cat to the vet. But Mr. Ferdinand was fine.

  9

  Alyson

  What a great day. I mean, seriously, what a great day to be alive. I waltzed down the streets of Eden Bay, the sun shining on my face, people high-fiving me as I passed. Well, they weren’t really high-fiving me, but they could have been. Truthfully, they were kinda just giving me funny stares. Ah well, who cared, nothing could destroy my good vibe.

  I passed the local news station and saw something that made my day even brighter. Ooh, the paper had been printed! I stopped and even through the window of the news agency, I could see that they had used a flattering picture that fully showed my “Save Sharkey” slogan on my chest. All right! Even more good news. I grinned and went inside to purchase a copy. Maybe Rachael wasn’t that bad after all. She was probably just overworked and underappreciated. I decided that I would send a bouquet of flowers to her office to show that I appreciated all her hard work. I mean, not expensive ones, just some that I could pick up from the grocery store. But I was sure that she would appreciate it nevertheless.

  I opened it, still grinning as I read the opening sentence about ‘an unusual choice of candidate.’ Well, that was true enough. Nothing wrong with being unusual. But then the article turned bitter. I gripped it and read it. “But the Foulkes family has a very dark secret…” It went on to say all kinds of horrible things about my sister and the fact that my niece J had been abandoned. And that I was a neglectful guardian for taking her down to the beach on the day that Meg had been found. That it was wrong for me to be teaching J to surf at such a young age and that I had put her in danger.

  What? Were they allowed to print this stuff? This was none of their business! How did any of this family stuff affect my ability to run for mayor? And then, of course, there was mention that I had been arrested for suspected arson—I didn’t do it by the way, completely innocent here—so that was just the cherry on top.

  The newspaper office was on the other side of the block. It wouldn’t take me long to get there. And I was definitely not going to pick up flowers on the way. I briefly thought about what I could bring—a brick? But no, there wasn’t enough time. And Rachael would probably write another article about it if I smashed a window.

  I stormed back into the office. I threw my copy of the paper down on the desk and asked Rachael how she slept at night printing those kinds of accusations about people.

  Rachael just stared at me without any emotion, let alone regret or guilt for what she had printed about me

  “The public has a right to know the truth about their candidates…”

  Okay, the fact that I had been arrested under suspicion for arson was one thing. I’d always assumed that was going to be used against me because it had only happened a few months earlier and everyone in the town knew about it. But some of this was old stuff and it was personal. And it wasn’t even about me. It was about my family. I didn’t want Matt and J reading any of this.

  “How did you even know this stuff?” I glanced around the bare office. “You told me you don’t have enough money for a fact-checker, and yet you dredge up old private information about my family?”

  Rachael gave me a cool stare. “You might want to take this up with a man named Dylan Fox.”

  Oh. That was just great. I knew exactly who Dylan Fox was.

  He owned Fox Real Estate, and he was one of the other candidates for mayor, along with Troy, myself, and an older woman named Melissa who ran a local cake shop.

  It didn’t take me long to walk around to Fox Real Estate. I saw his slicked-back hair through the window. He was one of those good-looking guys who knows he’s good looking. Who thinks that you have to meet certain standards to even be allowed to speak to him.

  And to be fair, he was probably the most likely candidate for mayor. The definite front runner. Troy Emerald had his supporters but at the end of the day, he was an outsider and not completely trusted. Melissa was nice enough but wouldn’t get the votes. And what was I? According to Rachael, I was just a joke.

  But Dylan Fox was taking the right path. He owned a realtor’s office. It was the sort of business that gave the impression that he was just a good, reliable local businessman. But he wasn’t. He was slimy.

  I wasn’t the sort of person he would usually associate with, but he recognized me as I stormed into the office. Of course he did. I was the person’s reputation he had just ruined. He didn’t even have the good sense to look sheepish. Instead he was trying to hide the smug grin on his face. He asked one of the receptionists to mind the desk for him while he “took care” of this and ushered me back out the front so that no potential homebuyers could hear my tirade. If they did, then they would know what kind of person they were really dealing with.

  “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Foulkes,” he said, making it sound as if it was anything but a pleasure. But he was the kind of man who knew the right things to say, the correct script to follow.

  “I didn’t know we were playing dirty,” I said.

  Dylan shrugged. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” He smiled but there was a glimmer in his eyes. He didn’t actually want me to think he was innocent. He wanted me to know that he was the one who had done it without actually having to admit to it.

  “Well, you may not believe in karma, but I do,” I said, storming off. “And what goes around comes back around, buddy.”

  Calvin was lounging in the sun on the small patch of beach that had been reopened to the public. It looked like he had actually fallen asleep.

  I stomped up to Troy, who was—to his credit—holding the fort down for me again. For some reason, he had really taken the “Save Sharkey” campaign to heart and he was getting more and more involved by the minute. “Whoa, what’s wrong?” he asked when he saw that I was not just outraged, I was genuinely upset.

  I told him about all the horrible things the paper had printed. “I would show you a copy, but I already threw it on the floor of Rachael’s office in a fit of rage.”

  Troy laughed. “I can only imagine.” He shrugged. “And I don’t need to read it. I know you, Alyson. The real you. I don’t have to read about you in the
paper. And give the other people in the town some credit. They all know you as well.”

  Didn’t he know I was outraged here? And rightfully so! “You need to stop being so reasonable,” I said. “Dylan Fox is a slime-ball. He probably ruined my chances of getting elected.”

  Troy shrugged a little. “Take it as a compliment.”

  Wow. “How is slander supposed to be a compliment!”

  Troy looked amused. “It seems obvious to me. If Dylan Fox didn’t see you as an actual threat, he never would have bothered to go to the papers with that stuff.”

  Huh. My rage simmered down a little. I guess in that case, I wasn’t such a ‘joke’ candidate after all. Dylan Fox must have seen that I meant business, and he must have known that I would strike a chord with the public. So this was just his best shot at taking me down.

  “Don’t underestimate yourself, Alyson.” Troy sounded reassuring. “People in this town are clever, and they see you as one of them. I think you have a real shot of winning.”

  “Well, don’t you go trying to undermine my campaign then,” I said with a little ‘ha-ha’ added onto the end.

  Troy’s face suddenly turned serious. “I would never do that.”

  I smiled at him and saw all the work that he was doing to help Sharkey, and I started to feel a little guilty.

  Because I had dirt of my own on Troy. In fact, the entire reason I had decided to run for mayor was to stop Troy from winning. Troy didn’t know that. It had all gotten so complicated now.

  Feelings have a habit of complicating things. Why do we have to go having these darn things?

  But I had to step back and take a look at the bigger picture. And I didn’t mean my sign. I meant, the whole point of running for mayor was so that one of the good guys won. And I knew things about Troy Emerald that made him seem like a not very good guy at all.

  I just didn’t know if I was going to be able to pull a Dylan Fox and use it.

  10

  Claire

  The new books on sharks had arrived with glossy covers that showcased menacing jaws. I believed they were going to be morbid bestsellers. There was still a blank space to display books in the window, just waiting to be filled. I picked up one and temporarily placed it in the window display to see how it looked and considered it. Too on the nose? Or just good business sense?

  Or was there a third option?

  There was another box, full of books, also sitting on the floor near the counter. Normally I hated leaving things lying around, but I hadn’t quite been able to bring myself to take my own books out the back. Or burn them or whatever Bianca thought I should do with them. So I kept tripping over them, not quite sure what to do. The books were in limbo.

  Bianca had gone back to the city. Her prying eyes were gone for a few days. Her French perfume still lingered in the shop, but at least it was no longer making my eyes water.

  “Hello, hello,” a voice called out.

  “Oh.” I stopped what I was doing. “Hi, Maria. It’s been a little while.”

  “Too long, dear,” she said with a small smile.

  We had been on the outs since I found out that Maria was taking books from the shop and replacing them with the ones she thought we should be stocking. But she entered sheepishly now, wanting to be friends again.

  “The town is pretty dead with the beach closed,” Maria pondered. I’d never seen her in such a sour mood in the fifteen years I had known her. She usually wore long colorful robes and gowns, but today she was wearing a smock in a shade that I wasn’t sure whether you could call blue or grey. Either way, it was as dreary as her face.

  “Oh!” Maria gasped, finally cheering up when she saw the cover of my book. “Well, what are those still doing sitting in the box, dear?!”

  I shrugged a little and explained Bianca’s view that selling the books in the shop looked tacky and desperate. “You know, I suppose it does make me look a bit egotistical.”

  “Are you kidding? This is just what the town needs right now….” She pulled one of the books out and studied the blurb like it was a menu of delicious items. “Once word gets out, we can finally make this town a tourist attraction again. Everyone will want to buy the book from the author, and then they’ll be able to tour the town and see all the places mentioned in the book!”

  Hmm. She had a very valid point. And anyway, even if she didn’t, why was I letting Bianca dictate to me what I could do with my book in my store?

  Bianca wouldn’t be back in Eden Bay for three days. And while the cat was away, the mouse would put her books up for sale.

  “Help me unpack them,” I said to Maria as I raced to the front of the shop and started clearing a second shelf in the window display. These bad boys were going to need more than just one shelf.

  “I will get the word out!” Maria said with a wink just before she left. “You are going to become Eden Bay’s bestselling author by this time tomorrow, Claire Elizabeth Richardson!”

  11

  Alyson

  Boy. When problems start, they just keep growing. Piling up on your plate like food that you didn’t want to eat. My mayoral campaign was in jeopardy. Matt was distancing himself from me. Claire was still acting cagey. And I didn’t know what to do about Troy. But I had to save Sharkey. That still had to be the number one priority.

  Calvin was looking a little dejected as he kicked the sand. It was slightly overcast but warm. We were technically a little closer to the water than we were supposed to be, even though there was still very little chance of any shark walking on the sand. “I think the campaign is running out of steam, Alyson.”

  I thought he was talking about my mayoral campaign for a moment. “Why do you say that? It was just one bad cover story.”

  “Huh? What are you talking about, Alyson? I’m talking about Save Sharkey.”

  Oh right, good. He didn’t even know about me running for mayor. “Ah, right. You might have a point there, Calvin.”

  I heaved a heavy sigh. Even though we had gained some traction early on, and I had gotten some people to listen to the stats and to realize that killing the sharks was pointless, fear had set in and overtaken people.

  They wanted their beach back.

  I stared out into the empty waves. Well, not really empty, of course. Just empty of humans. It was like the wildlife had taken back what was rightfully theirs. Kicked us out.

  I mused over it. “Doesn’t it seem wrong that we are going to go in and kill the creatures who live there, instead of just staying out of their home?”

  Calvin nodded. “Fair point. I wish more people saw it that way. But would you really give up surfing?”

  I shrugged a little. “I’d weigh it all to see if the risk is worth it, like I always do. But if it’s not, then no, I don’t think my right to surf is greater than an animal’s right to live.”

  Calvin seems to have grown a new-found enthusiasm upon hearing this. “Then we need to do something.”

  I grinned at him. “I already have.” I reached into my pocket and fetched my phone, showing him the blog I had started. It was really more of an alternative news site. If the local news website was going to keep publishing articles and blog posts saying that the quicker we caught the shark, the safer we would all be, I was going to present the other side of the story—that the quicker we caught the shark, the more danger we would all be in. Because what kind of planet were we going to become if we killed off members of the Earth, just because they were a little bit different than us?

  I had written a three-thousand-word rant on the subject with a few ‘scientific’ facts woven in. I thought it was highly convincing. Calvin read through it and I saw his facial expressions change from intrigued, to unsure, to downright confused as he got further and further through the article.

  Calvin handed the phone back to me. “It was an interesting read.” He paused. “But won’t extreme views like that kinda hurt your chances at being elected mayor? Even though it’s anonymous, people will be able to figure
out it’s you.”

  I was slightly deflated. “Oh. So, you do know about that then.” I was kinda embarrassed. I knew it was very uncool of me to want to get into politics.

  “Saw the paper,” he said with a grin. And he didn’t seem to think it was uncool at all. In fact, it was the opposite. “I reckon you can make a real difference if you get elected.”

  I stood up straighter. I reckoned I could as well. I could show not just Eden Bay but all of humanity what we needed to do to get this planet back on track. My political career could start out small and local, in Eden Bay, but who knew just how far my reach could stretch?

  “If only I could get elected in time to save Sharkey.” The election was two months away and there was no way the beach was going to remain closed that long or that the cull could be paused that long. I’d be dreaming if I thought that.

  “But you can still use your increased public profile to help the cause.” He nodded down at the phone. “You don’t even need to stay anonymous. You can use your real voice and your real name.”

  Was he right?’

  12

  Claire

  A new customer walked in and looked around like she was a little lost. She frowned and scoured the shelves. I didn’t recognize her. An out-of-towner. But I was pretty sure I knew what she was looking for. I asked if I could help her. “Someone told me you were selling copies of a new murder mystery, and that the author worked here?” She looked around, but there were only bare shelves where the books had once sat.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, a little breathless. “We are all sold out!” I was grinning though, which probably didn’t make me look very sorry at all. In fact, I was thrilled. Every last copy of my book was gone and people were still coming in asking for it. I told her that I had already ordered another box and with advanced shipping, they should be in the store by the end of the week. “Meanwhile, there is an electronic version if you want to grab that.”