Hang Ten Australian Cozy Mystery Boxed Set

by Stacey Alabaster

  I knew that was the sensible suggestion and what I ‘should’ do. I knew that. It was common sense.

  But we were both implicated by the suggestion that we had caught the wrong guy. Not just me. Not just Claire. If only I could talk to her. But I didn’t want to do anything to risk my own reputation. Now that I was going to have J with me full-time for six months, I was really going to have to be careful.

  And I was going to have to stay out of trouble.

  School was out for summer.

  “Where are we going?” J asked, pouting in the sun. I had made sure that she had worn her 40 SPF, but she was still getting a slightly burnt nose and was complaining that it was going to look red unless we got out of the sun. “And I will start to get wrinkles,” she said.

  “Oh my gosh!” I said with a laugh. “You are only nine years old! Wrinkles don’t even know you exist yet!”

  She put her nose up in the air. “Claire says that is it never too early to begin a beauty routine,” she said in a haughty voice.

  “Oh, did she now.”

  I wasn’t sure what had gotten into my niece in recent weeks and months. She usually wasn’t so sensitive to matters like this, but she was just at that age where she had started to get self-conscious about her appearance. She had never liked “girly” things before and always been a total tomboy and yet suddenly, she was interested in wrinkle cream? And what crazy ideas had Claire been putting in her head about needing that stuff when she was only a kid?

  I didn’t want to tell her we were investigating. That would only get her overexcited and all worked up. She loved to come ‘investigating’ with me, but it wasn’t always safe. For various reasons. So I told her we were going to look at flower girl dresses, which at least got her to get a move on even though she was still complaining about being too hot and getting sweaty.

  But the dress shopping—that was just a rouse. Kinda. I mean, we were going to the dress store if we had time, but I had somewhere else I wanted to go first.

  I promised her a soda if she skipped along.

  Matt had been in the surf with Dan Millen that day, but there had been another guy in the surf with them. I’d heard that his name was Michael. All I knew about him was what I’d seen: he had a shaved head and was decent in the waves.

  In the surf club, I was greeted by the manager and his white blond hair that was so fluorescent it was almost blinding. Funnily enough, this guy’s name was also Dan. Dan Fisher.

  “Don’t see you in here much these days,” he said drolly.

  The surf club had struggled for business ever since the mall opened up and everyone started to get their surf gear there. Like most people, Dan Fisher would know about my connection to Troy Emerald. Maybe he blamed me in part.

  He looked a little edgy as he stocked the fridge, and I asked if everything was okay. He stopped piling cans of soda and turned to stare at me. “Well, they are killing off surfers called Dan, aren’t they?”

  I shushed him a little because J was within earshot, even though I’d set her up at the pinball machine.

  “Is it true that the Surfboard Killer is back?” he asked me flatly, and there was real fear there in his eyes. “Did you guys get the wrong guy?”

  “You don’t have anything to worry about,” I said, sounding calm and firm. I lowered my voice. “That’s what I’m here about, Dan. I’m on the case.”

  He rolled his eyes and went back to stocking the fridge. Gees. Was everyone going to react to me like that now? Kinda rude. Considering everything I had done for this town.

  “I was just wondering if you’d seen Dan—Dan Millen I mean—or Michael before that night. Did they come in here at all?”

  He turned around and shook his head. “Nope. But wasn’t your brother also out in the surf with them that night?”

  I felt my face start to go red, and I saw that J had stopped playing the pinball machine and was now listening in. I had to get her out of there.

  Dan Fisher leaned over the counter. “Would be a heck of a convenience for you to put the wrong guy away to keep your brother free and able to…”

  I cut him off right there. J was looking up at me, worried. “Thanks for your time, Dan…”

  “But what about my soda?” J cried.

  Dan glowered at me smugly when I had to hand over three dollars for the can of grape soda. I hated giving him the satisfaction.

  “Come on, J. Let’s go find your perfect flower girl dress,” I said as I hurried her out of the surf club and down the sidewalk back into town.

  “Are we being followed?” J asked.

  “Don’t be silly,” I said, ruffling her hair. I laughed it off. And I did think she was genuinely being silly. You know, just kids imagining stuff. But I did keep one eye over my shoulder for the rest of the walk.

  11

  Who knows more than anyone else about what happens on a ship? The captain.

  I had no idea what Claire was doing on her side of the investigation, or whether she was even investigating at all. Maybe she was taking a stay-cation in her apartment and chatting to Roger about antiques. She may have been looking into a few lead—maybe—but I was pretty sure she wouldn’t have thought to call the captain of the ship. She’s not quite that forward thinking.

  But I took down his number and gave him a call the morning after the flower girl dress fitting. When he picked up, I introduced myself. “I’m one of the girls who was on the boat when Dan was…”

  “Oh, Claire!” he said. “Lovely to hear from you again. I was just thinking about our meeting.”

  Great. Ahem.

  “No, I’m not Claire. I’m Alyson,” I said.

  “Oh.”

  He sounded a little disappointed, but he agreed to meet with me in person at the pier. I put my phone away and reminded myself not to get too overconfident.

  There were always things we didn’t know.

  He was full-on wearing his captain’s hat when I met him later that afternoon while J was having a playdate at her friend Mandy’s house. I could not believe it. He looked like a cinematic cliché.

  But this was a guy who wanted everyone to know how important he was. What he did and what he was in charge of.

  Well, what he was in charge of was a stagnant boat with a gas leak. Nothing to be too proud of there, if you asked me. Of course, people rarely did ever ask me for my opinions, but I always had them.

  His skin was leathery and very tanned, which kind of surprised me. I figured he’d spend most of his time inside the decks playing pool and smoking cigars, taking it easy while the crew did all the real work. But it looked like he spent most of his time sunbaking. Possibly socializing. Fraternizing. I’d only known the man for a couple of minutes, but he’d already greeted me with a wink that was far too flirtatious.

  “Nice to spend some time with a local. You’ve gotta make the most of whatever your bad fortune brings you. And Eden Bay is a beautiful place to be trapped in.”

  At least on that point we had to agree. Actually, at first impression, this guy didn’t seem so bad, I supposed, apart from the winking. He kept talking about how much he loved the Bay and about how hospitable people had been to him. “Everyone is so friendly and welcoming here. I had several people offer me rooms in their house before that town meeting was even held.”

  I shuffled a little bit in the heat. I was starting to feel a little bit guilty about just how unhospitable I had been to Dan when he’d come to my apartment. Not even offering him my bed. Not that that gave him a right to steal my surfboard, and it certainly didn’t make me responsible for his death. Still, that would remain a regret of mine.

  I’d do better next time.

  And I could still do right by him now. I could find out who killed him and get justice for Dan.

  I just needed to find out who else was on that ship that night. Because there HAD to have been someone else. I knew that I didn’t kill Dan. And I knew that Claire didn’t. Well, she and her spaghetti arms weren’t on my suspect list
yet.

  “Should we go and get a drink?” Carl asked, nodding to one of the touristy restaurants just off the pier. “I’ve come to know the best places round here.”

  I could remember those footsteps I heard behind me. I remembered thinking at the time that it must have been Claire because it sounded like the clacking of heels and Claire always wore heels, even if the occasion didn’t really call for them—she’d always have an extra inch or two.

  But things had become very fuzzy on that boat. I wondered if my memories were skewed.

  I smiled over at Carl and raised a glass to him. “To Eden Bay.”

  I didn’t love the guy, I didn’t even trust him, but I had learned how to charm my suspects by then. Don’t accuse them outright. Pretend that you are on their side and sympathizing with them.

  He hadn’t taken his hat off, even when we’d walked through the restaurant, though we were out on the deck by that stage. I knew he was attached to the boat and his status as captain, so I was pretty sure that I knew how to play this.

  “Was the gas leak even that bad?” I asked, making a face like I couldn’t believe it was. “I didn’t smell any gas when I was on board.”

  Not a complete lie, either. I hadn’t noticed the smell, but I had definitely felt lightheaded.

  He made a face and laughed. “You know how strict people are with their rules and policies now. You have to adhere to a whole book of health and safety procedures or there will be lawsuits and blog posts and people will tear you apart on social media. Policy is to dock until the leak has been located and fixed, even though it could have been fixed with everyone on board and no one ever had to know it happened.” He rolled his eyes.

  I frowned, just a little. “When did you first notice the leak?” I asked him.

  He was taken aback by that question. “Er, a day or two before we docked.”

  “A day or two?” I asked, leaning forward a little. I didn’t want to get him too offside, but that was a little shocking to me. It was all sounding a bit “Titanic” to me, you know, ignoring the iceberg because you didn’t want to lose time and then the whole ship ends up sinking.

  He tried to backtrack a little bit. “Wouldn’t have been more than a day. Of course, when my crew noticed the leak, we followed procedure right away.”

  Right. And I’m sure the fact that customers had paid over two grand each to be on the ship had not factored into these procedures at all.

  “Still, it’s pretty rotten to tell a captain that he can’t even go on his own ship!” I leaned forward and whispered, “Surely you must have snuck on a few times since we docked? You have every right to.”

  But he wasn’t as cruisy and laid back as he was pretending to be and being accused of something untoward—no matter how subtly—pricked at him.

  He stuck a fork into his shrimp and munched on it thoroughly before he bothered answering my question. “I was not on that ship the night that guy was killed. If that’s what you are getting at.” He put his fork down and stared at me.

  I leaned back. Rats. Yes. That was precisely what I had been getting at. And he already knew my game before I got a real chance to play it. “I was out at dinner that night and I can prove it.” He smiled at me, smug in the knowledge that he had an alibi. “I was at a place called The VRI.”

  Matt was busy when I walked in, so I had to wait at the bar for a while for a lull. I kept checking my phone. It was getting close to 8pm, and J needed to be picked up from Mandy’s house by then or Mandy’s mother was not going to be happy.

  Matt looked a little hesitant to ask me how it had all been going with the investigation. I knew what his reservations were. Now that he was leaving and I was in charge of J, he didn’t want me getting into any dangerous situations. And the mud of the accusations was sticking. He’d already told me that I should just leave it be this time, let the police do it, but I was too stubborn to listen to anyone, especially my brother.

  “I’ve been speaking to the captain of the ship.”

  Matt nodded at me. “Yeah, I know who you mean. He was in here for dinner the evening that Dan Millen was killed.”

  Darn. I was already hoping that that had been a lie. But Matt seemed pretty sure of the fact. Said that Carl had been wearing his captain’s hat and everything. Yep. Sure sounded like him then.

  I wasn’t sure if I should say what I wanted to say, the thing that was on the tip of my tongue. Stupid Dan Fisher with his stupid white blonde hair had put the idea in the back of my head, and I just couldn’t shake it out. “Yes. The captain was. But you weren’t.”

  Matt made a face. “What are you talking about?”

  “You were in the surf with Dan right before it all happened. Claire and I were watching from the shore. There were only the three of you in the water. In fact, there were only the three of you on the beach at that time.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Alyson! What are you saying here, exactly?”

  I took a bit of a breather, just to adjust myself. I just wanted to know the truth, that was all. I wasn’t accusing Matt of anything. He just had to admit that he was one of the few who had been there. Maybe he’d seen something and for whatever reason hadn’t come forward with it so far. I knew that these surfer bro dudes tended to stick together.

  “You were surfing together…”

  “Yeah, and then I came straight here from the waves! I didn’t follow Dan onto the cruise ship, if that is what you are insinuating!”

  “Shh,” I said, asking him to keep his voice down. I didn’t exactly want my brother to publicly put his foot in it. Anyway, the footsteps I had heard were heels, and Matt always wore flipflops on the beach and anywhere he could get away with them. He’d wear them to work at The VRI if he was allowed. He wasn’t, though. They all had to wear closed-toe black shoes. Along with black shirts and black pants. I’d never seen my brother wear so much black in his life.

  “You’re the one who the papers are after,” Matt pointed out as he wiped down the bench with vigor. Wow. Nice way to turn it around on me.

  But this wasn’t going to become sibling vs sibling. Neither of us could handle our family being torn apart by rumors and gossip. J had to be our priority. I was starting to wonder whether I should just back off and stay out of it this time. What if I really had gotten it wrong the first time around?

  Why were so many people staring at me? “I feel like every eye in this restaurant is on me,” I whispered to Matt, feeling incredibly self-conscious.

  “Probably because it is,” Matt said. “Everyone is talking about you and Claire…” He paused for a second like he didn’t really want to say the words. “They think you are both guilty. Or at least, that one of you is. That there’s been some kind of coverup.”

  Time to get the heck out of there then.

  But before I left, I stopped and said to Matt, “If Claire comes in here, asking the same questions I did about Carl The Captain…well… Don’t tell her anything.”

  He sighed. “I don’t want to lie, Alyson.”

  “Matt. Please.”

  I wasn’t sure why I was even asking…but there was something brewing, and I knew that if it came down to Claire versus me, then it might be every woman for herself.

  It was the final dress fitting for the flower girl’s dress, and the shopkeeper—Miss Florence, a forty-something woman who wore pale white powder and plenty of blush—was trying to stop J from wiggling while she stuck the pins in to adjust it. J was not being cooperative. She was grumpy from lack of sleep and too much sugar the night before. I wasn’t in the best mood either. Mandy’s mum hadn’t been too thrilled with me either when I’d been almost an hour late to pick J up. “Hey, it’s a school holiday,” I’d said casually. “No big deal, hey? They can stay up a little later.”

  “That may be the way that you raise your child,” she said, “but I like to keep mine on a healthy schedule.” And she slammed the door in my face.

  Well, way to knock my parenting skills right before I took on the ta
sk full-time. Thanks.

  But maybe she’d had a point. J was pouting about the shape of the dress now and complaining that she didn’t like the color blue. Two days earlier, she had been fine with it. Surely she couldn’t be this fickle!

  “But blue is your favorite color!”

  “Not anymore,” she said, sticking her bottom lip out. “Now it’s purple.”

  “Oh, is it?”

  I didn’t like the idea of purple dresses though, and the flower girl’s dress had to match the bridesmaids. A whole swamp of purple seemed really heavy and overpowering compared to blue.

  Miss Florence took the dress off J and took me aside. “What about the bridesmaids?” she asked. “We need to get them in here for their fittings before the end of the week.”

  I wondered if there was a way to get Claire to come in for a dress fitting without me having to talk to her or have any contact with her at all. Probably not. Not if I wanted her to actually wear the right dress anyway—left to her own devices, she would probably wear a long, black, slinky evening gown.

  “I still need a little time,” I said.

  She put a hand on her hip. “Well, how much time do you need?” she asked, sounding a little appalled. “Because the wedding is in two weeks and this is already a rush order.”

  I had options. I could have my wedding without Claire being involved at all. That was certainly one of them. At that time, it seemed like the most logical choice. I mean, I was under police instruction to not have any contact with her. But this was my best friend. I couldn’t just not have her be a part of my wedding.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll see what I can do.”

  I knew I was going against police instruction, but I phoned her, out front of the bridal shop. Whatever else was happening, we had to put it aside for my wedding. Surely she would know that this was the most important thing to me?