Beaches in Paradise

by Kathi Daley

  Praise for the Tj Jensen Mystery Series

  “Daley’s characters come to life on the page. Her novels are filled with a little mystery and a little romance which makes for a murderous adventure.”

  – Tonya Kappes,

  USA Today Bestselling Author of Fixin’ To Die

  “Daley’s mysteries offer as much sizzle and pop as fireworks on a hot summer’s day.”

  – Mary Kennedy,

  Author of The Dream Club Mysteries

  “I’m a huge fan of Kathi’s books. I think I’ve read every one. Without a doubt, she’s a gifted cozy mystery author and I eagerly await each new release!”

  – Dianne Harman,

  Author of the High Desert Cozy Mysteries

  “Intriguing, likeable characters, keep-you-guessing mysteries, and settings that literally transport you to Paradise…Daley’s stories draw you in and keep you glued until the very last page.”

  – Tracy Weber,

  Agatha-Nominated Author of the Downward Dog Mysteries

  “Daley really knows how to write a top-notch cozy.”

  – MJB Reviewers

  “Kathi Daley writes a story with a puzzling cold-case mystery while highlighting…the love of home, family, and good friends.”

  – Chatting About Cozies

  The Tj Jensen Mystery Series

  by Kathi Daley

  PUMPKINS IN PARADISE (#1)

  SNOWMEN IN PARADISE (#2)

  BIKINIS IN PARADISE (#3)

  CHRISTMAS IN PARADISE (#4)

  PUPPIES IN PARADISE (#5)

  HALLOWEEN IN PARADISE (#6)

  TREASURE IN PARADISE (#7)

  FIREWORKS IN PARADISE (#8)

  BEACHES IN PARADISE (#9)

  THANKSGIVING IN PARADISE (#10)

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  Copyright

  BEACHES IN PARADISE

  A Tj Jensen Mystery

  Part of the Henery Press Mystery Collection

  First Edition | July 2018

  Henery Press, LLC

  www.henerypress.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from Henery Press, LLC, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Copyright © 2018 by Kathi Daley

  This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Trade Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-63511-380-8

  Digital epub ISBN-13: 978-1-63511-381-5

  Kindle ISBN-13: 978-1-63511-382-2

  Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1-63511-383-9

  Printed in the United States of America

  This beachy book is dedicated to

  my beach loving “daughter” Brennen Amber Daley,

  the best wife, mother, and friend, my son could ever

  have prayed for and I could ever have hoped for.

  Love you B.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  They say it takes a village and I have a great one.

  I want to thank all my friends who hang out over at my Kathi Daley Books Group page on Facebook. This exceptional group help me not only with promotion, but also with helpful suggestion and feedback as well.

  I want to thank the bloggers and reviewers who have pretty much adopted me and have helped me to build a fantastic social media presence. There are too many to list, but I want to specifically recognize Mary Brown from MJB Reviewers.

  I want to thank my fellow authors who I run to all the time when I don’t know how to do something or how to deal with a situation. I have to say that the cozy mystery family is about as close knit a family as you are likely to find anywhere.

  I want to thank my book club moderator Jayme Maness for the hours of fun, Bruce Curran for generously helping me with all my techy questions, Jessica Fisher for help with my ads and graphics, and Peggy Hyndman for help sleuthing out those pesky typos.

  I want to thank Randy Ladenheim-Gil for making what I write legible.

  I want to thank Art Molinares for welcoming me so enthusiastically to the Henery Press family, and a special thank you to the entire editing crew who have been so incredibly awesome and fun to work with.

  And last but certainly not least, I want to thank my super-husband Ken for allowing me time to write by taking care of everything else (and I mean everything.)

  Chapter 1

  Thursday, August 10

  The flickering glow of color produced by the bonfire on the beach created an eerie reflection on the still water of nearby Paradise Lake. The warm daytime temperature had cooled considerably once the sun set behind the distant mountain. I’d pulled on a sweatshirt but still felt chilled as I moved away from the warm flames toward the shadows, where I could be alone with my thoughts. My best friend, Jenna Elston, had taken my two half-sisters, Ashley and Gracie, camping, which meant my boyfriend, Kyle Donovan, and I had the entire weekend all to ourselves.

  Finally.

  Kyle and I had been friends for almost four years but had only become romantically involved in the past six weeks. We’d shared our first kiss in June but hadn’t really had a chance to explore our relationship before a few weeks ago. Tonight would be the night we’d take our relationship to the next level. An intimate level. A level I knew would change everything. I couldn’t remember when I’d been so happy and so nervous.

  “So, Tj Jensen, what has you so enthralled that you’re standing all the way over here by yourself?” asked Kyle as he walked up behind me and placed his arms around my waist.

  I glanced at the others gathered around the bonfire for the kick off to the school year gathering Serenity High School sponsored each year for the staff. While the group appeared to be having a good time, I had other things on my mind. “I was thinking about us and our weekend together. It’s been hard to wait for the right time, but now that it’s here, I’m glad we decided not to rush things.” I leaned into Kyle’s body and let his warmth melt the tension from the day. It had been a busy week at Maggie’s Hideaway, the lakeside resort where I lived and worked part-time when my dad’s away. Not only was my dad in Sacramento, meeting with the physical therapist who would help him through his recovery from the auto accident he’d been involved in at the end of June, but this weekend was Summer Festival at Paradise Lake, so I’d been going nonstop all week. I supposed only those involved in the tourist industry could really understand the amount of effort it took to get everything ready for the throngs of visitors who were expected to make the trip up the mountain from the larger cities in the valley below.

  “I’ve been thinking about the weekend as well.” Kyle kissed my neck. “Quite a lot, to be honest. In some ways I feel like I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.”

  “We’ve only been together for a little over a month,” I reminded Kyle as chills worked their way from my neck down my spine.

  “Maybe. But I think I knew this was where we were heading from the moment I met you.”

  I smiled and stared at the dark horizon as I replayed the memory of our first meeting in my mind.
I remember the butterflies in my stomach as I struck up a conversation with the handsomest man I’d ever seen. I’d tried reminding myself that he was a guest and therefore completely off limits, but even in those first moments of conversation, I’d known Kyle would play an important part in my life.

  “Do you have the whole weekend off?” Kyle asked.

  “No,” I answered regretfully. “But I have most of it. The staff decided to cut back on the number of Summer Festival events we’re hosting this year because my dad’s laid up. I volunteered for a few of the events in town, but I don’t have anything tomorrow and the only ones I’ll need to help out with at the resort are on Saturday evening.”

  Kyle kissed my neck. “So, until then?”

  “I’m totally, blissfully free.”

  Kyle tightened his arms around my waist and pulled me back against him. I leaned my head against his chest and gazed out over the large freshwater lake as the moon peeked from behind the distant mountain peak. “Did you see that?” I asked as my eyes focused in on a flash of light across the inky black water.

  “See what?” Kyle answered, still nuzzling my neck.

  I raised my arm and pointed, desperately trying to distract myself from the sensation created by Kyle’s lips as they dipped toward my collarbone. “I saw a light across the lake. I think it was coming from Rosenberg Island.”

  Kyle lifted his head, which allowed my heart rate to slow down just a bit. I could sense he was studying the water, although his hard body at my back confirmed it was still our weekend together that was on his mind. “I don’t see anything.”

  “It comes and goes,” I informed him. “You have to really watch. The light isn’t much more than a dim flash you’d most likely miss if you aren’t really focusing on it.”

  “It’s probably a boat, or possibly a headlight from the highway on the east shore reflecting off the water,” Kyle said as he lowered his head once again.

  The light I’d seen didn’t look like a boat, but the island was uninhabited and Kyle’s lips on my neck had started a tingling deep down inside that was demanding my attention. “I guess you’re right. Should we rejoin the others? Or perhaps you’d prefer to go back to your place?”

  I expected Kyle to enthusiastically agree with the idea of heading to his place and was surprised when he didn’t answer. I turned slightly and glanced at him. “Is everything okay?”

  “It looks like we have company.”

  I glanced in the direction of Kyle’s gaze and frowned. “What do you suppose she wants?”

  “I have no idea, but I have a feeling this isn’t a social call.” Kyle released his arms from around my waist and took a step back.

  I watched as Deputy Kate Baldwin, a petite and strongly opinionated new hire at the Serenity Sheriff’s Department, approached from the nearby parking area. She stopped at the bonfire where the Serenity High School staff were gathered and spoke to Principal Greg Remington. They chatted for a few minutes, Greg pointed in my direction, and she headed toward where Kyle and I were standing.

  “Kate,” I greeted as she approached.

  “Tj. Kyle.”

  “How can we help you this evening?” I asked in a syrupy sweet tone of voice I was far from feeling. Kate was the polar opposite of my good friend, Deputy Roy Fisher. I got along great with him and had helped him with many local investigations, but Kate was a stringently by-the-book sort of woman who had no use for amateur sleuths. To say the two of us clashed was putting it mildly.

  “Do you know Gina Roberts?” Kate asked, looking me directly in the eye.

  “I do,” I answered the woman I probably would have liked and admired had she not been an obstacle to my every move. “She’s a math teacher at the high school where I work as a coach and physical education teacher.”

  “I understand this is a party for high school staff. Is she here?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t seen her.”

  “Were you expecting her to be here?” Kate asked.

  I frowned. “Actually, I was. We spoke earlier, and she said she’d see me here. But she never showed, and I haven’t heard from her. Is there something going on?”

  “Do you know what Gina’s plans were between the time you spoke to her and the time she was to meet you here?”

  “She told me she planned to volunteer at the regional wakeboard competition being held in Thunder Bay this morning and then she was going to grab lunch with a friend. I’m not certain what her plans were between lunch and meeting me here. Again, I have to ask, is Gina okay?”

  Kate didn’t even acknowledge my question before continuing with another of her own. “Do you remember Striker Bristow?”

  “Of course I remember him. He was one of the prime suspects in Judge Harper’s murder investigation. What does he have to do with Gina? Why are you asking me all these questions?”

  Kate glanced at Kyle and then back at me. I could sense she was hesitant to fill us in. I tried to respect the fact that she was a professional and we weren’t, but there was no way I was letting this woman walk away without telling me what in the heck was going on.

  Striker Bristow was a developer who came to town with plans to build a strip mall. When the mayor tried to push back he came up with a plan to blackmail him. It didn’t work, but, personally, I had no use for the man.

  “You may as well tell her why you’re asking all these questions,” Kyle said after a brief pause. “You know she isn’t going to leave it alone if she thinks one of her friends is in some sort of trouble.”

  Kate looked at Kyle, and her face softened just a bit. Was the new deputy into Kyle? Sure, he was drop-dead gorgeous and smarter than pretty much anyone in town, but he was mine, and the new deputy had best keep her wandering eyes to herself. I was about to say something about women who poached in other women’s territory when Kyle took my hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. It occurred to me that his smile and friendly demeanor had been calculated. There was no doubt he was going to get more out of Kate with his smile than I was going to get with a tantrum.

  “Gina is wanted for questioning in the murder of Striker Bristow,” Kate began.

  “Bristow is dead?”

  “Shot in the back. Now, do you have any idea where I can find Ms. Roberts?”

  “I don’t know where she is, but there’s no way Gina killed anyone. Why do you even suspect her of being involved?”

  “The local highway patrol discovered an abandoned vehicle in a meadow near the intersection of Highway 89 and County Road 29 at approximately eight o’clock this evening,” Kate began. “It appears the driver of the vehicle swerved for some reason, causing it to leave the highway and hit a tree. A male victim was found dead at the scene. While I won’t have autopsy results until tomorrow, it appears he died of a gunshot wound delivered prior to the car hitting the tree. The victim has been identified as Striker Bristow. The car Mr. Bristow was found inside is registered to Gina Roberts.”

  “Wait. What?” A feeling of dread began to build inside me. “Gina has been in an accident. Is she okay?”

  “We’re uncertain at this point about her whereabouts or whether she’s been injured. The driver-side door was open and there was blood on the seat, but we didn’t find a second body.”

  “So what are you saying?” I asked as I tried to wrap my head around what she’d just said.

  “It’s our belief that whoever was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident left the scene.”

  “Voluntarily?” I asked.

  “We’re uncertain.”

  I felt a wave of dizziness as my heart began to pound. An image of Gina injured and scared flashed into my mind. I squeezed my eyes closed to shut out the fear and allow logic to return. If something happened to Gina I needed to keep a clear head. I needed to figure out what had become of her. “This whole thing doesn’t make sense. Are you sure that
the car where you found Bristow’s body is the same car owned by Gina Roberts?”

  “I just said as much,” Kate answered with a tone of impatience in her voice.

  “Why would Gina be with Bristow? As far as I know, she doesn’t even know him. And even if for some twisted reason she was in the car with the guy, why would she flee the scene? It seems reasonable if she were conscious after the accident she would have called for help. And if Bristow died of a gunshot wound, who shot him? Surely you don’t think Gina—”

  “It’s early in the investigation and we don’t yet have all the facts. There’s some evidence to suggest the driver of the vehicle may have been responsible for Bristow’s gunshot wound, but there’s also a very real possibility he was shot by a third party before either he or the driver entered the vehicle. Either way, the driver is a witness to what occurred. Now again,” Kates tone hardened. “I’m going to ask if you have any idea where I can find Ms. Roberts.”

  “Maybe the driver of the vehicle was someone other than Gina,” I continued. “Did you call her cell phone or check her house?”

  “We did. Ms. Roberts isn’t answering her cell and both her house and Mr. Bristow’s apartment are unoccupied.”

  I put up a hand to steady myself as I tried to process everything Kate was telling us. The whole thing was so absurd I was having a hard time believing a word she’d said. Gina and Bristow? No way. I turned to Kyle who was not only my boyfriend but a town council member. “I thought Bristow left town. You told me the town council had decided to pass on his mall project after what happened with Judge Harper. You told me Bristow was a low life and everyone knew it, and he was destined to be nothing more than a vague reflection in the town’s rearview mirror.”