by Lee Strauss
“Oh, I love Aunt Ginger!” Gloria smirked at Rosa before snatching the keys. “I don’t suppose you’d like to trade mothers?” She laughed before Rosa could come up with a suitable quip and hopped into the driver’s side of the Bel Air. In moments, the large engine rumbled to life.
“Why Do Fools Fall in Love” played on the radio, and Rosa mused at how apropos it was for her, the fool who fell in love with Miguel Belmonte, her former flame and, as fate would have it, no longer single.
Gloria, looking away from the road more often than Rosa would have liked, announced, “I’m sure we’ll see people I know at the boardwalk. In fact, you might run into some of your friends from high school.”
Though born and raised in London, Rosa had spent her high school years in Santa Bonita. Her parents felt an urgent need to get her out of harm’s way during the Second World War.
The highway wound along the coast. As Gloria chattered on about the fun fair at the boardwalk, Rosa gazed at the gleaming sun. The ball of fire hung over the beach and blue water rushed to the shore. The scene looked like a postcard picture. In the distance, she saw what must be the Santa Bonita Pier. Bright red bars lined a giant Ferris Wheel at the edge of the water.
Almost missing the exit, Gloria stomped on the brake and spun onto the ramp to guide them off the highway just in time.
“Gloria!” Rosa pressed a hand on the Bel Air’s sleek crocus-yellow dashboard. “For crying out loud!”
“Oh, chili-pop, honey.” Gloria glided around a bend that momentarily hid the ocean then continued along a curvy road that led them down a steep decline. Rosa didn’t relax until they were level with the water.
Gloria managed to squeeze into a parking spot without scratching the paint. Rosa could only imagine how Clarence, Gloria’s older brother, took to the odd scuffs that were sure to appear on the Forrester vehicles.
Rosa reached for her satchel. Diego was awake and no worse for wear.
“Hi, sweetie,” Rosa cooed and reached in to give him a pat. “You’ve already had your first fair ride, poor thing.”
Gloria pretended offence, blowing loudly through lips thick with tangerine-colored lipstick. She led the way to the back of the parking lot and down a short gravel path. Then, quite suddenly, the trail opened to more bright colors and tiny lights than Rosa had ever seen in one place. It was as though Christmas had come early and exploded across the pier.
“It’s stunning!” Rosa said, stopping. Now that they were closer, she could see not only the brightly lit Ferris Wheel set against the brilliant blue sky, but also several carnival game tents, a ride with spinning cars, and even a roller coaster! The salty air she’d become accustomed to in the last few weeks took on a new aroma with smells of buttered popcorn and warm sugar.
“It is, isn’t it?” Gloria grasped Rosa’s hand and pulled her toward the lights and the action.
“You’ll have to show me how it’s all done,” Rosa said while gazing around in awe. She slid her new Riviera sunglasses up on her forehead to get a clearer view.
They walked onto the base of the pier, and only now could Rosa see most of the exciting ocean side fair. A large platform sat off to the left, which seemed to hold most of the amusement rides, including the giant roller coaster that already made Rosa’s palms moisten. The Ferris Wheel turned its slow and steady circulations at the farthest end of the pier. Along the boardwalk and pier, numerous game tents were busy with customers and “carnies” or game operators yelling, “Step right up! Be our next winner!”
As they meandered down the pier, the dings and clanks and shouts of the loud carnival games were soon drowned out by lively upbeat swing music.
“Is there a band here?” Rosa asked.
Gloria answered glibly, “Mick and the Beat Boys are playing tonight. They’re often here on Fridays. Isn’t that great?”
Rosa’s pulse jumped at the mention of the band’s name. The “Mick” in question was the nickname of Detective Miguel Belmonte’s band. She groaned inwardly. So much for keeping her distance from the man.
Very few people were aware of the short but intense romance she and Miguel Belmonte had shared eleven years ago. Eleven years. The four months they’d spent falling in love was just a blip now on Rosa’s timeline, and ancient history, but despite her best efforts, her body still reacted to the mention of his name. This time her moist palms had nothing to do with the roller coaster.
“There’s an amphitheater just ahead, with a dance floor.” As Gloria lead the way, they were joined by a gaggle of ladies that Gloria recognized. She called out hello and waved, and the gaggle moved toward them. “See, I told you we’d know people here,” Gloria said.
We seemed like the wrong pronoun, but as Gloria leaned in to shake hands and cheek-kiss several of the women, recognition dawned. A few of the women were familiar to Rosa and a particular one was very familiar.
During her high school years in Santa Bonita, students of all ages had been combined in large school classrooms, for lack of teachers. More times than Rosa could count, they had turned out the school lights and blacked out windows when an oil field was bombed or a firebomb was discovered somewhere within the state of California.
“You remember Marjorie, right?” Gloria said, motioning to a pretty girl in a green A-line dress with a black and white polka-dotted under layer. She wore her bright red hair in a long ponytail.
“Rosa Reed!” Marjorie said with a glint in her eye. “It’s so nice to see you.” She sprung forward to give Rosa a hug, which momentarily surprised her. This very non-English custom of hugging at every hello and goodbye took some getting used to.
“Hello!” Rosa said. Marjorie Davidson was Gloria’s age and had transformed from a girl to a woman in the eleven years Rosa had been gone. “You’re all grown up!”
Rosa recognized Joyce and Pauline before Gloria could announce them.
“Hello, ladies,” Rosa said. They both wore less flashy dresses, Joyce in violet and Pauline in navy. If anyone needed a fuller crinoline, it was Pauline.
“Hi, Rosa.” Pauline’s voice was soft and gentle. Rosa remembered how Pauline had suffered with shyness as a child.
“Hi, Pauline. So, nice to see you again.”
Pauline covered her mouth when she said, “I forgot all about your accent!”
“I’d argue that you’re the ones with the accent,” Rosa said warmly.
Joyce grasped both of Rosa’s hands, leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Oh, Rosa! It’s been too long.”
To the brunette who only just stepped into the group behind Marjorie, Gloria said, “And you must remember Nancy.”
Rosa’s emotions were all over the map as she stared back at the woman with honey-blond hair who gaped back. Older now, Nancy Davidson—now Kline—had her hair styled shorter, and she a little more weight rested on her hips and face, but her round blue eyes and cute sky jump nose were unmistakable.
“Hello, Nancy,” Rosa said, stepping closer.
Nancy had been Rosa’s American best friend during her days in Santa Bonita during the war. Practically attached at the hip, they did homework together, discovered fashion and boys together, and ultimately, Nancy was the only one to know about Rosa’s forbidden affair with Miguel Belmonte.
The girls had continued to write after Rosa returned to London, but like with Miguel, the effort became too difficult. Because Nancy had invited Rosa to her wedding, Rosa had felt compelled to invite Nancy to hers. She had no expectation that Nancy would actually come. Or reply, for that matter, and she hadn’t.
Without smiling Nancy said, “I heard you were back in town.”
Whether Gloria’s impulse to pull the other girls away was an act of sensitivity or simply a need to move things along, Rosa was thankful for a moment to speak with Nancy alone.
“I’ve been meaning to look you up.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I ran into your mother the other day at the bakery. She said you’ve been busy. Three boys?”
“Yes, Eddie
Jr., Johnny and Mikey, ages ten, eight and six.” Nancy risked a smile. “A right handful. Mom’s so good about taking them once in a while so I can forget I’m an old married woman and pretend to be Marjorie’s age again.”
Rosa returned the smile. “It’s why I like hanging out with Gloria.”
“Are you here on your honeymoon?” Nancy’s eyes darted about in search for Rosa’s phantom spouse.
Rosa frowned. “I didn’t go through with the wedding. It’s a good thing you didn’t come.”
Nancy’s eyes grew round and Rosa saw a glimpse of her old friend in them. “Golly! Now that sounds like a story I’d like to hear!”
On AMAZON
About the Authors
Lee Strauss is a USA TODAY bestselling author of The Ginger Gold Mysteries series, The Higgins & Hawke Mystery series, The Rosa Reed Mystery series (cozy historical mysteries), A Nursery Rhyme Mystery series (mystery suspense), The Perception series (young adult dystopian), The Light & Love series (sweet romance), The Clockwise Collection (YA time travel romance), and young adult historical fiction with over a million books read. She has titles published in German, Spanish and Korean, and a growing audio library.
When Lee’s not writing or reading she likes to cycle, hike, and watch the ocean. She loves to drink caffè lattes and red wines in exotic places, and eat dark chocolate anywhere.
Norm Strauss is a singer-songwriter and performing artist who's seen the stage of The Voice of Germany. Short story writing is a new passion he shares with his wife Lee Strauss.
For more info on books by Lee Strauss and her social media links, visit leestraussbooks.com. To make sure you don’t miss the next new release, be sure to sign up for her readers’ list!
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Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my editors Angelika Offenwanger, Robbi Bryant, and Heather Belleguelle! I couldn’t do this without you guys!
My gratitude extends to my co-writer and overall partner in life and crime, Norm Strauss. Not only for helping me jump start this series with plotting, and jotting first drafts, but for joining me on this adventure called life. I really couldn’t do it without you.
Copyright © 2020 by Lee Strauss
Cover by Steven Novak
Illustrations by Amanda Sorensen
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Title: Murder at High Tide : a 1950s cozy historical mystery / Lee Strauss. Names: Strauss, Lee (Novelist), author. Description: Series statement: A Rosa Reed mystery ; 1 Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20200175505 | Canadiana (ebook) 20200175513 | ISBN 9781774090862 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781774090886 (softcover) | ISBN 9781774090879 (IngramSpark softcover) | ISBN 9781774090848 (EPUB) | ISBN 9781774090855 (Kindle) Classification: LCC PS8637.T739 M84 2020 | DDC C813/.6—dc23