A Novel Crime: The Prequel for the St. Marin’s Cozy Mystery Series

by ACF Bookens

  “Oh, but you and Walter can come visit anytime. It’s a direct flight from San Francisco to BWI. I’ll have a place near the water.”

  “Of course, we’ll come visit, but that’s not why I’m crying,” he said as he wiped a tear from his cheek. “I’m crying because you’re doing what you want to do for the first time in years. I’m so happy for you.”

  Now, I felt the tears coming, so I quickly gave him a hug, told him I was off to give my notice, and made plans to grab lunch with him later that day.

  * * *

  I kept my spa day with Melissa Ward, who was the perfect audience to hear the whole tale of my freezer saga, as I was now calling it, while beautiful people polished my toenails and rubbed the tension out of my still-exhausted body. When I told her I was moving back East, she had squealed with delight. “Your own bookshop? That’s so exciting. I can’t wait to come see it. Let me know if you need help finding a location. I love scouting.”

  I actually had bigger plans for Melissa, including a query about her own interest in being an investor in the store, but I’d also take her up on the offer to help me find a shop.

  “Plus, we can do spa days and then go sailing,” she said as she hugged me tight at the end of a very relaxing day at the salon. “I love sailing. My treat of course.”

  As I waved and watched her walk up Jackson, I’d found myself grinning. I had another friend, a friend who liked me and who I liked too. That felt good.

  * * *

  My best friend, though, hadn’t been as thrilled about my decision. But Mart said she understood, said she’d come visit. Within two weeks, though, she’d decided she was moving with me “We’ll be roommates.”

  I was ecstatic. I loved my friend, and the idea of having someone to come home to – someone who would actually be home sometimes – felt amazing.

  Mart had been running one of Sonoma’s best wineries for ten years, so it was a snap for her to find a job at an up and coming winery just outside the town I’d loved since I was a child. We found a beautiful cottage on the water within walking distance of town. It was going to be a lot of work starting a small business in a tourist town on Maryland’s eastern shore. But I was ready. So ready. St. Marin’s, Maryland, was waiting.

  * * *

  Before we could go, I had one last goodbye to say. I met Delaney at the café where we’d been supposed to have our first date just a few days before I moved. We’d stayed in touch via text. I really liked him, and I think he felt the same. And if circumstances had been different . . . I did want to say goodbye in person, though, thank him for saving my life. Mart wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but I knew I needed to do it.

  When I arrived, he stood from the table, hugged me, and whispered, “You look amazing” in my ear.

  I felt the color rush to my cheeks as I said, “Thank you. You look great, too.”

  He did. A deep purple suit, almost black, was fit to his muscular body in a way that made him look both casual and pulled together. I almost regretted that I hadn’t decided to date him after all.

  “I’m so glad I get to see you before I leave.” I looked down at the napkin I was wringing to death in my hands. “I feel bad. I mean you saved my life after you thought I stood you up, and then I told you—“

  “Harvey, stop. You know what? I appreciate the honesty. Really. I was disappointed, of course, because you are amazing. But I don’t need more games in my life. I have enough on the football and the dating field. It’s fine. Really.”

  I still felt bad for hurting him, even in this mild way, but I knew I’d done the right thing. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Of course. Now, are you ready to eat?”

  “Am I ever not ready to eat?”

  * * *

  During the week of October that is summer on the west side of San Francisco, Mart and I loaded up the last of our things in our giant moving truck, got the thumbs up from Coach that our car would not come off the trailer somewhere in Colorado, and pulled out onto the 101 North for our great trip East. I was going to miss this city something fierce, I knew it. But a new adventure–my adventure—awaited.

  A preview of Publishable by Death

  St. Marin’s Cozy Mystery Series - Book 1

  It was a brisk March morning as I walked away from the cove toward Main Street in St. Marin’s, Maryland. In the shadow of the buildings, I was just beginning to see the tops of daffodils poking up their heads, but today, I tugged the hood of my long sweater up higher on my head and pulled the collar of my peacoat closed. Short hair was perfect for the warmer days – and for owning my ever-graying locks – but in these cold months, I sometimes missed my long ponytail. Spring was coming, but it didn’t feel much like it today. We’d had ice overnight, and while the temperature had gone above freezing already, the roads were still wet and ice hung to the edge of puddles.

  Still, I practically skipped down the sidewalk, even though skipping isn’t always that flattering on a slightly plump forty-four-year-old. I didn’t care. This was going to be the first weekend my new bookstore was open.

  I slid my key into the lock on the front door of the old gas station and put a little muscle into turning it in the glass-fronted door. As I swung it open, I took a minute to enjoy the little bell above my head as it chimed. That bell had been hanging over that door as long as anyone in town could remember, so every long-time resident of St. Marin’s told me when they stopped by to say hi and take a gander at the newest shop in their – I mean, our quaint town. I loved that bell, not just because it was part of the charm of this building, but because I looked forward to hearing it when it meant people were visiting my bookshop.

  I had just come back to St. Marin’s the previous October. I visited when I was a kid on a summer trip from our family home over near Baltimore, and I’d never forgotten the charm and friendliness of this waterside community.

  I hadn’t had much time to socialize since coming back though. I’d hit the ground running because I wanted the shop open as soon as possible. I needed the income to help build my book inventory, but also to be able to help pay the mortgage. My best friend Mart – an expert on wineries – was helping cover the bills for our house since she had a good paying job at a local up-and-coming winery nearby and was consulting all over the East Coast. I felt kind of bad living off of Mart’s generosity, especially since she had basically followed me here from the West Coast when I’d decided to live my dreams and open a bookstore back here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, but I knew that Mart didn’t mind and that I’d pay my friend back in time.

  Today, though, I needed to finish painting the brick walls at the front of the store. I loved the charm of the old red bricks that I figured had probably been made nearby, but years of smokers and exhaust had made them dingy and smelly . . . so a good whitewashing helped spiff them up and made the shop look cozy instead of dirty. I wanted the place to recall the old gas station that it originally was, just not too much.

  I had to get the window displays ready, too. In the north window that had once been the station office, I was putting up a collection of books about Harriet Tubman, the woman St. Marin’s was honoring this weekend in their annual Harriet Tubman Festival. Tubman had been enslaved just down the road a piece, and this annual festival honored her memory and her work on the Underground Railroad while also trying to educate people about the history and continuing legacy of slavery. Local historians and genealogists were going to be giving talks all over town, and I was hoping that Catherine Clinton, the woman who wrote my favorite book on Tubman, might come by and sign the copies of her book for the shop since she was in town for a presentation at the local library.

  In the other window, which had opened onto the actual garage section of the gas station, I wanted to put out some of my favorite gardening books, including titles that ranged from how to build and maintain a raised-bed vegetable garden to how to start a cut flower business. I’d asked around about what kind of gardeners were in the community and quickl
y found out that St. Mariners were passionate about their plants. I took that intel to heart and stocked books in a sizable garden section near the rear of the store, where I had also placed a wingback chair upholstered in floral fabric, one of my favorite antique store finds.

  The rest of the store was equally cozy with big armchairs, lots of tables where readers could set a mug of something warm, and dog beds positioned strategically to accommodate any pup, but especially Mayhem, my new rescue puppy. Mayhem had been named Maxine at the shelter, and I had picked her because she was – it seemed – the calmest in the litter. As soon as I got her home, though, the little gal had started chewing anything wooden that she could find – a beautiful piece of driftwood I had picked up on Bodega Beach, one of the wine barrel staves that Mart had brought home to use for a sign by our house, even the table leg of the farm table we had purchased at a yard sale back in November. Plus, Aslan, my cat, took immediately to hiding under my bed anytime the puppy was nearby because the dog desperately wanted to be her friend. I had started calling her Mayhem as a joke, and the name stuck.

  Fortunately, the Black Mouth Cur – a friend on Facebook had told me that was Mayhem’s breed after seeing a picture – had no affinity for chewing books. She was already a fixture at the shop, often taking up residence in a sunbeam coming through the north window while I worked. If nothing else, her presence was sure to bring business if the number of people who stopped to talk to her through the glass was an indication.

  Today, I had left her home to rest up. I hoped tomorrow’s shop traffic would be heavy, and Mayhem insisted on greeting everyone who came in. The puppy needed to conserve her energy.

  Once, on a trip to visit a friend in Denver, I had visited a bookstore in Frisco, Colorado, and had loved that the owner’s Bernese Mountain Dog had free reign of the shop. I had vowed then and there that I’d have an open door policy for pooches if I ever was able to fulfill my dream of owning my own bookstore.

  My own bookstore. I stopped mid-paint stroke and let out a long heavy breath. I’d done it. I’d finally done it. Tomorrow, I was opening my own bookstore. I shivered a little with excitement.

  The bell rang over the door, and in came Woody Isherwood, the town woodworker. Woody was a white man about seventy, short and stout like a teapot, and I imagined he had been able to lift most anything back in the day.

  I had come to know him when Mayhem had gotten her teeth into an antique table at one of the local store’s sidewalk sales and I had needed to buy the table and then have it repaired. Woody had done a splendid job of turning the small console table into a cute little stool that was perfect for that garden section wing chair. So, when I decided I wanted a wood-burned sign for the shop, I’d contacted Woody first thing.

  Now, here he was, ready to hang his creation. The sign was made from several planks of reclaimed wood that Woody got from an old tobacco barn down the road, and the shop name – All Booked Up – was burned deep into the gray wood. It was the perfect blend of rustic and nautical, and I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.

  “Woody, thank you so much. I can’t wait to see it up there.”

  “You’re most welcome, Harvey. But before I hang it, I have a question for you.”

  “Sure.” I sat down on the edge of the platform I’d built by the south window for future readings by local and visiting authors. “What’s your question?”

  Woody looked a little sheepish behind his silver beard, but he looked me in the eye and said, “Your given name Harvey?”

  I smiled. I got this question a lot, especially from the old-timers over here in the rural Eastern Shore. One old fellow had even gone so far as to say, “That’s a man’s name. Your folks must’ve wanted a boy.”

  “My name is Anastasia Lovejoy Beckett. At least that’s what my birth certificate says, but I never felt much like an Anastasia, and Lovejoy is what everyone called my granny. So somewhere along the way, my dad just started calling me Harvey, and it stuck.”

  Woody grinned. “I could call you Stacy if you’d like to go back to your roots.”

  “No thank you,” I nearly shouted. “Harvey is just fine.”

  Woody laughed and then glanced out the window. “Ah, there’s my assistant for the day.”

  I stood up and saw a thin, dark-haired, white man in coveralls coming to the door. I ran a hand through my short, graying hair and was embarrassed to find it coated in a thin layer of paint splatter. You can’t take me anywhere.

  The door chimed, and the man walked in. Woody nodded at the man. “Harvey Beckett, I expect you know Daniel Galena from the garage up the street.”

  “Nice to meet you, Harvey.”

  I took a step forward and used the second to catch my breath. This man was super handsome in down-home kind of way, and he had a dimple in his right cheek. I never had been able to resist a dimple. “Ah, you’re the infamous St. Marin’s mechanic.” I put out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  His smile grew. “And you’re the brave woman who has decided our decrepit gas station needs new life.”

  I felt the color rise to my cheeks. “It’s a beautiful building. I’m honored to fill it again. Do you read?”

  This time, Daniel blushed. “Oh no, ma’am. I mean I love books, but I’m not much of a reader myself. More hands-on.” He held his hands out in front of him, and I noticed that they were calloused and a bit dirty. It was endearing.

  “Ah, well, we’re not all book people in this world. For my part, I have trouble finding the thingy that releases my hood, and the best description of a car I can give is its color. I drive a blue car, for the record.”

  “A midnight blue 2012 Subaru Outback,” he said without hesitation.

  “You’ve seen my car.”

  He grinned. “It’s a small town, and I know cars.”

  Woody cleared his throat, and Harvey realized that she’d kind of been flirting. The woodsmith gave her a wink and said, “You ready to help the lady with this sign?”

  “Yes sir. Let’s get this up so that it’s ready for grand opening. Tomorrow, right?”

  “Yep. I hope you’ll both come. We’ll have food and The Watermen – the band not the actual fishermen – are going to play. It’ll be a fun night.”

  “The Mrs. and I will be here. I hear it’s alright if we bring along Missy.”

  “Of course. Children are always welcome.”

  Woody let out a roar of a laugh. “Oh Missy’s our Chesapeake Bay Retriever.”

  I blushed and smiled. “Well, still true. Definitely bring Missy. Mayhem will be here. We’re a dog-friendly shop.”

  “In that case,” Daniel said, “Maybe I’ll bring Taco.”

  I felt my smile grow wider. “Not your son, I take it.”

  It was Daniel’s turn to laugh. “I don’t have any kids, and I certainly hope I wouldn’t name one of them Taco. No, he’s my Basset Hound.”

  “I love Basset Hounds.” As if this guy wasn’t already catching my eye, he was the owner of one of my favorite breeds. I was probably doomed.

  Woody opened the door, and the bell rang again. “We’ll get this up in a jiffy, Harvey. See you tomorrow.”

  I had been excited before, but now, people were really coming. Dogs, too. And Daniel, well, that might just be a little bonus.

  * * *

  Chapter 2

  When I woke at six, Mart was already up and making breakfast. Even at this early hour and after a wild week at work, she looked like she’d just stepped out of a J. Jill catalog with her messy pony tail and rosy cheeks. On some people, this kind of natural beauty – dark hair not yet graying and clear, glowing skin – might make me a little jealous, but on my best friend, it just fit the kindness of her spirit. “You can’t go to your grand opening on an empty stomach. Bacon, eggs, and some of those scones from that little patisserie over in Annapolis. You sit. I’ll bring it over.”

  I wiped the sleep from my eyes and tried not to trip over Mayhem – who had strategically positi
oned herself below the bacon pan – as I made my way to the table. I noted that Aslan had wisely found a perch on top of the bookshelf in the dining room. She too hoped for bacon, but she knew it best not to try the dog’s overzealous attempts at friendship when fried pork was involved.

  As I perched on a bar stool, I said, “You didn’t have to do this. You’ve already done so much.”

  “Oh please. It’s the grand opening of the bookstore that we’ve been working hard to open for five months now. It’s the least I can do. You saved me from the uppity world of northern California wineries and brought me to this place where the very little bit I know about wine seems like I invented the stuff. I’m a valuable commodity over here, and I like it.” She tossed her hair like she was walking the runway and returned to the stovetop.

  Mart was trying to make light of the notoriety she’d already gained as an expert in wine operations. She was the head of marketing at the local winery, but as soon as she’d arrived, other wineries had asked for her help in promoting their places. Fortunately, she was able to do both because she loved the local spot but also thrived on the travel and time with people. She was every bit the extrovert to my introvert self.

  This weekend, she’d turned down a really impressive – and well-paying opportunity – near Charlottesville, Virginia to consult with a celebrity winery owner just so she could be here for my grand opening. I was very grateful because I wasn’t sure I could do this without her, but I still felt a little guilty.

  Mart set a huge plate of food in front of me and then placed a small saucer of eggs up on the bookshelf for Aslan. My best friend had been totally suckered into believing that poor cat was suffering, and that chubby feline was not going to dissuade her of that delusion.

  I looked down at Mayhem. She was sitting up, head on my thigh, hopeful. She knew the bacon was an unlikely treat, but maybe some of those eggs would make their way to her waiting mouth. I gave her a scratch and then tucked into the food.