by Maia Ross
I found Violet at the edge of things like she usually was. I was tired, but a deep sense of satisfaction had settled inside me. Tomorrow, I was sleeping in. Maybe Violet had been a bad influence on me, or maybe she was right that I needed to spoil myself a bit more. I’d think about it.
She was sitting in one of the Muskoka chairs on the dock. My prized boat bobbed up and down beside us. I settled myself in the other chair, then handed her a scotch.
“Irma,” Violet said.
“Yes?” My first sip went down beautifully.
“Tell me something.”
“I’m on the edge of my seat.” I grinned.
“Why is your boat named Vitamin Sea? There’s no sea here. It’s a...” She gestured with her glass. “It’s just a lake.”
I laughed. “Oh, that’s not just a lake, dear.”
She squinted at me. “So what is it, then?”
“I think that’s for you to figure out.”
“What an unusually cryptic comment, even for you,” she said wryly.
“Thank you.” I looked over the water. “You know, my boat was originally owned by someone who lived on the French Riviera. And maybe she’ll be on the sea again someday, Violet. You just never know. She might be old, but she’s still mighty.”
She nodded and looked at the drink in her hand.
“You know…” I turned so she could see the look in my eyes. “I am so grateful for all your help. You cracked the case wide open. You’re an excellent investigator.”
Her snort echoed out over the water. “I am not an investigator.”
“All evidence to the contrary.”
She shook her head. “I just want to have a nice, relaxing vacation.”
“And so you shall.”
“Can you promise that people are going to stop shooting at us? No more dead dudes in the driveway?”
“How could I possibly? I’m not the one doing the shooting, dear,” I said reasonably.
“Can you at least make sure there are no more murderous shrinks running around?”
“Since April is one of the only psychiatrists on the island… No, I can’t do it. I’m sorry. I can promise you there will be tennis, though.”
“Irmaaaaaa!”
“And sailing. I signed you up for tennis lessons at the Club and we’re going sailing with Stu tomorrow. You’ll love it.”
“Remember the talk we had about boundaries?” she asked.
“Not even a little.”
She sighed dramatically.
“Violet, is it supposed to be ironic that you built a company based on solar power?”
She giggled. “I never thought of it like that. But don’t forget, our solar panels power stuff that happens inside houses. I’m an inside girl, Irma. Nothing you can do about that.”
I leaned forward in my chair. “Young lady, I’ll have you know that I noticed you enjoying yourself the other day on the boat.”
She half snorted, half laughed, holding a hand up. She looked terribly guilty.
“I’m not going to dwell on it, but I just wanted you to know that I know. You were smiling, looking out at the horizon. And little gears were turning in your head. I know you caught some vitamin sea.”
“Maybe,” she said, pretend-grudgingly. But then she grinned at me.
We were quiet for a moment.
“What’s going to happen to Charlotte?”
I took a sip. “It’s hard to know, dear. She’s under house arrest at her estate for now. The police and the crown attorney are discussing what to do in terms of charges. She’s eighty-six, you know. But she has an excellent attorney, so that helps.”
“What about Richard?”
“Oh, I’m hoping he can’t afford anywhere near as good of a lawyer. But he’s been arrested and charged with uttering a death threat. And the news has picked it up quite nicely. Whatever happens to him, he won’t be back here.”
“Good.”
The scotch warmed me all the way to my toes and I mulled on what to do next. Violet was hiding something, I knew it deep in my gut. And I’d found that people were sometimes more forthcoming when you admitted something private of your own to them. I reflected on the moment when I’d thought about the people I trusted. Violet could be one of those people. If I let her.
So that’s why I turned to her and said, “I’m a retired British intelligence agent. Of course, I’ll have to kill you if you tell anyone.”
She got scotch up her nose, the poor thing. When she was done coughing, she said, “One of my business partners has just stolen all the company’s money.”
I laughed. It was a terrible thing, but kind of funny, too. People just insisted on being awful. “Well, you can stay here as long as you want.”
“Thanks…Irmie.”
After exchanging a look, we fell into a companionable silence. And I remembered how much I’d wanted to sit on this very dock with an old friend and a strong drink, watching the sun go down. But what about a new friend? What would that be like? I had a whole new life of my own to explore now that I was retired, new paths to take.
I tilted my head. It would all work out. It always did.
So we cheersed each other and watched the sun finish its work for the day. It was a beautiful moment, the sky streaked with reds and oranges, the boat bobbing beside us, the house behind us full of loved ones, a stiff drink in our glasses. And each and every one of us was safe. Keeping people safe was all I really knew how to do, and I’d done it. We’d done it.
For now, at least.
__________________________
Check out Peace on Earth, a Christmas novella full of festive stuffed beavers and Irma’s quest to solve a holiday crime. Now available from Amazon.
To stay in the loop about new releases, contests, and giveaways, please sign up for Maia’s monthly newsletter.
Also From This Author
“A lovely holiday novella” Shayna Krishnasamy, author of The Sickroom.
Crime never goes on holiday...
Irma Abercrombie is an energetic retiree with a shadowy past,a mean right hook, and a profound love of Christmas. Surrounded by seasonal joy—and way too many stuffed Yuletide beavers—at the island house her family has owned for generations, she’s all set for the perfect holiday.
But when a young friend asks for help with figuring out a financial snafu, her perfect day is in jeopardy. Can Irma—a woman with a yen for strong tea, cardio, and a well-oiled gun—find a thief before the festive season kicks off, or will Christmas be ruined? An Irma Saves Christmas novella.
Available at Amazon.
About the Author
Maia Ross is the author of Peace on Earth, the first book in the Irma Saves Christmas series, and new release Vitamin Sea, in which Irma joins forces with nerdy sidekick Violet Blackheart in the first book of the Beaver Island mystery series. The second book in the Beaver Island Mysteries, Dead Calm, will be released in April 2021. The second novella in the Irma Saves Christmas series and a third Beaver Island mystery will be published December 2021.
Maia spent almost twenty years in the tech sector, and is an avid sailor. She makes her home in Toronto with her better half, John.
To be notified about new releases, contests, and giveaways, please sign up for Maia’s monthly newsletter. You can find her online at www.maiarossbooks.com.
Acknowledgements
A big shout out to all my beta readers for their terrific feedback: Morgan at My Beta Reader, Dustin Porta, Anna Albo, Flora from Brockway Gatehouse Literary Services, Lee from Ocean's Edge Editing, Marta from The Cursed Books, and Elizabeth at Binocular Edits. Copyediting by Jade at Jade Writes Books, with proofing by Morgan at My Beta Reader.
Extra special thanks go out to Shanya Krishnasamy and Carolyn Taylor-Watts for all their help and support and feedback. I am also extra grateful to Maia McViney for her help and general wonderfulness.
Finally, thanks so much to my smismar, John. Sa oled äge.
Maia
Decemb
er 2020
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission of the author. All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover by MiblArt
© Maia Ross 2020 — All Rights Reserved
v 1_0