by K. M. Morgan
Daisy McDare And The Deadly Directorial Affair
K.M. Morgan
Pick up more K.M. Morgan books here: http://www.amazon.com/K.M.-Morgan/e/B00PKMMLZK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
If you want to be the next to know about my new releases, sign up for my mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/7Wt8L
Prologue
How could this have happened again? Daisy McDare couldn’t believe it. Another redecorating job, another dead body. It seemed too surreal to be true, yet there was no denying what was right before her eyes. So much for business as usual.
Things weren’t supposed to be like this—certainly not in Cozy Creek. Daisy lived in a quaint tourist town nestled along the Pacific Coast. The residents worked hard to build up its reputation as one of the safest places to live in Canada. Now all their efforts were being frittered away.
At first, Daisy thought an independent movie being shot in town would be a boon for tourism. She was happy to get the job as one of the film’s set decorators. Things quickly turned south. Soon the Hollywood hoopla turned into lights, camera, murder.
Chris Crumple, the town’s bumbling detective, was determined to take his time with this investigation. Crumple had jumped to conclusions too quickly on his last case and it blew up in his face when Daisy became the one to find the real killer.
Crumple hated the idea of being upstaged by an interior decorator again. He had a box full of jelly donuts, enough coffee to wake up a hibernating bear, and was eager as a beaver to find the killer himself.
Cracking this case wouldn’t exactly be a piece of cake however. The victim had a flair for making enemies. That meant suspects weren’t in short supply, nor were murderous motives.
As much as Daisy wanted to keep her distance from her burgeoning reputation as a decorator detective, she had behind the scenes knowledge from the set. She’d seen how the suspects interacted with the victim. Some of those conversations weren’t pretty. And in the end, maybe that insider information would be the key solving this murder.
Chapter One
One Day Earlier
Why couldn’t real life be like a romantic comedy? Daisy McDare found herself asking just that. Things would be so much easier then. Heartbreak would be fleeting. Handsome, single men would be plentiful. One-liners would be zinged. Awkward conversations would be non-existent. More importantly, a happy ending would be a given.
The same could not be said for reality. It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying. Daisy pursued love like a dog chasing after a bone. Unfortunately, she seemed to be spending too much of her time running around in circles.
Daisy didn’t know what she was doing wrong. She was a delightfully curvy, attractive thirty-three year old interior decorator with a generous heart and a whimsical sense of humor. Surely that would tickle some man’s fancy, right?
It appeared like Gavin Watson would not be that man. Gavin was the latest guy to make Daisy want to turn to chocolate for comfort. It wasn’t entirely his fault however. Daisy had been a little too ambitious with her affection.
Gavin made it perfectly clear he’d been through a hurricane of heartbreak. Daisy intellectually knew she should have given him more time to heal, or at least tiptoe her way into a romance with him. Instead she decided to act like an Olympic high diver. With Gavin still trying to heal old wounds, their coffee date led to a serious romantic face plant.
Thank God for chocolate. It was one of the few things left in life that never let her down.
***
That night after finishing her set decorating work on the new indie movie filming in town, Daisy made her way over to Sweet Tooth, her best friend Samantha Johnson’s dessert shop.
Daisy wasn’t sure what suited her taste buds best, a double chocolate cupcake or a fudge brownie. The correct answer ended up being one of each. Her mouth was soon happy, even if her heart was still aching.
Samantha Johnson’s life couldn’t have been more different. She had a devoted man in her life—a chef named Trevor Thompson who worked at a French restaurant across town. Having a happy relationship made all the difference in Samantha’s calm demeanor.
Instead of eating dessert and fretting about her weight, Samantha was able to indulge with her boyfriend. Of course it helped that she’d found someone who appreciated a woman with curves. She just hoped Daisy could do the same one day.
Usually Daisy was the one who was jealous of her friend. With Daisy’s new redecorating job however, the tables had turned.
“I still can’t believe they’re making a movie in Cozy Creek,” Samantha said.
“You mean trying to make a movie. By the way things are going on the set, it will be a miracle if this thing gets finished,” Daisy insisted.
“I smell drama.”
“Really? Because I smell butter toffee. Can you say delicious?”
“Why don’t you tell me the behind the scenes scoop?” Samantha suggested.
“They haven’t even started filming yet and there’s already been some serious meltdowns,” Daisy said.
“Don’t keep your best friend waiting. Tattle like a tabloid.”
“It’s almost too much to keep track of. The director and producer are fighting, same with the director and writer, not to mention the director and the actors--”
“Sounds like the director is really easygoing then?” Samantha deadpanned.
“The man has an ego the size of the Canadian Rockies,” Daisy replied.
“Nah uh. A director with an ego? That could never happen,” Samantha joked.
Daisy laughed. “The problem is, he got taught all these artsy fartsy things at film school, yet he’s directing a light mystery movie called ‘Nothing Bundt Homicide.’”
“I don’t know. ‘Nothing Bundt Homicide’ sounds pretty highfalutin to me,” Samantha joked.
“Yeah. It’s right up there with the artistic merits of ‘The Strawberry Shortcake Strangling,’” Daisy said.
Samantha laughed. “How are things going for you?”
“I’m just trying to stay under the radar. The out of sight, out of mind philosophy suits me best.”
Granny Annie Johnson then stepped out from behind the counter and invited herself into the conversation. Annie was an eighty year old widow, but had the energy of a woman half her age. She was the original owner of Sweet Tooth, but had handed off the business to Samantha recently. Even though Granny Annie wasn’t still involved in the day to day running of the shop, she still hung around the place plenty.
That was a more recent development. At first, Granny Annie fully embraced her retirement. When her long term husband died however, she suspected him being idle in his golden years played a factor in his death. She vowed to keep busy after that, and had stayed true to her word. But nothing was quite as active as her mouth. The woman held nothing back. She’d say whatever was on her mind, without thinking twice.
“I’ve always thought they should make a movie of my life,” Granny Annie said.
“What would they call it, ‘Granny Gumshoe’?” Samantha asked.
“As much as I love cracking the cases in those mystery novels, I just haven’t had time to play super sleuth lately,” Granny Annie replied.
“That’s right. You’ve been too busy with Saul Silverman, right?” Samantha smiled.
“Are you kidding? Saul couldn’t keep up with me. He needs a woman that wants to eat dinner by five and go to bed by eight-thirty. The way I see it, you’re only retired once. I need a man who
isn’t afraid to be old and bold,” Granny Annie declared.
“You tell them Annie. Who says you need to slow down just because you’re in your eighties?” Daisy asked.
“Exactly. Especially since I met Vincent Walters. The man knows how to keep me up nights, that’s for sure,” Granny Annie boasted.
“Good for you,” Daisy said. She and Samantha exchanged winks.
“How about you Daisy, have you roped a young buck yet?” Granny Annie asked.
Samantha gritted her teeth and shook her head at her Granny, not wanting to bring up Daisy’s romantic misfortune.
“I’m afraid the only romance I have in my life is from watching chick flicks on television,” Daisy said.
“What’s wrong with men your age? Don’t they know a good woman when they see one?” Granny Annie asked.
“Maybe they don’t think I’m a good woman,” Daisy bemoaned.
“Then they’re just darn fools. I guess they just don’t make good men like they used to,” Granny Annie said.
“At least they still make chocolate like they used to,” Daisy replied.
“Speaking of, a slice of chocolate cheesecake is calling my name,” Annie insisted.
Chapter Two
While Daisy went home to watch a romantic comedy on television that night, Granny Annie put on her dancing shoes and hit the town with her new beau. Luckily, the morning brought another day, and hopefully another opportunity to meet a new man. Or at least Daisy prayed it would. She smiled ruefully to herself thinking of Granny Annie out all night while she went to bed early.
Even in her darkest romantic hours, there was one male Daisy could always depend on, her trusty West Highland Terrier Shamus. Her furry companion always found a way to bring a smile to her face—even if Shamus was fond of dawn patrol wake up calls.
Daisy wished she could find a man like Shamus—loyal, playful, and with a good heart. Maybe the dog park would provide just that man. Even if it didn’t, little Shamus needed his time to run around and frolic with other four-legged friends.
If it were up to Daisy, she’d skip the dog park and just take Shamus out for a walk around their neighborhood. Unfortunately, Shamus wouldn’t burn off his abundant energy that way, and Daisy would most likely return home after work to an apartment filled with chewed up furniture.
The danger of going to the dog park however was Daisy’s fear that she’d run into Gavin Watson there. She was in no mood to slog through another awkward conversation with him. Then again, maybe she’d run into a new man. One with an open heart, a handsome face, and a sparkling personality.
In the end, Daisy decided to make Shamus happy and take her chances running into Gavin. When Daisy arrived at the dog park, her hopes that she might meet a completely new man were dashed. The park was filled with a number of old men, some middle-aged mom’s, and a whole lot of scruffy mutts.
At least Gavin was nowhere to be found. Maybe he’d slept in. Perhaps Daisy would be able to give little Shamus the socialization he wanted and head home before trouble found her.
Then an adorable Corgi puppy bounded up to Shamus and started sniffing him. Daisy knew that Corgi. It was Rosie.
Daisy would recognize her folded down ear anywhere. That could only mean one thing.
Daisy didn’t want to turn around. She knew who would be behind her. That’s when she heard his voice.
“Rosie. Come here,” Gavin said.
Daisy got a pit in her stomach. There was no avoiding it now. An awkward conversation was sure to follow.
“Gavin,” she said.
“Daisy,” he replied.
Here we go. But it turned out Daisy was wrong. There was no awkward conversation to be had. Instead there was an awkward silence instead.
Yikes.
It was a shame too, because Gavin had so many of the ingredients that made up a good boyfriend. He was handsome, in great shape, with a playful sense of humor, and a kind heart. Like with all great recipes however, there was always one ingredient that pulled everything together. Without that, things wouldn’t taste right.
For Gavin, that ingredient was his ever present heartbreak. His ex-girlfriend ran off with a Vancouver investment banker and took his heart with him. He’d been reeling ever since.
Daisy wasn’t a stranger to heartbreak herself. Her last boyfriend left her out of the blue for the local airhead weather girl. Daisy cried her eyes out over that for months. The difference was, she’d finally managed to move on and was ready to put her heart out there again.
Gavin wasn’t at that point yet. Daisy’s coffee date rushed Gavin back into the dating scene prematurely. So even though Gavin’s heart would surely rebound eventually, Daisy’s shot at ever being with him romantically was most likely kaput.
So what exactly happened on that dud of a coffee date? Memories of Gavin’s ex-girlfriend butted in and wrecked everything, that’s what. Gavin spent an inordinate amount of the time grousing about his ex. To be fair, he had just found out that ex-girlfriend was now engaged to her new investment banker boyfriend not too long before the date.
It was a classic case of bad timing run amok. Daisy would kill to have a do over, but there was no way to erase the memory of their coffee date disaster. Daisy couldn’t help it, but when she looked at Gavin now, all she could see was potential squandered.
That morning at the dog park, Gavin looked so embarrassed. He fumbled for words.
“Our dogs sure are having fun together,” Gavin said.
“Yup,” Daisy replied.
It was moments like this when Daisy wished her life was more like a romantic comedy the most. Granted, those movies compressed heartbreak into a brief minute long montage, but the leading man always knew how to win the woman back with a bouquet of flowers, a determined look in his eyes, and an eloquently heart-tugging speech.
Now would be a good time for any of the above. Or at the least, Gavin not tripping over his words. Daisy did not get her wish.
“I wish we were getting along that well,” Gavin admitted.
“I don’t know about that. It would be pretty awkward if you started sniffing me.”
“As awkward as our coffee date was?”
Then it occurred to her, perhaps watching so many romantic comedies wasn’t doing Daisy any favors. Real life was hard work. There were no quick montages or fast forwarding to the good parts. Maybe all those chick flicks had spoiled her expectations.
After all, Gavin didn’t have a professional writer going through extensive rewrites to craft the perfect line for him to spout at any moment. Once he said something, there was no erasing it and starting over.
If it was any consolation, Gavin seemed to be at least trying to burst the awkward bubble.
“There it is, the 800 pound gorilla in the room,” Daisy said.
“It was more like an 800 pound gorilla wearing a tutu.”
“Your words, not mine,” Daisy added.
“I’ve been meaning to apologize for what happened. I don’t know what happened,” Gavin replied.
“I do. It was the attack of the killer ex-girlfriend in there. She reared her ugly head and pulled you down the rabbit hole of heartache.”
Gavin grimaced. “I’m so sorry about that.”
“We’ve all been there.”
“Yeah, in private—with vodka and potato chips.”
“Speak for yourself. Chocolate ice cream and a margarita are my favorite break up buddies.”
“The point is, you deserved better than to hear me blubber over my ex.”
“They always say timing in life is everything. Ours just couldn’t have been worse.”
“I wish there was something I could do to make things right,” Gavin said.
“Unfortunately, there never seems to be a time machine around when you need one,” Daisy deadpanned.
“I know there’s nothing I can do about the past, but maybe there’s something I could do for the future.”
“Like what?”
“I kno
w it’s a lot to ask, but I was hoping we could at least be friends.”
“What, you’re not a fan of awkward silence?” Daisy joked.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but no,” Gavin replied.
“Friends sounds good to me.”
“Really?”
“As long as we don’t ever go out for coffee again,” Daisy insisted.
“You have my word on that.”
“In that case, let’s say goodbye to the dog park doldrums.”
“Good riddance,” Gavin replied.
Gavin looked so relieved. Daisy felt a weight off her back as well. Even though things may never be romantic between them, at least they didn’t have to be so awkward either.
Chapter Three
Ever since she was little, Daisy had a dream of working on a film. The idea of doing set decoration was something that put stars in her eyes. She loved movies, so to actually be on set was a real treat—at least in theory.
Things were much different when she actually started working on the movie. The gap between a Hollywood film and a shoestring budget independent flick turned out to be Grand Canyon wide.
Daisy had done a couple of movie studio tours while on vacation in Los Angeles a number of years before. Those film sets were magical. She thought all movie sets were like that. She was dead wrong.
The big problem with this movie she was working on in Cozy Creek was money. There just wasn’t enough of it to go around. The film’s director managed to reel in a financier for this production, but there were a lot of things to pay for.
In most people’s eyes, fifty thousand dollars was a lot of money. In the film world, it was a bare bones amount to try and make a professional quality movie. There was the cast and crew to pay for, sets to build and decorate, then camera and lighting equipment to rent. That left very little wiggle room.
The penny pinching was the most drastic with its filming location. The indie flick she was working on was being filmed in an old empty warehouse on the outskirts of town. Ironically, the fictional setting in the script was a quirky bed and breakfast, of which Cozy Creek had plenty. Yet it was cheaper to rent out the empty warehouse and build cheap sets from scratch rather than to pay one of the B&B owners a location fee for twenty days of filming during peak tourist season.