Sabotage on Solitude Bay

by M. J. Mandrake

  Sabotage

  on

  Solitude Bay

  All rights reserved. © 2017 by Mercer Lake Publishing House, LLC

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

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  M. J. Mandrake Starling and Swift Mysteries

  Murder at the Mayan Temple, Book One

  Death on the Wind, Book Two (September2017)

  Danger at the Dive Shop, Book Three (October 2017)

  Chaos in Cuba, Book Four (November 2017)

  Sabotage on Solitude Bay, Book Five (December 2017)

  A Scandal in Spain, Book Six (January 2018)

  Nightmare Under the Northern Lights, Book Seven (March 2018)

  Terror at the Turtle Sanctuary, Book Eight (April 2018)

  Death in Dubrovnik, Book Nine (May 2018)

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Dear Reader,

  Recipes

  Excerpt of Murder At The Mayan Temple

  Chapter One

  Chapter One

  “The living are just the dead on holiday.”

  ―Maurice Maeterlinck

  “Amor, are you sleeping?” Jorge asked.

  Kitty cracked an eye. No, I’m practicing to be dead. Of course she’d been sleeping. Or dozing. She couldn’t really sleep in a lounge chair on the deck of a cruise ship, but the warm sun did make her sleepy after a while. She’d let the book rest open on her chest and had closed her eyes, enjoying the sounds of the ocean far below. Chica, her service dog, had nudged her when Jorge had stopped in front of her, but she’d been hoping that whoever it was would note her closed eyes and have mercy on her.

  “You have to hurry and get dressed. We will dock in ten minutes.”

  “I am dressed,” Kitty said, sitting up.

  “You cannot wear that to meet your future mother-in-law.” Jorge put a hand over his mouth, horrified by Kitty’s choice of a simple white sundress and sparkly sandals. It was true it wasn’t very Christmas-y, but she couldn’t very well spend her vacation under the Florida sun in red velvet and white fur.

  “She’s not my future mother-in-law and I’m not going to dress up,” Kitty said. Not that she hadn’t thought about both of those possibilities. She’d gone through most of the clothes in her closet, spent hours scrolling through tiny thumbnail photos on the internet, and even made a last-minute dash to the main shopping center of Mérida. In the end, she’d decided that if her new boyfriend’s mother disliked her because she wasn’t wearing the season’s latest styles, they probably wouldn’t have much in common anyway.

  “You still have time to change. Because this color is muy boring,” Jorge said. “No personality.”

  “So says the man wearing a uniform,” she said.

  “Ah, as soon as vacation begins, you will see the real me,” he said. “I am more than the assistant activities director with the good hair.”

  Kitty felt a trickle of alarm. Leander’s invitation to spend Christmas with his family in the Florida Keys had originally been for Kitty and her service dog, Chica, but somehow along the way, it had ballooned to three more people and an extra dog. Kitty couldn’t decide whether it was going to be more stressful, or if they would all be a welcome distraction from the stress of meeting the parents.

  “I should have had you help me out,” she said. “You always look like a movie star.”

  “It is not too late. We will fix your hair, not so curly. Then put on makeup, borrow a nice dress and better shoes…” He checked his watch and sighed. “Perhaps not.”

  Kitty smiled. “That’s what I figured. It’s better to go as myself. They would see the real me the very next day. I couldn’t keep up the charade forever.” Plus, Leander might not recognize her if she developed cutting edge style and tamed her hair. “But thank you, anyway. I appreciate the offer.”

  “No problema,” he said.

  Kitty set her book down and stood up. Leaning on the cruise ship railing and turning to face the warm Caribbean breeze, she tried to remember why she was heading to Florida, and not back home to Mérida. She loved her job as a luxury cruise ship tour guide for the hearing impaired, but she was more than ready for a little vacation. It wasn’t just fielding complaints about the sheets or translating complicated allergy lists to the kitchen staff. For several months, murder had been showing up as the worst kind of uninvited guest. Her last job had included a human smuggling ring, a murdered woman who was actually alive, and a cranky old cleaning lady who’d turned out to be the most powerful mafia don Cuba had ever known. Celebrating the holiday with Leander under the bright sun of Key West would be just the thing to wipe the ugly memories from her mind.

  Chica nudged Kitty’s leg and she turned to see Penny and Elaine waving as they walked down the cruise ship deck toward her. They were dressed in matching jewel-toned pantsuits and their service dog, Toto, had large silk flowers on her vest.

  “Are you nervous?” Penny signed.

  “Not really.” Kitty translated for Jorge as she answered. She felt a little guilty about lying. She was actually queasy with nerves, but Kitty’s plan of attack had always been to fake it until she made it. Not that it worked every time, but it was better than wallowing in negativity.

  “Well, you should be nervous,” said Elaine. “Mothers can be very protective of their sons. And he has a sister, too. You’d better be prepared to turn on the charm.”

  “I’m not sure this is helpful,” Kitty said, sighing. She loved Penny and Elaine, but they walked that tightrope between acerbically funny and straight-up cruel.

  “Don’t worry,” Penny said. “We’ll be there to tell them how wonderful you are.”

  “Me, too,” Jorge said, slinging an arm around Kitty’s shoulders.

  That’s what I’m afraid of. “Why are we all worried about me? Maybe they’re the ones we should be worried about. Maybe they’re the kind of people who hate dogs or like to wake up before dawn or something. I’m not worried. I’m trained in the art of making people feel at ease. I handle cranky tourists all day. Nobody needs to vouch for me.”

  There was an uncomfortable pause.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Kitty burst out. She was signing so fast that Jorge stepped back in self-protection. “Are you saying you all are coming on this vacation just to keep me from making a bad impression?”

  The two old ladies exchanged looks.

  “You have to admit you’re sort of an acquired taste, my dear,” Penny said.

  “Not in a bad way,” Elaine signed over her. “Like caviar. Or truffles.”

  “It is more that you are just un poco―” Jorge paused, searching for the right word.

  “Think carefully,” Kitty muttered.

  “Serious,” he said. “Yes, that is it.”

  Kitty considered that for a moment and was surprised at the unexpectedly sharp jab to her pride. “Are you saying I’m not any fun?”

  “Well,” Elaine started, “You’re definitely more fun than when we first met. I think we’ve been a good influence on you.”

  “That’s right,” Penny said. “We’ve helped you loosen up, not focus so much on the schedule.”

  “But tour guides are all about the schedule. It’s our job.”

  “Sí, sí,” Jorge said, ignoring Kitty. �
�Much more fun than your first cruise. In the beginning, after translating for the passengers, you were just about books and going to bed early. Books, bed, books, bed.”

  Kitty glanced at where she’d set Jane Eyre on the lounge chair. She always brought a book to read and she refused to think there was anything wrong with that. “I own a bookstore, you know. And nightclubs aren’t my thing.” Lifting her chin, she said, “I can have fun, too. It’s a bed and breakfast in the middle of a resort area. I bet there’s Bingo somewhere there. We can all go for a few games.”

  “No,” Elaine and Penny signed together.

  “No, not a good idea,” Jorge said at the same time.

  Kitty rolled her eyes. So, she had a little Bingo problem. Some guests hung around the chocolate fountain, some hardly left the spa, and some developed crushes on all the dance instructors. Kitty happened to enjoy a game of Bingo, or seven. She made sure it never got in the way of her job, but Kitty had to admit it was a highlight of her day. In fact, she’d probably never quit her job just because the games were run with such speed and style. A girl got used to the high stakes of luxury cruise ship Bingo where you could win a scuba diving trip or thousands of dollars. It was hard to play poker for pennies after that kind of adrenaline rush.

  Refocusing on the task ahead, she asked, “Do you think I should get his mother some flowers? I didn’t like any of the arrangements they had in the ship’s flowers shop, but I bet Leander can stop somewhere on the way.”

  “How old is she?” Penny asked.

  “I’m not sure exactly. Why?”

  Penny shrugged. “I don’t care for them. At my age, bouquets of flowers scare me.”

  Before Kitty could respond, Penny turned and signed close to her chest. “Here comes McSquinty and the Grinch.”

  Kitty glanced over to see Mr. and Mrs. Weber approaching. Penny’s nicknames were unkind and immature, but she couldn’t help acknowledging that they held a grain of truth. Aside from their service dog, Jack, there wasn’t much to like about the pair. Mr. Weber, a retiree with a full head of silver hair and JFK-style Massachusetts accent, seemed determined to find fault with everything, from the food to the weather to the music at dinner. Mrs. Weber dressed immaculately, was about ten years younger than her husband, and never changed her expression. Kitty wasn’t sure whether that was because Mrs. Weber didn’t care for the conversation, or because her face was frozen in place. She had probably been beautiful before she attempted to stop the natural aging process, but now Mrs. Weber just looked perpetually bored. Above all, they both gave the impression that they had been forced to take the cruise and wouldn’t be happy until they were back on land.

  “Quick, give them a straw and maybe they can go suck the fun out of someone else’s day,” Elaine said.

  “I’m sure they’re not―” Kitty started to say.

  “I must leave,” Jorge murmured. “Now. Before I am forced to hear everything I have done wrong.” He made a swift retreat in the opposite direction.

  “Wait, I want to talk to him about that awful band director,” Mr. Weber signed as he got closer.

  Kitty did her duty and called out to Jorge, but the clever man darted through a door and escaped. After apologizing to the Webers, Kitty asked, “All ready to disembark?”

  “We’ve been ready for hours. We would have left days ago if we could have.” He glanced at the groups of tourists chatting around the pool a floor below their deck. “You know, I don’t appreciate having to take a number and wait my turn. Did you know, sixty percent of the population runs habitually late? That means we’ll be spending more time simply hanging around instead of actually leaving this ship. If they let us disembark without calling out levels, it would naturally sort itself out. The quicker, on-time folks would end up first.”

  Kitty thought it was more likely there would be a crush of bags and tired passengers, turning into a human gridlock of epic proportions, but she just nodded. He sounded more than ready to get off the ship, as if it had been the worst vacation he’d ever had. Kitty wondered what their home was like if they were so uncomfortable aboard a luxury ship that catered to a person’s every possible whim. Maybe it wasn’t a matter of luxury, but of familiarity. Some people just didn’t enjoy being out of their comfort zone.

  “I understand,” Kitty said. “I hope everything will go smoothly. Are you looking forward to being back home?”

  “Home? No, we’re headed to the Florida Keys,” Mrs. Weber said. She shifted away from Jack. Something about the black lab seemed to make her uncomfortable. Kitty had first assumed it was Mr. Weber’s dog, but neither of them seemed very attached to the animal. It gave Kitty a bad feeling to watch the three of them. Jack was a trained service animal, but Kitty believed all dogs should be loved like family.

  Snapping back to the conversation, she caught the last part of Mrs. Weber’s sentence.

  “… a historic bed and breakfast right on the most beautiful bay It’s sheltered, quiet, tranquil. We’ve only seen pictures but we can’t wait to see it for ourselves.”

  Penny and Elaine exchanged glances.

  “What’s the name of this place, if you don’t mind me asking?” Penny smiled, trying her best to look friendly. She hadn’t made much effort to socialize with the pair after they told her they were thinking of returning Jack. They’d had him a year and didn’t think he did a good job. They thought they did just as well by themselves, and they wouldn’t have to pay for dog food. Kitty had been afraid that Penny would leap over the table and accost Mr. Weber, but she’d managed to control herself.

  “The Golden Pelican on Solitude Bay,” Mr. Weber answered. “It’s owned by a wonderful family from Spain.”

  Kitty sucked in a breath and started to cough. Maybe there was more than one Golden Pelican Bed and Breakfast on Solitude Bay run by a family from Spain.

  “How fortuitous,” Elaine said. “So are we.”

  “All of us,” Penny clarified, motioning to Kitty and Chica, too.

  Kitty felt a twinge of compassion for the couple. From their expressions, they clearly didn’t want to spend a minute more of their vacation with any members of the tour group. “I’m sure it’s big enough that we’ll never see each other. Only if we want to, of course,” she added hastily.

  Mr. Weber frowned. “It’s very small. Ten bedrooms.”

  “Oh,” Kitty said, trying to think of something else that might be comforting. She glanced down at Jack. “He’ll have someone to play with, at least.”

  “He doesn’t play,” Mrs. Weber said.

  There was a long pause and Penny asked, “Have you decided whether to keep him?”

  “He will be returned at the end of the week,” Mr. Weber said. “He eats too much and he sheds.”

  “Black hair on everything,” Mrs. Weber said. She brushed at her white sleeve, as if to illustrate how coated it was with dog hair, but Kitty saw nothing there. “We gave him a year.”

  Kitty struggled to hide her anger and disgust. A year was not a trial period for a dog. It could be a tenth of his lifetime. It would be like a family keeping a foster child for eleven years then giving him up because he ate too much. It was a very good thing that the tour was only minutes from ending, and they would all be going their separate ways.

  Looking down at Jack, Kitty wished that the world wasn’t filled with injustice and sadness. A loving home for every animal wasn’t really too much to ask, was it? But Kitty had seen enough of the depravity of humanity to know that it would never be so.

  Chica growled low in her throat, focused on the white dock far below.

  “What is it, girl?” Kitty asked.

  She scanned the area, sure she was going to see someone sneaking around, maybe a pickpocket or someone intent on harming the passengers lining up to disembark.

  There was no one.

  Kitty forced herself to remain calm and rubbed Chica’s ears. “Nervous? We’ve never been to Key West. Looks pretty, though, right?”

  But she knew, even
before she tried to woo Chica from her hyper-vigilant state, that it was a lost cause. Chica wasn’t a reactive dog. She was cool, calm, collected, and professional.

  She was also psychic.

  Chica stood stiffly, nose pointing at the shore, her fur raised and a low growl issuing every few seconds from deep in her throat.

  Danger ahead.

  Kitty felt dread sweep over her. She’d been so worried about impressing Leander’s family that she hadn’t even considered the possibility of encountering anything worse than a disapproving mother.

  In all of their years together, Chica had never sounded the alarm for no reason. Trouble was on the way. Murder and mayhem were close by. Like it or not, Kitty had to prepare herself for the reality that her little vacation on Solitude Bay had just gotten a whole lot more dangerous.

  Chapter Two

  “Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.”

  ―George Bernard Shaw

  “He’s a wonderful dog,” she said carefully. “But yes, perhaps another hearing impaired person will be more comfortable with Jack as part of their family.”

  “We’ll take him,” Elaine said.

  Kitty thought she’d see her usual smile, but Elaine was serious.

  “Yes. He’s just right for us.” Penny nodded. “It’s been difficult to share Toto. When we go out separately, we argue about who gets Toto.”

  The Webers exchanged looks. For the first time Mrs. Weber looked faintly happy.

  “I think that will be fine,” Mr. Weber said cautiously. “He was quite expensive. We will have to ask for a small compensation.”

  “Of course,” Elaine said, nodding. “We can pay you right now.” She reached into her pantsuit and pulled out a money clip. Kitty felt her eyes go wide at the wad of cash. She knew that Penny and Elaine were wealthy, but she wasn’t used to seeing any proof of it besides jewelry and their penchant for matching outfits.

  A few minutes later, the Webers handed over Jack and started back toward their cabin, happy to be relieved of their burden.