SCENT OF A MYSTERY...A CITRUS BEACH MYSTERY (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 2)

by Victoria LK Williams

  A sudden clap of angry thunder brought everyone to silence and the storm at hand back into focus. Before anyone could say another word, a second boom of thunder shook the house, and the lights flickered. Seconds later, the power went out, plunging the room into darkness. As they sat shocked into silence, they could hear without any doubt that the storm had intensified to a dangerous level. Megan’s house seemed to breathe with the storm; it almost felt as if the roof was going to be ripped away at any moment as the shutters shook against the windows from the force of the wind. The sound of something heavy against the side of the house broke the silence and Paul could be heard getting up and walking towards the kitchen. They knew when he returned because he now had a flashlight shining in one hand and several more in the other.

  “It may take a few minutes for the emergency generator to kick on.” Paul explained as he walked back into the room.

  He reached across the coffee table and handed one to Eric and Zack and then placed a lantern on the table and turned it on, casting a low light around those sitting down. Megan stretched behind her and picked up a portable, battery-operated TV they had for such emergencies and turned it on to try and find an updated newscast. Once she found a station that they could see clearly and hear the news reporter, Megan set the TV on the coffee table and they all listened intently:

  “Hurricane Arlene is set to make landfall close to the area around the small township of Lady Fish Bay. All those within her path need to be ready to go to their safe rooms. The storm is forecasted to make landfall within the next few hours, and the winds have intensified to ninety-five miles-per-hour. This will make Arlene a weak Category 2 hurricane when she makes landfall. Rain is making visibility impossible. Only emergency vehicles should be on the roads at this time. I repeat; those in the area of Lady Fish Bay need to be taking all safety precautions that they can at this time. A reminder that once the eye of the storm is overhead; you should still remain indoors. The back side of this storm is going to be the strongest, and the eye is relatively small. This means that the winds will begin to quickly to pick back up, and rain will once again become heavy with frequent lightning strikes. Storm surge is expected to be five to seven feet. Keep your stations tuned here for minute-by-minute updates and reports from our field reporters.”

  “What do they mean the eye of the storm? And what is the back side?” Ashley asked those around her, eyes wide with fear. Suddenly the hurricane was very real to her and no longer something to joke and compare stories about.

  It was Eric who calmly explained the basic workings of a hurricane to her, as the sounds of the storm continued to rage outside.

  “What we are feeling now is the front half or the first part of the storm to make landfall. As it moves over us, the center, or eye, of the storm will be relatively calm from winds and the rain will slow to almost a stop. If it’s daytime, we might get some sun breaking through the clouds. Then the back half of the storm will approach, and the winds and rain will pick back up. There is always one side of the storm that is stronger than the other. Arlene just happens to be one that is going to have a stronger backside. But, Ashley, this is a small storm, and it’s moving fast. A couple more hours and the worst of it will be over. The important thing is that Megan’s house is built like a fortress, and we have it properly secured.”

  As if to prove Eric’s point, a large branch from one of the many old Live Oak trees around Megan’s property, broke loose and smashed against the front of the house. If the hurricane shutters had not been in place, the branch would have easily come through the window, bringing the wind and rain with it. Because Megan had chosen to use clear shutters, they could clearly see the branch hit the window. Ashley and Lucy both jumped in fright when it hit, and Megan visibly flinched as she thought of the damage to her beautiful trees.

  “Even though we will get the power back on through the generators, it will not be at full strength like we usually have through the power company. Megan, I know that you went around the house earlier and unplugged any unnecessary lights and appliances. I did the same over at the office, and Aiden told me that he had checked over the apartment before he flew out with Sam this morning.”

  Debbie looked over at Megan and smiled before she commented on the mention of the man currently renting a small apartment over one of the barns. He had just moved in the day before, but had left to go back to DC on business.

  “I’m glad he and Sam got out safely. I know Sam was worried about the plane being here during the high winds. Have you heard from Aiden since he left?”

  “Who’s Aiden and when did we rent out the apartment?” broke in Emma

  “Oh, we can talk about all that later,” hedged Megan, “Right now let’s worry about getting comfortable for the duration of the storm.”

  Emma narrowed her eyes at her mother, she knew when Megan was trying to avoid talking about something, but another flash of lightning followed by thunder distracted her as Ashley grabbed her arm in a fearful reaction. Deciding to comfort her friend, Emma let the question drop for now. But she made a mental note to get either her mother or her aunt to spill the dirt. Something had happened since she last talked to her mother, and she was going to find out what.

  “It looks like we might as well all get comfortable for the night; we are just going to have to sit this out and see what the morning brings,” Paul said as he looked out the window and saw nothing but sheets of rain being pushed almost vertically from the force of the wind.

  Chapter Two

  As Paul and Eric had predicted, the storm was a fast moving one, and the morning sunrise was clear of the dark storm clouds from the day before. Most of the wind had died down as well, leaving a pleasant breeze from the east. There would be a hot and humid day ahead of them, with all the moisture left behind from Arlene, soon to evaporate with the summer heat. There would most likely be afternoon showers, as a result.

  Megan had stayed awake through the night, watching and listening while she comforted the puppy at her side. Fred had curled up between Emma and Ashley. As Megan looked around, she smiled. Most of her visitors were sound asleep curled up in chairs or stretched out on the floor on the inflatable mattresses that they had pulled out the night before. Lucy had her head on Paul’s shoulders and his arms cradled her protectively as they slept on the couch. Eric and Zack were each spread out on the mattresses and snores could be heard from both. Debbie was squeezed into a corner of the lounge chair with the two cats taking up as much room from her as they could. Megan had bought this chair to accommodate Paul’s large frame, so Debbie looked tiny in it.

  Hearing noises from the kitchen, Megan, realized that she was not the only one up. It sounded like Janice was in there trying to use the old coffee percolator that Megan used on her gas stove during power outages. Grinning to herself, Megan headed to the kitchen to see if the younger woman would be able to make coffee without an electric coffeemaker. Sure enough, Janice had the filter basket in one hand and the stainless steel carafe in the other with a totally confused look on her face.

  “Want some help?”

  Laughing, Megan nudged her assistant out of the way and proceeded to measure the correct amount of coffee into the basket. She then filled the carafe with water, put the basket on its stem and assembled the inner workings of the percolator for a freshly brewed pot. Soon the sound of the water percolating over the coffee grounds was heard, and the smell of strong black coffee filled the room.

  “Oh, that sure smells good! Did you get any sleep at all, Megan?”

  “No, I didn’t even try. Looks like everyone else did: what about you?”

  “I did, once the eye passed and the storm started back up. I was either exhausted or getting used to the noise because I don’t remember much after we hunkered down for the second half of Mother Nature’s show.”

  “Well, as the forecasters predicted, the back side of the storm was stronger. I’m glad we got a chance during the eye to take the dogs out and double check some of the windows a
nd doors. I don’t know how you all slept through that wind!”

  “I think we can just have a light breakfast with our coffee” said Janice as she held up a plate of muffins.

  “I don’t want any of us to rush into anything today. We have procedures in place just for this type of emergency. Our priority is to get hold of all of the staff and make sure they are okay and see if they need any help. If the cellphone service is working, it will be temperamental. I’m sure some of the towers received damaged. We don’t need to be in the way of the authorities when they are trying to get things up and running either.”

  “At least we have enough of us here that we could run the office and set up jobs as soon as we get the go ahead. And what’s even better, thanks to your generators and gas appliances we will be able to go about our daily actives without too many interruptions.”

  “You’re so right. And to think that I almost talked Paul out of installing them when we bought the property and made all the renovations! I wouldn’t want him to hear this, but he was right.”

  “Ahha! I did hear that, and you can bet I’m not going to let you forget it either.” Paul’s laughter could be heard as he wandered into the kitchen, following the smell of coffee.

  Lucy was not too far behind him, looking half-awake as she pushed her hair out of her face with one hand and tried to hide a wide yawn with the other. “Good morning,” She mumbled as she headed straight for the cupboard that held the coffee cups. Lucy, unlike her husband, was no morning person, and it took her a good twenty minutes to wake up once she was out of bed. Megan usually shared her misery, but this morning she was anxious to see what the storm had left behind as a reminder that it had passed through the area.

  “Morning, Lucy, Janice has coffee started and it’s going to be a ‘help yourself’ morning. Paul, when the girls get up, I’m going to put them to work opening up the house so we can get some air flow. I don’t want to use the a/c until it gets hot this afternoon. Janice and I can head over to the office.”

  “You know, I think it would be better if you let Eric, Zack, and I take the truck around the property first. We need to check for any downed power lines, and we are going to have to open the front gate manually. With no power, it’s in a closed position, keeping us inside. We can check the buildings for any damage and move the larger branches that are sure to have been snapped out of the trees in the wind and blocking the airstrip and major drives on the property.”

  “That makes sense. If anyone takes the dogs out, let’s keep them on their leashes. There are going to be all kinds of new scents out there. Although Fred is pretty good about staying on command, I’m not sure how Barney is going to react to his first storm aftermath.”

  Hearing their names, both dogs pulled themselves away from the comfort of their beds and came out to the kitchen to investigate who was up and who might have some food. Paul knew the morning routine and grabbed both leashes that were on a hook by the kitchen door. Fred took to the leash calmly, but Barney acted as if he was offended.

  “Come on, Barney, it’s for your protection and just for a short time. Look at how good Fred is being.” Securely attaching the leashes to the dogs’ collars, Paul opened the door. “Ready, fellas? I’ll take them for a quick walk around the house. Be back shortly.”

  Barney shot out the door quickly once it was open, nose to the ground sniffing out all the new scents around his home. The heavy rains had washed away most of the scents he was familiar with and left behind all kinds of exciting things for a dog to explore. Fred meandered at a more casual pace, keeping his nose to the ground as well. Paul let them explore for a few minutes as he took inventory of the wind damage. At a quick glance, it looked as if most of the casualties were the gardens and large trees around the house. Megan had made sure to secure as much as she could before the winds had started to pick up yesterday and what she could not secure, she had had some of the guys store in the barn. Most of the tender foliage planted throughout the garden bed had been ripped and shredded by the force of the rain and the unrelenting pull of the strong winds. Some of the more shallow-rooted plants had been pulled right out of the ground, like an angry child had grabbed them by their tops and pulled hard. Large branches of some of the oldest trees were broken off and crushing whatever plantings where under them.

  As Paul turned the corner of the house, he saw that the yellow Tabebuia tree was so badly damaged, that it appeared to be almost snapped in half. Other trees looked damaged as well, but none as severely. There would need to be a lot of trimming and cleanup work, yet Paul didn’t doubt for a minute that Megan would get her gardens back in shape and probably with improvements.

  Cutting the dogs’ exploration short, Paul headed back to the kitchen door and his breakfast. Judging from what he had just seen, there would be plenty of work ahead for everyone today. Walking back inside, he found that the kitchen was now full and everyone up and talking about the newscast they were listening to on a portable TV now setup in the center of the kitchen island. Grabbing a muffin from the basket Janice had set out, Paul sat down beside Lucy, thanked her for the coffee she automatically pushed in front of him and listened with the others to the report of the local damage from the storm.

  “We remind everyone, please stay off the roads and allow emergency vehicles and cleanup crews to assess the damages first. There are downed power lines, and many areas are under water. At this time, no traffic is allowed across the causeways. As soon as roads open, we will advise our listeners. We urge you to be extremely cautious as you begin to clean up your own properties. Stay away from standing water. Wait until the water recedes before you attempt any outdoor activities. Citrus Power and Light is reporting widespread outages. We urge all to use proper safety measures when operating generators. Citrus Beach has heavy wind damage and some local flooding. Our reporters are on their way to investigate the hardest hit areas … Kim Heart, our associate with the Journal, will be joining us in about twenty minutes from Lady Fish Bay, where Hurricane Arlene made landfall. As a reminder, please stay off the roads and allow emergency vehicles and cleanup crews to assess the damages to our area. All local government buildings and schools will be closed until further notice.

  We will be broadcasting continually until this emergency has passed. We urge our listeners to call in if you can report to us what you see at your location in terms of power outages, downed trees, and flooding. Also, if you have a special need that cannot be handled by our local emergency crews, we at the station will be starting a needs list. Once roads are passable, we will start listing these needs and hopefully another listener will be able to help. For instance, the high school football team has just been notified that they are to be meeting at the library after lunch; from there, going to a nursing home to begin cleaning up once they have the all clear from the sheriff that it is safe to do so. Folks, this is the type of community efforts that make Citrus Springs so unique. So don’t be afraid to ask for help, or offer it! We will all work together to get through this, and be stronger for it.”

  As the newscaster continued his broadcast, Megan and Lucy looked at each other and knew just how lucky they were. Damages could be repaired, but as long as they were all safe, how could you ask for more? They broke off into three groups to start the work ahead of them: Lucy, Emma, and Ashley were in charge of getting Megan’s house opened up and getting the roll-up shutters open and the clear panels taken down and stacked. They would not be putting them away, since it was early in the hurricane season and chances were they would be needed again before the summer was over. Paul, Eric, and Zack had gotten in the pickup truck, after hooking the trailer behind it, and were going to work their way around the airstrip, picking up the largest of the debris. There was now plenty of wood to be stockpiled and cut down at a later date for firewood. The three of them would also check for any damages on the buildings within the property. Megan, Janice, and Debbie were going to make their way over to the main office building and start trying to contact the other employe
es of both companies to find out what their needs might be.

  Morning turned into afternoon without much notice. They found plenty of work and cleanups to keep them busy. Lunch was a simple meal of sandwiches and chips as each of them found time to take a break. The damage to the property was not as bad as Megan had first feared, but they had plenty of debris to haul to a designated area out by the back gate. The front gate had been manually opened and the road into the office was cleared first. These activities kept the three men occupied for most of the day.

  Lucy and her two helpers got the house opened up and most of the outdoor furniture put back in place on the wraparound porch and around the pool terrace. Emma took the dogs for a walk along the footpath to her mother’s private office. The small building was on the other side of a wooden bridge Paul had built over the spring-fed creek that connected Megan’s original property to the additional acres they had purchased for the business. Emma was pleased to see that there was very little damage to this area; the heavy plantings of tropical foliage had served as a natural buffer to the more delicate plantings Megan had added to the area.

  Once Megan, Janice, and Debbie got to the office, they had quickly divided up their tasks and gotten to work. Debbie worked on opening up the office and checked for any damage or leaks. Janice had pulled out the client list and started a “to do” list for each property and Megan had taken on contacting each of the employees of both companies as to be sure that everyone had made it through the storm safely. Making these phone calls involved some old-fashioned technology; with cellphone service unreliable, the women pulled out of the emergency supply kit the two rotary phones inside. As long as the land phone lines were still standing, these tools would be the most reliable means of communications. Megan had long ago made rotary phones part of her hurricane kit, as did most of the residences in Citrus Beach.