Summer in Diamond Bay Complete Bundle #1-5 (Summer in Diamond Bay #1-5)

by Maci Grant

  “You were busy.”

  “I thought you worked with kids?”

  “I do.”

  “Yet you have no patience.” He sat down in the chair again. “Well, a history of assault is damning, but the actual assault that took place was not exactly violent.”

  “Good point.” Blu nodded. “What about Naomi?”

  “It’ll be hard to come up with anything off a first name only, but I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, Blu, I’d appreciate it if you would stay out of this. You think you’re helping, but what you’re really doing is running the risk of contaminating a criminal investigation. That is never acceptable.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  As she left the police station she was certain that she’d never be able to let the investigation go—not until the murderer was found.

  The next day Blu woke to the chaos of the children running back and forth down the hallway. She checked her clock to see that it was just after six in the morning. They were up very early.

  She pulled herself out of bed and headed into the hallway to see what they were up to. Just as she stepped out into the hallway Marley barreled past her on all fours.

  “Meow!”

  “Marley, shh, Mommy is sleeping.”

  Right behind her Joey charged forward on all fours as well.

  “Ruff! Ruff ruff!”

  “Shh, Joey!” Blu sighed. “Let’s go, my little pets, and I’ll get you both some breakfast.”

  The children happily paraded into the kitchen, still on all fours, but thankfully quieter.

  She noticed that Rachel’s bedroom door remained closed, though she doubted that the woman had slept through the commotion.

  The kids could barely sit still long enough to eat their breakfast. They were ready for a day on the beach, but one glance at the television confirmed to Blu that the beach was still off limits. If the kids wanted to have a fun day, it would have to be elsewhere in town.

  She thought about taking them to the park but the temperatures were hovering above ninety and she didn’t think they would be able to enjoy themselves outside in the heat. Instead, she decided to take them to the mall a few miles away. It would be a nice change of pace and give Blu the opportunity to think things through.

  “How about if we head to the mall today? They have that little train that you can ride on. And maybe your parents can meet us there for lunch. I bet your dad would enjoy that.” Blu smiled as she herded the kids into the kitchen.

  “Oh, didn’t Mom tell you? Dad left early this morning. One of his business deals fell through and he has to see if he can fix it,” Joey said.

  “Oh no, I didn’t realize that he’d left. I’m sorry.”

  Now she understood why the kids were up so early and also why Rachel had closed herself off in her room. Her heart ached for the woman who she knew was lonely without Marshall.

  “Me too.” Marley stuck out her bottom lip. “I wish he’d stayed.”

  “Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon.” Blu stroked her hair. “Until then, we can have fun on the train. Hm?”

  “Yes! Train, please!” Marley hopped up and down.

  Joey toyed with his fingers and frowned. “I don’t know if I want to go to the mall.”

  “We can see if they have any new video games.” Blu grinned. She knew this always worked for Joey. Even if he didn’t get to buy it at the time, he loved to see what was new and play on the demonstration machines for a little while.

  As expected, his expression brightened. “Alright!” He jumped up.

  “Go get dressed, kids.”

  Chapter 15

  Blu took some time to prepare coffee for Rachel. She also made sure that the radio was set to Rachel’s favorite music station so that the moment she turned it on she would hear something enjoyable.

  None of this was part of her job description, but Blu cared for Rachel as much as she cared for Rachel’s children. In many ways, she considered keeping the entire family happy to be part of her job.

  Once the kids were dressed they headed out of the house.

  Blu’s mind raced with all the questions about the murder.

  The mall had just opened when they arrived. She smiled at the security guard that opened the door for them.

  “Early risers, huh?”

  “Yes indeed.”

  “Most of the stores are still opening up but the arcade and the train are ready to run.”

  “Great!” Blu smiled.

  She steered the kids away from the arcade, as she knew once they started to play she wouldn’t be able to get them away from the games.

  “Aren’t you two lucky, you’ll get the whole train to yourselves!”

  “Come with us!” Marley tugged on Blu’s shirt.

  “No, sorry, I can’t, sweetie, it’s only for kids. But I’ll be right here when you’re done, okay?”

  “Let’s go, Marley, we can sit in the front and ring the bell!” Joey grabbed his sister’s hand and tugged her onto the train.

  Blu paid for their tickets. She waved to them as the train took off through the mall.

  While they chugged off, Blu’s senses were immersed in the smell of fresh coffee. She turned around to see that the small coffee shop a few feet away had opened. A cup of coffee sounded like the perfect way to pass the time before the kids returned.

  As she stood in line to order it she noticed a familiar face in line ahead of her. It was Bianca, the other competitor in the sand sculpture contest.

  “I just don’t understand why they had to cancel the contest. They could have just moved it further down the beach.”

  The woman with Bianca frowned as she looked over at her. “Don’t you think it would have been weird to continue to compete knowing that Kirk was dead? I mean they don’t even know who killed him.”

  “Look, I get it that death is tragic, but this particular death wasn’t all that tragic. I think people need to realize that Kirk is no great loss. In fact, the environment will probably benefit from the fact that he’s gone. He was a polluter and he had no care for the animals or the environment. It was nearly impossible for me to work around his vibes, he was so toxic.”

  “Shh, Bianca, you shouldn’t talk like that.” Her friend cleared her throat. “You never know who might overhear you.”

  “I don’t care who hears it. It’s the truth.”

  “But what if his family or someone who cared about him heard you?”

  “Cared about him? Are you kidding?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Blu did her best to act invisible. She was very curious about what Bianca had to say.

  “Once my guru advised me that all of the hatred I carried for Kirk was clogging up my chakras. So, in the interest of keeping my energy flowing I decided to make an attempt to befriend him. I thought, how bad could he be, really?

  “So I spent some time with him. I found out that he has no family, has barely ever had a girlfriend, and doesn’t like animals or children. If that wasn’t enough, he then informed me that he thought I was silly, flighty, and that I needed to consider that the earth would be destroyed by space matter long before the environment could kill us off—and that I was basically wasting my time by keeping my footprint as small as possible. When I tried to argue the point with him, he laughed in my face, called me a kook, and walked away.”

  “Wow.” Bianca’s friend paused to place their coffee order, then looked back at Bianca. “I can see why you had a hard time working with him. But still, I think you should consider keeping your thoughts to yourself. I’m sure the police are still looking for a suspect.”

  “Let them look. A guy like Kirk probably had plenty of enemies in his past. Once the truth comes out about him, I bet the police don’t even bother looking that hard. The murder investigation will come up dry and his file will end up in a drawer somewhere. No big deal.”

  “I’ve heard rumors that maybe one of the other competitors did it. What do you think? What about the guy with
the feathers?”

  “Yale.” Bianca snorted. “That man wouldn’t have the strength to kill the bird those feathers came from. He’s more interested in sand dyes and ribbons than he is in anything of substance. I don’t know. Kirk has dominated the competition for so long that any number of competitors might be holding a grudge against him.”

  Blu listened so intently that she was potentially standing much too close to the two women, but neither appeared to notice.

  Chapter 16

  Bianca finally quieted down as she was handed her coffee. She turned with her full cup of coffee, but her eyes were still on her friend. Before Blu could take a step back to avoid her, Bianca walked right into her. The hot coffee splashed between them.

  Blu grimaced as the liquid soaked through her thin blouse and singed her skin.

  “Oh, watch it!” Bianca huffed. “I just bought this!”

  Her friend grabbed napkins to help her mop herself up.

  “You walked into me.” Blu narrowed her eyes.

  “Well, I didn’t even know you were there.”

  Blu couldn’t argue that point, as she had been doing her best not to be noticed. “I’m sorry. I can buy you another cup if you’d like.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’ve got to go buy a new shirt, and now I’m not in the mood for coffee.” She tossed the cup into the trash.

  Blu stared at her. For all of the spouting off she’d been doing about protecting the environment, it was hard to believe that Bianca would so casually toss a paper cup into the garbage instead of the recycling bin.

  Her eyes met Bianca’s. “You’re one of the sand sculpture contestants, right?”

  “One of the live ones—yes.”

  Blu accepted a napkin from Bianca’s friend and offered her a smile of gratitude. “I’m sorry for your loss. It must have come as a shock to you.”

  “Sure. Whatever. Anyway, sorry about your shirt.” She turned and walked away with her friend rushing behind her to catch up.

  Blu sighed as she looked down at her shirt. She heard the kids’ train returning in the distance. Joey and Marley would be back in a minute and there was no time to buy a new shirt—not that she’d want to pay mall prices, anyway.

  “Here, I saw what happened.” The young man behind the counter of the coffee shop slid her a cup of coffee. “On the house.”

  “Thanks.” Blu smiled at him.

  “Sometimes I wonder if some people are even human.” He shook his head. “Did you hear the way she was talking about that dead guy? I didn’t have a problem with him.”

  “You knew Kirk?”

  “Not by name. He came here for a cup of coffee a few times. He was always polite. He even tipped me.”

  “Was he by himself?”

  “All except for one time. He was with a woman.”

  “Maybe a girlfriend?”

  “Oh wow, I hope not. She was angry. They sat at a table with their coffees and two minutes later she was screaming in his face.”

  “Really? Why? Did you hear anything?” Blu added some cream and sugar to her coffee while she nonchalantly questioned him further.

  “Something about it not being his business—that it was too late, and that he needed to stay out of it. I figured it was some kind of personal issue. Then she knocked over her coffee and stormed out. Kirk even helped me clean it up and apologized.”

  Blu frowned. “Was she a young woman?”

  “No, I’d say she was about his age. Maybe a year or two younger.”

  The train whistle drew her attention. “Thanks for the coffee. I gotta run.”

  “Sure, no problem.” He smiled at her. “Might want to get a new shirt though.”

  “I will.” She nodded.

  As she collected the kids from the train they were so excited that they didn’t even notice her shirt. Blu was so preoccupied with wondering who the woman with Kirk could have been that she forgot all about it.

  As they left the mall Chief Pitman stepped inside through the same door.

  “Excuse me.” Blu backed away enough to give him room to get through the door.

  “What happened to you?” He raised an eyebrow.

  Blu was confused for a moment until she realized that he was looking at her shirt. She looked down to see that the spilled coffee had left a very embarrassing pattern.

  “Coffee mishap.” She cleared her throat. “Going home to change now.”

  “Wait, I’m here to speak to you.”

  “Me? How did you know I was here?”

  “I spoke with Rachel and she told me that you took the kids to the mall. Hi there.” He smiled at them. “Want to go play some games?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few quarters.

  Before Blu could say a word, the kids grabbed the quarters and headed toward the arcade.

  “Why are you looking for me?” Blu shifted from one foot to the other. Had he decided to charge her for nosing around at the police station?

  “Because the toxin screen came in. Kirk was poisoned.”

  “Poisoned with what?”

  “I don’t even know the name of this stuff. According to the tech, it’s used as a pesticide. He was injected with it.”

  Blu shuddered at the thought. “That’s awful. So someone poisoned him and then buried him in the sand? Why would they risk bringing him back to the beach?”

  “That’s what I can’t figure out. Not only was he murdered, but it’s almost as if the killer wanted him to be found.”

  “Hm.” Blu looked at him. “Why are you telling me all this?’

  “You said you wanted to be part of the investigation.”

  “And you said that I should leave it alone.”

  “Well, that was before. Now I want you to tell me everything that you’d noticed while at the beach. Someone killed this man on my sand, and I can’t let it go.”

  Blu was relieved by his determination. At least his focus was not to sweep things under the rug. “I’m afraid there’s not much that I can tell you. I think that Kirk’s biggest problem was that no one liked him.”

  “Most people don’t like me either.” Chief Pitman smirked. “That doesn’t mean that they’ll kill me. Someone had to hate him more than everyone else.”

  “There was a woman here with him the other day—at the coffee shop just inside. The clerk at the coffee shop was just telling me that they’d gotten into a pretty fierce argument. I thought that it was Naomi at first, but he said that the woman was Kirk’s age.”

  “Naomi?”

  “The woman with the hat and the sunglasses that I told you about. I thought you were looking into her?”

  “I will.” He frowned. “AJ tells me that you’re pretty good at figuring these things out. Did you flunk out of the police academy or something?”

  “No. But I did toy with being a journalist at one time. I guess I’ve just always been interested in the truth.”

  “That’s a commendable way to be. It can also be dangerous.” He met her eyes. “We’re dealing with a ruthless and cunning person here. Just be careful what you get yourself into.”

  “You’ll let me know if you find anything out about Naomi?”

  “Sure. I’m going to meet with security and see if I can figure out who Kirk had an argument with as well. If you think of anything else that you might have seen or overheard, please contact me.”

  “I will.”

  “Blu, come play a game with me!” Joey called to her from the arcade.

  “Looks like you’re needed.” Chief Pitman laughed.

  “Always.” Blu grinned.

  She walked over to the kids and joined Joey in a game of Pac-Man. The bright lights and the music did nothing to block out the roar of thoughts that flickered through her mind.

  Who would have poisoned Kirk?

  Chapter 17

  Rachel was waiting for them in the front yard when they arrived home. As Blu parked in the driveway she walked over to them with a bright smile.

  “Morning, everyone
. Were you off on an adventure already?”

  “We rode the train!” Marley wrapped her arms around Rachel’s legs.

  “Oh, how nice.” Rachel looked at Blu with warmth in her eyes. “I appreciated the coffee and the music this morning.”

  Blu nodded and laughed as Joey rushed past her to take his mother’s hand.

  “I beat Blu at Pac-Man! Chief Pitman gave us some quarters to play.”

  “Oh, that’s nice, sweetie.” Rachel waited until Joey chased after his sister, then she looked at Blu. “When Chief Pitman asked me where you were—I’m not going to lie—I was a little concerned. What’s going on? Anything I can help you with?”

  “Oh, no. He was there to speak to me about what I might have seen at the beach.”

  “Oh? Were you able to help?”

  “Not much, I’m afraid. I just wish they would get the case solved so that the kids could get back to enjoying their summer on the beach.”

  “Well, it’s probably for the best that you didn’t see too much. The kids don’t even seem to be aware of what’s going on.”

  Blu nodded. Then she met Rachel’s eyes. “I’m sorry that Marshall had to take off so soon.”

  “Me too. I know to expect it, but I have hard time accepting it.”

  “Hopefully soon he can be around more often.”

  “I hope so. Anyway, I thought I’d take the kids out to lunch. Would you like to join us?”

  “I think I might stay home if you don’t mind.”

  “No problem. I thought you might want to, since they got you up so early this morning.”

  “Yes, I could use a little nap.” Blu laughed.

  “I’m sure. We’ll be back after lunch.” Rachel ushered the kids right back out the door.

  Blu sent them off with a wave.

  She closed the door and savored the silence. After working with kids for so many years she didn’t really notice the noise level—until it was gone. Then the silence sounded like the loudest thing she’d ever heard. She let the peace wash over her senses, but even as her body began to relax, she had no desire to take a nap.