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

by Maci Grant

  “I guess we’ll just have to be very careful.” AJ frowned. “I’ll make sure the security cameras are working well.”

  “Do you think we could pull it off by tomorrow night?” Blu glanced over at the kids, who still played on the playground. “Rachel might let me have a few hours off tomorrow to arrange the party.”

  “I say we give it a shot.” AJ shrugged. “Let me know what you need from me, and we’ll go for it. I’m sure Shawna would help waitress.”

  “No.” Chief Pitman spoke up sharply.

  AJ looked over at him.

  “I don’t want Shawna anywhere near that bar, understand?”

  “Sure.” AJ nodded. “It was a stupid idea.”

  Chief Pitman straightened his collar. “I have to go. Keep me up-to-date on the progress of the party. Alright?”

  “Sure.” AJ watched as the older man walked away.

  “You okay?” Blu studied his tense expression.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “It just seemed like maybe there was an issue there about Shawna.”

  AJ locked eyes with her. “Investigate the murder, Blu, not me.” He winked at her, then walked off in the other direction.

  Blu sighed. She sat down on a swing beside Joey.

  “Are you going to try to touch the sky, Blu?” Joey grinned and stretched his legs out as he swung upward.

  Blu followed his movement and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day, but she had barely noticed. The kids always had a way of reminding her to slow down.

  She swung beside Joey for some time and enjoyed the sound of Marley’s laughter as she chased the birds.

  Chapter 21

  On the way back from the park Blu focused her thoughts on the SUV that had been parked near the beach. Someone had to be driving it, and that someone was likely the killer. Instead of trying to find out who killed Kirk, maybe she needed to find out who had been driving the SUV.

  The kids were more than happy to be home after such a busy day.

  “Blu can we have popcorn and watch a movie?”

  “Sure, Joey. Just give me a minute to put my things down.”

  “I get to pick the movie!” Joey shouted as he ran for the living room.

  “No, me!” Marley chased after him.

  Blu paused at the table near the door and set down her purse and keys. As soon as she set down her keys, it hit her. She had just promised both the chief of police and AJ that she’d be able to throw together a memorial party within twenty-four hours. What was she thinking? How could she possibly accomplish that?

  Her heart raced and her breath came short. She dug her phone out of her purse and called the only person that she knew was likely to help her—no matter how crazy her plan was.

  “Hi, Blu, what’s up?” Maddie’s voice was more cheerful than she’d expected.

  “Maddie, I need your help.”

  “Help with what?”

  “I need to put together a memorial party for Kirk by tomorrow night.”

  “Huh? Like maybe candles on the beach?”

  “No. Like, a party at the Beach Bum with every person who could possibly know Kirk and plenty of people that don’t. I’m not sure that I can pull it off, but I know that I definitely can’t do it without you. Do you think you can help?”

  “I can absolutely help. You know I love a challenge! This is just like one of those reality television shows where the woman has to throw together a perfect wedding in a day, only this is a memorial, so I guess it’s not really like that, but you know what I mean.”

  Blu closed her eyes for a moment. “Yes, I know, Maddie. How soon can you be here?”

  “The kids are out with their mom right now, so I can be right over.”

  “Thank you, Maddie. You’re a life saver.” She hung up and headed into the living room.

  Once the movie was chosen and started she popped some popcorn for the kids.

  While she waited for Maddie to arrive, Blu decided to investigate the one detail that she hadn’t revealed to Chief Pitman or AJ. If the person who killed Kirk was one of the contestants, or in town for the contest, then they would likely have rented a vehicle. Most of the people that came into town did.

  If the person decided to rent a car, they probably didn’t keep it long—maybe for a few hours, maybe for a day. She opened up the phone book and grabbed her phone. She found three car rental places in the area. She punched in the number for the first rental place.

  “Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me what cars you’ve rented in the past three days—specifically whether you rented any vehicles to one of the people in the contest that was taking place at the beach?”

  “I’m afraid we only do weekly rentals, so I’d have to go back a little further.”

  “No thanks, I appreciate your time.” Blu hung up and dialed the next car rental place.

  “Hello, I was wondering if you could give me an idea of how many cars you may have rented over this past week.”

  “Sure. We rented—looks like forty-two.”

  “Wow, that’s a lot.”

  “We’re running a special.”

  “Do you by any chance have any discounts on daily or hourly rates?”

  “Actually, yes, we do. We have a half-off special on twenty-four hour rentals.”

  “Have you rented any in the past three days with that special?”

  “Ten.”

  “Were any of those cars rented to one of the contestants in the sand sculpture contest?”

  “No, I’m afraid not.”

  “What about to a Naomi?”

  “Last name?”

  “Sorry, I only have the first name.”

  “Naomi, Naomi.” He mumbled for a moment. “Nope, sorry.”

  “Is there any way that you could e-mail me a list of the people who rented cars at the daily rate?”

  “I guess. What’s this about?”

  “I’m just curious.”

  “Huh. Well, I’ll tell you what—when Chief Pitman comes in and requests the list, that’s when I’ll e-mail it.”

  Blu sighed and hung up the phone. She knew she wasn’t going to get any further with the guy. She called the last rental place on the list.

  “Hello, Speedy Cars.”

  “Hi, I was wondering if you rent SUVs?”

  “Yes, we specialize in them.”

  “Do you have any specials running currently?”

  “We have a same-day rental discount. If you rent the car and return it on the same day, you’ll be able to get the discount.”

  “What if I rented the car from an evening until a morning?”

  “Yes, as long as you pick up the car at the end of the day and return it first thing in the morning the discount will still apply.”

  “Have you rented any SUVs out lately?”

  “Yes, three. Why?”

  “I’m just curious. I was riding with a friend of mine, and they had an SUV from a rental place. I’d like to rent one as well, but the vehicle was so clean and tidy that I want to rent one from the same place. I haven’t been able to get through to her to find out the name of the company, so I was hoping that you might be able to tell me.”

  “Do you know the date that she rented the vehicle?”

  “Yes.” Blu gave the woman the date of the evening before the murder.

  “Actually, we only had one evening rental that day. So it could possibly be your friend. Is her name Bianca?”

  Blu’s heart skipped a beat. “Yes. Yes, that’s her name.”

  “Well, then it was her. Can I set you up with a rental?”

  “Could I rent the same vehicle?”

  “Unfortunately it’s being cleaned. We detail all of our vehicles between rentals.”

  Blu frowned. She knew that if the rental place did a thorough cleaning, then there was a good chance that all of the evidence had already been washed away.

  “Let me give you a call back when I’m ready, okay?”

  “Sure. Please ask f
or me—the name’s Janine. We get a commission.”

  “Absolutely.” Blu hung up the phone. “Bianca.” She didn’t have more time to think about what she’d just found out before there was a knock at the door.

  “Hello? Blu?”

  “Come on in, Maddie!”

  Chapter 22

  A moment later Maddie entered the house with a wide grin on her face. “You are going to love me!”

  Blu was still dazed by the revelation of the person who was likely driving the SUV. She glanced at Maddie. “Hm?”

  “Look what I have!” Maddie sat a big bag down on the table between them. It was filled with feathers, ribbons, and other decorative materials.

  “Where did you get all that?”

  “You know that guy Yale—one of the contestants? Well, I was driving past one of the hotels and saw him lugging this big bag of decorations toward the dumpster. So I stopped and asked if I could have it. He said that since there wasn’t a contest he was getting rid of these things and he didn’t care who took them. So, voila! We can use some for decorations for the party.”

  “Wait a minute. Don’t even open the bag.”

  “What? Why?”

  “It might be evidence.”

  “Evidence of what?”

  “I’m not sure yet.” Blu paced back and forth. “I discovered some information that points to Bianca as the killer.”

  “Bianca? Isn’t she the one that’s all into peace and love?”

  “Maybe that only counts for the people that she likes.”

  “Blu, how far are you getting into this case? Should I be worried about you?”

  “The point of the party is to draw out the killer.”

  “Wow.” Maddie sat down hard on one of the kitchen chairs. “That sounds dangerously exciting.”

  “I don’t know how exciting it is, but I want to find out the truth.”

  “So what do we need to do?”

  “We need to get the word out about the memorial. We also need to make sure that there are enough eyes and ears there to keep track of all of the suspects. AJ will keep the alcohol flowing. It’s time we got the truth out of someone.”

  “What if no one cops to it?”

  “Well, I have a few leads.”

  “Have you talked to Chief Pitman about them?”

  “I haven’t. I’m not sure if I should just yet.”

  “Why?”

  “The thing is that the police want to rush in and put an end to this. I’m just a little concerned that the goal is more to close the case than to find the real killer. Right now I have some proof that might implicate Bianca. But something doesn’t sit right with me about that. I did also find a feather close to the crime scene that I think may have belonged to Yale.”

  “Okay, I’ll start posting on the local sites and the sand sculpture contest site about the memorial. I’ll also put some calls out to the most talkative nannies about it. Don’t worry, Blu, getting the word out is not going to be the problem. The problem is going to be getting people to talk. Most murderers aren’t too chatty.”

  “Some are.” Blu frowned. “I know it’s a stretch but it’s the only thing I can think to do. Chief Pitman isn’t going to haul anyone in for questioning without some kind of evidence. So we need to bring the questioning to the Beach Bum.”

  “It’s a plan.” Maddie shrugged.

  The two women spent the next few hours making calls and preparing for the party. When Maddie left for the night, she promised to meet up with Blu at Marley and Joey’s early morning horseback riding lesson. It was a short summer class, but the kids—especially Marley—enjoyed it.

  After Blu tucked the kids into bed, Rachel arrived home just in time to say good night.

  “I got caught up in some things after the massage.” She frowned.

  “Rachel, is everything okay?”

  “I guess. The town is in uproar over the murder, which I understand, but some people are just rude.”

  “What happened?”

  “I was going to pick up a few things at the grocery store but when I tried to get through the door these two men were arguing in front of it. Neither of them would budge.”

  “Did you know them?”

  “No. I think one of them was one of the contestants from the contest, but I’m not sure.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “To be honest, it was hard to see past all of his strange make-up.”

  “Ah. Yale.” Blu narrowed her eyes. “Any idea who he was arguing with?”

  “He kept calling the guy Frankie. No, that wasn’t it. Freddy, I think it was Freddy.”

  Blu’s eyes widened. What in the world would Frederick and Yale have to talk about? “I’m sorry that happened.”

  “Well, it’s over now. I’ll just go to the grocery store tomorrow. There’s no way I was going to get in the middle of that.”

  “I can stop at the store in the morning after the kids’ riding lessons if you’d like. Just leave me a list on the kitchen table.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled. “What would I ever do without you?”

  Blu smiled in return. She hoped that she’d never need to find out. Although she did her best not to play favorites, working for Rachel and Marshall had been her most enjoyable job so far.

  Chapter 23

  Blu walked down the hall to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. As soon as she sat down at her desk she opened up her computer. She began to type up a story that was forming in her mind. It was easy to pin the murder on Bianca—she was an angry woman, who tended to rub people the wrong way.

  Yale obviously hated Kirk more than anyone else in his life.

  Alone, neither of the suspects made sense to her, but when she combined Yale with Frederick it made perfect sense. Frederick wanted to get rid of Kirk and make a new star. Yale was on board for being that new star. They concocted a plan to take out not only Kirk, but Bianca as well, by using her name on the car rental.

  It sure looked like they could have been setting Bianca up to be framed for the murder—she didn’t doubt that Frederick had the knowledge to pull it off. If she went to Chief Pitman with the information she had, she might be playing right into the plan.

  A large yawn reminded her of how exhausted she was. She gave in to the need to sleep, but her mind did not. She lay awake for hours with thoughts about the killer playing through her mind.

  The next morning Blu woke early, despite not having slept much at all. She made a pot of coffee to perk herself up and prepared a quick breakfast for the kids. For once, she was the one who had to wake them up.

  “Let’s go, we have your riding lesson today!”

  Both of the children bounded out of their beds and fought each other to get into the bathroom.

  Blu grinned as she refereed the fight. She still hadn’t figured out how she was going to plan the memorial and set it up while having the kids at her side for most of the day.

  On the way to the riding lesson she still debated whether she should tell Chief Pitman about the SUV or the fact that Bianca’s name was on the rental agreement. She decided that she’d rather speak to Bianca first. Maybe armed with the knowledge that she had she could rattle the woman into making a confession.

  Once they were situated at the riding lesson, Marley ran up to the small pony that served as her magnificent steed. “Ready to ride?” She giggled.

  Joey was helped up onto his horse.

  Blu snapped a few pictures, then watched as their teacher led them off down a path through the woods.

  “Blu!”

  Blu jumped and turned around to see Maddie a few feet away.

  “See, I told you I’d be here.”

  “Where are the kids?”

  “Skate party. It’s some kind of thing that goes all night. They have my number if they need me.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  “I hope so. It’s hard to find things that they both enjoy these days. So what’s up? Did you talk to AJ yet?�
�

  “AJ? No.”

  “Oh, I just figured you’d want to share your information with him.”

  “Not just yet.”

  “Well, I made sure that I got in contact with everyone I could about the memorial. I assume AJ is providing drinks and food?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, then we should be all set. Unless you want to put up some flyers?” She produced a stack of papers with a smile. “How much do you love me?”

  “More than you could ever know!” Blu hugged her, then took the flyers. “The kids and I will have fun putting these up today. That should get us a big crowd.”

  “I just hope it works out the way that you want it to.”

  “Me too.”

  “Well, I’ll get a head start on putting some of these out now. If anything comes up call me. Otherwise, I’ll meet you at the Beach Bum tonight.”

  “Okay. Thanks again, Maddie.”

  “Just remember me when you collect the reward money.” She winked, then walked away.

  Blu tucked the stack of papers under her arm and watched as Joey and Marley made their way back out of the woods. For Marley it was just a fun ride, but Joey seemed to have a real passion for his horse. He always took a little extra time after the lesson to brush and care for the horse. That kind of passion spoke of a love for animals.

  It was the same kind of love that Bianca expressed for the environment. Blu couldn’t help the thought that appeared out of nowhere.

  At the grocery store there was a special on quite a few items. Blu was careful to keep both kids close as she maneuvered the aisles in search of the items on Rachel’s list. Between checking the list and the labels, and wrangling two children who wanted everything they saw, Blu didn’t notice when someone reached past her to grab the last pack of frozen chicken breast.