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

by Maci Grant

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, I’m just trying to get all the facts here. Can you please tell me if there was anything strange on or near the body—near Martha?”

  “No. Has anyone told her husband, Gill? Gill Peddle will need to be notified right away. Oh, he’s going to be heartbroken.” Blu’s eyes filled with hot heavy tears that her eyelashes could not hold back.

  The officer cleared his throat and handed her a tissue. “Were you friends with the deceased?”

  “Not exactly friends, no. But we always buy ice cream from the shop. I just hope that Gill is okay. I don’t know why she would have been here all alone.”

  “She didn’t have her purse. Did you see her purse?”

  “Her purse?” Blu blinked. “No. I didn’t see it. Maybe it’s in the shop?”

  “I don’t think so. The shop is locked.” The officer shook his head. “I’m sure it’ll turn up somewhere.”

  “Do you think it was a heart attack?”

  “It’s possible. We won’t know for sure until the autopsy is complete.”

  Blu shuddered at the thought. “Can I go? I really need to get back to work.”

  “Uh, I think Chief Pitman might want to talk to you.”

  Blu shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to talk to Chief Pitman. He was gruff and in her opinion quite cold. He would probably judge her for the tears she shed.

  “I’ve given you my statement. If there’s any other information you might need I’d be happy to offer it. But I’d really like to go now.”

  “Ma’am, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “I’m a nanny. The family I work for is staying in a beach house nearby. I’m easy to find if you need me.”

  “Alright. I guess it would be okay.”

  “Make sure you get in contact with Gill. Okay?”

  “Yes, we will.”

  As Blu drove out of the parking lot she could see Chief Pitman’s car approaching from the other direction. She thought for just a moment about turning back. But as fresh tears built in her eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She just wanted to be home, where she could pretend that nothing bad ever happened.

  Blu drove to the Rosses’ home where Maddie and the kids were blowing bubbles in the front yard—more specifically, Marley and Joey were blowing bubbles while Brennan and Chrissa played on their cell phones.

  Maddie stood up from the front steps to greet Blu. “How did it go?”

  Blu clenched her jaw and shook her head. “It’s always hard for me to understand how the police are able to look at people as just bodies. I just hope that they realize they are dealing with a wonderful woman who had a big impact on the people around her.”

  “I’m sure that Gill will make sure they do.”

  “I hope so. I hate to think of how he will take this. It honestly worries me.”

  “He’s probably stronger than you think. It will be hard for him, but he’ll find a way to get through it.”

  “I guess.” Blu smiled as Marley blew a stream of bubbles in her direction. She swatted at the bubbles playfully, even though more tears brewed. “I’d better get them home. I think once we’re settled, I can start to calm down. I really appreciate you taking them for me.”

  “It’s no problem. I hope that you can get a little rest today. Try to think of happy things. It might help to get that image out of your mind.”

  “It might.” Blu nodded. “Alright, kiddos, let’s go.”

  “Bye, Brennan!” Joey waved to the boy. Blu expected that Brennan wouldn’t even look up from his phone, but he did.

  He gave Joey a thumbs up, then went back to texting.

  “He’s so cool!”

  Blu couldn’t help but smile at Joey’s admiration.

  Chapter 7

  Blu drove the kids home and noticed that Rachel’s car was in the driveway.

  When Blu opened the door to the beach house she found Rachel on her computer in the living room.

  “Blu, were you just at the playground?”

  “Yes.”

  “Someone just sent me a message that there are a ton of police cars down there. I was about to call you to check on you guys.”

  “I’m sorry, I should have called to let you know that we’re okay. We left when the police showed up.”

  “Do you know what it’s about?”

  Blu met her eyes. Blu had a strict policy about being honest with the parents she worked for. They trusted her with their children, and she always wanted to give them every reason to trust her.

  “I’m sure that it will be on the news.”

  “What will be?” Rachel stood up.

  “You two go wash up and I’ll get you some lunch.” Blu smiled at the kids.

  She turned back to Rachel and was about to open her mouth to explain when there was a heavy knock at the door. Blu was relieved to answer it and halt the conversation for the moment.

  “I must have forgotten something at Maddie’s.”

  She pulled open the door to find Chief Pitman.

  “Hi, Blu.”

  Blu frowned. “Yes. Can I help you?”

  “Did you find Martha Peddle?”

  Blu cleared her throat. “Yes, I did.”

  “Did my officer suggest that you stay at the scene until I could speak with you?” Chief Pitman leaned his shoulder against the doorframe.

  “Blu, what is he talking about?” Rachel frowned. “Did you see what happened today?”

  “I’d rather not talk about it.” Blu tilted her head toward the two children, who had returned to the living room with a board game to set up. “It’s upsetting.”

  “Of course it’s upsetting. That’s why it’s so important that I get the correct information from you.” Chief Pitman’s voice became sharper.

  “I think you need to watch your tone.” Rachel moved between Blu and the chief. “There’s no reason to speak to her that way.”

  Although Blu could see the heat ignite in Chief Pitman’s eyes, she couldn’t deny a hint of warmth in her heart that Rachel stood up for her.

  “It’s okay, Rachel. If you don’t mind, I’ll just speak to him outside.”

  “It’s fine. But if you need me just let me know.” Rachel locked eyes with Chief Pitman.

  He turned away and stepped outside. Blu followed after him.

  “The summer people seem to think they own the law around here.” Chief Pitman shook his head as he turned back to face her. “But they don’t, Blu. Understand?”

  “Yes, I understand. Chief Pitman, I called as soon as I saw Martha, and I stayed until help arrived. I just didn’t want to upset the kids.”

  “You have to realize that leaving the scene of a murder was an unwise decision.” He slid his hands into his pockets.

  “A murder? I thought maybe she had a heart attack or something.” Blu’s eyes watered once more. “Who would murder her? Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m sure.”

  “How?” Blu raised an eyebrow.

  “When you found Martha, what did you do?”

  “I don’t know what you mean. I found her, and I called the police.”

  “No. That’s not all you did. Think about it, Blu. When you found her, what did you do?”

  “I told you already. I didn’t do anything else. I went to the bathroom, I walked back down the alley, and I saw her.”

  Chief Pitman leaned toward her. His eyes bore into hers. “What did you see?”

  Blu stared back at him. Her heart skipped a beat. Her breath grew shallow. “I saw a blanket. I mean, I thought it was a blanket.”

  “And?”

  “I was annoyed. The dumpster was right there. So I walked over to pick it up, and then I saw that it wasn’t a blanket. It was a person with a shawl over her face.”

  “A shawl?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I called the police.”

  “No!” Chief Pitman’s voice made her jump, not because it was loud, but because s
he had drifted back in her mind to the moment she found Martha. “You did something else.” He searched her eyes.

  “I pulled the shawl away from her face.” Blu’s eyes widened.

  “When someone dies of natural causes, do they normally pull a shawl up over their face?”

  “No.” Blu closed her eyes. “No, they don’t.”

  “No, they don’t.” He rested a hand on the exterior wall beside her. “So, my men spent quite some time under the assumption that this death was natural, because you never told the officer that you pulled the shawl away from Martha’s face.”

  “I didn’t even think about it. I didn’t realize that it would be important.” She frowned. “But you know now.”

  “Only because the crime scene tech found fibers of the shawl stuck in her lipstick, hair, and eyebrows. In homicide, Blu, every second counts. You need to tell me what you saw when you were there.”

  “I didn’t see anything but Martha. I didn’t witness the crime. No one else was nearby.”

  “Are you sure?” Chief Pitman stepped closer to her. “The medical examiner puts the estimated time of death at an hour before you discovered the body.”

  “An hour?” Blu’s eyes widened.

  “How long were you and the kids at the park?”

  Blu looked away from him. A ripple of nausea washed through her. Was it possible that Mrs. Peddle was killed while they played and laughed on the playground? The very idea that the murder could have taken place right under their noses made her dizzy.

  “Blu?” Chief Pitman reached out and caught her by the arm.

  The gentleness of his touch caused Blu to meet his eyes. “At least an hour. Are you sure about the time of death?”

  “Right now it’s just an estimate. We won’t know anything conclusive until the autopsy of the body is complete. If you can give me some idea of what happened, we’ll have a head start on solving this crime. Anything you can think of—a strange person walking by, some kind of scream you might have heard—all of that can make a difference. So please, think about it.”

  “I didn’t hear anything.” Blu shook her head.

  “See, that’s what I’m having a hard time believing. You were right there. You heard nothing? Not a gasp, not a scream, no squealing tires, nothing?”

  Blu stared back at him. “If I said I didn’t hear anything, I didn’t hear anything. Why else would I say that?”

  “I don’t know. I also don’t know how a woman dies only a few feet away from the playground, but she doesn’t make a sound. Can you see why that would not make sense to me?” He held her gaze in return.

  “Yes, I can.” Blu shook her head slowly. “It’s heartbreaking to think that Mrs. Peddle could have been dying while we were playing on the playground. I don’t know, maybe the sounds of the kids drowned out anything that came from the alley. If I knew something, Chief Pitman, I hope you know that I would tell you.”

  “Is it that you don’t want to get involved? Usually you’re chomping at the bit to help with a crime.”

  “Why don’t you believe me?” Blu frowned. “I’ve never given you a reason to think that I would lie to you. So why is it that you are acting like I’m trying to cover something up?”

  “Well, you certainly aren’t doing much to help me. If you are so interested in solving the crime, then you should want to help. Walk me through everything that happened again.”

  Chapter 8

  Blu pursed her lips and looked away from Chief Pitman. She had to admit that she was letting her aversion to him get in the way of her willingness to cooperate.

  “Okay, fine. I was at the playground with the kids, my friend Maddie, and the children she takes care of. I had to use the restroom, so I walked around behind the ice cream shop to use the restroom.”

  “You didn’t see the body on the way in?”

  “I was preoccupied.”

  “With what?”

  Blu looked at him. “What do you think?”

  “I see. Then what?”

  “I left the restroom and walked back down the alley. I found Mrs. Peddle. It was horrifying, and I’m sorry it happened, but I don’t know anything else about it.”

  “Well, if your memory starts to come back, do give me a call, Blu.” He nodded to her, then turned and walked away.

  Rachel opened the door as soon as he was gone. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were at the scene, Blu?” She frowned.

  “I just didn’t want you to worry. I mean, maybe I shouldn’t have stayed, but I just couldn’t leave her there alone.” Blu shook her head. “I didn’t think that it would be right.”

  “I understand that. You don’t ever have to hide things from me. I’m more interested in how you are doing after seeing such a terrible thing. Are you okay?”

  “I think so. I just hope that they figure out who did this. Poor Martha.”

  “How do they think she died?”

  “They’re not sure yet.” Blu lowered her voice. “But I did notice a strange blue tinge around her lips. I thought it was from a heart attack or something, but Chief Pitman believes it was a murder. If that’s the case, then I think maybe she was suffocated.”

  Rachel put her hand to her mouth. “That poor woman. I would never expect something like this to happen to her.”

  “Me either.” Blu folded her arms. “I’m really worried about Mr. Peddle.”

  “Well, maybe you should go see him. Take the rest of the day off. I’m sure that after what happened today, you could use it. I’m here anyway.”

  “Okay.” Blu nodded. “That would be nice. I’m just going to check in and make sure that he has someone with him. If they had no kids, he might not.”

  “Good. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. Alright?”

  “Yes, I will. That’s kind of you.”

  Blu left the house with a knot in her stomach. A part of her wanted to just walk the beach instead of checking in with Gill. She didn’t want to face the truth about what happened to Martha, but it was more important to her to ensure that the man was being treated well.

  As she approached the ice cream shop she walked through the parking lot of the Beach Bum. She was so focused on Martha’s death that she didn’t notice someone jogging across the parking lot toward her. It wasn’t until he touched her on the elbow that she realized he was there.

  She stopped and turned to see AJ looking at her.

  “Blu, I heard that you were the one who found Martha. Are you okay?” He caught her hand.

  “I’m fine. I just wanted to check in on Mr. Peddle.”

  “Oh.” AJ looked across the parking lot at the ice cream shop. “My uncle’s with him now.” AJ’s uncle was Chief Pitman.

  “I wonder how he’s taking it. That poor man. How is he going to survive without Martha?” Blu sighed. “I’ve never seen two people more in love.”

  “Blu, I think there’s something that you should know.”

  AJ tried to get her attention by tugging at her hand, but Blu pulled it away and squinted at the ice cream shop. She could see the door open and Chief Pitman step out, followed by several police officers and Mr. Peddle.

  “Wait, what is he doing?” Blu stared at the parade of officers that surrounded Mr. Peddle as he was led out of the ice cream shop toward a patrol car.

  “What he has to do.” AJ placed a restraining hand on her arm. “Gill Peddle is the prime suspect.”

  “Mr. Peddle? But why? He would never do anything to harm his wife.”

  “Apparently Martha’s lips were stained with blueberry.”

  Blu’s eyes widened. “I thought they were just discolored. But why does that matter?”

  “Martha had a rare but severe allergy to blueberries.”

  “That’s why they don’t carry blueberry ice cream.”

  AJ nodded. “It was an allergy that Gill was quite aware of, and the theory is that Gill intentionally gave his wife blueberry ice cream.”

  “But if she knew that she was aller
gic, why would she eat it?”

  “They found packaging in the dumpster near the body. The ice cream container claimed it was berry cherry—a mixture of flavors, none of which were blueberry. My guess is she ate quite a bit of it before she recognized the taste, if she ever recognized it at all.”

  “That’s horrible.” Blu tried not to think about the fact that she ate the exact same flavor. “But still, that doesn’t mean that Gill is at fault. Anyone could have given her the container of ice cream.”

  “His fingerprints were all over the container. The container was from Peddle’s Ice Cream Shop. It’s very simple Blu. I really don’t think there’s any other way it could have happened.”

  Blu crossed her arms. “There’s no way that Gill did this.”

  “Listen, I’ve been in a police family long enough to know that when a spouse is killed, the husband or wife is always the first one they look at. In this case, there’s plenty of evidence to back up the suspicion.”

  “Your uncle has it wrong. Gill adored Martha. They were the perfect couple. They’ve been together for years. They love each other. What motive could he possibly have?”

  “So you know them well?” AJ titled his head toward her and lowered his voice. “You’ve seen them outside of the ice cream shop?”

  Blu pursed her lips. “Well, no. But that doesn’t mean that I’m wrong.”

  “And it also doesn’t mean that you’re right. You’ve got to let Uncle Paul sort it out. He’s an honest man. If he thinks there’s any reason to believe that someone else killed Martha, then he’ll follow up on it.”

  Chapter 9

  Blu tightened her arms and watched as Chief Pitman guided the fragile man into the back seat of a patrol car. “I guess it just doesn’t seem fair. He just lost his wife. Now he has to go through this. How is that decent, AJ?”

  “It may not be easy for him, but neither of us knows exactly what happened. It’s easy to say that he did or didn’t do it, but we just don’t know, do we? That’s why there will be an investigation.”

  “I want to talk to him.” Blu started to walk toward the patrol car.