by Maci Grant
“I wouldn’t think so either, but it is me. I’m that young girl in the picture.”
“If you say it’s you, I believe you. In fact, I’m not sure why I didn’t see it for myself.” AJ’s grin grew wider.
“See what?”
“You’re still the most beautiful thing about summer.”
Summer in Diamond Bay
(Book 4)
Hot Dogs and Homicide
A Nanny Blu Cozy Mystery
By
Maci Grant and Lillianna Blake
Copyright © 2015 Maci Grant
Cover design by Beetiful Book Covers
All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
Dark yellow mustard streamed across the hot dog. Blu smiled at the scent. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation of eating it. Marley and Joey clamored beside her, just as eager to have their own hot dogs.
“Thanks so much.” Blu paid the man behind the cart. “Where’s the usual guy?”
“Oh, my dad?” The young man shrugged. “He’s letting me man the cart today.”
“Well, good job.” Blu smiled. “I have to say that this is one of the things we look forward to the most when we come to visit the lighthouse. All three of us love the hot dogs.”
“I’m glad. I’ll be sure to pass on the compliment.” He handed a hot dog to Joey, then another to Blu for Marley. “Enjoy, kids.”
“Thank you.” Joey smiled.
“Yum!” Marley opened her mouth to take a bite.
“Wait! Marley, it might be too hot. Why don’t we sit on that bench over there and eat them?”
Blu led the kids to a small green bench that faced the ocean. She handed out juice boxes and opened her own bottle of water. While they ate, the kids swung their feet. Blu stared out across the ocean. When she finished her hot dog she tossed the wrapper into the nearby trashcan.
The tall lighthouse grabbed her attention. She looked up at the large glass panels that sparkled in the sunlight. It was a small lighthouse, but it was a favorite destination for Blu and the kids. “Finish up so we can get inside before it closes.”
Blu checked her watch. She knew the lighthouse closed at four and it was already three-thirty. She collected the hot dog wrappers from the kids and tossed them in the garbage. Then she scrubbed their faces and hands with wipes.
“Marley, I think you got more ketchup on you than the hot dog did.”
“Oops.” Marley giggled.
“Can we get another, Blu? Can we, please?” Joey stood up.
“Not now, Joey or we won’t have time to see the lighthouse. Maybe when we come back out.”
“Okay.” Joey sighed.
Blu took Marley’s hand and walked the kids into the lighthouse. They paid for their tickets.
Before heading for the spiral stairs, Blu walked with the kids around the exhibits. Although school was out for the summer, she always liked to incorporate a little education into their activities.
“Look at this. This is what the lighthouse looked like fifty years ago.” She tapped a picture that was protected by a glass display case.
Before the kids could look, a woman rushed down the stairs. She was tall, thin, and moved so fast that Blu almost thought she was a ghost. She ran right out the door of the lighthouse. Blu narrowed her eyes. Screams alerted her that something bad had happened outside.
“What’s going on?” Joey looked toward the door with wide eyes. “Why are people screaming?”
Marley covered her ears.
“Don’t worry about that.” Blu pointed to the picture. “Take a look at this.”
The screams subsided. The kids looked at the picture. Blu peeked out through the front window of the museum just in time to see a body being covered by a white sheet. Her heart raced. It looked as if someone had jumped off the top of the lighthouse.
She met the eyes of the man behind the counter, who had grown pale. “Is there a back door?”
“Yes, right this way.” He led her to the back door. As curious as Blu was about what had happened, she didn’t want the kids to see the body.
“Blu, why are we leaving? We didn’t even get to climb the stairs!” Joey frowned.
“Next time, Joey. I was wrong. The museum is already closing.”
“Yes, we changed the hours.” The clerk cleared his throat. “Listen to your mother.”
“She’s my nanny.”
“Then listen to your nanny.”
Blu steered the kids away from the lighthouse. As she walked with them, she noticed that the hot dog cart was gone. She thought about the woman whom she’d seen. Was she with the man who’d jumped? Her stomach twisted at the thought.
Just as she was about to cross the street toward the parking lot where her car was parked, a patrol car glided to a stop beside her.
“Blu?” Chief Pitman stuck his head out the window. “Were you at the lighthouse?”
“Yes, I was.”
“She wouldn’t let us climb the stairs!” Joey pouted. “And I wanted another hot dog.”
“Joey, shush.” Blu frowned.
“Anything I should know?” Chief Pitman met her eyes.
“I saw a woman. She was tall and thin. She ran down the stairs and out the door.”
“About what age, do you think?”
“I don’t know. Young. Maybe twenty?”
“Thanks, Blu.”
“Wait. Chief Pitman, do you know who it was? I mean, the reason why you’re here?” She glanced at the kids to indicate caution.
“Ah, yes. It was Emile Grover.”
“Emile?” Blu’s eyes widened. “The owner of the hot dog cart?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, his poor son.” Blu put her hand to her mouth. “He must have seen the whole thing.”
“It’s a terrible thing. We’re going to get it all sorted out.”
Blu shook her head. “Is there ever an explanation for something like that?”
“Not a good one, I’m afraid.”
The patrol car pulled off.
Blu was feeling anxious as she helped the kids into the car. Once they were settled she called Maddie on her cell phone.
“Hi, Blu. How is the lighthouse?”
“Horrible. The hot dog cart owner jumped off the lighthouse.” She lowered her voice to be sure the kids couldn’t hear her.
“What? How horrible! Did the kids see?”
“No, but they’re both mad at me for making them leave early.”
“I bet. You can bring them over here to distract them if you want.”
“Great! Thanks, Maddie. We’ll be there in fifteen.”
“We’ll be waiting for you. Chrissa, stop hitting your brother with a pillow!”
Blu smiled as she hung up the phone. Maddie had her hands full with the two kids she nannied for, a ten-year-old girl and a twelve-year-old boy. Blu considered herself lucky to only have a moody seven-year-old and a precocious four-year-old to juggle.
When she got into the car Joey scowled at her from the backseat.
“I know that you’re both disappointed about the lighthouse. But we’re going to go to the Rosses’ house. Alright?”
“Alright!” Joey smiled from ear to ear. “I can’t wait to see Brennan.”
“Chrissa will do my toes!” Marley wiggled her toes.
Blu smiled and drove out of the parking lot. She looked back toward the flashing lights and gathered crowd. She couldn’t think of a single reason why Emile would take his life. But, then again, she barely knew the man.
Chapter 2
When Blu arrived at the beach house that Maddie’s family stayed in for the summer, her mind instantly returned to Emile. It bothered her in a way that she couldn’t shake.
“Hi!” Maddie waved them into the house. Brennan was curled up on the couch with a tablet. Chrissa already had her make-up and nail polish kit out.
“Oh, my customer is here!” Chrissa wiggled her fingers at Marley.
Marley ran straight for her. Joey plopped
down on the couch next to Brennan and did his best to look just as cool.
“You doing okay?” Maddie met Blu’s eyes.
“I’m okay. I just can’t believe it. All I keep thinking about is how his son was there. What kind of thing is that for a son to witness?”
“Horrible.” Maddie shook her head. “If he wanted to end it all, why did he do it in front of his kid? That’s just cruel.”
Blu’s cell phone rang. When she checked, she saw that it was Chief Pitman calling.
“Hello?”
“Blu, I need you to come down to the station.”
“Why?”
“This wasn’t a suicide. Emile was thrown off of the top of the lighthouse. I want to discuss this woman that you saw and anything else you might have seen. Can you come in?”
Blu glanced at the kids, who were both happily engaged. “Maddie, do you mind watching the kids?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I can be there in a few minutes, Chief Pitman.”
“As fast as you can. This entire case just got turned on its head.”
As Blu drove to the police station her heart pounded. Was it possible that the woman she saw run past had something to do with Emile’s death?
She parked at the police station and hurried in. Chief Pitman greeted her at the door.
“Come with me. I don’t want any interruptions.” He led her into one of the interrogation rooms and closed the door.
When Blu heard the click of the door as it closed, she began to feel a little uncomfortable. Although Chief Pitman appeared to want her help, he still intimidated her a bit.
“Sit.” He gestured to the chair.
Blu sat down and looked across the table at him. “How do you know it was murder?”
“When the medical examiner arrived at the scene he pointed out that Emile could not have jumped and landed in the position that he’d fallen in. Also Emile’s collar was torn.” He sat down across from her and sighed. “So what was a simple suicide has now become a murder. You’re my best witness so far. So let’s hear it.”
“I already told you what I saw.”
“You said that Emile’s son was operating the hot dog cart when you arrived at the lighthouse?”
“Yes he was. I asked him where his father was. He said that his father had let him take over the cart that day. If he knew his father was in the lighthouse, he didn’t mention it to me.”
“The funny thing is that when I arrived, the cart was gone and so was Emile’s son, Oliver. We’ve yet to be able to find him, although to be fair we haven’t been looking for too long,” said Chief Pitman.
“I saw him leaving right after the body—uh, after Emile fell. I figured he was spooked by it. But…”
“But?” Chief Pitman leaned forward.
“From where he was, I don’t see how he wouldn’t have seen his father fall. If he knew it was his father, then why would he pack up and leave?”
“That’s a very good question, and as soon as we find Oliver we’re going to ask him that. Right now I’d like you to tell me about the woman that you saw.”
Blu shook her head. “I already told you what I saw. But I really don’t think that she could have done it.”
“Oh? She was at the top of the lighthouse at the time that he fell.”
“Maybe, but she was very thin—not just skinny, but rail thin. I’ve been up to the top of that lighthouse plenty of times, and there is a thick metal railing that surrounds it. I can’t see her getting Emile over that railing. He was a very large man.”
“You may be right. But seeing is not always the truth. Perhaps she was stronger than she seemed. Either way I need to talk to her. She didn’t say anything to you?”
“No. Not at all.” Blu frowned. “Isn’t there some kind of surveillance system on the top of the lighthouse? I remember last summer one of the staff members showed it to the kids. It records weather data also.”
“Yes, it’s still there, but unfortunately, before the murder occurred someone disabled it. There was visible damage to it. That is another reason we’re considering this a murder. Someone knew the camera was there and broke it on purpose.”
“Without an image, I don’t see how you’re going to find her.”
“I’m going to have you sit with my sketch artist.”
“Okay. I can do that. But I only saw her for a moment.”
“Just do the best you can. In the meantime I’m going to keep trying to track down Oliver.”
Chapter 3
When Chief Pitman left the room, a woman stepped inside. She offered Blu an awkward smile.
“Hi, hello—uh, I’m the sketch artist.”
“Okay.” Blu mustered a small smile. It went against her instincts to smile when she was upset.
The woman sat down across from her and opened a large sketchbook. She spread out a few pencils beside it. The pencils began to roll right off the table.
“Oh no, stop!” The woman grabbed the pencils just before they reached the edge.
Something about the entire scenario caused a laugh to bubble up from within Blu.
“Sorry about that. I’m Allison, by the way.”
“Blu.”
“It’s nice to meet you Blu. I’m rather new at this. But don’t think that means I can’t do it, because I can. I just can’t always keep track of my pencils.” She smiled. “Now, can you tell me what this woman looked like?”
“She was tall and thin. That’s about all I remember.”
“What about her hair?”
“It was long, I guess. Past her shoulders.”
“Don’t tell me lines and shapes, tell me textures.”
“Textures?” Blu raised an eyebrow.
“Yes—like her skin. Was it smooth? Bumpy? Weathered? Her hair. Was it stiff, smooth, frizzy?” She ran the pencil along the sketchbook.
“I only saw her for a moment.”
“Just close your eyes. The human mind retains much more information than our conscious mind recognizes. In that moment that you saw the woman you took a photograph of her. You just have to be able to access it. Take a deep breath and just relax.”
Blu sighed. She wasn’t sure if she could relax with four concrete walls around her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“What do you remember the most?”
“She was so tall, so thin—she looked like a ghost coming down the stairs.”
“What made her look that way?”
“I guess the way her hair drifted. It was long and light—and thin.”
“Okay, that’s good. What about her age? Did you get an idea of how old she might be?”
“Young. I don’t know exactly, but young.”
“Younger than you?”
Blu blinked. Despite being under thirty she had not considered herself young in a long time. “Yes, younger than me. Much. Maybe about twenty or even younger.”
“Okay, this is great, thank you. Her complexion? Was it pale, tan, olive?”
“Tan. A deep tan.”
“Perfect, thank you. Here we go.” She turned the sketch around to show Blu. “Does that look like her?”
Blu stared at the sketch. Even though it was done with only shading and a small amount of color the image was nearly identical to the woman. “Yes. That’s her. You’re amazing.”
“Oh, well, thank you.” She looked away shyly. “I try. I’ll get this to Chief Pitman so that he can put it out there. Hopefully we’ll be able to identify her quickly.”
“I hope so.” Blu frowned. “I feel so terrible about Emile. I guess it’s a little strange that I feel so much grief over a man I hardly knew. But it isn’t just about Emile, I guess. It’s about what he stood for—lighthearted fun, good food, an innocent time at the beach. All of that goes with him.”
“I don’t think that’s strange at all. Even if you don’t get to know a person on a deep level they can still have a huge impact on you. I never met Emile, but the way you talk about him l
ets me know that he was a man with a passion for his work—for making people happy, for offering that innocent beach experience. That tells me a lot about him. Any loss of life is tragic, but when it hits so close, that makes it even harder to understand.”
“You’re very insightful. Thank you. I feel a little better.”
“Well, you’re going to feel great when this picture finds our mystery lady.”
As Allison left the room Blu smiled. It wasn’t forced. She stood and followed after her. In the hall outside of the interrogation room she bumped right into Chief Pitman.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s quite alright. I was just coming to get you. I managed to find Oliver and I’m about to question him. I’d like for you to observe through the mirror.”
“Me?” Blu’s eyes widened.
“Yes, Blu. I think you’ve shown me that your instincts are very good. Plus you’re the only person in this police station that has spoken to Oliver. You have a slight advantage over me. You know how Oliver was acting in the moments before his father died. I’m going to show him this sketch, and see if he recognizes the person.”
“I’m glad to help.”
“Good. Just in here.” He opened the door to a narrow room.
One wall was mostly taken up by a large two-way mirror. Blu could see Oliver through the mirror. He sat behind a small metal table. If possible, he looked even younger than he had when she saw him earlier that day. His skin was pale, his eyes downcast. Blu noticed that he had folded his hands so tight on the table in front of him that his knuckles were turning white.
Her heart ached for him. She couldn’t imagine how she would handle her own father’s death. It would not be good.
Chapter 4
Chief Pitman opened the door and walked into the room with Oliver.
“Well, son, it’s been quite a day.” He sat down across from Oliver.
Oliver glanced up at him and then quickly away.
“Why am I here?”