“Darlin, I can’t help it if some of these girls come into my peripheral vision as I gaze at your loveliness.”
Paige let out a guffaw. “You are so full of it! That’s okay, there’s surely a man with six pack abs that will filter into my vision at some point.”
Brandon and I smiled as the two bantered back and forth. We placed our towels on the lounge chairs and sprayed sunscreen on each other.
A cocktail server came around to ask if Brandon and I would like something to drink. I looked at Paige and pointed to her drink.
“What are you having?”
“A pina colada. It’s very good. Except for the little umbrella. I’ve poked my eye twice now.”
“Then why is it still in your cup?” I asked.
“After the second time I learned to dodge it.”
“Why not take it out?”
Paige shook her head. “Nope…I want a drink with a tiny umbrella despite it poking me in the eye every chance it gets.”
“I’ll have a pina colada without the tiny umbrella,” I told the server. “I like to keep my vision intact.”
“Wuss,” Paige said as she almost speared her eye again.
“Here darlin,” Bruce said as he handed Paige her sunglasses. “These will keep that nasty umbrella from piercing your eye.”
I looked over at Brandon who was already snoozing.
“Looks like he’s got the right idea,” Bruce said as he pulled a towel over his eyes.
Paige and I looked at one another. “Let’s go for a walk after you get your drink.”
“What about Stormi and Greg?”
Paige waved her hand. “We’ll be lucky to see them the next few days.” I nodded my head. The lovebirds were finally on their honeymoon and there was no way we would intrude upon them. However, events transpired that would put us straight into another mystery, only this time on a tropical island.
***********
The turquoise waters offered a tranquil setting on the island as it lapped softly onto the beach. The soft, smooth and warm sand squeezed between my toes, bringing with it a comfort of sorts. For the first few days, we lounged around the pool, took walks on the beach, and ate and drank to our heart’s content. The food was delicious and plentiful. At night, a certain number of the waiters, waitresses, maids and bellhops would offer theatrical events, which included singing, dancing, and even a few dramatic plays. We were astounded at how talented these young people were. We learned that many of them came from Los Angeles and New York to work during the summer and to hone their craft. However, most of their money came from their wages and tips.
We didn’t see much of Greg and Stormi the first few days. Oh, we’d see them once in a while, taking a walk along the beach, or having a candlelit dinner at one of the restaurants at the resort. We’d smile and wave and they’d wave back, but kept our distance to allow them their private time. We knew they’d let us know when they were ready to join the group again.
One night Brandon and I elected to have a private dinner as well. I threw on a mint green summer dress with thin straps that brushed to the floor. I could feel the soft fabric as it touched my skin ever so gently. My swept up hair held in place by a fake diamond pin, while small tendrils fell on either side of my face. I didn’t look half-bad, but when Brandon stepped out my jaw almost hit the floor. Not that he didn’t always look handsome, but he looked especially gorgeous tonight.
A dark blue plaid shirt with tiny lines of cream and medium blue brought out the blue-greenish hue in his eyes. A bright red tie contrasted uniquely with his jet-black hair.
“I can wear the jacket, but in this heat I’d rather not. Wow, you look amazing!”
I walked over to my handsome fiancé and took hold of his tie. “Leave the jacket, but I really like this tie.”
He put his hands on my waist and gave me a sweet kiss. “You know we could just order room service.”
I shook my head. “No way. We look way too good not to show off.”
There were several restaurants in the resort compound, but one was designated as the romantic getaway. As we walked into the restaurant, dark paneled walls greeted us. Flickering flames from candlelit tables provided a dreamy ambiance to the setting. Delectable aromas emerged as they wafted from the kitchen. That night we feasted on a crab cakes for appetizers, filet mignon and grilled asparagus for dinner, and a molten chocolate lava cake for dessert. As we lingered over coffee, our discussion turned to when our own wedding would occur. Brandon and I hadn’t actually discussed a firm date. Too much had happened with planning Stormi’s wedding and the fiasco that followed it. But now Brandon wanted to pin down a date.
“I think we should figure out a wedding date don’t you,” he said taking sip from his coffee cup.
“How about a spring wedding? Sometime in April or May?”
He reached across the table and took my hand. “That will work for me. I’m ready right now, but I know how you girls like all the planning for the big day.”
I sat back in my chair. “After everything Stormi went through I don’t know if it’s worth it.”
“All of the ups and downs in Stormi’s wedding had a lot to do with Momma and our crazy cousin Howie.”
“Well, at least one of them is in jail.” That flew out of my mouth before I thought.
Brandon almost spewed his coffee as he laughed. “Well let’s see, maybe Greg can arrest Momma and send her to the hoosegow if she gets too crazy.”
I giggled. “Oh Lord I’d hate to see what would await Greg after Miss Dottie got out.”
We had a wonderful dinner. Good food and a handsome date on a tropical island. I was in heaven. But as usual, life has a way of bringing you back down to earth.
Chapter Four
The first few days Paige and I spent time together while Bruce and Brandon hang glided over the ocean and raced their wave runners up and down the beach. Paige and I decided to let the boys have their fun without us. Of course, we made our own kind of amusement by reading mysteries on our kindles, sipping fruity cocktails, and talking about anything and everyone. Paige and I would call home as well to check on Sammi, Winchester and how it was going with the ice cream shoppe. Sammi had it all under control, although she thought Winchester missed me and I missed him. But I knew he was in good hands. We also called Trixie to let her know how the trip was going, and she reported visiting the Frozen Scoop each day and that everything was under control.
By the third day, Stormi and Greg showed themselves as they joined us under one of the palm trees. The resort had several pools, but also an area with sand and palm trees. Blue, green and orange Adirondack chairs dotted the large landscape and we pulled several of the chairs under palm trees. I took off my flip-flops to stick my toes into the sand. I loved the feeling of the soft, warm powder as it spread between my toes.
Stormi pulled one of the orange chairs by Paige and me and plopped down. She looked awesome in her one-piece blue bathing suit that accentuated her curves. She wore a white lace cover up over the bathing suit. She sat down in the chair and wanted to know the latest around the resort. We filled her in, although there wasn’t much to tell. We hadn’t seen too many people milling about the last couple of days. The boys walked over to us and announced they were hiring a small charter fishing boat to take them sport fishing. We wished them luck and walked over to grab some loungers by the pool. We gabbed for a bit and then noticed a man walk over to the pool and dive in. He swam a few laps then strode out of the pool. His light brown hair curled around his ears and water rippled down his tanned body. He was definitely nice to leer…I mean look at. Even Paige couldn’t rip her gaze from him. He knew he was being watched, as he turned and gave us three a wink. Then he sat down on one of the loungers not far from us. We must have been spellbound as none of us breathed a word.
Then, just like clockwork, an equally stunning woman emerged from the hotel and walked down to the pool area. Her bright red hair illuminated a creamy complexion. The tips of her ha
ir kissed her shoulders. She wore large black sunglasses, which concealed her eyes until she took them off and laid them on the umbrella table next to the man. She then leaned over to kiss him. She wore a black two-piece bathing suit under a cream laced cover up. And still we sat, in mute silence, trying not to be so obvious about staring at this elegant couple.
Suddenly the man called over to us and we all flinched. “How are you ladies today? Enjoying this fabulous weather?”
We nodded like three buffoons. Finally, I found my voice. “Yes we are. Did you all just arrive?”
The man shook his head. “No, we’ve been here a few days.” He grabbed the woman’s hand. “We’ve just been preoccupied.” Yeah I bet.
“My name is Andre Garza and this is my beautiful wife Yvette.”
We introduced ourselves and told them Stormi was on her honeymoon and that the men folk were out sport fishing. Andre and Yvette explained that they were actors in Australia and had worked together in their latest film. They were at the resort taking a break before starting work on another project. A cocktail server came around and we all ordered some fruity drinks. Andre told the server to put the charge on his room. We told him that wasn’t necessary, but he insisted.
“Tell us some movies you were in so we can rent them when we get back home,” Stormi said sipping her drink. I could tell she was mesmerized by the celebrities. They wrote down a few of their films, but weren’t sure if we could get them since they were primarily Australian films.
Although the couple was quite elegant, they didn’t put on airs. They listened as we twittered on about how exciting it was to have met a couple of movie stars. I’m sure we appeared star struck, and we were, but they took it in stride. Eventually they excused themselves and we parted ways. Andre mentioned that he’d like to meet our ‘men folk’ and we hoped to see them again too.
“Can you believe we just met two movie stars?” Stormi was excited. “I don’t have a clue who they are, but it was still exciting. And they were so nice too! I doubt Meryl Streep would be that nice.”
“Don’t go hating on Meryl.” Paige loved Meryl Streep ever since she saw her in Sophie’s Choice.
“I can’t see Meryl sunbathing at a Cancun resort either,” I said as I reapplied sunscreen to my legs.
Stormi nodded. “She’s much too pale.”
Paige turned in her lounge chair. “What have you got against Meryl?”
Stormi took a sip of her drink. “Nothing. I just think she’s snooty.”
“You don’t even know her.”
“I can just tell.”
This went back and forth for a bit. Instead of joining in the banter, I leaned back and closed my eyes, wondering how it would be to have a jet set life like Andre and Yvette. While it may be exciting, I preferred my quiet life in a small town with my quaint ice cream shoppe, my handsome fiancé, and my tiny Winchester. Yes, I felt quite rich indeed.
After the guys got back from their sport fishing adventure, in which Greg told us about the huge swordfish he caught, complete with pictures, we told them about meeting movie star royalty. Since they’d never heard of them, and it wasn’t Dwayne Johnson or Sandra Bullock, they weren’t interested.
We all ate dinner at the Mexican restaurant at the resort, hoping to spot Andre and Yvette so we could introduce them to our men, but unfortunately, they didn’t appear. We stopped for a drink at the bar, still searching for the elusive couple, but no luck.
“Maybe we will see them tomorrow and introduce you,” Stormi said as we all headed to our rooms. Unfortunately, that would never happen.
Chapter Five
The next morning Brandon and I headed out of the room early to catch the sunrise. The resort was quiet and it seemed strange not to bump into other guests or employees. As we left the elevator and walked outside, we could hear the beep beep of a garbage truck in the distance. Once we rounded the corner of the building to head to the pool we ran into Stormi and Greg who had the same idea. We walked together, Stormi and me in the lead with Brandon and Greg behind us. We had to walk past the pool to get to the stairs to the beach. From a distance, it looked like a couple of people were already in the pool, which was strange since the pool didn’t open for guests until 8am. But as we walked closer, something didn’t seem right. Just before realization set in, Stormi let out a shriek. Greg grabbed her to see what was wrong as my hand flew to my face in disbelief.
Floating in the pool, lying face down was Andre and Yvette. They were clothed in what looked like dining attire; he in a black suit and she in a red and white flowing dress that reached her ankles. Greg moved us all away from the scene and alerted the hotel. In what seemed a matter of minutes, the police arrived. By that time, we had called Bruce and Paige and they raced down from their room.
“What in the world happened?” Paige said as she sprinted over to Stormi and me. She wore the white bathrobe the resort supplied, but Bruce had thrown on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that read, ‘I’m in my happy place, Cancun, Mexico.’
I had my arm around Stormi who was blowing her nose into the handkerchief Greg had given her. “We don’t know,” Stormi sniffled. “When we got close to the pool we could see that something was terribly wrong.”
“How did you know it was Andre and Yvette?” Paige asked as she pulled the ties on the robe tighter.
“It was pretty obvious, at least to us since we’d met them yesterday,” I said. “And you couldn’t mistake Yvette’s flaming red hair.”
“This is just awful,” Paige exclaimed. “Those poor people. They were so nice. What could have happened that both of them drowned? Could she have fallen in and he tried to save her and drowned himself?”
I shook my head. “Doesn’t make sense. Remember how he swam those laps yesterday. He knew how to handle himself in the water.”
We walked over to sit down at one of the resort tables while Greg talked to the police detective and Brandon and Bruce hung around other guests who wanted to know what happened. We girls were still in shock. How could these two vibrant people be gone? And in such a strange fashion as well and right in the same place where we met them yesterday. Eventually Greg walked over and Brandon and Bruce joined us. We decided to go have breakfast, although nobody felt like eating. However, sometimes you have to perform something routine just to feel normal again after a very unusual situation.
By the time we sat down at the restaurant, Stormi had composed herself. “I don’t know why I became so emotional…that’s usually not how I would act. We just met them.”
“You were startled and your emotions ran high,” Greg said taking her hand. “It’s a normal reaction.”
“What did the detective tell you?” Brandon asked as he poured creamer into his coffee.
Greg ran a hand over his police officer buzz cut. Not my choice for Brandon, but it looked good on Greg. “Not much. It’s obvious they drowned and I saw spots of blood near the edge of the pool. It could be a tragic accident or foul play. It’s hard to say.”
“I can’t think it was an accident…that’s just too bizarre,” Stormi stated as she buttered her toast.
“It may seem strange, but I’ve seen cases where it looked like a crime occurred when it was actually an accident.” Greg was attempting to diffuse what he knew was a growing obsession we would have in finding out what happened to the glamorous couple.
“I’m with Stormi,” I said as I stabbed the scrambled eggs with my fork. “Somebody wanted that couple dead….the question is why.”
Paige leaned over the table towards Stormi and me. “Think they could’ve been working undercover and maybe the celebrity angle was just a rouse?”
“Hold on there Sherlock,” Bruce announced. “I think, and I’m sure my male companions would agree, that you ladies shouldn’t worry your pretty little heads over this misfortunate incident.”
All three of us gave Bruce the stink eye…pretty little heads indeed.
Brandon looked at Bruce. “Did that burn? It looked like it bu
rned.”
Bruce appeared wilted. “I think my manhood just suffered a hit.”
Paige patted Bruce on the back. “You’ll get over it dear.”
“Bruce is right though,” Greg spoke up. “You girls need to leave the investigating to the proper authorities.”
We nodded our heads, but we knew deep down that wouldn’t be the case.
Chapter Six
That afternoon we all had reservations to go whale watching. We loved watching the huge creatures that seemed to know we were there to watch them. Sometimes they’d be so close to the boat we’d let out tiny squeals. These behemoths could shatter the small boat we were on but they never acted aggressive in the least. Of course, we girls were still preoccupied with the possible homicides of the celebrity couple from this morning.
A Sprinkle of Tropical Trouble: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 9) Page 2