On Trial

by Zanna Mackenzie

  We make our way up the beach towards the hire car and I look away as the screens are removed and the body, now covered, is taken to the waiting ambulance.

  “Do you think he suffered?” I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper. Why am I asking the question? Whatever answer I get from Charlie won’t change what has happened here or the way I feel.

  “I don’t think so. It would probably have been fairly quick,” he answers. I’m not sure if it’s the truth or whether he’s just trying to placate me.

  I stop and look at him. There’s concern in his eyes. Whether it’s just for my mental and emotional health or also about my ability to do this job I’m not sure. Charlie is the reason I’m here; the reason I work for the CCIA. If I get this wrong, if I’m not up to doing this job, it will reflect badly on him.

  We reach the car and climb inside. I pull on my seatbelt, glad to be out of the fierce wind. “Right now, I just need to get back to our room and you can make me a strong cup of coffee.”

  Charlie pulls the car away from the beach and sets off along the single track road, back towards our village B&B. “You’ve got it,” he says, flicking on the windscreen wipers as it starts to rain and then resting a hand on my thigh. “I’ll even let you finish the choc chip cookies.”

  By the time we’ve reached the B&B the rain is torrential. The weather around here changes in a millisecond. We grab our coats and make a dash from car to building. The B&B is in a grey and unattractive property. From what I’ve seen most buildings around here are built for practicality and to withstand the ferocious gales and storms – aesthetics clearly aren’t a priority.

  “Ah, good, you’re back.” Bethan, the woman who owns the B&B, says as we dash into the entrance hall, dripping rain all over the carpet. She’s standing behind the little reception desk and next to her is a stunningly attractive woman in jeans and a close-fitting jumper, a suitcase at her feet. “I was just talking to Martha here about how you were both down at the beach with the murder victim.”

  Strange – does she usually welcome guests by telling them about bodies washing up on the local beach?

  “It hasn’t been confirmed as murder,” Charlie says, following me inside, head down as he pulls off his wet coat. “Not officially.”

  The beautiful woman steps forward, ignores me and envelopes Charlie in a hug, catching him off guard. “Charlie!” she squeals excitedly. “It’s ages since we’ve worked together. So good to see you again!”

  Did she just say “work together”?

  I watch as Charlie hugs her back, meeting my questioning gaze over her shoulder.

  “Martha, what are you doing here?” he asks once she’s eventually disentangled herself from him.

  “The agency sent me to help you out with this case.” Martha casts a dismissive look in my direction. “They wanted their best agents working up here. So,” she shrugs her shoulders in a here-I-am way, “they sent me to work with you. I understand this is Amber’s first case and we don’t want her getting all overwhelmed on an important job like this do we?” She giggles and pushes a hand through her long honey-coloured hair.

  “This might be Amber’s first case but she’s more than capable…” Charlie starts to reply and I step forward, interrupting.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Martha,” I say, whilst thinking the agency don’t trust me. They don’t think I’m capable of doing this.

  Do I think I’m capable of doing this?

  They’ve sent Miss Beautiful CCIA Agent to work with Charlie. I’ll probably be relegated to fetching her cups of coffee and typing up her paperwork.

  “Anyway,” Miss Beautiful continues, “the boss wants a thorough investigation and expects us to be on this godforsaken island for a while so I’m told the guys back at base have arranged a rental cottage for us all to share. If you want to get packed and meet me back down here then I’ll lead the way to our new home. Ten minutes OK?”

  Fantastic.

  Not only do my new employers not trust me to do my job, they send another agent, a very beautiful one with a superior attitude, to work with Charlie and me on this case.

  Oh, and we all get to share a rental cottage together as well.

  I was so wrong when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse…

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  Amber Reed Mystery books by Zanna Mackenzie:

  In The Stars – The Case Of The Celebrity Murder

  On Trial – The Case Of The Vanishing Bride

  Precious – The Case Of The Murdered Pop Star

  Forever Mine –The Case Of The Movie Star Stalker

  Past Perfect – The Case Of The Soap Opera Murders

  Celebrity Mystery books by Zanna Mackenzie

  Murder On The Menu

  Holiday Heist

  About Zanna:

  Zanna Mackenzie lives in the UK on the Derbyshire / Leicestershire border with her husband, 4 dogs, a vegetable patch that’s home to far too many weeds and an ever expanding library of books waiting to be read.

  Being a freelance writer and editor of business publications is her ‘day job’ but, at every opportunity, she can be found scribbling down notes on scenes for whatever novel she’s working on. She loves it when the characters in her novels take on minds of their own and start deviating from the original plot!

  Find Zanna on her website on blog on Twitter on Facebook on Goodreads on Pinterest on Wattpad