She sighed. “I think I’ve had enough of reading murder mysteries.” Well, the book hidden behind her back might claim otherwise.
“You need to at least hear me out.” I stared at Alyson. “You were right.”
That got her attention. It also made her beam. She sat up straight. “All right, I am listening.”
“The answer has been in the plot of a book the entire time.”
She shook her head in wonder at her own genius. “So reading is not a waste of time after all.”
I ignored that and found the important part of the book. The bit where the killer is finally revealed.
“It’s all about drowning,” Alyson said when I showed it to her.
“Exactly. Alyson, this is the same exact way that Adrian was killed. And it was how Aaron was attacked. Alyson, Maria bought this book.”
“What for?” she asked, sounding defensive on Maria’s behalf. “Research? Why, when the crimes have already been committed?”
“Yes, but if you read the whole thing—as I am trying to show you—the killer has a brilliant plan to get away with it all by making all the drownings look like accidents. She could strike again and we wouldn’t even know it. We can’t let her, Alyson. Once Maria has read this book, she’ll realize what she can do. And who knows when she’ll kill again.”
Alyson was suddenly less happy to hear what I had to say about the answers being in a book.
“I can’t believe that Maria would do something like this…” She stood up and shook her head. “This all sounds rather silly to me.”
“Alyson. I know that she was your favorite teacher at school, but you have to face the facts here. Maria is on a killing spree. And we’ve got to stop her before she strikes next.”
Alyson stared at me, her face suddenly gone white. “Matt.”
There was a car in front of Matt’s house. It looked vaguely familiar to me. “I think that’s Maria’s car,” I said as I pulled my Porsche to a stop. I glanced around. “Is this a safe area to leave this?”
“Claire, it’s all a safe area. Or at least, it was. Anyway, Matt lives in the blandest, most boring part of town.” That he did. It was a little far from the beach, which meant that rent was cheap. Around here, you could afford a three-bedroom house for the same price that Alyson paid for her shoebox that overlooked the ocean. And being so far from the beach meant that you were never bothered by tourists or any noisy nightlife. It was peaceful. Calm.
Still, Alyson didn’t look like she felt too safe on that night.
“Don’t worry,” I said reassuringly. We had left J with Alyson’s next-door neighbor for a couple of hours, and I had brought a can of pepper spray with me just in case. I was just hoping that I wouldn’t have to use it. “We are prepared. Even if Maria is in there. We aren’t going to let anything happen to Matt. Or ourselves.”
We paused out at front of the door. “I’m so glad you are here with me, Claire,” Alyson said. She looked nervous. Earnest in the moonlight. “It hasn’t been the same without you here, you know…”
Uh-oh. Guilt was making my stomach uneasy.
“Alyson, I need to tell you something,” I said, before we went into his house.
“What?” she asked, looking surprised.
I remembered the promise I had made to Matt, and started to backtrack a little “Don’t you think your apartment is awfully small?”
She made a face at me. “What does the size of my apartment have to do with anything right now?”
I nodded toward the house. “It’s just that Matt’s house is awfully big. Have you ever thought about moving in with him? So that you, he, and J could all live together?”
She crossed her arms. “Where is all this coming from? Have you been talking to Matt?”
I shook my head quickly. “Of course not.”
Alyson looked at me with suspicion. “Because you’re starting to sound an awful lot like him. Look. Let’s just deal with this first, okay? We can talk about my living conditions later. Or better yet—never.”
She held her hand above the door like she was debating whether to knock or not.
I shook my head. Grabbed my can of pepper spray. “Let’s just open it. Element of surprise.”
Element of surprise, all right.
Inside was Dawn Petts-Jones.
15
Alyson
Huh. She was a little old for my brother. But oh well. He’d always had interesting tastes. “Oh,” I said. “I thought you were Maria.”
Dawn straightened up and put her nose in the air. She always had quite a stuck-up way about her. Probably why she got along so well with Claire. “Maria?” she asked, confused.
“Yes. I thought you were her.”
She laughed a little uncertainly. “Well, I am not Maria.” We were going in circles.
Matt stood up and gave me his disapproving older brother stare. “What are you doing here, Alyson?”
I glanced to my left. Why did Claire look so nervous? We hadn’t sprung Matt in the process of being attacked by Maria. This was a pleasant surprise. Just Matt on a plain old date. Probably shouldn’t have burst in through the doors with pepper spray. Ah well. You live you learn.
But Claire was refusing to meet my eyes. And Matt also looked guilty, as though he had been sprung.
“Well, I think I should go,” Dawn said, gathering up her papers and briefcase. Hang on. Why had she brought legal documents to a date?
“What’s going on, Matt?”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “I’ve just been speaking to Dawn regarding…um…” He scratched his head. “You know…arrangements…”
I frowned. “Arrangements for what?”
He sighed. “Living arrangements. For J.”
“I’m leaving,” Dawn said.
I wanted to burst on the spot. But somehow, I managed a gracious smile. Hang on. Why did Claire look like she wanted to follow Dawn out the door? I gave her a strange look as something occurred to me. “Hang on, sunshine. Did you know something about this?”
“This is none of my business,” Claire said, trying to get free of my grip.
Matt finally stepped in to say something. “Claire accidentally saw Dawn and I together the other night, Y. I made her promise not to say anything. Don’t be mad at her.”
Too late. I was.
I stormed out the door while Claire tried to stop me, saying she could explain.
How could Claire have known about all this and kept it to herself?
“But what about Maria?” she tried to say as I walked into the dark night. “We still need to find her before she does something else… What if she still wants to hurt Matt?”
“Right now, I simply don’t care!” I said, before taking off, sprinting in no particular direction. I just needed to run.
It was perfect surfing conditions, just like we had been promised. The radio was on, blaring out details about the tides and how the competitors would be affected. Competition day was here. I closed my eyes and tried to get into the zone… Just shake off everything else that has happened in the last two days…none of that matters now…just picture the perfect wave…stepping onto the board…riding it to perfection.
In my mind’s eye, I saw the judges holding up perfect tens for me.
Dan beeped the horn. “Come on, dreamy-head! We’ve got to get to Rushcutter's Shore for registration half an hour early.”
Everyone from Eden Bay Surf Club who was competing were traveling together. Well, almost all. I had no idea if Claire was still intending to compete in the beginner’s division. I hadn’t spoken to her since seeing Dawn at Matt’s house. We all huddled into the one van.
“Bit of a tight squeeze,” Dan said with a laugh. I was in the middle of the front seat of the van and my elbow was jammed into his side.
“I’m not moving over.”
Matt and I had still not spoken all morning. He climbed into the back and I pretended not to see him. For the next twenty minutes, I ke
pt my eyes on the road and my mind’s eye on one thing—winning the title.
Out on the sand, he tried to be a good brother again. “Do you want me to help you with your zip?”
“No, thanks,” I said, turning my back to him as I struggled with my wet suit. I could zip it up myself.
I surveyed the crowds. Was Claire even going to turn up? She could at least come to support me after everything that’s happened, I thought.
After registration, I checked again. Still no sign of Princess, but there were plenty of familiar faces in the crowd, including one I was a little surprised to see. Mr. Carbonetti was sitting in the spectators’ section, with his poodle beside him.
“I didn’t think you were into this sort of thing,” I said with a laugh. I was getting jittery about my division being called.
“I thought I’d better come out and support my best student,” he said.
“Oh. I didn’t think I was your best student after only one lesson!” I said proudly. Wow.
Mr. Carbonetti gave me a funny look.
“I’m not talking about you, Alyson. I am talking about Matt.”
Huh? But Matt wasn’t a student of his.
Mr. Carbonetti must have seen my confusion. “He never told you?”
I shook my head. “No. He never said a word. What does Matt need to go back to school for?” I asked. Matt had an amazing life, and an amazing job at Captain Eightball's. It was the best place to work in town! Who would ask for more than that?
“He was thinking about going to a university, studying online,” Mr. Carbonetti said.
I stood there, stunned.
Mr. Carbonetti looked up at me. “He told me that it would be easier when you and J moved in with him full-time. Would give him more of a chance to juggle everything. His job, and study, and surfing.” He nodded out at the sea.
“Oh.” I stared down at the sand, guilt clenching in my gut. I’d only ever thought about how the move was going to affect me—not wanting to give up my precious independence, or my little apartment. I hadn’t thought about what it might mean to Matt.
“I think it’s great that Matt wants to study,” I said finally. “And I will do whatever I can to help him achieve his goal.” I needed to find him and tell him that I was sorry, that I had been stupid and selfish.
A strange look came over Mr. Carbonetti’s face. “Well, you might not have to. It seems these days, his focus has been a little distracted. He’s been talking about giving up study. Quitting my class. Just like that friend of his did…”
The next division was called over the loudspeakers, and the sound of children shrieking in the background almost drowned out Mr. Carbonetti’s words.
“What friend?” I asked, with a tiny gulp.
“Adrian Bailey.”
I gulped a little. “Adrian was a student of yours? And he stopped coming to lessons?”
Mr. Carbonetti nodded. “And he left me a one-star review online. Not only did that hurt my tutoring business, it made the principle at Eden High wonder if he should renew my contract this year.” Every word Mr. Carbonetti now said sounded like a threat.
“So,” I said in a voice that was barely a whisper. “I bet that made you a little angry.”
He stared at me. “You could say that.”
I needed Claire. Now.
“So, will I be seeing you at my house for your tutoring lesson tomorrow, Alyson?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t think I will be coming back again, Mister Carbonetti.”
16
Claire
I had missed my division. Alyson would probably think I was too proud to sign up as a ‘beginner,’ I’d just genuinely slept in. But oh well. I was here. To my shock, as soon as Alyson spotted me, she ran over the sand to give me a hug, almost bowling me over. “You’re not cross at me?” I asked in surprise.
She shook her head and tried to tell me something. Her words were quick-fire, her eyes alight.
“It’s Mister Carbonetti! He’s killing people who dump him as a tutor, Claire.” She paused for breath. “This is serious. He’s about to get fired from Eden Bay High and now he’s desperate to avoid any more bad reviews.”
I shook my head. “No way, Alyson. As if.”
“It’s true! It’s in a book I read.”
“What book?” I asked, crossing my arms.
Alyson was still a little breathless. “The one you picked for the next book club. I’ve been reading it. I was going to show up as a surprise.”
She pulled the book out of her backpack. “Look. I saw this on a shelf in Mister Carbonetti’s house. I bought my own copy. Look at the title, Claire.”
I glanced down. “Teacher’s Revenge.”
Alyson opened the book. “Look. It’s about a teacher who kills former students. This was not the first time he’d read the book, Claire. I saw his copy. The cover was practically worn away.”
I looked at her. What if the answer had been in a book all along? Just not ‘Murder Lake.’
“You got the wrong teacher, Claire.” But I still didn’t want to believe her. She threw my words right back at me. “Just because Mister Carbonetti was your favorite teacher at school does not mean that he is not capable of murder. Wake up, Claire, and face the facts.”
I took a deep breathe. “Okay, then why did he try to kill Aaron then? He isn’t even a local. He can’t be a former student. He’s just in town for the surf comp.”
“I’m not sure about that,” she had to admit.
“Well, where is he now?” I asked, surveying the crowds for Mr. Carbonetti.
There was an announcement. The competition was about to start. Division two.
“This is Matt’s heat,” Alyson said nervously. “But he’ll be safe in the water, right?”
I looked at her.
“Have any of them been safe in the water so far?”
She jumped to attention. “Right. You take that end of the beach, I’ll take this one.”
I ran to the far side where Matt was competing. I couldn’t see him in the water. From the edge, all the surfers looked the same. “Come on, come on,” I said, hopping up and down as I waited for them to finish and climb out. Fearing the worst. But Matt was fine. He ran out of the water, board under his arm, grinning from ear to ear, and waited for the judges scores. 7.8. 8.4. 8.7. Decent. Had a chance of at least coming third position.
I turned around and heard the first division heat get called.
Shoot. It wasn’t Matt who was in danger.
It was Alyson.
This was not my division. I shouldn’t have even been in the water. But I had grabbed a board from an onlooker and ran into the waves. I climbed up on the surfboard and tried to get my footing, falling off immediately.
I was still flailing hopelessly in the water when I saw him, his poodle trailing behind him in the sand. He was walking right toward Alyson where she stood in ankle-deep water. She’d only half-completed her heat. No one was watching her except for me. The spectators were too caught up watching the other competitors riding a big wave. Mr. Carbonetti seemed to notice this too and decided to strike.
He suddenly lurched for her, wrapping his arms around her neck, choking her as he stood behind her. As she doubled over, he started to push her out into deeper waters, her head dangerously close to going under.
I climbed off and ran over the sand. “Stop!” I screamed, trying to get attention toward me, if nothing else.
He was trying to drown her. But I wasn’t going to let him.
“If you think you’re going to get away with hurting my best friend, you have another thing coming.”
I saw the flash of joy in Alyson’s eyes. She didn’t care that she was in the arms of a murderer—she was just pleased that I had called her my best friend again.
Suddenly, two lifeguards were tackling Mr. Carbonetti to the ground, restraining him while I called the police. Apparently, someone had been paying attention to Alyson after all.
“Why did you hurt A
aron?” I asked him as the police arrived. “Who was Aaron to you?”
He looked at me, his face blank. “I don’t know anything about that,” he said as he was cuffed and taken away
I glanced at Alyson. “I told you that didn’t add up.” Uh-oh. My heart was beating fast. We may have solved one crime…but there was still another one to go.
Alyson might have been safe. But every surfer in Eden Bay and Rushcutter’s Shore was still in danger.
Dan Fisher’s spiky blonde hair was dripping wet. He shook it, water drops flying off as he got up onto the pedestal to collect first position.
“Aaron should have been up there,” I murmured toward Alyson. “But Dan made sure that was never going to happen.”
Alyson was actually grinning. “So, he tried to drown him, copying the original murder so no one would suspect.” She shook her head. “Sounds just like something out of the book I’m reading.”
“Look, I am glad you’re so literary these days, but we can’t let Dan get crowned. Come on,” I said, pulling her toward the award ceremony. Alyson had been disqualified from her heat for only competing half. But she’d just shrugged and told me there was always next year. That was Alyson for you.
The judge held out a trophy. “First position goes to…”
“Stop!” I heard Alyson yell out. “That man is an attempted murderer!”
There were gasps from the crowd. The judge paused, giving Alyson a ‘what the heck’ look. She had better explain herself. And quickly.
“He attacked Aaron on the beach a week ago, to take away his biggest competitor,” she cried out. “He doesn’t deserve that trophy!”
Dan tried to run, but Alyson and I ran after him. Alyson reached him first and tackled him to the ground.
Dan turned his head angrily over his shoulder. “You’re the one who gave me the idea, Claire. When you came into the surf club that day. Acting all suspicious. I started thinking you had killed Adrian. Then I got the idea about Aaron. So, this is all on you.”
Hang Ten Australian Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 9