Never Neck at Niagara

By Edie Claire

A Leigh Koslow Mystery Short Story
(Part of the USA TODAY bestselling Leigh Koslow Mystery Series)
[6673 words]

Originally published in the anthology AND THE DYING IS EASY: All New Tales of Summertime Suspense, by the Signet/NAL division of Penguin Putnam, Inc., in June 2001.

Newlywed Leigh is only too happy to tag along when her new husband's career takes him to a weekend convention in Niagara Falls. But true to her typical luck she quickly finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, with potentially deadly--and almost certainly watery--results!

(Note: Chronologically, this story occurs between Never Preach Past Noon and Never Kissed Goodnight. It is available in print as bonus material within the 2012 CreateSpace edition of Never Kissed Goodnight.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stackhouse Press
• Release date: Feb 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781519925374

Edie Claire

No matter the genre, USA Today bestselling novelist and playwright Edie Claire strives to infuse all her writing with both warmth and humor. Her family-friendly Leigh Koslow cozy mystery series, a favorite of animal lovers that was originally published in 1999, was reborn in 2012 to become a USA-Today bestseller. Her romantic novels range from women’s fiction with romantic elements to a blend of romance and mystery, beginning with her traditionally published contemporaries, the award-winning Long Time Coming and Meant To Be, and continuing with her exciting new series of interconnected romantic novels, Pacific Horizons, whose characters follow the migration of the humpback whales to some of the most gorgeous locations on earth. In any Edie Claire work, the reader may be assured that intrigue will beckon and tensions will rise – but love will triumph and happy endings will abound! Edie has worked as a veterinarian, a childbirth educator, and a scientific/technical writer. A mother of three, she lives in Pennsylvania and aspires to become a snowbird.  

Book preview

Dedication

For my husband, in honor of our favorite weekend getaway.

Never Neck At Niagara

Spring 2000

Up until now, the morning had been almost perfect.

Leigh Koslow had begun her day by gorging on an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at the hotel (heavy on the bacon and complete with pastries), then atoning for it with an ambitious bike ride. Exercise was ordinarily anathema to her, particularly during a weekend vacation, but for the trail that ran alongside the Niagara River upstream to Fort Erie, she made an exception. She loved Niagara Falls. There was something about the thunder of the rushing water and the coolness of the rising mist that always lifted her spirits — and her energy level. This particular bike trail, with the calm upper Niagara on one side and a spread of spacious, large-windowed homes on the other, was her favorite. The slight grade going up was almost undetectable — even to a biker as out of shape as she was; yet going down, it proved a faithful ally. The mild May weather of southern Canada was divine, the crowds were still sparse, and if she weren’t biking alone, life would be perfect.

But it was near perfect. After all, she wasn’t really alone. Her new hubby had been at the hotel when she had left, and he would be there, somewhere, when she got back. True, he would be so busy with his convention duties that they would hardly ever see each other, but she had expected that. After all, it wasn’t as though this was supposed to be a romantic weekend. It was merely another of the boring political junkets he was frequently attending — it just happened to be one in a location worthy of her tagging along. Since they had returned from a fabulous ten-day honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean only a few weeks ago, she could hardly complain.

Until just now, that is, when the peculiar noises had awakened her, and she was forced to wonder once again what the heck was wrong with her karma.

Her ride complete, she had loaded her bike onto its rack on the Cavalier (which she’d cleverly parked for free at the nature preserve) then headed off to stake out a place to recuperate. The preserve was gorgeous, and wonderfully peaceful in the off-season. Water