The Name of the Game is Murder: A Clarissa Spencer Cozy Mystery, #6

By Alaine Allister

Sun, fun, family...and a bingo hall murder?

Clarissa Spencer’s love life is heating up.  And that means it’s time to introduce her boyfriend to her parents.  Will they approve of him?  Will their special brand of crazy scare him away?  Poor Clarissa is a bundle of nerves.

A suspicious death provides the perfect distraction.  Who killed Bobby the bingo caller?  The list of suspects is long but if anyone can narrow it down, it’s Clarissa.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alaine Allister
• Release date: Oct 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536588835

Book preview

THE NAME OF THE GAME IS MURDER

Alaine Allister

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Copyright © 2016 A. Allister

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This is a work of fiction.  All characters and events depicted are products of the author’s imagination.  The cover is for illustrative purposes only.  All rights reserved.

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Sun, fun, family...and a bingo hall murder?

Clarissa Spencer’s love life is heating up.  And that means it’s time to introduce her boyfriend to her parents.  Will they approve of him?  Will their special brand of crazy scare him away?  Poor Clarissa is a bundle of nerves.

A suspicious death provides the perfect distraction.  Who killed Bobby the bingo caller?  The list of suspects is long but if anyone can narrow it down, it’s Clarissa.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Chapter 03

Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Chapter 09

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 01

Look out! Clarissa Spencer screamed as her life flashed before her eyes.

A gigantic, wood-panelled burgundy Cadillac had crossed into the wrong lane for seemingly no reason.  There had been no warning.  One second everything had been fine.  The next, disaster was about to strike.

Clarissa was sitting in the passenger seat.  Her boyfriend, Parker Tweed, was behind the wheel.  His eyes widened when he saw the Cadillac headed right for them.  He had an excellent driving record, and he was always extra-careful when she was in the car with him.  But when another vehicle suddenly veered past the center line, there wasn’t much he could do.

He couldn’t even take the ditch, as there was a swamp-like lagoon alongside the road.  There were no options.  A head-on collision seemed inevitable.  Clarissa had to fight her panic back.  It wasn’t the time to freak out.  She needed to be level-headed and calm if she wanted to survive.

Thinking fast, Clarissa summoned all her strength.  She squeezed her eyes shut in concentration and began to whisper a spell under her breath.  She prayed she had memorized it correctly.  Otherwise, she and Parker were goners!

Clarissa heard the squealing of tires.

She felt the flashy, expensive rental car Parker was driving come to an abrupt, sharp stop.  Her seatbelt cut into her as her body was thrown forward.  Her torso slammed against the seat, her back cushioned by the soft leather.  It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to momentarily daze her.

After the initial jolt, everything came to a standstill.

For a moment, Clarissa didn’t dare peek.  She just sat there with her eyes closed and hoped she wasn’t dead.  She took a few deep, calming breaths.  She reminded herself that dead people didn’t breathe, which meant she must be alive.  Then she cautiously cracked an eye open, hoping she wouldn’t be confronted by brimstone and fire.

The rental car had skidded a short distance, leaving tire marks on the pavement.  But somehow, Parker had managed to keep it out of the lagoon.  That was a very good thing, because there were probably alligators in there!

Whoa.  That was a close call, Parker said, shakily unfastening his seatbelt.  He turned to look at Clarissa, his stunning blue eyes full of concern.  You’re not hurt, are you? he asked.  Somehow he managed to look handsome even after a near-death experience.

I’m fine, Clarissa said, still a bit stunned.

Okay, well I’m going to go check on the other driver, Parker told her.

Clarissa glanced over at the burgundy Cadillac.  It was parked on the other side of the road, its engine idling.  A petite white-haired lady sat in the driver’s seat. 

Before Clarissa and Parker could move, the woman emerged from her car.  She walked over and motioned for Parker to roll down his window.  Then she gave an apologetic smile, flashing a mouth full of pearly white dentures.

Sorry about that! she chirped brightly.  I couldn’t find my glasses this morning.  I looked everywhere for them, but they were nowhere to be found.  And I couldn’t just sit at home all day – not when it’s seniors’ day at the nail salon!  I get a ten percent discount, you know.

You were driving without your glasses? Parker asked in disbelief.

Yes.  I guess I should stop doing that, hmm? the woman said sheepishly.  Ah well, I’ve gotta run.  I have an appointment for a pedicure at three thirty and dinner reservations at four o’clock!  Buh-bye, kids! 

There were no words.  All Clarissa and Parker could do was gawk.  Was the woman for real?

A small gust of wind ruffled the woman’s tightly curled white perm.  She reached up to fix it and her eyebrows shot up in surprise.  Oh!  Oh my!  My glasses were on top of my head the entire time! she exclaimed. 

Clarissa and Parker exchanged an incredulous look.

The woman giggled as though the gravity of the situation was completely lost on her.  I’m so silly, aren’t I?  I feel very foolish!  My husband says I would probably lose my own head if it wasn’t attached! 

Then, completely oblivious the narrowly avoided disaster, she hustled back to her car.

She got in, put on her glasses and drove off with a screech.

That was... Clarissa trailed off mid-sentence.  She didn’t even know what to say.

Jeez.  Drivers in small-town Florida are almost as bad as drivers in Sugarcomb Lake! Parker exclaimed with a shake of his head.  He shot Clarissa a playful look.  I’m not naming names or anything, but I have a feeling Sugarcomb Lake is short one bad driver this week.

Shush! Clarissa laughed.  But she couldn’t argue.  She really was a terrible driver.

Suddenly a puzzled look came over Parker’s handsome face. 

What is it?

I wonder if I need to get my eyes checked.  Or maybe I’m just cracking up, he said.

Why do you say that?

Well...this is going to sound insane, he cautioned, looking embarrassed.  The Cadillac looked like it became airborne!  It must have been an optical illusion or something, I guess.  Did you see it?  It was the strangest thing.  It was seconds away from crashing into us, then it seemed to lift up and change course.

No, I didn’t see it, Clarissa answered truthfully.  My eyes were shut. 

What she didn’t tell her boyfriend was that she had caused the car to become airborne and change course.  Parker had no idea Clarissa had supernatural powers.  In fact, Clarissa herself hadn’t discovered her abilities until she was in her late twenties.

While Clarissa couldn’t outwardly take credit, inside she was rather pleased.  Witchcraft wasn’t a skill that came easily to her.  Surprisingly, it required a lot of practice and hard work to execute spells properly.  She’d certainly had a lot of failed attempts...but not this time.

This time Clarissa’s magic had saved the day – and their lives! 

She just hoped she wouldn’t pay for it too much later.  She had been shocked to discover that magic came with consequences.  She thought of it as a supernatural hangover.  The bigger the spell she cast, the more side effects she suffered later on. 

Annoyingly, Clarissa never quite knew what sort of side effects she would suffer.  Sometimes she itched all over.  Sometimes she sneezed uncontrollably.  Once, after casting a particularly complex spell, she’d had hiccups for an entire day!

She crossed her fingers that this time she’d get off easy.

Good news! Parker announced suddenly.  The GPS says we’re almost at your parents’ place.  I think that’s their street right over there, actually, he said, pointing.

Clarissa swallowed hard at her boyfriend’s cheerful words.  Then she began to toy with her long, dark hair in a feeble attempt to calm her nerves.  Her blue-green eyes were full of anxiety as she fretted over what would happen next. 

She was a long way from Minnesota. 

She was, in fact, in Florida.  Her parents had moved there from Minnesota after retiring.  Clarissa had been meaning to visit for a long time.  But despite her good intentions, she had never made the trek before.  She had begun to think it may never happen! 

It was still difficult to believe she was actually there.

Singlehandedly running her own small town newspaper meant it was tough for Clarissa to get away for a vacation.  It was next to impossible, really.  But lately things had been looking up.  She had hired a new employee to help manage some of simple the day-to-day tasks.  She had also worked a ton of overtime in the weeks prior to her time off.

Now here she was, in the land of sunshine and pensioners for exactly one week.

But lounging on the beach wasn’t in the cards.  Clarissa wasn’t on that sort of holiday.  No, she was using her time off to visit her parents at their new retirement villa.  They had been bugging her to visit for ages. 

And it was high time she introduced them to her boyfriend.  Things were getting serious between them, after all.  They had even said I love you to one another.  If that wasn’t serious, Clarissa didn’t know what was!

She wanted her parents to meet Parker, but she also felt sick about it.  She didn’t know quite what to expect.  Would her parents like her boyfriend, or hate him the way they had hated her ex?  And what would Parker think of her parents, who most definitely had their quirks?

She prayed the visit would go well, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread in her stomach.

Chapter 02

Clarissa?  Parker was looking at her expectantly.

Huh?

I asked what the house number is, Parker repeated himself patiently.  I didn’t enter the exact address into the GPS because I couldn’t remember it.  Right now it’s directing us to a funeral home.  I’m pretty sure your parents don’t live in a funeral home, right?

Oh.  Oh!  Clarissa had a brief moment of panic as she wondered if her parents had done something insane, like convert a funeral home into a house.  Then she remembered she had seen photos of the house – and it looked like a normal house.  She sternly told herself to calm down.

Clarissa glanced at the houses in the gated retirement community they had driven into.  It was a lovely little place where the wide streets were dotted with trees and park benches.  She didn’t really understand the point of a gated community when the gate was wide open, but that was another matter entirely.

Despite the apparently lax security, Clarissa had to admit her parents had chosen a picturesque little neighborhood to call home.  As she gazed around at the cookie cutter homes, pristine front gardens and quaint, sunny verandas stared back at her. 

It was all very tidy and welcoming. 

Or it would have been welcoming had she not felt sick to her stomach!  Clutching her belly, Clarissa wondered if nerves were getting the best of her or if she was already suffering side effects of her spell.  She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the rumblings in her gut.

She squinted as she took a closer look at the houses.  Then she spotted her parents’ place.

It was a tidy white bungalow with a cute little veranda at the front. 

It reminded Clarissa of the covered front porch back home. 

Well, it did and it didn’t.  There was something decidedly less charming about this one.  Maybe it was too brilliant a shade of white or too well-maintained.  The entire house looked pristine and new, like something out of a magazine.  That was nice, sure...but the house didn’t look lived in.  It didn’t look like a home.

Give it a chance, Clarissa