Murder at Tropical Cove Marina: Sea Cozy Mysteries, #1

By Crystal Winters

Maddie Autumn Ritchfield's life just got turned upside down. One of her live-aboards, a snowbird from Canada, was found dead on his sailboat at Tropical Cove Marina. As co-owner of Tropical Cove Marina, Maddie finds herself getting tangled up in this case and helping out her tall and handsome friend, Ethan, an investigator of Tropical Cove Police Department to help solve the mystery. This cozy mystery is filled with non-stop action and interesting characters. This mystery is set on the West Coast of Florida, and Murder at Tropical Cove Marina is a perfect book for an afternoon read. Don't miss out on the special Florida recipe at the end of the book! Murder at Tropical Cove Marina is Book 1 in the Sea Cozy Mysteries. Other Books in the series:

 MURDER AT COCONUT KEY; BOOK 2

COMING SOON: MURDER AT EMERALD ISLE; BOOK 3

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crystal Winters
• Release date: Jun 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781386931430

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

"Yet another day in Paradise, I was thinking again, as I strolled to the office of Tropical Cove Marina, humming and singing the lyrics to my favorite tune Margaritaville. Nibbling on sponge cake, watching the sun

bake........Wasting away in Margaritaville."

You just can’t beat these Florida Winters, I said out loud to myself as I continued humming.

I was off in my own world but quickly snapped out of it when I almost ran into an ambulance pulled up alongside the marina. As I approached the office, I frantically looked out over the choppy waters and recalled my earlier thought and mumbled to myself "Or maybe not another day in Paradise."

I knew something was seriously wrong when I saw a knot of police uniforms on the dock surrounded by an excited crowd. Even the boats cruising by had stopped to look, like rubberneckers during a traffic accident. Whatever was going on had caused a major backup for boaters that wanted to use the marina’s boat launch and day dock.

I tossed my bags next to the door of the marina office and hurried over the little wooden bridge that led to the docks. While I ran, I held onto my black sunhat so that it wouldn’t blow off and fall into the water. As I went, my mind started racing "Did someone get hurt, sick, fall overboard? What could it be?" As I approached the scene, Mr. Guzmán’s large motor yacht was blocking my view so I was not sure if the problem was at Robert and Carol’s 22 ft Sirius Sailboat or Ms. Johnson’s 24ft Hunter.

As I got closer, I pushed my way through the crowd and said, Please excuse me I need to get through. I slowly made headway through the milling crowd until I was blocked by a thick, tanned arm.

Sorry Ma’am. You can’t go any closer. There’s a police investigation in progress. I looked up to see that the arm was connected to a young man dressed in the uniform of the Tropical Cove Police Department. The baby-faced kid looked much too young to be a police officer. You know you’re getting old when people like police, doctors, and such start to look like they’re children.

But, I protested. I’m the owner here. What’s going on? What happened?

The officer frowned, and I was hit with a twinge of jealousy when his face barely managed to show a frown line. I used to be that young, once. I’m sorry, Ma’am, he replied, while still keeping his arm positioned as a barricade to keep me from moving closer to the action.

Hey! Hey, Maddie! a voice called.

I looked over toward the day dock and saw Shawn Hutton waving, trying to get my attention. What all’s goin’ on?

I shrugged. I don’t know. They won’t let me see. I turned back to the human obstacle in my path. Now look. I’m—

Let her through, Jim. She’s the owner of the marina. It was Ethan Matthews, an investigator with the police department and a friend of mine.

Jim lowered his arm. But I thought a Dustin Ritchfield owned the marina.

Ethan smiled at me, showing teeth that would look at home on a Hollywood red carpet. Like it always does when he smiles at me, my heart skipped a beat or two.

Yeah, well, Ethan drawled in a voice that made you just want to melt. I guess he is the owner, officially. But Miss Madilyn here is the one in charge, so let her on through. I made my way to Ethan, and the young officer resumed trying to corral the gawking crowd.

"Thanks, Ethan. What’s going on? Why are all these people here? Why are you here?"

Hey, Maddie. Ethan ran his hand through his hair. I’ve known him long enough to know that he does this whenever he’s nervous. Is Dusty in the office yet?

My father? No. He’s on a camping trip with some friends. Why do you—what’s going on?

He ran his hand through his hair once more. Could you give him a call?

I squared my hips and glared up at him. Ethan, what happened?

Ethan has known me long enough to know that when he hears that tone that I was just about out of patience. He gave in.

You know Robert Clive?

Yes, of course, I replied. He comes every year. Him and his wife.

Ethan laid a hand on my shoulder. Well, he’s dead. He—

Dead? Wait. What?

Ethan continued, He was found dead on his boat less than half an hour ago.

My knees felt weak. Maybe I swayed a little, because Ethan dropped his other hand to my other shoulder, as if to keep me from toppling over.

What...what happened? I stammered. I mean, what—

Listen, Maddie. Ethan gave me a tiny shake. Just enough to get my brain back in gear. Could you please call Dusty? Now?

I got a grip on my thoughts, and pulled out my cell phone. Got it. Dialing now. As the phone was ringing I caught a glimpse of Robert. He was lying on his back in