Murder On The First

By Anke Zet

The peace at Tranquility Golf Club on the beautiful South Coast of NSW is disrupted on a perfect Sunday morning by the discovery of a body in the sand trap on the first green.

Detective Sergeant Hissteria Mitchell and her partner Detective Constable Phil Matrusca, must make sense of the crime scene. It appears that quite a number of guests at the wedding reception, held at the Club the previous evening, had a motive for murder. The victim, the groom, was less than well-liked, nor was he as straight a citizen as he would have liked people to believe.

As Hiss and Phil work their way through the witness interviews and await the autopsy report, they discover the bride is missing. Is she a victim too?

Follow the mystery to its end as six authors work together to tell one story, each in their own way, yet making an intriguing, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, whole.

Contributing Authors: Anke Ziergiebel, Louise Falcioni, Arlene Liang, Suzanne Newnham, Stafford Ray and Cat Sheely.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anke Zet
• Release date: Nov 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370320639

Anke Zet

Anke loves creativity of any kind (*Creativity is a drug I cannot live without- Cecil DeMille) and has been part in many projects initiated by her writer’s group: the SSOW (Secret Society of Words).Known to surprise friends with rhymes for any occasion she’s now considered venturing into the world of publishing; encouraged, after finishing the first book ‘Deception’ of her sci-fi romance trilogy ‘Unearthly talents’.A graduate with a Doctor of Medicine, she moved from the UK to Australia in 2003 with her husband and two children. She currently works as a part-time GP on the beautiful south coast, when she’s not succumbing to her drug of choice*: writing anything that pops into her head without rhyme or reason.Although, sometimes it rhymes; and mostly it has reason.

Book preview

MURDER ON THE FIRST

A novella by the Secret Society of Words

Edited by CAT SHEELY

Murder on the First, Secret Society of Words, edited by Cat Sheely.

Copyright © 2017 by Secret Society of Words (SSOW)

ISBN: EPUB only

Published by Cat Sheely at Smashwords, November, 2017.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

INTRODUCTION

THIS novella is the Secret Society of Words’ third, and most ambitious publication, with ‘Alien Zoo’ and ‘The Seven Little Goatlings,’ having provided not only writing practice, but some actual income from sales. Our contributing authors found the thriller a stretch but, as all good writers do, came through brilliantly.

As Editor, I made suggestions and comments for authors to consider, fixed grammar and wrote a chapter here and there to tie it all in. The work was made easier by the wholehearted support of Louise Falcioni and Suzanne Newnham who remained keen throughout the process. Also a thank you to Anke Ziergiebel for great input during the editing process.

I hope you enjoy this offering as much as we enjoyed the writing of it. And I certainly enjoyed the challenge of getting it out to the world. Any errors are mine either in fact or content.

Cat Sheely

South Coast of NSW, October, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1- The Sand Trap by Cat Sheely

CHAPTER 2 – The Secret Society by Anke Ziergeibel

CHAPTER 3 – Family Matters by Arlene Laing

CHAPTER 4 – Dear Sister by Arlene Liang

CHAPTER 5 – Catch-up by Louise Falcioni

CHAPTER 6 – Lady Felicia and Companion by Suzanne Newnham

CHAPTER 7 – The Bridesmaids by Louise Falcioni

CHAPTER 8 – The Bodwell’s by Arlene Liang

CHAPTER 9 – The Band by Suzanne Newnham

CHAPTER 10 – The Wedding by Stafford Ray

CHAPTER 11 – More Questions than Answers by Cat Sheely

CHAPTER 12 – Denouement by Stafford Ray

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

OTHER PUBLICATIONS BY SSOW

CHAPTER 1 – The Sand Trap

By Cat Sheely

Detective Hissteria Mitchell observed the scene from the front seat of her Jeep. She squinted as the sun glinted off the dam water, noting the fairways and greens of Tranquility Golf Club were a picture of serenity. At least until you got to the right bunker on the first green.

She heaved herself out of the car. Since the divorce, she’d put on a few kilos and it was really beginning to tell. As she nodded to the young constable manning the exclusion zone in front of a strip of blue and white police tape, she was pleased to see her offsider waiting in a golf cart.

Morning Phil, she said. I hear it’s a nasty one.

Yeah, he said. The body’s all twisted and the forensic unit won’t be here for another hour at least. We’ve put a tent over the body. Lucky for us it’s cool today, so not too much decomposition odour.

Phil Matrusca had been her partner for a little less than twelve months and she felt they made a good team. He’d just become a detective and been transferred to the local station on promotion. On the other hand, she’d been moved from Sydney for being politically incorrect with her superiors and it had halted any chance of a promotion. So now she was training the boys. This was her third partner in as many years and she knew she’d lose him to a better posting soon. She’d be sorry to see him go.

The cart pulled up to the left of the first green and Phil parked it under the shade of nearby trees. Focus His, she admonished herself and rolled her shoulders as she got out. ‘So, have you found anything yet?" she asked Phil.

I talked to the Manager at the Club, he pointed to the clubhouse 390 meters to the west. He said they had a wedding last night and about sixty guests. The way the body is dressed, I’d say he was one of them.

Sixty guests, Hiss sighed. Damn! Do we have a list?

We’re waiting for the mother of the bride to arrive. The couple left on their honeymoon early this morning and are purported to be in Sydney. Neither are answering their phones. He shrugged, newlyweds and their first night.

Do I need to ask? she said, eyebrow raised.

He didn’t have any identification on him. Pockets are empty. But the constable at the tape who was the first on the scene thinks he knows the guy. Someone named, he flicked open his notebook, Tarran Levi. Aged around 30 and a local. If it is this guy, then he’s a mechanic at the local car dealership on Main Street.

Hiss tilted her head and felt her eyebrow go up. She schooled her face then asked, which one exactly?

Turn left at the roundabout and thirty meters along the Princes Highway.

A nod from Hiss. Anything else?

That’s all for now.

Hiss moved to the table set up next to the tent and slipped on some paper booties and latex gloves before moving onto the crime scene.