Murder at the Mayan Temple: Starling and Swift Cozy Mysteries, #1

By M. J. Mandrake

Introducing Starling and Swift, the new clean cozy mystery series!

Kitty Swift travels around the sunny Yucatan peninsula assisting luxury cruise ship groups as an interpreter for the deaf. After a disastrous broken engagement, she's perfectly content to spend her days with her service dog, Chica, and a motley crew of wealthy vacationers. Her life revolves around playing Bingo, enjoying the chocolate fountain, and passing along the occasional complaint about the quality of the bed sheets. On a cruise ship the food is good, the music is lively, and everyone is friendly.

Life is quiet, just as it should be... until murder arrives in the night.

At the top of a Mayan pyramid in the humid jungle, one of her tour group is found sacrificed to the gods. A clue left at the scene makes it clear this is a deeply personal act of revenge― and the killer may have another victim in his sights.
As the entire tour group is brought in for questioning, Kitty and Chica find themselves in a race against time. A hurricane is bearing down on the city, the cruise ship is set to depart, and they're sequestered in an embassy house with a vicious murderer. The only person standing in her way is an enigmatic attaché to the American embassy who doesn't take kindly to all her questions― especially about himself.

Should Kitty be on guard against the mysterious detective, or are they birds of a feather in search of a killer?

A clean, cozy mystery of approximately 180 pages with recipes!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mercer Lake Publishing House LLC
• Release date: Nov 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386060635

Book preview

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You can find me on facebook at Mary Jane Hathaway or on my cooking blog, In the Presence of Pie. Come on by and chat!

Curious about how Starling and Swift came to be? Book One, Murder at the Mayan Temple, is always free here!

Don’t miss the second book, Death on the Wind!  Who needs enemies when you’ve got friends like these?

Book Three, Danger at the Dive Shop is a deep sea game of cat and mouse.

If you’re like Kitty and have always wanted to explore Old Town Havana, don’t miss the Fourth Book, Chaos in Cuba.

Book Five, Sabotage on Solitude Bay, is a special edition Christmas mystery set at Leander’s family home in the Florida Keys.

Book Six takes you on a Catalán adventure that ends in a shocking twist: A Scandal in Spain.

Prepare for an ice cold killer in Book Seven, Nightmare Under the Northern Lights.

Big changes―and mortal danger―are in store for Starling and Swift in Book Eight, Terror at the Turtle Sanctuary

Chapter One

Nobody owns life, but anyone who can pick up a frying pan owns death.

― William S. Burroughs

"DO YOU ALWAYS PLAY Bingo with such pasión?"

Kitty Swift briefly debated whether to pretend to be asleep. She’d given up reading her leather-bound copy of ‘Great Expectations’ long before, and it rested lightly on her chest. If her conscience permitted her to be outright rude, she might have waved Jorge away with a flick of the wrist. As it was, she knew better. It was best to get these kinds of conversations over with when dealing with the handsome-but-much-too-suave-for-her activities assistant.

She cracked an eye. Chica didn’t lift her head from where she slept at Kitty’s feet, but she fixed Jorge with the same expression. Kitty figured she looked groggy, but Chica looked lethal. It wasn’t her fault. It was a German Shepherd thing.       

It’s my understanding that you’re supposed to yell when you get a Bingo, she said.

"Sí, but the way you play is..." He scanned the sky for inspiration.

Kitty knew she should help the poor boy out, but she was momentarily sidetracked by the recurring question of why he was there, sitting next to her, when there was a whole ship full of pretty girls. She wasn’t ugly, but she didn’t look any different than a whole lot of other blue-eyed women with tousled brown hair and a slightly sunburned nose. It was true that she was a familiar face after a dozen trips from Miami to Cozumel on the luxury ocean liner, but surely Jorge would prefer someone more fun. Definitely someone a little closer to his own age.

Not that she was old. Not even middle aged. But Jorge had that sort of blinding exuberance that young people had before they’d really had their hearts broken, either by the cruelty of life in general, or because someone had truly and deliberately screwed them over. 

Of all the things Kitty disliked in a person, it was that unquenchable glow of optimism. It made her feel slightly bitter and washed up. Perhaps she was, but she never noticed until she was faced with some young person dying to drag her into the cruise ship’s dance club, or a handsome young man determined to liven up her life. She was perfectly content with the amount of excitement in her life, and an evening of jiggling around to a thumping techno beat would not change that.

Plus, Jorge never looked at her dog. People who didn’t at least glance Chica’s way weren’t worthy of real friendship. Really, what kind of person doesn’t acknowledge the large German Shepherd inches from them? You weren’t supposed to pet a service dog, but making eye contact wasn’t forbidden. Kitty wasn’t asking for Jorge to carry dog treats in his pockets. A glance of recognition would do. Too many people simply acted like Chica didn’t exist. She’d like to think it was a sign of a sociopath, but the idea of so many unhinged people walking around was rather unsettling to consider.

The sun made her limbs feel leaden and she took a long sip of the virgin strawberry margarita beside her. Leaning back on her teak deck chair, she turned her face to the tropical Yucatan breeze. Although there were clouds on the horizon, it hadn’t interfered with the glorious weather. She’d learned the different ocean scents and she knew they would see land within the hour.

You just notice me yelling because everybody else signs the word, she said.

That wasn’t exactly true. Some of her group signed and yelled. It’s just that she really liked Bingo. She’d never played it before she went on her first cruise. Now she wished she hadn’t spent so many years going to the movies and playing tennis. Bingo had been there all along, just waiting for her to discover the suspense of the chase and the rush of the win. If they had Bingo every hour on the hour, Kitty wondered if she’d have to join some kind of support group, like Alcoholics Anonymous. Lucky for her, the luxury ship’s twice-a-day schedule kept her addiction in check.

Chica made a noise that had Kitty cracking an eye again. Chica didn’t bark unless she had to, but she did make a sort of fffroofff in her throat when she wanted to bark and knew she shouldn’t.

Jorge pulled back the hand that had been about to touch Kitty’s arm.

You will sit with us tonight at dinner?

Thank you, but no. I’ll be on duty.

Then after. Come dancing with us. You never get to have fun.

They might have something planned, she said. It was possible. But more likely, she’d be reading, somewhere cozy with Chica asleep at her feet. That was fun. Just not Jorge’s definition of fun.

He smiled, bright white teeth gleaming against his tan skin. He really was very handsome, in an overly gelled kind of way. Not that she held being well-groomed against him. There was plenty of time on board the ship to be pampered and his job depended on looking professional. Kitty got the impression he was trying too hard, was too eager to show his best side to the world. More of that youthful exuberance. She remembered how it was to spend hours getting ready for parties, worrying about her hair or make up, picking out the perfect outfit, choosing a perfume that might drive a man wild. Those days were long past.

Chica sat up and turned. The dog took notice when she saw anyone signing, but Chica had an almost otherworldly sense of what was happening―or going to happen―around them. Kitty had learned long ago to pay attention to what Chica found interesting, so she straightened up and rubbed her eyes. A young couple and a golden lab approached them. Mr. and Mrs. McEwen spent much of their time in their large suite, as newlyweds often did. When they emerged, they were always happy.          

That wasn’t the case at the moment. Ashley signed excitedly and her husband, Eric, didn’t respond. His frown was clear even from where Kitty sat. Ashley seemed intent on getting through to Eric, and although he was watching her hands, he was heading in Kitty’s direction with purpose.

She was officially on break, but unofficially she was always available. She didn’t mind. If she had to spend her day in court, interpreting the details of a bankruptcy or a libel suit, she’d probably be more diligent about drawing boundaries around her free time. As it was, her job didn’t really feel like a job. It was an extended series of vacations, broken up by long weeks at home in Mérida, where she organized the stacks of leather volumes in her rare bookstore. She didn’t really go out. Just Sunday services at her little church, volunteer hours at the English Library, and long walks long the cobblestone streets with Chica. A little boring, but there were worse things in the world, as she knew well.

Everything okay? she signed as they came closer.

Jorge stood up and took a small notepad from his pocket. Here’s where we’ll be tonight. Tucking a piece of paper into the back of her book, he made a quick escape.

Just ask Kitty, Ashley signed to her husband.

Eric stopped in front of her, and glowering, asked, The hacienda where we’re staying tonight accepts service animals?

Of course, Kitty said.

See? I told you. Ashley rubbed Billy behind the ears.

Billy looked like he really wanted to touch noses with Chica but was resisting, as good service dogs did. Chica turned to watch Jorge.

Eric shrugged, the tension leaving his face. I’m used to rude surprises.

You worry too much, honey. Ashley tugged at her husband’s sleeve and smiled up at him, her pretty brown eyes sparkling with love. Eric gave her a soft kiss and they gazed at each other for a moment. Usually Kitty would feel slightly uncomfortable at the display, but in the last three days, she’d decided Ashley was quite possibly the sweetest human being she’d ever encountered. She deserved all the public displays of affection Eric could muster.

Kitty waited until they had resurfaced. I understand. I’ve stayed at this hacienda many times before and they are very familiar with our needs. They’re very accommodating.

Ashley smiled. I can’t wait to see the ruins Mayan.

Mayan ruins, Kitty corrected her gently. American Sign Language could be quite different than English in several ways. Kitty didn’t usually correct anyone, especially someone as eager to learn as Ashley, but the young woman had begged her to tell her when she had signed something badly.

Ashley said she had taken a whole year’s worth of ASL classes before she had the courage to speak to Eric, even though they were in a lot of the same classes. In love from the very moment she’d seen him, apparently, and set out to convince Eric that marrying a hearing girl wasn’t a crazy idea at all. After several months of meeting over coffee, Eric decided to follow his heart and take a chance. His family wasn’t supportive, at first, knowing how hard it was for a hearing person to assimilate to the deaf culture, but Ashley won them over the same way she had Eric: with enthusiasm, hard work, and love. Kitty had lost any romantic notions years ago, but something about their story made her feel a little bit happier about the world.

Mayan ruins, Ashley signed. Thank you.

We’ll disembark this afternoon, have a short tour at the ruins, head to the hacienda for dinner, stay the night, have another tour in the morning, and then back to the ship. You’ll get to see a bit of the Sian Ka’an biosphere as we travel from place to place. The biodiversity of the jungle is really incredible.

The ruins seem small from the pictures. Do we really need two tours? Eric asked.

I think you’ll be surprised at how much there is to see. 

I think the forecast said there would be rain, he said.

There are showers in the afternoon sometimes. Part of being in the jungle. Kitty glanced at the clouds to the west. In a dozen cruises, she’d only seen clouds like that once, and the ship had had to change course. The captain hadn’t said a word yet and there was no sense in alarming anyone before she knew for sure.

Look, Ashley signed, nudging Eric.

Kitty almost grimaced at the sight of Jace Van Horn. The handsomest member of her tour group, he turned heads wherever he went. Tall, built like an Adonis with perfectly styled blond hair, he strode around the ship like he was the honorary captain in search of a second mate, preferably female. Perhaps ‘strode’ wasn’t the right word. Strutted, perhaps? He wore a pair of brightly patterned swim trunks, flip flops, and a few braided leather bracelets. Kitty wondered if he’d ever put on regular clothes if the cruise ship rules didn’t state clearly that swimwear wasn’t appropriate in the dining areas.

The three of them watched Jace pause to chat up a blonde bikini-clad girl in her teens. The man was a cad.

Poor Mrs. Van Horn, Ashley said, not bothering to hide her hands.

She knows what she’s doing, Eric said. I think she’s old enough to make her own decisions.

Old enough? I think that’s the problem, Ashley said.

Kitty didn’t join in, but she was