Treasure Trove of Mysteries: Merrifield Mysteries 1-5

By Christine Chianti

Contains 5 Full Books from the Merrifield Mysteries Series

Book 1: Resort to Homicide

Vacations can be Murder...
After the loss of her husband, ex-homicide detective turned mystery writer, Laura Merrifield turns to her family. Giving in to her brother’s request, she goes to visit his new island resort during a special wee

• Language: English
• Publisher: Golden Lark Publishing
• Release date: May 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781946925299

Christine Chianti

Christine was born and raised in Western New York, and continues to make her home there.After high school, she studied physics and earth science at SUNY College at Brockport, as well as earning her NYS Teaching Certificates. Her graduate work was done at the University of Buffalo, where she received a Masters in Science Education.Christine spent 19 years teaching high school science, ranging from physics to forensics, in the Western New York area.Always a voracious reader, Christine began experimenting with her writing by penning several short stories while in high school. She dabbled at her writing until 2008, when she decided to commit to writing a full length novel.Enjoying the experience so much, she decided to pursue her writing full time in 2010, and left her teaching position.Christine is a member of the Write Touch Writers Group, Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers of America (pending), and Mystery Writers of America (pending). She is an avid aviation enthusiast, and spends her free time building her own plane.

Book preview

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1

Wind howled outside, and the lights flickered as we sat in the sitting room of Rim Runners’ Resort after dinner. My brother, Luke, and his wife, Missy, had purchased the island that sat a quarter mile off of the coast of South Carolina, and had built their dream—an inclusive resort—on it. This weekend, they were hosting six couples, and me, as a sort of dry run before they opened their doors to paying customers.

I’d decided to take a vacation from my day-to-day job of writing mysteries, and spend some time with them before the arrival of their first child in September.

When I’d arrived at Rim Runners’ just before dinner, Luke had quickly introduced me to everyone. Since I was the only one here solo I basically got to watch the other seven couples while my own thoughts bounced around in my head. This weekend was a big deal for Luke and Missy, so I sat quietly in a chair close to the love seat where they reclined talking to their guests. In an effort to keep myself from falling asleep before 8 p.m., I looked around the room refreshing my memory of the other guests’ names.

On the small settee sat Kevin Adams. He was six-two, brown and brown, and was one of Luke’s oldest friends. Next to him was his wife, Donna. She looked like the proverbial scared rabbit. I’d put her at five-five with blue eyes that were almost always as wide as saucers and blonde hair that fell loosely to her shoulders.

In the two wing back chairs on the far wall sat the Moreno’s. Anthony Moreno was a tad under six foot, with black hair and deep blue eyes. He gave the sense of being somebody important. He was here with his much younger wife. I was pretty sure the raven haired Kim was no older than twenty-five compared to Tony’s nearly sixty.

Mike and Michelle Carlton sat at the small table near the big window playing cards with Jim and Theresa Parker. Mike was a tall thin man, whose wire framed bifocals concealed too much of his face. His wife was a thin red haired beauty, who looked exuberant and flush. Theresa had the same hair color, and her green eyes were the same almond shape and color as Michelle’s, but that’s where the similarities ended. Theresa was short, I’d guess barely five-foot, and was pleasantly plump. Jim was of average height, five-ten, and topped with a thick mound of ash blond hair.

Scott Campbell was bellied up to the small bar. He was a short man with a round belly and very thin gray hair who had accompanied his wife Beth on the trip to Rim Runners’. Beth was about the same height as her husband, and looked very chic. She was thin with a very short boy-cut hair.

Greg Nelson, stood in the corner scowling on his cell phone. His six-four frame towered over his petite wife Tammy. She wasn’t short, but at only five-four, he had her by a foot.

A short woman with a stern look on her face came to the entryway and beckoned someone to come over. Luke sighed and stood. When he noticed my expression, he said quietly, She’s Pam Walters. She handles the employees for the most part.

The lights flickered again, and everyone looked to the big window.

Luke strolled back in a moment later, chuckling slightly. Well, looks like it’s going to be an interesting weekend. The national weather bureau has upgraded Anna to a category three hurricane.

Shouldn’t we head to the mainland? Donna asked in a squeaky voice.

Luke grabbed a cup of coffee at the bar, No. The actual storm is over a hundred miles out to sea. We’re just going to be getting a bit of rain and wind over the next thirty-six hours or so. Most likely there will be a bit of storm surge that’ll hit, but it won’t affect us. Besides, the waves are cresting over the bridge back to the mainland. It’s safer to just stay put.

Three things happened at the same time.

Michelle checked her watch, Greg yelled, I hate getting a text requesting an immediate return call only to get a voicemail! and tossed his phone, and the lights went out.

Great, Luke muttered. Okay, folks, the resort has an emergency generator that should kick on in a moment. A flame flickered across the room, and grew, illuminating Luke, now carrying a candle. He walked around the room igniting other candles while most people went back to their conversations.

It took less than a minute before the entire room was bathed in the soft glow of candle light.

Luke stepped out of the room on the pretense of checking the status of the generator, which hadn’t yet kicked on.

My sister-in-law sidled up beside me. If it wasn’t for everyone else, this would be very romantic.

I glared at her in the light. It would take more than a bit of light for this to be romantic for me, I said very softly.

Missy reached out and touched my arm. I’m sorry about Rob. He was a good man.

Even though it had been just over two years since my husband had been killed in action over in Afghanistan, the mention of his name brought back the memories.

I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing while I stroked Scooter’s back in an attempt to control my emotions. Luke and Missy had given me the Cavalier King Charles spaniel puppy as an early birthday gift shortly after I had arrived this evening. When the little ball of fur climbed into my lap, my heart had melted. It had taken only seconds for me to realize that Scooter was definitely going to be an important key to getting my life back on track. The sound of a door slamming jarred me back and had Scooter jumping off my lap.

The bloody thing’s not going to work. I’m going to have to head up to the control booth at the north point, and see if I can figure out what in heaven’s name is going on, Luke stated. He paused, Laura, would you come with me? I could use the help.

I shrugged, barely capable of forming words yet. You’re lucky you’re my favorite brother. Let’s go. I finally managed.

He poked my side, Actually, I’m your only brother.

He was also the only family I had left.

We grabbed our raincoats from the pegs by the door, and lumbered out into the downpour.

How are you enjoying your stay so far? Luke asked as we bounced along the road toward the north point.

I’ve been on your little island for exactly, I consulted my watch and did the calculation. Seven hours thirty six minutes. I haven’t really gotten to meet your other guests. They seem to be an eclectic grouping of people. Anyway, from what I’ve seen thus far, you’ve got yourself a pretty good set up. I still can’t believe that you found a way to buy an entire island to build your resort on.

Luke smiled. "I got lucky. Found the island, and then was able to get some investors who believed in what we could do here, and voila! I’m on the road to attaining my dream of having my own high-end resort.

I’m hoping that everything goes well with Missy and the baby, and that we can officially open before Labor Day.

Since I didn’t get the tour when I got here, what do you have planned?

"We’ve got a stable with a dozen horses and an experienced guide to lead trail walks around the perimeter of the island. I recruited Deb from Tennessee. You remember her, right? Well, when things got moving here, I looked her up and she came out.

They’ve almost finished the eighteen-hole golf course, and we have tennis courts as well as the pool. Missy and I have been toying with the idea of hiring an activities director to coordinate things.

If things aren’t ready, and you’re not officially open, why do you have the other guests here? I mean, I’m family. I came here to be with you and Missy for a bit before the baby comes. But you’ve got several other guests that are here for the weekend. Wouldn’t it be better to wait until everything was done before having the dry run?

We pulled up near the far end of the island. We’ve got to go the rest of the way on foot. Only about a hundred yards. Luke said.

I grimaced, pulled the hood of my raincoat tight, and stepped into the howling wind.

Luke used a diving light to illuminate the path leading to the turbine tower. The massive blades made an odd noise as they twirled in the strong winds.

Entering the shack at the base of the tower, Luke pulled back his hood. Can you hold this and shine it over at the panel when I’m ready? he asked.

Taking the light, I tried again. You never answered my other question, Luke. If you’re not ready to open, why do you have guests here?

The investors demanded it, he stated clearly as he pulled out tools from a cabinet hanging on the back wall. "In order for me to finance this place, I needed to have quite a bit of capital. Missy and I took our savings, and made the initial bid. We sold the house back in Virginia and took everything from that and added into the mix. But, we were still short.

"I ended up going to a meeting that put entrepreneurs in touch with prospective investors. I was able to sell my idea and vision, and gained six new partners. With their resources, I was able to get a mortgage to cover the cost of the island itself and the restoration of the buildings.

When we had a quarterly meeting, in June, they asked if they could come out for a weekend to give the place a dry run, so-to-speak. I figured, sure why not? Never thought we’d get this kind of weather.

He motioned for me to follow him through the next door. As he pulled the door open, an acrid odor assaulted our noses.

On impulse, I scanned the room with the light.

Black burn marks marred the white walls and wires stuck out of the main panel box. Glancing up, I noticed there was shrapnel of various shapes and sizes embedded in the ceiling tiles.

Luke stuttered, What the heck? It blew up! How? This shouldn’t be able to happen.

The light fell on a small item lying on the floor.

I nudged it with my toe. Part of a cell phone, that’s badly burned, I said.

Luke’s head came up. What does that mean?

I don’t think that this was an accident. Somebody wanted the power to be out tonight and blew the control panel up.

2

Come on, Luke, there’s nothing that we can do right now, I said. We’ve got to leave this for the police.

The police? he asked in a wavering voice. Can’t you handle it? You were a cop.

This was a deliberate act. Someone rigged your control panel so that it would explode, taking out all power along with the generator. This is a crime scene that needs to have police investigators going over it. And that doesn’t include me. I’m not a cop any longer. The only mysteries I solve now-a-days are the ones that I make up in my books.

Luke’s shoulders drooped. "What am I going to tell every one else?

I pulled him out of the room leaving the door open. "We’re going to tell them that nothing we tried worked out here to get it back up and running, and that we’re going to have to wait until the storm is over before we can bring out an expert to fix this.

Is there any place else on the island that would have a generator that we could snag so that we can restore some power to the main house?

Luke thought for a minute. Yeah. Missy and I were living out of our camper for a few weeks while they finished the interior restoration. I’ve got a small gas powered generator there. Oh, I forgot, there’s an antique monster out behind the house, but I don’t think it’s run in years.

Let’s go, I said pulling him out of the shack towards the truck.

It took nearly ten minutes to go less than a mile to where Luke stored his camper. Thirty minutes later, we were pulling back up to the main building.

Luke walked into the sitting room first to let everyone know what was going on. It was empty except for Missy who was sitting in a rocking chair knitting little booties.

She looked up at us. You’re back, but the power’s not on.

Luke crossed to her, We’ve got a problem, Missy. Somebody blew the control panel and the main generator to bits, he said quietly to ensure that anyone unseen couldn’t hear.

Missy gasped. What do you mean?

Everything in the shack is pretty much in pieces. Laura found something that she said was important, and that we need to call the police.

I nodded from the door way as I stood waiting for the officer on duty to transfer me to the right person.

What’ll we do? Missy asked.

Luke shrugged. We brought the generator up from the camper. That will get lights and essential appliances back on line. Tomorrow, Mark and I will see about that old monstrosity out back. Even then, we’ll be roughing it for the next few days.

Finished with my call I walked over to them. I left a message for a Chief O’Brien. Hopefully we’ll hear back from him fairly soon. In any case, they informed me that they wouldn’t be able to send anyone out here until after the storm passes. Apparently, the surf is getting close to eight feet, which means that the waves are breaking over your little bridge.

I know O’Brien. Met him a couple of times at some town functions over the last year or so. I might have mentioned my favorite, ah, famous sister to him a time or two, Luke said with a chuckle. He’s a good guy.

It took Luke and I nearly twenty minutes to get the generator hooked up. Once power was running to a few selected outlets, I curled up in one of the wing back chairs. I needed time to think. I may no longer be a badge-carrying member of the NYPD, but my training was still intact.

Pulling a notebook out of the little table, I wrote down the facts as best as I could recall them. I had to approximate the time that we’d found the control room, but I knew I would be within a few minutes. I’d checked my watch on the trip there, and it hadn’t taken us much longer to reach the turbine. I noted where each person was in the sitting room. A quick check of the clock that sat on the bookcase in the sitting room helped to determine when the power went out.

Once power was up, Missy asked Linda Carlson, one of the housekeeping staff, to let everyone know that the sitting room had power. Over the next fifteen minutes, almost everyone came back down. The only person missing was Anthony, but his wife didn’t seem too concerned.

So what happened to that big generator that we purchased to put in to keep the lights on, Luke? Michelle asked.

Not sure, Luke responded warily. We checked everything, but nothing we did made any difference. We’ve already called the dealer, but they won’t be able to get anyone out here until the weather clears.

Nice to know that everything works so well, Greg sneered. I told you that we’d be better off going with the major service from the mainland.

Missy spoke up this time. Part of what we wanted with this resort was a green facility. And by putting up the turbine, not only are we independent of the grid, but we can sell the excess to the power company, which brings in some revenue each month.

Greg, Kevin said. We went through all of this in the past. Just because your family owns a major percentage of the electrical provider in the area, there is no reason for this resort to kowtow to your whims. When we, he used his hands to draw a circle in the air, the board, went over everything, this is the solution that made the most sense. It helps to keep the cost of operation lower, provides the resort with monthly income, provided major tax breaks and theoretically, it should be more reliable than having a half-mile line laid under the bridge.

The conversation continued to be bounced around the group.

I sat in the chair, with my feet tucked and Scooter on my lap, watching the dynamics. Luke had never told me who the actual board members were, but since only Kevin, Greg, Michelle, Jim and Beth were adding to the conversation with Missy and Luke, I concluded that these were most likely the board members. Since Kim wasn’t paying any attention, to the goings-on, I guessed that it was Anthony from that pairing who was on the board.

I grabbed a book from the shelf and returned to my chair. This gave me the cover I wanted; I was able to monitor the conversation unobtrusively.

Things quieted down about fifteen minutes later. I wondered how I was going to get Luke alone to get him to confirm my observations. After watching the interactions among the group, I was fairly confident that I knew what role each member played on the team.

Has anyone heard from Tony? Kim asked looking up from her phone.

There was a chorus of no’s from around the room.

Missy took a seat near Kim and asked, What’s up?

Kim shook her head. Just after Luke and—is it your sister-in-law?—it doesn’t really matter. Just after they left, Tony got a text and said he needed to make a phone call. I didn’t worry at first, but I figured that it’s been about half an hour, so I just tried his phone. It rang five times and then went to voice mail.

I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Tony’s always been wheeling and dealing with people. He seems to be doing fairly well in the investment game. Perhaps he just needed to lie down for a bit, Scott suggested before taking another belt of whiskey.

Missy pressed a button on the house phone. Mark, one of our guest, Mr. Moreno, hasn’t come into the sitting room. Would you please check his room and be sure that he’s all right? Hmm-mmm. Thank you.

She turned to Kim. There you go, Kim. Mark’s going to check in on Tony for you and make sure that everything is all right.

The young woman smiled in thanks and went back to staring at her phone.

Everyone jumped at the odd buzzing sound. Missy picked up the receiver. Yes? What do mean? Oh. Well, that’s sure a mess. Yes, please let Linda know. It might be best to call in Pam, Ken and Ron as well. Thank you, Mark.

As Missy hung up the phone, all eyes were on her. Mark said that Mr. Moreno is not in his room, and that there appears to…have been some kind of altercation.

Kim popped out of her chair, What do you mean an altercation?

It appears as though some furniture was knocked over, and some clothing was strewn about the room.

Kim sank into the chair, covering her face with her hands and sobbing.

Kevin spoke up, Luke? Can you get us a few flashlights? I think we should split up and search the grounds as well.

I’ve already asked the staff to begin that process as well, Missy said. But I’m sure it will go much faster with everyone working together.

3

Fifteen minutes later, we were searching the house for any sign of Anthony Moreno. It had been decided by Michelle that it would be best for us to work in teams of two. The couples opted to work together, and I paired up with Luke, while Missy sat in the sitting room with Kim.

Tell me about Mr. Moreno, Luke, I said as we were descending into one of the cellars.

I don’t really know that much about him, honestly, Luke said. "When I knew that I was going to need funding, I mentioned it to Kevin. I figured with his business contacts and all, he’d have an idea on where to go for it. Kev mentioned there was a symposium for local investors coming up, and invited me to go along.

"He e-mailed me some paper work, and then coached me over the phone as I filled it out. At the symposium, I was given the opportunity to talk to about fifty potential investors. I showed them the business plan that I had and answered a bunch of questions.

"About a week later, I was asked to meet with a group of people. We talked about several points that they wanted clarification on. In the end, we decided to become partners in the project. Missy and I combined own fifty-one percent of the resort. I’m the Chief Executive Officer, and Missy is the Chief Financial Officer for now. The others put up various amounts that gave us the total that we were looking for.

As for Tony—I believe that he put up about a quarter of a million for his share, the same as Kevin did. He’s one of the larger shareholders in Rim Runners’. Between him and Kev, they hold thirty percent of the remaining stock. But, I’ve only met him three times before this weekend.

I thought about that as we made our way through the dark cellar. Moreno owned roughly a fifteen percent share of this resort. How much of percentage do the others hold? I asked.

As I said, Kevin owns about fifteen percent, same as Tony. Michelle, Greg and Jim each own a five percent share. Beth holds the last four percent.

Do you think that Beth is upset only having four percent? I tried.

I don’t think so. She was friendly with one of the others. Greg, I think. Anyway, Beth wasn’t at the initial meeting. Pretty sure that it was Greg who contacted her about the investment. She came to the second meeting, but didn’t want to commit immediately, saying she needed to talk it over with her partner. After a few days, she called said they’d thought about it and would like to invest. When I told her how much was left, she agreed immediately.

We were in the third cellar, one that had likely been used for storing vegetables when the building was first built. Luke and Missy had filled the space with several shelves worth of supplies. We were looking between sacks of flour and sugar when the scream came from outside. Luke and I scrambled to the nearest set of stairs.

What do you think that scream meant? Luke asked taking the stairs two at a time.

If I had to guess, I think that they’ve found Mr. Moreno. And something tells me he’s not doing too well.

We came up in the kitchen, which was currently empty. Through the windows, we could see several bobbing lights moving away from the house. Going out the kitchen door, we started running towards the group that was assembling.

It looks like they’re over by the maintenance shed, Luke huffed out."

What do you keep there? I asked keeping stride, knowing that I was going to pay dearly for the run tomorrow.

We’ve got a couple of small tractors. I keep a tool set out there for when I’m working on one of them.

The maintenance shed was a not much more than a twenty by twenty box. A garage door opened into the main yard. A pair of small Kubota tractors stood at the ready, each with mower attachments.

Missy was pulling Kim out of the group of onlookers. Kim was about doubled over, her mouth opened wide, but no sound coming out and her fist rubbing her eyes.

What is it? Luke asked as we came into the crowd.

Tony, was all Kevin said.

I took a quick glance at all of the other people standing there. There were the five couples; in each the husband was comforting his wife. The men were all staring at the body, while most of the women had their faces pressed into their husbands’ shoulders. Trying to keep the image out, I guessed.

Missy had pulled Kim back towards the house. Luke was alone in the front of the crowd of onlookers. I recognized the trail instructor, Deb, who stood towards the back close to Pam. There were four others that I didn’t know standing close by. A woman who looked to be in her sixties was leaning on a sturdy man, while two other men stood with their heads down and their hands in their pockets.

More than a decade of training took over.

Okay, folks. It’s wet out here, and by everyone being here, we’re liable to do more harm than good. Now I need to know, did anybody touch the body?

Who put you in charge? Greg demanded.

Greg, Luke said turning to face the man. Laura was a homicide detective in New York before she left the force and began writing. She’ll know what to do right now.

The man of the couple that I didn’t know nodded. I did. When Linda found him, I went over to check for a pulse. He was already dead.

You are? I asked.

Mark. Mark Carlson. My wife and I take care of housekeeping, maintenance and grounds. Linda is the one who found him.

Did you move the body in any way, or was this how you found him?

Mark shook his head. No, ma’am. He was stretched out like he is now. I approached him from over here, and checked his pulse on his neck. I didn’t move the body.

Okay, let’s get everyone back into the house. Luke, I’m going to need a list of everyone who is currently at the resort, either as guest or employee. And, I thought, a whole lot of luck.

While Luke headed to the house with the others, I pulled out my cell phone. It took about four minutes for me to get connected to the person that I thought would be best able to help me.

Chief O’Brien, the gravely voice said.

Chief? This is Laura Merrifield. I’m currently standing in the maintenance shed at Rim Runners’ Resort. We’ve got a body, tentatively identified as Anthony Moreno.

Please tell me you’re kidding, O’Brien’s voice sounded strained. You do realize that the entire area is under a hurricane warning, right? The storm surge is expected to be nine feet, and that little spit of concrete that your brother calls a bridge out to that God-forsaken island is less than three feet above the water. There is no way that I can get anybody out there to do anything about a dead body until maybe Monday.

Monday? I choked. That was three days away. Besides, everyone here would be gone on Monday. I knew what I was going to have to do, but it didn’t make it sit any better. Chief, I’m positive that Anthony Moreno was murdered. As you’ve so eloquently pointed out, getting on or off of this island right now is impossible. That means that whoever killed Moreno is one of those here at the resort. I’d, I sucked in a deep breath, hoping to gain some courage before I plunged onward. I’d be willing to take charge of the crime scene, get the photos, secure the body in some type of cold storage, and begin interviewing those that are here.

I had to wait through his laughing fit.

Listen, Ms. Merrifield, I know that you write about crime and you seem to have a fairly good imagination, but this ain’t no place for a fiction writer.

Chief O’Brien, you may know my bio that is on the back of my novels, but you don’t know me. I spent six years in uniform for the NYPD, followed by nearly eight more as a detective in homicide. If you want to take some time to make a few phone calls, I’d recommend Lieutenant Carl Weaver, he’s out of the thirty-second precinct. Give him a call and see if what I say holds up. I’m giving you a chance to have eyes and ears on this case now, less than an hour after it occurred rather than starting in seventy-two.

When he spoke, there was no doubt that he was frustrated. I’ll make those calls. If, and that’s a big if, I’m satisfied, I’ll call you back at this number, and we’ll discuss how we’re going to proceed with this case.

4

Gray clouds covered the entire sky the next morning, giving everything an eerie overcast. When combined with the rain that continued to pelt down hard and the brutal winds, being anywhere but indoors was about insane.

I sat at the dining room table, my head perched sleepily on my fist. I was trying to brace myself in more than one way right now.

The other guests began arriving and taking their places at the table. When Luke and Missy came in, I knew that it was time to start.

Okay, I said between mouthfuls of toast. "Everyone here knows what happened last night. I need to bring you up to date on where things stand presently.

Chief O’Brien made some calls last night to check out my credentials. Since the weather precludes him from getting anybody here, and my credentials held up, he gave me the go-ahead from his office to handle this case. Everything that I do is being video recorded, so I need to use an assistant. I’ve already recruited Luke to be that assistant.

Don’t you think that’s showing a bit of nepotism, Ms. Merrifield? Michelle demanded. When everyone looked to her, she continued. Mike and I called our attorney. We are not happy about this whole thing. And now we find out that you’re going to have your brother be the assistant? Smells like a cover up to me.

I held up my hand. I really didn’t want to do this, but I needed to establish a few things.

Mrs. Carter, let me answer everything in order. Do I see this as nepotism? Absolutely not. I chose Luke for one reason. He hadn’t been out of my sight last night since the power went out and he was with me until the body was found. Now, I paused and looked around the table. "Since he is the only one that I am sure of, besides myself, that didn’t kill Anthony Moreno, at this time, he’s the only one I can trust.

Forks clattered to the table and it seemed that everyone mumbled. Three of the guests, Kevin, James and Scott, sat stoic. The only movement that I saw out of these three was Kevin nodding his head.

I don’t think I can find fault with your reasoning to pick your brother, Ms. Merrifield. However, I think it would be best if all of the data that you find is shared with everyone of us, Beth said.

No, I answered quickly. At this point, everyone who is on this island is a suspect. It is definitely not good practice to give the person who committed this act the evidence that will be used to convict them.

What do you mean that we’re all suspects? I find your claim preposterous, Mike said loudly. If you don’t retract that statement, I’ll be getting in touch with my lawyer, and we’ll sue you for libel.

I let out a breath slowly, counting to ten before I began my reply.

"Mr. Carter, I am not bending to your, or anyone else’s, will. Before you say anything else, let me lay out a few facts. At this point, we know that Anthony Moreno was killed out in the maintenance shed last night. I’d guess most likely between the hours of eight and ten. When my brother and I left to check on the generator at seven-fifty five, he was alive. His body was found around ten-ten.

"Due to the storm, no one has been able to get on or off of this island, so that implies that whomever murdered Moreno is someone that is sitting in this house right now. Those are facts, not libel.

She’s right, Mike, Greg nodded. You can try, but you’re going to be wasting your money.

Mike’s face turned bright red. So you’re saying we should just sit here and let some broad who spins murder tales for a living consider us suspects? I don’t think so!

His wife placed her hand over his wrist. Mike, I think the best thing is to call Carmichael and let him know the situation. But, we’ll have to trust him on this, I think.

The others at the table nodded slowly. They didn’t like what was before them, but they had no way to change it.

I swallowed and continued on. "Luke and I began to process the scene last night. Everything has been documented by using a good digital camera and my iPad.

We spent nearly an hour collecting evidence from around Moreno’s body. After documenting the scene, we sent the photos to Chief O’Brien. With his okay, we collected everything into plastic zip-lock bags and have secured them in a temporary evidence locker. Following protocol, the body has been secured to protect it and the evidence until the coroner can come to claim it.

I didn’t think they really needed, or wanted, to know that Tony was currently wrapped in a layer of paper followed by a tarp, or that we’d moved the body into the cold storage unit behind the house. It wasn’t being used yet, but had been running for several days prior to the electric being cut, so hopefully it would preserve him until Monday.

"It is my understanding that Luke has already talked to his head guy, and they are working on getting another gas powered generator running this morning. With some luck, that will provide power to charge phones, computers and what-have-you.

As the morning goes on, I’m going to need to speak to each of you individually. If you don’t want to speak without your attorney, we’ll set up a time that we can Skype them to keep everything on the up-and-up.

Dishes were being dropped into the plastic tub that Linda had set on the buffet. I stood in the corner watching the other guests head out of the dining room, wondering whom I should talk to first.

Ah, Ms. Merrifield? a baritone voice asked from my right.

I turned to look into the face of a stout, gray haired man. Yes?

I, um, I’m Scott Campbell. Was wondering if I could speak with you for a brief minute before you got too tied up with your detecting today?

I supposed we could do that. Let me grab a cup of tea, and we can take a turn around the music room. Will that work?

That would be splendid, he said joining the crowd.

I watched him saunter away before I nodded my head beckoning Luke.

What’s up? Luke asked when he got close.

Wanted to keep you in the loop. I’m going to be meeting with your Mr. Campbell in a few minutes. Anything that I should know?

Luke thought about it briefly. Nothing that I can think of. Again, I’ve only met him once before this weekend. He’s married to one of the investors, ah, Beth, pretty sure it’s Beth Campbell.

Okay, I said dropping my tea bag into the garbage. I guess it’s time for me to brush off some old skills and see what Mr. Campbell wants.

Laura, Luke said almost in a whisper. Missy and I are counting on you to get this resolved. If we loose this— he said motioning to the whole house. We’re done. Please be careful, but please solve this quickly.

I gave his hand a comforting squeeze before I nodded and headed to the music room.

The music room, I could only guess, would have originally been a large veranda that was on the back of the main house. At some point, one of the past owners had enclosed it mainly with glass, giving it almost a greenhouse feeling. But that wasn’t quite right, either. Walking in, I could automatically tell that even though there were many windows, this area didn’t see much in the way of sunlight or natural warmth.

A baby grand piano sat tucked into one of the corners of the room and a shelf of sheet music ran full length under one complete wall of windows. I sat at the piano, closed my eyes and let my fingers run over the keys to some forgotten song while my mind escape for a few minutes.

Oh, Ms. Merrifield. I didn’t know that you played, Scott Campbell’s voice echoed in the smallish room.

Only for my own amusement, I replied, stopping and looking at him.

Well, I want to thank you for seeing me. It’s just this whole business with Moreno is a bit offsetting, if you know what I mean.

I imagine so. Now, is there something particular that you wished for me to know?

I don’t know how aware you were of Tony’s activities. But in the past year, I know that he’s been named in several different legal suits. And almost all of them have been by people that are on this current board.

That had my attention. I hadn’t really started looking at Moreno’s finances yet. It was a point that Chief O’Brien and I were still trying to work out.

I had no idea on that, Mr. Campbell. Do you happen to know who the parties are that named him?

Well, Beth and I brought a suit about four months ago regarding a land dispute. Greg, ah, that’d be Gregory Nelson, had filed against him for embezzling money from a different investment they were involved with. And finally, it’s rumored that his wife, Kim, put in a claim for damages that he supposedly caused.

I quickly