Cabanas, Cupids, & Corpses: Port Sunset Mysteries, #4

By Louise Stevens

It's Valentine's Day in Port Sunset and romance, fun, and murder are in the air. Yep, murder. I'm Millie Wentworth the assistant General Manager of the Gulf Palms Resort. And since our sleepy beach town comes with a body count to rival any big city, I'm an amateur sleuth on the side.

 

The hotel is hosting a Masquerade Ball and half the attendees are dressed as Cupid. When someone is shot through the heart with a bow and arrow there is no shortage of suspects since Cupids are everywhere. And the victim was so awful lots of people had reason to do her in...seriously...LOTS. Including me.

 

As usual Detective Green's laser focus is aimed at the wrong suspects. When my fun-loving grandmother Lulu, Spud the corgi, and I discover another body we need to find the real murderer pronto. Can we catch the killer Cupid before they strike again?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Louise Stevens
• Release date: Mar 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215180372

Louise Stevens

Louise Stevens is the pen name of contemporary romance author Donna Simonetta. A lover of mysteries since her discovery of Nancy Drew many years ago, she is thrilled to be writing cozy mysteries now. Being the author of the Port Sunset Mysteries series is the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

Book preview

Chapter One

"E verything is in place for our first ever Valentine’s Day Masquerade Ball, and I’ve got the perfect costume idea," Jennifer Davis, the uber-organized director of the Gulf Palms Resort and Spa Conference Center announced at the end of our weekly meeting.

Great, who are you going to be? The cool, elegant blonde ran her department like a mini-dictatorship, but with a ballroom and crystal chandeliers. As a matter of fact her nickname around the Gulf Palms was––

Eva Peron. And Russell is going as Juan Peron.

I choked on my sip of iced coffee. To finish my earlier sentence, Jennifer is known as the Evita of the Ballroom, because of her physical and personal resemblance to the notorious Eva Peron.

I’m Millie Wentworth, the assistant general manager here in the sleepy Gulf town of Port Sunset, Florida. This ball is my brainchild and baby, and I really want it to be a success.

Do you need the Heimlich, Millie? One perfectly shaped eyebrow rose above Jennifer’s icy blue eyes.

I swallowed with a gulp and shook my head. Nope. I’m good. So you and Detective Green are going as the Perons? Interesting choice.

The corners of her red lips tilted up. Isn’t it though? I can wear a fabulous dress, and Russell will look splendid in a uniform.

Mm-hmm. I took a hasty sip of my coffee.

Jennifer had been dating Detective Russell Green since the summer. While I hoped their relationship and the fact we’d been murder free in Port Sunset for almost seven months would cause him to soften toward me, he did not.

People usually liked me, but not Detective Green. Just because I’d solved a few murder cases before he did made him very antagonistic toward me. What was I supposed to do, let killers run free in our town? It’s not my fault I had an innate knack for crime-solving. I’d gone the first thirty-six years of my life in blissful ignorance of this talent.

Do you honestly think I don’t know what my staff call me behind my back? She chuckled. The Evita of the Ballroom. It’s a point of pride for me, really.

You know? My eyes bugged out of my head.

Of course I do. Nothing happens in the conference center without my knowledge.

A harsh buzz rasped from the speaker of my phone. Shari Thomas is here for your one o’clock, Millie, the front desk clerk said.

I pressed a button on the phone. "I’m still meeting with Jennifer. Please tell

her I’ll be with her in just a moment."

Shari Thomas? She’s the project manager Corporate sent to oversee the cabana project, right?

I inhaled deeply through my nose and exhaled slowly. Yes.

Jennifer’s blue eyes sparkled like crystal. I took a stroll by the construction area yesterday to see how things were going, and they’re not going well. I’m guessing she’s a terrible manager, and it’s what you’ll be discussing in this meeting.

I get why LHR wanted their own project manager on the job, rather than taking Vince or me away from our already busy schedules. I clamped my jaw shut. LHR was the corporation which owned the Gulf Palms and many other luxury hotels and resorts across the globe, so I didn’t want to badmouth our employer in front of one of my subordinates.

A valid point, but why send someone so clearly in over her head? Jennifer asked.

I shrugged, and decided Jennifer might have some words of wisdom, as the woman was an organizational genius. Just between us, this is not my first meeting with Shari.

But things aren’t improving?

Nope. I shook my head.

I know we have very different management styles, and I have to admit most of the time your kinder, gentler style works very well for you. She waved her manicured, long crimson fingernail at me in a circular motion. But it might be time for you to embrace your own inner Evita and put this woman on notice.

I don’t see what you’re so worried about, Millie. The project is moving along. The cabana project manager casually studied her fingernails.

My hands clenched into fists under my desk. At a glacial pace. It is months behind schedule. You had promised the cabanas would be completed and ready to rent out by spring break season. That’s only a month away, and we don’t even have one cabana complete, let alone all six of them.

Oblivious to my tense tone of voice, Shari continued her manicure inspection. Look, you might be good at running the resort, but construction project management is what LHR hired me to do, so you just need to trust me.

Okay, maybe it was time to listen to Jennifer’s advice and let my inner dictator rip, because this woman was being deliberately obtuse. Or maybe she just was obtuse. Either way, she needed a fire lit under her derriere.

You have given me no reason to trust your project management skills. There is no way on earth those cabanas are going to be completed within the promised timeframe, and you leave me no choice but to call LHR to discuss options regarding this project.

Options? Her voice was shrill, and she sat up straight in her chair. What do you mean by options? The project is underway. If you’re threatening to call it off, you can put that idea right out of your head. It’s too late, construction has begun.

I gritted my teeth. I am well aware your contractor has begun foundation and framing work. But just barely, and in a slipshod manner. He has no plan as far as I can tell. He does a little bit on one cabana and then a little bit on the next cabana. It is unacceptable, and I think he needs to be removed from the project and replaced by an experienced, competent contractor.

No! Absolutely not. Farley Graham being the general contractor is nonnegotiable. Shari’s brown eyes widened, and her expertly made-up face was as red as a summer tomato. She ran a hand through her highlighted hair.

Shari was on the attractive side of average normally, but she put a lot of time and expense into attempting to appear younger and more glamorous.

He is not doing his job. I expressed my reservations about the choice of Mr. Graham as the GC to Corporate at the time of his selection. His bid was the highest, and he was the least experienced candidate. And his work is bearing out my concerns.

I swear things will improve. Farley can get the job done; I promise you. She leaned forward and clasped her hands together.

Wow, Shari’s laissez-faire attitude went out the window when I mentioned ditching Graham. What was up with that?

I’ve seen no evidence of it so far, and you have made no effort to improve the situation, which leaves me no choice but to contact LHR about replacing him. And even so, we still won’t finish on your promised schedule. It doesn’t look good for you as the project manager when a job has gone this far off the rails. It might not just be Mr. Graham that Corporate chooses to replace.

This cabana project had been my idea, and I’d really fought for it with my superiors at LHR. If it failed, I just hoped I didn’t go down with Shari and the contractor.

You played hardball with her? Go, Millie! I’m proud of you. My BFF Nell beamed at me over the stack of yoga mats in the hotel fitness center.

The director of the fitness center at the Gulf Palms, Nell was lithe, blonde, gorgeous, and athletic, while I’m ... y’know ... not. But our friendship just clicked, and we’ve been best friends from almost the moment we met.

For all the good it did. I snorted. LHR has been ignoring my concerns from the get-go, and now we’re in an untenable position. Even if they agree to get rid of Farley Graham, and maybe even Shari, I don’t see how a new contractor could get the project completed in time for our March rush.

Nell placed the last yoga mat on the stack, and it hit with a thunk. Done. Do you want to grab lunch together at the Beachside Café?

The Beachside was a casual restaurant and bar located poolside at the hotel, steps away from the white sand beach and turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Did I mention I got to work in heaven? At least for a beach lover like me. Fear of losing it all gripped my gut. What if I get fired over this cabana debacle, Nell? I don’t want to leave Port Sunset. My grandmother is here, you’re here, Scott’s here, and I love my job.

She held up one finger and called out to the employee in the fitness center office, I’m off to lunch. Text me if you need me.

We exited and strolled across the gleaming white marble lobby. You won’t lose your job over this situation. It would be completely unfair. You’ve been up front with Corporate about your concerns from the beginning.

It doesn’t mean I won’t be hung out to dry when the cabanas aren’t done on time. They’re not going to want to admit how wrong they’ve been about Shari and her decisions, so I’m afraid I’m going to be made the scapegoat. I held the French door open and allowed Nell to pass through first.

I just don’t understand why she chose this contractor. I mean he’s nice to look at and all, but he can’t do the job to save his soul. Nell glanced over her shoulder at me.

I squinted in the bright sunlight and scrambled in my oversized bag for my sunglasses. Have you ever talked to him?

No. Why?

Because he’s thick as the planks he should be using to build the cabanas. Pleasant enough, but...

We wended our way around the loungers by the pool, and I inhaled the scent of suntan lotion and chlorine. It might not be the case for everyone, but it was a scent combination that never failed to soothe my soul.

Once we were seated at a table in the shade of an umbrella and a row of palm trees, away from any other diners, we continued our conversation.

If that’s the case, it makes why she hired him even more perplexing, Nell said.

I picked up the menu and studied it, even though I knew it by heart. I probably should be good and get a chicken Caesar salad, but today had shaped up to be a cheeseburger and fries kind of day.

Decision made to walk on the dietary dark side, I took a deep breath and looked out at the beach. I winced as the partially finished cabanas greeted my eyes.

Nell turned in her chair to see what I was looking at and shook her head. It’s like he’s never built anything before.

Not even with Legos.

Our waitress approached, and I placed my order. Nell raised her eyebrows at me. I thought you were trying to eat better.

What? It’s been a tough morning. But I left off the bacon. And I ordered a diet cola.

The waitress laughed. And I’ll be right be back with your drinks.

I leaned back in my chair and tried to look past the cabana construction zone to the soothing waters of the Gulf. A couple walked in my line of vision, and I gasped.

What? Nell leaned forward to peek around the palm tree to see what had made me gasp like a Victorian maiden.

I pointed at the couple. I think we know why Shari hired Farley Graham, and it’s not for his construction skills.

The pair were clasped in a passionate embrace.

Oh my, Nell whispered. Isn’t she married?

They both are.

Chapter Two

"I guess that explains why your brother lost the bid for the cabana job, Nancy."

I jumped an inch off the chair at my grandmother’s voice behind me. I held my hands over my heart. Way to give a woman a heart attack, Lulu. I didn’t know you were there.

My grandmother and her friends, a group of septuagenarian fun lovers known around town as Lulu’s Crew, stood behind me and stared at Shari and the contractor continuing to kiss passionately.

They’ve got some serious lung power. How long have they been at it without coming up for air? Hannah Goldberg asked in her New York accent, which hadn’t faded in the fifteen years she’d lived here in Port Sunset.

Oh my. Valeria Rodriguez, a plump, motherly Cuban-American woman fanned her face.

Nancy Johnson snorted. The youngest of Lulu’s Crew at seventy-three, Nancy was petite and fit, and like most of the crew appeared younger than her years. My brother Mel is happily married, so I don’t imagine he would’ve gone for this aspect of the job.

This guy is married too, I said.

Unbelievable. Nancy scowled at the couple, who finally came up for air.

Shari straightened her dress and smoothed her hair, before they walked behind a partially framed cabana and out of sight.

Nancy’s brother Melvin Johnson had offered a really reasonable bid. Not the lowest, but not the highest either––that honor belonged to Nancy’s lip-lock buddy, whose bid was the highest by far. I’m really sorry, Nancy. I wish it had been up to me to award the contract. I would’ve given it to Mel without a moment’s hesitation. It would be nice to have an experienced, local contractor on this job.

Where does Lover Boy live? Hannah asked.

Miami, same as Shari. Well, when I first met her, she lived in Ohio with her husband, but the rumor mill has it they separated, and she moved to Miami, I said.

Lulu sat in a chair at the table next to ours, and her friends joined her there. Did she leave her husband for the lousy contractor?

I shrugged. I don’t know. But it does explain a lot. I need to check with some of my friends at LHR to see if she’s hired him for other jobs also. And if he’s always this terrible.

The waitress came back and placed Nell and my meals in front of us.

Lulu looked pointedly from my cheeseburger to my face. Aren’t you eating healthy this week?

It’s been a tough morning. What are you? The burger police?

She got a diet cola, the waitress chimed in with a wink. She pulled her pad and pencil out and looked at Lulu’s Crew. Do you ladies know what you want?

Four margaritas and the nachos grande, please. Hannah looked around the table. Sound good ladies?

They all nodded, and the waitress bustled off to put in their order.

And you’re judging my burger and fries? I asked Lulu.

My grandmother laughed and tossed her bobbed hair, currently dyed scarlet-red for Valentine’s month. My grandmother changed her rainbow-hued hair colors the way most people change their shoes. When you get to be our age, you can have margaritas and nachos for lunch too.

I pointedly picked up a crinkle fry and bit into it while maintaining eye contact with Lulu.

Nancy ignored us and stared out at the beach and partially constructed cabanas. She heaved a sigh. Please tell me the people who made the decision not to go with Mel are sorry.

I wish I could, but they’ve been very supportive of Shari and her choices. I’ve tried to raise the alarm about the project, and they dismiss my concerns. I’m trying again this afternoon. Wish me luck.

You’ll have a lot more ammo for your call today after seeing their make out session on the beach, Hannah said.

I don’t like to bring people’s personal lives into work issues. I took a bite of my burger and chewed it with a thoughtful air.

But in this case, her personal life has become a work issue, Lulu said.

The whole situation stinks, Valeria observed.

I waved a French fry in the air. Hence my lunch that would make your cardiologist weep.

The waitress came back with the Crew’s cocktails and nachos, and I had