Silver Secret: A Sailor Masters Mystery

By Sera D'Latta

Sailor Masters is a receptionist who loves her cats and hanging out with her friends. Secretly, she's been solving mysteries since grade school. Her world takes a dramatic turn when she happens upon a gruesome discovery in the grocery store. She brings her friends Joe, Matt, and Sapphire together to solve the case, but as they rally to unwind the mysterious crime, they discover other secrets buried deep. Joe has secrets he wants to share with Sailor, but his fear holds him back. Will the friends discover the murderer? Will they be honest with themselves and each other?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667894157

Book preview

Chapter 1

Sailor Masters was in a rush. She hated it when she was running late, it screwed with her whole day. She knew that Kreative kids’ preschool could survive without her for a few minutes, but her work ethic demanded that she be punctual. She had always been taught that if you were on time then you were late and if you were early, you were on time.

She hurried down the street and into the parking lot and found a parking spot, jumped out of her truck and walked hurriedly to the front door and punched in her code. As the lock clicked, she ploughed her way through the door and nearly knocked her coworker, Joseph, over.

What’s the rush? Joe said as he reached out to steady her.

Her thoughts had been so occupied, that she hadn’t even realized she was about to fall over. Her mind was a million miles away. I’m late! Sailor replied.

Joe looked at the clock, We don’t open for five more minutes. He informed her.

Leave it to you Techie guys to realize every single little minute detail. She smiled at him. It takes me a full twenty minutes to get the lobby up and running plus all of my machines going. I want to be ready when families begin to arrive.

Sailor was the office administrator for Kreative kids preschool and she prided herself on her work ethic and ability to keep things running smoothly. She was out of her comfort zone at the moment and really feeling it.

Techie guys? Joe replied I didn’t know that that was our title. Hmm, maybe Ed can submit it to the admins and get it changed for us.

She laughed. "Oh, you know what I meant, besides, it might confuse too many people if you were to actually change it. You may as well keep it IT"

They laughed together as Joe helped her to get all of her equipment and computers running while she unlocked the code box for parents to enter and welcome the first few groups at the door. Kreative kids prided themselves on the measures that they took to keep the safety and security of their students on the forefront, just as much as the curriculum that they used in their ten main classrooms.

The building itself was a bit of a fortress for the kids as it had a huge enclosed courtyard with an outdoor playground. How the architect had made it so that the kids could have a safe place to play while still experiencing the outdoors.

Sailor was proud to have worked for the company for almost 10 years. Not everyone believed that she had been there for that long she was constantly told that she didn’t look old enough. Some people might have taken offense at being told that, but it always made her smile. She knew that she didn’t look her age, she had been blessed with a youthful appearance. In reality she had just turned 30 years old. Most people who tried to guess her age usually put her at 25 or slightly younger. She always laughed at their guesses and thanked them.

OK. Joe stated as he rounded the corner of the reception area. You are up and running. Oh, and I fixed that bug in your print network, if it gives you anymore trouble just give me a call.

Sure will! She smiled at him. She liked Joe, he was a great guy and she loved how he liked to engage in a conversation and gain insight into things that someone may not have thought of. Shoot! He had been the one to influence the safety committee on the coded entry after a conversation that they had had with coworkers about their concern for possible violence. They had begun conversation regarding coded entry for years previous to his installation finally last year. He would never know how grateful she was to him for pressing the issue. As a bonus, she found that she had liked his company quite a bit too.

She was drawn from her thoughts as more parents and kids came through the door. She waved goodbye to Joe as he headed back upstairs and then turned to welcome the children and parents. This was her favorite part of the day; the kids were always excited to come to school and spend the day learning and playing with her teachers and friends. It warmed her heart to see the little smiles and hear the laughter in the air. Sometimes she felt the little tug that came at her heart to become a mother she knew that she would love it when that day came, but she knew that it wasn’t in the cards for her right now.

She turned toward her work table and picked up one of the work orders waiting for her. And we’re off and running. She said to herself as she headed to the laminator and began her work for the morning. She truly loved her job, every little bit of it. It was rewarding to be able to come to a facility that she worked for and see the good it does for the families in her community.

Kreative kids started as a small, in home child care that their founder, Ann, had done when her own children were small. She had been working but decided that it wasn’t worth it, in more ways than one. She wasn’t able to be with her children, and the money that she was earning only went to pay for the childcare that she had to have in order to work. It was a vicious circle. So, she had decided that enough was enough.

Anne’s husband had a good job and she knew that they would be ok as she began her effort to help low-income families. With that, Kreative kids was born. She had started with only 10 children in her care and began writing to state and federal agencies for funding to grow. 5 years later she was able to have their current building built, through community partnership and grant funding they were able to get the supplies needed and the employees to run it.

The building itself is a large two-story hollow square. The downstairs houses ten classrooms for 3-5-year old’s and 3 classrooms for 0-3-year old’s. The courtyard and playground encompassed the middle of the square and all classrooms and ground floor offices had doors that opened out to the courtyard. The preschool classrooms were on the opposite side of the building as the Infant toddler care. There were Nursery’s with cribs for the infants and sanitary changing rooms for diapering with a tiny toilet for potty training in each. The littles also had their own gated play area in the courtyard to separate them from the older kids for safety reasons.

The Preschool hallway had the 10 classrooms with 5 shared bathrooms between each. The rest of the floor held a multitude of conference rooms, janitor closets, bathrooms and break room as well as a library and supply room that held just about any craft item that a teacher could want from Glitter to construction paper.

The facility was a wonderous place that came all from the motivation and drive off one woman who knew that our community needed better. Sailor was a proud employee and could not imagine a better place to work. The extra bonus was getting to work with people that she loved.

After Graduation, She and her best friend, Sapphire, had gone to college with different career choices in mind. Sapphire had gone with dual majores in Human resources and Business management, while Sailor had enrolled in Criminology and Administrative Management.

It was fate that they both ended up here at Kreative kids. They had both helped work on the building when they were younger. Both of their parents had been major contributors to their effort and they all wanted to help in any way that they could.

Sailor went about her work and relived her memories as she hummed and produced her finished products. The phone rang and she quickly moved to her desk to answer it. It was Friday and there typically weren’t many phone calls on a Friday. This one was a supplier needing their operations managers. No biggie. Sailor transferred them and then moved on to her data entry. Yep, it was going to be a good day after all, thanks to Joes thoughtful help. She was ready to usher in the weekend on a good note now.

Chapter 2

It had been a long day but Sailor was in a great mood. She and Sapphire were walking out of the school laughing and chatting as they made their way to their vehicles. Sapphire was now one of the school’s administrators and had worked there just as long as Sailor had, they both had applied for the jobs at the same time. They had almost made it to her truck when Joe and Sapphires husband, Matt, came jogging toward them. Matt gave his wife a kiss and grabbed her hand.

Hey honey, how was work? He teased.

He already knew the answer to that question. It’s not hard to know what is going on when you all work in the same building. He had a clown like personality though and was a fun person to be with. So, it was never surprising when he popped off questions like that.

She playfully slapped at him. "Oh, didn’t you hear? I got fired today! She joked back.

They all laughed and Sailor turned toward her truck. Hey Saph, why don’t we invite them to go with us tonight? You guys wanna go with us to try that new Italian place downtown? He asked them without waiting for her answer.

That’s a great idea honey it’ll be fun! Sapphire told him.

I’m game. Sailor replied How ‘bout you Joe I promise not to bite.

Sure, Let’s do this. He playfully put his arm around her shoulders.

Sailor suddenly felt a wave of shyness wash over her. How about we all meet there? She said quickly.

Oh, Sally come on! Sapphire pulled her away from Joe You know that Matt and I have plenty of room in our SUV, you can both ride with us.

Sailor grudgingly gave in and hopped into the back seat with Joseph. I promised not to bite. he whispered making her crack a smile.

Matt and Sapphires attitudes were infectious making her nervousness ease away and soon the radio was cranked with the girls were assailing the guys with their melodic voices as they sang along to a favorite tune that was playing.

Dinner was just as engaging as they shot rapid fire conversation between the Mms and Oh my God’s as they took bites of the scrumptious cuisine set before them. Sailor had ordered the Chicken gorgonzola; Sapphire had a gorgeous plate of Gnocchi. Matt and Joe had both opted for the Calzone that they had been warned was huge and maybe they should share. They chose not to listen and were currently seeing how much they could eat to prove that they weren’t wrong. They were all sharing a bottle of Rosccato and had already asked for a second bottle. They were all in agreement that they were eating culinary masterpieces.

After begging off desert and getting their leftovers packaged up, they left the restaurant laughing and giggling. Sailor was just a tiny bit lightheaded and didn’t mind that Joe had taken her arm and looped it through his as they walked. It was a friendly gesture that felt very nice. He helped her into her seat when they got back to the vehicle and by the time that they had gotten back to the preschool her slight buzz had worn off.

That was fun. Joe said after they had said their goodbyes to Sapphire and Matt.

It sure was. Sailor replied as they walked toward her truck. We have got to do that again.

I agree. He held the door for her as she jumped up into the driver seat. Goodnight Sailor.

Goodnight Joe. She smiled at him. See you on Monday have a great weekend. She blew him a kiss and started her engine after he shut her door. She waited for him to get into his own truck and then backed out of her space and headed toward home.

She began thinking about him and how he was such a great guy. She had felt a few tingles tonight but she had laughed them off. She admitted that she could really fall for the guy, but her heart just wasn’t ready. She had been hurt too many times to trust very easily anymore and though she had known Joseph for a few years it was confusing and hard to think that he could be more than just a friend.

She looked at the clock on her dashboard, it was 8:30. She remembered that she needed a few things from the grocery store and decided to make a quick stop at the market on her way to her house.

She pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later and after a quick 30 minutes, her basket contained everything that she needed for the weekend. She had planned a day of house cleaning with a few do-it-yourself projects. She had been meaning to paint and reorganize her pantry for a few months now and after her Tupperware shipment arrived two weeks ago, she couldn’t avoid it any longer. Those modular mates boxed up in her living room had a home that they needed to go to and she needed to get it done.

She had also planned a trip to the beach. She loved to look around the tidepools and to climb the rocks. Her lovely town of Cape Coos was well known for its beautiful beaches and tide pools. She could spend a whole day hiking, swimming or reading at her favorite spot on the Cliff or even in the warm sand.

She had grabbed items for making sandwiches and salads, so that she could make quick and healthy meals. School had just started for the year and while she was a year-round employee, this signified the end of summer for her. There weren’t many nice sunny weekends left and she wanted to take full advantage of them as much as she could. So quick meals were the ticket to more time.

She loaded her items onto the belt at the check stand and engaged in a light conversation with the cashier as the girl rang up her goods. As she paid the girl, she had a sudden urge to use the restroom, darn that wine. She asked the cashier to watch her things and headed to the restroom at the front of the store. She plowed through the door of the women’s restroom and stopped dead in her tracks. She had lost the urge to pee. There, on the floor was a woman’s lifeless body slumped against the wall.

Sailor knew that she needn’t check the body or vital signs, it was evident in the lifeless empty eye sockets that the woman was beyond saving. Someone had actually removed her eyes! Her red dress suit was ripped and rumpled as if she had fought off her attacker, she also observed that there were visible bruises and cuts on her face and arms.

She glanced at the sinks near the body and noticed that one of them had some blood on it that appeared to look like fingerprints. Something shiny caught her eye as she backed out of the bathroom. A lighter, a silver lighter with an embossed flame on it laid next the body with blood pooled around it. It had to