A Beach of a Crime: A Cozy Mystery Tribe Anthology, #11

By Aconite Cafe, Rune Stroud, Patty Joy and 6 more

Fun in the sun, a body in the sand, with a drink in hand!
record scratch Wait what? Body in the . . . there goes this sleuths vacation.

Join these sleuths as they try and salvage their day with another case solved.
They'll need a beach vacation after these salty culprits.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aconite Cafe
• Release date: Dec 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223074915

Book preview

COPYRIGHT

A Beach of a Crime

Published by Aconite Cafe

P.O. Box 845

Hamilton, TX 76531

www.AconiteCafe.com

© 2023 Aconite Cafe

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: [e-mail]

Cover by Aconite Cafe

A Caterer’s Guide to Sand and Survival © 2023 Jessica Thompson

The Beachside Bungle-Oh! © 2023 Brook Peterson

On Beach Time © 2023 Diane Bator

Manatees and Manslaughter © 2023 Rune Stroud

Sleuths, Sabotage, and Sandcastles © 2023 Brittany E. Brinegar

Muffin to Prove © 2023 Virginia K. Bennett

Dead Ringers and Light Fingers © 2023 Carmen Radtke

Trailers, Tuxedos & Thievery © 2023 Patty Joy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book was made possible because of our dedicated Patrons. Thank you for your support!

Don Berryhill

Nathan Hunter

Frankie Autry

Crys

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A CATERER'S GUIDE TO SAND AND SURVIVAL

By Jessica Thompson

(Non-Paranormal)

1

If you’re going to make sure I’m defenseless, at least don’t take me to alligator-infested waters! Violet said as she flicked a tiny clump of sand off the kitchen counter with a frown and plunked down her purse. She resolved to wipe the counter, but first walked to the big sliding glass doors with the view of the pool and courtyard.

Violet threw open the sliding door as it squeaked on rusty gliders and let in the beach breeze. She swept her long dark hair up and away from her sweaty neck and breathed deeply.

You would have brought your fancy kitchen knives to the bird sanctuary? Jake asked with a smirk. He laid the binoculars and pamphlet on Texas coastal bird species on the kitchen island of the tiny rented beach condo and sat in front of his laptop.

Well, no, I guess not, but I’d like to have the option. Violet groused and tried to ignore the residue of sand between her toes as she lunged for the pamphlet and fanned herself with it. She peered outside at the neighbors with all of their sliding glass doors open. I like to bring my knife roll anytime I’m traveling. Ugh. I can’t believe you convinced me to leave it at home.

So, bring a knife from here to slay dragons, or wrestle alligators, or whatever. Jake shrugged. He opened his laptop and started scrolling, barely listening.

Violet’s head slid forward and she raised her eyebrows. This one? Are you joking? I’ve had spoons that are sharper than this! She illustrated her point by retrieving the one paring knife the rental condo had provided and tapped the blade against the butcher's block on the counter. Why have such a big cutting board if you’re going to have a useless knife? I miss my chef’s knife.

Violet tossed the knife back in the drawer and strode out the open door onto the balcony. She filled her lungs with the salty air. Violet spotted the older couple from downstairs. She watched as they let their tiny puffball of a dog loose in the pool and winced at the dog hair waiting for her first dip. She turned her attention to the young couple with the little boy as he grabbed his shovel and walked left to the private beach beyond.

I won’t fight you about bringing it on the next trip, but you’ll survive without it for now . . . Don’t worry! I’ll protect you, Jake said with a nonchalant shrug, not taking his eyes off of his screen.

Violet’s eyes wandered to the couple in the apartment directly across from theirs. The man made two sandwiches and the woman sat in bed playing on her hot pink phone the same way as the day before when she and Jake had arrived. Violet knew Jake cared enough about her to help take care of her and make her a sandwich, as he had one week when she had the flu, but she wondered if she and Jake were at the ‘I-would-wrestle-an-alligator-for-you’ stage in their relationship. They had been dating exclusively for about three months, but they had never used the L-word. They had only had one little tiff after the rocky start of their relationship over a case involving assault, Violet's former fiancé, and eventually murder. Since then, Jake helped her with her catering jobs a couple times to be with her even when she was busy, and she helped him plot his military thriller fiction. Things were good. Things were steady. Good enough to take this weekend trip to Port Aransas together when Jake had suggested that he needed a vacation and Violet had a free weekend with no catering gigs.

So why do I feel so antsy? She asked herself, then made the connection in her mind to the thing that had been looming over her head and keeping her up at night for about a week now. She'd have to find a way to bring it up.

Sorry, she said without contrition in her voice. I’m still not sleeping well. Then the horrible smell of the water-treatment plant at the bird sanctuary, the possibility of alligators along the path, that little boy’s giant hole on the beach that I almost fell into, this building not having air conditioning . . . It’s just not the relaxing weekend I imagined it was going to be.

Jake said nothing, but his eyes widened at his computer screen and a hint of his signature crooked smile tugged at his lips.

What’s up? Violet asked as she squeezed the bridge of her nose against a headache.

I think I can officially say my latest book is taking off, Jake said, suppressing a smile. I’ve already earned up after my advance and my agent just booked some TV appearances for me.

Violet’s mind shot to her ulterior motive and edged closer to it. Really? That’s amazing! Congratulations!

Yeah, Jake huffed out a laugh. Between that and my self-published backlog, I’m making real money now.

Violet saw her opening. Like you could make this your career?

Jake let a silence hang in the air and Violet felt it tighten in her throat.

Um, I guess so, Jake muttered.

Well, I know we haven’t talked about money, but how much are you making as an author? Violet ventured.

Jake clicked and turned the laptop towards Violet. This is about how much I’ve been making for the last couple of months now.

Hey! Violet spouted. That could be a living!

Jake slowly closed the computer and leveled his eyes at Violet. She felt the full penetrating power of those steady blue eyes. Violet, what’s on your mind?

Nothing. She felt immediately that she'd answered too quickly.

Do I have to remind you I’m a military investigator and can usually tell when suspects are keeping something from me? He smiled with his eyes still locked on her.

Violet snickered. Okay, well, you know how I haven’t been sleeping well this week? I think I can trace this bout of anxiety back to when you told me you were going to re-up.

Jake only nodded as Violet went on. To be honest, it surprised me that you wanted to keep serving in the military since your books have been doing so well.

Are you asking me not to sign another contract with the army? Jake probed.

Her voice hardened. I was just surprised.

I’m not stuck serving in the army because I don’t have any other options, Jake said as his eyebrows knit together. You know I wanted to serve, right?

Yes, Violet shot back. But I don’t know why you’d want to stay if you are making it as a writer. I mean, who wouldn’t rather sit at a desk than be shot at?

I love the excitement of doing both, Jake balked. And I haven’t been shot at in the army. In fact, the most danger I’ve been in was investigating here in Texas with you. But . . . that’s not the point. Are you saying this because it’s what you think I want or because it’s what you want?

Violet gulped hard. She had wanted to make her point about him leaving the army, but not like this. Not with the cold look he was giving her now.

"Do you remember what else you said when you just casually mentioned you were going to sign another contract with the army? Violet felt her nostrils flare as she tried to hold back tears. You said your unit was due for a deployment overseas."

Even saying the words tied a knot in Violet’s stomach.

Yeah, Jake said with a growl. It’ll probably be sometime next year. But . . . but you had to know this was coming! If you’re dating someone in the army . . . deployment is part of the package.

"Deployment is part of the package, Violet mocked. Well, maybe it’s none of my business what you do with your life, or maybe it is, I don’t know, but I don’t have to like it." Violet put her fists on her hips. She was just gearing up to keep yelling when the sound of a plate crashing and breaking echoed around the courtyard.

Violet was shocked into watching the condo across the courtyard. The sandwich husband was pointing down at the floor with sharp gestures and barking words as the phone wife jabbed him with a cane and sneered back with a mocking squint. Jake came up behind Violet and squeezed her shoulders with a reassuring firmness. As the phone wife let out a sharp laugh and called after her retreating husband with a mocking whine, Violet put her hand over Jake’s.

I’m sorry. Violet surrendered to the tears that had been looming. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like them. I don't want to sound selfish.

You didn’t, Jake murmured in her ear, then kissed her cheek from behind. Not at all.

I’m sorry. I’m too crabby to talk about this rationally right now, Violet sniffled. I am being too self-centered, but just know I . . . want you around.

Jake turned her around and sucked the tear off her cheek with a kiss. I guess I can look at it as a good thing that you’ll miss me.

Violet pulled Jake in close and blinked hard over his shoulder. After a long silence, she said, I don’t want to say goodbye.

2

Violet glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was almost two in the morning as she gave up trying to sleep and slid into a lawn chair on the balcony. After a long afternoon on the beach of sun, swimming, and sand, she supposed she would have no trouble falling asleep. But sure enough, once the lights were out and the world was quiet, her mind had ramped up. The worst scenes in war movies replayed in her mind. The equipment and simulations she had gotten to experiment with through the army’s sweethearts club rolled through her thoughts. Once, she had fallen asleep for just a moment and dreamed she was instead the one crossing a tarmac to board a green airplane as Jake with the little boy from across the courtyard in his arms stood crying and waving to her with the dog from downstairs moping at his feet. After that she knew it was no use laying down in the stuffy bedroom.

Now Violet sat in the cool breeze with the crashing of waves in the distance. Usually she hated the almost fishy smell of the ocean, but now it soothed her jangled nerves. As she grew mesmerized by the sound of the waves, she replayed what Jake had said. A good thing is that you’ll miss me.

Violet would miss him. Maybe it would be too much for her and they'd break up, or maybe they'd stay together and he'd be deployed, or he could even pass away by being blown up or shot. No matter the circumstances, she would miss him so much that even now her heart felt like it would implode. She gasped and jumped in her seat.

She loved him. She loved Jake. She was completely in love with him. She had thought maybe she was before, but now she knew it and felt it strong enough and deep enough to name it. She was in love with him and wanted to stay with him forever, but she couldn’t be sure he felt the same way. From all he had said today, she didn’t think he was as in love as she was. Not in love enough to make changes for her or to build a future together. She huffed a sigh and resolved to play it cool. She couldn’t scare him away with clinginess or annoy him with bossiness, and she had to pick the right time to tell him so she wasn't manipulating him into leaving the army. Whether or not he wanted to re-up, she was sure now she wanted to build a life with him.

The realization had her more conflicted than ever between floating on air and sad longing for his safety until a strange sound split the air of the courtyard.

CASS–!

It was an explosion of voice, but short like its tail had been snipped off. Violet shot to her feet and wavered, holding the railing for support. As her mind raced through possibilities, she decided it sounded like a person, maybe a woman or a child. And although she couldn’t be sure, it had sounded something like Cass– as if a word had been on the person’s lips. Violet’s eyes darted to each window and balcony of the courtyard, but she saw nothing. No people stirred, no lights were on, no figure was in the turquoise lights of the pool, but one apartment had its blinds closed.

The sound had been too sharp and immediate to have come from the beach or the parking lot. It was too powerful and gutteral to be from a sound system. It was too human to be a catfight or a crying seagull.

Violet wasn’t sure why, but it filled her with a nameless dread and gave her already aching anxiety a spiked and cutting edge. Her eyes burned and she realized she hadn’t blinked as she slowly backed into the condo. She hid in the shadows now and debated whether to awaken Jake. She tried to tell herself it was her fear over Jake’s deployment talking, or maybe she had been so mesmerized while listening to the waves that she had fallen asleep and been dreaming, but she still couldn’t convince herself to come out of the shadows and close the sliding glass door as the rain striped the glass.

She replayed the sound over and over in her mind. Maybe it had said Gas or a certain bad word. That was it, she told herself. It was probably another argument and some name-calling from the couple across the way. They closed their blinds because they were fighting again.

She locked her eyes on their apartment and watched for a long time, but no sounds followed. No ripple behind the blinds indicated a struggle. At one point an ambient light flicked on from a room off of their bedroom like the bathroom or a closet. It turned on and stayed on, but Violet couldn’t see anything but a glow through the closed blinds.

I guess Mrs. Phone got up to go to the bathroom. Yeah, it’s probably just the bathroom, she told herself. Maybe they had an accident and are cleaning it up now. That could be why the bathroom light has stayed on for a while now.

She settled into the armchair next to her and spun it to face the sliding glass door. She continued to stare at the suffused light that glowed behind those blinds.

She awoke with a start. It was still dark, but Violet realized she must have been asleep for a couple of hours. It was already four in the morning and the rain poured down now. Between the pitter-patter on the roof and concentrating on her neighbors' apartment, Violet must have forgotten about Jake and his upcoming deployment long enough to get some sleep.

She looked across the courtyard again and realized the sound of the sandwich guy closing his front door or a flash of lightning must have been what awakened her. Mr. Sandwich lumbered down the exposed stairs now. He heaved a big cooler and Violet realized he must not be as old as his white hair suggested. Thunder rumbled and he bent his tall frame to the extended handle of the cooler. It was a feeling Violet commiserated with. Sometimes he picked up the cooler to descend a flight of stairs and leaned hard against its weight, but on the last flight he gave up and let it thump down each riser. When he reached the ground he went left through the downpour.

Violet grabbed the binoculars on the counter behind her and adjusted them for her eyes. She watched the drops bead and sheet off of his raincoat.

Funny time to go out for a barbeque, Violet chuckled to herself as she put the binoculars down. Or is he moving out in a cooler?

The smile lingered on her lips as she got herself a glass of milk and a turkey sandwich in the kitchen, cursing the dull knife when she tried to cut a tomato, then she gave it up and sat down in the armchair again.

Okay, tryptophan, do your thing! She said in her mind as she took a bite of turkey and a swig of milk. She smiled to herself again, then spotted something that made her smile and her heart drop through the floor.

Mr. Sandwich was back, but now the cooler bumped against his leg lightly and he lifted it up the stairs, skipping two at a time. Violet gulped hard as every urge to sleep flew out the window and across the courtyard. After another ten minutes of staring, Mr. Sandwich emerged from his condo with the cooler thudding down the stairs again.

Violet snatched at the binoculars. With the lightning, a flash of realizing what she must look like crossed her mind, but