Sunshine On A Murderous Night: Charlie Green Cosy Mystery, #7

By Samantha Jeffree

Running fever has hit the town of Sunshine and Charlie and Will are working hard to raise money for their chosen charities.

 

The discovery of a body and the arrest of a local community member has the town gossips talking.  Will Charlie stay out of this one or will she get caught up in the mystery again?

 

The appearance of a face from her past just adds to the confusion.

 

The seventh book in the Charlie Green Cosy Mystery Series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Samantha Jeffree
• Release date: Sep 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9798215303559

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE - LEMON AND LIME

My heart pounded in my ears as I reached the top of the hill and paused to catch my breath.

A cool breeze blew off the sparkling ocean far below, the trees swished gently and I realised with some glee that my fiancé was behind me.  We'd run the same trail every morning for two weeks and I still managed to be faster. 

I'm not really competitive unless I'm comfortable with a person - then watch out.

My name is Charlotte Green; Charlie for short.  I'm the owner of a candle shop called The Lamp in the beautiful tourist town of Sunshine.  We're surrounded by mountains, front on to a perfect beach complete with its own lighthouse, and live the mix of rural and not-so-rural life.

Sunshine is reasonably close to the ski fields, has warm sunny days and everything in between.  I grew up in town but moved away when I was old enough to 'find myself.' 

It turns out the only way I could find myself was to return to where I started.

I love my life in Sunshine.  I'm near my family, I have great friends and I love my shop.

How do you do that?  Will interrupted my thoughts as he came to a stop next to me and almost doubled over to catch his breath.

I grinned, Skill.  Practice.  Natural physical abilities.  None of that was true except for the practice part. 

I find running relaxing and have been doing it since I was a teenager; a lot of the time up the same hill I was standing on with Will.

I'd say I'm average height, average build and look okay.  I have dark hair that's never curly but never straight, full lips that make it look like I'm sulking when I'm not and blue eyes that have been mistaken for purple more than once.

I attribute my average build to all the running and walking I do with my Saint Bernard, Bentley.  I like food too much to diet.

Bentley came to a stop next to Will and I resisted the urge to scowl at him for not sticking with me; sometimes I think Bentley likes Will more than he likes me.

Aren't you meant to be the fittest one around here?  Can't arrest criminals if you can't catch them.  I laughed as I started running up the next steep slope.

Will grinned, took a deep breath and ran after me.  I let out a yelp as I realised he was pushing extra hard and overtook me.

I didn't mind; the view wasn't half bad.

Detective William Miles is originally from America but he's been in Australia for a while now.  He's one of the detectives in town and works with my dad who's the sergeant. 

I know what you're thinking; that sounds complicated.  Right?  Truth is it can be, but most of the time it's fine.  I grew up in a small town so I'm used to everyone somehow being connected to everyone else.

I smiled when I reached the last steep incline and saw Will and Bentley standing waiting for me.

Good of you to join us.  Will said, flashing another smile. 

He patted Bentley's big head, skilfully avoiding the drool hanging from my dog's huge mouth.

Bentley was a 'gift' from my brother Mikey.  Mikey's a vet who lives outside of town on a farm with his wife, two kids, a bunch of farm animals and an even larger bunch of rescue animals. 

Mikey rescued Bentley when he was a puppy and had given him to me when he realised he was more interested in playing ball and sitting on the couch than he was running around on the farm.  Plus he was scaring the chickens.

At first I wasn't sure about owning a dog; especially one the size of Bentley, but I quickly fell in love with him.

I took a large swig from my drink bottle and smiled.

We stood in silence for a few moments, our breathing loud against the mainly quiet backdrop.

Will reached out and pulled me towards him. We were both sweaty but he didn't seem to care.

Impressive.  You're going to have to train me.  He said as he smiled and kissed me.

No way.  I want to win.  I said with a sly smile, my arms still around his neck.

We were interrupted by Will's phone ringing and reluctantly moved apart.

He spoke quickly into the phone and I knew straight away fun, silly Will had been replaced with Detective Will.  The one who gets things done, finds people and is great at his job.

I knew by his frown something was wrong.

What's up?  I asked as casually as I could, knowing it was probably official police business.

He sighed, Sorry, just the station calling to check on a case.

Anything interesting? I asked.

His eyebrows shot up, No Nancy Drew, just basic cop stuff.

I nodded but I wasn't sure I believed him. 

I first met Will when someone from my past was murdered in my shop.  He originally thought I was the killer, but as you can probably guess, we've moved on from that.

Will checked his heart rate on his fitness tracker then stretched, Okay, let's keep going.

Are you sure there's nothing interesting going on?  I asked.

I have a bit of a habit of getting caught up in whatever drama is happening in town and it's not because I go searching for it.  In fact, I try to do the opposite but somehow I usually end up involved.

I just wanted to make sure whatever the phone call was about it had nothing to do with me. 

We were training for the big charity run in town in a week and I didn't want to be involved in anything else.  Between training and running my shop, I had enough going on.

I followed Will back down the hill towards town and smiled.  Bentley panted beside me but had no trouble keeping up.

I turned to look at a large truck I didn't recognise driving down Main Street far below when I felt something solid and hairy brush against my legs and I lost my balance.

Bentley!  I yelled as I slid on the gravel path and started to fall.

I reached out my hand and steadied myself without touching the ground.  For as long as I can remember I've had this sort of 'magic'.  I don't really know if that's the right term, but it's the best I can come up with.

I can't influence anyone else and I definitely don't have a crystal ball, but I can do little things like move things without touching them, unlock doors without a key and in this case, stop myself from falling over.  Will, my brother and my best friend know about it, but that's it. 

It doesn't always work and I seem to run out of power pretty fast, but it's gotten me out of a few tricky situations.

Will ran back, You okay?

I nodded, Yeah.  Thanks.

I watched Bentley as he sniffed the blue tongue lizard in our path and patted him on the head, Come on Mate.  Leave the little guy alone.  And stay out from under my feet, please.

What a beautiful morning.  I sighed as I sat back in the cafe chair and sipped my coffee.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the smell of bacon and eggs and pancakes filled the air.

Despite my slightly dishevelled appearance, I'd agreed when Will had suggested breakfast at Val's.  The cafe is a staple in Sunshine.  The food is fresh, varied, delicious and the staff are always friendly - even if the owner, Val, likes to gossip.

Bentley lied on the cool pavement under the shade of the verandah and looked like he'd melted.  He had a large bowl of water next to him and had had a doggy snack from Val, but was obviously done with running for the day.

It was Sunday morning and I was enjoying the time off with Will.  The Lamp used to be open everyday but it was too much so I decided to close on Sundays.

I share shifts with my best friend Tabitha Blackwell and we alternate working Saturdays to make sure we both get a decent break.

Will is often working so having him around on the weekend was really nice.  Two detectives recently joined the Sunshine Police Department bringing the total number to four, meaning Will and his partner, Sebastian Wainwright, now have more manageable workloads.

They still get really busy, but they seem to be less exhausted.

Sebastian Wainwright is as Aussie as they come.  He's tall with blonde hair, a slightly crooked nose, kind eyes and a quiet but strong demeanour.

He and Tabitha have been in an on again off again relationship for a while now, but since Tabitha has moved in with Seb, I'm pretty sure things are going well.

I thanked Val as she delivered our breakfast and my stomach grumbled.

She nodded, You're welcome.

Instead of leaving us and returning to the busy cafe, she paused and I knew she wanted information on something.  I tend to have a habit of getting caught up in mysteries in the area, my dad is the sergeant and my fiancé is a detective so Val sees me as a good source of information.

Unfortunately for her I'm really not into gossip and refuse to engage in it; but she's persistent.

So you two training for the charity run?  She asked.

We both nodded, Yep.  I said, resisting the urge to stuff food into my mouth.

Who are you collecting for?  She asked.

The idea for the charity run had been suggested by Skye Robinson, one of my least favourite people in town but I had to admit, it was a good idea. 

It was a friendly event to raise money for local charities.  The winner earned nothing but a medal but it wasn't about that.

My charity is Sunflower Dreams.  I said, referring to the mental health support service for women.

Val nodded and looked at Will who had just taken a large bite of toast. 

Will's nice looking and often serious, but he can also be sweet and seeing him with a mouthful of food trying to talk made me almost laugh out loud.

"His is the