MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1)
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Authors: Rayna Morgan
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MURDER AT THE PIER
A Sister Sleuths Mystery
Book 1
RAYNA MORGAN
Copyright
© 2016 by Rayna Morgan
All
rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used
in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the
publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Printed
in the United States of America
First
Printing, 2016 by Morgan Publishing Group
Table
of contents
Lea and the dogs started the day in the
doghouse. The only way to get out was to promise Paul that their sleuthing escapades
were over. But could she keep that promise?
The answer came that night in the form of the dead body the
dogs found under the Pier.
* * *
Paul walked into the kitchen.
The border collie crept into a corner, covering her right eye with a paw.
"You're not the only one who should be hiding this
morning," he scolded.
"Surely you aren't referring to me," Lea laughed,
following her husband into the kitchen. Trailing her hand across his shoulders,
she reached behind him for the coffee pot.
"It's hard to be upset with this little dog," he
mumbled, looking down at the sleek body of gold and white fur, steely black
eyes, and pointed ears. He turned back to his wife. "You and your sister
are another story. You could have gotten yourselves or this dog hurt last
night."
Lea filled her husband's coffee mug. "At least we
discovered the source of the ghosts in Mrs. Allen's house."
"I'm sure our neighbor will be eternally
grateful," he scoffed, "but you two agreeing to stake out her back
yard all night could have resulted in consequences you didn’t plan on."
“But it didn't. And I learned something from our
efforts."
"What would that be?"
"Intruders come in all shapes and sizes."
"Thanks to you, I'm sure our neighbor will sleep much
better tonight. Living alone makes her nervous enough without being spooked by
noises at night. But since you and your sister have taken up this new interest
in sleuthing, my sleeping habits haven't improved.” He added cream to his
coffee. “With Mrs. Allen’s penchant for gossip, the entire neighborhood will
hear about your detecting skills. You’ll be famous or should I say infamous?"
"Just be thankful I didn't have Spirit with us."
Lea glanced at the white golden retriever lounging on the patio. "At least
Gracie had the sense not to attack the skunk. Spirit would have tried to play
with the intruder and been sprayed from head to foot."
"You mean because Spirit thinks every person and every
animal he encounters is friendly and wants to play?"
"Exactly why we didn't take him.
His investigative skills are a little lacking, and
I don't think the breed name is even applicable in
his case. Spirit couldn't retrieve his own shadow following him."
"It’s alright, boy, your sweetness more than makes
up." Paul scratched the long, floppy ears of the dog that had entered the
kitchen upon hearing his name.
Lea's lower lip protruded in a pout. "I'll admit we
probably only got rid of Mrs. Allen's culprit because he was more afraid of
Gracie than she was of him."
"It hardly ranks you and Maddy with Sherlock and the
other great detectives."
Hearing his name, the black and gray striped cat twisted
his neck. "He's not talking about you, Sherlock. Go back to sleep," Lea
laughed.
"So maybe we'll have a little peace and quiet
tonight?"
"
You have nothing to worry
about," Lea assured her husband. "Maddy and I have limited our
sleuthing to four-legged intruders."
"Let's keep it that
way," Paul suggested
.
"Anything special on
your agenda today?"
"I'm meeting with a client this afternoon about the
recent burglaries at construction sites. He wants to know what security measures
he should take so his sites don't get hit."
Paul's consulting business included advising clients on all
aspects of commercial real estate including development, leasing, and
management. Security and related staffing issues fell under the venue of site
maintenance.
Lea frowned. "I saw it on the news. The press has
dubbed them the
Construction
Site Burglars
. It's a bad business alright. What did the reporter say,
five places hit already? It's fortunate nobody's been hurt."
Paul nodded. "The reason my client is worried. He's
not only afraid of losing a lot of valuable equipment but of putting his
security personnel in harm's way trying to protect his properties."
Lea leaned over to stroke Gracie's head. "What are you
recommending?"
"A number of things can be done. I'm doing a physical
inspection of his sites this morning to see what's lacking. In fact, I better
get a move on if I want to visit all of them before I meet with him later
today."
"I hope for your client's sake the police catch the culprits
soon." She added an afterthought: "Be sure to let him know if he
needs an employee safety manual, I'm available to produce one."
As a freelance business writer, Lea prepared employee
handbooks, marketing brochures, proposals, and shareholder reports for her
clients. She also wrote speeches and advertising copy as needed.
"Don't worry. I plug my brilliant wife's skills at
every opportunity." He flashed the smile that still melted Lea's heart
after so many years of marriage.
"Will Tom be coming
over after the game?" she asked.
Their close friend, Tom Elliot, head of the Major Crime
Detective Unit of the Buena Viaje Police Department, had earned his reputation
as a smart, conscientious, hard-working officer; respected and well-liked by
the men and women he supervised.
Lea was referring to their Monday night routine of Tom joining
them for dinner after Paul and Tom played softball with the local league. Divorced,
Tom always welcomed a respite from frozen or fast food, his typical fare.
"I don't know if he'll make the game. He's had his
hands full with the burglaries the last couple of days. From what he told me
yesterday, they're no closer to catching the perpetrators."
“I’d never think of a construction site being the location
of a crime. What's Tom told you about the burglaries?" Lea inquired,
trying to show as little interest as possible.
“According to him, construction site burglary is a growing
problem." Paul stuffed papers into his briefcase. "Offenders have
different motivations. Amateurs take building materials for use in their own
houses: plywood, pavers, or ladders. Professional thieves take property they
can sell in an unregulated second-hand market: appliances, doors, and windows.
Insiders may be more likely to take heavy equipment which takes more skill or
effort to remove."
"What's the extent of losses in these
burglaries?"
"Apparently billions of dollars worth of materials and
equipment are stolen every year. Indirect expenses include job delays and
higher insurance premiums. Unfortunately, those losses are passed on to home
buyers, resulting in increased prices."
"I can understand why they've got every available
officer working the case but if Tom has to work tonight and can't make the
game," she mocked, "won't it be a little hard for your team to win without
the star hitter?"
Paul winced, grabbing his sunglasses and heading for the
door. "I'll do my best to cover the gap."
He yelled up the stairs. “I’m leaving if you want a ride to
school, Jon.”
“Two minutes, Dad.”
Handing Paul the car keys he was looking for, Lea said: "If
Tom comes for dinner, he can give us the latest news on the burglaries."
"Don't even think about it, Lea. Even though you and
your sister . . . and your dogs," he added, looking directly at the canines,
"love to play at sleuthing, you can all keep your noses out of this one.
It's too dangerous. The biggest concern of the police right now is the
perpetrators seem to be getting more aggressive with each incident. No one's
been hurt yet and no weapons have been used, but the police are afraid that
will be the next step since most of the owners of construction sites, including
my clients, have beefed up their security."
"Don't worry," she assured him, tossing her long,
copper-colored hair. "I've got enough on my plate right now to keep me
plenty busy. I have no time for distractions."
She watched their tall, gangly son come running down the
stairs, backpack bouncing. A freshman in high school, he was experiencing such
a growth spurt she hardly knew who would emerge from his bedroom each morning.
He grabbed the toast she had ready giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
“Thanks, Mom. See you later.”
“Have a good day, you two.”
Lea
answered her buzzing cell phone, waving Paul and Jon out the door.
"Hey, Sis, hope you were up."
"Of course. Enjoying my second cup of coffee with the
dogs before I start work."
Getting a call from Maddy this early in the day was
unusual. "Are you at the furniture store already?"
Her sister worked as an interior design consultant and
salesperson at one of the local furniture stores.
"No, I'm off today. I switched shifts with one of the
other salespeople who had a wedding to attend." Maddy's voice raised an
octave. "But we've already had some excitement around here."
Lea perked up. "What's going on?"
"Have you heard about the Construction Site
Burglars?"
"Paul and I were just discussing them. He's gone to a
meeting with a client concerned enough with the burglaries to implement
additional security measures. Where did you hear about them?"
"I stopped by Starbucks for a cup of coffee. The
regular coffee clutch was nattering full speed with news of last night's
break-in."
Lea gasped. "It didn't happen in your neighborhood,
did it? It would be a new modus operandi if the burglary was carried out in an
area where people are living."
"No, but it was right up the street at the site where
they're building those condominiums . . . the project called Two Palms. Come on
over; I'll tell you all about it. We could even go see where it happened,"
Maddy tempted, knowing Lea wouldn't be able to resist.
Lea was the more reserved of the two sisters, the one who
planned ahead and thought things through. Maddy was impulsive, spontaneous. She
was also irresistible, with her exuberant personality. Ever since childhood,
she had been able to talk her younger sister into any new adventure.
In spite of the pile of work sitting on her desk, Lea's
hesitation was brief. "Give me twenty minutes."
Grabbing her purse as she headed for the back door, she
called to Gracie: "Let's go, girl. Paul wouldn't be happy if he knew, but
all we're going to do is take a look."
* * *
The familiar drive to Maddy’s was one of her favorites
because it gave her a view of the ocean. Not a day passed without Lea admiring
the small coastal town where they lived, bounded by houses climbing up the hill
on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.
When she and Paul moved to Buena Viaje to be closer to
Paul’s aging parents, they appreciated the fact that although the town itself
was small, access to a major metropolitan area was within an hour’s drive. Initially,
Lea commuted on crowded freeways to get to the corporate offices where she was
employed. Now she worked from home and days of facing bumper to bumper traffic
were a thing of the past.
It was hard for her to believe how the countryside had
changed as she observed more agricultural land being readied for construction.
For years, much of the acreage surrounding the city had
been planted in citrus trees. Many of the landowners participated in a
preservation program which required retaining the land in agriculture in
exchange for a reduction in property taxes. In recent years, those contracts
had been expiring. More and more of the land was being sold to developers
anxious to build homes and shopping centers for a populace willing to endure
longer and longer commutes into the crowded metropolis in order to provide
their families with a healthier, more relaxed living environment.
Exiting the freeway and turning onto the two-lane street
leading to Maddy’s neighborhood, Lea observed the Two Palms project being built
on a parcel previously covered with orange trees. The day the builder had
ordered the heavy machinery crews to tear out the citrus trees, Maddy and Lea
had watched from the corner restaurant, sipping wine and lamenting the loss of
more undeveloped land.
As she drove past, she saw a police car and other vehicles
including a local news van parked at the site. Several people were milling
around including someone holding a large video camera propped on his shoulder. A
reporter was holding a microphone in front of a man Lea recognized to be the
local Chief of Police.
Lea hoped Maddy’s coffee klatch would have answers to the
questions the Police Chief was being asked.
