Beachside Murder (A Team Gossip Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read online

  The captain was surprised and even satisfied by the outcome. He approached Team Gossip and said, “Ladies, you shouldn’t get involved in police matters, but I’m glad that you’ve called me so quickly.”

  Team Gossip laughed.

  “It was a fun activity,” Aunt Etta said. “Wasn’t it, girls?”

  “And you wouldn’t have solved the crime without our help,” Aunt Agnes said.

  “We should repeat this more often,” Flora said.

  “Do you have a website where you list unsolved crimes?” Ivy asked. “We can volunteer to help.”

  The captainstepped back slowly. “No, no. This is a one-off. You can’t meddle in our business, and I won’t tolerate that you―”

  Team Gossip stared at each other mischievously.

  “We won’t risk our lives if it worries you,” Aunt Agnes cut him.

  “We’ll only solve crimes and keep the neighborhood safe,” Aunt Etta said.

  “We’ll be protectors of the neighborhood.”

  “No, ladies,” the captain said. “You can’t investigate crimes on your own. It’s dangerous.”

  “It’s more dangerous to rely on the police,” Aunt Agnes said.

  “My nephew would be dead if Meghan hadn’t taken part in the case,” Aunt Etta said.

  Neither of them was going to give up. If Team Gossip had decided to fight crime, they were going to fight crime. Nobody would ever be able to stop them, and fighting them would only make matters worse for the captain.

  “And we’ve forgotten to ask you for a while,” Flora said.

  “How’s your father, Joshua?” Ivy grinned at the others. They knew the captain’s real name and they knew that they weren’t supposed to meddle in crime investigations. As always, they were going to ignore all recommendations and do everything they liked.

  Our senior neighbors were dangerous, very dangerous.

  Chapter 54

  Months later, at the Sand & Sea…

  “And here’s the table where the criminal mastermind Derek the Silent Killer poisoned Parrish’s drink.” Aunt Agnes gestured at the popular table at the restaurant, and the other members of Team Gossip joined her.

  They’d brought a team of about a hundred foreign tourists who kept taking pictures of the restaurant and the table. The Sand & Sea wasn’t only a popular resort; it was now a tourist attraction. People paid hundreds of dollars to sit at Parrish’s table, to visit his room, or to enter the kitchens. Team Gossip had arranged a few trips, and we were booked for months.

  “Those of you who wish to see the room where Brittany almost died,” Flora said, “please follow me,”

  “It requires a one-hundred-dollar supplement,” Ivy added.

  The others glared at her because of the increasing fees, but she shrugged. She was the most business-oriented in the group.

  Soon, the four seniors left, taking their legion of tourists to Brittany’s room.

  Nathan had come to visit me at the restaurant, and he stood beside me during the scene. He chuckled to himself. “At least it keeps them busy.”

  We hadn’t talked about the kiss at Vincent’s home and we hadn’t managed to bring up the topic. Everything had happened so quickly and under so much stress that both of us feared risking our friendship if we tried to become more than friends.

  “Have any plans for tonight?” he asked.

  He’s asking you on a date. Jump onto him! Kiss him! Show him what a 21st Century girl is made of.

  I ignored the voice in my head and gave him a half-smile. “Are you planning to get in trouble so that I have to rescue you?”

  “It depends,” he said. “Can I invite you out to dinner once you’ve saved me again?”

  My heart raced. I did want to date Nathan. We’d been blind for years. This wasn’t about finding a boyfriend or about dating; this was about dating the most incredible man I’d ever met.

  But… he was also one of my best friends, so I wasn’t going to throw myself into his arms because he’d tease me about it for the rest of our lives.

  “Let me check my schedule…” I checked an invisible phone. “Hmm… I’m having to rescue too many handsome men lately. Mind if we go straight to dinner?”

  “Mind if we jump straight into marriage?” His deep blue eyes stared at mine. He wasn’t joking.

  My pulse accelerated.

  Yes, yes, yes! Marry him!

  My phone buzzed several times, one message after the next. So did his.

  We both laughed with the sudden interruption; we knew it had to be Team Gossip.

  My phone showed many messages:

  Marry him!

  He’s yours.

  Jump into his arms.

  Kiss him!

  We want to be your bridesmaids!

  His phone showed a few others:

  Congratulations!

  We’ll take care of the invitations.

  She’s asking for a movie kiss.

  Turn 30 degrees to your right; we can’t hear you.

  We looked around, but there was no sign of Team Gossip. Nathan looked under one of the nearby tables and took out a small wireless microphone. “They’re learning too much,” he told me. He sighed and placed the microphone back in its place; there was no point in fighting. “You don’t need to reply if you don’t want them to hear, but my offer stands.”

  I didn’t need to wait, and I didn’t need to speak to answer. I raised onto my tiptoes and sealed his lips with mine. It was the sincerest kiss I’d ever given or received. I’d waited for too long to give it.

  Once we’d broken the kiss, he said, “Is that a yes?”

  “It’s an of course,” I said.

  Our phones quickly showed us Team Gossip’s opinions.

  Awww!

  Lord James says ‘Congratulations.’

  We’ll take care of crime investigations while you’re on your honeymoon.

  Tell Nathan to turn right; the camera isn’t getting his best angle.

  Camera? What camera?

  We had to do something about our neighbors. They’d grown even more used to spying, and their recent technological knowledge was making them too dangerous.

  Would Nathan mind moving to another continent? Life would become quieter for us in Africa.

  - - - - -

  The story goes on!

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  The End

  Contents

  Beachside Murder

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41
<
br />   Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Contents

  Copyright and Disclaimers

  Copyright and Disclaimers

  Copyright © 2016 by Martha Rivers.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.