A Killer On Christmas Cay by Bruce Hammack

Author:Bruce Hammack
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781958252222
Publisher: Jubilee Publishing

22

Heather moved the lawn chair to a spot on the deck shaded by the fronds of a tall palm tree. If it weren’t for nature’s umbrella and the constant breeze, she’d be sitting in the walk-in refrigerator to cool off. She realized she’d forgotten about Clyde Pugh and his assignment to provide fish for everyone on the island. Her gaze slid to the dock as his head bobbed to the surface.

Her eyelids came together for a long second. The peace and beauty of the private island overwhelmed her. It was as if the chair had a magnet in it that wouldn’t allow her to rise and check on the lone fisherman. Oh well, a few more minutes of solitude wouldn’t hurt anything. Her chin bounced off her chest twice before she surrendered to the island.

It surprised her when voices drifted toward her from a gaggle of people coming down the hill.

“It must be nice to take a midday nap,” said attorney Janice Peltier.

Heather came back with, “If your team had completed their work in the kitchen on time, you could do the same thing. A nap was on the schedule before you failed your—”

“Don’t remind us,” said Habib.

Heather inspected the group as they approached the porch in a sloppy single-file line. Sweat dripped from noses and chins.

“Janice, hold up a minute,” said Heather. “Go check on Clyde Pugh. Tell him to bring whatever fish he caught to the kitchen.”

She looked toward the bay. “I don’t see him. Do you know where he is?”

“Look under the dock. That’s where I’d be fishing in the midday sun.”

The rest of the sweaty group passed by on their way to take a dip. Heather spoke loud enough for all to hear. “Everyone but Janice hold up. I have your next instructions.”

A groan rose that Heather ignored. “After you rinse off in the bay, go to your bungalows, shower, and put on clean clothes. Bring all your dirty clothes here to be washed. You’ll be in the shade the rest of the afternoon.”

“Thank goodness,” said Louis Crane.

Janice had separated herself from the group and was most of the way down the hill by the time the rest left the yard. Heather wondered if they would relay her last instructions to the feisty attorney. This would be a test of thinking as a team.

The group barely took the time to take off their hiking shoes before wading into the bay. All but one walked until the water was up to their chins. Habib’s introduction to the water had taken away at least some of his fear as he ventured into waist-deep water and squatted.

Janice walked down the pier, looking over the side. She was almost to the end when she launched herself into the water. She and Clyde surfaced together and swam to shore. Both looked at home in the water.

They arrived at the deck with wet hair, struggling under the weight of two stringers of fish. Heather greeted them with, “Well done, Clyde. You exceeded my expectations.

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