A LITTLE TASTE OF MURDER: A Brightwater Bay Cozy Mystery (book 1) by Dean Carolyn L

Author:Dean, Carolyn L. [Dean, Carolyn L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Hallmark, clean cozy mystery, Christian cozy mystery
Publisher: Freeform Publishing
Published: 2018-03-20T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Thank goodness for dogs, Claire thought the next day, watching the backside of her furry friend, Roscoe, heading for the ferry dock on his morning walk. After the excitement and the horror of the previous day, it was lovely to do something as simple as taking him outside. It had been pointless trying to sleep the night before. Between her normal insomnia and the fact that every little sound in and around the cottage made her jump in fear, she couldn’t relax. She spent most of the night with the small bedside lamp turned on so she could instantly see if someone was in the room. Roscoe knew this routine wasn’t normal, and had laid on the bed and watched her, his dark brown doggie eyes full of concern.

Though the forecast had threatened snow, the heavy clouds high over the town hadn’t cooperated with that prediction yet. Claire was almost looking forward to being able to experience a Pacific Northwest snowfall. Maybe it was all the decorations in the stores and restaurants, or maybe it was how kind the people seemed, but whatever it was, there was a simple happiness that seemed to pervade the little town of Brightwater Bay.

A happy town, until she thought back to the ongoing investigation and the fact that Orrin Cable had died under mysterious circumstances. Claire kept trying to push the reality of the previous day to the back of her mind, concentrating on the swooping gulls by the dock and the cheery Christmas music that had been on the radio when she woke up. It felt like she hadn’t had a Christmas in ages, and the first time she caught herself humming along with ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’, she was surprised when she realized it was her own voice.

The walk was lovely this time of day. Several early joggers loped by, most of them greeting her with a cheery smile or a ‘good morning’. She could see the white steeple of the church by the town’s center, rising like a hopeful beacon against the gray clouds. The town was built on hills that dropped down to the saltwater bay, and when Claire looked back at Brightwater, she could see decorated Christmas trees in many of the front windows of the houses, and even some sparkling lights around the foliage in a lot of the front yards.

Christmas in Arizona had always been a time of stress for her, as many of her accounting clients were asking for end-of-year reports, or wanting to know how they stood tax-wise, so they could calculate how to minimize the amount they would have to pay. Christmas here in Brightwater seemed to be a very different sort of occasion, relaxed and joyful. Claire made a mental note to walk through the shops later to see what was on sale. Even if she didn’t have anyone to shop for, exactly, maybe it would still feel good to be part of the Christmas crowds.

She was leaning on a wooden

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.