Murder by the Sea by Kathleen Bridge

Author:Kathleen Bridge
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2019-02-09T16:29:30+00:00

Chapter 15

Tuesday morning, a sheriff’s car stood sentry at the entrance to the Hotel. Other than that, everything seemed back to normal. Even Barnacle Bob’s hissy-fit wasn’t out of character after she’d brought him his kiwi and forgotten to leave the skin on. Her ears were still ringing from the four-letter words coming out of his beak.

She sat with her father on the Indialantic’s front cobblestoned terrace. The same spot where she’d had her confrontation with Travis. A sea swallow danced in front of them over the rough ocean. A storm was brewing.

“Daughter, I have a confession. I feel partially to blame for Travis Osterman seeking you out and threatening you.”

Liz turned and looked at her father. “That’s ridiculous. How could you be to blame? You’ve been my biggest rock from when I first called you from my hospital room in Manhattan. I don’t know where I’d be if you hadn’t rescued me, Dad.”

He clenched his clean-shaven jaw, and she saw his green eyes, the same color as Aunt Amelia’s, were watery. Liz wasn’t used to her father showing so much emotion. Seeing him like this showed her how grave her situation really was.

“I feel I’ve made an error,” he said, rubbing the space between his eyebrows, as if he had a migraine coming on. “I gave you some advice months ago not to read Blood and Glass, and not to communicate with Mr. Osterman or his mouthpieces.”

“I wouldn’t have read it even if you’d said I should. He had no right to intimidate and blackmail me. I’m sorry he’s dead. But it’s definitely not your fault.”

“Well, I got a printed copy of the book yesterday from Beachside Books. And I read as much as I could stomach.”

“And?” she asked, her gaze following an osprey heading for the Pelican Island Wildlife Refuge “Is it as bad as they say?”

“It’s hard for me to believe it was written by the same person who wrote The McAvoy Brothers. I don’t know much about syntax, but it’s quite a mess. You told me he switched publishing houses. I can’t believe it went through a seasoned editor’s hands at Charles and Charles.”

“I’m not sure if Travis signed onto Charles and Charles before or after Blood and Glass. I do know he was writing a sequel, The McAvoy Legacy, with them.”

“There’s something interesting in the book that might have a bearing on Mr. Osterman’s death. In the story, the lead character, the author…”

“Thinly disguised as Travis,” Liz interjected..

“…was getting threatening emails and letters. When you were together, do you remember anything similar?”

“All I remember is all the fan mail. That is strange. If Blood and Glass is a depiction of our relationship, then the hate mail he mentions might be real too. Do you have any idea if the police have his laptop?”

“No. Sorry. I don’t.”

“Travis’s intern is taking my class at St. Benedict’s. I’ll make sure to ask her. She’s staying at the same oceanfront beach house with Travis’s agent and Stevenson Charles. Told me it was routine to go over Travis’s mail with him every day.

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