The Beach Affair: A Novel by Barbara Johnson

Author:Barbara Johnson [Johnson, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Fiction, Women Sleuths, Lesbian, Mystery & Detective, Women Bodybuilders, Lesbians, Rehoboth Beach (Del.)
ISBN: 9781562800901
Google: ju1aAAAAMAAJ
Amazon: 1562800906
Publisher: Naiad Pr
Published: 1995-07-14T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Gillian's "plans" included trips to the quaint town of Milton to shop for antiques and to the Cape Henlopen nature reserve where they saw majestic great blue herons, graceful terns, delicate egrets, and even a gawky-looking pelican or two. It was a world that Colleen had only seen on National Geographic specials or read about in books. She felt like a child as she ran along the shore line, squealing in delight as she found a whelk or a seahorse or a pearlized shell abandoned by the retreating waves. Scrambling among the scrub pines that covered the sandy terrain, she discovered hermit crabs and strange-looking animal tracks. Suddenly, it was Tuesday, but Gillian enticed her away from work for one more day of fun and took her for a ride on the Cape May-Lewes ferry.

And the nights, oh, the nights. Colleen would bet that the Paper Nautilus hadn't seen or heard such passion before. Gillian brought her to heights she hadn't thought possible. In the mornings they would run into Suzanne or Vera or the other guests, who would all exchange knowing glances and secretive smiles. But Colleen didn't care. She couldn't remember being happier.

Then it was Wednesday morning. The alarm woke her at seven. She took a leisurely shower, her mind filled with memories of her days and nights with Gillian. She dressed casually in stone-washed jeans and a polo shirt in a shade of blue she'd been told brought out the blue of her eyes. Feeling guilty that she had slacked off work for two days, she was downstairs by eight. Alone on the porch, she poured a mug of coffee, and sat in the chair near the phone. She knew that Mr. Sampson always arrived early to the office. He picked up the phone on the third ring.

"Kevin Sampson here."

"Hello, Mr. Sampson," she said. "Colleen Fitzgerald."

"Colleen, Colleen. So, you done foolin' around on the beach yet?"

She didn't answer right away. Then she realized he thought he was making a joke. She gave a small laugh, which she knew he expected. "Not yet, sir. I still have quite a bit of work to do."

"Any progress at all?" She gave him a thorough run-down of the case so far. "Sure sounds like Fidelity will have to pay out the bucks, eh? Big bucks too."

Based on what she knew, she had to agree with him, but she still wasn't 100 percent sure that Candy's death was an accident. And she wasn't ready to leave Gillian. She had to stall.

"Well," she answered, "I still want to check out a few more leads." There was silence on the other end of the line. "Just so we can show Fidelity that we covered all our bases on this one." She winced as the cliche left her lips, but she knew it was the kind of talk Sampson could relate to.

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