The Corpse in the Cabana (Viola Roberts Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Shéa MacLeod

Author:Shéa MacLeod [MacLeod, Shéa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: amateur sleuth, vacation mystery, murder mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Romance, Florida, humorous
Publisher: Sunwalker Press
Published: 2016-02-07T23:00:00+00:00

I GAVE AN IMPERIOUS rap on Piper’s door, then stood back, wine bottles clearly visible to anyone peering through the peephole. The door swung open almost immediately, revealing Piper with disheveled hair and an awkwardly buttoned shirt. The woman had insanely long legs. I ordered myself not to be jealous. She stared at the wine bottles and then at me.

“Viola.” She seemed genuinely surprised and not particularly alarmed. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

I waggled the bottles in the air. “I wanted to stop by and say thank you. And bring you these. Wasn’t sure what you drank, so one white and one red.” I gave her my most beguiling smile.

A tiny frown line marred her otherwise perfect face. “Thank you? For what?”

“Well, you know, today. That whole ghastly episode.” I shuddered dramatically. My mother claimed I was one of the most dramatic people she knew. She was one to talk. “You were just so kind. Very helpful.” Piper had been no such thing, but in my experience, people generally thought they were better than they really were. If you told them they’d been kind, they’d take it. Even if they couldn’t figure out what you were talking about. “I can’t thank you enough. For being there. Taking my mind off the whole business. I thought we could share a bottle.” I gave her a hopeful smile. “The three of us.” I waved to Cheryl hovering in the background. She gave a little finger wave.

“Well, I do have a visitor...”

“Splendid!” I crowed, charging in through the open door before she could protest. “The more the merrier. Oh, Jason. How nice to see you again.” I gave him a mournful look. “My condolences. You must be in shock. Here. Join us in some wine.”

Jason, clad in a worn undershirt and unbuttoned khakis, stared at me with glassy eyes and a mouth slightly hanging open in shock. I could be a bit much when I wanted to—and oh, how I wanted to. I gave him a wide smile and cocked my hip in a sassy manner. “Corkscrew?”

Piper, after donning a pair of pajama pants beneath what was obviously Jason’s shirt, obligingly found a corkscrew and four glasses while Cheryl made cheerful chitchat with Jason. The meaningless talk seemed to calm him down. He looked less like a rabbit in headlights and more like his old self. Not that I knew him that well, but I’d seen him around over the years, toddling behind Natasha like a good little minion.

I poured four generous glasses and held mine up in a toast. “To friends!” I declared cheerfully. “And living to fight another day.”

Cheryl nearly choked on a mouthful of wine. Piper looked only mildly interested as she took a seat on the sofa, curling one leg under the other. Jason had gone white again.

“I...I’m really sorry to hear about wh...what happened today, Ms.

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.