A Fatal Visit (A Harbor Cove Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

downward to Chase’s trousers. They heard him ask what was wrong, and Aubrey explained to him that they had been having problems with one of their best chefs, Dustin Cole ( the head chef at Harbor Point Restaurant, Skyler thought, tall guy, brown hair… I think ). She almost spat, saying that he was “more interested in throwing his life down the drain.” The video ended on Chase telling her, with a hint of humor in his voice, that he would take care of it, if he wanted her to.
     
    “So he was trying to kill the chef!” Momma Avery announced. “So the chef got him first.”
     
    “I…I don’t think he was serious.” Skyler paused and frowned. “At least I really hope he wasn’t.” She bit her lip. “We’ll have to talk to both of them. Dustin and Aubrey.”
     
    The breeze had stilled. Birds sang in the trees, and people talked about their day, families and friends. The smell of the pastries and cakes being baked inside drifted on the air. Skyler sighed and tapped on the table.
     
    “They were trying to be a family.” She shook her head. “It seems so unfair. After seeing the way Aubrey reacted…well, it’s just that it seems like she really believed in him. Like he wanted to try.”
     
    Momma Avery looked somber. “Fatherhood changes a man, for better or worse.”
     
    They were silent for a few more moments. Nichole was still looking at the phone.
     
    “Good news: this is definitely Chase’s phone. He was texting Aubrey.” She grimaced. “He was also texting someone else.”
     
    She held up the phone to the other women. A text on the screen read, “You’re just going to have to hold the money. Leave it in your van, I’ll pick it back up tomorrow.” It was from Bryson. The contact picture confirmed that it was Bryson Everett.
     
    “Oh Bryson.” Momma Avery’s face fell. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
     
    As the evening drew in, Skyler found herself walking along the shore. Clouds had rolled over the earlier sun, and the water lapped against the yellow sand. She clutched a leather-bound book in one hand. Her hair was down about her shoulders. Shells and seaweed crunched under her boots. Gulls cawed in the sky above. There was a pen tucked behind her ear, and she removed it and replaced it several times as she walked.
     
    Fifteen minutes into her walk, or so she supposed it might have been, she came across a tree trunk that had been pushed ashore. She pushed on the bark with her hand, and it still felt firm so she sat down. Uncapping the pen after having removed it from behind her ear, she flipped open the book in her hand. Her journal. With a twitch of a frown, she glanced at the chunk of pages that were still blank and then back at the last entry.
     
    “Date night. A blind date, set up by someone who works at the newspaper. Apparently he’s called Bill. I’m optimistic. Just this once, you know? I think I need to let myself have that. Nichole is right. I don’t need a romantic partner; I don’t think anyone needs that. But it’s nice to be wanted.
     
    Work kind of consumes me at times. A romantic life would give me something else, I think. Maybe I’ve been conditioned to think that. I suppose we are constantly blasted with messages of love and romance and coupledom and the like. Still. Even dating again will give me something to focus on, right?
     
    These entries always seems to end up written as if they’re letters. Maybe that’s a good thing. Well, imaginary contact, I shall sign off here. Here’s hoping date night goes well.”
     
    “Anything interesting?”
     
    Skyler almost jumped at the question. She looked up, and he was standing there. Bill. Only he looked far more casual now, dressed in a faded blue T-shirt and stonewashed denim jeans.
     
    “May I?” he asked, gesturing to the space next to her. She nodded. Sitting down, he pulled a cigarette from a pack and lit it between his teeth.
     
    Skyler arched an eyebrow. “You smoke?”
     
    He sighed.