Killer Colada: a Danger Cove Cocktail Mystery Read Online Free
Author: Sibel Hodge, Elizabeth Ashby
sat down on a stool behind the bar, giving my feet a much-needed rest while I waited for Ruby and Vernon to join me. The front door opened, and I glanced in that direction, my breath catching in my throat.
Harvey.
He gave me a cheeky, lopsided grin that made my heart beat a little faster, and for a second, he made me forget about the horrors of the day. He rounded the bar and pulled me in toward him. I melted into his firm chest. As always, he smelled of the sea and outdoors—earthy and briny, mixed with his unique Harvey scent.
"I missed you." He kissed me on the lips.
"Missed you too." I held on tight, closing my eyes and savoring the tingling that erupted inside.
"How was your day?"
"Pretty awful, actually. Ruby and I discovered one of her friends who'd died. It's likely she was murdered." I explained what had happened as Harvey's eyes widened.
"Blimey! That's terrible. Ruby must be gutted." In Harvey's Brit lingo, that meant devastated. He squeezed me tighter. "Are you okay? Must've been a big shock for you both."
"I will be. I didn't know Pandora, but I like to believe she's gone to a much happier place now. How was your day?"
"Busy again, as usual. There's still so much to recover from the caves, and I can't wait to get back out in the ocean and search for the ship. I spoke to Steve, my boss at Portsmouth Naval Museum, and he thinks he can spare another member of our department to come over and help. They should be here in the next few days, which is wicked news."
"Oh, that's great!" I said.
Ruby joined us behind the bar, and Vernon, whose shift was now over, sat on the opposite side. Ruby had a faraway look in her eye.
"Earth to Ruby." Vernon waved a hand in front of her face.
She twisted in her seat to face us. "Sorry, I was just thinking about Pandora and Jenna. I can't imagine how terrible it would be not knowing what happened to your daughter all these years. I mean, even if Tim did kill Jenna, wouldn't it be better to actually know that, rather than wondering and hoping that one day she could walk through the door?"
"It would eat you up inside," I said. "At least if you knew for certain, you could go through the grieving process."
"So do you really think Tim Baxtor killed Pandora?" Harvey asked.
I shrugged. "We don't know. She'd been pumped full of some kind of drug. The syringe was still in her arm. We saw Tim leave the house just before we found her, and he's a pharmacist with access to all sorts of stuff. And obviously they had some unpleasant history between them. The ME said what she found was lethal. It sounds like she might've been poisoned."
"Exactly," Ruby said. "He must've done it. Otherwise, why would he have been there? Pandora would never have let him in the house."
"Catherine Cooper will probably finish the postmortem by tomorrow morning," Vernon said. "I'll get in touch with my contact at Seattle PD and find out the results. But it does seem highly suspicious, going by what you've told us." From Vernon's FBI days, he had contacts in law enforcement agencies all over the place.
Harvey's brow knitted at Vernon. He wasn't aware of Vernon's past, and it wasn't my secret to tell. "What kind of contact?"
"One of the parents of the kids I used to teach works there," Vernon said without missing a beat.
"Oh, right." Harvey pursed his sexy lips with a thoughtful expression. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I need a drink after hearing all this terrible news." He drummed his fingers lightly on the bar.
I grabbed a bottle of cider from the fridge and filled a glass with ice, placing it in front of him.
"Couldn't agree with you more," Vernon said. "I'll try one of those Smugglers' coladas, please."
"I thought you stopped drinking!" Ruby said.
It was no secret Vernon liked a drink. Before he began helping me out in the tavern, he was usually propped up on the other side of the bar every night. He was a happy, fun drunk, though, and after hearing some of the things he'd been
Harvey.
He gave me a cheeky, lopsided grin that made my heart beat a little faster, and for a second, he made me forget about the horrors of the day. He rounded the bar and pulled me in toward him. I melted into his firm chest. As always, he smelled of the sea and outdoors—earthy and briny, mixed with his unique Harvey scent.
"I missed you." He kissed me on the lips.
"Missed you too." I held on tight, closing my eyes and savoring the tingling that erupted inside.
"How was your day?"
"Pretty awful, actually. Ruby and I discovered one of her friends who'd died. It's likely she was murdered." I explained what had happened as Harvey's eyes widened.
"Blimey! That's terrible. Ruby must be gutted." In Harvey's Brit lingo, that meant devastated. He squeezed me tighter. "Are you okay? Must've been a big shock for you both."
"I will be. I didn't know Pandora, but I like to believe she's gone to a much happier place now. How was your day?"
"Busy again, as usual. There's still so much to recover from the caves, and I can't wait to get back out in the ocean and search for the ship. I spoke to Steve, my boss at Portsmouth Naval Museum, and he thinks he can spare another member of our department to come over and help. They should be here in the next few days, which is wicked news."
"Oh, that's great!" I said.
Ruby joined us behind the bar, and Vernon, whose shift was now over, sat on the opposite side. Ruby had a faraway look in her eye.
"Earth to Ruby." Vernon waved a hand in front of her face.
She twisted in her seat to face us. "Sorry, I was just thinking about Pandora and Jenna. I can't imagine how terrible it would be not knowing what happened to your daughter all these years. I mean, even if Tim did kill Jenna, wouldn't it be better to actually know that, rather than wondering and hoping that one day she could walk through the door?"
"It would eat you up inside," I said. "At least if you knew for certain, you could go through the grieving process."
"So do you really think Tim Baxtor killed Pandora?" Harvey asked.
I shrugged. "We don't know. She'd been pumped full of some kind of drug. The syringe was still in her arm. We saw Tim leave the house just before we found her, and he's a pharmacist with access to all sorts of stuff. And obviously they had some unpleasant history between them. The ME said what she found was lethal. It sounds like she might've been poisoned."
"Exactly," Ruby said. "He must've done it. Otherwise, why would he have been there? Pandora would never have let him in the house."
"Catherine Cooper will probably finish the postmortem by tomorrow morning," Vernon said. "I'll get in touch with my contact at Seattle PD and find out the results. But it does seem highly suspicious, going by what you've told us." From Vernon's FBI days, he had contacts in law enforcement agencies all over the place.
Harvey's brow knitted at Vernon. He wasn't aware of Vernon's past, and it wasn't my secret to tell. "What kind of contact?"
"One of the parents of the kids I used to teach works there," Vernon said without missing a beat.
"Oh, right." Harvey pursed his sexy lips with a thoughtful expression. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I need a drink after hearing all this terrible news." He drummed his fingers lightly on the bar.
I grabbed a bottle of cider from the fridge and filled a glass with ice, placing it in front of him.
"Couldn't agree with you more," Vernon said. "I'll try one of those Smugglers' coladas, please."
"I thought you stopped drinking!" Ruby said.
It was no secret Vernon liked a drink. Before he began helping me out in the tavern, he was usually propped up on the other side of the bar every night. He was a happy, fun drunk, though, and after hearing some of the things he'd been
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