Murder by the Seaside Read Online Free

something?”
    My father appeared with a glass of water before Maple could answer.
    She sipped and came around to a more coherent, less frenzied state. “That’s delicious. It’s helping already. Thank you.”
    It was sugar in tap water. Something my dad passed off as mystical and medicinal. I couldn’t fault him. I’d seen sugar water cure everything from nerves to nightmares. People were strange.
    “What else did you hear?” The words tumbled out of me. I couldn’t believe someone had been murdered. Jaywalking was the worst thing I’d ever heard of happening on the island. Once in a while a couple of tourists got into a fight, but nothing like murder. I knew Brady McGee—not well, but well enough. He had a reputation for being hard, sharp-tongued and crude. His family moved to the island my sophomore year of high school. He was a senior and usually in trouble for fighting. Adrian had warned me to steer clear of him, saying Brady wanted to make a place for himself in our little town by showing people he was tough. I’d felt sorry for him after that. Worst logic ever. People crossed the street to avoid him. If he hadn’t changed his attitude in the past ten years, the list of locals with an ax to grind was probably lengthy.
    Maple’s eyes widened with dramatic flair. She leaned forward on the bench and lowered her voice, as if she was about to tell the best campfire story of her life.
    I held my breath in anticipation.
    “I heard Adrian Davis killed him. The sheriff questioned him this morning. When he went back to bring him in on charges, Adrian ran.”
    “Ran?” My folks and I spoke in unison.
    “Ran. Adrian is on the lam.”
    The words twisted and whirled in my mind.
    He hadn’t been out jogging. He was on the lam .
    For murder.

Chapter Two
    After another thirty trips up the stairs, my legs gave out and so did Claire. She promised to come back and see me on the weekend. We’d text all week as usual. That wouldn’t change, even if the rest of my life was in upheaval.
    After she slid out of my new world in her shiny blue Volvo, I puttered around my new place, unable to decide what to do. The sun settled into the harbor beyond my windows, casting lavender and rose shadows over the world. A mountain of boxes rested beneath the window frame. I had no desire to open another box. My fingers were pruny and red from cleaning. I’d set up what mattered hours before. My laptop and printer stood on the kitchen counter, and the bed was made. Tomorrow I’d start again, but right now the rumble in my tummy said it was time to pay another visit to Mrs. Tucker or my parents. Funds were limited. As much as I didn’t want to hear about my promising future reading Tarot cards or tea leaves, I equally hated spending six of my fast fading dollars on a burger.
    Decisions.
    When I shut my eyes, Adrian’s face appeared for the ten millionth time. What did that strange look he gave me mean? I flopped into a folding chair at the kitchen counter and tried to label the expression. Not fear. He didn’t fear anything that I could recall. Adrian was brave. Overly confident. Obnoxious. And while I, on occasion, itched to shove anther ice cream up his nose, I also knew he wasn’t a killer.
    I pulled a half-eaten bag of chips off the counter and into my lap. Thinking went easier with something to crunch. In high school, Adrian and I had pledged to see the world together. I’d opened a savings account on the mainland for my eighteenth birthday, into which he and I deposited money every payday senior year. I shoved a fistful of chips between my lips. After we graduated, he left me with no warning. To play football. I ground my teeth together and flung the bag onto the counter. Crumbs dusted out the open end.
    My fingernails tapped an aimless rhythm on the Formica. Adrian had trapped spiders in the shower for me and deposited them outside. He carried me two miles on his back when I twisted my ankle on the steps at the lighthouse. He