Murder at the Beach Read online

  Her sense of humor and friendly mannerisms even gained Emma’s parents’ laughter. It really wasn’t much of a wonder why she was a popular YouTuber.

  “There you are!” a slightly familiar female voice called out. “What are you doing, Jenna? Are you trying to smooze yourself in with people to get a better view of the eclipse tonight? Just because you couldn’t get the top floor of the inn to see over the trees doesn’t mean you should try to get access to a private beach.”

  Jenna stiffened and slowly turned around to face her accuser. Emma peered over and recognized the long haired blonde from in front of the police station. After taking a deep breath, Jenna answered, “Why would I need to do that? I can get even higher than the top floor with the secret weapon I have.”

  Emma’s brows lifted knowingly. The drone. So that was why Jenna had been practicing with it up till now.

  The new woman hmphed and crossed her arms over her chest. Another girl about the same age came up behind her, shoving her short brown hair behind her ears. “Stephanie, we shouldn’t be interrupting someone’s barbecue.”

  Stephanie, the blonde, shrugged her shoulders. “If Jenna can be here, why can’t we?”

  Emma frowned. This new girl may have been pretty to look at, but she wasn’t the same sort of friendly, kind personality that Jenna was. But the longer she looked at the girl, she slowly came to realize that the new girl was a famous YouTuber as well. “Stephanie Sterling.”

  A wide smile spread across the blonde’s face. “So, you’ve heard of me?”

  Jenna finished the last bite of her hotdog and then started toward the stairs of the deck. “Thank you for the hotdog, Mr. and Mrs. Wright. I’m sorry to have imposed.”

  “No trouble at all,” Emma’s father said as he leveled a glare at the newcomer.

  The blonde smiled wider as Jenna approached her. “You should just give up now. My video is going to get so many more views than yours. You shouldn’t even bother with recording the eclipse at all.”

  Jenna sighed. “Whatever you say, Stephanie. I’m not in this because of the stupid bet.”

  “Good. You should give up now anyway and declare me the winner. You’ll want to when you see the last video I just posted.” She leaned in closer. “Your secret has been discovered, and you don’t want me to out you to the whole world, would you?”

  Chapter 3

  The short haired girl who’d been with Stephanie stayed back to offer an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry for any trouble we’ve caused you.Sometimes Stephanie can be a bit short, especially when it comes to this bet.”

  “What bet are they talking about?” Macy asked.

  The girl looked at Emma as if for some help, but Emma just shrugged. With a sigh the girl continued, “The two of them bet that they would each get more views on their video of the eclipse. The winner gets the Sunshine Lemon Tea account.”

  Emma came up to the girl, offering a hand as Molly came over to sniff her. “I’m Emma, by the way.”

  The girl’s eyes widened as she took Emma’s hand to shake. “Oh! I’m Cora. Sorry! I guess sometimes my manners are no better than Stephanie’s.”

  Emma shook her head. “No worries. So, what was Stephanie talking about? Jenna’s secret?”

  Cora shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Even though we’re friends, I’ve kind of become her personal assistant for the YouTube channel more than anything else. She likes to keep things close to her chest.”

  “Cora! Come on,” Stephanie called out from the bottom of the deck. “I need you to wake me up a half hour before the eclipse starts, no earlier. That way I can be fresh and not tired for my followers.”

  Cora mumbled her goodbyes to Emma and her family and then started after Stephanie, but as she passed Jenna, Jenna grabbed her by the elbow. “After you get her settled in her room, will you come by mine for a minute? I have a question for you.”

  With a shrug, Cora nodded and then took off after Stephanie, leaving Jenna to sigh on the bottom step of the deck. Before leaving, Jenna turned about and offered Emma’s family a smile. “Sorry about all that. If you want to catch the eclipse tonight, it starts at 8:45, right as the sun sets.”

  “Okay! Thank you for letting us know about it and don’t worry about the interruption,” Macy offered as they all waved goodbyes to Jenna.

  Once the three of them were gone, Sheriff Wright shook his head and took the steaks off the grill. “Well that was a bit of adventure. Let’s all eat!”

  Having such a early dinner might have been good because it took away the chance of getting hungry that evening, but the large amount of food made everyone a bit drowsy. Emma’s father dozed off in his chair while Emma helped Macy clean up after the barbecue.

  Then Colby came up to them. “Gabby needs to stretch her legs about as much as I do. Want to take Molly and her for a walk?”

  With a smile, Emma wiped her hands on the kitchen towel. “Let’s go.”

  The two of them took the dogs by the leashes and started walking down the wooded street toward the small town on the island which consisted of a small grocery store, only a little bit bigger than a convenience store, a couple of clothing shops, three restaurants, a pizza parlor, and a few other small stores. Emma had fun walking the dogs through town while Colby talked a bit about the last case he’d worked on before coming to the island.

  Often Colby talked to Emma about his work. Sometimes she was a soundboard for a current case that helped him think about what evidence he had and solve the crimes. Other times she just acted as a person for him to talk to that didn’t tire of hearing about his work. She was there for him, not just because she wanted to be, but because she believed he needed her too.

  When they passed by a book and toy store, Colby stopped at the window and pointed. “Look at that. Isn’t that one of those drones like Jenna had?”

  Emma nodded as she saw the four propellered mini-drone. “I think it is.”

  “I think I’ll get one. Who knows when that sort of thing might come in handy?” he asked as he opened the door to the store. He called in, “Hello there. Do you mind if we bring in two service dogs?”

  “Not at all!” the clerk said from behind the counter with a wide smile. “Come on in.”

  Colby stepped inside and immediately asked about the drone. A small child pulled at Emma’s sleeve. “Can I pet your dog?”

  Before Emma could even answer, Molly stood, almost at the same height as the child and licked the girl’s cheek. She giggled and that made Molly wag her tail even more fiercely. Emma laughed. “Yes, you can pet her. Her name is Molly, and she’s only just turned one year old now.”

  “Wow! My name is Holly. It rhymes with Molly,” the girl said with another fit of giggles.

  It wasn’t long before Colby and Gabby returned to their side. After saying goodbye to Holly, they continued on their walk through town as the salty breeze blew around them. They headed directly home after making a loop around the town square, walking along the beach as they returned. Emma removed her shoes to allow her toes to sink in the sand again.

  Once back at the house, Colby opened the small package and found that the drone was completely controlled by a phone app. While it downloaded, Emma peered at the small black helicopter and pointed toward a small hole at the front. “So, it has a camera here?”

  “Yes. Apparently, the camera is pretty high quality. They can do that because it sends back data directly to your phone without keeping any memory on the actual drone. Your phone has to save the data,” Colby said with a smile. Then he picked up his phone. “It’s done. Let’s go play with it.”

  Emma couldn’t help but get excited seeing a new side to her crush. He was almost child-like with the new electronic toy. They headed out onto the back deck and flew about the copter a bit. It easily was controlled by the slightest tilt of Colby’s phone while the video it recorded played on the phone. It was pretty disorienting to watch themselves on the video of the drone as it returned to them. As the sun began
to set, Colby caught it in the air, he sat it on the table and laughed as it recorded them about as well as a selfie.

  When Colby wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in closer, Emma thought her heart would burst. Then he called out, “Say cheese.”

  As she did, the camera shutter sound clicked, taking a picture of the two of them that appeared on Colby’s phone. He smiled and said under his breath, “So cute.”

  That made Emma’s heart flutter again. Was he talking about her? She wasn’t sure, and she didn’t have the guts to ask him. But before she could say a word of any kind, the sliding glass door opened behind them. Macy and Emma’s father both stepped out. Macy had a tray of drinks with her. “I made alcohol free watermelon cocktails for everyone! Are we ready to watch this killer beach view of a lunar eclipse?”

  Each of them laughed and gave a small cheer as they took hold of the cocktails and sat in the Adirondack chairs, facing the beach. Although they had an easterly view, which kept them from seeing the sun as it set, the pink hues of the clouds overhead were the same shade as the drinks they held in their hands.

  Molly and Gabby jumped to their feet, their collars jingling in distress as Gabby let out one menacing bark. With a frown, they all turned the same direction as the dogs just as Cora came running through the sand around the corner, out of breath. Tears streaked her face. “Help,” she called out as she drew closer. “You need to help me. It’s Stephanie. She’s... she’s dead.”

  Chapter 4

  “Dead?” Sheriff Wright asked as he jumped from his chair and started toward the steps of the deck. “Are you sure? Did you call the island police department?”

  Cora nodded. “The inn staff told me to stay out of her room. I saw her there on the floor in a puddle of blood and screamed. One of the women who work there called 911. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, but I remembered seeing his hat,” she said, pointing at Colby’s ball cap. “And how you all seemed to be police officers, so I ran over here.”

  “We’ll see what we can do, but this isn’t part of our jurisdiction,” the sheriff nodded at Colby and Emma, and then toward Macy. “We’ll be back shortly if you can keep an eye on Gabby and Molly?”

  Macy nodded. “Of course.”

  Colby took hold of the drone off the picnic table and looked around as though he wasn’t sure where to put it. Without a word, Emma took it from him and shoved it into her purse. He gave her an appreciative nod and then followed her father off the steps of the deck. Then they all started the walk along the beach toward the inn.

  The three-story brick Georgian style building stood in front of them, facing the road with the back side facing the beach, where they approached. A small balcony sat on the third floor. Cora led them into the lobby where they ran into Jenna. Jenna’s hair was pulled up in a messy bun and she wore glasses instead of the contacts she had in earlier. She rushed over to Cora and immediately hugged the girl. “I’m so sorry. This is horrible. I can’t believe it.”

  Sobs wracked Cora’s body as her back shook in Jenna’s arms. Tears streamed down Jenna’s face as well as her eyes rimmed with red. Emma’s father stepped away as he saw the sheriff and had a few words with him quietly by the staircase. The women cried, holding each other for a few minutes before Cora finally pulled away. “I need to show the sheriff the scene.”

  “Right,” Jenna said, swiping her cheeks. “Don’t let me get in the way. I don’t feel much like recording the lunar eclipse now, that much is for sure. I’ll wait in my room if you want to come see me after?”

  Cora nodded and them headed up the steps to the third floor with Emma and Colby in tow. Once they reached the top, they found the hallway full of doors, and the one at the end had yellow police tape across it. Colby squeezed Emma’s elbow and then headed toward the police tape and began speaking to the deputy at the scene.

  Emma turned to Cora. “Talk to me. How did you come to find Stephanie like this?”

  Cora’s eyes filled with tears as she shook her head. “Stephanie tends to stay up pretty late at night and get up early, so she often naps during the day. She wanted me to wake her up at 8:15, and no earlier, for the eclipse. But when I knocked on the door, there was no answer. When I called her on the cell phone, I could hear it ringing inside, but there was still no answer. So, I went downstairs and got the lady who runs the desk to finally come up with me to unlock the door saying it was an emergency.”

  Emma lifted a brow at her. “How was it an emergency?”

  “It wasn’t really an emergency, like I said,” Cora admitted, chewing her lip. “I told her that Stephanie was on epileptic medication and might be having a seizure since it was time for her to take a pill. It’s kind of true, but not really, since Stephanie was on medication when she was younger, but she hasn’t taken it since high school. She still carries it around, just in case, and the possibility that she was having a seizure was real.”

  “It’s fine,” Emma said, patting the woman on the shoulder. “No one is going to worry about that now.”

  After letting out a sob, Cora continued. “So, when the lady opened the door, Stephanie was on the floor. Blood pooled around her... her head. I screamed. The lady pulled me out of the room and called 911. There was so much blood. How could anyone lose that much blood and still be alive. I knew it wasn’t possible. As soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to get help, so I ran to you and your father’s place. I’m sorry if I interrupted your evening.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Emma said. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

  Just then, Emma’s father came up the stairs. “The sheriff of the island said that there was an emergency on the other end of the island that he has to run to. He’s allowing me and Colby to enter the investigation to help the deputy here on the scene with the case.”

  Emma nodded and turned back to Cora as the sheriff went to view the scene. “We should stay out of their way.”

  Cora nodded. “Jenna invited me to come down to her room. Do you want to come with me?”

  “Sure,” Emma said. “But before we go down, tell me about the last time you saw Stephanie before you came to get her, and after.”

  “Okay,” Cora said, rubbing her arms. “I left her room at around four o’clock, after she told me that she would lock up her room and wouldn’t let anyone else in except me.”

  Emma frowned. “That seems a bit extreme.”

  “Well,” Cora said with her brow furrowing. “We’ve been having a bit of trouble lately with a person who’s been sending her threatening DMs and pictures of her in private situations. They intensified earlier today when they sent her a picture of her getting off the ferry here at the island. We went to report it to the sheriff’s department, so that we had informed the authorities of the threat if something should happen on the island.”

  “Do you have any idea who was sending the threats, or what this person looks like?” Emma asked.

  Cora shook her head. “We’ve seen glimpses of him enough to know that it’s a man about six feet tall. But he’s always wearing black and a ball cap. It makes it easy to spot him in situations like these, but he keeps his distance and takes pictures with his phone.”

  “Have you told the police about your suspicions? It may be the stalker that did this,” Emma said with a frown.

  “I don’t think he did,” Cora said as she fished through her purse and got her cell phone out. “Stephanie got two DMs from him since I found her here. They don’t seem to behave as if they know that she’s been hurt at all.”

  Cora handed Emma the phone, and Emma read through the DMs. “So, these talk about how the stalker intends to find her and watch the eclipse together with her? This could be true, but it could also be a killer’s way of setting up an alibi, making it seem that he didn’t know, so that if he gets caught, he can point at these and declare his ignorance of the violent act.”

  Cora swallowed hard. “Lordy. I didn’t think of that.”

  “How do you have Stephanie’s phone?”
Emma tilted her head as she handed the phone back to the woman.

  “It’s not Stephanie’s phone. It’s mine. I just have access to her social media accounts so that I can post for her and stay active in her DMs to let her know when she has something important that she needs to answer. It’s part of my job as her assistant,” Cora said as she put the phone back into her purse.

  Emma reached for her own phone and then stepped toward the room and texted Colby and her father to let them know where she was going to be. Then she followed Cora down the steps to the second floor. Emma was struck by how similar the hallway looked when she they reached the door at the end of the hall. Emma looked around at the sameness of the hallway. “Is this where Jenna is staying?”

  Cora nodded. “Yes.”

  Chapter 5

  Emma couldn’t help but make a note of how strange it was that the hallways were identical, and that Jenna was directly under the room where Stephanie had been staying. She asked Cora, “Have you been down here before?”

  “Only earlier today. Jenna asked me to come down and see her after I finished with seeing Stephanie to her room, but when I did, she had some strange thing taped to the door. A package of some kind. And when I knocked, she just said thanks, took down the package and then said never mind, she didn’t need my help anymore.”

  Emma leaned forward and found a yellow smudge on the door, just below the peep hole. “Small package, you say? Was it right here?”

  Cora nodded. “Yes, and the package was brown with black polka dots on it and was small, like you could easily fit it into your hand.”

  Emma touched the yellow smudge and rubbed the residue between her fingers then she smelled it. It was slightly tart and familiar, but she couldn’t quite place the smell. Regardless, she decided to step back and allow Cora to knock on the door. From inside, they heard a bit of movement, and then Jenna’s voice called out, “Just a minute.”