Death in Paradise (eBook)

Secrets of the Croquet Club

Jacqueline Farthing Galvin (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
394 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
9780001001541 (ISBN)

Infos

Tucker and Reggie are taking a much-needed rest from murder when it lands in their laps on the peaceful island of Useppa. But it's more 'Rest in Peace' when the croquet club mallets are being used for more than whacking balls. It's a sticky wicket sorting out the motives on a small fishing island that's becoming tinier by the day. Tucker and Reggie use themselves as bait to reel in the culprit, but do they come out alive, or are they the next to die? Join our heroes on historic Useppa Island. People are just dying to get off this little island...

Textauszug

Chapter Two

Ron Burgundy: Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.

Champ Kind: It jumped up a notch.

Ron Burgundy: It did, didn’t it?

-Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, 2004

“Shut the windows if you’re going to yell like a fishwife. What’s gotten into you anyway?” hissed Malcolm Mayhugh.

“You, that’s what. How dare you embarrass me in front of everyone in that bar tonight. As if you have any say at this point.”

“It’s still my company, and as long as it is, I’ll decide what goes on with it.”

“Don’t you get it? They’re going to bounce you like a rubber ball. Where’ve you been? When the vote comes in, you’ll be out, Malcolm, and I honestly don’t think there’s anything you can do about it.”

“And which way are you voting, darling? Going to take me down with the rest of the board? Going to settle down to a simpler life? One without money, my dear?”

“I think we’re forgetting whose money it was in the first place, darling. It’s not going to be me that suffers. You better do some quick thinking and come up with a way to fix this. It’s time to be a bit contrite, Malcolm. Honestly, I don’t want to see you lose everything you’ve worked for, no matter what’s going on between us.”

Malcolm Mayhugh stopped pacing. He surveyed his wife, wondering what she was up to this time. You could never tell with her. She was smart, and she was right; it was her money. If she hadn’t been there to get him started, he would still be slogging away for the boss’s son with little hope of anything more than the mail room. She was right; he had to fix this. He’d figure something out by meeting time.

“I’m sorry, Ellie. This has been a bit stressful. We need to come up with a plan before we sit down with them. We’ll fix this, I promise.”

“You need proof that there wasn’t any funny business. If the SEC gets the court to file an injunction against you, it’ll tie us all up. The only way to keep yourself from being sacrificed is to prove you didn’t do anything wrong, Malcolm. Do that, and you might have a way out. Do that, and you may just rid yourself of a couple of annoying directors in the process.”

Malcolm took up his pacing again. She was onto something. That was really all it would take. He thought back to the conversation by the tennis courts earlier. He needed to see firsthand the evidence against him. If he could expose it all as lies, they’d have to side with him. Then there’s someone else being booted out in his place. The roots of an idea began to take shape. It might actually work.

“What is it? You have that look in your eye. Don’t do anything stupid, Malcolm. These people have been pushed into a corner, and you know what they say about cornered animals. You better think carefully before you make any decisions.”

Malcolm Mayhugh could be down, but he never counted himself out. He was starting to feel better. He began to see the makings of a plan forming.

“I need to go out.”

“You just came in. Where are you going now?” Ellie demanded.

“Don’t worry, Ellie. I need a little think time, that’s all.”

Ellie did not like the leer spreading across his face. It never meant anything good. She desperately wanted everything back to normal but was worried about what he might do to dig them in further. Then again, what kind of trouble could he get into on a small island?

“Be careful, Malcolm. I swear if you were a cat, you’d be running out of lives.”

Malcolm relented and trudged over to her. He gazed into her pretty blue eyes and wrapped her in his arms. He stood holding her for a time.

“I’ll be back,” he said, releasing her and heading for the door without looking back.

He jogged down the steps to the sandy path and out into the balmy night. Ellie watched him walk away until she could no longer see him on the shell road. She observed the rest of the neighboring area. It was late, and most of the island inhabitants had long since gone to bed. The only signs of life were a few late-night revelers in the village, who usually partied to the wee hours when in residence.

It was after two a.m. She wandered through the kitchen and stopped in front of the island landline. She began dialing but slammed the receiver down and stared at the oven clock. She picked up the receiver and dialed again. A tired voice answered on the second ring.

“We have to talk. I’m on my way over,” she said and slammed down the receiver.

“Just to be on the safe side,” she said, pulling the phone to her and pushing several buttons. Once the call directory had been erased, she tiptoed to the backsliders and noiselessly squeezed through. She slid them to and disappeared into the night.

* * *

“Good morning, Miss Reggie, and how did you sleep?”

“Like I hadn’t in forever. Slept, I mean. And you?”

“Like a baby. Now I’m a hungry baby. Shall we go to the inn and have some breakfast?”

Reggie looked at her watch. It was only nine o’clock, and breakfast went till ten-thirty.

“Want to have a walk before we eat? I’m dying to explore. I hear they have an old airstrip out on the end of the island.”

“Yes, they do. Brilliant. We can walk then eat unless you’d rather wait for lunch?”

Reggie grinned. After a recent close call at a family friend’s tearoom, they were being cautious of each other. So now they were standing in a beautiful island home, dancing around for breakfast and lunch.

“Can we just relax, Tucker? I feel like you’re trying not to upset me. I’m okay, really. We came here to enjoy ourselves. And take a break from our strenuous work schedule,” she said with a frozen smile.

“If sarcasm were a quicksand pit, I’d be done for, honestly. I promise we’ll get back to work right after our holiday. Mother even agreed.”

Reggie walked over to the pantry and pulled out a box.

“Have one of these things,” she said, handing him an energy bar. “We’ll take as long as we want and then go to the inn for a grouper sandwich. How’s that? Wait, let me change out of these shoes.”

Tucker watched as she kicked off yet another pair of flip-flops. They were rather pretty, with a small heel and a different-colored sole.

“Now, those are quite nice. I don’t recall seeing those in the mix.”

“Sorry, boss. These aren’t ours. I got them for the trip from a small company that seems to be having trouble with its payroll and designers.”

“Ah, now you have my attention. Put on your trainers, and we’ll talk while we walk.”

They were munching their snack as they trotted down the front steps, nearly landing on a disheveled-looking man. He seemed preoccupied and angry and didn’t realize he was in their way till they were almost on top of him. Tucker recognized the man from the bar and purposefully stood in his path. Reggie gave him a look, but he squelched her with a wide smile and held steady.

“Good morning!”

“Oh, yes. Nice morning. Malcolm Mayhugh. You must be the friends of the Bales’,” he said, nodding at the house. “On your honeymoon, is it?”

“Not at this time,” said Tucker, with a face as red as the hibiscus blossom to his right.

“I’m Reggie Winter,” she said, extending her hand, “and this is Tucker Elliott. Just here for a quick holiday.”

Reggie nudged Tucker’s arm forward, and he quickly shot out his hand. Reggie thought if he were any stiffer, he would crack into pieces.

“And this is my wife, Ellie Mayhugh,” he said as the pretty blue-eyed woman from the bar came striding down the stairs wearing gardening gloves and clutching a trowel.

“Hello, so nice to meet you. I’m Ellie.”

Reggie noticed the dark circles under her eyes and wondered if the fight from the bar had continued at home. Ellie eyed her husband accusingly but said nothing.

“We were just stepping out for a once around the island,” said Tucker. “Any recommendations for especially interesting viewing?”

“Well, if you haven’t been given one, I can lend you my botanical booklet,” offered Ellie. “It shows all the different species and tropical plants on the island. Everything’s numbered so you can...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 8.8.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• ISBN-13: 9780001001541 / 9780001001541