Excerpt of Mission To Murder by Lynn Cahoon

Some people like to hear their own voice. That jewel of
wisdom hit me as I
filled the coffee carafes for the third time. As chamber
liaison, I’d
volunteered my shop, Coffee, Books, and More, to serve as
semi-permanent host
site for South Cove’s Business Basics meeting. The early
morning meeting was
scheduled to run from seven to nine but the clock over
the coffee bar showed
it was already twenty minutes past. With more items to
cover on the agenda,
we’d be ordering lunch, maybe dinner, before the end.

All because the newest committee member, Josh Thomas,
owner of the new
antiques store down the street, had issues. He didn’t
like the agenda, the
city’s promotion plan, and he especially didn’t like the
fact the city didn’t
have a formal animal control office. These subjects were
not part of the
regular list of discussion topics for the eclectic mix of
owners of gift
shops, art galleries, inns, and restaurants. I usually
loved feeling the
creative energy and listening to wacky ideas members
brought to the table.
Today, the meeting droned on and I couldn’t wait for it
to end.

“I wonder why he even moved here,” Aunt Jackie fake-
whispered to me as she
sliced a second cheesecake. “He hates everything.”

“Hush.” I elbowed my aunt, trying to quiet her.

“Jill Gardner, don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the
same thing.” She started
plating out the cheesecake.
A couple of the council members snickered, and Josh’s
face turned a deeper red
than normal. His wide girth barely fit into the black
suit he wore. From what
I could tell, he wore the same threadbare suit every day.
Watching the buttons
on his off-white shirt, I worried one would pop off each
time he took a
labored breath.

“As I was saying, we must press the police department to
deal with felonious
teenagers running the streets.” Josh didn’t acknowledge
he’d heard Jackie, a
tactic I’ve often used with my aunt. She’s overbearing,
opinionated, speaks
her mind, and I love her to death.

“There’s no problem.” Sadie Michaels replied, the words
harsh and clipped.
“There’s not a lot for kids to do around here, so they
hang out at the park.
They don’t cause problems for local businesses. We’ve
raised them better than
that.”

“I beg to differ. Craig Morgan, the manager over at The
Castle, has caught
kids breaking in after-hours. They’ve been having
drinking parties, swimming
in the pools, and he’s even caught a few couples in the
mansion’s bedrooms,
doing heavens knows what.” Snickers from the rest of the
members floated
around the room as Josh wheezed in another breath. “We
must stop these
criminals before there’s real trouble. The antiques
housed at The Castle are
priceless.”