MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1) (2 page)

Seagate, the small
residential area where Maddy lived, was built on what was formerly marshland
between the Pier and the Harbor. The state-owned Seagate Beach didn’t get as
many tourists as beaches near the downtown area.

The neighborhood was originally a hodge-podge of rental
dwellings, weekend cottages, and vacant lots. Over years of successive real
estate booms, it became a fashionable but eclectic mix of newer homes and older
beach cottages. The previous lack of building restrictions had left Seagate
with widely varying architectural styles and a spotty retail area.

There were several restaurants a short walk from Maddy’s
house but they were subject to seasonal fluctuations. The smaller ones unable
to sustain enough business during the winter months went out of business.

There wasn't much traffic in the area, but the streets were
narrow making parking difficult. Her sister’s cottage was on one of the lanes
leading directly to the beach.

Turning into the second driveway on Fuchsia Lane, Lea saw
her sister pruning rose bushes in her front yard. The sun reflected off the
honey blond highlights in the woman's long brown hair.

"Your flowers are stupendous," Lea noted, lowering
the tailgate for Gracie. "I'm envious." Her sister had inherited an
undeniable green thumb, as well as dazzling hazel eyes, from their father.

Maddy turned to embrace the dog. "Hey, Gracie. How's
our partner in crime, or should I say crime prevention? Have you recovered from
our little adventure last night?"

The dog wagged her tail eagerly in response. Leading the
way inside, the border collie began searching for the tennis ball Maddy
typically hid for her. She checked eagerly in all the suspect places: behind
the potted plant, under the rug, between the floor pillows.

Setting a water bowl on the floor, Maddy laughed.
"You'll have to work harder than that this time."

Gracie happily accepted the challenge, pursuing it doggedly
while Maddy turned her conversation to Lea.

"So here's the latest gossip. The couple who live at
the entrance to the neighborhood heard noise at the construction site last
night around midnight. Typically, the Johnstons, along with the rest of us,
would have been sound asleep by midnight. We're all early to bed, early to rise
here," Maddy noted, filling ice tea glasses as she continued. "When
Mr. Johnston walked outside and looked in the direction of the noise, he saw
flashlights toward the back of the site and heard a man shouting. There was no
sign of the security guard who’s usually in the construction trailer parked at
the front. Deciding to err on the side of caution, he called the police and
reported a possible burglary in progress."

"That was intuitive. I would have made the mistake of
thinking the activity was a delivery of materials to the site or there was some
other plausible explanation."

"Me, too, except for the lateness of the hour. When
the police arrived, they found the security guard on the floor of the trailer, wrists
and ankles bound with masking tape. There were obvious signs of a break-in but
no sign of the burglars."

Lea's eyes widened. "How much did they get?"

"We won't know until we hear the news report but from
the amount of activity there all morning, the loss must have been
significant."

Lea glanced at Gracie, ears pointed, listening intently to
Maddy's narration as she chewed on a slobbery tennis ball. "I see you
discovered the hiding place, girl. Obviously not as difficult to find as Maddy
thought it would be."

"It's her natural sleuthing skills. Between her nose
and her instincts, she always finds what she's after. Too bad the police can't use
her to catch those burglars."

"I wish we could find out more. I'm sure the police
are keeping any outsiders away for now," Lea added, disappointed.

"Probably, but I've got a better idea." Maddy's
eyes sparkled. "Let's go see Maria at the donut shop. She knows everything
that goes on around here. If there's any new information, you can count on
Maria to know what it is."

"Good idea. We'll meet you there." Gracie jumped
up, excited to be included in another escapade.

* * *

Lea drove through Seagate
to the strip shopping center behind the gas station on the corner. Maria's
Donut Shop was between the bank and the convenience store at the end of the
center. It was a small store with four wooden tables inside and two tables with
umbrellas in front.

Parking her car, Lea realized how fortuitous their timing
had been. When they passed the construction site, the news van was nowhere in
sight. Now, here it was, in front of Maria's.

Lea stopped Gracie at the front door of the store. "Stay,
Gracie. Good girl."

Hearing the shop keeper's bell when Lea and Maddy walked in,
Maria waved hello but kept talking rapidly in Spanish to a man wearing a black
shirt with the letters KDHY. The only other customer was sitting alone at one
of the tables near the front window.

Lea and Maddy made small talk while the men at the counter selected
their donuts and finished their conversation with Maria. When one of them
stopped to pet Gracie on their way out, Lea smiled innocently: "Busy day
already?"

"Stocking up on Maria's chocolate glazed donuts,"
he smiled, departing quickly.

"They play it close to the vest," Lea observed as
they approached Maria.

Maddy queried Maria, pulling no punches: "Were they
here to do a story on the condo site burglary?"

"Oh, sure," Maria exclaimed, her arms waving in
her animated style of conversing.

Maddy always marveled that Maria was so petite considering
she was surrounded by yummy donuts and other bakery items every day. Her three
young children who helped her when they weren't in school were all of the same
petite build.

"The man I was talking to is my cousin. He's the one
who carries the television camera when they're interviewing someone," she
explained proudly.

Lea pointed to several of the crullers in the glass display
case as Maria continued, bagging Lea's pastries as she talked. "In the
interview my cousin recorded, the police admitted they are stymied with these
burglaries. They have no leads as to who is doing this bad thing. In the story
airing tonight, the Chief will be asking the public to report any suspicious
activity."

Lea reached over the counter to pay Maria. "Did you
have any new customers in the last couple of days you haven't seen
before?"

Maria shook her head adamantly, lapsing partially into her
native language: "No, señora. Only my regular customers. Believe me, if I
would have seen any suspicious hombres, I would have told my cousin. I don't
want any bad men anywhere near my niños."

"I figure it must have been someone with an inside
connection to the builder," piped in the other customer, twirling the
coffee mug in his hands. All three of them turned to the speaker, easily
recognizable as a local rancher from his sunburned face, boots, and black Stetson
hat.

Maria walked over to his table to refill his coffee cup.
"What do you know, Scott?"

The sisters gave the subject a quick visual. His thick,
brown hair was tousled under his hat. His face was strong and defined, his
features molded from granite. He had dark eyebrows which sloped downward in a
serious expression over brown eyes.

"I know no truck could have driven onto the property
without passing the security guard at the front." He stirred sugar into
his coffee. "When pieces of the land came out of agricultural preserve, I
sold a parcel to the developer building those condos. I know the land like the
back of my hand. It's bounded on one side by a ditch you couldn't drive a truck
over, and on the other side by a stone wall I built during the rainy season to
keep flood waters from destroying my orange trees. The front is secured by wire
fencing and the construction trailer where the guard stays during his
shift."

"Isn't there a recycle yard at the back of the
property?" Maddy asked. "Couldn't someone cross it and get onto the
construction site?"

"No way. I know the fellow who owns the yard. He keeps
four Rottweilers on the property specifically for that purpose . . . to make
sure no one breaks in. If someone had been dumb enough to try to cross his
property, the barking would have alerted the security guard and any neighbors
for a mile in every direction."

Lea squinted. "Are you suggesting the security guard
let the van in?"

"I know the retired cop who's working security there
to supplement his pension. He's an honest guy. I’m not suggesting that at
all."

"Then what leads you to the conclusion it was somehow
an inside job?" Maddy persisted.

"The only way someone could get in was by knowing the
exact routine of the security guard. He walks the perimeter of the property at
scheduled times. I can tell you from all the days I walked that dirt when I was
growing oranges there, it's a good mile to the back of the property. Walking
slowly enough to inspect everything as he went, the security guard would be
away from his post for more than twenty minutes during any one of those
patrols. More than enough time for someone to cut through the front gate and
lay in wait to overpower him when he returned. From what I heard your cousin
telling you, Maria, it sounds like that’s what happened. The perps overcame the
guard, drove in, and helped themselves to the goods."

"I didn't hear you telling the police when they
stopped in earlier asking questions," Maria scoffed.

Scott shook his head. "Not my job. It's what they're
paid for. With our tax money, I might add. Besides, I'm not going to make accusations
about any of the builders in the County. I've still got land in agricultural
reserve I'm going to want to sell someday."

Hearing a low growl emanating from Gracie, Lea looked
toward her dog in surprise. Two Hispanic men climbed down from the cab of a
large truck pulled into one of the pumps at the gas station. As one man took
care of the fueling, the other walked toward the donut shop. He wore black
jeans and a black t-shirt, a knit cap on his head, and a red and black bandana
around his neck. He had a stocky build, tattoos on both arms, and walked with
an imposing swagger.

Maria's greeting was brief and to the point, totally unlike
the wide smile and chattiness she offered most customers. "What will it be
this morning, Miguel?"

"Same as always, Maria, and put in an extra chocolate
cake donut. I had a rough night. I need a sugar spike." He smiled, but his
smile was sneering like he was laughing at an inside joke.

Putting a hand on Gracie's head to calm her, Lea could feel
a vibrating growl emanating from deep in the dog's chest.

Maria didn't miss Gracie's reaction. "Hey, girl, I
haven't given you a treat yet today."

She reached into a tray marked ‘For Dogs Only’ and picked up
a large biscuit in the shape of a bone. Sweeping around the counter, she moved
quickly to where Gracie sat, body alert, eyes fixed intently on Miguel.
Offering the biscuit with one hand, Maria rubbed the border collie's head with
the other.

Dropping money on the counter, Miguel grabbed the bag Maria
had placed near the cash register and turned to walk out. As he brushed past
Gracie, he glared at the dog with a look that caused the hair on the back of
Lea's neck to stand on end.

The silence in the donut shop after he left was palpable.

"Who was he, Maria?" Lea asked, shakily.

"One of the three Ramirez brothers. The mother, she
got sick and died a couple of years ago. The father, he left them when the last
baby was born. Boys have pretty much grown up on their own. They've been in and
out of trouble over the years. The oldest one, Roberto, landed in jail. He was
in my store last week telling me he just got released on parole."

Measuring coffee into the brewer, Maria continued:
"When they're not getting in trouble, they work construction. In fact,
they're working on the site that got robbed last night. Been stopping in every
morning when they come to fuel the company trucks."

"Sounds like they've had it pretty rough," Maddy
sympathized.

"Yeah, you might feel sorry for them except for their
attitude. They're mean. And they're rude. They all got bad manners. Not one of
them shows any respect for their elders. Mark my words; no good is going to
come from any of those boys," she predicted. "I won't miss having
them as customers when they move on to another job."

Turning her attention toward Gracie, Lea could see the dog
had relaxed since Miguel had left the premises. "He certainly got your
hackles up, didn't he, girl?"

Throwing a couple of dollars on the table, the rancher gave
Lea some advice. "Dogs are smarter than people about a lot of things,
especially when it comes to sorting out the good apples from the rotten ones.
Pay attention to what your dog is telling you."

Tipping his hat toward Maddy, the rancher walked out. The
color rushed to Maddy's cheeks.

She turned back to reassure Maria. "Don't worry; our
police department is efficient. I'm sure they’ll bring this whole sorry
business to an end soon."

Locking her arm in Lea's as they left the donut shop, Maddy
suggested: "And maybe we can help them do exactly that."

* * *

Lea got home in time to
put finishing touches on a proposal for a prospective new client and answer her
emails before fixing dinner. When her son called to ask if he could stay at his
friend's house to eat and study, Lea agreed, reminding him it was his night to
take the trash out. "Be sure to do it first thing when you get home so
your dad doesn't have to tell you. And don't forget to thank Michael's
mother."

Taking a peek at the large roast cooking, Lea called Paul.
She caught him on his way to the softball game. "Is Tom going to make it
for dinner? If not, we're going to have a lot of leftovers. Jon's eating with the
Thompsons tonight."