Hallow Haven Cozy Mysteries Bundle Books 1-3 by Mara Webb (books to read fiction .txt) 📕

owner of Bearbrooks that invented it. It’s the Hallow Haven Shell’s Day,” Miller laughed. “It sounds dumb, but apparently shells used to be an early symbol of love. If you see a painting of Venus, she is usually standing in a big scallop shell. Bearbrooks makes these Shell necklaces with all sorts of precious stones in them.”

“When is Shell’s Day?”

“Well, it used to be once a year, but now it’s quarterly,” he said. “Well, we’re here!”

We were standing at the tape barrier that surrounded The Guitar Yard. There was no light on in the apartment above and it occurred to me that if Jake’s wife had come back to the building and seen that it was a crime scene then she probably knew what had happened already. Would she even be able to get into her apartment?

Miller nodded at a police officer that was standing guard and we motioned to duck under the tape when someone behind us started talking.

“This is the place, huh?”

We span around to see a middle aged woman wearing all black, a pair of mirrored sunglasses and a comically long cigarette. It hung from her lips like a skinny branch, glowing wildly as she inhaled.

“Excuse me?” Miller said.

“My husband got shot, that’s the situation is it not?”

“Oh, Mrs. Hall. I’m so sorry for your—” Miller stuttered.

“Save it, Sheriff,” she snapped. “I’ve heard all about it. I’ve heard how you lost his body and have no idea where he is. I imagine my lawyer will be tap dancing with delight when I call him about this.”

“Lawyer?” I repeated.

“Oh yes, you see this is negligence. I’m pretty sure it’s in the police officer handbook to solve crimes, not make things worse.” She shrugged, took another drag from her cigarette and turned her mirrored glasses in my direction. “I’m no lawyer, but there’s money to be made here. I can smell it.”

“We need to ask you a few questions about your whereabouts today, Mrs. Hall,” Miller announced, trying to regain command of the conversation. “Please give as much detail as you can.”

“First things first, I won’t be speaking to you without a lawyer. I’ve seen ‘Law & Order’, and momma didn’t raise no fool. Secondly, look at the time! I have to get back to my house and begin my skin care routine. It is a forty-minute ceremony involving hyaluronic acid and yak’s milk,” she said. “Obviously now that I’m legally single I need to pay even more attention to my beauty regimen.”

“Where is your house?” I asked, my eyes looking up at the apartment windows above The Guitar Yard.

“We have a home on the other side of the island. Thank goodness for magic, eh? Otherwise I’d have had to take a cab here.”

“What about this place?” I said.

“What about it? This was Jake’s pet project and I never saw the appeal. He made all his money writing jingles for a washing machine company and kept this ghastly place for fun. I told him to rent out the space above instead of just using it for storage. The man had no business sense,” she huffed. With that she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

Miller and I exchanged looks.

“It isn’t just storage up there. Jake had a bed and everything,” I said. “Either she’s lying about something, or she didn’t know about the apartment. Either way she’s on my list.”

“Well, I ‘d better head home,” I said to Miller.

“I’ll keep guard outside. Things don’t feel safe at the moment.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Everything is fine!” I scoffed.

“Well, I’m doing it either way. I’m your guardian.”

I shook my head at his stubbornness. “If you’re going to be like that then at least sleep on the coach.”

9

The humidity was high, again. My hair was puffing out in strange ways that no amount of product seemed to be able to tame and I found myself considering pulling a giant hat over my head to hide the mess. It was way too hot for a hat though.

“Are you coming or not?” Effie yelled up the stairs.

“I’m coming, I just…” I didn’t have a reasonable excuse for keeping Effie and Kate waiting. I needed to ask them what they were doing to their hair because I clearly had no idea how to control it without magic. We were only going for a hike, so it wasn’t like I needed to be ready for a photoshoot or anything, or at least I hoped no one would be taking pictures.

I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and sighed at my reflection before jogging down the stairs of my house. Effie was leaning against the wall of the hallway and Kate had the door open already, impatiently tapping her foot on the floorboards.

“What were you doing up there?” Kate asked.

“I thought you were a mind reader?” I replied, grinning at her impishly.

“Yeah, but it’s still polite to ask,” she laughed. “You have magic powers, why not just use those to keep the frizz at bay?”

“I’m worried I would do something wrong and it would all fall out,” I confessed.

“Oh brother,” Effie muttered. She put both of her hands on top of my head, just for a second, and I could feel a slight tugging on my scalp. I reached up to feel two perfectly formed French braids that twisted at the back of my head to form an elegant up-do. “There you go.”

“Thanks!” I grinned. I instantly felt better.

“The next time I fix it, I’ll be putting a streak of flame orange in this bit by the front,” Effie said, pointing at the hair on the left side of my forehead. “You’ve been warned,” she teased.

“Noted,” I replied. We stepped out onto the sand and I pulled the door shut behind me. Even with the air conditioning on inside the house, it had been too hot. Maybe my AC was faulty, or maybe the weather was just too powerful for it to fight. It was near sweltering on the beach and I was desperate for us