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

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Treasure hunters, that’s what’s going on!” she explained. “I suppose this means that y’all are throwing Shell’s Day sometime soon, huh?”

Shell’s Day was an event that a jewelry store on the main island had invented. It was like their own valentine’s day, only they now did it four times a year. As a marketing ploy to sell more jewelry it was a great idea, but Honey had a look on her face that suggested that it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

“Yeah, I think they said it’s this weekend,” Miller replied.

“Darn it, why can’t they pick set dates for that thing?” Honey grunted. “Every year they just pick and choose, and it drives me bananas!”

“Do people dig up your lawn every Shell’s Day?” I asked.

“Not just my lawn, every darn lawn on the island. Have you ever been to a Shell’s Day, Sadie?” I shook my head. “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors. There are hearts everywhere, you take your sweetheart out for dinner and then there is dancing, music in the streets, flowers everywhere you look. It’s like if Valentine’s Day had a baby with the forth of July and then you gave that baby an energy drink.”

“What does that have to do with your grass?” Miller said.

“Well, Shell’s Day is based around shells being an early symbol of love, right?” Honey explained. “Then what replaced shells everywhere else in the world? Diamonds! Money! Gold rings! You name it. There is some ridiculous rumor that somewhere on Green Holt there is a chest filled with these things, some old pirate legend that Pete insists on telling everybody about.”

“People are looking for buried treasure?” I said.

“Oh yes, that way you get to ask Miss. Green Holt out to the Shell’s Day parade on the mainland. It’s not just a beauty pageant, Sadie, they have to all be proficient in fire building and there is a sword fighting round… there’s a lot going on,” she sighed.

“Someone dug a pit in your grass looking for gold so they can date a sword fighter?” Miller repeated for clarification.

“Well, when you say it like that is sounds stupid,” Honey smiled. “But it looks like they’ve decided that right there was the best spot to dig. I don’t know where they get their ideas from, probably got their hands on a knock off treasure map.”

“Do you think they found anything?” I asked.

“If those fools had found a treasure chest you would have heard the cheering from fifty miles away,” Honey laughed. “Feel free to see if they dropped any diamonds if you like, I’m heading inside to call someone to help me fill in that dirt and get some new grass seed.”

Honey went back into the house and Miller jumped over the deck fence onto the grass.

“Really?” I laughed. “Are you a treasure hunter too? Maybe this was what you heard last night, people digging for pirate’s booty!”

“Don’t mock me!” he grinned. “What if I find a really nice sapphire or something? Are you telling me you wouldn’t want that?”

“I mean… if you’re offering,” I smiled, jumping over the fence to land beside him. We walked over to the hole in the ground and stared down into it. “Wh—?” I stuttered. We weren’t looking down at soil, there was something down there buried in the dirt. It looked like metal, maybe a door, with a small round window in it.

Honey came over to join us. “I have a guy that can get here in twenty minutes. He has his own spade which is obviously a bonus. I wish I had a touch more skill with green-fingered magic, but I would absolutely butcher this grass if I tried to fix this myself… what are you both looking at?”

She peered down into the hole and recoiled in horror.

“Do you know what that is?” Miller asked.

“I…” she stuttered. “Yes, I think I do.”

“Well?” I pressed.

“A bomb shelter!” she shrieked.

“Sorry, what?” I laughed.

“When everyone was panicking about war back in the sixties, the president asked people to build their own bomb shelter. My mom told me that they only built one on Green Holt because everyone could fit inside, we’ve never had too many people living on the island. She showed me a few pictures of what it looked like; I think this is it!”

Miller jumped down into the pit and the sound of his feet hitting the metal caused a strange, hollow sound to echo from beneath him. He crouched down to peer through the glass.

“Here,” Honey said, tossing him a flashlight that she had just produced out of thin air with her magic. He caught it and switched it on to light up whatever was lurking inside.

“Oh,” he called out.

“What can you see?” I asked.

“Well, it’s a bomb shelter alright. I can see food containers and all sorts down there. It sure is dusty. Can’t see any diamonds or gold coins though,” he teased. The window was so small that his view must have been restricted. “You’re gonna need to get me a phone, Honey.”

“Why? Are you going to have the historical society out here or something?” she asked.

“No, the police. There’s a body in there.”

4

Honey had made a noise that I hadn’t heard a person make before. It was a weird, stifled scream sound and she quickly covered her mouth to muffle it further. She had made the mistake of doubting what Miller was telling her, so insisted on looking through the small glass window herself. There was definitely a body in there and I could see that she regretted checking it out.

I helped her back out of the hole in the ground and she hurried off to the house, hopefully to grab a phone.

“Do you wanna see too? Or do you believe me?” Miller asked.

“A little from column A, a little from column B,” I said, holding my hand above my head to shelter my eyes