Murder at the Lighthouse: An Exham on Sea Cosy Mystery (Exham on Sea Cosy Crime Mysteries Book 1) (16 page)
Authors: Frances Evesham
Tags: #Short cosy murder mystery
Libby snorted. “Can’t imagine you baking cakes, somehow.” She found a length of driftwood and called to the spaniel. “Shipley, here’s a stick, just for you. Bear, leave it alone.” She held the sheepdog back, fondling the giant ears.
They’d already wandered past the nine-legged lighthouse, where Libby had discovered Susie Bennett’s body last year. Exham on Sea disappeared from view, hidden by sand dunes, as they rounded the bend. Max cleared his throat. “Libby, there’s something I need to...” He broke off and rolled his eyes, as his phone trilled. “Sorry.” He stiffened. “What? How many?” A sharp intake of breath. “I’ll be there.”
“What’s the matter?”
“There’s been an accident. The cycling club, out on the Levels.”
That couldn’t be right. Everyone was fine when Libby left. “What sort of accident? A road crash?”
“Apparently not.”
“Then what? Wait!” Max was already pounding back along the beach, dogs galloping behind. Libby followed, scrambling awkwardly across the sand. Panting, she struggled up the steps from the beach to the road.
Max threw open the door of his Land Rover to let the dogs pile in. “That was Claire, Joe’s wife, on the phone. She’s meeting us at the scene.”
“Is it serious?”
“Claire doesn’t know. They’re out at the wildlife reserve.”
Earlier, Libby had exchanged a distant, formal nod with Joe, Max’s son, down on the Levels. Their relationship was tricky. A detective sergeant in the local police force, he had as little time for Libby as he had for his father.
An ambulance left as Max and Libby arrived at the river. “There he is.” Joe lay on the grass, face chalk-white, eyes closed. A paramedic nearby saw Max and came over, squatting beside Joe. “Looks like a touch of food poisoning, sir. Half the club have keeled over.”
“Food poisoning? Could it cause all this?” Max waved a hand at a scene of disaster. A few hardy cyclists hadn’t actually passed out, but lay with their backs propped against tree trunks, clutching silvery blankets and shivering. Over by the stream, Simon Logan bent double, wiping his mouth. Had everyone been poisoned? Libby’s own stomach lurched and she swallowed saliva. The sandwiches? No, surely not...
The young paramedic struggled to her feet. “Poison is poison. We’ll get people to hospital, then we’ll know more.”
The officer in charge, Chief Inspector Arnold, nodded to Max. “Sorry to see that lad of yours is involved, Max, but we need to treat this as a crime scene.” He peered at Libby. “Ah, Mrs Forest. I gather most of the cyclists bought their sandwiches at Frank’s bakery?”
The knot in Libby’s stomach tightened. “Well―yes, they did.” She licked dry lips. “I brought the food out here...”
Max broke in. “Don’t say any more.”
Libby gulped. “You mean...”
“Don’t say anything that might incriminate you. Or the bakery.”
Libby’s breath caught in her throat. “Do I need a lawyer?”
The Chief Inspector’s face was inscrutable. “We’ll talk to you properly, later. There’s no need to worry, Mrs Forest, until we find out exactly what happened here.”
Libby shivered. “The people in the first ambulance. Are they OK?”
“I’m afraid not. Kevin Batty and Vince Lane are dead.”
The Exham on Sea mysteries include a cast of local characters, including Mandy the teenage Goth, Frank the baker and Detective Sergeant Joe Ramshore, Max's estranged son. The green fields, rolling hills and sandy beaches of the West Country provide the perfect setting for crime, intrigue and mystery.
For lovers of Agatha Christie novels, Midsomer Murders, lovable pets and cake, the series offers a continuing supply of quick crime stories, each one short enough to read in one sitting, as Libby solves a mixture of intriguing mysteries and uncovers the secrets of the small town's past.
Next in the series:
Download Murder on the Levels here.
The Exham on Sea Mysteries:
Contemporary Cosy Crime Fiction
Murder at the Lighthouse 2015
The Thatcham Hall Mysteries:
Victorian Fiction
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Author's Note
The characters and events described in the Exham on Sea Mysteries are all entirely fictitious. Some landmarks and places of interest may strike my neighbours and fellow residents of Somerset, and particularly of Burnham on Sea, as familiar. I’ve taken some liberties with a few locations.
Copyright ©Frances Evesham 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.