Curse of Coyote Lake (Miranda Marquette Mysteries Book 6)

Book summary

When Miranda Marquette reconnects with her family, a hike around Coyote Lake leads to the discovery of two bodies, sparking a mystery tied to her neighbors. With few clues and an international twist, Miranda and her friends from the WAIT club must work together to uncover the truth behind the murders.

CURSE OF COYOTE LAKE is a gripping mystery that blends family, friendship, and suspense.

Excerpt from Curse of Coyote Lake (Miranda Marquette Mysteries Book 6)

Chapter 1

May 2012

My mind raced, and I nearly tripped over Jason as he rounded the corner of the henhouse. I recovered in time to kiss him and said sweetly, “Good morning, Cowboy. To what do I owe the honor of your presence this early on a Saturday?”

He grumbled, “Miranda, your brother called on the house phone. He said something about cell phones not being secure and that they missed their flight, so they won’t be here until tomorrow.”

Michael had a reputation for being a bit of a conspiracy theorist, so I doubted they missed their flight. He probably had heard something through the conservative underground that convinced him not to take that flight. Jason was a bit of a converted California Liberal. I couldn’t imagine Michael and him living under the same roof for an extended period.

My political views didn’t align with any party or idealism; my thoughts flowed more freely, usually going with my gut on the issues. This already drove Jason crazy and would probably have the same effect on Michael.

I tried to put a positive spin on it. “Well, that’ll give you and me a little more alone time before the onslaught.” I looked at him cross-eyed.

He rolled his eyes. “Whose idea was this?” He kicked the dirt driveway. “Oh yeah. Mine. What was I thinking?”

I smiled. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. According to Sabine, Kara is far more reasonable than Michael and has done a lot to ground him. Maybe she can reign him in.” I thought about it further. “It should be interesting meeting this Kara. She must be pretty special if Sabine gave her the seal of approval. As you know, that doesn’t come easy.” I chuckled. “I just hope Michael and I can survive the visit in one piece and that you and I won’t kill them or each other in the process. He and I haven’t really developed an adult relationship. I’m hoping we can make some progress on that while he’s here.”

He hugged me. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Let’s not let this visit get between us, okay? I know we’ve had our challenges over the last year, and this could put a strain on us.”

I stood back and eyed him up. “Wow, aren’t you Mister Sensitive? I guess therapy is helping you.”

He nodded. “It is, Miranda. I understand a lot more of what goes on in that head of yours. It’s not quite as much of a mystery, although it still is baffling to me most of the time.” He kissed me.

I came up for air. “Just keep doing that, and we’ll be fine.”

We strolled hand in hand back to the house. I looked at him seriously. “So, do you think having them stay here is a bad idea? We are very different people. Maybe they would like to camp. The Harvey Bear Ranch County Park is within walking distance, and they have done a ton of camping, I understand. After all, they were both in the army.”

Jason looked like he wanted to kick himself. “That would have been a great idea had I not already offered them my room. I was really trying to get to know your family. I guess I should have discussed it with you first.”

I chuckled. “Ya think?” I hugged him. “It was a really nice gesture. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite us all. Let’s hope for the best.” I suddenly felt like this would be the last day of freedom for the foreseeable future. I ran to my bedroom, yelling out the door behind me as I half-closed it. “Let’s go to the beach today. I know that Michael hates the beach, so we’ll be inland bound for the foreseeable future.” I laughed. “Besides, I’ve got a new bikini.”

He protested, pretending he wasn’t watching me change. “Not again. I’m the only one that’s supposed to see that much of you.”

I continued changing and yelled through the half-closed door, “Oh, come on. It’s not like women don’t eye your six-pack, so don’t even pretend they don’t.”

He laughed. “Well, they don’t if they value their life when you’re on my arm.”

I smiled. “If they only knew I had police training, you’d probably be right, but I look pretty harmless. I’ve seen it all behind the sunglasses, the looks, the little smiles here and there. I accept it for what it is, Cowboy. You should too.”

He agreed, sort of. “Okay, babe, whatever you say. I’ll be happy to be out in the sun walking the beach with my girl.” He smacked me on the butt as I came out, showing off my new suit. I didn’t complain. He didn’t either.

We ended up at my favorite beach, Half-Moon Bay Beach, which Jason had never even heard of until he met me. I couldn’t believe that anyone living in this area hadn’t been there, but it took all kinds.

As we walked hand in hand, Jason’s face took on a serious air, and he said quietly, “Miranda, I’m so sorry about not coming out and telling you I was still talking to Chenoa. You deserved to know.” His Indian Princess, ex-girlfriend, was still a sore subject between us, but this seemed like progress. I tried to respond in a way my therapist, Rachel, would advise, rather than jumping down his throat. I hesitated before I responded then looked him in the eye. “Thank you. It usually seems like you wait for me to bring it up, and then it invariably turns into a fight. You really hurt me. And I don’t think you’ll ever understand how much, but I appreciate the apology.”

We walked for a while without talking further. Finally, he said. “I love you, Miranda.”

I kissed him and said, “I love you too.” And for the rest of the day, that subject was behind us.

My watch read 10 a.m. by the time we were a mile up the beach, far from the throngs of sun worshipers and surfers who couldn’t be bothered walking more than twenty feet from a lifeguard chair. This area reminded me of the beach volleyball games I played with the five college guys when Jason and I briefly broke up. I’d had a blast, and he never needed to know about it, an unspoken joy of being single.

It thrilled me that we had decided to take a day off from working around the house and barn, fixing things. We walked through Francis Beach, Venice Beach, Dunes Beach, Roosevelt Beach, and nearly made Pillar Point Harbor before turning back. As usual, we enjoyed the perfect temperature of 72 degrees with a slight breeze off the water. Welcome to California.

As we headed back down the beach, I asked, “Are you sure you’re okay giving up your room to Michael and Kara while they’re here? I’m sure they’d be fine sleeping on the sunporch. That’s luxury accommodations compared to the army.”

He smiled. “It’ll be fine. Besides, then I can hear you singing to the goats on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I didn’t realize what a great voice you have. We should form a duo and go out on the road.”

I hit his arm. “You’re making fun of me, I know. I do like to sing for fun.”

He smiled. “Hey, the goats produce way more milk when you sing than when I do, so you must be doing something right.”

By the time we got to the parking lot, we had walked over seven miles round trip. I was glad we took the car instead of the motorcycle and that Jason had driven so I could rest my eyes, which was code for nap, on the way home. It seemed to take no time at all to get home since I slept most of the way. It took me a few minutes to get re-acclimated to my surroundings when we arrived home. I sat in the living room, watching the network news, which I rarely did these days. I wasn’t sure when what used to be news had become opinion, but it seemed to happen slowly and continuously since the new millennium started. I only knew that the reporting of facts had gone by the wayside years ago.

However, today my interest was piqued by a follow-up story about a man that my friends Wanda and Sally and I had helped to apprehend last fall, Tommy Pearson. After multiple convictions in local cold cases, mostly murders of husbands and lovers of women that he fancied, several other cases in nearby towns had surfaced with similar victims. DNA evidence had now implicated Tommy in those murders as well. It did my heart good knowing that we had gotten this guy off the street. Even though we had no idea of the full extent of his evil at the time, we called 911 while sitting in his living room. The picture they showed of him made my blood run cold. It showed the same smile he had greeted us with when we boldly went to his front door a few months ago.

Jason came into the living room as I watched, and he rubbed my shoulders, seeing that I had visibly tensed up while watching the story. He spoke quietly. “I guess you’ll never forget that face.”

I looked up at him. “Never, ever, as long as I live. Let that be a lesson to all the young girls looking for a handsome guy to take them to the prom. Go with the shy, honor roll kid with his face buried in Shakespeare. He will treat you right.”

He sat down and put his arm around me. “Are you still having nightmares about that guy?”

I tried to minimize it. “Oh, once in a while.” The truth be told, I had them almost every night. I couldn’t seem to escape this guy’s demonic grin. Seeing him on our fifty-inch screen didn’t help. “It wasn’t as bad when I thought he had only burned down the hotel and killed Burt Roop to cover it up. But now that I’ve learned how many people he’s killed, and we’ll probably never even know the real number, it has really freaked me out. Wanda and I were seconds away from being his next victims.”

He pulled me close. “What does Rachel say about your recovery?”

I smiled. “Oh, you know, therapists. She gives me the one day at a time, and this isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon speech, just about every time I see her. And I do think I’m feeling better; but I’ve never had nightmares like I’ve had since we caught him. It’s kind of freaking me out.”

He chuckled. “I wonder if that’s why Michael’s coming. Sabine and your mom are probably sending in the reinforcements and figured since he hadn’t seen you in years, he’d be the best candidate.”

I agreed. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised. That’s why I want everything to seem as normal as possible while they’re here. So, we don’t need to talk about any of this in front of them, okay?”

He nodded. “Got it.”

I tried to be optimistic. “We’ll appear to be the best, most well-adjusted All-American couple that we can be, and they can return to New Orleans and make their report. That’s my plan. So let’s hope they don’t decide to stay for a month. I’m not sure how long we can keep that act up.”

He kissed me and looked me in the eye. I kissed him hard, knowing we probably wouldn’t have a chance to be together after the company arrived except for a quickie here and there. He carried me into my bedroom and shut the door.