Murder In Myrtle Bay (Ruth Finlay Mysteries Book 1)

Book summary

In the small town of Myrtle Bay, feature writer Ruth Finlay and her neighbor Doris Cleaver stumble upon a murder while visiting an antique market. As they delve into the victim’s complicated past, they must untangle a web of grudges and secrets to prevent another tragedy.

MURDER IN MYRTLE BAY is a cozy mystery full of charm and intrigue.

Book excerpt from Murder In Myrtle Bay (Ruth Finlay Mysteries Book 1)

‘The Tupperware’s upstairs,’ she said, pointing over at the long and low factory building. ‘Right at the back.’

Doris was anxious to get going. She had it in her head someone else would beat her to the lid she was after. A lid for her plastic orange bowl. She’d phoned ahead to make sure the stallholder had one. The dear old thing always had to find a valid, to her, rationale behind everything she did. I humoured her. What good neighbour wouldn’t? But I was already regretting asking her along.

‘Just one more photo of the pergola.’ I tried to sound firm.

The gardens were a core feature of the Goodfellow factory. We were standing at the western end, close to the main entrance to the market. The pergola comprised wooden beams painted bright red, sitting atop white Doric-style columns. Beneath, two rows of brightly coloured benches flanked a garden path.

Doris went and leaned against one of the columns ‘Do you want me to pose?’ She put on her cheeky face.

No, I don’t want you to pose. It wasn’t worth saying. She stood aside anyway.

Click, click, click.

It was a sunny day and I wanted to take advantage of the clear skies. Behind us to the east, the rooftop sculpture – a huge sheep looking out across Myrtle Bay – looked more iconic than ever against all that blue. Then there was the ornamental garden itself. It was late spring, and the flower beds were a riot of colour. The lawns were immaculate, the displays as neat as a pin, and there were water features, rockeries, and sculptures to enjoy. And topiary. I had to admit I was a sucker for a pretty garden. When Southern Lifestyle invited me to write a six-page feature on the factory, I pounced at the chance to write a piece in my own backyard. No need to research and no need to travel. Bonus.

The factory used to make woollen trousers and suits, and it had quite a history, one I had begun to delve into, but I was there that day to focus on the present as a couple of decades after the factory closed part of it was transformed into an antique and collectibles market. A tourism drawcard. And if I was to do the place justice, I needed some great photos.

I took a bunch more and then a wayward cloud slipped in front of the sun, taking with it much of the warmth I had been enjoying. Seeing that Doris’s patience had worn wafer thin, I slipped my camera into my bag. She looked impassive enough. But she was clenching and unclenching her fists. It was a thing she did when she was feeling pent up. I approached her and nudged her elbow.

‘Come on, then.’

‘It’s most likely gone by now,’ she said sourly.

I couldn’t help letting out a short laugh. ‘But who would have bought it?’

‘Any of those people, just for starters.’ She waved her hand at a throng of tourists exiting the factory. ‘Not to mention anyone leaving via the back.’

‘I bet none of them are into Tupperware. This lot don’t look the type.’

‘How can you tell?’

‘Trust me. I know.’

‘You can’t tell.’

I could tell. Almost no one in my generation had even heard of Tupperware. I gave her another nudge.

‘Coffee and cake, after. My treat.’

That cheered her up.

‘At The Tarts?’

‘Where else.’

I let her take the lead. She was lean for her age, petite and spritely, with long and thick silver hair tied up in a ponytail, the wisps around her face held back with a tie-dyed headband. She’d dressed for the occasion in baggy Aladdin pants and a thick black hoodie, the look rounded off with a pair of pale-turquoise runners. There was always a touch of theatre about Doris Cleaver.

As we entered through glass panel doors, I noticed the sudden drop in temperature and began to covet her outfit. I had to stop and rearrange my scarf – I never went anywhere without one – tightening the fabric up around my neck before doing up all the buttons on my thin cotton jacket. I’d forgotten how cold the market could get even on a warm day and Doris had been in such a rush, I’d forgotten to don a cardigan.

‘Are you alright?’ she said with concern as she came to a sudden halt ahead of me and turned back.

‘I’ll be fine.’

Although, already, my hands were feeling cold.

Was it this quirk in my nature that predisposed me to appreciate the quirks of others? Maybe, it was. I did know it wasn’t easy being susceptible to the cold. Not on the coast of Scotland where the winds cut through you and the winter dragged on for twice as long as anyone cared for. Mum had always said I belonged in the tropics.

We carried on down a wide, carpeted corridor to the front desk. The desk – large, old, and wooden – was positioned at the front of a small mezzanine area between the two levels of the building. Behind the desk the mezzanine was lined rear and sides with cabinets filled with drawers and open shelves, all of the furnishings no more than waist height, allowing whoever was working to survey much of the lower level. On the left of the desk, stairs led up to the top floor. Straight ahead, a ramp led down to the floor below.

The factory was built in the 1940s after World War Two and was something of a hodgepodge. There were various buildings housing cutting areas, sewing floors and a canteen. A plain façade had been tacked on to the front of the main structure. The market was housed in the original building in what had been the offices above, and areas for machinists below. Behind what had become the market’s front desk, a central court allowed those on the upper level to survey the activity beneath. In all, it was the perfect location for a collectibles market. The place was cavernous, and the industrial feel set off the dense jumble of items on display in stall after stall after stall.

A quirk of design meant the slope of the ramp began before the desk, meaning anyone standing in front waiting to be served felt a touch lopsided.

Joe was on duty as he said he would be. All the stallholders did their stint, but Joe had more of an overseer role being a leaseholder as well. He was into guitars and vintage toys and all things 1950s. Seeing us approach he beamed a smile. He had a big round face that suited his physique and his personality, and I’d always liked him.

‘You picked a bonnie day for it,’ he said.

He passed me a large manila envelope, and I riffled through the contents and found it crammed with photocopies of press cuttings along with photos, old letters, and journal extracts. Background for my feature piece.

‘Let me know if you need anything else.’

‘Pretty sure I’ll be right, thanks.’

I rearranged the contents of my bag to make room for the envelope. Doris was about to walk off up the stairs when Bob came lumbering up the ramp. He passed behind us and went and stood beside Joe behind the desk. A balding man in his sixties, Bob was a close associate of Joe, the sort of man always ready to lend a hand when there was a need.

He placed both hands down on the desk, fingers spread wide, leaned forward, and said, ‘Hullo, Doris.’

‘Bob.’

She gave him a cursory glance before turning to me.

‘Are we going?’

I didn’t speak. I felt instantly embarrassed. She could be too taciturn when she wanted. Bob was a member of the walking track committee of which Doris was founder and president. They didn’t always see eye to eye. And Doris wasn’t one to hide her irritation. Plus, she was as eager as ever to get her lid. As far as I was concerned, none of that excused her abrupt manner.

Doris directed her gaze at the desk and waited. Bob pulled back with apparent anticipation. Joe rolled a pen from side to side on the desk. No one seemed to know what to say next and an awkward silence descended. I broke it by suggesting to Doris that we go and have a browse downstairs.

She didn’t move.

‘Might as well,’ I said. ‘There’s no one in here.’

‘There are a few,’ said Joe.

‘I’ll just go and grab it,’ Doris said.

I touched her shoulder as she was about to head off up to the Tupperware.

‘Er, no. Better we stick together.’

‘I could meet you at the car. Better still, over by the other entrance since the car is parked around the side.’

‘Doris.’

‘You won’t be leaving that way, today,’ Joe said. ‘The back exit is closed. We’re short-staffed and we’ve been having issues with the door. In fact, Brad should be down there fixing the lock as we speak.’

‘You could meet each other right here,’ Bob said, delighting in Doris’s mounting agitation. He looked at me and winked. ‘We’ll look after her for you.’

‘I’m not a child,’ Doris said sourly.

Joe looked a little bemused and Bob seemed on the verge of laughter.

‘If you head off, Doris, there’s every chance I’ll never find you,’ I said.

Joe grinned. ‘We could always send out a search party.’

At that, Bob didn’t hold back his laughter.

‘No, no. Ruth’s right,’ Doris demurred. ‘She has trouble finding me sometimes. Must be something wrong with her eyesight. I keep telling her to get it checked.’

Doris had shifted the blame, but I didn’t react. More than anything, I felt relieved, remembering that day in Dumfries when I spent a full two hours searching for her.

That day had been hot, and she had wandered into a similar market hoping for relief. She plonked herself down in an antique chair in one of the stalls to have a rest. Only, the chair she was sitting on had a high back and it was tucked in behind a wide display, and I couldn’t see her from the aisle. After a frantic search, I almost phoned the police. We ended up missing the coach back to Myrtle Bay and had to check into a bed and breakfast.

‘Let’s get going,’ I said. I thought my body would turn into a block of ice if we stood around any longer.

I was about to steer Doris down the ramp when Brendan Taylor came striding up in something of a hurry. He breezed past us on his way out, all buff in work shorts and a high-vis shirt. I glanced back and watched him leave the building. Brendan, a local and one of the area’s prized plumbers, and not so much as a tilt of the head to acknowledge my presence.

Brendan had been three years above me in school, only he’d attended Myrtle Bay High and I had gone to Siena College. Public and private, the great divide, but our paths had crossed every day on the way to and from our respective schools and his mum had worked for a while as my dad’s receptionist. Dad used to be a dentist. Which was why I felt a little bit offended that Brendan hadn’t said hello on his way by. He must have seen me. Although he did appear to be preoccupied.

It was time for a major distraction, from the snub, from the friction and above all from the cold.

‘I promise you that lid will still be there,’ I whispered to Doris as we headed down to the stalls on the lower floor. ‘In the meantime, let’s have some fun.’

I hadn’t been to this market in years. Looking around, I saw that the space, thanks to the open design of the factory, the white walls and good lighting, provided a perfect backdrop for photos. I ferreted about in my bag and took out my camera and we wandered from stall to stall, down first one aisle, then another, marvelling at what was a colourful jamboree of wares.

Doris soon got into the spirit of things. She delighted in poking around the displays of vintage bric-a-brac, pointing at a trinket or ornament with, ‘I had one of those’, pulling old and rare books from shelves at random exclaiming, ‘I can hardly believe it’, and poring over the cover of an Enid Blyton hardback she’d read as a child. She donned the jewellery, new and antique, and handled the glass and ceramics and fine china. We both had fun among the retro fashion. We strolled by the LP records, vintage toys, clocks, and music boxes, eyeing off this and that. Neither of us were that interested in the paintings, pottery, and giftware, and we marched right on by the militaria. Still, there was something to suit every taste. The market was a treasure trove, and a place to get thoroughly lost in.

We were heading towards the rear of the factory when Doris stepped backwards and bumped into Kathy Williams who let out a sharp cry. Kathy had been trying to squeeze past and Doris had managed to tread on her foot. Kathy did not look pleased. She was a brisk woman who wore her long sandy hair parted in the middle and never put on any makeup. Her face had that rugged if hale look of someone who had spent her whole life outdoors. Her family had the farm next to my grandparents’ place out at Bowerdale.

‘Hey, Kathy,’ I said. ‘Good to see you.’

‘You too.’ She offered no smile.

‘I didn’t mean…’ Doris said.

‘All good. I should have chosen the other way in.’

‘Bit crowded, this one,’ Doris said, looking around.

‘Sure is. But your stock won’t sell if it isn’t on display so…’

‘I wouldn’t have thought coloured glass was your thing,’ Doris said, eying the bowl in Kathy’s hand.

‘It’s for a friend. She’s got a thing about pink.’

‘Fair enough.’

We left her to it and continued on down the aisle.

Kathy was the second acquaintance who had given me the cold shoulder that day. Why the coolness? Her foot couldn’t have hurt that much and besides, it wasn’t me who had trodden on it. Deep down, I suspected I’d become a tall poppy around town. Got too big for my boots. A journalist. Definitely not to be trusted. But I didn’t think that attitude at all fair and it stung a bit.

We were nearing the back entrance. I was feeling chilled to the bone and Doris’s enthusiasm had started to wane.

‘Do we have to look at every single stall?’ she moaned.

‘Come on, then, Mrs D, let’s get you to the Tupperware.’

We headed back to the ramp, past the desk and on upstairs. I raced ahead to get the blood circulating, hopefully all the way to my fingertips.

‘Which way?’ I said, once we had both reached the central court.

‘It’s right up the back.’

She led the way.

It was much lighter and brighter up here and the layout was markedly different. In the central court, glass cabinets were lined up shoulder-to-shoulder along the length of some of the walls. Beyond, a wide aisle cluttered with wares led to various office spaces given over to large displays. It was a confusing layout, haphazard feeling at first, and fun. Although the wares were not as photographically inviting as those down on the ground floor and I slipped my camera into my bag.

At last, after much dodging and weaving, we arrived at a small stall filled with coloured plastic. There were containers of all shapes and sizes, many with lids, arranged by colour on shelves lining the stall and on a central display.

Doris seemed to know exactly where to find the lid she was after. She waved it at me and grinned.

‘What luck.’

I offered no reply. Luck had nothing to do with it. No one was going to come into the market on a mission to buy that very lid. Some things were so improbable they were impossible.

‘Are we done?’

I thought we were. There was only the area on the far side of the Tupperware and then we could walk back down the other half of the upper level to complete the tour.

We started wandering around the antique furniture. I was admiring a large dresser thinking of where I would put it when Doris murmured, ‘Ruth.’

It was the low tone of her voice. It was the way she had said my name. It was the way she appeared frozen to the spot that made me turn straight away.

She was standing between a cabinet and a dining table. I went over and found her staring down at her feet. As I grew closer, I saw that she was staring at a body lying face down on a Persian rug. Blood oozed from the back of the head. It was a man. I took note of the jeans, the blue shirt. His face was pointing the other way. I went around him and knelt down by his side to see if he was breathing. He was. But his face was contorted with pain.

‘You’ll be alright,’ I said. ‘We’ll get help.’

He strained to speak. I leaned closer to him.

‘I didn’t do it,’ he whispered.

Didn’t do what? I wondered.

I sat back on my haunches and gave Doris a desperate look. ‘Go and get Joe.’

She rushed away.

I sat for a moment in disbelief. When I lowered my gaze back to the man’s face, he was barely conscious. Then he exhaled. It was his last breath.

The journalist in me kicked in. While Doris was gone, I glanced around to make sure I was alone. I was. Seizing the moment, I dipped my hand in my bag, pulled out my camera and took a few discreet shots of the corpse. It felt macabre but also somehow vital.

As I put the camera away my heart started pumping fast. I felt a rush of adrenaline course through me. It wasn’t the first time I’d witnessed a death. But the other time was different. It was in a hospital. And the person dying was Mum. Right now, I didn’t know whether to stay and guard the body or leave it and find Doris. After a few moments of indecision, I headed off.

I arrived back at the desk as Joe was finishing a call to the police. Bob hovered nearby and Doris stood in front of the counter. Thinking quickly, I took out my phone. Better to voice record than rely on notes. Less obvious, too. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing as none of this would appear in my feature piece, but instinct had taken hold and I was curious, at the very least. Especially as I knew who that body belonged to: David Fisk.

I tucked the phone in my jacket pocket with the microphone pointing at the desk.

‘It’s a terrible thing to have happened,’ I said, standing beside Doris. ‘Who would do such a thing?’

‘Doesn’t bear thinking about,’ Joe said.

‘I can’t help thinking that whoever did this was in here just now and unless they’re hiding somewhere in the building, they walked right past this desk on their way out.’

‘Could have been anyone,’ Bob said dismissively.

‘Not anyone,’ I corrected, in that moment finding him as annoying as Doris did.

‘Could have been Kathy Williams. Could have been Brad Taylor. They were here,’ she said.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘Who else was in here, then?’ I said, directing my question at Joe.

‘You sure you want to get involved in this, Ruth?’ He sounded sceptical.

‘She might as well,’ Doris said, rallying.

‘The cops won’t be happy,’ said Bob.

‘They don’t have to know.’

‘We won’t say a word,’ said Joe.

I gave him a grateful smile. ‘Call it a bit of investigative journalism.’

‘You can call it what you like,’ Bob said, all haughty. ‘But it’s nobody’s business except the police if you want my opinion.’

‘We don’t,’ Doris snapped. ‘Anyway, what’s wrong with a bit of sleuthing?’

No one had an answer, and the mezzanine went quiet.

‘We just need to know who was in here from about the time we came in,’ I said, my impatience rising. The shock of seeing David Fisk as he’d died of his injury coupled with the cool factory air had chilled me to my core and I began to fear I would start shaking.

‘There weren’t many,’ said Joe, no doubt relieved to be moving the conversation forward a fraction.

He looked at Bob who shrugged. ‘You were the one at the desk. I was sorting out paperwork.’

A reflective look appeared in Joe’s face. ‘There was that Melbourne couple, Angie and Hu.’

‘Tourists?’

‘Told me they were staying at a bed and breakfast in Moss Street. Wanted Bob here to drop off a table.’

‘It’s no bother,’ Bob said under his breath.

‘That the Franks’ place?’ Doris said.

‘There’s no other holiday let in Moss Street that I know of.’

They were still at daggers. You’d think that sort of thing would have stayed in the playground, but those two had been at loggerheads since pre-school and there was no changing either of them now. I made a mental note to delete the voice recording once I’d harvested the nuggets.

‘Who else was in here?’ I said.

Joe thought for a moment. ‘Only the girls from the bakery. Monica and Barb.’

‘From Betty’s Bakehouse,’ Doris said. It wasn’t a question.

‘You know them?’

‘They used to do a good custard tart.’

‘The business changed hands a couple of years back,’ Bob said. ‘Someone from Melbourne bought it.’

‘Monica and Barb left the market not long after you came in,’ Joe said. ‘And that would be it, from memory.’

Doris wasn’t satisfied. ‘We saw a gaggle exiting on our way in. What about them?’

‘They didn’t make it past the desk. Not what they’d expected, apparently.’

‘What are you going to do now?’ Bob said. ‘I mean, the police will follow up with everyone, including you two. I can’t see what good it will do if you go quizzing people.’

‘Got something to hide, Bobby?’ said Doris.

He bristled. Even I knew Bob hated being called Bobby.

‘Hardly,’ Joe said in his defence. ‘Bob’s been here with me at the front desk the whole time.’

There was nothing more to say. As the key witnesses, we had to hang around until the police arrived on the scene. I’d reached my threshold when it came to the cold and suggested we waited outside in the gardens. Doris was out the door first.

The sun was still beaming down, and I was able to thaw out on a park bench overlooking an area of sunken garden nearby. There were few people about.

‘Who on earth would want to kill David Fisk?’ I said softly, watching a bee navigate its way into a flower.

‘You recognised him too, then. He would have had plenty of enemies, I imagine.’

‘You think?’

Before she could answer, two uniformed officers came striding through the gardens. We followed them into the factory and hovered near the desk. Joe was about to direct them to the body when Doris cut in with, ‘Please, if you don’t mind. Can we leave you our names and addresses and we’ll call into the station in the morning to give our statements? Only, I don’t think my legs will support me for much longer.’

‘She found the body,’ I said.

The officers exchanged glances. One of them took out his notepad and took down our details.

‘Thank you for that,’ I said to Doris as we left.

‘Don’t mention it. Better coming from an old biddy like me. They would probably have kept you waiting until you turned into a block of ice.’

I laughed but there wasn’t much mirth in it.

We headed back to my car and went straight home. We’d both forgotten my invitation to have coffee and cake at The Tarts. Playing on my mind during the whole drive was the sickening fact that if I had caved in to Doris’s wish to visit the Tupperware stall first, in all likelihood David Fisk would still be alive.