Beach House Mystery

Chapter 3

By the time Morgan made it down the stairs, Gabe was letting himself in the front door. It was an old habit that he"d had when Meredith was alive, and Morgan had done nothing to dissuade it. There was a feeling of comfort, knowing he was such a reliable friend that he didn"t have to knock. He was always respectful of her privacy, making sure she knew he was here before he entered.

"Good morning. Are those what I think they are?" Morgan asked as she eagerly reached for the bag.

Teasingly, Gabe held the bag up over her head so she couldn"t reach it, chuckling at her antics. "I don"t know if I should share these with you. Didn"t you say something about a diet last week?"

"Ha! Like I would let that stop me from indulging? Come on; I have a pot of coffee set up in the courtyard." Morgan started to lead the way, almost tripping over Misty, who had arrived to find out who was visiting. "Watch out for Misty. I swear it"s a game to her to try and trip me," she warned.

Gabe just smiled and wished the cat a good morning as he followed Morgan down the hallway to the large French doors that opened into the courtyard. On either side of these doors were Meredith"s office and Morgan"s workroom. Each room had its entrance out into the courtyard. Morgan"s workroom was a converted bedroom where she now worked on restoring old manuscripts and books to their previous glory. Meredith’s office was still as it had been when Meredith was alive. Books and fine nautical antiques filled the room. Morgan hadn"t had the heart to go through the office. Although the house was now hers, it still felt like Meredith lived here, and she was determined to respect her aunt"s favorite rooms: her bedroom and her office.

"If I didn"t know better, I would say you were expecting me," Gabe said as he pointed to the two cups sitting next to the steaming coffee pot.

“Well, I didn’t know that it would be you, but somebody always shows up for coffee; it never fails. Now open that bag and share those bagels.” Morgan laughed, and she lowered herself into a chair and picked up the coffee pot, filling the two cups when she was finished teasing Gabe.

They sat in comfortable silence, drinking their coffee and enjoying the bagels. Suddenly a large cry disturbed the quiet and they both turned to watch one of the peacocks from the resident flock enter the courtyard, announcing his arrival. Misty looked up from her perch on the back of Morgan"s chair and yawned, unimpressed with the beautiful bird. A few moments later, two other peacocks joined the leader, and they strolled around the courtyard as if they owned it. The large birds made no aggressive moves towards Morgan and Gabe as they came closer; they were used to the company of humans. Yet if a stranger were to be in the courtyard, they would go on high alert, ready to protect the mistress of the house.

“Any more complaints from a certain neighbor about the noise our feathered friends make?” Gabe asked.

Morgan made a face before she answered. "Yvette Grant does nothing but complain about the island. If it"s not my peacocks, then it"s how run-down she thinks the civic center is, or the lack of parking. Or whatever else she feels like complaining about on any given day. For a newcomer to the island, she certainly has opinions about how Pearl Island should be run, and she"s not afraid to express them."

"I still can"t figure why she wanted the island house as part of her divorce settlement; she"s never liked it here," Gabe mused.

Morgan gave him a knowing look and took a bite of her bagel. As she finished her mouthful, she answered. "I don’t think it’s that hard to figure out. Stephen and his family have had a home here for years, and they genuinely love it. Yvette took the house out of spite and meanness. "

"Why would she want a house she didn"t like?" Gabe asked.

Before Morgan answered, she watched as he comprehended her words and gave a nod of agreement.

"You know what?” she said. “It"s too beautiful of a day to talk about Yvette Grant and her complaints. Why don"t we head down to the public beach? Today"s the first day of summer vacation, and I promised Kathy I would help with some kids’ activity she has planned."

"That"s perfect,” Gabe said. “I have students I"m giving lessons to down there, as well. Let me carry the tray for you, and we’ll clean this mess up and head down to the beach."

"Great, we"ll have to take the golf cart. I already have beach towels, toys, and games piled in bins on the cart."

It wasn’t long before Morgan and Gabe were driving her golf cart down the main road towards the beach frequented by both the tourists and the high school kids. Younger children were playing in the company of their parents. The beach was a beautiful cove with white sand and a natural bathing location created by the curve of the island and the reef that was offshore. Between the reef and the beach was a lagoon that, at the deepest point, was only 3.5 feet. The youngest could play at the edge, wading into the water safely for a reasonable distance. The older kids loved to bring rafts and inner tubes to float at the deeper end. There was no lifeguard; everyone looked out for each other, and the two-person police force made the rounds regularly to keep an eye on things.

“Hi, Morgan, over here!”

A pretty woman with long, curly, dark hair called over to the two of them as they parked the golf cart next to the others in the small parking lot. Because the island was only 4.5 miles long, and about .5 miles wide, cars were rarely used. Residence got around by bicycles or golf carts. The bridge onto the island at this end was one lane. At the other end of the island, residence came and went to the mainland by ferryboat. Morgan glanced at the carts she parked next to and grinned.

“Looks like everyone is getting in summer mode around here.” She pointed to the surfboard attached to the back of one cart, and the coolers piled in another. Gabe nodded in agreement.

“Come on, you two! The natives are getting restless; I need those supplies.”

Morgan could hear both laughter and a hint of desperation in the woman"s voice as she called across the sand. Looking in her direction, she had a hard time not bursting out loud in a hearty laugh. “Hang on, Kathy, rescue’s on the way,” she yelled back.

Kathy didn’t answer. She had her hands full with kids, ages 4 and 5, circling her, asking questions and making demands. Gabe helped Morgan tote the beach toys and supplies over to where Kathy had already placed her cooler and beach blanket. Picking up the biggest beach ball he could find, Gabe called the kids to join him for a game of dodge ball. In no time, Kathy was forgotten as they followed Gabe to an open area in the sand.

“Day one of summer vacation, and I’m already tearing my hair out,” Kathy groaned as she started pulling the games from the supplies Morgan had brought.

“Every year, I tell myself I’m not doing this again. But here I am.” Although she was complaining, the young woman looked perfectly happy, and Morgan grinned back at her.

“You love every minute of it, admit it. Besides, it’s only a couple of hours a week. And think how grateful all the parents are. You get to teach and exhaust the kiddos all at once.”

Kathy playfully tossed a towel at Morgan and had to agree with her friend. The two of them quickly got to work setting up the obstacle course Kathy had planned. As they worked, she explained to Morgan the object of the course.

“The kids will have to work together to get to the end, and as they go from one spot to the other, they will work out a piece of the puzzle. By the time they get to the end, they will know the most common sea animals found inside the lagoon. And tomorrow, I have the older kids at the Maritime Museum.”

“Who has the older ones today?” Morgan asked, knowing Kathy meant the 7-8-year-olds.

“Gabe is teaching them music today. There are only a few kids in that age group.”

Morgan nodded as she looked around, seeing a few of the teenagers come in from the water to help Gabe entertain the little ones. She loved how they all looked after each other, and silently thanked her Aunt Meredith for summoning her back to Pearl Island. As her eyes swept the area, she noticed two women she didn’t recognize. They were both college-age, and beautiful, dressed in daring bathing suits, talking to a couple of teenage boys. Morgan couldn’t help the frown that furrowed her brow. Kathy looked to see what was upsetting her and lost her smile.

“Those two have been here on and off for the last couple of days,” she said, answering Morgan’s unspoken question. “They have been sticking close to the oldest of the beach-goers, upsetting some of the wives and mothers.”

“I take it they aren’t from the island?”

“No, they come in from a boat anchored off the lagoon. Swimming in and making a grand entrance like they are part of a James Bond movie. I’m not sure what they want, but I bet it’s trouble. A couple of people have already complained about the way they act around the kids. Jenny and Nate are supposed to be on their way to talk to them.”

Kathy was referring to the island’s police officers. Kathy always had the inside information and would know what was going on; Jenny Colbright was her sister, the senior officer. Nate Hastings was her partner, and someone Kathy was very interested in. As if on cue, the two officers rode up on their bikes, and walked over to a woman who was waving her hands to them. Morgan watched as the woman made her complaint, pointing in the direction of the two strangers and then gesturing in the direction of the older kids.

“Looks like Jenny and Nate are getting an earful,” she mumbled.

Kathy nodded, and then they watched the officers walk over to the young women. Jenny said something, and they laughed at her. Then Nate said something, and it was as if a switch was turned on. Both women turned their attention to him, and even from a distance, Morgan could see they were trying to charm him with seduction.

Kathy seethed as her hands formed tight fists. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

As Morgan looked around, she saw other women on the beach sending glares in the same direction Kathy was. The situation was turning ugly fast. Without thinking, Morgan grasped the Frisbee in her hands tighter and flipped it in Nate"s direction. The man’s reaction was swift and automatic. He caught the flying plastic disc before it could hit him in the head and looked around to see who had thrown it. The action broke the spell, and she heard Jenny tell the women to move along, or at least act appropriately around the teenagers.

“Quick thinking, Morgan.”

Morgan looked over at Gabe, who had joined her and Kathy, with the youngsters in tow, ready to begin their game. In seconds Kathy and Morgan were busy directing the kids, and Gabe was motioning to a few of the kids to join him. As Morgan handed a toy shovel to one tot, she glanced over in Jenny’s direction and couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.