Free Death Runs Adrift (The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries) by Karen MacInerney

wish they’d just go ahead and legalize it,” I said. “Tax the heck out of it and spend the money on education and Medicare, rather than spending oodles of money trying to tamp it down.”
    “Prohibition didn’t work, either,” John said, raising his beer and taking a sip.
    “I just hope they don’t spend so much time worrying about who’s transporting pot that they don’t look further than Adam when they’re rounding up suspects.”
    “That makes two of us,” John said. “Three, if you count Gwen.”
    “She’ll be here in just a couple of days. I hope they get it ironed out by then.”
    “Me too,” my fiancé said in a tone of voice that did not inspire confidence.

six
    “How did it go with Matilda last night?” I asked as I served plates of shirred eggs to Agnes and Beryl the next morning. I’d whipped up a batch of my Wicked Blueberry Coffee Cake and some bacon to go with it, and the two were eating as if last night’s supper had been a week ago.
    “Oh, wonderful,” Agnes said. “She was telling me all about the island’s history. We’re going with her to see the lighthouse this morning,” she said, “and we’re going to see if we can get Murray Selfridge to let us take a look at where the old rectory used to be. I understand they’re renovating it, but I’d love to take a look”
    “Isn’t that right near where they found the body?” I asked as I poured more coffee for Beryl.
    “Right next to it, in fact. We were hoping your fiancé’s mother could put in a good word for us.” She smiled up at me hopefully.
    I stifled a sigh. Did everyone on the island want a favor from Murray? And was Catherine’s apparent hold on him already legendary? “I’ll talk to her,” I said, “but I can’t make any promises.”
    “Well, if we can’t get to the rectory, Matilda tells us there’s a lot of history elsewhere on the island.”
    “She told us there’s a ghost in the inn, too!” Beryl added between forkfuls of coffee cake.
    “There may have been,” I said, remembering the eerie apparition I’d encountered one day in the kitchen, “but I think we laid that one to rest.”
    Agnes’s eyes were big. “Wasn’t she murdered here?”
    “That’s the rumor,” I said, not wanting to confirm it. “But something like that has happened in most old houses. It’s not unusual when you have houses that have been standing for centuries.”
    “Matilda did tell us about another place, too. You can only get to it by boat, and legend is that bootleggers used to use it.”
    “”Smuggler’s Cove,” I suggested.
    “That’s it!” Her eyes shone with excitement. “Is there any way to get there? It sounds like it would be a perfect setting for a murder mystery!”
    “I can take you, if you’d like. We have to go at low tide, though. That’s the only time you can get in and out of there.” As soon as I’d offered, I regretted it; the cove was hard to get in and out of even with calm waters, and after a bad experience I’d had there not long after taking over the inn, I wasn’t too keen on going back. Still, it was my job to keep the guests happy, and I didn’t have plans for the afternoon anyway.
    “Oh, that would be terrific. I’ve got the tide tables right here, on the back of the Visitors’ Guide.” She pulled a rolled-up brochure out of her bag and smoothed it out on the table. “Low tide is at two today,” she said. “Would that work for you?”
    “Sure,” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. “Why don’t we meet at one-thirty, down by the dock?”
    “Wonderful. How exciting! We’ll get to see where all the action is.” She held up a piece of coffee cake. “This is delicious, by the way. I’d love the recipe, if you’re willing to share.”
    “I’ll make a copy,” I said, then refilled everyone’s coffee and escaped to the kitchen.
    _____
    “I’ll take care of the breakfast dishes.” John already had the dishwasher open and was filling it before I’d