Free Murder At Tropical Cove Marina (Cozy Mystery) (Sea Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by Crystal Winters Page B

there’s some spots I couldn’t get a signal if my life depended on it.” He gave my arm a squeeze.
    I nodded. “You’re probably right.” I looked at the body of my friend. My sight blurred a little as tears welled up in them. I wiped my eyes and asked, “What do I do now?”
    “Well, right now you might as well let us take care of Robert. Why don’t you go and lie down and relax.”
    I shook my head. “No. I don’t think I’ll be able to relax right now. I’ll just go up to the office and get caught up on some paperwork. I need to do something to keep my mind occupied. My dad should call back fairly soon. Catch me up with the details later, alright?”
    “Sure thing. Oh hey, Maddie. Before you go, how about dinner tonight at the Crab House and I’ll catch you up to date then?” He grinned.
    “Sounds like a date,” I joked.
    “Great. I’ll meet you at your office around five-ish or so,” Ethan responded.
    “Yep. See ya,” as I pushed my way through the crowd.
    Ethan Matthews and I have been friends for over 27 years. We first met in a Calculus class our senior year of high school. He was having trouble with the subject and the teacher chose me because of my good grades to tutor him. I had a crush on him but he did not even know I existed. He was a pitcher on our school baseball team and he was dating Lacey Peters, a gorgeous blonde cheerleader that the entire male half of the student body lusted after. I, on the other hand, wore glasses, had a bit of a problem with acne, and was on the chubby side. Top that off with me being a bit of geek and bookworm. I was involved in band and yearbook activities. When I took on the challenge of tutoring him, I was incredibly nervous. It was just so awkward because he was so cute—well, hot, actually. To call him cute doesn’t do him justice. Every time our eyes would accidentally meet, my heart would flutter, and just being in the same room with him would make me start to perspire. But despite all the awkwardness, we eventually became close friends. He would share a lot of his feelings and relationship issues with me. We continued to stay close friends all these years through thick and thin. Just this past year, he went through a messy divorce and his high school sweetheart ran off with another man. He was devastated and still heartbroken.

CHAPTER 2
     
    When I got back to the office, I brewed myself some tea and settled down to pay some of the marina’s bills and analyzed the budget for the upcoming season. I had reduced the pile of paperwork to one last sheet, and was wondering what I would do to keep myself occupied when I heard someone call, “Madilyn Autumn! You in here?” I knew it was my father, since he is the only one that uses my full name. I’m named after my great grandmother Madilyn Ann Ritchfield. Instead of Ann, they decided to go with Autumn since I was born in October.
    “In the office, Dad.”
    He entered the room and hung his fishing rod in its rack. “I got your message and got back as soon as I could. What happened while I was gone? I take a weekend off and tragedy strikes.” He sniffed. “Tea smells good. Got any more?”
    “Sure. Help yourself.”
    “You’re not gonna get it for me?” He let out a mournful sigh. “What ever happened to the days when a daughter would respectfully serve her decrepit old father tea? And smile while doing it?”
    “I guess they disappeared about the same time the decrepit old father started leaving all the paperwork for his sweet respectful daughter to worry about.”
    I could tell that his cheerful orneriness was all a front. He was deeply saddened by the loss of his friend, but he was too stubborn to show it.
    I sipped my tea. “Anyway, glad you got back safely. So you know what happened?”
    My father picked up one of the papers off the ‘finished’ pile and squinted at it. “Yeah, Jim told me most of it on the way in. How’d it happen?”
    I tugged the paper out of his grasp and returned