Death With An Ocean View (A Kate Kennedy Mystery Book 1) (16 page)
Read Death With An Ocean View (A Kate Kennedy Mystery Book 1) Online
Authors: Noreen Wald
Tags: #amateur sleuth books
Thirty-One
A squeeze of
her hand,
a
lick on her right cheek, and the sound of Dean Martin
singing
“Everybody loves somebody sometime
”
woke Kate up.
She was afraid to open her eyes. Could she be in heaven? Could that be Charlie squeezing her hand? Even if the answers to those questions were yes, Kate wanted to be alive. Prayed to be alive. Her head hurt like hell. Good: The dead felt no pain.
She slowly opened her eyes and, without moving, looked around. Marlene sat on one side of her bed; Joe, holding Ballou, sat on the other.
“Where am I?”
“Imperial Point Hospital ER.” Marlene stood and came over to Kate, planting a kiss on her other cheek. “You swallowed a lot of ocean and you have two nasty head wounds, one causing a concussion, but you’re going to be okay.”
“What happened?”
“Ballou’s a hero, Kate.” Marlene smiled. “He barked and yelped under my balcony until I hung up on Carbone.
“When I saw how agitated Ballou was, I jumped off the balcony—good thing it’s only two feet off the sand—and followed him down to the ocean.”
“Marlene saved your life, Kate,” Joe said. “She punched the mayor, breaking her nose, then dove into the ocean and pulled you out.”
Kate’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, Marlene. Thank you, Ballou.”
“Yes,” Joe said as the dog struggled to get closer to Kate, “you’re quite the detective, Kate Kennedy.”
“Brenda Walters has confessed.” Marlene walked around the bed and took the Westie from Joe. “Stella recognized Brenda and was blackmailing her. The two hundred thousand dollars was to be the first of two payments. Seems Stella had witnessed Bea Wernoski murder Martin Baum all those decades ago and had never told the police.”
Kate started, then tried to sit up. A sharp pain stampeded through her brain. She returned her head to the pillow. “Why hadn’t Stella told the police?”
Joe sighed. “It seems you were right on all counts, Kate. According to Bea Wernoski, Stella had been involved with Martin Baum too. I guess Stella thought he got what he deserved.”
“Who knows?” Marlene said. “Maybe Stella had planned to blackmail Bea all along, but Bea skipped town right after graduation.”
“And Nancy Cooper found the connection?” Kate wondered how.
Marlene nodded, “Yes. Stella may or may not have visited her Tuesday afternoon, but after Stella’s murder, Nancy discovered a photocopy of the cashier’s check while rereading her copious obituary notes. Stella had printed
B.W.
on the photocopy and the words
first payment.
When Nancy Cooper questioned the mayor for her big story, Brenda Walters had to kill her too.”
“Then tried to get rid of me.” Kate felt cold. “I guess Nancy’s last word was
Oh
as in surprise, not
O
as in Oberon.”
“Right,” Marlene said. “And when the attorney panicked, the mayor staged her second suicide, putting the murder weapon in his hand.”
Marlene put Ballou on the bed. The little dog gently snuggled against Kate’s side.
Epilogue
Marlene’s act of
heroism eased, but didn’t erase the guilt of her long-ago adultery with Charlie: a four-martini one-night stand.
Putting on a mitt, she took Kate’s favorite baked ziti out of the oven. The reorganized Hearts club—Marlene, Mary Frances, Joe, and Kate—would be playing together for the first time tonight.
Marlene sighed and decided to deal with her guilt the same way she dealt with the Queen of Spades when she couldn’t discard it: She’d just have to live with it.
About the Author
Noreen Wald lives in downtown Sarasota, Florida with her husband, Steve. Their sons visit often. Hey, surf and sun are great lures. She has served terms as a local chapter president for Mystery Writers of America, as well as Executive VP and Secretary for their National Board of Directors. A winning contestant on seven television game shows—including Jeopardy!—Noreen later worked for Goodson-Todman and Merv Griffin Productions. She’s lectured at the Smithsonian, the CIA , the National Press Club and aboard the QE II. Her Ghostwriter Series was a Mystery Guild selection and praised in
The New York Daily News, The Sun-Sentinel
, and hit #1 on
The Dallas Morning News
bestseller list.
The Kate Kennedy Mystery Series
By Noreen Wald
DEATH WITH AN OCEAN VIEW (#1)
DEATH OF THE SWAMI SCHWARTZ (#2)
DEATH IS A BARGAIN (#3)
DEATH STORMS THE SHORE (#4)
DEATH RIDES THE SURF (#5)
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