To Rick Atwood’s dismay, the police find a body on the beach near his Seaside Cove B&B. The dead woman held a pottery shard from an ancient rice bowl, which the cops believe is a clue to her murder.
The chief suspect is Flynn O’Connor, a female archaeologist known for her hatred of treasure thieves. Trouble is, Rick’s daughter Alex sees Flynn as a role model and will not believe her friend is a killer.
Alex pressures her dad as only a ten-year-old can to prove Flynn is innocent. The mayor is also making demands—for Rick to stay out of the investigation. With his daughter and the mayor at odds, Rick sees trouble brewing. He knows too well how much Alex loves sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Especially when there’s murder involved.
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Character Guest Post by Alex (Age 10)
Hey Journal,
I gotta go soon because we’re having a luau here at the B&B! Daddy said we were gonna spend the afternoon sipping umbrella drinks and watching the sunset. Okay, I’m only ten, so I don’t get a real umbrella drink. I get the kid’s version. But, here in Seaside Cove we have palm trees and we have a beach, so it’s almost the same as what we’d get at a real luau, right?
Now that me and Daddy own the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast and are living here, we can’t take a big vacation. Marquetta’s worked here for so long she could totally run this place on her own, but Daddy says that wouldn’t be fair. That makes me happy because I’d like her to go with us if we do go to Hawaii.
Marquetta ran the B&B after Captain Jack died. She did that for a long time before me and Daddy moved here. I didn’t think I was gonna like Seaside Cove, but when I met Marquetta, I totally fell in love. She’s gonna be my new mom someday. I just have to get her and Daddy to realize it. My plan to get them together is starting to work. They both like each other a lot and maybe someday they’ll stop acting so lame!
For the luau, Daddy ordered the makings for this stuff called shave ice. We got coconut and macadamia nut and pineapple syrups, plus a couple other flavors. According to Marquetta, this won’t be authentic because we don’t have a machine to shave the ice, but we can use a blender and it will be close!
Today I’m wearing my first grass skirt. Daddy wanted to buy one for Marquetta, too, but she said she wouldn’t wear hers unless he wore one too. Me and Marquetta thought that was funny, but Daddy didn’t think so.
It’s kinda fun getting an afternoon off. Between being in fifth grade, helping around the B&B, and finding a killer, my life has been totally hectic. After we moved from New York, Daddy said we were gonna settle into a nice little town where not much happened. That sounded totally boring to me. Then, I heard about all the treasure around here.
The treasure hunters are getting closer to the old Manila galleon that sunk off the coast. Miss O’Connor, she’s the lady archaeologist who’s staying here, told me all about those old ships and how hard the journey was. It’s awesome that one sunk off our coast!
Anyway, I thought having all those treasure hunters around would be super interesting, but it was even better than that because they keep getting murdered! That gives me and Daddy killers to find. I’ve told you how he doesn’t like me to help him find the clues, but between you and me, Journal, he needs my help. That’s why I’ve gotta get him and Marquetta together soon. I can’t keep splitting my time between helping them see the obvious, finding killers, and fifth grade. Something’s gotta give, Journal.
I just looked out my window and Daddy’s out on the patio with Marquetta. They look super happy right now. Someday, this is all gonna work. I just know it!
Gotta go,
Alex
PS I guess that should’ve been aloha.
About the Author
Terry Ambrose is a former skip tracer who only stole cars when it was legal. He’s long since turned his talents to writing mysteries and thrillers. Several of his books have been award finalists and in 2014 his thriller, “Con Game,” won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. He’s currently working on the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series.
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