“I suppose it’s possible Claudia is behind this,” I agreed. “The vampire thing seems like something she’d do, and she’s a master of disguise, so she might be able to slip into town unnoticed. But it seems like a huge risk for her to come back here so soon after her last visit, so I’m thinking it isn’t her, even if she is a total loon. So, maybe. I’ll mention it to Salinger when he calls later and see what he thinks.”
“If the person who killed that man and left him for you to find wasn’t Claudia, then who?” Ellie asked. “With everything you’ve told me it really does sound like you’re being targeted. Someone really seems to want to mess with you. We know Claudia will go to great lengths just to yank your chain, but other than her, I can’t think of a single person who would go to so much trouble. I mean really, a vampire? Who would do such a thing?”
I wished I knew. The idea that someone had set up the murder for my benefit bothered me quite a lot. I had to wonder if the body I’d found in the basement was the beginning and the end to whatever was going to happen, or if there were other people at risk of being killed just so someone could get at me. I’d been struggling with that idea ever since I’d found the body, that perhaps I was the reason a man had died on this blustery day in late October. I just couldn’t figure out how anyone could possibly know the details of that first death all those years ago.
“Do you need me to watch Catherine tomorrow?” Ellie asked when I didn’t speak for a couple of minutes.
“No,” I answered, pulling myself out of my thoughts and into the present. “I plan to be home. Do you want to come over? We can work on a menu for the Halloween Spooktacular. I’d like to do theme foods, the way we have in the past, and of course we’ll need chicken wings for Levi. But I thought we could add some new things as well. Maybe we can throw in a few more desserts. I bought a Halloween recipe book when I went to the market last week. I bet we can find some ideas in it that haven’t occurred to us before.”
“I’d love to come by your place for a visit, and I do want to go over the menu, but I have a doctor’s appointment in the morning, so it’ll have to be in the afternoon.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked. Ellie was pregnant with child number two.
“Everything is perfect, although I’m a little nervous. Tomorrow is the day I finally find out the sex of the baby.”
I smiled. “That’s great. I’ve been dying to know. I don’t know why you waited so long to have the ultrasound.”
Ellie let out a breath. “I guess I was scared, so I procrastinated.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Scared? Why? Because you’re hoping for a girl and will be disappointed if it’s a boy, or do you want another boy and will be let down if it’s a girl?”
“Exactly.”
“To which one?” I asked.
“Both.”
Books by Kathi Daley
Come for the murder, stay for the romance.
Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:
Halloween Hijinks
The Trouble With Turkeys
Christmas Crazy
Cupid’s Curse
Big Bunny Bump-off
Beach Blanket Barbie
Maui Madness
Derby Divas
Haunted Hamlet
Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies
Christmas Cozy
Alaskan Alliance
Matrimony Meltdown
Soul Surrender
Heavenly Honeymoon
Hopscotch Homicide
Santa Sleuth
Shamrock Shenanigans
Kitten Kaboodle
Costume Catastrophe
Candy Cane Caper
Holiday Hangover
Easter Escapade
Camp Carter
Trick or Treason
Reindeer Roundup
Hippity Hoppity Homicide
Firework Fiasco
Henderson House – August 2018
Zimmerman Academy The New Normal
Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook
Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries by Henery Press:
Pumpkins in Paradise
Snowmen in Paradise
Bikinis in Paradise
Christmas in Paradise
Puppies in Paradise
Halloween in Paradise
Treasure in Paradise
Fireworks in Paradise
Beaches in Paradise
Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:
Romeow and Juliet
The Mad Catter
Grimm’s Furry Tail
Much Ado About Felines
Legend of Tabby Hollow
Cat of Christmas Past
The Great Catsby
Count Catula
The Cat of Christmas Present
A Winter’s Tail
The Taming of the Tabby
Frankencat
The Cat of Christmas Future
Farewell to Felines
A Whisker in Time – September 2018
The Catsgiving Feast – November 2018
Writers’ Retreat Mystery:
First Case
Second Look
Third Strike
Fourth Victim
Fifth Night
Sixth Cabin
Seventh Chapter
Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mystery:
Finding Justice
Finding Answers
Finding Courage - September 2018
Finding Christmas – November 2018
A Tess and Tilly Mystery:
The Christmas Letter
The Valentine Mystery
The Mother’s Day Mishap
The Halloween House
The Thanksgiving Trip – October 2018
Haunting by the Sea:
Homecoming by the Sea
Secrets by the Sea
Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery:
Murder at Dolphin Bay
Murder at Sunrise Beach
Murder at the Witching Hour
Murder at Christmas
Murder at Turtle Cove
Murder at Water’s Edge
Murder at Midnight
Seacliff High Mystery:
The Secret
The Curse
The Relic
The Conspiracy
The Grudge
The Shadow
The Haunting
Road to Christmas Romance:
Road to Christmas Past
USA Today best-selling author Kathi Daley lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband Ken. When she isn’t writing, she likes spending time hiking the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home. She has authored more than seventy-five books in eight series, including Zoe Donovan Cozy Mysteries, Whales and Tails Island Mysteries, Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries, Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Series, Writers’ Retreat Southern Seashore Mysteries, Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mysteries, and Seacliff High Teen Mysteries. Find out more about her books at www.kathidaley.com
Stay up-to-date:
Newsletter, The Daley Weekly – http://eepurl.com/NRPDf
Webpage – www.kathidaley.com
Facebook at Kathi Daley Books – www.facebook.com/kathidaleybooks
Kathi Daley Books Group Page – https://www.facebook.com/groups/569578823146850/
E-mail – kathidaley@kathidaley.com
Twitter at Kathi Daley@kathidaley – https://twitter.com/kathidaley
Amazon Author Page –https://www.amazon.com/author/kathidaley
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kathi-daley
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