MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1) by Rayna Morgan Page A

hostess embraced in a hug with a tall,
blond man wearing khakis and a white button-down shirt. She reached to touch
Paul's arm, nodding toward the entrance. "Tom's here."
    The Detective strode through the room with his usual air of
calm authority, scoring attention from the waitresses with the kind of good
looks that stop people in their tracks. Muscles rippled across every part of
his well-toned physique but Lea knew he took care of his body more for his job
than from a sense of vanity. Nodding and smiling at people along the way, he
exuded coolness and quiet self-possession.
    Lea waved to get his attention. "It's no wonder he's
considered the second most eligible bachelor in town."
    "With the passing of Neal Henderson, he's probably
been elevated to the top spot now," Paul pointed out.
    Lea winced. "Don't remind him. You know how he hates
any kind of public attention."
    Paul raised his mug in a salute as his friend eased his
lanky frame onto one of four tall bar stools. "Hey, buddy; just in time.
We're getting ready to order a couple of buckets of fish."
    "Sounds great. I'm hungry enough to eat a horse."
    "In that case," Lea laughed, "we'll double
the order."
    "Bring me a beer, please, Sue," Tom told the
waitress who approached their table. "No, go ahead and make it two."
    They were discussing softball league standings and the
latest fires in the northern part of the state when Lea stood abruptly, waving
her arm above her head. "Look who's at the front desk."
    Paul and Tom swiveled their chairs to watch Maddy handing a
stack of posters to the restaurant manager. Looking casually around the room,
Maddy noted Lea's frantic waving and headed in their direction.
    She floated across the room, swaying her hips like a runway
model. With a voluptuous figure and legs which seemed to go on forever, she
attracted her own share of attention. She plopped onto the remaining bar stool
Lea held out for her.
    "Look who the cat dragged in," Paul commented,
staring daggers at his wife.
    "Hey, Maddy, how's everything?" Tom leaned over
to give her a peck on the cheek.
    "Great, Tom, how's yourself?"
    "You know my job. I'm either throwing swish balls at
the basketball hoop in my office going stir crazy, or I'm buried, no pun
intended, in dead bodies and burglaries like I am now."
    "The whole town's talking, Tom. Making any
progress?" Lea let the question slip out casually. Squirming uncomfortably
under her husband's heated glare, she refused to meet his gaze turning her
attention to the beer Sue poured in front of her.
    "Actually, there has been a development. As likely as
it seemed initially, we're reasonably certain now the burglaries and the murder
weren't committed by the same person or persons. There may be a connection
between the two acts, but there's more than one perpetrator."
    Paul took a hot roll from the
basket Sue placed on their table. "I'm surprised. How can you be
sure?"
    "We got plenty of fingerprints from the van. You'd
think they would have worn gloves, but it's not the first time I've given
burglars more credit for smarts than they deserve."
    Tom leaned back in his chair, savoring the buttered roll he
popped in his mouth. "The body was a different matter entirely. No prints
anywhere. Considering the carelessness in dealing with the van, there should
have been. Plus, the footprints didn't match. We discerned three different sets
of footprints around the van and leading to a spot approximately three feet
from the body. Footprints near the body had been hastily covered with sand but
the partial print remaining told us there was a fourth person."
    Paul raised his empty bottle, gesturing to Sue to bring
another round of beers to the table. "Were you able to trace the
fingerprints found in the van?"
    "Oh, yeah. We've put out an APB for the suspects.
They're local Hispanics."
    Paul's heart skipped a beat waiting for Tom to continue.
"Three brothers, the oldest released from prison recently. He was sent up
on similar charges. Guess he