Sunny Side Up (Lake Erie Mysteries Book 1) by Maureen K. Howard Page B

trip back to the marina discussing and deciding on the important matters of what to wear and what to eat.
    “See you tonight. Thanks for everything!” June hopped off the boat and high-tailed it back to her houseboat as soon as we pulled into our dock slip.
    Some of our friends were socializing on the dock already, drinking coffee, taking advantage of the nice weather, and getting caught up with all the latest news. June got right in the middle of a debate over whether the monthly yacht club parties should be potlucks or catered. I really wasn’t in the mood to get into that conversation.
    Hamm secured the boat and then went right down below to take a much-needed shower. I didn’t mention it to him, but I was thankful he was finally getting the lingering smell of smoke out of his hair. I felt like laying low for a bit and mulling over some of the strange things that had happened the day before. I turned on the cabin TV and tuned in to the local news channel for the sake of background noise while I made a list of ingredients I would need to put together a nice Mediterranean pasta salad for tonight. I had everything except cherry tomatoes back at the condo, and I could get those at the Beacon Pointe Market.
    Just then I remembered what was niggling at the back of my mind. I put on my glasses so I could accurately read the series of letters and numbers I had jotted down the night before.
    “Hello, this is Francesca Egge. I need to speak to Detective Morgan, please.” While I was on hold with the police station, I went over the details June and I had uncovered about the minnow bandits last night.
    “Morgan here. How can I help you?”
    “Hello, Detective. I have some information you may find useful…”
    After my conversation with the detective, I felt much better, but I still had so many questions I wanted to ask Hamm.
    As if on cue, he came out of the bathroom, smelling like Irish Spring with a hint of my herbal shampoo. A mischievous smile spread across my face as I reached for the towel around his waist. “Hey, good looking! I have an idea of what to have for breakfast.” Suddenly, I forgot everything I was going to ask him.
    After I showered and dressed in white shorts and a pink T-shirt, I dried my hair with a towel and headed for the coffee pot to brew a second pot so we could have a do-over of our early morning routine. Hamm was finally feeling relaxed and had gone out to the cockpit to wait for me.
    While I stood at the counter, waiting for the world’s slowest coffee pot to finish its job, I straightened up the cabin, made the bed, wiped down the counters, and washed the glasses from last night. I started feeling kind of bad again that June had paid for a room on the island and wasn’t using it until I remembered again that her boss had footed the bill. Still, it would have been nice for her to spend the night in a clean, cozy bed and breakfast and wake up ready to enjoy the Memorial Day festivities on the island. For that matter, it would have been nice for Hamm and I to be there as well. Oh well, we were definitely making the best of the situation. The coffee still wasn’t quite ready, so I attempted to tame my unruly hair and apply a little color to my face.
    Just as I was swiping on the last bit of mascara, I heard the first notes of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” chirping on my cell phone. I managed to grab the phone and silence the ring before the chorus finished. It was the ring tone I had assigned to June, and I was fairly certain that it would be an unwelcome interruption to Hamm’s emerging relaxed state of mind.
    “Hang on a second, June. I’ll be right back.”
    I poured Hamm a cup of coffee, brought it out to him and informed him, “I’ll be right back, dear.”
    Back in the cabin, I grabbed my phone again.
    “Hey, what’s up?”
    I could barely make out what she was frantically whispering over the line. It sounded like she was in a wind tunnel.
    “What’s going on? Speak up. I can