Berried, page 1
part #6 of Charlie Cooper Mystery Series
Berried
by
Deany Ray
Copyright © 2020 Deany Ray
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real names, characters, places, events and incidents is purely coincidental.
No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise without prior consent from the author.
Before You Start…
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CONTENTS
Before You Start…
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Bonus Christmas Short Story:
Jingled
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
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Chapter One
Blessed with a rare day of October sunshine, I’d hoped to finish my book while I sat out by Lake Glun. I was just about to find out if the sad clown had been offed by his jealous ex, by the slightly demented elephant handler perhaps, or by the mysterious woman in maroon. With just thirty delicious pages left, I had no idea who the killer was. And I was an expert—a somewhat professional investigator who had a perfect record against the bad guys that I chased.
Celeste had also voted on a lazy afternoon with a cooler full of beer and our toes stuck in the emerald-green warm water.
But then there was Marge who always brought the crazy to any day out with the girls.
That was why the three of us were about to parasail over the lake, just outside of Springston. I don’t know how she came up with this idea. I’d watched other people do this parasailing stuff, flying behind a boat like some kind of human kite. I’d not been tempted once.
Guess the book would have to wait. So did the beers Celeste had in mind.
“We’re supposed to be relaxing,” I whispered nervously to my friends as we sped off in a small boat toward the point where Marge’s next great idea would get underway. Our driver and our guide wore bright green shirts that said, Life is Better in the Sky.
Lake Glun had seemed the perfect place to chill between a whirlwind vacation to Las Vegas and our next assignment. Celeste, Marge, and I were the C, the M, and the all-important but slightly clumsy other C in CMC Services. The name was meant to be just as vague as it sounded, but we were, in fact, undercover investigators.
The next day we were set to meet at noon with Bert, the police chief in our town of Springston. He was also, most importantly, the ex-husband of Celeste. The police-chief part meant that he potentially had work for undercover gals like us. The ex-husband part meant that he’d hire us when he could. There was something (seemingly scandalous!) that Celeste knew about the chief that made him want to keep her happy. So far, she hadn’t told a soul—not even her best friends.
Celeste was good at keeping secrets. That was a great quality in a best friend when I had something to confide. It was not so good, however, when I was dying to find out what was up with her ex-husband. We didn’t have a hint about what kind of assignment the chief had in mind for us. Like so much in my life, it would be a big surprise.
I tried to just enjoy the feel of the cool wind in my hair and the fact that things were going well for me. My recent thirtieth-birthday trip to Vegas with the girls had included surprise appearances by my parents as well as by some jewel thieves—whose elaborate game of fraud was brought to a dramatic end by yours truly and her friends. That did not leave much time to play in Vegas, but the last night of the vacation had more than made up for the rocky start. That’s because the other surprise guest to show up at our hotel was Alex, with his sleepy, boyish smile and his strong, muscled arms.
Before the trip to Vegas, Springston’s finest-looking cop had been sending me mixed signals. I didn’t know if he was interested or if he saw me as a nuisance when we’d inevitably end up on the same case. That confusion, however, came to an end on my vacation. On top of Vegas’s version of the Eiffel Tower, with twinkling lights spread out below us, he’d pressed his lips to mine in a way that left no doubt about how he really felt. It was the perfect way for a girl to turn thirty. Since then, we’ve had dinners, lunches, and movie dates, and I’m always counting down the days (or hours) until I can be with him again.
Now, as I rubbed suntan lotion onto my leg, I reflected on the fact that I hadn’t yet told my mother about this new relationship. Once the word was out, it would take her less than an hour, I imagined, to book a photographer, band, and reception hall along with printing out six pictures of absolutely stunning wedding dresses.
A middle-aged couple sat across from us. They were the only other adventurers on the small boat with the Sky-High Guys logo on the side.
“Have you done this before?” the woman called out over the noise of the wind and motor. She held tightly to the man’s hand, looking slightly nervous.
“We have not,” Marge said. “But we’re so excited!”
Speak for yourself, I thought. My job assignments had been known to scare me half to death, so it seemed unfair that here I was, slightly terrified when it was my day off.
“My friend here signed us up for this adventure,” I told the woman, pointing at Marge, and trying to look braver and happier than I felt. “My brothers and I came here to water ski when we were younger, but this is something new.” My brothers, in fact, would be very jealous.
“Here, you missed a spot.” Celeste rubbed some lotion into the back of my neck, then she put some more on the back of my arms as well. “Even in the fall,” she said, “we women must take good care of our skin.”
There was a lot of skin to cover, but at least this swimsuit was my normal-sized bikini and not the extra-tiny one I’d been stuck with on vacation in Las Vegas. I’d left mine at home and was forced to buy the only one for sale in my size at the hotel. If it had been any smaller, it would have been invisible. Remembering my humiliation, I glanced at my friends. Marge was rocking a bright yellow bikini while Celeste had on a tasteful navy one-piece.
The boat began to slow, which meant the time was drawing near. Blazing balls of butterscotch! A cold wave of dread rushed through my chest. I was not one of those private eyes who was skilled in running at top speeds and leaping over obstacles in the pursuit of suspects. I was more comfortable on the ground, preferably sitting down, with perhaps a cookie in my hand. Why on earth had I agreed to go flying up in the air behind a boat? The next time Marge’s lips, colored so carefully in candy pink, began to form a question, I would absolutely tell her no before she even asked.
The man sitting across from me gave us a thumbs-up. “My wife and I have decided we’ll try something new each year,” he told us proudly.
“Awesome!” Marge smiled.
“Next year is bungee jumping,” the woman volunteered.
“I wish Marge hadn’t heard that,” Celeste told me in a low voice.
“That’s on our list as well,” Marge said.
Celeste glanced at me with her eyebrow raised.
I looked her in the eye. “Let’s practice saying it together. No, Marge, we will not.”
The guide made his way back toward us when the boat came to a stop. “Is everyone excited?” he asked with a friendly smile.
Does feeling queasy count?
Marge and the couple said they were. Celeste looked down at her long, manicured nails and smiled politely. I concentrated on taking one deep breath at a time.
“You’re going to absolutely love it,” he said. According to his name tag, our guide to terror on the waterways went by the name of Aldo. “Now, one thing that makes this sport fun is that you’ll be going up in pairs,” he said, “but since there are five of you, one of you will go solo.” He smiled. “It’s an adventure either way.”
Since the couple was paired up already, that meant one of us would be going up alone.
“Rock, paper, scissors!” Marge cried out. She seemed excited by the prospect as if the little hand game were just another part of the adventure on the lake. “Ready, set, go!” she said.
I was scissors, which sounded nice and sharp, the most weapon-like of the choices.
Marge and Celeste put their fists out to show their choice was rock. I knew that rock crushed scissors, which meant I’d be going up alone.
Great. It couldn’t get any better.
When Aldo asked who wanted to go first, the couple said they’d love to if we didn’t mind.
“Not at all,” Celeste said.
Aldo explained the basics about how to fly through the air on a parachute-like contraption while the boat pulls you along. I glanced over at the rope; I hoped it was a strong one.
“How did someone c ome up with the idea for this sport in the first place?” I quietly asked Celeste.
“I imagine it was dreamed up on some boat ride after one too many scotch and sodas.” Celeste smoothed back her red hair, which she’d tamed into a tight bun for this escapade. “I’m sure we will be just fine,” she said. “I’m sure there are many safety measures these guys have in place.”
I didn’t share her sense of confidence as I watched Aldo the Guide help the couple into their life jackets and a harness with straps around their upper legs and lower backs. He fastened them in securely.
“Is there a brake on this thing?” the woman asked, her eyes growing wide.
Aldo smiled. “We’ll be controlling your ride from the boat. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy.”
Easy for him to be excited, I thought to myself. He got to stay here in the boat!
“The view from up there is amazing!” the driver added, looking back at us and smiling.
“I hope I’ll be able to open my eyes long enough to see it,” I said to Celeste.
Aldo pointed to a spot on the side of the boat that looked like a start and landing place. The couple made their way there. Aldo explained to the couple what would happen as the ride began. “Bend your knees like this,” he said, demonstrating. “As we’re starting the boat again, the parachute will pull you back. Your feet and legs will probably dip into the water, then you’ll feel yourselves being pulled up into the air. All of this is gonna happen in just seconds. Then you’ll be on your way.”
After the couple assured Aldo they were ready, the driver started up the boat. As promised, the man and woman were airborne right away, grinning and waving at us as they got smaller.
Okay, they look pretty pleased. The rope seems to hold them. None of them threw up. I began to feel a little better about Marge’s big idea.
After about twenty minutes, Aldo announced it was Celeste and Marge’s turn. He began to bring the couple back toward the boat by using the parasailing winch, and soon they were being helped out of the harness. They looked invigorated.
“That felt amazing,” the woman gushed. “You girls are going to love it.”
“Now I’m jealous.” The husband laughed. “You three will be up there in the wild blue yonder, and my turn went too fast.”
The woman put her arm around her husband’s waist. “If I’d know it was this much fun,” she said, “I would have gone parasailing a long, long time ago.”
Marge high-fived them both and led Celeste toward the spot where Aldo was waiting with the equipment.
“I can’t wait!” Marge said. She began to do a little dance and made up a rap song on the spot. Aldo the Guide was looking at her as if asking, “Is she for real?”
Celeste put a hand on Marge’s shoulder. “Please,” she said wearily, “tone it down a little, or it’s going to be a long ride.”
I got my cell phone ready to videotape the ride. Aldo helped them get strapped in, gave a few last instructions, and then they were off. Like the couple before them, their feet dipped into the water for only a second and as the boat sped off, they drifted into the air. It did look like such a rush. From way up there, Marge waved wildly at us, grinning and dancing in her seat. There were quite a lot of whoo-hoo-hoos coming from the sky.
“Your friend is a lot of fun,” Aldo said beside me.
“That’s one way to put it.” I pointed my cell at the waving Marge. “She does have a lot of great ideas even though they don’t always seem so great when she first explains them.” That was the thing with Marge. A lot of times I ended up absolutely loving whatever crazy thing she talked me into doing. Every friend group needs a brave one, or life would get boring quick.
I glanced up at my friends and smiled. Although they looked like two small persons in the sky, I could make out their waves and facial expressions. Celeste looked mortified by Marge, but I could tell she was also mesmerized by her ride in the sky.
Before I knew it, they were back. They both landed on the designated spot like pros. Knowing my luck, I’ll crash right into the boat on top of the others.
As Aldo helped them out of the harness and onto the boat, Marge held two fists up in the air as a sign of victory. Celeste touched one hand to her ear. “I think I lost some of my hearing up there,” she said with a frown.
“You should have picked scissors,” I said. Alone wouldn’t be a bad way to take a ride up in the clouds, I decided.
Aldo called me forward.
“Have a blast,” Marge said. “I want to hear some whoo-hoo-hoos coming from the sky.”
“I’ll give it my best,” I said.
Celeste put one hand on my shoulder. “You’d better let me keep your glasses.”
“Right.” I took them off. “That would be a nightmare if they fell into the water.” If I didn’t have my glasses, I kind of saw the world up close as a moving blur of color and familiar shapes—not ideal for fighting crime. Since there are no nearby objects up there in the sky, I should be good without the glasses.
As I approached the designated starting spot, Aldo smiled at me. “Things might go a little differently for you since you’re parasailing by yourself,” he said. “Since you won’t have the weight of an extra person, you might splash all the way into the water.”
“Excuse me?” I said, eyes growing big.
He waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry, it’s only for a second. Trust me, you almost won’t even feel it because of the excitement.”
“You can do it, Charlie,” Marge squealed from the boat.
I gulped. Damn that rock-paper-scissors game. I wondered how cold that water was, but it was too late now to back out and not come off as a chicken. It was what it was.
Aldo continued with his spiel. “Before you know it, you’ll be airborne.” He winked. “I bet you’ll all be back to give this another go. Hardly anybody goes up only once and stops. It’s just too much fun.” He fastened the harness on me.
I looked down. With the life jacket and the straps around my legs, I felt safe and protected. This would be okay. As instructed, I bent my knees and waited for the engine to start back up again. Marge was grinning at me while Celeste stood with her cell phone ready to record my flight.
The driver glanced at Aldo, then Aldo looked at me. I nodded to signal I was ready. Then Aldo gave the sign, and we were off. My heart was racing as I felt myself being pulled backward with a force and then down into the water. I was pulled back up to the surface and up into the sky. I only realized later on that Aldo was right. I almost don’t remember dipping all the way into the water.
It was amazing. I was flying. Thank you, Marge, I thought. What a rush this was. Everyone should try this. I didn’t even care that my hair was whipping in my face and that water from the lake was still dripping from my eyes and into my mouth.
This was absolutely awesome, my best day ever on the lake. I felt like I was floating, and the lake below me seemed to stretch on forever as did the buildings and the roadways all around it.
I grinned and waved down at the others. I sure hoped Celeste was filming away. I intended to show this to my brothers. They’d be green with envy.
However, no one from the boat was waving back at me as I expected. Instead of smiling, they looked kind of startled. Celeste was no longer filming. The woman from the boat held her hand over her mouth, and I could make out her stunned look. Her husband didn’t even look up. Actually, he was looking down at the floor of the boat as if he were embarrassed.
Okay, apparently, I needed to correct my long sight too.
I was sure everything was fine, and I was just imagining things.
Chapter Two
It changes something in a person to sit high above the world, looking down on toy-sized people in their tiny boats and microscopic cars in the distance. I could see small islands and even an itty-bitty Springston. Hello, Mom. Look at me. I felt myself relax as the white light from the sun painted ever-changing pictures on the surface of the lake.
It was over all too soon. I could feel myself being pulled back to the boat. People on Jet Skis and inner tubes looked up to stare as I got lower and closer to the water. All eyes seemed to be on me as people smiled and pointed. One guy even whistled. For once, I didn’t care about being the center of attention. It felt kind of good. I gave Marge one of the whoo-hoo-hoos she was so eager for. I punched my fist up in the air and grinned as I got closer to the boat.
