Death With An Ocean View (A Kate Kennedy Mystery Book 1) by Noreen Wald Page B

fallen asleep near the door. She couldn’t get that check out of her mind, convinced that a clue, if not connected to the two hundred thousand dollars, then to some other evidence, was in Stella Sajak’s folder. Her strong hunch wouldn’t let go…what time was it anyway? As if in answer to her silent question, the grandfather clock in the living room—inherited from Charlie’s aunt—chimed. Eleven p.m. Too late to call Nancy? Probably, Kate thought, heading straight to the phone.
    After looking up Nancy Cooper in the condo directory, Kate dialed and got her answering machine. Could the woman still be at work, writing those two articles? Only this morning—though it seemed like a lifetime ago—Kate had jotted down Nancy’s office number on the pad next to the telephone.
    Nancy picked up on the first ring. “Where are you? I’ve been waiting—“
    “Nancy, it’s Kate Kennedy.”
    “Damn, I’m too busy to talk…” Curt. Angry. And something more. Wary? Nervous?
    “But—”
    “Just a second, Kate.” Nancy’s voice was muffled. “Who’s there? Joe?”
    Kate strained to listen. Had Nancy said Joel or Yol or Ohl ?
    “What are you doing here?” Now Nancy’s voice came through loud and clear. She sounded terrified.
    A loud, sharp noise, sounding very much like a gunshot, exploded in Kate’s ear. Then someone hung up the phone.
    Fumbling, frightened beyond reason, Kate scrambled for and found Detective Carbone’s number. He wasn’t there. In a trembling voice, she left a message then, bordering on hysteria, dialed 911. Frustrated when no one answered, she left another message, then hung up and called Marlene. No answer there either. Kate dashed out of the apartment. She had to get to the Palmetto Beach Gazette Building. Nancy Cooper might still be alive.
    As she turned onto the bridge, Kate prayed to Saint Jude and to Charlie, two men that she’d long relied on for help with impossible causes, hoping for the best, but preparing for another body.
    Who had walked into Nancy’s office? Apparently, not the visitor she’d been expecting.
    And where was Marlene when Kate needed her?
    Kate glanced north toward David Fry’s. Spotlights on the lawn illuminated the yellow exterior and inside lights blazed, seemingly from every nook and cranny. On the dock behind the mansion, huge lanterns made the yacht and the water gleam. Was the master at home? Or had he lit the place up like a Christmas tree to give that impression?
    Most of the people on the island side of Palmetto Beach went to bed early, and even the few night owls seldom ventured across to the mainland after ten p.m. Except for Kate’s, there were no cars on Neptune Boulevard. She hit the gas.
    Turning right onto Federal Highway, she merged into light northbound traffic, passing by the police station. Two patrol cars were in the parking lot; otherwise, all seemed quiet. Had no one listened to her 911 message?
    The Gazette Building’s parking lot dark, gloomy, and almost empty, made Kate hesitate, but as Charlie always said, adrenaline fuels fools. She opened her car door, stepped out and started briskly around to the front of the building. Not a sign of life.
    The palm trees swayed in a gentle wind. She jumped as their soft rustling sounds seemed to follow in her footsteps. With a pounding heart—her pulse rate had to be at its all-time high—Kate forced herself forward.
    A dry crackling sound came from behind. Oh God. Something…no, someone had stepped on a fallen leaf. She glanced over her shoulder. A dark shadow loomed. Screaming, she stumbled, then spun around and ran for the front door.
    Panting, panicked, Kate tried the doorknob. Her sweaty palm made it slippery going. Could it be locked? God, had all the other employees gone home? Shouldn’t a newspaper in the process of going to press be open? She caught a whiff of something smoky. Though it had been decades ago on a firing range with Charlie, she hadn’t forgotten the smell of a recently