Janine Marie - Rigging a Murder 01 - The Single Shoe Mystery by Janine Marie Page A

all about,” said Tiffany in her sweet singsong voice. She had changed from her work clothes into yachting haute couture, and looked like an add for Nautica. With his short-cropped brown hair and football physique, Cody matched her perfectly. He smiled at her and looked over at me. So did the rest of the group. Clearly they had been speculating in my absence.
    Steph pored me a margarita from the pitcher. “Really, Janeva. How does your path keep crossing with Catherine’s in such a dramatic way?”
    “I know,” I said, looking around. “I keep expecting her to pop up.” Everyone laughed. I continued, “As long as you all promise to keep this to yourselves. I know it will all come out anyway, but I’d rather it didn’t come from me.” I then gave a detailed description of my morning. Everyone was incredulous about the stabbing.
    “What’s the world coming to—stabbings, murders—I’m moving!” pronounced Kevin. We all laughed at him, because it was a typical Kevin response.
    “Let’s order dinner then I’ll tell you the rest,” I continued.
    “There’s more?!” exclaimed Steph.
    “Yes, but you’ll have to wait until I check on Katie. She must be having a good time or she would have joined us by now. But if she doesn’t eat she will raid the fridge when we get back to the boat and we won’t have any snacks for the weekend.” Looking at Thomas, I asked him to order me the crispy Thai chicken salad and went downstairs to the games room, where Katie was having a great time playing ping pong with a group of other Yacht Club kids.
    I ordered a burger and fries for her…I would have preferred something healthier, but it was what all the other kids were eating, so I vowed (to myself) to feed her lots of salad and veggies for the rest of the weekend. I was just coming around the corner from the stairway when I heard Catherine’s now familiar voice.
    I stopped and waited to see if Catherine was heading upstairs. She was…. Perhaps if I walked slowly enough, she wouldn’t see me. I followed her at a distance and was relieved to see that she didn’t head out to the deck but to a far corner of the lounge. Arriving at our table, I wasn’t surprised to see that Tiffany and Cody had left, but I was disappointed to see that Trent and Wiffy Braise-Bottom the Third had taken their spots. I realized that I would have to wait to tell the group the rest of the story about Lorenzo’s company’s financial problems, sale of the Atlantis, and its return from Canada this weekend. The group was in mid-discussion about one of the Yacht Club outstations. Apparently it needed new docks, and this was causing a great deal of debate about what type they should be—wood or concrete. Finally the food arrived, and more margaritas, and after a pleasant evening we headed back to the boat.
    “Someone has been going through our stuff!” I said, as I opened my hanging locker to take out my pajamas. We had closed up the boat when we went up to the clubhouse for dinner but hadn’t locked it, as was our custom. The Yacht Club marina is secure and only members can access it.
    “What are you talking about?” Thomas replied grumpily.
    “Look: my shoes have been moved and the stuff in my bag has been moved,” I said, looking around. “How about your stuff?” I asked him.
    “Looks fine to me. You’re imagining things,…I’m tired,” was his response as he climbed into bed.
    It looked to me like his clothes had been rifled and his shoes moved around, but this was because they looked neater than usual. Normally Thomas just tossed his shoes into the closet, but now they looked like they were in pairs. But this was inconclusive, so I did a check of the boat. Katie was in her head (or bathroom), and our head looked as usual.
    The galley was tidy and everything was stowed away, ready for breakfast in the morning. The salon or living room looked the same at first glance, but as I studied it, waiting for Katie, I realized that the