HELL'S HALF ACRE a gripping murder mystery full of twists (Coffin Cove Mysteries Book 2) by JACKIE ELLIOTT (classic literature books .txt) 📗

She had a good wage from her job, but Lee knew she squirrelled that money away. In the last year, Nadine had run up his credit card bills and emptied the savings account. She’d spent money on her breasts, her belly dancing outfits and trips to Seattle with her dance troop, and even put a deposit on a brand-new car.

It was getting too much to bear. Maybe Nadine had been right. It was insane to live at Hell’s Half Acre. Lee wasn’t superstitious, but it felt like his life was cursed.

He looked at himself in the mirror. Where had that energetic young man gone? What was left for him now? Katie, he reminded himself. How could he think his life was cursed when he had Katie? He was so happy to have his daughter back, and he was proud of her new job but worried she had returned just for him.

Thinking of Katie always made him smile. He loved working at the museum with her. She was full of creative ideas for the old building, and already he was looking forward to the grand opening. It would do Katie good to be in the spotlight for once.

The sound of a car leaving the driveway reminded him that Nadine wouldn’t enjoy any attention being showered on Katie. She’d never had time for her daughter. Now Katie was home and all grown up, he’d noticed Nadine staring at her daughter with a weird expression on her face. Was she jealous? What kind of mother is jealous of their own kid?

He dried off his face with a towel and went into the bedroom. Nadine had left clothes strewn on the floor and the bed unmade. Lee tidied around and pulled the bedclothes straight before hunting around for a clean shirt. Nadine was making a point of not doing any housework since he’d fired the expensive housekeeper in an effort to keep his bank account in the black.

Giving up his search, he pulled on the least grubby T-shirt he could find and gathered up all the dirty clothes to fill the washing machine. He’d have to talk to Katie. Maybe she could help out. He knew she wouldn’t mind. For a second, he had a vision of himself and his daughter in their own place.

“What the hell?” he said out loud. What was wrong with him? Katie deserved her own life. Shaking his head at his own selfishness, Lee grabbed up more dirty laundry for the washer and left the bedroom.

Lee turned on the machine and listened to the gushing water. He didn’t feel like working today. He had things left to do at the museum, and he wondered for a second if, afterwards, he and Katie could take the afternoon off and go on a road trip somewhere, like they did when she was a kid. He used to take her with him when he had work in different parts of the island. He wanted her to see a world outside of Coffin Cove. He wanted her to escape someday. Like he dreamed of doing.

His mind wandered back to those days. He had never wanted to be an electrician like his dad. He wanted to get off the island and go to Alberta. Work in the oilfields, maybe. Leave like Wayne had. Why hadn’t he done that? There had been a chance, but then there was Nadine smiling at him, wanting a pretty wedding dress and a diamond ring, taking his breath away.

He sighed. How things had changed.

Lee turned to leave the laundry room. He caught sight of a sparkly ribbon caught in the closet door. It looked like a Christmas decoration. Lee pulled the door open to get a closer look.

“Damn you, Nadine,” he shouted.

Hanging in the closet was Nadine’s brand new belly dancing outfit. She hadn’t bothered to remove the price tag.

Just about a month’s income. The dress glittered at him and Lee felt like ripping it to shreds with a knife. Didn’t Nadine care about anyone except herself?

Lee knew the answer to that. He couldn’t go on like this. It had to end.

Chapter Six

Jade Thompson looked out of her office window, the only one in the building facing the ocean. She felt her spirits lift. Warmer, brighter weather was on its way. The sun felt warm through the office window, and Jade stood there for a moment, enjoying the peace of the early morning.

Jade allowed herself some optimism. It might be a new beginning for Coffin Cove. At last. So far, legal struggles and tough financial negotiations had overshadowed her tenure as the new mayor of Coffin Cove. But it had been worth it.

Coffin Cove had been in an economic mess for as long as Jade could remember. The heady days of the fishing and forestry booms were long over. Coffin Cove had squandered every penny, it seemed, with nothing left for a rainy day, and no means of raising any more cash from the struggling residents and business owners — those few who remained, anyway.

Jade wondered, not for the first time, what on earth she had been thinking when she announced her candidacy for mayor.

It had been a difficult few months.

Fired up with determination, Jade had worked hard at her campaign. She knocked on every door in Coffin Cove, handed out leaflets, pledged to do her very best and smiled winningly at sceptical voters. She promised she would reinvent the town, attracting tourists and developers, and most importantly, jobs. She reassured the community there would be an end to the shady backhanders and dodgy deals rumoured to be the “business model” of the incumbent mayor and his inner circle. People at least listened, and at the end of the campaign Jade was hopeful of the outcome and certain she could not have done any more. But despite her hard work, she was as astounded as both her