Marty Ambrose - Mango Bay 03 - Murder in the Mangroves by Marty Ambrose Read Free Book Online

“You’re like some kind of magnet for bad events”
    “Just call me Mishap Mallie,” I quipped. “It must rub off
from working at the Observer with one crazy boss after another.”
    Nora gave me a rueful smile, then turned serious again as
she asked Aunt Lily, “How’s Mama Maria taking it?”
    “Not well,” Aunt Lily said.
    “Please let her know how sorry I am about her daughter. I
know some island folk didn’t like Gina, but she was always
nice to me and Pete”
    My attention spiked. “Who didn’t like her?”
    Patsy brought our burgers and iced teas, suspending the conversation for a few minutes.
    “Well … maybe I shouldn’t say this,” Nora began, “but her
prospective in-laws for starters-Bryan and Trish Palmer. They
never accepted Gina’s engagement last year to their son, Brett.
If you ask me, those people are too stuck-up for their own good” Josh’s whimpering continued, and Nora adjusted his
pacifier. “Their daughter, Brandi, pretended to be Gina’s friend,
but-“

    “Brandi is Brett’s sister?” I cut in, surprised.
    Nora nodded. “But she’s nothing like him. If looks could’ve
killed a couple of nights ago, she would’ve struck Gina dead
to get the Mango Queen title.”
    “Really?” I thought I’d detected a vibe!
    Nora rolled her eyes. “Absolutely. You have no idea how
important Mango Queen is on Coral Island-it’s like the
highest honor, and the contestants are very cutthroat. Women
campaign all year to win the title. Usually it’s someone from
the old families-the ones who originally homesteaded on the
island-“
    “And Gina was an upstart?” I finished for her.
    “Not in that kind of way. Her family has been on the island
since the turn of the century-but from the wrong side of the
tracks. Her grandfather was a migrant worker.”
    Aunt Lily gave an exclamation of disgust. “I can’t believe
that people think like that in this day and age. It’s positively
medieval.”
    “I’m not saying I agree,” Nora continued. “Heck, I grew up
poor, and we’re not exactly on the Coral Island social list right
now. But I understand how some folks can get all revved up
about feeling important. If it meant that much to Gina to be
Mango Queen, as far as I’m concerned, she was welcome to it.”
    “Now the title will go to Brandi,” I mused aloud.
    “Ain’t that just convenient as all get-out?” Nora pursed her
mouth. “Was there something … fishy about her death?”
    I hesitated. “Not so far.”
    “Which means you’re suspicious.” Nora opened her mouth
to continue, but Josh decided to make his presence known by
spitting out the pacifier and wailing at the top of his lungs. “Sorry, gals, it’s time for his feeding. Let me know if you find
out anything else about Gina’s death. And please tell Mama
Maria I’m thinking about her if you see her.”

    “I will.” Aunt Lily gave a quick nod.
    I waited until Nora had exited before I turned to my greataunt. “Okay, is that why you think Gina was murdered? Because she had a bunch of snooty future in-laws who didn’t
like her?”
    “Sort of.” Her lined face suddenly sagged with every one
of her seventy-five years. “Gina refused to accept that she was
supposed to be a second-class citizen on the island because
her family came from migrant workers. That earned her some
enemies…
    “But everyone goes to Mama Maria’s-it’s a landmark.
Why would people treat her daughter like dirt?”
    “Oh, sure, they’ll go to Maria’s restaurant, eat her food, and
enjoy her hospitality. But when it comes to her daughter
breaking into the ranks of Coral Island society, that’s another
matter. Gina ran a successful interior-design company, was
engaged to the island’s most eligible bachelor, and made
Mango Queen. Her very success was a kick in the face to island snobs”
    “Still, that doesn’t mean someone killed her.”
    “Then how do you explain a young woman, in the