Murder at the Mayan Temple (A Starling and Swift Cozy Mystery Book One) Read online

  Murder

  At The

  Mayan Temple

  All rights reserved. © 2017 by M. J. Mandrake Mysteries

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

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  M. J. Mandrake Starling and Swift Mysteries fb.me/mjmandrake

  Murder at the Mayan Temple, Book One

  Death on the Wind, Book Two (October 2017)

  Danger at the Dive Shop, Book Three (October 2017)

  Chaos in Cuba, Book Four (November 2017)

  Sabotage in Solitude Bay, Book Five (December 2017)

  A Scandal in Spain, Book Six (January 2018)

  Nightmare Under the Northern Lights, Book Seven (March 2018)

  Terror at the Turtle Sanctuary, Book Eight (April 2018)

  Death in Dubrovnik, Book Nine (May 2018)

  Ruin on the Rhine, Book Ten (June 2018

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Dear reader,

  Recipes

  BIOGRAPHY

  Chapter One

  “Nobody owns life, but anyone who can pick up a frying pan owns death.”

  ― William S. Burroughs

  “Do you always play Bingo with such pasión?”

  Kitty Swift briefly debated whether to pretend to be asleep. She’d given up reading her leather-bound copy of ‘Great Expectations’ long before, and it rested lightly on her chest. If she hadn’t been raised to be polite, she might have waved him away with a flick of the wrist. She sighed inwardly. It was better to get these kinds of conversations over with when speaking with Jorge, the handsome-but-much-too-suave-for-her activities assistant.

  She cracked an eye. Chica didn’t lift her head from where she slept at her feet, but she fixed Jorge with the same expression. Kitty probably looked groggy, but Chica looked lethal. It was a German Shepherd thing.

  “It’s my understanding that you’re supposed to yell when you get a Bingo,” she said.

  “Sí, but the way you play is…” He scanned the sky for inspiration.

  Kitty knew she should help the poor boy out, but she was momentarily sidetracked by the recurring question of why he was there, sitting next to her, when there was a whole ship full of pretty girls. She wasn’t ugly, but she didn’t look any different than a whole lot of other blue-eyed women with tousled brown hair and a slightly sunburned nose. She was a familiar face after a dozen trips from Miami to Cozumel on the luxury ocean liner, but surely Jorge would prefer someone a little closer to his own age. Not that she was old. Not even middle aged. But Jorge had that sort of blinding exuberance that young people had before they’d really had their hearts broken, either by the cruelty of life in general, or because someone had truly and deliberately screwed them over.

  Of all the things Kitty disliked in a person, it was that unquenchable glow of optimism. It made her feel slightly bitter and washed up. Perhaps she was, but she never noticed until she was faced with some young person dying to drag her into the cruise ship’s dance club, or a handsome young man determined to liven up her life. She was perfectly content with the amount of excitement in her life, and an evening of jiggling around to a thumping techno beat would not change that.

  Plus, Jorge never looked at her dog. People who didn’t at least glance Chica’s way weren’t worthy of real friendship. Really, what kind of person doesn’t acknowledge the large German Shepherd inches from them? You weren’t supposed to pet a service dog, but making eye contact wasn’t forbidden. Kitty wasn’t asking for Jorge to carry dog treats in his pockets. A glance of recognition would do. Too many people simply acted like Chica didn’t exist. She’d like to think it was a sign of a sociopath, but the idea of so many unhinged people walking around was rather unsettling to consider.

  The sun made her limbs feel leaden and she took a long sip of the virgin strawberry margarita beside her. Leaning back on her teak deck chair, she turned her face to the tropical Yucatan breeze. Although there were clouds on the horizon, it hadn’t interfered with the glorious weather. She’d learned the different ocean scents and she knew they would see land within the hour.

  “You just notice me yelling because everybody else signs the word,” she said.

  That wasn’t exactly true. Some of her hearing impaired group signed and yelled. It’s just that she really liked Bingo. She’d never played it before she went on her first cruise as an interpreter. Now she wished she hadn’t spent so many years going to the movies and playing tennis. Bingo had been there all along, just waiting for her to discover the suspense of the chase and the rush of the win. If they had Bingo every hour on the hour, Kitty wondered if she’d have to join some kind of support group, like Alcoholics Anonymous. Lucky for her, the luxury ship’s twice-a-day schedule kept her addiction in check.

  Chica made a noise that had Kitty cracking an eye again. Chica didn’t bark unless she had to, but she did make a sort of fffroofff in her throat when she wanted to bark and knew she shouldn’t.

  Jorge pulled back the hand that had been about to touch Kitty’s arm.

  “You will sit with us tonight at dinner?”

  “Thank you, but no. I’ll be on duty.”

  “Then after. Come dancing with us. You never get to have fun.”

  “They might have something planned,” she said. It was possible. But more likely, she’d be reading, somewhere cozy with Chica asleep at her feet. That was fun. Just not Jorge’s definition of fun.

  He smiled, bright white teeth gleaming against his tan skin. He really was very handsome, in an overly gelled kind of way. Not that she held being well-groomed against him. There was plenty of time on board the ship to be pampered and his job depended on looking professional. Kitty got the impression he was trying too hard, was too eager to show his best side to the world. More of that youthful exuberance. She remembered how it was to spend hours getting ready for parties, worrying about her hair or make up, picking out the perfect outfit, choosing a perfume that might drive a man wild. Those days were long past.

  Chica sat up and turned. The dog took notice when she saw anyone signing, but Chica had an almost otherworldly sense of what was happening―or going to happen―around them. Kitty had learned long ago to pay attention to what Chica found interesting, so she straightened up and rubbed her eyes. A young couple and a golden lab approached them. Mr. and Mrs. McEwen spent much of their time in their large suite, as newlyweds often did. When they emerged, they were always happy.

  That wasn’t the case at the moment. Ashley signed excitedly and her husband, Eric, didn’t respond. His frown was clear even from where Kitty sat. Ashley seemed intent on getting through to Eric, and although he was watching her hands, he was heading in Kitty’s direction with purpose.

  She was officially on break, but unofficially she was always available. She didn’t mind. If she had to spend her day in court, interpreting the details of a bankruptcy or a libel suit, she’d probably be more diligent about drawing boundaries around her free time. As it was, her job didn’t really feel like a job. It was an extended series of vacations, broken up by lon
g weeks at home in Mérida, organizing the stacks of leather volumes in her rare bookstore. A little boring, but there were worse things in the world, as she knew well.

  “Everything okay?” she signed as they came closer.

  Jorge stood up and took a small notepad from his pocket. “Here’s where we’ll be tonight.” Tucking a piece of paper into the back of her book, he made a quick escape.

  “Just ask Kitty,” Ashley signed to her husband.

  Eric stopped in front of her, and glowering, asked, “The hacienda where we’re staying tonight accepts service animals?”

  “Of course,” Kitty said.

  “See? I told you.” Ashley rubbed Billy behind the ears.

  Billy looked like he really wanted to touch noses with Chica but was resisting, as good service dogs did. Chica turned to watch Jorge.

  Eric shrugged, the tension leaving his face. “I’m used to rude surprises.”

  “You worry too much.” Ashley tugged at her husband’s sleeve and smiled up at him, her pretty brown eyes sparkling with love. Eric gave her a soft kiss and they gazed at each other for a moment. Usually Kitty would feel slightly uncomfortable at the display, but in the last three days, she’d decided Ashley was quite possibly the sweetest human being she’d ever encountered. She deserved all the public displays of affection Eric could muster.

  Kitty waited until they had resurfaced. “I understand, but I’ve stayed at this hacienda many times before and they are very familiar with our needs. They’re very accommodating.”

  Ashley smiled. “I can’t wait to see the ruins Mayan.”

  “Mayan ruins,” Kitty corrected her gently. American Sign Language could be quite different than English in several ways. Kitty didn’t usually correct anyone, especially someone as eager to learn as Ashley, but the young woman had begged her to tell her when she had signed something badly. Ashley said she had taken a whole year’s worth of ASL classes before she had the courage to speak to Eric, even though they were in a lot of the same classes. In love from the very moment she’d seen him, apparently, and set out to convince Eric that marrying a hearing girl wasn’t a crazy idea at all. After several months of meeting over coffee, Eric decided to follow his heart and take a chance. His family wasn’t supportive, at first, knowing how hard it was for a hearing person to assimilate to the deaf culture, but Ashley won them over the same way she had Eric: with enthusiasm, hard work, and love. Kitty had lost any romantic notions years ago, but something about their story made her feel a little bit happier about the world.

  “Mayan ruins,” Ashley signed. “Thank you.”

  “We’ll disembark this afternoon, have a short tour at the ruins, head to the hacienda for dinner, stay the night, have another tour in the morning, and then back to the ship. You’ll get to see a bit of the Sian Ka’an biosphere as we travel from place to place. The biodiversity of the jungle is really incredible.”

  “The ruins seem small from the pictures. Do we really need two tours?” Eric asked.

  “I think you’ll be surprised at how much there is to see.”

  “I think the forecast said there would be rain,” he said.

  “There are showers in the afternoon sometimes. Part of being in the Amazon jungle.” Kitty glanced at the clouds to the west. In a dozen cruises, she’d only seen clouds like that once, and the ship had had to change course. The captain hadn’t said a word yet and there was no sense in alarming anyone before she knew for sure.

  “Look,” Ashley signed, nudging Eric.

  Kitty almost grimaced at the sight of Jace Van Horn. The handsomest member of her tour group, he turned heads wherever he went. Tall, built like an Adonis with perfectly styled blond hair, he strode around the ship like he was the honorary captain in search of a second mate, preferably female. Perhaps ‘strode’ wasn’t the right word. Strutted, perhaps? He wore a pair of brightly patterned swim trunks, flip flops, and a few braided leather bracelets. Kitty wondered if he’d ever put on regular clothes if the cruise ship rules didn’t state clearly that swimwear wasn’t appropriate in the dining areas.

  The three of them watched Jace pause to chat up a blonde bikini-clad girl in her teens. Kitty couldn’t hold back her grimace any longer. The man was a cad.

  “Poor Mrs. Van Horn,” Ashley said, not bothering to hide her hands.

  “She knows what she’s doing,” Eric said. “I think she’s old enough to make her own decisions.”

  “Old enough? I think that’s the problem,” Ashley said.

  Kitty didn’t join in, but she was secretly agreeing. Mrs. Van Horn was close to ninety and had been completely deaf since birth. She’d married a deaf man who’d spent his life inventing odd contraptions until he’d managed to patent a few rather important labor-saving devices. When Jace showed up to clean her pool a few months ago, Mrs. Van Horn was a widow with tens of millions in the bank. Now she was an elderly newlywed with a service dog who hated her boy toy husband, and several children who didn’t love the guy any more than her dog.

  The newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn were on their honeymoon― along with her son, Mr. Daniel Van Horn, his wife June, and their teenage sons, Blake and Tyler. It was a group honeymoon, which Kitty had heard of before in cases of a blended family situation. But even when there were children and grandchildren present, the new couple usually managed to find time to be together. The newlywed Van Horns didn’t spend a lot of time together. In fact, Jace seemed to spend most of his time searching out the companionship of anyone other than his new bride.

  Kitty wished the tour group organizers had sent her a cheat sheet before boarding. It would have taken a lot of the guesswork out of that first group dinner. It still shone in her memory as one of the most awkward experiences of her life, and one she never hoped to repeat. Since then, she’d done her best to avoid Jace, which wasn’t difficult since he seemed to prefer to spend most of his time around the girls at the pool.

  Jace looked up and noticed them watching him. Kitty tried to pretend she was merely examining the low clouds on the horizon, but it was too late. He was heading their way.

  “Hey, everybody,” he said. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing much. Just enjoying the sun,” Kitty said, speaking and signing at the same time. Honestly, Jace could learn how to at least greet people in ASL. It wasn’t difficult.

  “You look very pretty, Ashley. I like that dress on you,” Jace said.

  Kitty felt her mouth drop open. She’d thought Jace was sort of dumb, but she hadn’t thought he had a death wish. Eric could lip-read well enough, and what he didn’t catch was surely filled in by Jace’s leering at Ashley’s chest.

  “Oh, thank you,” she managed. “See you all at dinner.” Grabbing Eric’s elbow, she tugged him away. Billy trotted behind. Eric glared at Jace until Ashley got him turned around and headed in the opposite direction.

  Jace plopped into the lounge next to Kitty. “I don’t know how you stand it.”

  “Stand what?” Kitty asked.

  “All that signing. And the weird moaning sounds they make when they’re trying to talk. It’s just freaky.”

  Kitty suddenly wished she’d taught Chica some attack commands. Just one little nip in a tender spot and Jace would think twice about opening his stupid mouth.

  “I’m used to it. Probably because I was raised by deaf parents.”

  “How?” He seemed honestly confused. “Did they have a nanny?”

  “No. We had a service dog like her.” She motioned to Chica. “They’re trained to alert the hearing impaired when a baby is crying or someone is at the door. And there are baby monitors that flash bright lights, too, and…” She could tell he’d tuned out.

  “Anyway, it just looks like a lot of flapping to me.” He stretched out his long legs and put his hands behind his head, showing off his perfectly sculpted abs and hairless armpits. Kitty looked away, wondering if that was a new thing for guys. Even his legs were hairless. Maybe he was a professional swimmer.

  “I can
teach you a few signs. It would be nice to be able to say hello and goodbye, and thank you.”

  “Naw,” he said and yawned widely, showing off perfect teeth. “It’s like this guy I used to work with. He didn’t speak any English. He was always trying to get us to learn Spanish. I told him, ‘Dude, if I speak Spanish, you’re never gonna learn English.’ And guess what? I was right. He picked it up eventually.”

  Except a deaf person will never learn to hear, you idiot.

  Kitty tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t merit a possible reprimand by her employer, and couldn’t. Jace was a tool, and there was no other way around it.

  “Oh, hey,” he said, sitting up. “Tonight at dinner, can you try to keep those two from going on and on? It’s like being back in class. What a drag. There’s a reason I dropped out of school.”

  Kitty didn’t need to ask who Jace was referring to, since she’d spent most of the last several meals translating for the married pair of archeologists, Ron Brown and his wife, Liliana. She felt obligated not to leave Jace out of the conversation, but he clearly was bored to death. Kitty had taken the temple tours a dozen times before and thought she knew quite a lot about the history, but the Browns knew so much more.

  “I quite enjoy it, but I’ll do my best to bring the conversation around to something else after a while,” she said, hoping that was enough to satisfy him.

  She started to slip on her sandals, aiming to make a casual exit, when Jace saw Miss Elaine and Miss Penny heading towards them. They beamed from under their matching straw hats, their patterned caftans flowing in the breeze. The two older ladies changed outfits several times a day, and their dinner attire was some of the most glamorous Kitty had seen in her time as a tour guide on the luxury liners. Every expensive-looking outfit was paired with piles of jewelry. They made Kitty feel rather drab. Today, even in casual lounge wear, they were eye-catchingly colorful. Their black lab, Toto, trotted beside them, a tiny straw hat on her head.

  He leaped to his feet, smoothed his hair, and said, “Well, gotta run. See you at dinner.”