“You won’t believe what we’ve done with this old place, Avery,” Mark Hawkins’ deep voice boomed from the speaker on my cell phone. “The transformation is truly incredible.”

“Everything you’ve ever wanted?” I asked, kicking my feet under the sparkling water in a swimming pool that was bigger than the New York City apartment where I’d grown up.

“And then some,” Mark said. “Though I think it’ll really be complete once you get here.”

I smiled. In all the years I had worked for Mark at Hawkins Tech, we’d managed to keep our relationship professional. But I didn’t work for Mark anymore.

“I’m counting the days,” I said. He’d always dreamed of being an innkeeper in a tiny New England town, and he was on the verge of making that dream a reality.

“Hey, Avery?” my assistant, Harrison, called from behind me. “You have that museum benefit tonight—probably not the sort of event you can wear a bikini to.”

I waved to let Harrison know I’d heard him and turned, picking up my phone. “Two months suddenly feels like a long time.”

“It will fly,” Mark said. “I have finishing touches here and you have…whatever a person who’s retired at twelve does all day…there.”

“I’m twenty seven, thank you. And running out of things to fill my days.”

“Tired of the beach after less than a year?” He laughed. “If you decide to create another app worth billions, you know who to call.”

I laughed, hanging up and hopping out of the pool to go dress for the gala. Walking barefoot over the flagstone patio past manicured gardens to the house—a massive stucco and glass mansion overlooking one of the most pristine beaches in the Florida Keys—I wondered if the benefit was a good idea. Almost a year in, and I still didn’t really fit with island society. But I kept trying, because the house and the jet and the nice fat donation checks I wrote meant they invited me to things whether they liked me or not, and I really wanted to find at least one friend here.

Harrison dropped me off at the red carpet outside the museum’s door ninety minutes later and I smiled for the local press, making my way inside. A few people paused to shake my hand and say hello—but that was about it. I moved through the crowd trying to find a place to join a conversation, but old-money society is adept at closing ranks and excluding outsiders without making it look deliberate.

Giving up, I stopped at the bar, where a tall, good looking guy was holding court in a standard tux that somehow showed off his muscles as he mixed drinks with a flair I hadn’t seen outside an old Tom Cruise movie. I watched, smiling for the first time all night. He turned to me and put the shaker on the bar with a grin. “And what can I get you that will make that lovely smile reach your eyes?”

Something to do with my days besides try to befriend people who think I’m beneath them—but I couldn’t say that. I went with “How’s your margarita game?” instead.

“Strong,” he said solemnly.

“I’d like to see for myself then.”

“Coming up.” He scooped ice and poured mix from high above the shaker, added more than a little Don Julio and a splash of orange juice, and flipped the whole thing in the air like a baton twice, catching it behind his back the second time. “I don’t remember seeing you before.”

“I just moved here seven months ago,” I said. “I’m Avery Turner.”

“Well Avery Turner,” he said, pouring the drink into a salt-rimmed glass and adding a lime, “this is the best margarita on the island.”

I took a sip. “Your game is strong indeed. Thanks for the drink—and the show.”

He nodded and winked before he moved on to the next guest.

I found a seat in the corner behind a wall of hanging ferns and watched the folks who belonged in this world mingle and air kiss and drink, wondering how long I had to wait before Harrison wouldn’t pity me when I called for a ride home.

I was just reaching for my phone when one fern swayed enough to brush my head, and I looked up to find the bartender smiling at me.

“You’ve been nursing the dregs of that drink for what has to be six months by now,” he said. “The bartender insisted I bring you another.”

“Weren’t you the bartender?”

“I’m extremely good at insisting. You need anything else?”

A thousand things, but mostly, I needed a friend. And looking up at him, I decided I was tired of chasing after people who looked down on me.

Flashing a smile, I said, “Can I get your name to go with the drink?”

“Carter. Carter Mosley.” He dropped into the seat across from me. “So what are we hiding from back here, Miss Avery?”

The General’s Gold, A Turner and Mosley Files Mystery Book #1
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: April 2024
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

A treasure so priceless, it’s worth killing for…

When Mark Hawkins is found dead in a seedy motel, police deem it an accidental overdose. But billionaire computer genius Avery Turner suspects there might be more to the story. Her old friend was on the trail of the legendary General’s Gold, and now Avery is determined to pick up where he left off…

Teaming up with Carter Mosley, a deep-sea shipwreck diver and adrenaline junkie turned social media sensation, Avery embarks on a dangerous quest for the treasure—and the truth. From Florida to Maine, and from the mountains of Virginia to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, they face treacherous gangs, man-eating sharks, and a world of deception and double-crosses.

As they navigate hidden clues and uncertain allies, Avery and Carter must outwit their deadly adversaries and unravel the mystery surrounding the General’s Gold. But in this high-stakes game, losing the treasure could cost them their lives.

Unearth the year’s most exhilarating treasure-hunting thriller. Join bestselling authors LynDee Walker and Bruce Robert Coffin in a pulse-pounding action-adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you love the action of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and the intrigue of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, dive into The General’s Gold today!

About the authors
LynDee Walker is the national bestselling author of two crime fiction series featuring strong heroines and “twisty, absorbing” mysteries. Her first Nichelle Clarke crime thriller, FRONT PAGE FATALITY, was nominated for the Agatha Award for best first novel and is an Amazon Charts Bestseller. In 2018 she introduced readers to Texas Ranger Faith McClellan in FEAR NO TRUTH. Reviews have praised her work as “well-crafted, compelling, and fast-paced,” and “an edge-of-your-seat ride” with “a spider web of twists and turns that will keep you reading until the end.”

Bruce Robert Coffin is the award-winning author of the Detective Byron mystery series and former detective sergeant with more than twenty-seven years in law enforcement. At the time of his retirement, from the Portland, Maine police department, he supervised all homicide and violent crime investigations for Maine’s largest city. Following the terror attacks of September 11th, Bruce spent four years working counter-terrorism with the FBI, earning the Director’s Award, the highest honor a non-agent can receive. Bruce is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Short Mystery Fiction Society, and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. He is a regular blog contributor to Murder Books blog. He lives and writes in Maine.