I had the feeling when I woke up this morning that today was going to be a day like no other. Yesterday was the same. It was the first time I’ve ever been shot at.
The bullet missed and the killer was apprehended shortly thereafter, but I can still hear where it whizzed past my head and lodged itself into the wooden piling on the dock where I was hiding. I was picking splinters off my shirt for hours thereafter.
No, I’m not Rambo, James Bond, or any other action movie star. My name is Clark Thomas, and I own a bookstore on the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. It’s kind of crazy how we got here.
You see, my wife Autumn passed away three years ago from what everyone figured was a heart attack. She grew up with arrhythmia, and we knew that each day could be her last. That evening, she was working late at her desk in the city courthouse. She clerked for Judge Whitley who oversaw traffic and boating violations.
About a year ago, I stumbled across the body of a friend behind my bookstore. It was totally separate from anything that happened to Autumn, but at the conclusion of that case, the lead detective, Gina Gomez, told me that she’d long suspected that Autumn did not die of natural causes. That someone killed her.
It wasn’t something she could investigate but put that bug in my ear. In the twelve months since that case, my first murder case, I started digging into what might have happened to her and who could have been responsible. There were threatening text messages, a stolen phone, the death of the detective on the scene of my wife’s death, and other circumstances that led me to believe that someone had, in fact, murdered Autumn.
If so, the only means of murder I could come to was poison. Unfortunately, there was no autopsy performed following her death, and there was no body to exhume. I’d spread her ashes three miles out to sea in international waters.
This past weekend, my brother Bo came to town from California for a golf weekend. We played a round at the pristine Swaying Palms Golf Club on the Intracoastal Waterway. Someone in the group ahead of us was murdered on the 11th hole. Another detective from the MBPD, Phil Moody, was part of our foursome. He and I rushed to investigate and found the body of Zach Lawson—a high-profile international property developer.
Moody was a long-time veteran detective. I think we uncovered something during that investigation linked to Autumn. After we put Lawson’s killer behind bars, Moody told me that he needed to further check on something that had to do with the case. He told me that, if he was correct, Myrtle Beach might burn to the ground.
He was supposed to meet me and Detective Gomez at a restaurant at noon today to tell us what he found. We waited for him to show, but he never did. Never will.
Gomez received a call from Moody’s wife. He died this morning.
Now Gomez and I must figure out what it all means, and what Moody was trying to learn that would set fire to the city.
Myrtle Beach Burns, A Myrtle Beach Mystery Book 7
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: October 2024
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
It all comes down to this. Clark Thomas finally learns the identity of his wife’s killer. But will he be the next victim?
In Myrtle Beach Burns, the seventh installment and Season 1 Finale of the gripping Myrtle Beach Mystery Series, tensions escalate as Clark Thomas delves deeper into the enigmatic circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. From clandestine eavesdropping to shocking revelations of betrayal, each chapter unfurls new layers of intrigue and danger.
As Clark and Detective Gomez uncover connections to a faceless holding company exposed in Death on the Back Nine and untangle a web of suspicious deaths, they find themselves ensnared in a labyrinth of deceit within their own ranks. With each twist and turn, Clark’s paranoia grows, forcing him to confront not only external threats but also his own trust issues, his relationships with Gomez and Andrea, and his inner demons.
As the stakes rise and allies become scarce, Clark must navigate a treacherous landscape where every step could lead him closer to the truth-or to his own demise.
Myrtle Beach Burns is a pulse-pounding tale of mystery, suspense, and betrayal that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.
About the author
Caleb Wygal is author of the award-winning and critically acclaimed novel, Death on the Boardwalk: Book 1 of the Myrtle Beach Mystery Series. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, moonlights as a Mystery Novel Writing instructor for Coastal Carolina University, and the author of eleven novels. He lives in Myrtle Beach with his family.