“What would you like to drink?” Rolando asked as he handed bags of pretzels to each passenger.

He noted their orders. A ginger ale for the window seat, a coffee for the poor squished sucker in the middle, and soda water for the person in the aisle seat, who he wished would scoot over so he could get his cart past.

He sighed to himself. Taking beverage orders, with such limited options, was a far cry from his previous gigs bartending in exciting locations. By the beach, in a mountain lodge, or a ship on the sea.

But he reminded himself why he had changed professions. Being a flight attendant gave him excellent travel benefits. More importantly, he hoped to avoid seeing those people again—those crazy women who seemed to attract murder like grenadine attracts fruit flies.

Finally able to maneuver his cart, he turned to the next row. The pretzel packages dropped from his hands when he saw a familiar face. “Oh no. Not you again!”

Davis Way threw her copper-colored hair behind her shoulder and smiled. “It’s good to see you, Rolando. Especially since I know this flight will be better than my last one.”

He closed his eyes momentarily. “Let me guess. There was murder?”

“Yes,” she said. “Other crimes too, but murder was the big one.”

When he realized that the person next to Davis Way was also familiar to him, he sighed. Resigned to his fate, he asked Jackie Norwood, whom he recognized as a former celebrity chef and one of his murder magnets. “And how about you, death on a plane, right?”

The blond woman winced. “Technically, he died after the EMTs removed him.”

In the window seat, a beautiful woman with olive skin and dark curly hair smiled at him. Rolando wondered how these women ended up on the same flight. “Lucy Berberian, right?” he asked. “More murder on a plane? Or was yours on a hot air balloon?”

Lucy shook her head. “Murder, yes. Hot air balloon, no. I was on a blimp.”

Lorrie George, in the row behind Lucy, raised her hand. “I watched a dead body fall from a hot air balloon. Does that count?”

Whimpering, he turned his back on these ladies and sought refuge on the opposite side of the plane. No luck. There was a curly-haired woman he recognized. He didn’t even have to ask the question.

Barbara Marr shrugged. “I didn’t watch a body fall, but someone did fall from a zipline platform while I was in Costa Rica.”

Thankfully, the two other women seated in Barbara’s row were strangers to him. He spoke to the smartly dressed woman with dark hair pulled into a ponytail. “Can you believe all this murder?” he asked her.

Samantha Kidd smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, I can. I was on a famous rapper’s plane when…well, you get the idea.”

Rolando turned his attention to the next woman, whose travel apparel was as bizarre as the stories he had just heard. She could have stepped off the set of Star Trek and had very short, almost shaved hair. He looked at her, hoping against hope she hadn’t experienced murder. “And you?”

Sorrel met his eyes and nodded. “In space. I’m just glad this flight is landing on Earth. Hopefully I can avoid hearing about murders here.”

Rolando glanced around at the other seven women before replying. “If you figure out how, tell me.” If there had been a parachute handy, Rolando might have taken it. As it was, he knew it was once again time to find a new career. Maybe he should embrace all this murder and work at a funeral home…or a graveyard.

***

Don’t fly away! We hope that you, unlike Rolando, will enjoy MURDER IN THE AIR, an anthology of cozy mystery short stories where the sky is the limit! It’s currently at a pre-order sale price of only .99 and was published on May 21st.

Murder In The Air, A Destination Murder Short Story Collection Book #4
Genre: Cozy Anthology
Release: May 2024
Format: Digital
Purchase Link

Soar to thrilling new heights of mystery with Murder in the Air, the fourth installment of the Destination Murders anthologies. This exhilarating collection features eight cozy mystery short stories where danger soars and suspense floats on every breeze.

From daring ziplines to serene hot air balloons, from high-flying adventures aboard planes, blimps, and ski lodge gondolas to far out in outer space, murder finds its way into the air in the most unexpected ways.

Crafted by your favorite award-winning and bestselling cozy mystery authors, each story in Murder in the Air combines intrigue, humor, and, of course, murder, to keep you guessing until the very last page. Join us on a journey where the stakes are as high as the altitudes.

If you are looking for your next cozy read…or your next cozy author, Murder in the Air is your ticket to an airborne adventure—where every story promises a view to a thrill.

DOUBLE HIGH STAKES, Gretchen Archer. A new short story in the Davis Way series. Davis Way Cole and her partner in crime-solving find themselves on a private jet with a den of wealthy criminals. Who knew jet-setting could be such a turbulent affair?

DONE WITH THE WIND, Karen Cantwell. Another short story in the Barbara Marr series. When Barb’s mother sweet-talked her into a sun-soaked getaway to Costa Rica, little did Barb know she’d be swapping cold winds for hot leads on a zipline adventure that would nosedive into murder.

HOT AIR AND GOOD TIMES AT SHELLY’S SHARE SHED, Eleanor Cawood Jones. A Mardi Gras fundraiser escapade in Tennessee, with Lorrie George and friends, balloons into a real-life murder mystery.

A CONTEST WIN TO DIE FOR, Tina Kashian. A short story in the Kebab Kitchen series. Lucy Berberian finds herself aloft on a blimp with dreams of high-flying adventure, only to have her spirits plummet. Who knew a contest win could be such a killer getaway?

AIRLIFT, Shawn Reilly Simmons. Caroline Cabot’s desire for an actual murder-free “honeymoon” in Vermont gets icier than expected even before they can hit the slopes.

(H)AIRLESS, Rosalie Spielman. When Ensign Sorrel’s request to ditch her hairless spaceship gig for Earth becomes an interstellar cat-astrophe, she finds herself in a tangled plot of murder.

TREAD MAN WALKING, Diane Vallere. A short story in the Killer Fashion mystery series. When Samantha Kidd’s husband asks for a “quick favor,” it’s all fun and games until she runs into sneaky thieves, high-flying secrets, and sneakers worth killing for!

SUGAR HIGH, SUGAR LOW, Cathy Wiley. A new short story in the Fatal Food Festivals series. Jackie Norwood’s flight home from a murder-free Chocolate Fest takes a bittersweet turn when a fellow passenger and festival attendee slips into a fatal coma.