December, Orcas Island

I just had to ask about the barn, didn’t I?

Twenty-seven-year-old former actress Tish Yearly brushed a blonde lock of hair out of her eyes and scrutinized the scary movie worthy interior of the barn.

Scary Movie, 2000, directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans and written by his brothers Marlon and Shawn.

Outside the interminable drip of a Washington winter was attempting to ensure that any semi-flat surface, up to and including the top of Tish’s head, could grow moss. The forecast called for snow next week and she was looking forward to it because anything would be better than the continual damp. She zipped her fleece up higher and tried not to think about arson as a mystery barn solution.

Tish had been living with her grandfather Tobias Yearly, a septuagenarian ex-CIA agent, on Orcas Island for approximately five months and in that time she’d been nearly killed by not one, but two crazed lunatics. She was trying not to take it personally, but she was a little worried it was becoming a trend. And, if the inquiries from her grandfather’s friends about her current murder-threat status were anything to judge by, she wasn’t the only one.

Tish picked up a vintage, cobweb covered, 1890s iron and hefted it in her hand. It seemed good for that antique décor look and possibly home defense.

When she’d moved in with Tobias—due to a sudden job loss—she’d had no intention of getting kidnapped, solving a murder or falling in and out of love (and possibly back in again). She also hadn’t had any intention of becoming e a certified handy-person as she worked to renovate an old Orcas Island homestead into a wedding venue. But here she was. The property, inherited from Tobias’ best friend, Reginald, was almost ready to host its first wedding, or at least it would be come spring. What she really needed was the weather to clear up long enough for her to have a photo shoot so she could use the images in the advertising. But instead, what she got was a mystery barn.

Are dead bodies not enough?

Orcas Island was home to enough unique culture that even five months in, Tish was still mystified a good majority of the time. The worst part was that no one on the island would admit that anything was weird. A construction crew (and one cat) all named Tim? These things happen sometimes. A fifty-foot boat being built in the middle of the woods? Some people have hobbies. A blood feud between hardware store owners? Perfectly normal. A pathological need to horde every item you’ve ever owned? We don’t know what you’re talking about.

Tish had thought that she had cleared out the majority of Reginald’s property. And she’d been pretty dang happy about it. Right up until this morning when Tobias, had made an off-hand comment about Reginald’s storage barn. And now, here she was, faced with a cobweb covered barn full of mystery crates and boxes. For all she knew the Ark of the Covenant was stored in here somewhere.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981, starring Harrison Ford.

Nervously, Tish moved further inside, edging down a narrow corridor between tall rows of boxes and noticed that they all had labels on them. Unfortunately, all of the labels were written in a neat, but spidery cursive and she might need a magnifying glass and another old person to decipher it.

At least I have both of those.

She squinted at another label: TREE BALLS.

Did she want to know what tree balls were? Did anyone want to know? She had faced down killers and midnight livestock. She could probably take tree balls.

“Hey Tishkins!” bellowed her grandfather from the entrance. She moved back to where she could see the door.

“Hey Grandad.”

“Find anything good?” Tobias Yearly used to be six feet tall. Now he was merely six-ish as he leaned on his cane.

“Um. . .tree balls?”

“That’s not a thing nice girls talk about,” said Tobias, his eyes twinkling.

“Seriously, Grandad?”

“Sorry. Did you find all of them?”

“All of them, what? What are they?”

“Oh, Reginald used to decorate the entire yard with oversized ornaments and lights. Looked like Christmas threw up all over the place. I loved it.”

Tish went back and opened the crate. Gold and silver balls twinkled at her in the dim light of the naked bulb above her. She opened another few crates. Lights and more ornaments were nestled in every crate. “It’s supposed to snow next week, right?” she asked, turning to Tobias.

“Last I heard. Plus, my leg is acting up, so probably. Why?”

“Christmas wedding,” said Tish, gesturing to the crates. “I don’t need it to get sunny to have a photoshoot. I can have a fairy tale Christmas wedding look.”

“See?” said Tobias. “This is why we don’t throw anything out. You never know when it will come in handy.” Tish shook her head and repressed a smile.

I might get the hang of Orcas living yet.

Giveaway: Five readers selected at random will receive a digital (Kindle or Nook) copy of Against the Undertow. Tell us, have you ever done any renovations? Leave a comment below for your chance to win. The giveaway ends June 19, 2018. Good luck everyone!

You can read more about Tish in Against the Undertow, the second book in the “San Juan Islands” murder mystery series. The first book in the series is An Unseen Current.

You never know what will drag you down.

Former actress Tish Yearly is determined to turn an old Orcas Island homestead into the premier wedding venue in the San Juans Islands of Washington, but money, skill and her grandfather, Tobias Yearly, are all standing in her way. Tobias, the septuagenarian ex-CIA agent, wants them to become private investigators. Tish might be able to ignore her grandfather’s whims, except that her one time love interest and current friend, handsome Sheriff’s Deputy Emmett Nash, was just accused of murdering his ex-wife’s boyfriend. Now Tish and Tobias are on the case, and it should be easy—after all, who could really think Nash was a killer?—but the further they investigate, the more people seem to be threatening her life: the police detective on the case, Nash’s angry ex-wife, his psychotic ex-girlfriend, and a strangely venomous group of hippies. Almost everyone on the island seems determined to stop her. Tish is swimming against the undertow, but it might not be enough to save either Nash or herself.

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About the author
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

All comments are welcomed.