Poolside Catastrophe Read online

  POOLSIDE

  CATASTROPHE

  By

  C T Mitchell

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2018 by C T Mitchell

  Cover and internal design © Wood Duck Media

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems – except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews – without the permission in writing from its publisher, C T Mitchell.

  All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. We are not associated with any product or vendor in this book.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Bonus Chapter

  About the Author

  Book Reviews

  CHAPTER 1

  The cat circled the pool slowly looking for the right point of entry, her tail twitching back and forth anxiously. Miss Cocos’ curious brown eyes looked around to see if Taylor had made it outside yet. The two women inside her home had been rummaging around in each room. From time to time they brought things outside to put on the back porch. She let out a low meow and pawed at the door, but neither woman paid any attention.

  The chaos of whatever the women were doing inside had distressed the chocolate colored Burmese so much she made her way out the cat door and into the yard. The crisp spring air was ripe with new smells, all of which would have to wait until after she inspected the pool. Now, there was something strange under the cover of the pool and she needed to let the woman who fed her know. First, she needed to see what they'd be dealing with.

  She was momentarily distracted by a bird that had the gall to hop nearby. She hunkered down and watched as it hopped around, oblivious to a supreme predator lurking nearby. Dumb animals, she thought. She didn’t have time for a good chase right now, but she made a mental note to come back and show it who was boss, just as soon as she figured out what was going on with the pool. Slowly, she got closer - her senses went wild. She put her nose to the edge of the pool cover and sniffed. This was definitely strange.

  Looking over at the house she could see Taylor's red hair peeking up over a box at the table where the cat was sometimes given scraps. Miss Coco did not beg, it was beneath her but she would sit nearby in case the woman felt so inclined. It worked almost all of the time.

  The other woman was the one who cleaned Miss Coco's litter box. She didn’t quite understand what the point of cleaning the litter box was, but the human did it willingly, so she couldn’t complain. The other woman also gave scratches to the spot in front of her tail sometimes. It was the perfect spot, so Miss Coco tolerated her.

  The plastic pool cover was proving difficult to lift up and she extracted her claws as she tried to pull it up. The task was proving to be more irritating than she’d initially thought. Sitting back on her haunches, she looked over her shoulder back at the window where the two women worked and let out a long meow. Maybe they would pay attention.

  In the cottage, Taylor pulled her red mop of hair up on top of her head and looked at the pile in front of her. Sweat clung to her brow, despite the cool air drifting through the open windows. Spring cleaning had been such a great idea, but now, it was almost too much at once. She already felt nervous about getting rid of things and she had started to sweat from moving boxes. She grabbed a stack of papers and fanned herself while watching Mrs. Sullivan sift through another stack.

  Taylor had found Mrs. Sullivan on Airtasker when she looked for a housekeeper. She’d been more than pleased with the older woman and wouldn't dream of using anyone else. The kind woman had started pulling everything out of the cupboards in the kitchen, and Taylor felt anxious about her seeing all of her things. However, Mrs. Sullivan had assured her that Taylor’s house was nowhere near as bad as some of the other’s she’d worked on.

  Taylor looked around at the piles they’d made both in and out of the house. She couldn't imagine the house had as much odds and ends as they'd already cleared out. She'd certainly not brought that much in since she'd inherited the cottage. It was only two bedrooms, considered a cozy size. There weren't that many spaces to put things, yet they'd cleaned out a large amount of useless items from the bedrooms already.

  Her great aunt had kept some strange things in the house. She had a stuffed bobcat that wore a top hat. Taylor kept that. She also collected a number of playing cards with different scenes on them. Taylor had also kept those. She knew one day she’d have to venture into the basement to see what other taxidermy surprises were waiting for her down there. Today, was not that day.

  It had been a surprise when she inherited the house. She assumed there were some other family members who would want the house and didn’t think anything of it. Her great aunt Mildred had been one of her favorite people in the world, but she had children of her own.

  When the will had been read, Taylor hadn’t even been present. She wasn’t aware there was anything for her. When she was given the house, she’d been in shock. It was a step up from the apartment she was living in even as old as it was. Taylor had been thrilled to get the house despite some of her cousins freezing her out.

  When she and Miss Coco had moved in, it was the perfect change of pace for her. She needed the quiet life with her cat and her cameras.

  Taylor had all the photographs she'd taken over the past year stacked from her favorite to her least favorite. She thought more than once that she was a hack and photography really wasn’t something she excelled at. Despite everyone always telling her that the work was good, it was difficult for her to believe it. Her boss at Community Life magazine was always telling her she was a natural, but she didn't know. Confidence wasn’t exactly her strong suit. She would spend hours posturing something to take a picture, only to return it to its original pose. She doubted her work at every turn and it exhausted her.

  Her doctor had put her on some different anti-anxiety medicine at the beginning of the month and she was still getting used to it. It was helping though. If she would have tried to do this clean up without the medication, it wouldn’t have worked.

  Her boss probably couldn't find another photographer and just took what he could get. She picked up her photographs and inspected them one by one. "No," she said out loud, "get out of your own head. These are good."

  "What's that dear?" Mrs. Sullivan came into the den to see what she was going on about.

  Taylor flushed, embarrassed that she’d been caught talking to herself. She placed the pictures back on their pile and gave the woman a half smile. "Oh, I was just remembering my time taking these pictures," she said quickly. It was strange to sit in a room telling yourself you weren't any good. She didn't want Mrs. Sullivan to hear her and think she was out of her mind, even if she truly might be. She had to admit she spent a lot of time doubting herself when it came to her work.

  "I’m going to shred these I think," she said picking up a pile. These were the pictures her boss had set aside, the ones that hadn't been good. Well, the ones that hadn’t been used, but she automatically thought that meant they weren’t good.

  "Oh, don't you dare, these are great," Mrs. Sullivan said picking up one of Miss Coco when she was a kitten next to a bag of fertilizer. "This cat just looks so intelligent, even here. Sometimes I catch her watching me clean and I swear she's trying to communicate."

  "Miss Coco is very smart," Taylor smiled. The cat had saved her
from herself more times than she could count.

  She was about to tell a story about the time Miss Coco had gotten her out of the house on a down day by chasing a squirrel when the most horrific sound came from outside.

  The sound the cat made had her convinced a dog was trying to take her cat's head off or that she'd somehow gotten run over by a car in the backyard.

  “What’s going on Taylor?” Mrs. Sullivan asked, wiping her hands on the tea towel she was holding.

  Taylor frowned and moved away from the den, heading toward the double doors that led outside.

  “I don’t know, Mrs. Sullivan. Why don’t we check it out?”

  "Miss Coco? Here kitty, kitty, kitty," Taylor yelled as the two women made their way outside.

  Miss Coco was a very independent cat and never really came until she wanted to. Calling her didn’t work but Taylor still persevered.

  The noise continued as they made their way across the yard and to the pool.

  Taylor stopped in her tracks. Miss Coco was pawing at the pool cover and continuing to scream with what Taylor thought might have been frustration. It was the most horrific sound she’d ever heard her cat make. While she was relieved to see she wasn’t hurt she was concerned that she was being so loud.

  “What the heck are you doing?” Taylor asked quietly, watching Miss Coco try to unsnap a clip at the edge of the cover.

  “Don’t tell me that you want to go swimming, because I won’t believe a word of it!” Taylor said as she made her way over to where Miss Coco was now anxiously pacing in front of the pool.

  Miss Coco looked up with a very deliberate meow. She meowed again insistently and grabbed the pool clip with her teeth. After trying again to pull it open, she looked up at Taylor and hissed.

  Taylor’s eyes widened. “Okay, okay,” Taylor said. “Don’t have to be nasty about it.” Taylor then turned and looked at Mrs. Sullivan. “I think a frog or something must be in the pool, Mrs. Sullivan.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Even as she said it, it wasn’t likely. Taylor knew even if it was just a frog, Miss Coco wouldn't let up until she saw underneath the pool cover. The cat continued to meow as if telling her to hurry up. Gently pushing the cat out of the way despite her stubbornly planting her feet, Taylor unclipped the pool cover.

  Miss Coco meowed and if Taylor didn't know any better she'd think the cat nodded as if saying it’s about time. Taylor lifted the pool cover and peered over the edge. She let out a startled yelp and took a quick step back. As she did, her feet became tangled, sending her crashing to the ground on her backside and looked up at Mrs. Sullivan with wide eyes.

  “What on earth?” Mrs. Sullivan asked startled. “Are you okay dear?”

  “If that doesn't beat all," Taylor said.

  Mrs. Sullivan moved closer. “What’s wrong, Miss Mitchell? Has something fallen into the water?”

  Taylor, stood brushing the dirt and leaves from her backside and grabbed Miss Coco, holding her tightly against her chest while saying, “No, Mrs. Sullivan, nothing has fallen in the water, but there is a body at the bottom of our pool!” She gently stroked the cat’s soft fur, the loud appreciative purr somehow calming her frayed nerves.

  “Good gracious me,” Mrs. Sullivan said, putting a hand to her mouth. “How is that possible, Miss? The cover has been laid over the water for the entire winter – how can a body be drowned in there?”

  The two women rushed back to the cottage.

  Taylor reached for the phone. “Good question, Mrs. Sullivan and one I’m going to ask our friend Detective Tom Ford.”

  Taylor punched her friend's number into the phone, happy he answered on the first ring, "Tom, how are you today?”

  The detective replied with a grunt and said, "Hello… I’m fine. Was about to enjoy my sub sandwich.”

  She chuckled at the grumpy tone in her friend’s voice. “Sorry to interrupt your lunch, Tom, but I think you need to come for a visit – like right away – Miss Coco has found a body in my pool!”

  There was a long pause before he cleared his throat and finally spoke. “I’m on my way.”

  Taylor could only imagine what must be going through his mind as he got ready to come over.

  A little while later Detective Ford stood looking down inside the pool. Miss Coco sat proudly nearby watching people scurry about. Her big brown eyes didn’t miss a thing as her tail switched just at the very end. Taylor had learned that was a sign of agitation, but not outright rage at the situation. She was only slightly annoyed.

  “Do you know the person in your pool?” Detective Ford asked Taylor. Taylor shook her head, standing back where she couldn't see the body. Seeing a dead body on television was one thing, but seeing one in real life was a completely different story. She grimaced, holding back slight nausea she felt. "I only had a glimpse at the body, Tom. I am not even sure if it’s a man or a woman.” This wasn’t her first time seeing a dead body, but it never really got easier. Tom frowned and peered down in the pool once more, "she was dressed then, when she took a dive?”

  Taylor had to smile. Her friend Tom was used to this whole finding dead people thing far more than she was.

  “From what I can tell, yes, the body is dressed. And I don’t think it’s been in there very long, otherwise, Miss Coco would have made a fuss before now.”

  When she heard her name spoken, Miss Coco stopped cleaning herself and looked up at the detective. She meowed once to acknowledge she knew they were talking about her.

  Tom’s eyes continued to scan the pool and area surrounding it. "My team will be here soon to help with the body, they'll probably want to ask you a lot of questions. For now, I need you guys to steer clear of the backyard. This is an active crime scene."

  Taylor nodded, more than happy to stay away from the dead body in her pool. "I better put on some tea then," Taylor said, "or coffee. I don't know what they'd prefer. I'll do both!" She rushed back into the house.

  An hour later, Taylor looked outside to see the CSI and ME men in uniform swarming her yard like bees in search of pollen. They covered every square inch of her yard as they searched for details and clues that might help solve the question in the back of everyone’s mind. Why was there a dead body in her pool? They wore gloves and paper boots. She wasn’t sure if that was to keep from contaminating the crime scene or from being contaminated.

  She felt a little silly as she worried about the men walking through her garden. They should have just been staying around the pool, why were her begonias under investigation? She wanted to tell them to get out of her flowers, but she kept her mouth shut. Maybe they wouldn’t hurt them too much and she could just give them some TLC when this was all over. There were a couple that had bloomed perfectly that she really wanted to photograph.

  Taylor, Miss Coco, and Mrs. Sullivan watched them for a long time before they finally pulled the body out of the pool. It quickly became obvious that the body was of a young woman. When they brought her up, they carefully laid her on the tiles. Tom crooked a finger at Taylor to come over to the pool.

  Taylor swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly made her way across the yard to where Tom was standing over the body.

  "Do you know the person in your pool?" He asked Taylor as she got a little closer. She was really hoping she didn’t know her. It wasn’t any less horrible that the woman was dead, but dealing with someone you know dying was way worse.

  She stared down at the ashen face of the woman. It wasn’t hard to tell that the woman lying lifeless on her ground had once been beautiful. However, she just didn’t know who she was. "I have no idea who this woman is, Tom. I've never seen her before. At least, not in my day to day.”

  Taylor thought the situation just kept getting stranger.

  Tom and Taylor looked down to see Miss Coco had made her way up to the body and laid beside her.

  Tom knew most of the things the cat did were intentional even though he didn't understand it.

  He made his way over and knelt besi
de the cat who looked up into his eyes.

  CHAPTER 3

  Taylor walked over to the French window and scooped Miss Coco into her arms. Together they watched as the ME’s assistants loaded the body in their van. The two men who were given this task seemed young. They were both thin and appeared to struggle with the weight of the woman. She couldn’t have weighed that much and it made Taylor wonder what type of workout you had to do to be an agent, or if there was a requirement. A thought occurred to her as the doors closed on their van. She’d heard that name before.

  “Would you let me know what you find out about this girl – when you do?” she asked Tom.

  He looked up at her, "I can, but why because you said you don't know her?"

  “Because a dead body was found in my pool, and I want to be kept apprised of the situation, and I don’t know her, but I remember a name. The magazine is running a feature on a woman named “Alex King” who supposedly located some long-lost item of clothing in some older Georgia mansion. They was supposedly tied to the Kennedys, so worth a lot. I just thought of it, Tom, I'm sorry. The stress of the day must have gotten to me. This woman was bragging she found items of clothing, and a secret item she’d reveal, once she was paid for it."

  "You think that one of these items might be the garter we found with the body?" Tom looked thoughtful.

  "I don't know, but it fits doesn't it. Old items found in a mansion. She was going to be getting a pretty good finder's fee for locating them. Hold on, I keep all our magazines, I’ll find the article.”

  Taylor went into her spare room and looked through the stack of magazines. The article didn’t have a writer listed but it definitely went over how this Alex King had found a garter and some other ‘secret’ items that were worth a large sum of money.

  The picture of Alex in the magazine was surreal because she'd only seen her dead and not smiling. She realized now even if she’d remembered seeing her in the magazine, she wouldn’t have thought the swollen woman pulled from her pool was this woman.