Trouble at High Tide
Read Trouble at High Tide Online
Authors: Jessica Fletcher,Donald Bain
Trouble at High Tide
A
Murder, She Wrote
Mystery
OTHER BOOKS IN THE MURDER,
SHE WROTE
SERIES
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Rum & Razors
Brandy & Bullets
Martinis & Mayhem
A Deadly Judgment
A Palette for Murder
The Highland Fling Murders
Murder on the QE2
Murder in Moscow
A Little Yuletide Murder
Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch
Knock ’Em Dead
Gin & Daggers
Trick or Treachery
Blood on the Vine
Murder in a Minor Key
Provence—To Die For
You Bet Your Life
Majoring in Murder
Destination Murder
Dying to Retire
A Vote for Murder
The Maine Mutiny
Margaritas & Murder
A Question of Murder
Coffee, Tea, or Murder?
Three Strikes and You’re Dead
Panning for Murder
Murder on Parade
A Slaying in Savannah
Madison Avenue Shoot
A Fatal Feast
Nashville Noir
The Queen’s Jewels
Skating on Thin Ice
The Fine Art of Murder
Trouble at High Tide
A
Murder, She Wrote
Mystery
A NOVEL BY
JESSICA FLETCHER & DONALD BAIN
Based on the Universal Television series created by
Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson & William Link
AN OBSIDIAN MYSTERY
OBSIDIAN
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Obsidian, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, April 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © 2011 Universal City Studios Productions LLLP.
Murder, She Wrote
is a trademark
and copyright of Universal Studios.
All rights reserved.
OBSIDIAN and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:
Fletcher, Jessica.
Trouble at high tide: a Murder, she wrote mystery: a novel/by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain.
pages cm.—Murder she wrote; 37)
ISBN: 978-1-101-58002-8
1. Fletcher, Jessica (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Murder—Bermuda Islands—Fiction.
I. Bain, Donald, 1935– II. Title.
PS3552.A376T76 2012
813.54—dc23 2011045099
Set in Minion
Designed by Ginger Legato
Printed in the United States of America
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
In memory of Craig Thomas, whose untimely death took from us a dear friend, and deprives the book world of a skilled, insightful writer. Craig’s eighteen thrillers, including
Firefox,
whose film version was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood, set the stage for all techno-thrillers to follow.
And for Jill Thomas, Craig’s wife and astute editor, who shared his remarkable ride through life with a smile capable of creating global warming.
Their friendship will always be treasured.
Writers working today have the benefit of a full library at their fingertips in the myriad online resources available to consult and explore. While we are ardent fans of Bermuda and have spent many happy hours enjoying the island, its people, and all the wonderful amenities it has to offer, we admit to using the Internet to jog our memories on some of the details.
In doing research for
Trouble at High Tide
, we owe a debt of gratitude to numerous online resources, three in particular: Wikipedia (
wikipedia.org
); Casebook: Jack the Ripper (
www.casebook.org
), Stephen P. Ryder, editor; and Bermuda Online (
www.bermuda-online.org
), written and published by Keith Archibald Forbes.
We also thank Suzanne Wenz, regional director of public relations, and Lori Holland, executive director, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts; Alicia Hunt at Benchmade (knives); and former police investigator and current police consultant—and mystery writer’s best friend—Lee Lofland, author of
Police Procedure & Investigation
, and blogger on The Graveyard Shift (
www.leelofland.com/wordpress/
).
Thanks to them all. Any errors are, of course, ours.
Chapter One
H
e was ahead of me in line. A stocky man with thin red hair parted on the side and muttonchop sideburns that reached up his cheek to connect to a bushy mustache. He wore a heavy brown tweed suit, carried a book under one arm, and toted an old leather valise held closed by straps across the top. He was the image of a late-nineteenth-century traveler—and a strange sight to see as we inched our way forward toward the twenty-first-century customs agent in Bermuda.
“Have your passport and other papers out and ready, please,” an officer called to the crowd. The man in front of me set down his suitcase and groped around in his jacket for his papers, dropping his book in the process. I scooped it up and, startled, looked into the bleary eyes of the book’s owner. Part of the title was spelled out in large red letters dripping with blood:
Jack the Ripper
. The man mumbled his thanks, and quickly turned his back to me.
