Death in Room 7 (Pine Lake Inn Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

demons and devils altogether.
    So anyway.  Criminal types got sent here, to Tasmania, and the good Lieutenant Governor David Collins whose portrait George wants to hang so badly in the lobby of my Inn was responsible for making sure they all stayed in line.  Thing is, not every criminal wants to stay locked up even when the prison’s in such a nice place as this.  Whole groups of prisoners escaped to become bandits.
    Bushrangers, they were called.  Living and thieving and generally causing trouble from out in the bush.  In 1813, bushrangers came to Lakeshore.  They burned most of the town.  Stole the gold from the mayor’s house.  I’ve read there were a few deaths.
    After they left, the town rebuilt itself.  That’s the way of it here in Australia.  You get knocked down, you get back up.  Lakeshore wasn’t a rich community back then so the townsfolk used what they had at hand.  When the houses and buildings were reconstructed, they painted them with whitewash.  White, as far as the eye could see.
    Down through the decades Lakeshore has continued to paint its buildings white.  Kind of a nod to our history.  Lots of history in Australia, and we’re proud of it.  Still, that’s a lot of white all in one town.
    My Inn is one of the few exceptions.  A sunflower yellow.  Pretty, and most people appreciate the change from all of our white.  I had to get a special permit just to do it though.
    Walking up the street now, past white houses and white stores and our one simple white church, I come to the fountain in the middle of Main Street.  I really do have things to take care of but I take a moment to watch the tiny trickle of water coming out at the top of the three tiers.  It used to pour out gallons of fresh water, gushing in a tall spray, but in the last few years it’s gotten less and less.  No one knows why.
    I love this town.  Ever since I came here I’ve loved it.  Everything about it, even the pathetic cement fountain.  It’s usually quiet and peaceful here.  We have our troubles, but they soon go away.  There’s nowhere else on Earth I’d rather live than right here.  Even when I’m just out running errands.
    The Milkbar is my first stop, picking up a few things like shampoo for myself, and some groceries that Rosie needs for a special desert she’s making tomorrow.  Paper bags in hand I head over to the post office to collect the Inn’s mail.  Gary the postmaster asks me how business is, and I ask the same of him.  “Slow,” he says, just like always.  “The Internet’s gonna kill letters just like video killed the radio star.”
    That joke is always funny.  A little more funny to Gary than it is to me, but still.
    On my way out of the post office, I see a familiar face coming in.
    “Hey, Mom.”  Kevin smiles at me, tall and strong in his dark blue uniform shirt.  His auburn hair used to be down to his shoulders but he’s kept it buzzed short since getting hired at Lakeshore’s police force.
    It was a proud day for me when Kevin came to work here.  I let him know about the position as soon as it came open, never thinking he’d actually want to come live in the same town his mom had moved to.  He’d always wanted to be a police officer, though, and the timing was right.  Now I get to see his freckled face every day.  We look a lot alike, me and Kev.  Everybody says so.
    “Hey there,” I say to him, awkwardly balancing my packages and my mail to give him a hug.  “Off duty?”
    “Yup.  My shift ended an hour ago.  Just getting the mail and then heading home.”
    “Stellar!  Have time for dinner?  A friend of mine from University stopped by.  Love for you to meet her.”
    “Oh, sorry Mom.  Can’t tonight.  I’ve got a…thing to take care of.  Lunch tomorrow?”
    “Sounds great.”  He’s hiding something, that’s easy enough to see, but boys will be boys and a few secrets never hurt anyone.  “I’ll see you then.”
    Another hug, and we