Live and Let Dive, Evelyn Chambers Cozy Mysteries: Book 6

Sample Chapter

CHAPTER ONE

Evelyn Chambers rushed into her house, stripped off her coat and hung it in the hall closet, then headed straight for the kitchen. The wall clock read 5:45. Roger Reed, a retired veterinarian and a good friend, would arrive for dinner at 6:30, and she had no idea what to tell him.

“What will Roger think?” she asked Midnight, her black cat who sat on the corner of the island counter, green eyes fixed on her with what Evelyn could only describe as feline judgment.

Midnight responded by knocking a wooden spoon onto the floor with one deliberate swipe of his paw.

“That’s not helpful.” Evelyn sighed as she bent to retrieve the spoon. She ran her fingers through Midnight’s sleek fur, which earned a purr that rumbled through his chest. The familiar sound calmed her nerves. “No asthma,” she said to him. “I like that.” Midnight was on asthma medication and a steroid, and thankfully hadn’t had an attack since she’d returned from Russia just a couple of weeks ago.

Evelyn put her hands on her hips. “I still don’t have an answer.”

She pictured Roger, who, like her, was in his early seventies. He was lanky, with gray hair and a charming smile, the kind of man who carried himself with quiet confidence. Sensible and assured, with a subtle sense of humor, he was someone she could trust completely. She had come to cherish the time she’d spent with him since the previous summer, although a part of her would always hold Henry, her deceased husband, close in her heart. Her years with him would remain precious, yet Evelyn couldn’t deny that Roger was slowly becoming something more—a friend, a confidant, perhaps even a beau. But could she tell him about her afternoon?

Her mind circled back to her meeting with her CIA supervisor, Anthony Torres, that she’d just returned from. The memory of his office—stark, impersonal, all business—contrasted dramatically with the warmth of her kitchen.

“Spying on a man in St. Thomas,” she said aloud. The words would’ve sounded absurd several months ago, but now? She shook her head. Midnight looked at her, ears perked forward with interest. “The CIA has been keeping tabs on Damian Cross, a man they suspect is with the same nefarious organization I encountered when I went to Munich in December.”

Before she could elaborate, her tabby, Chance, darted between her legs as she tried to walk to the pantry, his three-legged gait stilted but somehow graceful. He executed perfect figure-eights around her ankles and threatened her balance with each pass.

“You’re going to trip me one of these days,” Evelyn said. She bent down to scratch behind his ears. The cat leaned into her touch, his motor running at full capacity.

A movement caught her eye, and she looked up to see Lucky, her other three-legged tabby, watching the proceedings from a perch atop the refrigerator, his tail swishing with interest.

“And how did you get up there?” Evelyn asked as she opened the pantry door to get cat food. Lucky blinked slowly and offered no explanation for his climbing prowess.

From the breakfast nook came a loud meow. Butterscotch had bumped into a dining chair, her blindness no impediment to her determination to be first in line for dinner.

“Yes, yes, I know you’re all starving,” Evelyn said as she reached for their food bowls.

All four cats converged on her as she took the food and bowls to the island. She stepped carefully around the feline parade that wove in and out of her path. While organizing dinner for her demanding companions, a symphony of meows rose in volume and urgency.

“It’s like I never feed you,” Evelyn muttered.

She felt the brush of fur against her ankles, heard the tap of tiny nails on the tile floor, and smiled despite her mind being on her conversation with Torres. As the cats ate, she turned on the oven, then pulled salad fixings from the refrigerator and got a cutting board and bowl from cupboards. She sliced tomatoes for a salad as she continued her one-sided conversation.

“Torres suspects Cross and his group are plotting some kind of banking scheme to disrupt global markets, but they’re not sure exactly what. They’ve had other agents following Cross on other islands—Bermuda, the Cayman Islands—but Cross appears to have figured out he’s being spied on, so they need another agent to take over.”

Evelyn paused her knife work and looked down at Chance, who had abandoned his food to return to his figure-eight pattern around her feet.

“Me? An agent?” she said wryly. “Who would’ve thought?”

No answer from the felines, and she went on.

“I’m really just a consultant, you know. Torres’ intelligence says Cross is going to the Emerald Beach Resort in St. Thomas. Torres wants to send me there to keep tabs on Cross. Where he goes, I go.” She resumed slicing, her knife making crisp sounds against the cutting board. “Torres doesn’t think I’ll be spotted. After all, who would suspect a seventy-two-year-old grandmother of being a spy?”

Midnight hopped back onto the island, stole a piece of lettuce, and batted it across the counter with evident delight. Evelyn shook her head at him.

“Another mission within a few weeks of returning from Russia,” she said. “Okay, fine. I can surveil someone. But right now, I can’t think of a single reason to suddenly go to St. Thomas.”

She watched Midnight play with the purloined produce, the sight a momentary distraction from her dilemma. Lucky chose that moment to drop a piece of his food on the floor. Then he swiped at it and sent it across the kitchen. He pounced after it, tail high in the air.

“You’re not helping either,” Evelyn said, but she smiled at his antics.

Butterscotch followed the sound of her feline brother, her nose twitching as she navigated the kitchen with the assurance of a cat who had mapped every inch of the house in her mind. But she couldn’t anticipate where Lucky was and collided into him. The two cats tumbled together in a tangle of limbs.

“At least you’re entertaining me while I panic,” Evelyn said to them.

She shook her head and turned to the refrigerator to retrieve the lasagna she’d prepared that morning. As she opened the door, Chance made a determined dash to investigate its contents. Evelyn blocked his path with her foot, a move perfected over months of food-preparation defense.

“No, this is not for you,” she said and closed the door quickly. “You had your dinner.”

She put the lasagna in the oven, then turned back to the counter to find Midnight now sitting on the island with the regal confidence of a king who had claimed his throne. “You need to get down while I fix dinner,” she told him and gently put him on the floor.

Midnight immediately jumped up to the same spot.

“Fine, you win. I’ll move.” Evelyn conceded defeat and moved to another counter. As she finished fixing the salad, her mind returned to the mission. “Torres trusts me because I can think on my feet,” she said to the black cat, who still held court on the island. He regarded her with what she chose to interpret as confidence.

The salad prepared, Evelyn went into the dining room and wiped off the table.

“But I can’t exactly tell Roger I’m going to spy on a man who might be an international criminal . . .” Evelyn’s voice trailed off as she watched Lucky jump onto the freshly wiped table.

“Off! I just cleaned that!” she exclaimed. Lucky jumped down but didn’t look particularly remorseful.

Chance darted past, dragging a kitchen towel across the floor behind him.

“Really? Is everyone conspiring to make this harder?” Evelyn asked the room at large. No one answered, but the chaos continued unabated as she set the table.

The doorbell rang, which caused a feline scatter. Midnight jumped from the counter, Lucky darted under the table, and Chance abandoned his towel mid-drag. Butterscotch bumped into the door frame as she headed in the wrong direction.

Evelyn smoothed her hair, took a deep breath, and went to open the front door. Roger stood on her porch, his gray hair windblown, his tall frame bundled against the January chill.

“I brought wine,” he said. He held up a bottle with a smile that warmed Evelyn’s heart.

“Thank you,” Evelyn said. She stepped aside to let him in.

As Roger took off his coat and gloves, Chance immediately rubbed his face against Roger’s trousers with evident delight.

“At least someone’s happy to see me,” Roger laughed as he bent down to stroke the three-legged cat.

“I’m happy to see you,” Evelyn said despite her anxiety about her impending mission, and what she would tell Roger.

Lucky appeared as if summoned and stretched up on his hind legs to inspect the wine bottle in Roger’s hand.

“They act like I never feed them,” Evelyn said as the cats swarmed Roger, each demanding attention in their own way.

“I know that’s not true,” he said. He held out the bottle.

She took it, and Roger followed her into the kitchen. He poured wine while Midnight resumed his supervisory position on the counter.

“Move over, your majesty,” Roger teased the cat, who gave him a superior look and didn’t budge an inch.

Butterscotch followed the sound of Roger’s voice and circled his feet with unerring accuracy.

“Watch your step, she’s helping,” Evelyn warned.

Evelyn took the lasagna from the oven, and they settled at the table. The savory aroma of the pasta dish wafted between them, and they served themselves. The lasagna was delicious, the salad was just right, and the wine was a symphony to their taste buds; everything was perfect except for the words Evelyn couldn’t bring herself to say. As they enjoyed the meal, Roger described his latest antique find, a Victorian inkwell he’d discovered at an estate sale. Evelyn updated him about her daughter, Kyra, and her busy workload as a divorce attorney. Then she told him about her son Vince’s boys, and John’s upcoming trumpet concert and how Colton couldn’t wait for spring break.

Finally, she could delay no longer. “I need to go to St. Thomas on Monday,” Evelyn said after Roger’s story about his neighbor’s new car.

Roger paused, fork halfway to his mouth. “St. Thomas?”

“Yes, the Caribbean,” she added, trying to sound casual. Her heart pounded in her chest.

“Why?” Roger asked, his tone natural, curious rather than suspicious.

Evelyn’s mind went completely blank. All her CIA missions, all Torres’s confidence in her quick thinking, and now she couldn’t formulate a simple cover story. The silence stretched between them, growing more awkward with each passing second.

Torres trusts me because I can handle myself in tight spots, and now I can’t come up with a reason to travel to St. Thomas, she thought.

Her mind raced for a plausible explanation that wouldn’t require an elaborate web of lies.

Roger filled the silence and gave her precious seconds to think. “I’ve never been to St. Thomas, and I’ve always wanted to go,” he said. “My neighbors, Jim and Carol, went a few years back, and they couldn’t stop talking about it. They said the beaches were like nothing they’d ever seen, powdery white sand, water so clear you can see straight to the bottom.”

Evelyn half-listened as she still searched for a believable reason for her sudden Caribbean travel plans.

“Why’re you going now?” Roger pressed.

The words tumbled out before she could stop them. “Joan needs help with a hospital audit that came up suddenly.”

Roger cocked an eyebrow. “Joan?”

“A nurse colleague. I used to work with her, and now she’s working at a hospital in St. Thomas,” Evelyn said. A cringe rippled through her as she built upon the lie. “She’s in a bind, short-staffed. She called me this afternoon. She really needs some help to get everything in order with the audit, and I handled documentation for several audits before I retired.”

Lucky chose that moment to hop onto Roger’s lap, as if trying to distract him from her awkward explanation.

“You know, I’ve been wanting a vacation,” Roger said as the cat settled on his lap.

Evelyn’s stomach dropped. The mission would require discretion, observation, fluid scheduling, and reports back to Torres. How would that be possible with Roger in tow?

“I could come along, make it a vacation,” he continued. His eyes brightened with excitement. “I could see the sights while you’re working, or just hang out on the beach or at the pool with a good book. Or maybe I could find an animal shelter where I could volunteer.”

Evelyn’s mind spun like a top for reasons why he shouldn’t accompany her, but she came up blank again. She glanced at Midnight, who watched from his spot on the island with what she swore was amusement.

“I . . . uh . . .” Evelyn started, but no brilliant explanation to deter Roger emerged.

Roger had already pulled out his phone to check dates. “It’s perfect timing actually. I don’t have anything on my calendar next week.”

“Okay.” Evelyn forced a smile. “It’s settled then. You’ll come with me to St. Thomas.”

“Great!”

She gulped at his excitement. Now what would she tell Torres?

The rest of dinner unfolded with a sense of unreality, as Roger discussed flight options and things to do in St. Thomas. When they cleared dishes, the cats following them between the kitchen and dining room like a furry procession.

“If we leave Monday, we could have a full week there and get back before the weekend.” Roger followed her to the kitchen and talked faster as he worked.

Evelyn nodded mechanically and loaded the dishwasher on autopilot. When they finished cleaning up, they settled in the living room, Roger comfortable in his usual chair. Lucky claimed his lap immediately, and Butterscotch settled beside him, her eyes closed in contentment. Roger pulled up resort websites on his phone.

“Look at this place. It’s right on the beach,” he said and turned the phone to show Evelyn an image of crystal-clear water and palm trees.

“I’ll look at some hotels later tonight,” she said.

She couldn’t tell him that Torres already had her booked into the Emerald Beach Resort, where Damian Cross would be staying. Midnight watched Evelyn intently from his position on the coffee table, green eyes unblinking.

Don’t give me that look, Evelyn thought and avoided the cat’s gaze.

“I wonder about a rental car,” Roger said. “It could be tricky for us. Did you know they drive on the left side of the road there? And my friends said the local drivers can be pretty aggressive too.”

“I heard that,” she said.

Torres had addressed car rental in their meeting. She’d need her own vehicle to track Damian’s movements, which made sense. Evelyn was apprehensive for the reasons Roger had brought up, though. But she’d have to make it work.

“I’ll be going back and forth from the hospital,” she said. “Joan said the hospital will rent a car for me, so that’ll be taken care of. Why don’t I just drive and save you the hassle?”

Roger thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t see why that wouldn’t work.”

He made notes about flights with growing excitement.

Evelyn half-listened and mentally composed her conversation with Torres. This isn’t exactly what he had in mind for a covert operation.

When Roger finally gathered his things to leave, he could hardly contain himself. “I’ll call about flights first thing in the morning,” he promised as he donned his coat and gloves.

The cats walked with her to the door as usual, a feline delegation to see Roger out. Evelyn kept a smile in place even as her fingers worried at the hem of her sleeve. Roger had become one with the household, which only made her upcoming deception harder to bear. He leaned in for a quick kiss goodnight, and then he was gone, taking his excitement with him but leaving Evelyn with her dilemma. She returned to the living room and sank into her chair. Butterscotch jumped into her lap and kneaded her thighs before settling into a tight circle.

“Well, this complicates things,” she said to the marmalade cat, who purred in response.

The other three gathered around her, Chance and Lucky at her feet, Midnight on the coffee table next to her chair.

“Torres is not going to be happy about this turn of events,” Evelyn murmured.

The steady rhythm of Butterscotch’s purring provided small comfort as her mind circled the same question over and over.

How will this go?

I have fallen in love with this series; it has taken me into a new world of adventure. I’m like a kid in the candy store waiting for the next adventure to begin. ~Reader review