Getaway Bay Cozy Mysteries Box Set 1 Read online

  Getaway Bay Box Set 1

  Grace York

  Copyright © 2019 by Grace York

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organisations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  For more information about the author, including other books in the series, please go to graceyorkauthor.com

  Cover design by James, GoOnWrite.com

  Edited by Phoenix Editing, phoenixeditingandproofreading.com

  Contents

  Arson at the Art Gallery

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  The Body in the Beach House

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  The Corpse at the Carnival

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Death at the Dog Show

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Note from the Author

  Bonus Cookbook

  Introduction

  ADAM'S FAVOURITE LASAGNE

  BARBECUED GARLIC AND HERB MUSHROOMS

  BUTTER-BRAISED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

  BUTTERFLIED LAMB LEG WITH ROAST POTATOES

  CHICKEN CASSEROLE WITH MUSTARD AND TARRAGON

  CHICKEN PASTA BAKE

  CHICKEN SOUP

  HONEY GLAZED CARROTS

  KUNG PAO CHICKEN

  LAYLA'S FAVOURITE SALMON AND SWEET POTATO PATTIES

  LAYLA'S PESTO PASTA

  LIME AND CHILLI CHICKEN SALAD

  POTATO BAKE

  WHOLE BAKED FISH

  ANZAC BISCUITS

  APPLE AND CINNAMON SLICE

  APPLE CRUMBLE

  BAKED LEMON CHEESECAKE PIE

  BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

  CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

  COFFEE AND WALNUT MUFFINS

  CRANBERRY AND OAT SLICE

  FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE BISCUITS

  HOT CROSS BUNS

  HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

  ISAAC'S FAVOURITE PECAN CINNAMON SCROLLS

  JAFFA SLICE

  JAM AND CREAM SPONGE CAKE

  JUSTIN'S FAVOURITE COCONUT AND LIME CAKE

  LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

  ORANGE & POPPYSEED MUFFINS

  PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS

  RASPBERRY, PEAR, AND BANANA BREAD

  RASPBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP BROWNIES

  SCONES

  VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

  WARM PEACH AND ALMOND DESSERT CAKE

  LEMON BUTTER

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Arson at the Art Gallery

  1

  "It's this street here," Addison said, pointing wildly just as her daughter drove them past it.

  "Can you tell me a little quicker next time?" said Olivia, pulling over to turn the fully-laden car around. "This one?"

  "Yes." Addison checked the map on her phone again to be sure. It had been three months since she'd been here and bought the place, and she'd never been very good at directions anyway.

  Olivia turned into Seaview Drive, and the beach house came quickly into view. "That's it!" Addison cried. She looked over to her daughter, who'd slowed the car and was craning her neck to see the building out of the front windscreen. "What do you think?"

  "It looks old." Olivia parked the car in the driveway and they both got out.

  "It is old. It was built in the nineteen-twenties. But it's beautiful, isn't it?"

  Olivia raised her eyebrows. "I think we might have different perceptions of beauty, Mum."

  Addison stood back to admire the house as Olivia started grabbing bags from the back of the Rav 4. It was rundown, sure, but the house was beautiful to her. And now it was home. "You've got the keys, I presume?" asked Olivia. She'd climbed onto the verandah and was waiting, arms laden with bags. Addison was struck again by how quickly her daughter was growing into a woman. Olivia was taller than her now, and her long dark hair was just like Addison's had been before she'd cut it short a few years ago.

  "What's your rush?"

  "We've been driving for two days, Mum. I stink. I need a shower. And food."

  Addison smiled. Ever practical, was her daughter. Eighteen going on thirty, her father used to say. No he didn't. He said sixteen going on thirty. That's how old she was when he'd died.

  Rob would have loved this place.

  Addison shook thoughts of her late husband from her mind and unlocked the front door. It opened into a huge, empty, great room with a fireplace on one wall and windows everywhere. She could see the use for the windows, the fireplace not so much. They were in Queensland. It wasn't supposed to get cold enough for a fire up here.

  There was ample space on one side of the great room for a large lounge area, and a dining sp
ace on the other. In the corner was a staircase leading to the first and second floors. As Addison recalled, there was a second staircase at the back of the house from the kitchen.

  Olivia dumped the bags in the middle of the room and went off exploring. Addison had already been through the house twice last time she was here, and figured she had time for exploring later. She went back outside and stood on the verandah. It ran the entire length of the front of the house, and circled down the northern side and around the back as well. There was another one above her, attached to the first-floor bedrooms, while the bedrooms on the second floor had windows that all overlooked the view Addison smiled at now. The view that had made her buy this house on a whim three months ago.

  Their new home was directly opposite one of the most beautiful sandy beaches Addison had ever seen. Her childhood memories of this beach were of its golden sand and sparkling blue water. She'd thought she'd romanticised it all these years – built it up in her head as something more beautiful than it actually was. But she hadn't. It was stunning.

  "I can see why you like this place," said Olivia, putting her arm around Addison and leaning on the verandah railing. She tilted her head towards the water. "You going to go in?"

  Addison turned to see Olivia in a swimsuit. She'd obviously chosen to rid herself of the travel stink in the ocean, rather than the shower.

  "I'm more of a 'walk on the beach' type of person. You go ahead. Be careful out there." Her daughter had officially been an adult for three months now, but Addison would always worry. And even though the water looked calm, the ocean was not something you took for granted.

  "I will." Olivia headed for the beach, then turned back to wave. "Go check out the backyard," she said, grinning. "There's a mango tree."

  Addison smiled and watched her only daughter cross the road and walk down the track to the beach. Olivia turned back and yelled something Addison didn't quite catch.

  "What?"

  "They've got flags!"

  "Great!" Addison gave her a thumbs up, and breathed a sigh of relief. The beach was patrolled. Of course it was, she realised. Getaway Bay was a tourist town, after all. People travelled miles for that beach. It's why she'd bought the beach house. She wanted to turn it into a bed and breakfast.

  Addison pottered around for a while, checking all the nooks and crannies of the house as she waited for the removalist truck to show up. Yes, the house needed a lot of work, but most of it was cosmetic. She'd hired a local handyman to come and give her a quote on fixing anything too complicated to handle herself. Like the hot water system, for example. Holding her hand under the hot tap in the kitchen, Addison realised why Olivia had chosen the ocean over a shower.

  "You're here!"

  Addison turned in the direction of the voice to find her cousin, Layla, standing in the doorway with an enormous bunch of flowers in one hand, and a tray of coffee in the other. A paper bag dangled from the coffee hand.

  A wide grin spread instantly across Addison's face as she rushed over to greet her favourite cousin. Layla was as colourful as ever, a bright floral dress setting off her long red hair. She was short in stature, but she made up for it and then some with her warm nature.

  "Yes, we made it," said Addison. "Finally. Last time I drove that far I was a kid in the back seat, begging my parents to play I Spy."

  "It's definitely quicker to fly." Layla handed the flowers over, and Addison searched the room for somewhere to put them, settling on the wide mantlepiece.

  "Thanks for these. We'll have to wait for my stuff to arrive before we can get them into a vase. How are you?"

  "Excited to have you here. Where's Olivia? I'm dying to meet her."

  "She's freshening up out there," said Addison, pointing to the waves. "She shouldn't be too much longer. Let's sit outside and wait for her. What have you got there?"

  "Coffee and scones from Hazel's. Best coffee in Getaway Bay. Hazel threw in three of her scones when she heard I was coming out to welcome you."

  "That's lovely of her." Addison led the way back out onto the verandah, and they both lowered themselves to the steps. It was the only available seating until the truck arrived.

  "You haven't tasted Hazel's scones."

  "Oh. Good or bad?"

  Layla screwed up her nose. "She lost her baker a month ago, and hasn't been able to get another one. She's struggling. Lucky she makes good coffee. Anyway, that's a long story for another time. I'm so excited you're here. It's been forever."

  "I was here three months ago."

  "Well, yes, but that was a flying visit. I still can't believe you saw this place and bought it the next day." Layla turned and surveyed the rundown building. "Are you sure you want to tackle something like this?"

  "You sound like Olivia. I'm fifty-five, not seventy-five. There's plenty of life in me yet."

  "Fair enough. I'm just glad to have you nearby again after all these years."

  The cousins reminisced on the steps until Olivia came striding up the path and across the road at the exact same time the truck arrived.

  "Finally, we'll get something to sit on." Addison quickly introduced Olivia and Layla, before going out to greet the truck driver, Jacko. They'd met in Sydney two days ago when he'd arrived with his two sons to load the truck. Jacko was one of the biggest guys Addison had ever seen, and covered in tattoos. He would've looked more at home as a nightclub bouncer, but he'd turned out to be one of the sweetest guys Addison had met. His sons were almost as big as their father, and just as lovely.

  "You made it," Addison said as Jacko and the boys climbed out of the truck. "Good trip?"

  "Always. I love the open road." Jacko shook her hand and looked up into the sky. "Few hours of daylight left yet. We'd better get cracking."

  "You don't want to take a little break first?" Addison asked, before realising she had nothing to offer them.

  "Nah. Been sitting in the cab all day. Need to get the circulation flowing. Come on, boys."

  For the next three hours Jacko and his boys unloaded furniture and boxes while Addison and Olivia told them where to put it. Layla busied herself unpacking boxes in the kitchen, which was a great help. By the time the truck was empty and Jacko and the boys were on their way back to Sydney, Addison was ready for a cup of tea.

  "Did you find the kettle?" she asked Layla, sinking into one of the chairs of her dining table, which fit perfectly in the beach house's large eat-in kitchen.

  "I sure did. Cups and tea bags, too."

  "You're a gem."

  Layla smiled and put the kettle on. "So Olivia, what do you think of Getaway Bay?"

  Olivia shrugged; she was still in her swimming costume, but had added a pair of cut-off denim shorts and a yellow tank top. Her long dark hair had made a wet patch down her back. "The beach is great. Less crowded than Bondi, too. And less posers."

  "What about the house?" asked Addison.

  "It's okay, I suppose. Can we get some food? I'm starving."

  Addison figured 'okay I suppose' was the best she was going to get. Layla put a cup of tea in front of her, and Addison gripped it with both hands. "Is there somewhere in town we can go for dinner?" she asked Layla, then looked down at the state of her clothes. "Or maybe takeaway?"

  "I was going to make you something and bring it over to heat up, but I ran out of time," said Layla, fishing in her handbag. "So I brought this." She handed over a pizza menu. "They deliver. Sorry, it was the best I could do."

  "You've done plenty," said Addison, wrapping her cousin a hug. "Thanks for coming today. Oh, I almost forgot to ask – how is your dad?"

  Layla's face dropped. "Not great, I'm afraid. But I'll tell you all about that tomorrow. I've got to run, Jenna's been home alone all afternoon. I hate to think what she's been up to."

  "Jenna's here?" Addison held Layla at arm's length. "Why didn't you say?"

  Layla laughed. "Didn't want to scare you off before you'd unpacked. See ya!"

  "Who's Jenna?" asked Olivia, one eye on the pizz
a menu.