Unexpected

(A Belinda & Bennett Short Story)

Amy Saunders

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Amy Saunders

Other Titles by Amy Saunders

The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries

Cliffhanger (Book One)

Auf’d (Book Two)

Drive-Bye (Book Three)

Overkill (Book Four)

Personal Shopper (A Short Story)

Standalone Titles

Biohazard

The Jester’s Apprentice

Dead Locked

Table of Contents

Unexpected

Sample of Overkill

Other Titles by Amy Saunders

About the Author

Unexpected

Nothing gave Belinda a heart attack like seeing her grandmother standing in the doorway of her house first thing in the morning. Uninvited. No knock. No doorbell. Granted, her grandmother owned the house and Belinda and her twin brother, Kyle, rented it from her, but still. A little warning would be nice. Kyle had left early to play on his sailboat before work at the marina, so Belinda was on her own. Of course, she’d been on her own handling this woman anyway. But she was exhausted with the game playing and relieved to have a break.

“I see you’re up and ready to face life,” her grandmother said. She strolled in the side entrance, setting her tan bag on the bench, her pistachio-shaped eyes examining each crevice as she made her way into the kitchen.

Belinda took a deep breath, ignoring the sarcasm in her grandmother’s tone. Belinda was still in her PJ’s, taking it easy that morning after a busy weekend of selling cupcakes to hungry tourists in her home of Portside, Rhode Island. She had accounting work and other odds and ends to deal with, but she was happy not to rush. “Coffee?” Belinda waved toward the French press on the counter.

Her grandmother looked a little surprised that she offered, but accepted. Belinda filled two proper coffee cups, with saucers, to appease her grandmother’s etiquette standards, and ushered her into the living room. She even had fresh apricot scones.

Belinda sat on the couch next to her, calming down after the initial shock. “What can I help you with?”

Her grandmother produced a crisp white envelope addressed to Mrs. Russo, arching her reddish brown eyebrows. Belinda hid her smile behind her coffee cup. “Congratulations are in order,” her grandmother said. Belinda thought apologies were in order, but this was Madame Russo. She’d take what she could get.

“I promised I’d get the job done.” And she had. Crisp white envelopes bearing invitations to one of Portside’s more prominent annual summer parties had arrived for each member of her family. That one gesture essentially cemented their acceptance back into society.

“Well, I have to say I’m impressed. I didn’t believe you.”

“I know.”

Her grandmother looked taken aback by her bluntness, and Belinda realized she wasn’t usually herself with Madame Russo. At least, not her unguarded self. So it was likely her grandmother didn’t know how she could really be.

“I’m sorry,” Belinda said, “but it was pretty clear you didn’t think I could do it.”

“You have to admit, it was a big task, especially considering recent history.” She looked at Belinda pointedly, no doubt alluding to Belinda’s recent negative local media exposure. “But I see now that I should have taken you seriously.”

It was hardly, “I’m sorry,” but it was still a lot coming from her grandmother. Belinda curled up on the couch, resting her coffee cup on the top of her knees. “I appreciate that you didn’t entirely dismiss me, either. You held up your end too.” Belinda still didn’t know if her grandmother had called off the hunt on Bennett, or if she should thank Alexa Dupuis for that. But she would give her grandmother the benefit of the doubt and assume she was responsible.

Her grandmother didn’t flinch, just gazed back at Belinda thoughtfully. “I realize you think we’re very different people, and I suppose that’s true in many ways. But by sticking to your guns on this one, you’ve proved we’re more alike than you think.”

“What do you mean?” Did her grandmother’s grandmother threaten to ruin her boyfriend’s life?

“Your grandfather wasn’t exactly welcomed into my family with open arms, either.”

Belinda tilted her head to the side. Her grandfather passed away when she was young and she had no memory of him, so she mostly knew him through her mother’s stories. Her grandmother had hooked her curiosity. “What happened?”

A mischievous twinkle lit up her grandmother’s eyes. “He was a thief.”

Belinda jerked her head back. “What?!”

“Don’t get excited.” Her grandmother waved her hand dismissively. “It was petty nonsense when he was a young man. But it was known in our neighborhood, and my parents weren’t exactly thrilled when we started dating, even though that was history by then.”

“Why has no one told me this before?” Belinda might be mistaken, but she thought a detail like that was worth sharing.

“It’s not like he stole the crown jewels.”

“So what are we talking about–candy bars?”

Her grandmother stared up at the ceiling. “I believe his worst offense was a car, but then again, he did love to exaggerate. He may have told me that to impress me.”

Was stealing a car impressive? Well, she was impressed by Bennett’s breaking and entering skills. Turned on, actually. So maybe it was…

“I married him,” her grandmother continued, “so I guess it worked.” She pushed off the couch, smoothing down the front of her pants. “You should come stay with me this winter, when your cupcake business slows down for the season. There’s probably a few more things I could tell you about your grandfather that you didn’t know.”

Belinda smiled. “I’ll definitely think about it.” Despite everything, the notion intrigued her. After all, Belinda had rarely spent much time alone with her. It might be a good experience.

“Good. Well, I’ll let you get back to your busy schedule.” She looked over Belinda’s PJ’s with disapproval.

Belinda escorted her out, shutting the door and exhaling as soon as it clicked. She survived. Everything was okay. She swiveled around to find the kittens, Aria and Poseidon, sneaking back out of whatever hiding places they’d scampered into when her grandmother showed up. “Smart felines,” she muttered.

On second thought, staying with her grandmother was probably a bad idea.

~ * ~

Thanks for reading! This short story features characters from The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries. If you’re already following the series, I really appreciate your support! If you’re new, you can start the series with book one, Cliffhanger, for free. Plus, follow my blog for more Belinda & Bennett shorts, and join my email list to learn about new and upcoming releases!

Keep reading to get a glimpse of book four of The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Overkill, available on January 13, 2015!

Chapter 1

If Belinda had known how exciting a home surveillance system could be, she would’ve installed one forever ago. She smiled and waved at the corner of the living room while Bennett hunched over a laptop at the dining room table on the other side of the room by the front windows. The shades blocked the heat from the sun on that July morning, the sheer white curtains fluttering from the AC vents on the floor.

“I’m sure this is exactly what your next house intruder will do,” Bennett said dryly before telling Kyle via walkie-talkie to connect the camera in the upstairs hallway. He wasn’t kidding when he said next house intruder. They’d already dealt with one, hence the camera installation.

“Is it working?” Belinda leaned in front of him, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. She grinned at the image of her and Bennett at the dining room table. “It’s working!”

“Connected,” Kyle’s static-ridden voice said through the walkie-talkie. In the blink of an eye, an image of the upstairs hallway filled another square on the computer screen. Kyle stood back and gave them a peace sign. Belinda clapped. “Take that, suckers!” she said to no one in particular.

Bennett just shook his head. “Let’s hope you don’t actually need these, and that it’s just going to be a lot of boring footage of an empty hallway.”

The living room camera shifted to the right and a gray and white bundle of fur appeared squeezed behind the media cabinet. “There’s Poseidon!” Belinda pointed. “I’d wondered where he disappeared to.” They could just make out his light gray back slowly rising and falling. Belinda rolled her eyes. “Typical. Just so long as he didn’t chew the wires again.”

Bennett raised his arms high, stretching his back. “That’s it. Everything’s working. You’ve got coverage in here, upstairs, in the kitchen, and right outside the side door and garage for now.” The chair screeched on the hardwood floor as he pushed back from the table to stand. “We’ll get the rest of the outside cameras up soon so you have a full three-sixty view of your property.”

“I can actually watch the grass grow.” Belinda stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck, kissing him gently on the lips. “Thank you, pooh bear,” she said. Bennett jerked his head back and frowned. “What? You’ve given me stank eye for everything else I’ve tried. I’m running out of options.”

“There’s one perfectly good option any time you wish to use it.”

“What’s that?”

“My name.”

Belinda wrinkled her nose. “That’s no fun. We’re dating. We need cutesy pet names.”

“Pretty sure we don’t.”

“Pretty sure we do.” Belinda followed him into the kitchen, where Bennett stopped in front of the coffee pot to refill his mug. Kyle clopped down the stairs across from the kitchen and threw open the fridge door. “Kyle, tell him we need cute terms of endearment for each other. And we just ate.”

Her twin brother stared into the fridge. They were currently renting that house together from their grandmother. That could change, but Belinda was sick of moving and perfectly happy to stay put as long as her grandmother behaved, and she had since their last conversation about Bennett. At that moment, her grandmother wasn’t even in Portside, vacationing on the Vineyard with one of her other daughters.

Kyle said in a shrill falsetto, “You need cute terms of endearment for each other, and we just ate.”

Belinda kicked his leg. No help at all. And heaven help her if she sounded like that! “The just ate part was for you.”

“I’m hungry.” He slammed the door and finally acknowledged them. “I think you should stick with Bennett.”

“Why?”

“Look at that face.” Kyle took a step in Bennett’s direction, holding out his hand like he was about to cup Bennett’s chin. Belinda obeyed and took a moment to observe Bennett’s square jaw, tight lips, and gray eyes. “What else could you possibly imagine calling him? Ben? Benny? Ett?”

“Pooh bear.”

Kyle’s hand dropped and he tipped his head at Bennett, a swath of his honey brown hair falling across his face. His hair had grown longish and shaggy the last several weeks and she liked it. “Sorry, man.” Bennett waved his coffee mug in Kyle’s direction like brushing away the apology.

“What’s wrong with pooh bear?” Belinda crossed her arms, looking to Bennett for the answer.

“Everything.”

Belinda huffed. “Fine. I’ll keep working on it. You finish your coffee and I’ll go get ready.” Belinda jogged upstairs, past the camera in the hall. She’d decided against cameras in the bedrooms, thinking that could get a little weird. But she was excited to have her very own video security system, installed by her security expert boyfriend. The next thief who came into her house wouldn’t be so difficult to identify.

Belinda disappeared into the small walk-in closet in her bedroom at the end of the hallway, weighing her swimsuit options. Technically, she’d been debating that subject since two days ago, but was still unsure. She and Bennett were meeting their detective friend, Jonas Parker, at the beach later. It was Jonas’ day off. Belinda’s college friend, Ardith Coelho, was also joining them. Even though it was just a coincidence (Ardith had e-mailed to say she was moving back in state and wanted to get together), Belinda couldn’t help but grin at the chance to introduce Ardith to Jonas. Or maybe vice versa. She wasn’t sure about that either.

She finally closed her eyes and snatched one of the suits off the rack. Then after opening her eyes, she put it back and picked another one. After turning and posing and bending in front of the full-length mirror on the door, Belinda shimmied into a pair of denim short-shorts and slipped on a fitted graphic T-shirt, spending another five minutes adjusting her wavy bun until everything was as perfect as it was going to get. A few minutes of wind and sunscreen and sand, and her whole look would be demolished anyway.

She skipped downstairs with a pair of flip-flops dangling from her fingers, and hopped off the bottom landing, spreading her arms out. “Ready!”

Bennett glanced at the clock above the fridge, munching on some crackers Kyle had out, and looked back at her in amusement. Bennett had probably changed into his blue plaid trunks and O’Neill T-shirt in the time it took her to choose a swimsuit. “You try being a girl,” she said curtly and breezed out the side door.

Jonas and Ardith weren’t meeting them for another hour or so, but since Bennett had forced her out of bed so early to install the cameras, Belinda wanted to get a head start at getting a good spot on the beach. It was a hot day in July–it would fill up fast. Kyle would’ve joined them that morning, but he was giving sailing lessons at the yacht club.

They had to wait in line to get into the beach parking lot and pay and find a spot. Parents and kids, couples with babies, and groups of teenagers emptied out of minivans, SUVs, and sedans, popping trunks to grab chairs and umbrellas and bags and coolers of all varieties. In Belinda’s opinion, the beach was a great equalizer. The rich and the poor of every background and race and skin tone plopped side-by-side on the sand, setting up tents and laying out blankets like it was some sort of great festival to the ocean.

Belinda and Bennett navigated around the groups webbing out from the center of the beach near the bathhouses and concession stands. To their left, the beach curved out and you could see the wildlife sanctuary building on a spit of rock sticking out into the water. To their far right was the town beach, annexed at high tide from the rest by a rock grouping jutting out from the sand. Sheer cliff faces shot up from the water with a few houses standing like sentinels on the fingers of land. On a clear day, you could see Portside, Rhode Island’s, downtown at the tip. Closer to the beach, green grass led up a hill to a stone building that loomed over them like a great stern judge of everyone frolicking half-naked below. That was Belinda’s old high school. Good times.

Belinda struggled to walk straight in the sand carrying her chair and beach bag. Meantime, Bennett marched ahead with ease hauling his chair, another beach bag, an umbrella, the lunch cooler, a food bag, and his boogie board. Unfair.

They found a relatively empty spot between the town beach and the bathhouses (more important, between the bathrooms and frozen lemonade stand) and started setting up. Rather, Belinda watched as Bennett dug in the umbrella so it wouldn’t fly away, and then she unfolded her chair in the shade and placed the bags so everything was in easy reach.

“Are you settled now?” Bennett’s gray eyes were covered with aviators, but she knew him well enough to tell they held a glint.

Belinda looked up from her seat, testing out the placement of all the bags. She brushed sand from her hands and stood up. “All set. What do we do while we wait?” She wasn’t hungry yet, nor ready to nestle into her chair for a bout of laziness. “Walk?” Bennett said. She took his hand and they strolled toward the water’s edge, far away at low tide.

Straight down the middle of the beach, there was nothing but pure ocean to see for miles, with an occasional barge or leisure craft in the distance. The water frothed a dark, murky green. This wasn’t the Caribbean. You couldn’t see your hands in the water, let alone down to your feet. Swimming, while refreshing on a hot day like that, always came with a sense of the unknown for Belinda. Anything could be down there and you’d never know it.

“Are you sure you didn’t plan this whole thing with your friend?” Bennett said. “It’s convenient she’s showing up when Jonas is hanging out with us.”

“I promise it’s just how it worked out. I swear I’m not matchmaking.” Belinda bit back a smile, though, leaping over a clump of red seaweed. At the worst of times, you couldn’t be on that end of the beach without gagging because of the stuff.

“You may not be trying to get them together, but you’re not avoiding the possibility either.”

“You know me so well.” Belinda walked backwards to face him, lacing her fingers with his. Their relationship had been on the upswing since they got their issues sorted during the whole Elena Campos murder investigation. They had some peace and they were making the most of it.

Water surged around their ankles. Belinda wasn’t sweltering enough yet to enjoy the chill that shot up her legs. She jumped away from the water and landed on something solid. She lost balance, her fingers slipping from Bennett’s, and toppled to her rump with a thud on the hard packed sand.

Bennett helped her up, grabbing what made her fall. Belinda blinked. She didn’t step on something, but through something. He held up a … painting. It was on a square canvas, roughly 16x20, no frame. She looked from the painting out to the water. Sometimes you’d see a boat or two fishing or speeding along the shoreline, but not today. Where did it come from?

Bennett examined it with both hands, bringing it closer to read the signature in the bottom corner. “It says Simone,” and he held it out to get a feeling for the entire painting, nodding. The greens and oranges that streaked together formed a field landscape. “It looks like her work.”

Simone was a famous local artist and good friend of Belinda’s family. “How did it end up here?” She touched the ragged part where she’d stepped through it. She couldn’t imagine tossing a Simone original in the water.

“Good question.” Bennett weighed the painting with his hands like that might tell them.

“I think we should hold onto it.”

“Why? You think you know where it came from?”

“No clue. But I can get in touch with Simone and see if we can track down who owned it.”

Bennett nodded appreciatively. He was getting used to her connections and coming to see their value. “I’ll go throw this in the trunk. Keep your distance from that frozen lemonade truck.”

Belinda stuck out her tongue. She watched him walk back to a different beach entrance, then gazed out at the water curiously. Of all the things she’d seen washed up on the beach, this was original.

Overkill comes out January 13, 2015, and is now available for pre-order!

Other Titles by Amy Saunders

The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries

Cliffhanger (Book One)

Auf’d (Book Two)

Drive-Bye (Book Three)

Overkill (Book Four)

Personal Shopper (A Short Story)

Standalone Titles

Biohazard

The Jester’s Apprentice

Dead Locked

About the Author

Amy Saunders is a mystery lover with a soft spot for humor and romance–and the ocean. She lives in Massachusetts, and loves to bake and watch movies. She’s the author of one mystery series and three standalone mysteries. Learn more about Amy and her books at her website.