Jordan Gray - Vanished (Blackpool Mystery)

Rohan looked over at Willie, curled into a fetal position, beyond all hope and care. I dont know how he was hurt, but it was no accident.

Michael didnt attempt any first aidthe time was well past that. Willie had probably been stabbed or shot. Whatever it was had happened on the deck of the boat. Willie had staggered to the wheel and collapsed, his lifeblood leaking, pooling, draining away, his lifeblood leaking, pooling, draining away, leaving his eyes sunken, his complexion gray and his breathing as shallow as Blackpools beach at high tide.

Orperhaps Willie had collapsed where he was wounded, and his attackers weapon had left the trail of gore.

Whats that? Rohan reached into a metal crevice in the boat and pulled out an open pocketknife. Theres blood on this.

Put it down, Rohan. Thats probably the murder weapon.

Cast of Characters

Michael and Molly Graham The young couple have come to Blackpool for a simpler lifeonly things in the small town are anything but simple.

Dylan and Naomi Stewart Michaels friend Dylan is happy in Blackpool, but his artistic wife feels stifled. What will she do to get out? And what will Dylan do to keep her?

Willie Myners Every town has its bad apples, and Willie is Blackpools.

Trevor Hopewell The successful CEO sailed into the harbor on a luxury yacht designed to look like a pirate shipcomplete with cannons and a Jolly Roger. But his ship is not the only thing that isnt what it seems.

Martin Dunhill Hopewells second in command is just doing his job. But who is he really working for?

The Crowes The members of the Crowe family are reputed to have more secrets than they have money. And they keep both very well.

The Coffeys An old Blackpool family, the current members of the clan are integral members of the communityMargaret and Randall run the grocers, Alice rules the historical society and Daisy tends the rumor mill. All vocations that keep them well informed of everything that goes onmaybe too well informed.

Greed, jealousy, betrayal, trickery, murdersecrets are the heart of Blackpool.

Vanished

A BLACKPOOL MYSTERY

Jordan Gray

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

B LACKPOOLS RED TILE roofs gleamed in the sunshine. Boats dotted the sparkling water of the bay and blooming heather streaked the hills beyond. Even the sinister shape of Ravenhearst Manor, its ruined walls and chimneys like the edge of a serrated knife atop the cliff southeast of town, seemed merely picturesque. What better day for a festival? Michael Graham asked himself.

He wove his way through the people thronging Dockside Avenue and entered what passed for a town square, a cobblestoned rectangle between the old town hall and the longest of the piersthe Magic Lantern Theatre on one side, the seawall bandstand on the other. Murmuring, I beg your pardon, excuse me, sorry, he dodged a World War II commando and narrowly avoided bouncing off a cavalier dripping lace. The students in shorts and T-shirts who evaded him seemed positively underdressed.

Beside him, Rohan Wallaces dreadlocks bounced up and down as he nodded at a Napoleonic officer wearing a hat the size of a schooner under sail. Beside Rohan, their friend Dylan Stewart collided with a woman garbed in a Victorian gown, knocking her parasol to the ground. He mumbled an apology, retrieved the parasol and handed it back.

Michael swallowed the last bite of his Scotch egg and licked the savory bits of crumb and sausage from his fingertips. Last year, he and his wife, Molly, had wandered through Blackpools Seafaring Days celebration like children through a toy shop. This year they were participants. Michael had even put together a sort of costume out of an old turtleneck and pea jacket. Molly, on the other hand

Where was she? Hed last seen her near the stall that was selling strawberries and cream.

Alice Coffey walked by without even a glance his way, her nose high above the cloud of powder-scented perfume emanating from her black clothes. Michael got the message: To some of the locals, he and Molly were still no more than glorified tourists. Newcomers. Outsiders. How long did you have to live in Blackpool, he wondered, and how much did you have to go through to be completely accepted?

Never mind. He and Molly had plenty of friends here. Hed gotten to know native Blackpooler Dylan because of their shared interest in mountain biking, and hed met Rohan, who was an even more recent arrival, during the terrible events surrounding the theatre murder last spring. That first gruesome murderthe night Molly planned to introduce plans for a documentary on the 1939 Blackpool train robberyhad led to several others that Michael and Molly helped solve. All of Blackpool was both intrigued and appalled, especially when stolen artwork from the train seemed to bear the fingerprints of the Crowe family ancestors.

The tall Jamaican nudged Michael now and pointed to a group of local teenagers. Michael recognized them as part of the tunnel rats, a group devoted to exploring the maze of tunnels and caves beneath Blackpool. The Abercrombie boys and one of the Norton girls were dressed in pirate costumes, while the older Norton girl wore a serving wench outfit. All four were in high spirits, while tossing coconuts at targets that had been set up.

Smart kids, the tunnel rats, Rohan said. And afraid of nothin.

The tiny form of Barbara Norton pushed past them, her rhinestone tiara glittering. Hannah! she called.

The serving wench looked around. Hullo, Mum.

Barbara held out a scarf. Goodness, Hannah, didnt you look at yourself? Tuck this into your bodice.

Hannahs bodice was a little too authentic for a teenagerand her mother. Did Barbara know her daughters were tunnel rats? Afraid of nothing was right. Some of the tunnels beneath the town had been prettied up as tourist attractions and rooms for paying guests, but others, like those beneath Ravenhearst Manor, were dark and dangerousand said to be haunted by ghostly apparitions from many a local legend.

Im thinking of doing something with the smugglers tunnels in my next game, Michael said to Rohan. A cave-in, an old gravestone, a set of rusty tools, pirates treasure or someone bent on mischief lurking in the darknessit all gets your adrenaline racing. And better to have it racing from imagined rather than real danger.

Mon, you dont need to be findin pirate treasure, Rohan teased, not with your video game business.

Well, no. But Id like to find out if the rumors of gold hidden in those tunnels are true.

Rohan smiled, his white teeth flashing against his dark skin. Dylan, do you think theyre true? Dylan?

Their friend had been pensive and inattentive all afternoon. Now Michael saw why. Dylans blue eyes were focused on the slight figure of his wife.

Naomi stood in the shadow of the old town halls outer wall, speaking urgently to Willie Myners. Michael didnt count Naomis Goth clothing as a costumeshe always dressed that wayand Willies sweater and jeans were nothing out of the ordinary. With their pale, nervous faces, the duo looked like ghosts hovering around the fringes of the celebration.

Every one of Dylans impressive muscles was clenched, so that even his Robot Chicken tattoo bulged with tension. He took a giant step forward just as Naomi glanced around. Her red lips thinned. Her own step toward Dylan allowed Willie to slide quickly as a snake into the alley running between the town hall and the Artists Gallery.