First Degree Murder Read online

  First Degree Murder

  Lantern Beach Mysteries, Book 3

  Christy Barritt

  Contents

  Complete Book List

  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

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Coming in April: Dead On Arrival

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Also by Christy Barritt:

  Other Books in the Lantern Beach Mystery Series:

  You might also enjoy …

  Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries:

  The Worst Detective Ever:

  About the Author

  Complete Book List

  Squeaky Clean Mysteries:

  #1 Hazardous Duty

  #2 Suspicious Minds

  #2.5 It Came Upon a Midnight Crime (novella)

  #3 Organized Grime

  #4 Dirty Deeds

  #5 The Scum of All Fears

  #6 To Love, Honor and Perish

  #7 Mucky Streak

  #8 Foul Play

  #9 Broom & Gloom

  #10 Dust and Obey

  #11 Thrill Squeaker

  #11.5 Swept Away (novella)

  #12 Cunning Attractions

  #13 Cold Case: Clean Getaway

  #14 Cold Case: Clean Sweep

  While You Were Sweeping, A Riley Thomas Spinoff

  The Sierra Files:

  #1 Pounced

  #2 Hunted

  #3 Pranced

  #4 Rattled

  #5 Caged (coming soon)

  The Gabby St. Claire Diaries (a Tween Mystery series):

  The Curtain Call Caper

  The Disappearing Dog Dilemma

  The Bungled Bike Burglaries

  The Worst Detective Ever

  #1 Ready to Fumble

  #2 Reign of Error

  #3 Safety in Blunders

  #4 Join the Flub

  #5 Blooper Freak

  #6 Flaw Abiding Citizen

  #7 Gaffe Out Loud

  #8 Joke and Dagger (coming soon)

  Raven Remington

  Relentless 1

  Relentless 2 (coming soon)

  Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries:

  #1 Random Acts of Murder

  #2 Random Acts of Deceit

  #2.5 Random Acts of Scrooge

  #3 Random Acts of Malice

  #4 Random Acts of Greed

  #5 Random Acts of Fraud

  #6 Random Acts of Outrage

  #7 Random Acts of Iniquity (coming soon)

  Lantern Beach Mysteries

  #1 Hidden Currents

  #2 Flood Watch

  #3 Storm Surge

  #4 Dangerous Waters

  #5 Perilous Riptide

  #6 Deadly Undertow

  Lantern Beach Romantic Suspense

  Tides of Deception

  Shadow of Intrigue

  Storm of Doubt

  Lantern Beach P.D.

  On the Lookout

  Attempt to Locate

  First Degree Murder

  Dead on Arrive (coming in April)

  Carolina Moon Series

  Home Before Dark

  Gone By Dark

  Wait Until Dark

  Light the Dark

  Taken By Dark

  Suburban Sleuth Mysteries:

  Death of the Couch Potato’s Wife

  Fog Lake Suspense:

  Edge of Peril

  Margin of Error (coming soon)

  Cape Thomas Series:

  Dubiosity

  Disillusioned

  Distorted

  Standalone Romantic Mystery:

  The Good Girl

  Suspense:

  Imperfect

  The Wrecking

  Standalone Romantic-Suspense:

  Keeping Guard

  The Last Target

  Race Against Time

  Ricochet

  Key Witness

  Lifeline

  High-Stakes Holiday Reunion

  Desperate Measures

  Hidden Agenda

  Mountain Hideaway

  Dark Harbor

  Shadow of Suspicion

  The Baby Assignment

  The Cradle Conspiracy (coming soon)

  Nonfiction:

  Characters in the Kitchen

  Changed: True Stories of Finding God through Christian Music (out of print)

  The Novel in Me: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing and Publishing a Novel (out of print)

  Chapter One

  Moriah Roberts sat up in bed, her gaze skittering across the room. As the cheerful yellow walls came into view, her shoulders relaxed. There was no need to be alarmed. She was safe here.

  She closed her eyes and ran her hands across the soft sheets of her warm, clean bed.

  Safe. Secure. Sheltered.

  Moriah loved the sound of those words.

  As of four days ago, this room was her home.

  No longer did she have to stay in the rundown RV with the drafty windows, where she’d been housed since she’d first arrived at Gilead’s Cove more than a month ago. Those sleeping quarters had been cold. So cold. Frigid enough that it sometimes made Moriah miss her West Virginia home.

  But not anymore.

  As Moriah leaned back on her palms, an ache tore through the skin near her shoulder. The burn wound there was better now, thanks to some ointment that had been given to her, but when her skin pulled, the mark screamed with discomfort.

  “You’ve been refined by the fire.” Moriah closed her eyes and recited Gilead’s words. “Refined by the fire, and afterward you’ll come forth as gold.”

  Her suffering was actually intended to make Moriah stronger. She hadn’t been able to see that at first, but in the past two days, the wisdom had become clear. The trials in her life would give her thick skin.

  “You’re going to be gold, Moriah,” she whispered, squeezing the sheets between her fingers. “Pure gold. You’ll live as a chosen one, set apart, and given purpose.”

  Moriah stood and glanced around. She was now staying in a tiny bedroom located above the community center—also known as the Meeting Place—here at the Cove. The best part about staying here was that Gilead, her fiancé, had a room across the hall.

  In three days, they would be married. The two would become one, joined together under God. And what God joined together, no man should tear apart.

  No one.

  A smile stretched across her face. Moriah was finally living the life she’d always dreamed about.

  She walked to her dresser and began to apply some lotion that Gilead had given her. The cream smelled so lovely, like roses, and Moriah secretly delighted in the fact that she was the only person here at the Cove allowed such frivolous items. Gilead had even given her a stuffed teddy bear the other day—further evidence of how much he loved her.

  Gilead said the process of transforming Moriah into his bride was like Esther being prepared to be chosen by King Xerxes. Moriah had begun a series of beauty regimens. She’d b
een given facials. Hair treatments. Steam baths.

  All so she could be pristine and lovely on her wedding day.

  Moriah smiled again and continued to rub the lotion on her face, neck, and chest.

  As a knock sounded, Moriah padded across the wood floor that had been painted a dark red color. She cracked the door open and saw Ruth standing on the other side, her lips puckered in disdain.

  “We need you downstairs.” Ruth’s words sounded crisp and left no room for argument. “Now.”

  The woman was her mentor, a mother figure, and her uninvited conscience, all rolled into one. Though Moriah appreciated having someone to watch over her, Ruth drove her up the wall with her reprimanding looks and self-righteous attitude. After Moriah married Gilead, getting rid of Ruth would be her first order of business.

  “Is everything okay?” Moriah formed her words carefully, practicing speaking without her mountain accent.

  Ruth’s expression soured even more as her eyelids drooped and her lips pulled down in a frown. “We have someone new coming today, and Gilead would like for you to meet her.”

  Moriah’s pulse quickened. “Someone new?”

  The Cause was growing, receiving several new people each week. What was so special about this new person? Moriah had never been asked to “meet” anyone before.

  “That’s right. Dietrich is bringing someone in. Gilead thinks you’re ready to be a mentor.” Ruth sounded unconvinced and skeptical as her acerbic expression soured even more.

  Moriah ignored her. “That’s great. Let me get dressed, and I’ll be right out.”

  Taking her time, Moriah pulled on her tunic, khakis, and sandals and went through her morning routine. As she met Ruth in the hallway several minutes later, her gaze traveled through the open office door across from her.

  Gilead’s office.

  He was usually careful to keep the door closed. The man was private, and he valued his alone time, his space. Every great leader probably did.

  An image on his computer caused Moriah to suck in a deep breath. Normally, she couldn’t see the screen, but today the monitor had been turned to face the chairs on the other side of the desk, almost as if Gilead had been showing someone something.

  The photo was of that police chief from here in Lantern Beach . . . the woman who’d tried to convince Moriah to leave Gilead’s Cove. The one who’d painted Moriah’s fiancé in a negative light. Who’d told her lies about what went on here.

  Why in the world would her photo be on Gilead’s computer screen?

  Ruth followed her gaze, and she let out a soft tsk. “Why do you look worried, Moriah?”

  Moriah snapped her attention back to the present, realizing her face had revealed too many of her thoughts. She needed to work on that if she was going to help lead this community with Gilead.

  “Who said I was worried?” Moriah carefully kept a shield over her gaze this time.

  Ruth stared at the computer and shrugged, her voice stone-cold as she said, “I’d be worried too.”

  Ruth’s words froze Moriah’s thoughts, froze her feet even, right where they were. “What do you mean?”

  Ruth nodded toward the photo on the computer screen. “We value speaking honestly here.”

  “Of course. I want honesty.”

  Still, Ruth hesitated a moment. “Speaking as your mentor, I have to say . . . I’ve seen the way Gilead looks at that woman, the police chief. There’s more there than a professional curiosity.”

  Moriah’s heart pounded furiously. Certainly Ruth wasn’t saying what Moriah thought she was. She had to be misunderstanding all of this. What Ruth said didn’t fit the big picture. It didn’t fit what Moriah knew about Gilead.

  “What are you implying, Ruth?” Moriah refused to take another step until she figured this out. No way could she simply brush off this conversation and move on.

  Ruth’s eyebrows quirked upward, but her plain face still expressed her warning. “I’m not trying to rain on your parade, Moriah. I’m not. I’m just being realistic here. Men like Gilead can have it all. And they want it all. My ex-husband was the same way.”

  “You were married?” Why hadn’t Moriah ever heard this about Ruth before? The woman seemed so miserable that Moriah couldn’t imagine Ruth ever opening her heart to someone.

  “For ten years.”

  Ten years? Ruth couldn’t be any older than thirty . . . how old had she been when she got married?

  It didn’t matter. Ruth was using her own experiences to taint Moriah’s perspective. Her mom had told her there would always be people who tried to ruin the good things in her life. That was exactly what Ruth was doing now.

  “I understand that you may have had a bad marriage, but Gilead is different,” Moriah said.

  “You’re right.” Ruth smiled with only her eyes. “He’s ordained. God speaks to him.”

  Moriah tugged at her shirt, trying to fight the anxiety that nibbled away at her resolve. “God told Gilead to marry me.”

  Ruth let out a condescending laugh and lowered her voice. “Child, you know there’s room in a marriage for more than one wife, don’t you? Look at the Old Testament accounts.”

  The blood drained from Moriah’s face. She hated it when Ruth called her child. But she hated what Ruth had said even more.

  The woman wasn’t right. She couldn’t be right. Moriah refused to believe it.

  “Gilead loves me. He chose me. God told him I was the one for him.” Moriah’s voice quivered as she said the words, and she silently reprimanded herself.

  Ruth patted her back, still patronizing her. “And that’s true. But that doesn’t mean that God didn’t tell him to marry someone else as well.”

  Moriah shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. Ruth didn’t know what she was talking about. She was jealous.

  That was it.

  Ruth was just jealous because Gilead had chosen Moriah over Ruth.

  Besides, there were other reasons why what Ruth had said couldn’t be true.

  “That police chief—Cassidy or whatever her name is,” Moriah started. “She doesn’t follow the Cause.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you.” Ruth shrugged dismissively and took another step toward the stairway, signaling an end to the conversation. “I only know that Gilead looks at her like a man in the desert looks at water.”

  Nausea turned into Moriah’s stomach. “The police chief is married.”

  “What God has ordained let no man stand in the way of.”

  Moriah’s lips parted in shock. “You think God would tell Gilead to break up a marriage? Doesn’t the Bible speak out against that?”

  “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

  “But He doesn’t contradict Himself, right?” Moriah wasn’t a biblical scholar, but she did remember a few things from Sunday school as a child.

  Ruth let out a long sigh and stepped back toward Moriah, as if this conversation had exhausted her. “The old ways are gone, Moriah. Haven’t you been listening to the words from Makir? You haven’t been dreaming about your marriage while Gilead teaches us from the Good Book, have you?”

  Makir was a lost book of the Bible that Gilead had discovered in the Middle East. He often liked to teach from it. He was God’s chosen one.

  And, on occasion, Moriah had drifted off into another world while Gilead spoke. She didn’t mean to. But she had so much to look forward to. How could she not?

  “You just need to let it be, Moriah.” Ruth waved her hand in the air flippantly. “There’s no changing what’s ordained to be. And Gilead has chosen you. Be happy.”

  Happy? Moriah couldn’t be happy. Not after this conversation with Ruth.

  A surge of anger rose up inside Moriah. Gilead was hers. No one else’s.

  She wouldn’t share. She’d refuse.

  As Cassidy Chambers’ picture burned into her mind, so did Moriah’s resolve. Nothing would get in the way of her happiness with Gilead. Nothing, and no one.

  And M
oriah would do whatever it took to ensure that.

  Chapter Two

  “Thanks for meeting me here, Chief.” Officer Billy Leggott stood by the woods that surrounded the property adjacent to the Lantern Beach lighthouse, a nervous flutter to his gaze.

  “I’m still not sure why I’m here.” Cassidy Chambers had gotten the call from the station as she drank her morning coffee.

  Early mornings were her favorite part of the day—a time where she and her husband, Ty, chatted about the future, when they enjoyed the sunrise together or took a jog on the beach or shared breakfast before the craziness of everyday life set in.

  But today that time had been interrupted by an ambiguous phone call.

  Leggott had offered no details. He’d just told Cassidy that she needed to meet him here right away.

  “Wayne Waters was out here fishing this morning,” Leggott started, turning his back to the rising sun in the distance. “He’s the one who made the discovery and phoned the station. Of course, I was the one on call. You’ll want to see for yourself what he found. Follow me.”

  Leggott nodded toward the woods—a mix of live oaks and other short, shrubby trees, which formed a dense barrier for the island against the raging waters that pounded the shores. Pushing away her pre-coffee drowsiness, Cassidy followed after him, hoping this interruption was worth it.

  Certainly, Leggott wouldn’t have called her if this wasn’t important. At this point in their professional relationship, he should know better.

  When Cassidy had first met the man, he’d seemed incompetent. But she’d realized during her tenure as police chief that Leggott simply hadn’t been properly trained. With a little nurturing, the man was shaping up to be a great officer, someone she was proud to be associated with.