Murder rattles the resort town of McCall, Idaho when the body of a wealthy businessman washes ashore with an old-fashioned arrow in its back.
Kaylie Carter, owner of the local archery shop, would have been happy to let the handsome sheriff handle the case, but there's a problem: she hand-crafted the arrow used in the murder, and none of the sheriffâs other suspects fit the crime as well as Kaylie herself does.
Add in a case of identity theft, an enormous puppy in need of a home for the week, and the scheduled cremation of the victimâs body--along with his lakefront mansion, where the last shreds of evidence are hiding-- and Kaylie is in for a truck-load of trouble she didnât sign up for.
Good thing sheâs got the steady nerves of an archer, with some family and friends to back her up.
Murder rattles the resort town of McCall, Idaho when the body of a wealthy businessman washes ashore with an old-fashioned arrow in its back.
Kaylie Carter, owner of the local archery shop, would have been happy to let the handsome sheriff handle the case, but there's a problem: she hand-crafted the arrow used in the murder, and none of the sheriffâs other suspects fit the crime as well as Kaylie herself does.
Add in a case of identity theft, an enormous puppy in need of a home for the week, and the scheduled cremation of the victimâs body--along with his lakefront mansion, where the last shreds of evidence are hiding-- and Kaylie is in for a truck-load of trouble she didnât sign up for.
Good thing sheâs got the steady nerves of an archer, with some family and friends to back her up.
Afternoon sun glinted spectacularly off the waters of Payette Lake, forcing Kaylie Carter to pull her wayfarer sunglasses down off her wavy brown hair. The scent of sun-warmed sand wafted on a cool breeze that also carried the raucous sounds of kids playing and bluejays squawking as they looked for picnics left unguarded.
Kaylie had to watch her step as she made her way down the twisting path to the lakeshore, past gnarled pine roots. She was carrying a big bowl of her raspberry-peach fluff salad, and definitely didnât want to dump it all over her jeans and Teva sandals.
Her mom saw her and waved. âYou made it, Kaylie! Come on, Joeâs kids just got in the water. Itâs perfect out here.â
Kaylie smiled and hurried across the sand to join the small crowd at the waterâs edge. It was one of those early autumn days after a crisp week when it almost felt like summer again, for a few hours in the afternoon. The night would be chilly, but for now a hundred other residents of McCall, Idaho, all seemed to agree that it was the last good opportunity to enjoy the beach before cooler weather set in.
Her parents were both there, and her brotherâs family were already enjoying the water. Aunt Hilde was there as well, hiking up her hippie dress so she could stand in the lake up to her ankles.
The little lake resort town was down to just a few thousand full-time inhabitants now, the summer tourist crowds having dried up a few weeks earlier and the winter sports enthusiasts waiting on winter snows to blanket the areaâs mountains. That left plenty of room for local families, sunbathers, picnickers and paddle-boarders along the state parkâs long beachfront.
Kaylie walked along the waterâs edge, side-stepping to avoid a little wave lapping at her sandal. She waved at one of her brotherâs three-year-old twins, and then felt her toe snag on something buried in the sand.
She lurched, tried to catch herself, and nearly fumbled the bowl of whipped salad. Her reflexes kicked in just in time to regain her footing without laying herself out on the beach, but the raspberry-peach concoction slopped wildly in the bowl. The lid came open and Kaylie felt a wet, sticky splash hit her shirt. When she looked down, there was a broad channel of creamy fruit salad running from her stomach to her thigh and dripping onto her feet.
âOhhhh. Ugh.âÂ
Staggering onward, she made it to the picnic table where her family was stationed and added the rescued whipped salad to the pile of chips, drinks, and pulled pork sandwiches. Then she put down her phone and keys.
âHey there, sis,â her younger brother Joe said through a bite of a large cookie. âGlad to see youâre still quick on your feet, even in your thirties.â Joe was lounging back on a folding camp chair, shirtless, with bright blue board shorts and a ball cap covering his close-cropped brown hair. âWhat kept ya?â
Kaylie shrugged and took a handful of napkins to swab at her shirt and pants. âHad to finish up some things at the archery shop. A vendor dropped off some targets I ordered, and I wanted them ready to go for tomorrow morning.â
âWhy? Bowhunt doesnât start for another week.â
The napkins were just smearing the mess around on her clothes. Kaylie sighed and grabbed a can of pineapple soda pop. She regarded her brother with a wrinkled brow as she popped and sipped the sweet drink.Â
âBetter stick to police work, Joe. In retail you have to plan ahead. People have been getting their hunting equipment ready for the last month or two. I sold out of all my most popular arrows and arrowheads already.â
âAh.â Joe grinned. âWell, you see, we cops just wait around chewing donuts all day until somebody commits a crime. Then we go into action. Like the fire department: no need for planning or thinking ahead!â
Joe had graduated and joined the McCall PD a year earlier. He wasnât the most experienced in the department, but Kaylie had heard he was well-liked and a good cop so far. She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and gestured at his cookie. âWhere did you get that thing? I think I need one.â
Joe pointed at the package on the table, but right then Kaylieâs sixty-year-old mother, Piper, came over.Â
âSorry about your shirt, sweetie.â Piper was sporting an elegant dark purple swimsuit cover, with her graying hair tied up in a bun. She pushed the cookies farther away on the table. âDinner first, Kaylie. Those are for after.â
âJoeâs already eating one!â
Her brother quickly shoved the remaining half of his jumbo-sized cookie into his mouth and held up empty hands to show that he was innocent.
As Piper turned and fixed her police officer son with an accusing glare, Kaylie saw her own opening and sneaked a big macadamia-nut cookie from the package. Then she hurried over to the water before her mother could say anything more.
She watched her brotherâs three kids for a moment, splashing in the shallows with their mom, Rachel, who waved at Kaylie. The twin toddlers were dumping sand on each other, and the baby was sitting right where the cool lake water ran up around her chubby legs whenever a passing boatâs wake ran into the shore.Â
It looked like fun, and Kaylie regretted leaving her swimsuit at her cabin home across town. She had half a mind to plop down next to him since her clothes were a mess anyway.
Then her dad came up next to her. âFine day out here!â
âSure is!â Kaylie grinned at her graying father, Paul, in his collared shirt and trousers. It would take more than a fine day to get him in the water with the kids. He wasnât as young as he used to be, and he was stooping slightly as if his back wouldnât allow him to straighten out all the way.
âDid you try my pulled pork?â he asked.
âNot yet. But I will, if youâll eat some of my fruit salad.â Kaylie tried to put an arm around her father, but he kept away.
âLooks delicious, but Iâll have mine in a dish,â Paul said, eyeing her stained shirt.
âOh, all right.â
âHey, speaking of dishes, Kaylie, do you need a good teapot? You drink herbal tea in the morning, donât you?â
âI do, yes,â Kaylie said, wrinkling her face. âYouâre getting rid of a teapot?â
âYou could say that. Itâs fine china from the 1890âs. I got a killer deal on it online. Itâd be a real steal!â
Now Kaylie understood. Paul had discovered eBay a few years previously, and claimed to make back more than he spent on all his finds. Kaylie wasnât so sureÂ
âIâm sure youâll find a good buyer online, dad. But tell me, how are you feeling these days? Are you going to be up to tracking a deer all over the mountains with me next week when we go hunting?â
Paul nodded slowly. âIf youâll place your shot well, I wonât have to. Just drop that buck where it stands.â
âIâve been practicing every day in my little indoor archery range at the shop. But I need to get outside and do some distance shooting more often.â
âI love to see you finally getting into the outdoorsy stuff,â her dad said. âWhen you went off to school I thought maybe you were done with mountain life for good.â
âWell, I discovered archery when I was working at summer camp, and now that Iâve finally got my store running smoothly, I have more time and money to invest in side hobbies like trying my hand at hunting.â
âGood. First step, one of us needs to get up there on the mountain this weekend and do some glassing. See where all the bucks are at.â
âLetâs make Joe do it,â Kaylie cracked, but inwardly she thought an outing in the mountains this time of year sounded nice, deer or no deer. âOh, and Dad, Iâm going to use my traditional bow on the hunt. And one of my own wooden arrows.â
âThose ones you make yourself?â Paul glanced over at her, a serious look on his lined face. âBowhuntingâs tricky enough with modern equipment, Kay. You sure you want to tempt fate your first time going after a deer?â
She nodded. âI really do. Thereâs just something I love about the feel of a wooden bow in my hands, and a hand-crafted arrow. It just isnât the same with steel and carbon and plastic.â
âHmmm. And youâve been practicing with traditional equipment?â
âSure have. You should stop by the shop and see some time: I can nail my foam deer target in the kill-zone every time now.â
âWell, okay then. Iâd be a very proud dad if my daughter took her first buck with a wooden arrow she made herself. Canât wait to tell the other fellows about it at bingo night, down at the senior citizen center!â
Kaylie looked her dad in the eye, trying to gauge whether he was joking. âBingo night?â
Paulâs mouth split into a wide grin under his gray moustache. âMaybe Iâm not quite that old yet. But getting close, the way my backâs been acting up. Hey, is that lady waving at us?â
Paul pointed at a woman standing on the end of a dock about a hundred yards away, south along the beach. She was taller than Kaylie, with black hair, olive skin, and a bright green swimsuit on. She was slowly waving a long white paddle at them.
âOh, thatâs Risa!â Kaylie waved back enthusiastically. âShe owns the cafe next to my archery shop. Have you met her?â
âDonât think so. She lives right on the lake here?â
âYeah, Iâve been to her place a few times. Sheâs super nice.â Kaylie changed her âhello thereâ wave into a full-arm âcome on over hereâ wave, exaggerated so Risa could see what she was doing.Â
Risa waved back and stepped off her dock onto a long paddleboard, starting off in their direction.
âI wish we had a paddleboard,â Rachel said, wading up to Paul and Kaylie through the shallows to their right. âDo you sell any of those at your shop, Kaylie?â
Kaylie shook her head at her sister-in-law. âJust archery stuff. Thereâs a rafting business down the street that might.âÂ
The vivacious younger woman, dressed in a flamboyant sunhat and shorts over a lavender swimsuit with wide pink glasses, grimaced. âI feel like there are more rafting shops and river guides in McCall than there are restaurants.â Rachel had moved up from Boise when Joe married her, and was still acclimatizing to mountain life. âThis town could use something besides pizza and burgers.â
âThatâs definitely true,â Aunt Hilde said, coming over with Rachelâs youngest in her arms. She also had a sunhat on, this one woven out of straw she probably grew herself, with flower-shaped glasses. âHas anyone been to the new pita place? Kaylie, you and I should try it out for lunch some time.â
Before Kaylie could reply, Joe joined the group and put his arm around his sister. âYou know, that water sure looks nice. Doesnât it look nice and wet, Kaylie?â
She planted her feet in the sand. âOh, no. Joe, donât evenââ
âI just thought your shirt could use a rinse.â
âGet away from me!â
Too late. Her brother heaved her toward the lake with enough force that she splashed a couple of yards out into the water, staggered once, windmilling her arms, and then went over onto all fours. Turning around and spitting out a mouthful of lakewater, she shrieked.Â
âC-c-cold!â
Her brother was laughing out loud. Piper slapped her son reproachfully on the shoulder, but Aunt Hilde and Rachel couldnât help giggling.
âLooks much cleaner now,â Joe called.Â
âThanks, I guess,â Kaylie replied. She rubbed at her shirt in the water until it was free of whipped cream, and then sat back. Now that she was getting used to it, the water did feel just as good as the kids had made it look.
A second later Risaâs paddleboard approached over the slightly choppy water. A few more graceful strokes brought the woman close, standing upright with her paddle in her hands.
âHi, Risa,â Kaylie said. âDonât mind me. I enjoy jumping into lakes with all my clothes on sometimes. Hey, weâve got a picnic going. Come join us!â
âYouâre so kind,â the tall woman replied, grinning. âI was just going to see if I could paddle all the way up to Porcupine Point. But Iâd love to meet your family first!â
Kaylie splashed up the beach onto the sand again, and Risa followed.
After a round of introductions (it turned out that most of the extended Carter family had been into Risaâs cafe at one time or another and loved the place) Kaylie and Risa and Piper all sat at the picnic table while Kaylie dried out.
âI wanted to tell you something,â Kaylie mentioned to Risa after the two older women had exchanged a few pleasantries. âAway from your employees.â
âMy employee,â Risa corrected. The taller woman had a kind smile and a soft lilt to her words. âAmyâs my only staff now that Kenny left for the season. I have to pick up all the shifts Amy canât do.â
âAway from Amy, then, and from my customers,â Kaylie continued. âI wanted to tell you first, since you helped me get into that space next to yours. And, Mom, you might as well hear it now too.â
âYouâre not going out of business, are you?â Risa asked with a small gasp.
âNot exactly. Someoneâs making me an offer.â
âTo buy you out?â Piper responded, sitting up straight. âBut you worked so hard to get that store going last year.â
âItâs been almost two years, actually.â
âWho wants to buy it?â Risa asked.
âCarl Pugmeier reached out and said he wants to broker a deal. Says he knows a guy whoâd be interested. Hopefully someone whoâd make a good neighbor for you, Risa.â
âNot as good as youâve been. Are you going to accept it?â
Kaylie shrugged. âI feel like I just got settled in. But I suppose if the price is right, Iâd consider it. What do you think?â
âAre your financials in good shape?â Risa asked.
Kaylie let out a sigh and looked down at her hands on the tabletop. âIâm profitable now, but only just. I have a way to go before Iâll have that small business loan paid off. Getting those numbers to add up every month is excruciating!â
Risa nodded sympathetically, but Piper leaned in with concern on her face. âHas somebody been embezzling from you?â
Kaylie glared at her mom. âEmbezzling? You go straight to that, when you know Iâm a sole proprietor?â
âWell, you hired an accountant, didnât you?â
âFreelance. He doesnât do much.â She looked out at the lake. âItâs a good business. I like my clientele, I like the hobby and all the equipment. I love seeing the joy it brings to people. But Iâll admit, this offer out of the blue has me wondering what else I could do with my life. I knew running a small business wouldnât be easy, but it takes a lot of work to get established long-term.â
âIâve put eight years into my cafe,â Risa admitted, âand it barely breaks even on any given month after payroll and expenses. But the tourist season always brings in just enough to keep going, to keep on living next to this gorgeous mountain lake.â She gestured at the expanse of blue water in front of them, dotted with small boats and a few water-skiers.
Kaylie grinned. âDuring the nice weather, anyway.â
âWell, yes. You donât expect me to stay here with three-foot snow drifts on either side of the road, do you?â Risa smiled back. âMonterey needs me, honey.â
Kaylie told her mother, âRisaâs sister lives there.â She looked out across the water at a wakeboarder catching air, and sighed. âI wish I had a sister in Monterey. Or Cabo, or Florence, or Sydney. Somewhere interesting.â
âThereâs the daydreamer in you, coming out again,â her mother said. âYou have all this, a wonderful place to live and a business and friends and family nearby, and you want to go looking for something different.â
Risa looked over at Kaylie. âIt isnât really about the business so much, then. Is it?â
âIâve lived here pretty much my whole life. Itâs a wonderful place, but I just havenât found everything I hoped for. And I donât know if Iâm ever going to find it if I just stay here, doing the same thing month after month.â
âFind what, exactly?â
Kaylie didnât have an answer to that. She formulated a few different replies, but they all seemed incomplete at best, and she didnât want to feed half-truths to such a respected friend.
Piper said, âIs it your ADHD, Kaylie?â
âMom! Thatâs not it. I love being able to choose how I spend my day. This is about the opportunities I might be losing if I stay here in town for the rest of my life.â
Risa spoke up again. âJust do this, Kaylie, I beg you. Before you finalize anything with Mister Pugmeier, do some serious thinking about what it is you are looking for. Some real soul-searching. Then, wherever you goâwhether down the street or up Mount Everestâyou will stand a much better chance of actually finding it.â
Kaylie silently nodded, and her mother patted her knee approvingly.
Then Kaylieâs phone rang. As she reached over to grab it from the picnic table, Risa stood up.
âIâm going to head out,â she whispered as Kaylie answered her phone. âStop by the cafe tomorrow, I want to hear more about this possible deal.â
Kaylie waved as the tall woman left, and her mother stood up to get some sandwiches ready for the kids.Â
She turned her attention to the phone call.
âCarl Pugmeier here,â a terse voice growled in her ear. âItâs about the sale of your business, your little bow-and-arrow shop.â
âMy archery and bowhunting business. Yes.â Kaylie hoped the man had good news for her, but his tone wasnât encouraging. âAny word from your prospective buyer?â
âNot until you clear up a little problem, Miss Carter.â
Kaylieâs heart dropped. âWhat little problem?â
âNot such a little problem, actually. You led me to believe your finances were in order, when they clearly are not. I do not appreciate being made a fool.â
âWhat?â Kaylie couldnât imagine what the man was talking about. Her sales had been stable for the past several months. She stood up and started to pace under the pine boughs that shaded the sand. âMister Pugmeier, I assure you, Iâve represented everything accurately.â
âAnd yet there seems to be a line of credit through Cascadia Bank, in your name and signed for with your business. An account which shows nearly forty thousand dollars of unpaid, past due expenses, along with a string of communications and warnings that have gone completely ignored, they tell me.â
âForty thousand⌠what?!â
âYes, Miss Carter, thatâs what I said when I learned of this. Itâs ruining your credit and your relationship with your business banking partners.
âBut all of that is your problem, not mine. My problem is that I went to one of this townâs most respected buyers with your little proposal, trusting that you were on the up and up. And when he looked into it to see what precisely he would be purchasing, he found this mess. So now he thinks Iâm trying to push a bad deal on him, and I donât mind telling you, Miss Carter, that if you think for one minuteââ
âMister Pugmeier, please listen to me. I have no accounts of any kind through Cascadia Bank. This is a mistake.â
âIndeed. A very ugly mistake, and not the kind I have any interest in touching, not with a ten-foot pole. So it appears, Miss Carter, that either you have some debts you need to pay back before there will be any kind of business deal for you, or you have a fraud mess that will take you some time to clear up. Either way, I think I can safely say that our business relationship is at an end. As is this phone call! Good day to you.â
âGood day? Listen, Mister Pugmeier, are you saying that because thereâs been some mistake with bank records somewhere, that you and I canâtââ
âCall it identity theft if you like. Call it a lot of money spent that shouldnât have been. Call it whatever you want to, Miss Carter. I cannot broker a deal that is based on upside-down financing. You figure out your financial life, but do me a favor and leave me out of it from now on. Goodbye!â
The line went dead.
Identity theft. The phrase rang in Kaylieâs head like a reverberating gong, over and over. Identity theft.
How on earth was this happening?
âSis? You okay?â Joe had wandered back over and was grabbing a root beer from the cooler stashed under the picnic table in the shade.
âUm, no, I donât think so.â
Joe looked at her more carefully as he opened his can. âWhatâs up? Anything I can help with?â
âNo. Well, maybe. Do you know anything about identity theft?â
Joe winced. âUh-oh. That stuff takes months to get past. Sometimes years.â
Kaylie let out a very long breath, staring down at the sand in front of her. âNot what I want to hear, little brother.â
âOh, man. Kaylie. Is it bad?âÂ
âIt just derailed a business deal for me.â
âOh, no.â
Piper walked over. âWhat is it? Kaylie, are you okay?â
Kaylie looked at her brother. âJoe, hand me one of those. Actually, give me a whole six-pack.â
âYou canât get drunk from root beer, sis.â
âIâll be the judge of that. My life just fell apart. Give me all the root beer in that cooler!â
âThis is the last one.â Joe closed the cooler and moved away, protectively covering his soda can.
Kaylie sighed as her mother came over and put her arm around her.
It was going to be a very long week.
Kaylie Carter is a no nonsense young woman running an archery/sport store who lives in the small town of McCall Idaho. Her parents and brother's family are also living nearby.  Her younger brother Joe works for the McCall police department.  A local, rich business man is found dead and the murder weapon was an arrow that was hand-crafted by Kaylie. The Valley County Sheriff, Leo Martin, has Kaylie in his sights as a suspect.  Other suspects include Kaylie's friend Amy, who had an unrequited attraction to the murder victim and Harlan, a stranger in town who seems to be sneaking around properties in the vicinity of the murder victim's home.  Kaylie feels that the suspects are being treated unfairly by the Sheriff.  Then additional evidence is uncovered that casts further suspicion on Kaylie.  The trio of Kaylie, Amy, and Harlan put their heads together to try to solve the mystery and clear their names.  As the story reaches a climax, Kaylie has a potentially fatal stand-off with the murderer.  Of course, this is cozy mystery time, and we, the readers know that there will be a happy conclusion.
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I found the story enjoyable and it flowed in a linear, logical progression.  The author didn't use multiple timelines or multiple complex storyline threads.  There were a few red herrings added to the mystery to make the reader less certain of who committed the murder.  Some additional questionable and quirky characters seemed to act in an odd manner that kept one guessing about their motivations.Â
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Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy this novel with a pleasant rural backdrop with some relatable characters.   The murder weapon and sporting theme provides an unique and novel twist to the story. Overall, a reader will feel like he/she is a rafter floating down a pleasant river with some moderate rapids to add a thrill to the ride.Â