Hello, Book Lovers!

Here it is the seventh chapter of my cozy mystery short story titled, Entitled to Murder. Originally, this chapter contained two scenes, but I realised as I reached the end of the scene that you’re about to read, this needed to be it’s own chapter. At the moment, there are three chapters until I reach the end of act one. I am hoping to keep sharing chapters regularly on this blog. Hopefully, I won’t hit a writing snag that requires substantial research. Fingers crossed.

Every few days, I will release a chapter from Entitled to Murder on this blog throughout the next few weeks. Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter. If you want to receive notifications via email, then sign up for updates by filling out your first name and email address in the opt-in form below, and you’ll receive an email from me, letting you know the latest chapter is available, plus a copy of the ebook when the story is finished. By the way, the story you will receive will be professionally edited just like the copy I plan to sell on the various ebook retailers.

Before, I dive into the opening chapter of this cozy mystery short story, here’s a brief description of the story for those who are new here.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

SEVEN

Three days later, rain poured over the small market town of Ashbourne with a roar. It had been over six hours since the first droplet fell from the sky. Hunched over under a large black umbrella, Lucy shivered in her waterproof trench coat as she held back the tears and watched her grandfather’s casket lower into the ground. 

It had only been six months since her husband Christopher’s funeral, and she coped with his passing a little better. Perhaps the reason was that it felt like a nightmare as opposed to real life. Since then, reality had set in, but right now, Lucy needed to hold it together and not take the attention away from her grandmother. She needed to be brave, suppress the feelings that had bubbled to the surface and deal with it in private at another time. Easier said than done. 

After taking several deep breaths, Lucy tore her eyes away from the chasm where her grandfather was laid to rest. Standing in front of her, on the opposite side of the grave, was Henriette. Her poor grandmother seemed to be in the same state of mind she was in six months earlier. The frail eighty-five-year-old woman with short-cropped blonde hair stared straight ahead. 

Lucy’s mind cast back to that fateful night. Upon hearing the news of her husband’s death, Henriette shut down. The only words she muttered were, “but he was healthy apart from diabetes.” As expected, no one owned up to being the Halloween prankster, possibly out of fear of being blamed for potentially causing his death. 

To be honest, Lucy was struggling to piece together the events as well. Her grandfather was a healthy man, and his diabetes was under control. But was grandfather’s advanced age and a potential fright enough to cause a heart attack? Am I in denial, or was grandfather’s death suspicious? As her grandmother ambled across the plush green grass clutching a single red rose, Lucy’s heart raced. There was something not right about that night.

Tears streamed down her cheek as Henriette dropped the rose into the grave. Despite her fears, now was not a good time to voice her concerns. Her family had been through enough. Starting a drama was the most insensitive thing Lucy could think of. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. A familiar warm hand gripped her shoulder and pulled her body close. As she glanced across, her father, George, gave her a quick reassuring smile. 

Concluding Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading the seventh chapter of my cozy mystery short story, Entitled to Murder. Now, I need to get back to writing. Hopefully, I will reach the end of act one in the next few days. As I write and edit the subsequent scenes and chapters, I’ll share them on this blog and over on Wattpad, so be sure to follow me if that’s how you prefer to read.

Once I draw closer to pressing the publish button on this story, I may remove everything after the first chapter, depending upon whether I choose to enrol this book in Kindle Unlimited or publish it on all ebook retailer platforms. But that’s a long way off in the future. If you are interested in receiving email updates alerting you of new chapters plus a free copy of the ebook, Entitled to Murder when it finished, subscribe for updates by filling out the opt-in form below.

I’m looking forward to sharing the next few chapters with you as I finish writing and editing.

With love,

Amelia xx