A Killer Plot (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

always welcomed by all. But it’s coming to our town, that much is certain.”
    He paused and Olivia was impressed by his sense of timing and calm delivery. “This past year, as a result of Oyster Bay’s population boom, we’ve seen some exciting new businesses open.” He consulted his notes. “Recently, some of our long-vacant retail spaces have been transformed into a boutique clothing store, a bookstore, and my favorite, a toy store named Animal Crackers.”
    This earned him a few chuckles. Even though Animal Crackers wasn’t housed in one of Olivia’s buildings, the revitalization of those adjacent to hers were a boon. Most of her rentals had been filled by boutiques she was more than happy to patronize. She especially liked Possessions, an upscale consignment store, and Palmetto’s, a woman’s clothing store specializing in colorful, washable cottons in stylish cuts and colors. The last lease she’d signed had been for The Potter’s Wheel. The owner, a master potter from western North Carolina, planned to sell his own wares while conducting workshops for both children and adults. At first, Olivia had been reluctant to house a business requiring three kilns capable of reaching two thousand degrees, but the potter had showed her how some simple renovations to the back room could safely accommodate the equipment. In the end, her own willingness to support the arts had allowed her to be swayed into agreeing to the potter’s terms.
    “More and more folks have decided to call Oyster Bay home—even if just for the summer months,” Earl continued. “And this means we need more houses for them to live in. Talbot Fine Properties has made the town an offer for the Neuse River Community Park land. They plan to develop this land into a housing complex called Cottage Cove.
    “Cottage Cove will feature single-family homes, town-houses, and an apartment complex. There will be a club-house, a pool, tennis courts, a putting green, and jogging trails. As you can see on the agenda, the town has proposed to sell the land for eight and a half million dollars. The grave sites at the current park will be relocated to the Confederate burial site at the Third Street Methodist Church. This transfer will occur with the utmost dignity. And there’s more.” He held out his hand. “But I’d like Max Warfield from Talbot Fine Properties to personally show you the rendering of Oyster Bay’s brand-new park.”
    The crowd rumbled with displeasure as Max took the microphone from Earl. The Talbot representative grinned self-effacingly and Olivia got the feeling he’d been in this situation many times before and it didn’t bother him in the least to meet the hostile eyes of the locals. In fact, the confident set of his shoulders indicated that he relished the opportunity to convince people that his company wasn’t a villain, but the savior of their unsophisticated town.
    “Yes, I’m the bad guy,” he began in a honeyed voice and several women called out “amen” in response. He smiled at the shadowed faces before him. “Now that we’ve established that, please hear me out. When I show you what I’ve got here, you might just change your mind.” He tapped his laptop, which was hooked up to a projector. “Yes, Talbot Fine Properties would like to build a lovely community of homes on your park land, but my company does not want to leave the town without a park. Therefore, in addition to paying nearly nine million dollars for the old park land, we’re prepared to include a new and improved park as part of the final proposal.”
    Earl Johnson, Debbie Hale (one of the female committee members), and Mayor Guthrie did their best to appear pleasantly surprised by this revelation, but Olivia wasn’t fooled by their act and she suspected few of the townsfolk were either.
    “Allow me to show you the new and improved Talbot Community Park.” Max nodded at a man stationed by the door. With well-timed synchronicity, the lights went out the same moment the projector was turned on, revealing an architect’s drawing on the large screen occupying center stage. The image was rendered from a bird’s-eye view and was carefully labeled.
    “Look! A real playground!” a woman whispered to her neighbor as the next image showed a stylized drawing of the children’s play area. “It’s wonderful!”
    Indeed, the playground featured two sets of swings, a sandbox, a teeter-totter, and an enormous wooden castle structure complete with