Wilmington, NC 10 - Much Ado About Murder

through the pilings when there was storm surge as frequently happens during hurricane season.
    Bella Aqua is an incredible house, built in the Modernist style. This is the house Melanie rented a couple of summers ago when she, I, her friend supermodel Kelly Lauder, and Mickey Ballantine one of Melanie’s bad-boy obsessions vacationed here. Later, when Scarlett and Ray were looking for a beach house, Melanie brokered the sale of this house to them.
    The house is sand color with a lot of painted white trim. Decks and balconies and little porches cover the front and back sides of the house. From the ocean-side decks one has spectacular views of the bella aqua or beautiful water for which the house is named.
    Moonlight on the water sparkled in the distance. We headed up a flight of outside stairs to a little covered porch.
    “Remember the time we stayed here?” I asked Melanie, knowing full well that of course she would recall.
    She hunched her shoulders as if ward off a chill. “How could I ever forget that dreadful summer? That was when we found Valentine Russo murdered in her art gallery.”
    Jon called over his shoulder as he stepped into the enclosed stairwell. “To be sure, that was one crazy summer. But it was the summer Ashley realized she was in love with me so my memories are good.” We reached the top floor. Here, the vaulted-ceiling great room was filled with partiers.
    The house should have been named Bella Blanc -- everything was white. The walls were white and the area rugs, the sectional furniture, the shades and draperies. Scarlett had filled all of this whiteness with the most dazzling, colorful paintings by local artists. Spotlights from the ceiling illuminated the artwork. And there were vases and art objects in bold colors. Two sides of the room were sheets of glass - great expanses of glass that framed a moonlit sky, sand, and ocean.
    Scarlett had hired a classic rock band. The center of the room had been cleared of furniture and everyone was dancing on the hardwood floor – couples, singles.
    Jon and I got drinks, then circulated around the room, saying hello to the actors. Simon and Taylor were dancing. Finding Scarlett and Ray in the crowd, we hugged them. But the person who was being mobbed by fans was not the lead actor but my brother-in-law, Cameron Jordan. “I’ve entered my musical in your contest,” one of the musicians said. “Me too,” someone else told Cam. “We’re so excited about your contest. How great to make a movie using local talent.” They were all vying for his attention.
    One man grabbed his elbow. “Remember the classic science fiction novel Dune ? There was even a Dune trilogy. And a movie. Well, I’ve written a musical based on Dune . I’m calling it Dune, the Musical . I sent it to you. Did you get it?”
    “If you sent it, then we have it. We have some volunteers cataloging the submissions and assigning numbers. That way, the judges won’t be influenced by knowing the identity of the composer.”
    “That seems more than fair. Good idea.” The man shook Cam’s hand. Told him what a great guy he was. And handed him a business card.
    Jon and I love to dance, and when the band struck up Mustang Sally and the vocalist began singing, we joined the others on the dance floor.
    Over his shoulder I spotted a couple. “Look at that. Cheri Holbrook and Greg Finley? Wonder how long they’ve known each other?”
    Jon looked too. Greg and Cheri were dancing together and seemed rather familiar with each other.
    “Let’s go out on the deck,” Jon said when there was a break, “where I intend to get to know you better.”
    I smiled up into his face. “Promises, promises.”
    Outside, the night was mild for early October. “This is snuggling weather,” I said, flirting with my husband.
    He took my hand and led me over to a comfy chaise lounge. We got onto it together. I stretched out in his arms. “Is this what you had in mind?” he asked as he pulled me closer.
    “Exactly,” I said and stroked his chin.
    As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw that other couples had the same idea. Some were doing more than snuggling. And there was Thomas, who had played Jud tonight. So this was why he wasn’t inside. He and his actress friend Angela seemed to think they were alone, making out hot and heavy.
    “Wow,” I told Jon. “Hope they don’t actually go all the way out here in front of us.”
    Jon looked where I was looking. “Want to go back