Daisy McDare And The Deadly Rock Star Affair (Cozy Mystery) (Daisy McDare Cozy Creek Mystery Book 5) Read online

  Daisy McDare And The Deadly Rock Star Affair

  K.M. Morgan

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  Prologue

  Crime scenes were something Daisy McDare would never get used to. They were eerie, unsettling, and disturbing. Daisy always got the creeps around them. This time was no different. Not to mention it was hardly the life she expected when she went into interior decorating. After all, she specialized in décor, not detective work. The universe didn’t seem to care. Life had its own plans for her, and they weren’t pretty.

  Unlike with previous cases, Daisy wanted nothing to do with this one. She thought she’d finally turned a corner in her life. After all, Daisy had finally found love. She was focused on her happiness. She told herself things would be different from now on.

  Instead she found herself in a new tourist town, but with the same old result. Murphy’s Meadow suddenly wasn’t a sleepy little hamlet anymore. So much for Daisy’s carefree weekend trip away from Cozy Creek, especially with a killer afoot.

  Still, deep down, Daisy hoped someone else would take over the role of gumshoe. She was desperate to be done playing amateur detective. Unfortunately, it seemed inevitable that Daisy would become embroiled in this investigation.

  The problem was, she didn’t like who the homicide detective was pointing the finger of suspicion at. Daisy couldn’t just remain on the sidelines and let someone close to her be wrongfully accused. She had to step in. So that’s just what she was going to do.

  Having a hunch and being able to prove it were different things entirely. Daisy would have to do some digging around to discover the truth of what had really happened. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  Daisy grabbed a cupcake for brain food, then got ready to hunker down for a long day of sleuthing.

  Chapter One

  One Day Earlier

  Daisy couldn’t wait for her trip to Murphy’s Meadow. She’d done a number of interior decorating jobs back to back, and was anxious to take a break from the world drapes and décor. Her weekend away would also allow her to catch up with one of her old relatives. She had always been close with her older cousin Addison. They grew up only a few blocks away from each other.

  Adulthood took them on diverging paths however. Addison moved to Murphy’s Meadow, a touristy town a few hours up the coast. Daisy tried to keep in as close contact as she could, but social media and text messages were a poor substitute for face to face interaction.

  The cousins had a lot of catching up to do, especially seeing as who Addison was working for now. Addison was Blaze Billick’s personal assistant. Blaze was the former lead guitarist for the 1980’s rock band Blazing Inferno.

  Even though Blaze’s star had faded in the eyes of the general public over the last few decades, he’d remained a local legend in Western British Columbia, mostly due to the fact that a small hamlet like Murphy’s Meadow was short on celebrities.

  Daisy was not one to get star-struck. She was looking forward to seeing her cousin again more than anything. It wouldn’t bother her in the least if she didn’t meet Blaze at all. In her experience, celebrities tended to have big egos, and Daisy had already been around enough men throughout her life that acted like they were the center of the universe. Then again, maybe Blaze would defy her expectations and be down to earth.

  Daisy could speculate all she wanted. In the end, she’d find out soon enough. In the meantime, there were other things on her mind—namely, a snack from Sweet Tooth. She expected her best friend Samantha Johnson to greet her with her customary big smile from behind the counter. That morning she had no such luck. Instead, Samantha looked baffled to see her.

  “What are you doing here?” Samantha asked.

  “Grabbing a pastry of course. Why do you look so surprised?” Daisy replied.

  “I just thought you’d be on the road by now.”

  “I couldn’t leave town without grabbing one of your muffins. They are just to die for.”

  “That’s an interesting choice of words, coming from you.”

  “Are you kidding? With the way things have been going lately, I’ll never have to crack another case again.”

  “Do you really think your sleuthing days are behind you?” Samantha asked.

  “Are you trying to jinx me here? Things have been going so well. It has been all quiet on the murder front for months. Do you have any idea how nice it has been to decorate in peace?” Daisy said.

  “Don’t you mean relative peace? I thought you said Richard Peabody was what ulcers were made of.”

  Just because Cozy Creek had turned back into the sleepy little town of yore recently didn’t mean Daisy’s life had been without stress. A number of her clients had been demanding as all get out. That was a cake walk though compared to having a decorating job turn into a crime scene.

  Mmm, cake. It would probably be best if Daisy grabbed a cupcake for the road. She’d be out of town all weekend and didn’t know what quality of baked goods Murphy’s Meadow had to offer.

  Samantha then cleared her throat as she saw Daisy’s head drift into the clouds.

  “Are you having fun with your little cupcake haze?” Samantha joked.

  “You know me so well.”

  “Maybe too well. Sometimes I feel like I can read your mind.”

  “That’s a shame. There’s so much better reading material out there,” Daisy cracked.

  “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit.”

  “And I don’t think you give your cupcakes enough credit. Of all the hazes to be in, a cupcake one is by far the best.”

  Samantha got playful. “Of course. What was I thinking? Never come between a woman and her cupcakes. Still, maybe we should get back on topic.”

  “What fun is that?” Daisy asked.

  “It’s more fun than working for Richard Peabody,” Samantha insisted.

  “True, but there’s always a silver lining.”

  Samantha folded her arms. “This should be interesting.”

  “Sure Peabody got under my skin, but at least no one died on that job.”

  Samantha shook her head and laughed. “It really is the small comforts in life, isn’t it?”

  “Either way, I’ve earned a relaxing weekend vacation.”

  “You certainly have. You must be so excited.”

  “You’d better believe it.”

  This time, it was Samantha’s head that drifted into the clouds. “Have you ever wondered how great it would be to be married to a rock star?”

  Daisy and Samantha were clearly excited about much different things. For Daisy, meeting Blaze Billick was an afterthought. For Samantha, it was at the forefront of her mind. Part of it was Samantha did get star struck by celebrities. The other part was that Blaze Billick had unknowingly played a big role in Samantha’s romantic life.

  Before Samantha began dating her current boyfriend Trevor Thompson, she was with an aspiring musician named Neil Joyner. Neil modeled both his musical and personal style off of Blaze Billick. Samantha gave a year of her life to Neil.

  Unfortunately, all Neil seemed to give his life to was his music. Neil burned through day job after day job in search of that elusive big break in the music industry. He had a one track mind
that was regrettably focused on music rather than giving Samantha the appreciation she deserved.

  Samantha eventually broke up with him because it didn’t look like he’d ever get his act together. Apparently, he had. Neil had recently gotten a record deal and was poised to get his big break.

  Samantha meanwhile had been happily cruising along in her relationship with her current boyfriend Trevor. Unfortunately, they seemed to have hit a snag of late. Samantha was ready to take their relationship to the next level. Trevor meanwhile was dragging his feet on proposing. Instead of getting Samantha a ring, Trevor’s focus was on getting promoted to sous chef at the restaurant he worked at. As Trevor chased that elusive promotion, Samantha was left wondering if Trevor would ever get down on one knee.

  Samantha was feeling a nasty case of dejavu. All of her thoughts were jumbling together to form a potent emotional stew with the mention of Blaze Billick.

  “Samantha, I know you have a lot going on, but trust me—the last thing you’d want is to be married to a rock star,” Daisy said.

  “Oh yeah, and why is that?” Samantha replied.

  Granny Annie Johnson had her own opinion on the matter that she wasn’t afraid to share. She didn’t hesitate to jump into the conversation as she came out from the back kitchen. “Being a groupie is overrated. Having groupies of your own, well—now we’re talking.”

  Daisy and Samantha both laughed. That was just the zinger they needed to bring levity to the conversation.

  “Annie, when have you ever had groupies?” Daisy asked.

  “Who says I’ve ever stopped having them?” Granny Annie replied.

  Samantha was critical of that statement. “Care to elaborate?”

  “A humble woman never brags. I guess it’s a good thing I’m not humble then, right?” Annie laughed at her own joke. “You two should come to the retirement villas more often. You wouldn’t believe the attention my baked goods attract.”

  “So really it’s your desserts that have groupies, not you?” Samantha replied.

  “Same difference.” Annie then switched gears. “Never underestimate the power of pastries.”

  “That’s an interesting quote. I’ve never heard that one,” Daisy said.

  “That’s because I just made it up. I have another one too—a good cook should never be taken for granted,” Granny Annie revealed.

  “That’s so true,” Daisy replied.

  “Exactly. Which is why Trevor Thompson better figure out what’s good for him soon and propose to Samantha before she takes her pastries elsewhere,” Granny Annie said.

  “Way to bottom line it Granny,” Samantha replied.

  “Life is too short to waste on a man who doesn’t know what’s good for him,” Granny Annie insisted.

  Chapter Two

  Daisy had one more stop to make before hitting the road. The only letdown of the weekend was that her boyfriend Gavin Watson wouldn’t be able to join her on the trip. What a shame too, because Daisy was hoping to introduce him to her cousin. After the way things had blown up in her last relationship, Daisy wanted to show Addison she had a good man in her life now. However, she’d have to save that for another visit.

  Gavin was kicking himself that he couldn’t go. Unfortunately, he had a case that needed tending to. The great irony was that it had been slow at the detective agency of late. Yet suddenly he got a client that wanted a quick turnaround on his latest case. If his client wasn’t paying such a handsome bonus for his expedited efforts, he would have turned down the assignment. But the recent lull in work put Gavin in the position of needing the money.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to miss this,” Gavin said.

  Daisy nodded. “I really wish you could come.”

  Gavin exhaled. “So do I.”

  The big reason Gavin was so down about not being able to go was because he’d always been a big fan of Blazing Inferno’s music. Meeting Blaze Billick in person would be a real dream come true for him, in large part because of his father.

  Growing up, Gavin and his dad didn’t have all that much in common, but music was one of them. On top of that, throughout much of Gavin’s youth, his dad was distant with him. He’d been chasing his father’s approval all his life.

  Gavin’s dad was an auto mechanic. He came from a long line of gearheads. There was an old saying in his family—“If you know how to fix a car, you’ll never be out of work.” That belief had been passed down from generations. It was almost a given that Gavin would follow in his father’s footsteps one day.

  So when he decided to become a private investigator instead, it made his relationship with his father icier than ever. Never mind the fact that no one ever asked Gavin what he wanted to do with his life. There was something else at play however. After seeing how obsessed his dad was with cars, the last thing Gavin wanted to do was repair them for a living.

  His father was so fanatical that he’d come home from a full day of working at the shop and head straight to the garage at home to work on restoring his prized, vintage ride. After countless nights of that, Gavin began to think his dad loved that car more than he loved him.

  Despite their many differences, one thing Gavin and his father could always see eye to eye on was music. Not only that, but the best memory of his childhood was of his dad taking him to a Blazing Inferno concert when he was twelve years old. That was a perfect night. Gavin wished he had more memories like that. Unfortunately, he didn’t.

  That’s why he really wished he could make this trip with Daisy. If he was able to meet Blaze in person and get a picture taken with him, his father would be blown away. Since that wasn’t going to happen, Gavin had another idea.

  “Do you think you could get Blaze’s autograph?” Gavin wondered.

  “I don’t know. It’s like I said, I’m really going there to see my cousin,” Daisy replied.

  “I understand that. Then again, how often do you get to meet Blaze Billick?”

  Daisy could see her boyfriend nearly bursting with excitement. That brought a smile to her face.

  Gavin then got self-conscious. “What did I do to make you smile like that?”

  “It’s just really cute how excited you are about Blaze. You look like a little kid on Christmas morning.”

  “I can’t help it. The man wrote ‘Twenty-Seven Is Heaven.’ That’s one of my favorite songs of all time,” Gavin revealed.

  Daisy couldn’t help but see the irony in the fact that Blazing Inferno’s hit songs all talked about the virtues of youth and never wanting to grow up, yet now Blaze was firmly in middle age.

  “Well, Blaze isn’t twenty-seven anymore. Fifty-seven is more like it,” Daisy replied.

  “I’ll bet he still rocks though. Some people have a timeless cool to them.”

  “I’m pretty sure his days of trashing hotel rooms are over.”

  “You never know. Just because you grow older doesn’t mean you always grow up.”

  “I’m so glad you don’t live your life by that philosophy,” Daisy said.

  “Hey, maturity has its spoils. For example, being with you.”

  Gavin always knew how to sweet talk Daisy. Even more, he did it so effortlessly. The compliments just spilled out of him. After a comment like that, she couldn’t help but kiss him.

  “I never get tired of kissing you,” Gavin said.

  Again, another compliment. Daisy wouldn’t have it any other way. “Let’s hope that never changes.”

  “I don’t see why it would.”

  “I’m really going to miss you this weekend.”

  “I guess we’re going to find out if the old saying is true.”

  “Which one?” Daisy asked.

  “About absence making the heart grow fonder,” Gavin said.

  “I have a feeling that is spot-on.”

  “In the meantime, here’s another kiss for the road,” Gavin replied.

  Chapter Three

  Daisy had a surprising amount of things to think about on the drive. To
start, it was the first weekend she was spending away from Gavin since they began dating. Daisy didn’t even make it halfway to Murphy’s Meadow before she began to miss him. In a way, that was a good sign. It meant they were growing closer than ever. Their relationship had certainly evolved over time.

  They had now been together long enough to start entertaining thoughts about whether Gavin was “the one.” She certainly had plenty of experiences with Mr. Wrong over the years. She was ready to welcome Mr. Right with open arms. Gavin’s embraces sure felt right.

  At the same time, that didn’t mean she wasn’t without her concerns. A person’s formative years were called that for a reason. The events of someone’s childhood were often a precursor to who they would become in adulthood. Gavin’s formative years were concerning. It seemed like a part of him would always feel incomplete. Luckily, he had a great relationship with his mother. The chasm between him and his father was a different story entirely—one that seemed to be taking new twists and turns even to this day.

  Daisy was a firm believer in learning from the past. Would Gavin be able to do that, or would he unknowingly repeat the same mistakes his father had made when Gavin became a dad himself? There was no telling that now.

  The more immediate worry was Gavin’s job. The fact that he’d only landed a handful of clients in the last few months was troubling. Being a private investigator was a financially unstable occupation. It also happened to be a rather dangerous one. A great deal of his clients were women hiring him to investigate whether their husbands were cheating on them. As a matter of fact, Gavin’s latest client had hired him for that exact purpose.

  Doing that kind of digging was messy. If Gavin wasn’t careful, someday one of the angry husbands he’d been hired to catch in the act might try to take their anger out on Gavin. Daisy hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but there was always a worry in the back of her mind about that. The fact remained, the job of a private investigator was not for a family man.