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The banner that Charles had only recently hung over the race’s starting line had been ripped down from the stakes holding it in place. One corner flapped in the soft breeze as if waving hello. The other side lay trapped beneath an unmoving body, the middle part wrapped tightly around his neck.

Dead.

Murdered.

Max.

He was hardly recognizable with his purple oxygen-starved face and hair hanging limply away from his face. His shirt and jeans were just as wrinkled as ever, and his bare arms appeared nearly as white as the banner that had been used to strangle the life out of him.

No. This couldn’t be happening—and right here in my own front yard.

I may not have liked the guy, but that didn’t mean I wanted him dead. He wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight, the poor guy. Why would someone do this? How could they have had the time to plan and to make sure that no one was around to witness the violent act? There were so many people inside. It only took one looking through the window…

But that hadn’t happened. From what I could tell, Charles and I were the first to discover him out here.

“Nan’s not going to like this,” I muttered and gave a nervous laugh. Since I was wearing the white elbow-high gloves Nan had forced upon me, I used this opportunity to march right up to the body and cover it with the free portion of the banner.

“You’re interfering with the scene!” Charles whisper-yelled from his place on the porch.

He had a point, and normally I wouldn’t compromise a crime scene, but nothing about this situation was normal. “We can’t have all those people panicking. Let’s take care of this quietly and send them home before word spreads.”

“I’m calling Officer Bouchard.” Charles whipped his phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed.

“Sorry, buddy,” I told Max’s corpse, and I really was sorry, too. If only Debbie had never called in sick. If only we’d skipped having a DJ in the first place…

That was when buxom Bonnie swept out onto the porch and stopped mid-stride, letting out a shrill gasp. The door still hung open behind her, and at the sound of her surprise, others began to gather to see what all the fuss was.

“I hope you’re all enjoying your dinner,” I called, offering a deceptively happy and hugely uncomfortable wave. “Just putting together the finishing touches for our 5k.”

“Is that a dead body?” Bonnie asked with a husky drawl that seemed different from her more polished, feminine voice earlier.

“Nooooo,” I said, drawing the word out to give me some more time to think up an explanation.

Fortunately, Mr. Gable jumped to the rescue. He pushed out onto the porch and clapped his hands together.“Surprise! We’ve added a murder mystery to our dinner party tonight. Everyone make your guesses as to the identity of the killer and leave them with your name and email in the fish bowls set out along the tables. There will be a special prize for whoever guesses right. Now let’s get back inside!” He offered me a thumbs up—a new favorite thing of his, apparently—and directed the guests who’d begun to gather in the doorway back inside.

Only Bonnie lingered behind with me and Charles.

“He’s not just playing dead, is he?” she asked, then sucked air through her teeth. “You’re both way too panicked for this to be pretend.”

“Got a lot of experience with murder, do you?” I shot back. I just didn’t have the time to deal with her right now, especially since Charles and I had way bigger problems to solve at the moment.

Charles raised a finger to his lips to silence both of us, his full attention on the phone in his hand.“Yes, Officer Bouchard. There’s been a… well, an incident…. Uh-huh… Yup… Will do. Bye.”

The conversation ended almost as quickly as it had begun.

“What did he say?” I pressed, drawing close to Charles’s side.

“He’s coming. Wants us to keep the partygoers inside so as not to interfere with the crime scene.”

“But that means—”

“No 5k, I know.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Do you ever think that Blueberry Bay must have the highest murder rate per capita in the entire country? It feels like we always stumble upon another body just as we’ve put the last one to rest.”

I laughed uncomfortably.“Maybe so. Blueberry Bay is all I’ve ever known, though. It’s home.” Charles had moved here from California just over a year ago. I didn’t know what life looked like over there, but here in Glendale, bad things just happened sometimes—especially since Octo-Cat had entered my life.Hmmm.

Bonnie chuckled and put a hand on Charles’s shoulder like she owned him. “This place has got nothing on the big city. Believe me.”

“Please don’t tell anyone what really happened out here,” I implored her, letting the flirtation slide. We just needed to get through the night, Charles and I, then we never had to see her again.

She raised both hands in surrender.“Who’ve I got to tell? Charles here is the only person who’s even bothered to say hello.”

“You both go back inside,” Charles ordered. “I’ll stay out here and wait for the police.”