Bitter Gold Murder [EBOOK]

<h4>Prologue </h4>
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Maggie couldn’t be more content with life. Her new microbrewery, Bunker Hops, was thriving after a year’s long hard haul, and now they had plenty of new orders in the books. Business was in full swing. The murder conspiracy last summer had plagued her first attempt at opening. But that was now behind her and things were looking up. For that, she felt grateful that people had faith in her and her business.
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It was a balmy night, as summer hadn’t quite ended yet. Maggie was thankful for that too, as her new autumn brew wasn’t quite ready. This year’s summer brew, Tea Green, had done much better than last year’s. The Citrus Zap of last summer had been launched late in the season because of the homicides in town. Her autumn and winter brews were always a little moreish. This year’s would have flavours of pumpkin and maple syrup. It should go down well over the colder season.
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Her best friend, Naomi, had popped in for a chat about an hour before and offered to help lock up the brewery. She was busy closing down the front end of the brewery, where the public entrance was situated. There were taster areas with large comfy couches, and also a small shop, though the tasting area was catered for invited guests, and not run as an open bar. They didn’t have a licence for that yet.
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Maggie was closing the large double doors where the delivery vans loaded up. She was surprised her head brewer, Charlie, hadn’t closed them earlier, but it had been a warm day. As she went to flick on the switch for the outside light in the car park, she noticed that Cooper, her loyal and devoted dog, was nowhere in sight.
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With the light now illuminating the car park, she could see where the concrete car park met the rough lands at the back. Behind her brewery was an open rough area where they'd pulled down a large building. No doubt Cooper had spotted something and given chase. When she heard his bark, it confirmed her suspicions and she whistled for him to return.
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As she finished locking the delivery doors from the inside, she stepped back outside through a smaller door built into the larger door. As she did so, Cooper came running up to her.
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“Where you been, boy?” she greeted him.
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She could see that he had something hanging from his mouth. Taking a closer look, it resembled an item of old clothing, so she instructed him to drop it. Aware that young adults often hung out at the back, she assumed they got up to all sorts of mischief, as young people did.
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“What is it, Mr Cooper? Give it here,” she commanded, and he dropped the rag on the floor, whining back at her.
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Maggie picked it up and went to put it in a rubbish bin, but something about it caught her attention. Taking it inside, where the lighting was brighter, she inspected the rag.
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“Naomi, come in here a minute, will you?” she called out.
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“I’m done in the front anyway,” Naomi’s voice came to her as her friend stepped into the large brewing area.
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“Come and look at this,” Maggie said. “I'm sure it’s got blood on it.”
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“Eww... Where did that thing come from?” Naomi asked, scrunching up her nose at it.
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“Cooper brought it in from the spare land at the back. What do you make of it?”
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“Could be kids, cut themselves playing out there,” Naomi shrugged.
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“I’m getting a torch," Maggie announced, heading over to some large torches hanging on hooks. "I'm off to a look around, or I’ll never sleep with this on my mind.”
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“Oh no, here we go, again, Maggie Marple Investigations,” Naomi laughed, but she followed anyway.
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“Whatever do you mean?” Maggie smiled, knowing full well what she meant. Only months earlier she had helped the police bring a dangerous criminal to justice.
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Maggie called Cooper over. With the torch shining a beam of light in front of them, they made their way into the open land. Putting the rag to his nose again, she left him to walk off, hoping he might lead her to wherever he had found it.
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They stumbled over loose bricks and rubble, large weeds, and broken glass. Eventually, Cooper stopped while Maggie and Naomi shone their torchlight around on the ground.
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“Look, there!” Maggie called out, shining her torch on a pile of what looked like rubbish. “It looks like the same material as this rag.”
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Maggie approached it with caution. There was something about the pile that filled her with dread. Scenes from an array of horror movies flitted through her mind, and she wondered what she was doing out in this open land in the dark. Was she going crazy?
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Using her foot, she reached out to prod the pile: it was solid. Leaning in to take a closer look, she soon realised what it was. It caused her to jump back in horror as a squeal of shock escaped her lips.
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“What’s up?” Naomi called over, moving closer to Maggie.
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“I… I'm sure that pile… is… it’s a person,” Maggie said with a quiver in her voice. “I’m sure it’s a dead body,” she added.
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Naomi approached the pile too, certain it was only Maggie's overactive imagination. Leaning over, she took hold of the material and slowly pulled on it. As she did, the object was revealed. Naomi found herself looking into the staring eyes of a dead woman.