COMING THIS OCTOTBER 18th, TROPICON 25 PENSACOLA

When amateur sleuth Taryn O’Kelly tags along to TropiCon, she only wants one thing: a signed copy of her favorite sweet romance, One Last First Date. But the book expo turns deadly when bestselling thriller author Derek Quinn collapses mid-autograph, his final scrawled signature cut short.

With whispers of stolen plots, feuding authors, and a suspiciously calm assistant, Taryn can’t resist piecing together the clues. Was it rivalry, revenge…or something far more ink-deep?

Flamingos and Fatalities: Murder at the TropiCon.

A Taryn O’Kelly Short Story Mystery

“I can’t believe I get to meet Sophie Blake! I loved her latest novel, One Last First Date.” I said, bouncing on my heels. “Thank you so much for bringing me here.”

Alex looked mildly amused with my excitement, but the long line to get into the TropiCon Book Expo had his patience wearing thin.

Reaching for the book and reading the back cover, he asked, “What is this book about?” 

“It’s about this couple who were in love with each other but made choices that took them down different paths, only to reunite again several years later. Realizing they were soulmates, they took a chance on love and got married on their last first date, living happily ever after!” I squealed a little bit.

Alex handed the book back to me, pulling me in close for a passionate kiss. “Well then, it’s a good thing Dan chose to have his company meeting in Pensacola Beach during this book thing, allowing me to fly us here last minute so you could meet Sophie.” He kissed me on the top of my head.

“I know! It was meant to be, just like in her book. Plus, she is giving a talk today, too.” 

Edging closer to the door, the cool air from the AC poured out. “Almost inside!” I pulled my phone out to scan our tickets. The conference room was filled with brightly colored tables and bookish swag everywhere. 

Derek Quinn, the hotshot thriller author, had a crowd of women surrounding him. He was disturbingly handsome and arrogant. I wasn’t a fan of thrillers, only because I like things more cozy, but he was pretty to look at. His latest release, Final Signature, had already sold more copies than all his previous books combined.

I noticed Spencer Hale’s table was directly across from Derek’s. Spencer had been spreading some pretty big accusations against Derek. I was surprised to see them so close to each other. 

I pointed them out to Alex. 

“How do you know these authors when you don’t read their stuff?” Alex asked. 

“I follow a few book bloggers, and the drama between these two is getting to be a pretty big deal. Rumor has it Spencer is suing Derek for copyright infringement,”  I said, spotting Sophie’s table just to the left of Derek’s. Reaching the starting point of her signature line, we fell into place.

“Would you like a free short story romance bonus to read while you wait?” Sophie’s assistant asked as we inched closer to the signing table.

“Yes, please. “ I accepted the little paper with the QR code. Scanning it, the story popped up on my screen. 

Alex picked up a book at the action-adventure author’s table next to Sophie’s.

“Now this is my kind of book,” Alex said, smiling.  

“Let me see.” I snatched it. 

“It does look good, treasure hunting, and it’s obvious the rival treasure hunters are going to fall in love! You like romance novels, too!” I smiled, handing the book back to him.

“The treasure hunting is the focal point of the book. You are my romance story,” he returned the book to its table. 

“You know just what to say to make me melt.” I leaned up to kiss him.   

“I may use that in my next book,” Sophie said.

“Oh my gosh! Hi Sophie. Of course, you can use us in your next book! I am a huge fan of yours. I loved One Last First Date!” 

“I am really glad, readers’ joy is the reason I write. Who should I make this out to?” 

“Taryn, please.”

I could see Derek holding up an ink set. He brushed the pen across his lips, winking at a girl in the crowd. Announcing to his fans that he would be signing his books with the very fountain pen and ink that inspired him to write Final Signature. Spencer was watching the drama unfold, his glare piercing Derek like a sword. 

Sophie rolled her eyes and slightly shook her head. She was trying to be discreet, but I could tell she didn’t care for Derek. He was brash, obnoxious, and loud.

Before Sophie was done signing my book, screams erupted from Derek’s table. Derek had collapsed mid-signature, face-first onto his table. Someone shouted, “Call 911, I think he’s dead!” 

“He’s probably just reenacting a scene of his.” Sophie rolled her eyes, handing me my book. “Here you go! I hope you enjoy it,” she smiled.

“I don’t know, Sophie. He isn’t moving,” I said, accepting the book.

I watched as Sophie gazed over at Derek. If I was reading her correctly, she appeared to be uneasy. 

Medics came rushing, clearing everyone away. Fans were in shock, and the room had gone silent.

I watched as they attempted to save Derek. His lip had a little black spot that spread to the corner of his mouth, and his hand was smeared with ink. I wonder if that’s because he fell into his ink or-

“Murder!” A cry came from the crowd, murmurs about how and who spread throughout the room.

“Please, don’t get involved again,” Alex said, grabbing my hand.

“I’m not, but if he is dead, this looks suspicious. People don’t yell murder for no reason. Plus, look, there’s ink on him.” 

“We are at a book con, why wouldn’t people yell murder? People are dressed as their favorite characters. You book lovers nerd out at these things,” he said, grinning. 

“What do you know about Derek Quinn?” I asked Sophie.

Taking a step back, Sophie chose her words carefully. “I met him last night at the author meet-up. He wasn’t very nice about romance writing, calling it ‘sappy word fluff’ and ‘cheesy girl porn.’ He said romance writers have no imagination.” 

“That’s ridiculous! Not everyone wants to read about mentally disturbing crime! Some of us read for escapism, a way to relax and leave reality.” I came to Sophie’s defense, not realizing it.

I could see Spencer Hale talking to his assistant. They were whispering about something. With a wave of his hand, Spencer brushed off whatever the assistant said. She pulled out a wet wipe, handed it to him, and pointed at the ink stain on his hand.

The murderer in Derek’s thriller kills people with poisoned ink,” I whispered to Alex, pointing at Spencer, who was wiping off as much ink as he could. 

Glancing back over at Sophie, I noticed she also had ink on her hand. However, she wasn’t using a fountain pen to sign books; she was using a Sharpie, no fancy inks.

“How many authors use real fountain pens to sign their books?” I asked.

“Not many. Why?” Sophie asked.

“I was just curious. I notice Spencer and you have ink on your hands, but you sign with Sharpies.” 

The blood drained from her face, opening her mouth to speak –

“Excuse me, miss. I need to ask you some questions about last night. Can you come with me?” an officer asked, ushering Sophie Blake out of the room. 

“See, it is a murder,” I whispered to Alex. “Where is Quinn’s assistant? We need to talk to her.”

Alex grabbed my hand, stopping me. “Let’s go to the beach, you got your book signed.”

“After we talk to Quinn’s assistant, we can go, I promise,” I said, leaning up to kiss him. His kiss lingered, and I questioned why I wanted to know what happened so badly. With a kiss like that, I shouldn’t care what happened, but still, I was curious. 

Pulling Alex along behind me, I weaved through the crowd. Police were asking everyone to stay put until they gathered information. I could see the woman who had been behind the table with Quinn. I assumed she was his assistant. She was oddly calm, sitting in a chair very close to Spencer’s table, looking at her phone.

“This is just awful,” I said, pulling up a chair. I could see Alex watching me from the corner of my eye.

The woman frowned, shrugged her shoulders, and refocused on her phone.

“Weren’t you Quinn’s assistant?” I asked.

“Yes, but Quinn’s an arrogant jerk. He got what he deserved.” 

“What? Do you know what happened?” I scooted to the edge of my seat.

“I bet it was Sophie. She and Quinn argued last night. He was going to go to her panel today and heckle her some more.”

“How mean, why would he do that?” I asked, crossing my arms. I could feel myself getting defensive of Sophie again. 

“My guess is two reasons, one he’s a jerk, and two she wasn’t falling for his BS like most women.”

I noticed this woman had a small ink stain on the collar of her blouse. Her wavy brown hair mostly covered it. 

“So he was poisoned with his ink, wasn’t he?”

She lifted her eyes and met mine. “That would be good, wouldn’t it? Ties into his book nicely.” 

Chills ran through me. This woman wasn’t fazed; her boss was dead, and she actually appeared happy about it.

“Spencer had ink on his hand. I saw his assistant wipe it off,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

“Who are you?” she questioned. 

“Taryn O’Kelly, and you are?”

“Sarah, and that’s all you need to know,” she stood up, pocketed her phone, and disappeared into the crowd.”

Approaching Alex, I could see Spencer ranting to the police. 

“This is nonsense. I had nothing to do with his death. I am not sad because he is a liar and thief, but I had nothing to do with it!”

The cop said something and pointed to his hand. The ink stain was faint now.

“This is because Quinn insisted I try out an ink pen. I signed his copy of my book, ‘The Liar,’ with the pen. That’s all!” 

“Spencer had used the ink pen Quinn used and didn’t die,” I whispered to Alex. “And Sarah, Quinn’s assistant, had a tiny ink stain on the collar of her blouse.”

“The only ink stains I have seen are Sophie’s and Spencer’s hands, so both have used the ink safely.” Alex pointed out. 

“Kiss me, I want to test something out.” 

Alex leaned in, cupping the side of my neck with his hand. 

“That’s it!” I said before our lips touched.

“What?” Alex looked confused.

“Your hand, if it had wet ink on it, it would have left a mark on the collar of my blouse. That means someone with ink on their hand kissed Sarah! Okay, you can kiss me for real now.” I smiled, pulling him in for a passionate kiss.

“You sure you want to stay here? I can think of a lot of other things we could do,” Alex grinned, raising an eyebrow at me. 

I blushed, “Give me a few more minutes to figure this out, then we can go do whatever you want.” I winked at him. 

“Dangerous promises,” he smiled.

“I know, I like living on the edge.” I grinned.

Spencer and Sophie were tied up with the officers, so my only chance was to find Spencer’s assistant. Sarah had made it clear she didn’t care and wasn’t talking. His assistant was sitting behind his table, adjusting the books and swag.  

“Hi, I’m Taryn. Are you Spencer’s assistant?” 

“Yes. Pamela.” 

“Does Spencer have a girlfriend?” 

Pamlea scoffed, “No. He’s too busy fighting Derek Quinn. And this doesn’t look good for him. I can assure you, he had nothing to do with Derek. The courts were going to rule in Spencer’s favor; that was the revenge Spencer wanted.” 

“You never saw him with Sarah?”

“Those two have been on-again, off-again for years. It pained Spencer when she showed up as Derek’s assistant.”

“You two don’t have a relationship?”

She laughed, “Strictly professional, he keeps me very busy managing just about everything.”

“Who would have access to the ink that Derek was signing with today?” 

“Sarah is the only one I could see having it. Derek was very particular about his special pen set. Kind of like a hockey player who doesn’t wash his jersey for good luck. Derek never allowed anyone to touch his lucky pen without permission.”

I knew what had happened. Grabbing Alex, I went to confront Sarah. 

“It wasn’t Spencer or Sophie who killed Derek; it was you! You poisoned his lucky pen. You set up everyone. I wouldn’t have known for sure, except the ink on your collar gave it away. Derek kissed you, trusted you, and you used that to tamper with his pen set.”

“You are good. It was too easy. I helped Spencer write Final Signature, and that arrogant jerk stole it. Spencer thought a settlement I wasn’t included in was good enough, but it wasn’t for me.” 

Sarah was placed in handcuffs and escorted to the cop car. 

“Good job, Sherlock. Now let’s go before you find any more trouble.” Alex wrapped his arms around me, kissing me on the top of my head. 

“I have to say goodbye to Sophie first!” 

“Remind me never to stand between you and a mystery,” Sophie said with a grateful smile. “You cracked this faster than I can write a happy ending.”

“The ink that made him famous was the same ink that got him killed,” I said.

Alex exhaled, “Next time, we stick to the romance section.”

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I hope you enjoyed this short mystery and meeting the characters from my book series! While you’re here at Salty Inspirations, take a look around. I love featuring fellow cozy mystery authors, sharing giveaways, and posting about all the fun little things that make life sweeter. If you’d like to stay in touch, please consider signing up for my monthly newsletter!