Murder on the Boardwalk (A Rosa Reed Mystery #2) - Lee Strauss Page 0,4

around the middle than she remembered, but his gray shorts and baby-blue button-down matched Nancy beautifully, and they looked good together.

Marjorie spoke in a loud whisper that commanded the ladies’ attention. “Ooh, did any of you see who’s working on the boardwalk now?” She punctuated two names that Rosa recognized. “Victor. Boyd.”

Victor Boyd, more than anyone Rosa had gone to school with, had been a memorable character. When she had first arrived in Santa Bonita in 1941, she’d had a difficult time making friends. Many of the other kids thought her accent was strange, and the war had made everyone, even children and youths, suspicious of anyone different. She’d been an immediate outcast.

An outcast himself, Victor Boyd had come to Rosa’s defense. Rosa would never forget how he had stood up to the other students and told them to stop mocking her accent. He didn’t seem to care when the bullying turned to him instead.

“Remember when we were supposed to be on blackout, and he started to flash the lights in the classroom?” Joyce said.

“Oh, and the way he used to sabotage my parts count at the aircraft plant,” Nancy added. “I’d end up assembling only half of the daily quota and getting in trouble for it?”

During the war, the older girls had all worked together after school at the local aircraft plant. Nancy had been the most adept by far at assembling parts and rewiring components.

Giddy laughs erupted among them as they shared stories. Rosa thought it odd to hear the lighthearted lilts to their voices. In reality, it had been such a bleak time.

After taking a long gulp of her lemonade, Joyce added, “But Pauline had it the worst.”

“He teased you about being a tomboy, huh, Pauline?” Nancy said.

Rosa recalled how Pauline had come to classes in overalls and baseball caps, while the rest of her female classmates wore dresses, stockings, and matching Mary Janes. Pauline’s mother had passed away around that time, and her father—a well-respected mechanic and weapons expert—didn’t quite know how to take care of his only daughter. He died tragically as well, and his death had made headline news in Santa Bonita.

Pauline’s lip twitched, but she didn’t respond to Nancy’s comment. She kept her gaze glued to her hands, clasped at her waist.

Joyce missed seeing Pauline’s discomfort and continued, “He was always making jokes about offering you up for the draft.”

“Victor picked on me,” Gloria added sourly, “and I was just a little kid. He should pay for all the awful things he did.”

Marjorie motioned for the group to follow her. “Come on. Let’s go see. I wonder if he’s gotten fat and bald!”

A snicker emanated from the ladies as they jumped to follow Marjorie. Rosa checked on Diego, awake but playing with his cloth mouse, then feeling morbidly curious, followed the girls.

Away from the music of the band, clanging bells and hooting whistles filled the air. Chatter and screams drifted from happy riders.

Rosa stood in awe by the giant roller coaster and its yellow and blue sign that read, “The Sea Viper”. Her breath caught in her throat as the loud clack, clack, clack of the cars on the track reverberated through her whole body. She had always felt better when she was in control of a vehicle. Letting Gloria or her mother drive felt risky enough for her. The track wound around in snake-like fashion, and for a long moment, Rosa couldn’t pull her gaze away.

“There! Look!” Marjorie said in an excited whisper. “There’s Victor Boyd!”

Wearing a black T-shirt, stretched over what was now a paunch of a belly, and grubby jeans, Rosa immediately recognized the former bully. He still had most of his hair, though it looked like it hadn’t been trimmed in six months. As a carnie ride operator, he hadn’t exactly reached the height of an accomplished life.

Rosa wasn’t alone in thinking this. Nancy harrumphed and said, “Well, there you go. At least fate gave him what was coming.”

“Are you kidding me?” Marjorie asked, not trying to be quiet in the least. There was a good chance Victor could hear her. “After everything he did to you girls? He doesn’t deserve a job in our beautiful town.”

Joyce chimed in. “I agree!”

Gloria, still a few feet back, looked as though she was surveying the rest of the fair, and Rosa sensed she’d lost interest in Victor Boyd.

However, at the loud voices of their friends, Victor turned his head and stared straight at them. His attention was unnerving, and everyone stopped