Read My Lipstick by Joyce Oroz...........Second novel in the Josephine Stuart Mystery Series

Excerpt from Read My Lipstick
Two sheriff’s deputies climbed over the fence just as I bellied down to the sandy beach and slipped into the water like a thirsty trout. A snorkel would have been nice, but it wasn’t an option. I held my breath, closed my eyes and swam underwater in the direction of Trigger’s boat. I didn’t bother to open my eyes because the water was darker than Tavia’s black pumps and smelled like duck droppings. On one breath and tons of adrenalin, I was able to swim almost fifty feet. I stopped suddenly when my head hit the side of Trigger’s peddle boat. I popped up gasping for air. My head throbbed and stars floated in front of my eyes..........................
“Did you hear something? Look over there and I’ll go this way,” Deputy Sayer ordered. I watched them train their flashlights on one piece of junk after another all over the neighbor’s property. I saw the lights change direction and bob down the beach to Justin’s dock and then full circle back to the cottage and beyond. By that time my body was numb and my lips were in a non-stop tremble. I held onto the side of the boat, trying not to imagine what kind of slimy creatures might be swimming in Drew Lake at night.
The neighbor dog barked again as the sheriff’s deputies retreated up the path to Lower Cutter. I listened until I could hear nothing except the lapping of water against pilings. Carefully I climbed into the boat, which was no easy task in wet clothes, untied the rope and peddled my shivering body over to Alicia’s dock.