Science teacher Samantha Grant thinks the final step in the pursuit of her new life in picturesque River Bend will be simple. Unfortunately, she could not be more wrong. As she walks into Al Roth's Roth Restoration Inc. to view the remodeling plans for her newly inherited home, Samantha has no idea she is about to stumble into the middle of a murder mystery. Told that Al is out of the office by his wife, Claire, Samantha begins poring over the renovation plans. But when foreman Steve Kovacev bursts into the office to report a foul smell in a building, he asks the women to come with him to investigate. Moments later, the trio discovers the remains of Al Roth, community leader, provider of second chances to ex-convicts, and bankroller to his army buddies. When Claire hesitantly agrees to talk with the police, Samantha accompanies her for support-and immediately finds herself plunged into an investigation fueled by deception, revenge, and the kidnapping of her beloved Shih Tzu, Bo. In this exciting murder mystery set in a sleepy town next to a gentle river, Samantha must rely on her scientific prowess to discover the truth. Now only time will tell if she will find the answers in time to save Bo and prevent another murder. Up the Lazy River By Lea Braden iUniverse, Inc. Copyright © 2012 Lea Braden All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4759-5678-8 Chapter One No Hope, No Dreams, and No Al Roth People thought of me as an insignificant middle-school science teacher, but I'm the one who discovered the truth about Al Roth's death. It started out innocently. The day after Labor Day break, I scheduled a meeting with Al Roth at his office. The meeting was to go over the plans for my new life. Well, actually, the plans were for the renovation of my recently inherited house, Pops's old place. It was to be the first day of the rest of my new life. I had finally taken charge! Excited to get started, I grabbed my to-do list, exited the school building, and sprinted to my car. Steam from the hot asphalt hovered as I searched for my car. Where was my BMW? Oh, yeah—in my ex-husband's garage. I spied my sweet old Teresa, an aqua Ford sedan that had been my grandmother's. The one great thing about my car was that it didn't absorb the heat like my black BMW. I smiled as I pictured Victoria, my former dog sitter, now my ex's young, pregnant trophy wife, sitting in the burning-hot BMW. Ah, burn, Victoria. I'm sorry. I shouldn't think that way. Gingerly, I placed tissues on the steering wheel, turned on my car, whispered encouraging words into the air-conditioning vent, and prayed, Please work . The first blast melted my mascara to my cheeks. Great! Then little puffs of cool air dribbled through the air ducts. The air conditioner worked, oh, yes! It was a sign; my life had changed for the better. With this sign, I dashed down to the old warehouse district of River Bend. River Bend was located on what we locals fondly called Old Lazy River, a deep river nestled between bluffs. It had been built close to the river's edge for easier access. They used the river as a highway for trade, exporting and importing goods in every direction during the late 1800s. This started the city off as a bustling metropolis. The brick factories produced the millions of red bricks used to build the warehouse district that lines our streets along the river. Now, most of the bricks are worn and dull except for the buildings restored by Al Roth. As I drove down the street, checking numbers on the buildings, a striking edifice stood out from the rest of the buildings. It was Roth's office building. Wow, what a perfect example of Al Roth's skill in the beautification of old structures. He saw their past beauty and made them come alive. He had taken two buildings and blended them into one, reconditioning the brick and restoring the windows with all the elaborate details. His building was a grand old lady standing tall and proud among a group of old bag-lady buildings. I attempted to get out of my car, but sweat had glued me to the still-in-mint-condition fabric seats. I un-suctioned myself from the car, picked the stuck clothes from my body, and tried to smooth them out before I entered the building. Inspecting myself in the window of the car, I found notes on the floor that looked cleaner and neater than I did. Oh, well. I put my shoulders back, plastered a smile on my face, and told myself to quit delaying my life. I walked into Al Roth Restoration Inc. Claire Roth, Al Roth's wife, greeted me the moment I stepped inside the building. "Samantha, it's so nice to see you, again." Then, she hesitated and stammered, "Al—ah—Al is out of the office right now, but I would be more than happy to go over everything with you. I have your plans and the estimate right here." She motioned for me to join her as she started pulling papers out of a file. She handed me the artist's drawings of the house plans; I could see they were beyond my wilde