The Hitwoman’s Reunion

A Comical Crime Caper

Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman

Book 45

JB Lynn

Copyright  © Jennifer Baum THE HITWOMAN’S REUNION

All rights reserved. Except as permitted by US copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database or retrieval system, without prior permission of the author.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, establishments, or organizations, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously to give a sense of authenticity. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The Hitwoman’s Reunion is intended for 18+ older and for mature audiences only.

© 2024 Jennifer Baum

Cover designer: AM Design Studios

Proofreader: Proof Before You Publish

Formatting: Leiha Mann

Contents

A note

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Author’s Note

The Hitwoman’s Knight Fight

Oh Shoot!

Psychic Consignment Mystery Series

Cursed Chicks Club

Also by JB Lynn

About JB Lynn

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Prologue

You just know it’s going to be a bad day when you’re roused from a deep slumber by panicked shrieking.

“Help! Help! Help!” a tiny voice squeaked.

Startled awake, I sat up in bed. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Fighting my way free of the bedding, which seemed like a living thing intent on keeping me trapped, I stumbled out of bed and promptly tripped over the snoring pig, sprawled out on the floor, oblivious to the cries for help.

I hit the carpet with a dull thud. I groaned at the pain caused by the jarring impact.

Matilda, the said pig, stirred but stayed asleep.

“It’s just a nightmare,” Piss, my one-eyed cat purred.

“That would have been good to know before I bruised my knees,” I snapped at her.

“She was talking to the mouse, not you,” a superior voice informed me.

I glared up at the anole lizard draped across a piece of driftwood in the terrarium which took up the surface of my dresser.

“Help! Help! Help!” the dreaming mouse pleaded.

“Even when he’s asleep he speaks in triplicate,” complained the lizard, Godzilla, God, for short.

“Up wake! Up wake!” DeeDee, my Doberman pinscher barked excitedly.

“Shhh!” I reprimanded her. “You’ll wake up the whole house.”

“Sorry,” the dog whined, then she licked my face as though to make up for the bad behavior.

“You’re okay, Benny,” the cat told the mouse. “You just had a bad dream.”

“Scary, scary, scary,” Benny gasped.

“You’re safe now,” Piss assured him. “Right, Maggie?”

Struggling to my feet, I peered into the enclosure of the little white mouse. “You’re just fine.”

He wriggled his whiskers. “Out? Out? Out?”

“Sure.” I gingerly lifted him off his straw bedding and let him relax on my palm.

“What were you dreaming about?” the cat asked curiously.

I sat on the edge of the mattress, and she jumped up to sniff and then lick her tiny friend.

“Experiments, experiments, experiments,” Benny revealed in a small voice.

My heart broke for the little guy who’d been the equivalent of a lab rat when we’d rescued him.

“The past doesn’t stay buried,” the lizard declared somberly.

“That’s all over now,” Piss purred, trying to soothe the rodent.

“This is all Loretta’s fault,” God accused.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“She scared him by threatening to test her newest stinky concoction on him,” the lizard explained, dislike dripping from every syllable he uttered.

Benny squeaked in dismay and shuddered against my hand.

“When was this?” I asked, alarmed.

“Yesterday,” the lizard replied. “She came in while playing hide-and-seek with the girls. She looked in the closet and under the bed, then she told Benny he’d make a great test subject.”

Outraged, I jumped to my feet. “I’m going to kill her!” Considering I’m a part-time assassin, it wasn’t an empty threat.

“Can’t you,” DeeDee pointed out as I gently placed Benny back onto his bedding.

“I didn’t mean literally kill her,” I assured the dog, who, while sweet and loyal, wasn’t the brightest pet in my menagerie. “I’m just going to scold her for scaring poor Benny.”

“Your canine companion is correct,” God said. “You can’t.”

It was unusual for the lizard to agree with the Doberman, so I waited for him to continue.

“How would you explain knowing what she said to a mouse? Unless, of course, you want it to be public knowledge that you can talk to animals,” God said.

“Idea bad,” DeeDee woofed softly.

Knowing they were both right, I nodded.

“Unless you want to room with your mother,” God concluded.

I scowled. One of my greatest fears was getting locked up in the loony bin where my mom resides. “I’ve got to say something to Loretta. She can’t just go around scaring him.”

“Say the room reeked of her perfume and you’d prefer for her to stay out of your private space,” Piss suggested.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Benny agreed.

“Okay,” I agreed.

“Hungry!” DeeDee panted desperately

“She’s always hungry,” the lizard griped.

I let the cat and dog out of the room, pulled on my pink fluffy robe and slippers, scooped the lizard out of his terrarium and put him on my shoulder, ready to face the day.

Little did I know it was going to be a doozy.

1

I should have guessed the day would go sideways when I heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. I hesitated in the hallway, torn between wanting to avoid drama and needing caffeine. My addiction to coffee overrode my instinct for self-preservation.

“The aesthetic is atrocious,” my Aunt Susan told her father, Herschel.

My grandfather shrugged. “Tough. Irma needs more space.”

My aunt turned her laser beam glare in my direction. “Tell him, Margaret. Or are you going to undercut me on this, too?”

“Tell him what? I need coffee,” I replied dryly. I had no idea where her undercutting paranoia stemmed from, and I wasn’t going to try to tackle it until I was properly caffeinated.

“Tell him this run for the donkey that’s going to take up the whole property is a disaster in the making,” Susan continued like I hadn’t stated my need for coffee.

“Paddock,” Herschel corrected.

“It makes no sense,” Susan insisted. “And it’ll be ugly.”

Shuffling over to the coffee maker, I grabbed the pot and a mug and prepared to get my fix.

“Margaret!”

Startled, I jumped a little, accidentally sloshing coffee on my hand instead of into the mug. I might be an occasionally badass assassin, but the woman who sent me to my room without dessert still scares me. “Ow!”

“Look what you made Maggie do,” Herschel scolded his daughter.

Susan thrust a paper towel at me so I could clean up the mess I’d made. I took it grudgingly and began wiping.

“The animal pen, Margaret,” she reminded me.

I looked to my grandfather. “Is the paddock going to block the driveway?”

“Of course not.”

“And will it infringe on where the girls play?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“Then, I think it’s a great idea.”

“It’ll look ugly!” Susan wailed.

“It’s better to look ugly than be ugly,” I shot back, reminding her of something she used to tell me when I was a child.

Her mouth opened and closed like she was a beached fish. Unable to argue with her own logic, she stalked out without another word.

“Do you need a refill?” I offered Herschel.

“No, thanks.”

I poured my coffee and slid into a chair opposite him.

He gave me a considering look. “Did you side against Susan just to make her angry?”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “I don’t want Irma to be locked up in her stall in the barn and be lonely. She’s a member of the family, not a prisoner with occasional yard privileges for good behavior.”

“You have spent too much time visiting your father in prison,” God opined.

Herschel nodded his agreement. Like me, my grandfather can talk to animals and had understood the lizard. “Irma made her dissatisfaction clear. She needs the paddock.”

“Susan will get over it,” I assured him. I sipped my coffee and winced at how bitter it tasted. No doubt, Herschel had made it with a heavy hand.

“Hungry!” DeeDee woofed at the back door.

“I didn’t feed them,” Herschel apologized. “I just put them outside so that my daughter wouldn’t have one more thing to complain about.”

“I understand completely.” I wondered where Templeton was, but didn’t ask, not wanting it to seem like I expected him to feed my pets every morning.

“Hungry!” DeeDee whined.

Herschel got up and put his cup in the sink. “I’m going to check on Irma and Billy.” He let the cat and dog inside and left.

“Hungry!” the Doberman barked, looking at me expectantly.

“She heard you the first two times,” God told her.

I got up and scooped some kibble into her bowl. She devoured it quickly…and noisily.

“Animal!” God complained.

“Where’s Templeton?” Piss meowed as I opened the refrigerator and removed the container of cream from the door.

“I don’t know,” I told her. “I haven’t seen him.”

“I’d rather wait for him to pour,” she meowed apologetically. The cat loved the way my Aunt Loretta’s lover filled her saucer.

“Okay.” I put it back in the fridge. “Do you want some dry food while you wait?”

“Please.”

I spilled some into a bowl for her and then opened the refrigerator again, trying to decide what to eat. Templeton usually had a delicious breakfast cooking and I’d gotten out of the habit of foraging for food in the morning.

“Your aunt is in a tizzy,” a man noted behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder at Lawrence Griswald, Aunt Susan’s husband. “She can usually find something to be upset about.”

He poured himself a cup of the sludge that was passing for coffee. “She just wants what’s best.”

“Her definition of ‘what’s best’ is always what she wants.” Giving up on finding sustenance, I pushed the fridge door closed.

“This is terrible,” Griswald groaned, holding his mug away from him like it was filled with poison.

“I think Herschel made it.”

“Where’s Templeton?”

I shrugged.

“Is she here yet?” Armani Vasquez limped in and sank into the nearest chair. I automatically filled a mug with bitter swill for her.

“Zeke’s picking her up at the airport later,” I told my friend, putting the drink in front of her and wandering over to the pantry, still searching for food.

“Bummer.”

“Do you happen to know where Templeton is?” Griswald asked her.

“He’s not here?”

“There’re two people in the room, nothing’s cooking and she has to ask for confirmation that he’s not present?” God grumbled.

“Who’s she?” Griswald wanted to know from Armani. “You asked, ‘Is she here yet?’. Who’s she?”

“Alice,” she replied matter-of-factly.

“Your friend that got married?” he asked me.

“Yes,” Armani confirmed. “She’s coming in from Chicago.”

I detected a note of panic in Griswald’s voice as he wondered, “Is she staying here? Because Susan didn’t say anything about guests. If she finds out about unannounced guests…”

I closed the pantry door. “She’s not staying here.”

“She’s staying with Zeke,” Armani supplied. I could hear the devilish grin in her voice as she added, “Wait until Susan finds out that a married woman is staying at the home of an unmarried man.”

“It’s just Zeke,” I argued.

“Just Zeke.” She shook her head. “I love you, Chica, but sometimes I don’t know if you’re blind or just crazy. Even though you seem to be oblivious, Zeke is a hottie. Nat is a hottie, though I admit he was more of a scorcher with the tats. His dangerous vibe was exciting.”

“I agree completely,” my Aunt Loretta concurred as she wobbled in on her stilettos. “Zeke and Nat are hot, hot, hot!”

Ignoring her assessment of my friends, I asked, “Where’s Templeton?”

“Well, good morning to you, too, Maggie,” she replied.

“Good morning, Aunt Loretta. Do you have any idea of where your man is?”

Blinking rapidly, she adjusted one of her fake eyelashes. It sat off-kilter, giving her the look of a deranged woman. “He had an appointment. Susan said she’d make breakfast.”

“She must have forgotten or changed her mind after her fight with Herschel,” I guessed.

“Daddy? Why was she fighting with Daddy?”

Griswald sighed. “She’s protesting the corral.”

“Did we get a horse? I want to learn to ride. Side saddle, of course, like a Victorian lady,” Loretta declared excitedly.

“Nobody’s going to mistake her for a lady,” God whispered to me.

I’d just taken a swig of the horrible brew and immediately choked on it.

“It’s the donkey pen,” Griswald corrected.

“You know, the thing that’s been discussed over dinner ad nauseam,” I reminded her.

“Oh,” she pouted. “That’s disappointing. I was already thinking about getting Templeton one of those Jousting Knight costumes.”

“From Medieval Times?” I joked.

“I just had a great idea!” she announced. She pointed at me, then to herself, and back to me.

I braced myself. Most of her “great” ideas ended in disaster, and the fact that she wanted to suck me into it did not bode well.

“We should take the girls to Fight Knights!”

I blinked my shock. It was actually a pretty good idea. “We’d have to run it by Marlene.”

“I want to go, too!” Armani declared.

“What is Fight Knights?” Griswald asked, clearly confused and alarmed at the idea of bringing young children to something with such a violent name.

“It’s wonderful!” Loretta covered her heart with her hand, swooning back against the kitchen counter. “Knights on horseback. Sword fighting by masters of the blade pledged to serve their queen.”

Griswald didn’t look convinced.

“It’s kind of like a kid-friendly dinner theater,” I explained. “They say you’re at a banquet, enjoying a feast, and you cheer for your knight, and there’s jousting, juggling and jesters.”

“And, apparently, alliteration,” God remarked.

“And sword fighting, and archery and falconry,” Loretta reminded us. “The girls would love it!”

“They might,” I admitted. “But you,” I gave her my sternest look, which I’m pretty sure mirrors Aunt Susan’s sternest expression, “are not to mention it to them until Marlene has okayed it.”

“And Dominic,” Loretta added. “We should invite him, too.”

Griswald rolled his eyes.

I knew that he didn’t approve of the idea of including the grandson of the local mob boss, Delveccio. I also knew that even if Loretta hadn’t made the suggestion, my nieces, Katie and Alicia, would have begged to invite their friend and schoolmate to join them.

“I used to date one of the knights,” Armani revealed. “He was very strong. Big muscles, little⁠—”

“Oooh, do tell!” Loretta slid into the seat beside her.

“On that note…” Griswald beat a hasty retreat out of the kitchen.

I simultaneously made a mad dash for the exit leading outside with the cat on my heels.

It probably wasn’t the best choice.

2

A grown woman stepping outside in a fuzzy robe almost always results in mortification…at least, in my experience.

This was not the exception to the rule.

Rushing outside, I stumbled to a stop as God screamed, “Look out!”

I gasped, clutching the lapels of my robe, as a man carrying a large axe strode toward me.

He smiled. “Good morning.”

The sun glinted off the sharp edge of the blade.

“Help! Help!” God bellowed. “There’s an axe-wielding murderer!”

“Back off, buster!” Piss yowled at the top of her lungs, leaping between us. She unsheathed her claws and flattened her good ear, prepared to protectively pounce.

The man slowed, eyeing the attack cat.

“Intruder alert! Intruder alert!” Percival, the blind peacock, shrieked, running in large circles toward us, his tail feathers on display.

“This way! This way!” God directed the sight-impaired bird.

The man froze. I wasn’t sure if he was frightened of the peacock or just shocked by his arrival.

Billy, the goat, loped over, bleating loudly. He reared up on his back legs and appeared ready to box with the man.

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Alejandro called in his thick Peruvian accent. The llama galloped over, emitting a warning whistle. “I shall lay down my life for Maggie Lee!”

At the same time, DeeDee raced to place herself between the cat and the man. “Off back!” the Doberman snarled viciously, baring her teeth.

The look of terror on the man’s face as my menagerie faced off against him would have been comical if he hadn’t been wielding the weapon.

“What in tarnation is going on?” Herschel shouted.

We all turned to look at my grandfather, who was stomping over, clearly irate. “Why are you harassing Danny-boy?”

“Just Danny,” the man corrected weakly.

“You know him?” I was able to deduce that because even though it had been sludge, the caffeine in the coffee was working its magic on my brain.

“He’s here to help build the paddock,” Herschel replied.

“Oh…” God said, understanding dawning. “So, he’s not actually an axe murderer?”

“He’s not an axe murderer,” Herschel confirmed for the benefit of all the animals.

“Just go about your business,” God urged.

The peacock strutted off.

“I shall return to my security patrol,” the llama announced. “I’m ready to serve and protect whenever you need me, Maggie Lee.”

“Hungry!” the Doberman barked and trotted away.

The goat nibbled on the end of the belt of my bathrobe.

Piss sat and licked her paw like nothing had happened, the epitome of cat cool.

“Play nice,” Herschel warned me, and stalked off.

The axe-carrying man swayed where he stood, obviously in shock after the animals’ coordinated attack.

“Sorry about that,” I murmured as I watched him. He was tall and fit, and I had no doubt that Aunt Loretta and Armani would be pleased by Herschel’s hire.

“You…you have a lizard on your shoulder,” he pointed out.

“Only because she’s not wearing a bra,” God told him.

Grateful the man couldn’t understand him, I clutched the lapels of the fuzzy robe tightly with one hand. Stepping closer to the man, I extended the other. “Let’s start this again. I’m Maggie, Herschel’s granddaughter.”

“Danny,” he replied. His handshake was weak and clammy.

Fighting the urge to dry my hand against the robe, I wondered if his moistness was a permanent state or a result of being terrorized.

“Your pets are protective,” he murmured awkwardly.

“They are,” I agreed.

“Under my fearless direction,” God pointed out.

“Fearless?” Piss hissed mockingly.

Danny glanced at her nervously.

I tried to sound conversational and not accusatory as I asked, “Do you always walk around carrying an axe, Danny?”

He shook his head and glanced at the tool he held. “Herschel just gave it to me. It’s sharp, right?”

I nodded, watching the morning sun glint off the blade.

“It’s cool, right?”

“Are you chopping down trees?” I worried aloud. Maybe Susan wasn’t overreacting after all about the paddock construction.

“I hope not,” Danny said. “I’m just here for labor.”

I managed not to point out that chopping down trees takes laborious effort.

God wasn’t so kind. He muttered with undisguised disgust, “It seems obvious that he’s got more muscles than brain cells.”

As though to prove the lizard’s point, Danny flexed both arms, showing off his biceps. “Nice, right?”

I nodded and then looked down, trying not to burst into laughter. “Billy! Don’t you dare chew on that!” I kicked my feet for emphasis, shooing the goat away.

“You’re no fun,” he bleated balefully before ambling away.

Danny made a show of running his gaze from my slippers to the top of my head and then back down again. “You’re single, right?”

“I’m thinking ‘right’ is one of the Neanderthal’s favorite words,” God muttered.

The man in front of me said, “Maybe we could go out.”

“I prefer the company of the animals,” I told him flatly. For the most part, it wasn’t a lie.

He blinked, processing the idea, then shrugged. “Your loss.”

“You’re not in Maggie’s class,” Piss hissed, flexing her claws.

Danny swallowed nervously, watching her. “I should get back to work,” he declared before rushing away, casting glances over his shoulder as though he was worried that the cat was giving chase.

“Thanks for that,” I told Piss once he was out of earshot.

“Anytime, Sugar,” she purred.

Not wanting to get sucked into whatever conversation Loretta and Armani were having in the kitchen, I used both hands to keep my robe tightly closed and hurried around the house toward the front door.

I did not make a clean escape.

A black SUV rolled down the driveway just as I reached the porch stairs. I winced. It’s really not a good idea to be seen in fuzzy loungewear by your boss. Part-time boss, technically, but still, someone who I wanted to respect me.

The back door of the vehicle opened, and a young boy jumped out. He wobbled precariously for a moment, as though the weight of the backpack he wore might bring him down. Righting himself, he grinned. “Hi, Maggie!”

I waved, smiling weakly. “Hi, Dominic!”

“Donuts!” he shouted and then raced toward the barn that housed the schoolroom where he and my nieces received their education. Piss chased after him. I wasn’t sure if the cat was acting as an escort or a bodyguard.

“I buy him a dozen donuts and I’m okay,” the boy’s grandfather complained from inside the SUV. “But if the teacher brings them in, it’s like she’s performing a freakin’ miracle.”

White-knuckling the lapels of the robe, I shuffled over to face the mob boss, Delveccio. “At least he’s excited about going to school.”

The mobster gave me an assessing look and shook his head. “What’s with the construction zone?”

He waved at the collection of equipment and supplies that littered the yard.

“We’re building a paddock for the donkey.”

“We? Are you wearing that instead of a hard hat?” he teased with a smile.

My cheeks warmed. “I meant we, the family, not me.”

“Good.” He grew serious.

My stomach dropped at the way he said that one syllable. I knew what he was going to say next.

“Cuz I’ve got a job for you.”

3

Before I could respond to the mobster, I heard, “Maggie!”

Startled, I turned to find my brother, Ian, striding toward me. “Where did he come from?” I muttered, glancing nervously at Delveccio. The mob boss couldn’t be too happy with Ian, at the moment. His girlfriend, Kristen, had just quit her side hustle job of being the mob doc in his employ. Deciding I needed to be assertive before I lost control of the situation, I said, “I’m going to deal with him. And I’m going to get dressed. And I’m going to meet you at your place to finish our discussion.” I firmly shut the door of the SUV before Delveccio could protest.

“I think you just slammed the door in the face of the head of a crime syndicate,” God whispered.

I winced.

“Not the most prudent move,” the lizard lectured.

“I need a favor,” Ian called.

Pasting on a fake smile, I turned toward him. “What’s up?”

Ian reached me as the SUV pulled away. “I need you to throw a party.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

“Eloquent,” God mocked.

“Give her a break,” my half-brother, who can also talk to animals, told the lizard. “She just needs some time for her morning caffeine to kick in.” He gave me an impulsive hug. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” I wasn’t about to lie and call it a “good” morning.

“So, about the party…” Ian began carefully.

“I’m not a party organizer,” I told him. “In general, I’m not a fan of parties. I do my best to avoid them.”

“Curmudgeon,” God muttered.

“But I already told her you’d do it,” Ian admitted sheepishly, ignoring my protest.

Squinting at him, I pursed my lips to prevent myself from blurting out that I don’t like his perky, blonde medical examiner-turned-mob-doctor enough to throw her a party.

“Told who?” God asked.

“Susan,” Ian told him.

I groaned. “You didn’t.”

“No wonder she was in rare form this morning,” God mused.

Ian nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “She started spouting plans for an elaborate Going Away party and I panicked. I told her you’d already volunteered to do it.”

I frowned at him.

“We don’t want a party at all,” he explained in a rush. “Susan would have made it an over-the-top extravaganza. If you do it, nobody will have any expectations, and it can be low-key.”

God felt the need to explain, “Basically, he’s exploiting your low standards.”

“I got that,” I muttered.

“Not low standards,” Ian was quick to argue. “Just not fussy. We don’t want a fuss.”

“I can do no fuss,” I admitted.

“Excellent!” Ian beamed. “Thank you! I told Herschel I’d help ‘wrangle the critters’.” He kissed my cheek and hurried off toward the barn.

“I’m going to miss him when they’ve gone,” God said.

“I could have wrangled the critters,” I muttered bitterly, hurt that Herschel hadn’t asked for my help.

“Perhaps he thought you’d have better uses for your time,” the lizard soothed. “Or he knew Alice was on her way.”

I watched as a familiar car rolled down the driveway toward me.

“Busy place this morning,” God noted.

“What kind of appointment had Templeton leaving at the crack of dawn and back already?” I wondered aloud.

“Ask him.”

“I will.”

Templeton, Aunt Loretta’s better half, climbed out of his vehicle, his face pinched with worry. “What’s wrong?”

I glanced behind me to see who he was talking to, but nobody was there.

“Maggie?”

I turned to find him hurrying toward me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I assured him.

He stopped and studied me with concern. “Then why are you standing out here in your robe?”

I glanced down at myself. I couldn’t very well tell him that I’d bolted from the kitchen to avoid a conversation between Armani and his beloved about the prowess of men who dressed up like medieval knights. “I was checking on the animals. Is everything okay with you?”

“You bet.”

“Because you don’t usually leave so early,” I prodded.

“I had an appointment.” His tone was mild, but he made it clear the subject wasn’t open for conversation.

Worried that he was in some kind of trouble, I grabbed his hand, stared into his eyes intently and told him, “If you need anything, anything at all, you just need to tell me, and I’ll be there for you.”

His face contorted with emotion, and he barely managed to choke out, “I know” as he pulled me in for a bear hug.

God latched on to my earlobe and hung there, like an organic earring, to ensure he didn’t get crushed.

I swallowed the painful lump that rose in my throat and blinked back tears. “I can’t lose you, too,” I whispered to Templeton.

“You won’t,” he promised, squeezing me tightly. “You worry too much.” He pulled away and gave me a reassuring smile.

“Maggie Lee! Maggie Lee!” I turned as Alejandro, the llama, galloped toward me. “The nephew is coming.”

“Brian?” God asked from my shoulder. “Why would he announce him? He’s family.”

Templeton chuckled at the lizard squeaking on my shoulder. We both looked over as Brian Griswald’s car drove toward us.

“I’m going to go inside,” Templeton said quickly before rushing into the house.

I watched him go, now thoroughly convinced that he was in some sort of trouble. The only reason to avoid the nephew of Lawrence, was that Brian was a cop and Templeton was skirting or breaking the law.

Tightening my grip on my bathrobe, I managed a semi-genuine smile for the police detective as he climbed out of his car. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” If he found it odd that I was standing out there in my fuzzy robe glory, Brian’s expression didn’t indicate it. He looked somber and focused.

“He looks like he’s here on official business,” God guessed.

“Duh,” a young adolescent voice said. “Why else would he be here so early?”

I glanced in the direction of Rowdy, the raccoon, who was peering out from beneath a nearby bush.

Brian followed my gaze to the masked creature and took a nervous step back.

“He’s here to lock someone up,” Rowdy continued.

“Run, Maggie!” a panicked, tiny voice urged. “Run for your life!”

I had to squint to see the little brown bunny huddled by the raccoon. His whiskers were quivering. I wanted to assure Twitch that there was no danger.

“Step back, Maggie,” Brian ordered.

Glancing over at him, I realized he’d drawn his gun. I threw my hands overhead in surrender before I realized he wasn’t looking at me. I quickly readjusted my robe so he wouldn’t notice I’d acted like a guilty party.

“It could have rabies,” he warned, watching the raccoon.

“Run, Rowdy, run!” Twitch urged.

“I’m going to die!” Rowdy wailed, covering her eyes with her little paws.

When I realized that Brian could shoot her, I blurted out desperately, “She doesn’t have rabies. She’s my pet.”

Brian glanced from the raccoon, to me, then back to Rowdy before slowly lowering his gun. “How many pets do you have, Maggie?”

I shrugged. “If you ask Aunt Susan, she’ll tell you too many.”

He nodded as he holstered his gun.

I let out a shaky sigh of relief.

“Go now,” God urged the raccoon and rabbit.

They raced off together.

“I’m pretty sure your uncle is—” I began.

“I’m not here to see him,” Brian interrupted. “It’s you I need to talk to.”

Tensing, cold dread pooled in my gut. This couldn’t be good.

4

“Come inside,” I invited the police detective who wanted to interrogate me. “I bet Templeton just made a fresh pot of coffee.” I led him up the porch stairs and into the house, using the time to get control of my emotions. I needed to keep my wits about me. The worst thing I could do was panic.

Sure enough, Templeton was in the kitchen, working on a crossword puzzle book while the coffee maker was belching out its end-of-brewing-cycle gurgles. “That was disgusting,” he complained.

Knowing he was talking about Herschel’s concoction, I agreed whole-heartedly. “It was.”

Glancing past me, even though he’d seen the cop pull up to the house, he managed to sound slightly surprised as he smiled and said, “Brian! I believe Lawrence is⁠—”

“Not here for him,” the detective cut him off smoothly.

I saw a flicker of alarm in Templeton’s gaze before he smiled widely, tucked his pencil behind his ear and got to his feet. “Coffee?”

“Brian’s here to see me,” I announced to put him at ease. “And yes, please.” Trying to look relaxed, I slid into a chair and explained to the detective, “Herschel made the coffee this morning and it was mud.”

He nodded his understanding as he took the seat opposite me. “Probably like the sludge they have at the station. That stuff is so strong, it could probably stand up on its own. The cups are just there for show.”

I made a show of chuckling, unsure if he was being genuine or trying to put me at ease so he could trip me up during questioning.

“You take it black, right, Brian?” Templeton asked.

“Yes.”

“And I know how you like it, Maggie,” Templeton said warmly.

“Thank you.” I smiled at him, knowing it was his way of reminding me that he had my back.

“So, the reason I’m here,” Brian began.

I held my breath.

“Is that I needed to ask about a Cole Fieldstone.”

Surprised, I blinked.

“You know him?” Brian looked for confirmation.

“That’s a blast from the past,” I said slowly, trying to buy myself some time to think. The truth was that my favorite redhead, Patrick Mulligan, had asked me about Cole quite recently. I didn’t want my responses to Brian to endanger my murder mentor and former lover.

“But you know him?” the detective pressed.

“Coffee,” Templeton announced, putting a pair of steaming mugs in front of us.

“Thanks,” I murmured, reaching for mine immediately.

“Enjoy.” He grabbed another cup, sat down at the table, and studied his crossword puzzle in a show of silent support.

Wrapping my hands around my mug, I revealed to Brian, “I went to high school with Cole Fieldstone. We were in the same graduating class.”

He sipped his coffee before asking, “What can you tell me about him?”

“I didn’t know him well.” Truth be told, he was the kind of kid that I’d done my best to avoid.

“So, you weren’t friends?”

“More like mortal enemies,” I thought as I shook my head. “We had a couple of classes together. If I remember right, he disappeared with his girlfriend the day before graduation. It was all anyone talked about.”

“What was he like?”

I stared into my coffee, trying to keep the remembered adolescent animosity out of my voice as I replied, “He was a jock. Football and wrestling.”

“A bully?”

A montage of unpleasant teenage memories filled my mind: Alice sobbing in the Girls’ Room, Zeke bruised and bleeding, and a cafeteria filled with kids laughing at me. I sipped the drink to buy myself some time. “This is so much better,” I told Templeton. “Thank you.”

As though he understood I needed a momentary reprieve, Templeton replied, “Your grandfather has many positive qualities, but it’s a miracle the man didn’t starve to death in those decades he lived alone.”

I offered him a weak smile of gratitude.

“I don’t suppose either of you knows a word that means…” he glanced down and read the crossword clue. “Earth scent that starts with a P.”

“Petrichor,” Brian said without hesitation. He even spelled it for good measure.

Templeton counted out the boxes. “It’s the right amount of letters. Thanks!”

“I aim to serve,” Brian joked. Then, growing serious, he asked me again, “Was Fieldstone a bully?”

Since it was public knowledge that Cole had been a teenage terror, I nodded.

“He spent a lot of time in the principal’s office?”

“Some,” I replied carefully.

“Do you think he was the one who pranked Vice Principal Burke?”

I shrugged. “That’s what the rumor was. He and Burke were always at odds. As an adult, looking back, I’d guess that Burke wanted to suspend or expel him for his behavior but was probably pressured by coaches and others to back off. Cole may have been a menace, but he was an All-State athlete in both football and wrestling.”

“Did he bully you?” Brian asked pointedly.

I squeezed my mug, focusing on the warmth seeping into my fingers. There was no point in lying. “My dad’s a convicted criminal and my mom’s a certified nutcase…” I hesitated, waiting for the lizard to correct me, but he remained silent. “I was an easy target for Cole or anybody else.”

Brian nodded.

Templeton reached over and patted my shoulder soothingly.

“And do you know what happened to him?” the detective asked, his tone was mild, but I could feel him studying me.

I shrugged. “The rumor was that he wrecked Burke’s car and then left town with his girlfriend.”

“Giving up the multiple athletic scholarships?”

“He was a jock, not a genius,” I replied dryly.

Brian’s eyebrows shot up. “Was?”

I swallowed hard before I replied, “I never heard of him going pro, so I assumed he was one of those kids that peaked in high school and never did much of anything else. There was a girl in our class, Stef, who’d been in a dog food commercial when she was ten and never let anyone forget she was a mini celebrity. She didn’t have the Tony award-winning Broadway career she thought she would. Last I heard, she’s working at her mother’s hair salon.”

“Yeah,” Brian agreed. “There’re some of those in every class.” He drank some coffee, watching me over the top of the cup.

Tired of feeling defensive, I decided it was late enough in the conversation to voice some curiosity. “Why the questions about Cole? He left town a long time ago.”

“Routine follow-up. His name came up in an investigation,” Brian replied smoothly.

I nodded like I believed him. That didn’t explain why Patrick had asked me about the same person or why Brian had shown up first thing in the morning. I wondered if he suspected me of something. For once, it would be a crime I hadn’t committed.

“I need a word to describe Spanish moss that ends in a C,” Templeton announced, fiddling with his pencil.

“Epiphytic,” Brian rattled off immediately.

“You’re a master,” Templeton said in awe, scratching the answer into the corresponding boxes.

“I like solving puzzles,” Brian said.

I studied him across the table, unsure if he was talking about the game or Cole Fieldstone.

5

Once Brian had finished his coffee, he thanked me for my time and left.

When we were certain he was gone, Templeton shot me a worried look. “What was that all about?”

“I honestly don’t know,” I told him. “But on the plus side, at least he didn’t seem to suspect you of anything.”

Templeton looked away, silent confirmation that he’d done something to get himself into trouble.

“If, or when, you want to talk about it, you know how to find me,” I reminded him.

He nodded.

“I’ve got to get dressed and go out, but first, I’m going to take another cup of this delicious coffee.” I stood and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Thank you.”

“It’s just coffee,” he laughed.

“Thank you for always looking out for me,” I whispered. Kissing his cheek, I hurried toward my bedroom.

God asked before I’d even closed the door. “Did you kill him?”

“Why is it that if someone ends up dead, you always assume it was my fault?”

“If you need me to explain that to you…” the lizard drawled in his most superior tone.

“Who’s dead? Who’s dead? Who’s dead?” Benny squeaked from his enclosure.

“Maggie’s high school bully,” God explained to the mouse.

I went to shrug out of my fuzzy robe and hung it on the back of the door, but realized the lizard was still riding me.

Snatching him off my shoulder, I put him on his piece of driftwood. “Nobody’s actually said that he’s dead.”

“He’s dead,” God declared. “And the cops are sniffing around.”

“Not good, not good, not good!” Benny decided.

“I agree,” I muttered, pulling an outfit from my dresser drawers. “But I did not kill Cole Fieldstone.”

“Who did?” God asked.

“I have no idea, and I don’t have time to figure it out right now because I’ve got to go see Delveccio about whatever job he has for me.”

“She practically slammed the SUV’s door in his face,” the lizard revealed to the mouse. “She’ll be lucky if he doesn’t take a contract out on her.”

“Not good, not good, not good!” Benny squeaked worriedly.

“Delveccio wouldn’t do that,” I assured the mouse, jumping into a pair of jeans.

“Probably not,” the lizard agreed. “But you definitely have no leverage to turn down the job he wants you to do.”

Yanking a long sleeve t-shirt over my head, I muttered, “Let’s hope I don’t need it.”

“Have you seen how your day’s going? What makes you think your meeting with the mob boss will go any better?”

“Something has to go my way eventually,” I countered.

“As delusional as her mother,” God muttered under his breath.

I pretended to have not heard him. Instead, I pulled a brush through my hair and put on some lip gloss. Jamming my feet into sneakers, I asked, “Stay or go?”

“Go! Go! Go!” Benny squeaked excitedly.

I scooped him out of his enclosure, pressed a kiss to the top of his head, and gently placed the little white mouse in the small satin handbag that I’d lined with straw, just for him.

“Why does he get to travel in luxury while I have to hang on for dear life?” God complained.

“You can stay here if you’d rather,” I offered.

“No!” he said sharply.

Extending my hand, I let him skitter up the length of my arm and then swan dive from my shoulder into my bra. “Holding on for dear life?”

“Risking being smothered by mammary glands,” he countered crossly.

Chuckling, I headed out of my room and immediately collided with Armani. “Sorry,” I apologized.

“Pull!” She shook a cloth bag in front of my face.

I winced at the sound of the wooden Scrabble tiles it held colliding with each other. I wasn’t really in the mood for one of her mysterious psychic predictions. “I’m on my way out.”

“Now, Chica,” she insisted.

Sighing, I reached into the bag and pulled out seven pieces. I put them in alphabetical order across my outstretched palm. EINNORU

“Our nine,” Armani declared. “Who are the nine?” Using the fingers of her good hand, she began to count. “You. Me. Loretta. Templeton. Susan. Griswald. Leslie. Katie. Marlene. Alicia. Herschel.”

“That’s eleven,” I pointed out.

“Not if we remove you and me as the ‘our’ part,” she reasoned. A panicked expression crossed her face. “Do you think that means our nine are in danger?”

“I hope not,” I muttered, trying to hold back the wave of terror that threatened to drown me.

God offered an alternative. “Maybe the nine is me, Benny, DeeDee, Piss, Mike, Matilda, Irma, Rowdy, Twitch, Alejandro, Billy, Perci…that’s too many,” he realized. “I think there’s a better chance it’s U ON REIN. Maybe you’re the one who should be wrangling the critters.”

“Does he agree with me?” Armani asked, eyeing my squeaking chest since she knows I can talk to animals.

I felt the need to point out, “It actually spells reunion. Maybe Alice’s plane has landed.” I dumped the tiles back into the bag.

“Oooh!” Armani declared. “I’ll check. If it’s true, it means my powers are getting stronger.”

While she pulled out her phone, I made a mad dash for the front door.

“Maybe you’re going to be reunited with Cole Fieldstone,” God mused.

“Considering you think he’s dead, a reunion with him sounds gross,” I muttered. Opening the front door, I sprinted for my car before Armani registered I had left. Jumping behind the steering wheel, I sped away from the house, almost clipping Danny in my haste. The workman watched my hasty getaway with wide eyes.

I drove to Delveccio’s place, mentally rehearsing what I would say to apologize for slamming the door in his face earlier.

“Do you think Alice killed him?” God asked.

I almost swerved off the road. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you think Alice killed Fieldstone?”

“Of course not.”

“You don’t think it’s suspicious that his body was discovered right before she returned to town?” the lizard persisted.

“One. We don’t know if there even is a body. Two. My friend is not a killer.”

“I bet your friends would say the same thing about you.”

He had a point. I squeezed the steering wheel, refusing to entertain the possibility that my old friend, who’d been the victim of Cole Fieldstone’s Homecoming prank, could have killed him. Even though she would have motive.

“Maybe Zeke helped her cover it up,” God suggested. “That’s why she’s staying with him, so they can finish up their unfinished business.”

“Maybe you should shut up,” I growled as I pulled into the driveway of Delveccio’s McMansion. I drove past the plethora of fountains and parked in line with the front door.

Knowing that there were a host of cameras trained on me, I stepped out of my car and waited for instructions. When nobody came out to tell me which door to use, I squared my shoulders, climbed the steps and rang the bell.

“Into the lion’s den you go,” God intoned. “Be brave. Show no fear.” Then, he hid in my bra.

As the door swung open, I held my breath, unsure of what kind of greeting I’d receive.

I gasped when I saw what awaited me.

6

“Hi, sweetheart.” The mountain of a man in front of me opened his arms.

“Angel!” I threw myself into his embrace.

“Ugggh!” the lizard groaned in pain. “Don’t smother me.”

Chuckling at the squeaking sound, Angel let me angle myself away from him. “Still toting around the lizard, I hear.”

Nodding, I grinned up at his smiling face. Even if he had dumped me for someone else, he was still the attractive man who’d helped Katie recover after her coma, and I was glad to see him. “What are you doing here?”

“Family business,” he said. “How’s your family? Katie?”

“They’re good. She’s great,” I told him enthusiastically. “Fully recovered and doing her best to boss everyone else around.”

He smiled his satisfaction. “That’s awesome.”

“And you? Your new life…it’s good?”

“It’s different.”

God piped up from my bra. “Isn’t he just the king of ambiguous responses today?”

“You look good,” Angel said, pushing my hair away from my face.

My heartbeat ticked up. “You too.”

“You can’t tell anyone he’s here,” Delveccio warned.

I turned and saw the mobster, arms crossed over his chest, scowling at us. I knew from his expression that he was worried for his nephew’s safety.

“Of course not,” I murmured.

“Dominic can’t know I’ve visited,” Angel stressed. “It’s too much of a secret for a little boy to keep.”

I nodded my understanding.

“I just wanted to say hi. Be well, Maggie.” Angel kissed my cheek, nodded at his uncle, and strolled out of my life again.

Delveccio jerked his head, indicating I should follow him. He led the way to his office and sat behind his desk.

Studying The Godfather movie poster hanging behind him, I stood, clasping my hands nervously. “I’m really sorry about this morning.”

The mobster raised an eyebrow.

“My behavior was disrespectful,” I continued. “I didn’t mean to be, but⁠—”

He held up a finger to silence me.

I pressed my lips together and nodded my comprehension.

My stomach churned as his gaze held mine.

“We’re cool,” he said finally.

I blinked. “What?”

“You always say and do what you think is best,” he said with a shrug. “It’s what makes you unique. Sometimes it makes you a pain in the butt, but you always get the job done.”

I practically sagged with relief.

“Speaking of jobs…”

I waited.

“You look like a kid who’s been called into the principal’s office. Sit down.”

I immediately plopped into the chair opposite him.

“Kristen worked her last shift as a medical examiner,” he remarked with studied casualness.

“I heard that,” I replied carefully. I had no idea what the code of ethics was for mob doctors, and I seriously hoped that Ian’s other half hadn’t somehow violated them. I didn’t want to be asked to kill the woman my brother loves. “They’re packing up their stuff and getting ready to leave. I’m the one planning their going away party.”

“I’ve got a request from the Old Country I need to take care of.”

Confused, I decided that silence would probably be my wisest course of action, since I had no idea about how his last two comments were connected.

“You follow the tour bus story?” Delveccio asked.

I shook my head. My own life is usually so hectic that I don’t pay all that much attention to the world outside mine.

“I hadn’t, either,” the mobster admitted, fiddling with his diamond pinky ring. “Then, it landed in my lap. There was this tour bus running from The City to some wolf preserve out in the boonies. Long story short, it crashed on the way back, caught fire, and burned everyone but the driver to a crisp.”

I nodded, remembering the story. “That was a couple years ago, right?”

“Yeah.”

I waited, unsure of what his connection to the tragedy was.

“I have a…let’s call him an overseas business acquaintance. His granddaughter was on that bus and he’s looking for some…closure.”

A knot formed in my stomach and my mouth went dry. I gathered my courage and reminded the man that ran a criminal empire, “I don’t go around just killing people. They have to deserve it.”

Leaning back in his chair, Delveccio steepled his fingers and stared at me over them. “Meaning, you wouldn’t just kill the driver if I asked?”

I shrugged. “Does he deserve it? Was he driving drunk? Recklessly?”

He shook his head. “Not according to the police investigation.”

“Sometimes an accident is just an accident. I’m sure he feels terrible.”

“He doesn’t.”

I sucked in a breath.

“He doesn’t feel anything. He died in the hospital, right after giving the cops his statement. An air bubble in his IV killed him.” He stared at me, the revelation hanging between us.

“Oh,” I murmured, confused.

“He claimed that he wasn’t impaired, that the brakes had failed,” Delveccio continued. “Funny thing is that the mechanics who’d last serviced the bus, along with the entire service station, blew up due to some kind of gas leak.”

“Dun, dun, dun!” God sang dramatically.

“And the two cops who took the driver’s statement died, too,” the mobster concluded. “One had a heart attack while watching the Mets game in his La-Z-Boy and the other was crushed to death when his classic car that he was restoring slipped off the jack holding it up.”

“So, there’s a cover-up,” I surmised.

“Between the bus crash, the driver, the mechanics, and the cops, you’re talking over two dozen people dead.”

“And you know who’s responsible?”

He nodded.

“The tour bus operation owner?” I guessed.

The corner of his mouth lifted. “That was my guess, too. He hung himself earlier this week, leaving a note that said it was all his fault.”

I tilted my head. “If he’s already dead, what do you need me for?”

“Because the medical examiner, on her very last shift, found evidence that he’d had some help offing himself.”

I sat up straighter, alarmed. “Are you telling me Kristen’s in danger?”

“She would have been if she’d filed her full report,” he agreed. “Instead, she omitted that important bit of information from anything official and told me about her findings.”

“And why would she do that?”

“She’s on my payroll. Like you,” he reminded me, letting the threat hang in the air for a long moment.

“I meant, why would you care,” I clarified calmly.

“Because my overseas associate wanted to know everything remotely connected to his granddaughter’s death. He needs to know who’s responsible, and that justice has been served.”

“And you think you know?”

He nodded. “The nephew. Jeremy Crank.”

“And what makes you think it was him?”

“Because,” a familiar voice said from the doorway. “I worked the suicide.”

I turned and stared at Patrick Mulligan. In addition to being my murder mentor and former lover, he’s also a police detective.

“Jeremy Crank was responsible for the bus crashing in order to kill his ex-girlfriend, who was on the tour,” Patrick explained.

“And then he killed everyone else to cover it up?” I asked incredulously. “Guy must have an impressive skill set; gas leaks, induced heart attacks, failed brakes.”

“Not Crank,” Patrick clarified. “He hired a professional.”

I looked to Delveccio. “And you think the pro is going after Kristen.”

The mobster shook his head. “No. He,” he jutted his chin in Patrick’s direction, “took care of that problem already.”

For a moment, I thought he meant that Patrick had gotten rid of Kristen. “I…what?”

“I took out the hitman that was after her,” the redhead explained. “But I suspect Crank will just hire someone else to do the job.”

Delveccio concluded with, “That’s why you need to kill him.”

7

“I can’t do it right now,” I told the two men who were watching me. “One of my oldest friends flew in this morning. If I’m out hunting down Crank and not visiting with her, it will draw attention.”

“Mulligan can do the legwork on this one,” Delveccio declared. “But because he worked the suicide and has a visible connection to Crank, we can’t risk him being the one to perform the actual execution.”

I nodded my agreement.

“Go.” The mobster waved us off dismissively. “And, Maggie, remember about Dominic.”

“I will.” I hurried out of the house with Patrick right behind me.

“He’s put protection on Ian and Kristen,” he assured me. “Try not to worry about them too much.”

“We need to talk,” I whispered softly, hoping the security cameras wouldn’t pick it up.

“Meet me at the park,” Patrick instructed in a low voice.

I climbed into my car and allowed the lizard to scramble down my arm and onto the dashboard.

“If Kristen were to die, then Ian might not leave,” God pointed out as I put the car into drive.

“That hadn’t occurred to me,” I muttered. “I’m not going to let her be murdered just to get him to stay.”

“I’m just pointing out you have options.”

“That’s a heartless option,” I snapped at him.

We rode the rest of the way to the park in silence. When I hopped into Patrick’s ride du jour, on this particular day, it happened to be a non-descript white SUV, I left the lizard behind in my car.

“I’m sure it’s Crank,” Patrick assured me as I slid into the passenger seat. “I made the guy who went after Kristen tell me before I…well, you know.”

I stared at him. “You saved Kristen from him?”

He raised one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug of agreement. “You would have never forgiven me if you’d found out I hadn’t helped her.”

“I need your help with something else,” I admitted.

“Shoot.”

“Brian Griswald was at the house this morning asking about Cole Fieldstone. Since you asked me about him the other day, I figured you know why.”

“An anonymous tip was sent to the station telling us where to find Fieldstone’s body.”

“Here?”

He nodded.

“I didn’t even know he’d come back to town. Not that I keep track of these things but⁠—”

“According to the tip, he never left town.”

I stared into his green gaze and was surprised to see something that looked like pity.

“The tipster said that he was killed the night before he was set to graduate,” Patrick explained.

I took a second to soak that information in. “But why was Brian asking me about it? I thought he’d left town with his girlfriend for all these years.”

Sighing, Patrick looked away. “Apparently, an investigation was done when they first disappeared. I’m guessing the detective who wrote up the report named you as one of the primary suspects.”

I leaned back in my seat, suddenly feeling queasy. “Me?”

“The detective, Powell, had clashed with your father a number of times.”

“So, he put me on a suspect list?” I shrieked.

Patrick winced. “It would make sense as to why Brian came to see you. Is he going to find anything?”

“I was a high school senior, just counting down the days until I could get out of that place,” I blurted out. “I didn’t kill anybody.”

“Okay, then,” Patrick soothed. “Then trust that Brian is a good cop and will figure that out.”

“Have they actually found Cole’s body yet?”

“They need to get a court order, first.”

“For what?”

“To exhume a body. The tipster said Fieldstone is buried beneath someone else.”

“This will drag on for a while, then,” I guessed. “That means I should go and behave as normally as possible. I need to go visit with Alice.” I leaned across the console and kissed Patrick’s cheek. He smelled of soap and wintergreen. “Thank you.”

“Be careful, Mags,” he warned as I jumped out of the vehicle.

I paused before closing the door. “Who else is on the suspect list?”

“No idea. I haven’t seen it.” He studied me for a moment. “You have guesses.”

I shrugged. “If I’m on there, chances are Zeke and Alice are, too.”

“Do you think they could have killed him?”

“Of course not!”

Patrick raised his hands defensively. “Okay, okay. I just asked.”

“My friends aren’t murderers.”

He raised his eyebrows but was wise enough not to challenge the assertion.

Closing the door, I climbed into my car and filled God in on the latest developments as I drove home.

“It is not a good thing to have Detective Brian Griswald digging around in your life,” the lizard warned as we pulled into the driveway. “Who knows what literal skeletons he might turn up.”

As Alejandro loped toward the car, I rolled down the window.

“Zeke brought a stranger,” the llama announced.

“We were expecting her,” I told him.

“This is what Piss informed me as she was leaving.”

“Piss left?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes,” Alejandro confirmed. “And Herschel brought two strangers.”

“Workmen,” I guessed. “Thanks, Alejandro.”

“It is my honor to serve you, Maggie Lee,” the llama formally announced and then galloped off.

“Piss left,” I murmured as I rolled the car toward the house.

“She probably went to see the old man down the road,” God suggested.

“But she loves Zeke,” I said.

“Cats are finnicky,” the lizard said. “Maybe the old man has replaced Zeke in her heart. He probably feeds her better.”

“Could be,” I murmured.

As I pulled up to the house, I saw Ian and my sister, Marlene, supervising my nieces, Katie and Alicia, blowing bubbles. I was surprised to see that DeeDee wasn’t chasing after the orbs. Instead, she sat a few paces away, intently watching the construction project.

Progress had been made while I was gone. Holes had been dug and wooden posts had been laid out on the ground. Herschel, flanked by Danny and another worker I hadn’t met, gave me a thumbs-up. I waved back.

I parked beside Zeke’s car and begged the lizard, “Please don’t scare Alice.”

He stood up on his hind legs and puffed out the orange dewlap under his chin. “ROAR!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. “Fear my wrath, puny human! ROAR!”

Resting my head on the steering wheel, I laughed until tears streamed down my cheeks.

I was breathless when someone knocked on my window. I had to blink away tears to focus on Zeke’s concerned countenance.

He opened the door and crouched down, so we were at eye level. “What do you need?”

I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him impulsively. “Love and laughter. That’s all anyone needs.”

“And coffee,” God added, leaping from the steering wheel onto my shoulder.

Zeke drew back, examining me. “You were laughing?”

I nodded.

He sighed with relief.

“Alice is here?” I asked.

“Sitting at the kitchen table with your aunts, showing them a gazillion baby pictures.” He tried to sound matter-of-fact, but I heard the pain in his voice. He and his girlfriend had recently lost a pregnancy.

He’d been excited about becoming a father and I could hear the loss reverberating in his tone. “I’m sorry,” I murmured sympathetically.

“Like don’t I him,” DeeDee barked suddenly.

She was standing right behind Zeke and the sudden noise startled him. Still crouched down, Zeke jumped away like a frog, then promptly fell over.

“Look what you did, DeeDee,” I admonished, scrambling to help Zeke to his feet.

“Like don’t I him,” she growled.

I rounded on the Doberman furiously. “Bad dog!”

Frightened, she turned and ran away.

I brushed dirt off Zeke’s shirt. “Sorry about that. I don’t know what got into her.”

“There’s a lot of noise and activity with the construction project,” he excused, hooking his arm through mine and leading me toward the house. “She’s probably just confused.”

“It’s been a strange day all around,” I told him. “It started with Brian Griswald showing up before I’d had a decent cup of coffee, asking about Cole Fieldstone.”

I felt Zeke’s body tense and stole a quick look at his face. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

8

“Maggie!”

Before I could ask Zeke about his reaction, Alice called me from the porch. I waved at my friend, marveling at how much she’d changed since I’d last seen her. She’d always been a pretty girl, but now she was a gorgeous woman. Married life, motherhood and living in Chicago all suited her. Her hair, makeup and clothing were all perfect, but most of all, she glowed with happiness.

I raised a hand to self-consciously smooth my hair, realizing that Angel had been lying earlier when he’d said I looked good.

Alice raced off the porch and practically tackled me as she jumped into my arms.

“Sensitive skin!” God shrieked in terror as he leapt from my shoulder to Zeke’s to save himself from the human tornado that was Alice.

“This is the best reunion ever!” she declared.

“Reunion!” Armani shouted triumphantly as she limped toward us. “Do you believe now, Chica?”

I nodded. I’d believed the moment I’d had the mini-reunion with Angel, but I couldn’t tell her that since his presence in town was a secret.

“Give me the grand tour of this place,” Alice demanded. “I want to see every inch of it.”

“Okay,” I agreed, thinking it would give us some one-on-one time.

“I met your grandfather,” she told me. “He’s charming.”

As I led her up the driveway, I wondered who the cantankerous Herschel had hired to play his part.

“And your niece Alicia is precious and Katie’s getting so big,” Alice continued. “So much has changed. Even your aunts.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely. Leslie isn’t high, Loretta has settled down, and Susan has relinquished control.”

“Not much,” I automatically argued, thinking of the morning’s paddock brawl.

“More than you realize,” Alice said. “You’re just too close to see it all.”

I nodded, realizing she had a different perspective. I wanted to ask her what changes she saw in me, but I didn’t dare. Instead, I revealed, “Archie has a real job.”

“You’re kidding!” she gasped with surprise.

“A regular work schedule and a legit paycheck,” I told her.

“Doing what? Is he a used car salesman or something?”

I shook my head. “You’re not going to believe it. Archie Lee’s true calling is not that of a petty thief or half-baked con artist. No, he loves making sandwiches.”

“Sandwiches?”

“Piling meat and cheese together on bread at a sandwich shop,” I elaborated.

“No way!” Alice laughed.

“He’s very proud of his culinary creations,” I told her. “He’ll probably whip up one in your honor and name it The Alice.”

“He finally went straight,” she marveled.

I nodded.

“And I heard you have—” she began, then ducked and covered her head.

“Beat it, toots!” Mike, the crow, cawed loudly, divebombing us. “It’s the cops!”

That’s when I heard the sirens. Multiple sirens. And they were getting closer.

“Take cover! Save yourselves!” Alejandro’s panicked whistling cut through the trees as he galloped past us, down the driveway to warn everyone.

In the distance, I could hear Percival shrieking, “Intruder alert! Intruder alert!”

I fervently hoped the blind peacock wouldn’t hurt himself by running into construction materials.

The sirens were almost on top of us when I grabbed Alice’s arm and yanked her off the driveway and out of the path of a line of patrol cars, with lights flashing and sirens blaring, that barreled toward the house.

“What’s happening?” Alice cried.

“I don’t know,” I told her. “But I’m going to find out.”

Leaving her there, I sprinted back toward the house. For once, God wasn’t along for the ride, critiquing my stride.

It was bedlam when I got to the house.

A wide-eyed Katie trembled in Ian’s arms and Marlene and Alicia were clinging to each other, sobbing hysterically. The four stood in the middle of a protective circle formed by DeeDee, Matilda, Irma, Billy, Alejandro, Percival, Rowdy, and even Twitch. Mike circled overhead, croaking, “Get lost, coppers!”

Our nine were ready to fight to defend the girls they loved.

Meanwhile, in the future paddock area, Herschel was pointing the axe he held at two uniformed cops who had their guns drawn. His hired day workers had dropped their tools and raised their hands in surrender.

On the porch, Aunt Loretta, held upright by her sisters, was hyperventilating so hard I thought her bra would pop at any moment. Behind them, Templeton stood with his hands over his head, ready to be hauled off to jail for who knows what.

If God had been on my shoulder, he would have told me to breathe, that it was up to me to remain calm and de-escalate the situation. But God wasn’t there, so I came out swinging.

“What the hell is going on?” I shouted, marching toward the cops who were pointing their guns at my grandfather.

One of them pivoted toward me, taking aim at my chest.

“Margaret!” Aunt Susan gasped worriedly.

“Stand down!” Detective Brian Griswald ordered. “Everyone, stand down.”

The cops slowly obeyed, lowering their weapons without taking their eyes off their targets.

“You too, Herschel,” the detective urged.

Heart pounding, adrenaline burning in my veins, I pivoted on my heel and marched toward Brian. “Are you in charge of this mess?”

“Calm down, Maggie,” he urged, holding up a hand like he thought that could stop me.

I kept coming. When I was just inches away from him, I shouted, “You’ve terrified children, almost shot an old man and upset my aunts. Do not tell me to calm down!” I poked his sternum with my finger for good measure.

He looked down at my offending finger and I could tell he was fighting for self-control. “Just tell me where he is.”

“Where who is?” I screamed in his face.

He drew back. “Zeke.”

“Zeke?” I looked around and realized he and Armani were nowhere in sight.

“Where is he?” Brian asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He was here a few minutes ago. His car is right there.”

“So, he ran?” Brian asked.

“Ran from what?”

“He’s wanted for questioning in the murder of Cole Fieldstone.”

9

“You could have gotten yourself killed, Margaret,” Aunt Susan lectured across the dinner table.

“She was standing up for her family,” Herschel declared proudly. “She set a great example of courage for her nieces.”

“And what would have happened to her nieces if they’d witnessed their aunt, who, I might add, swore in front of them, being gunned downed by the police?” Susan snapped at her father.

Alice, sitting across from me, watched the exchange like it was a professional Ping-Pong match. Her gaze jumping from one end of the table to the other.

Because it was such an unusual evening, Susan had relaxed her rule about everyone eating together. Katie, Alicia and Marlene were curled up in the den eating fluffernutter sandwiches prepared by Templeton and watching one of the girls’ favorite Pixar movies. DeeDee and Matilda were in there to guard them. Hopefully, they’d each get a bite of marshmallow fluff and peanut butter to reward them for their efforts.

“Tell us, Margaret, have you lost your voice after your earlier outburst at Brian?” Susan pushed.

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. I hadn’t lost my voice, but I had lost my lizard. Despite the other animals helping me search all over the property for him, we couldn’t find God.

“Margaret?”

I counted backwards from ten before responding. “It’s Brian you should be angry at, not me.”

“I’m equally disappointed in him,” Susan assured me.

“Disappointed,” I mocked.

“And when Lawrence gets home, I’m going to have a talk with him about his nephew’s strong-arm tactics.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t believe Zeke killed that boy,” Aunt Leslie interjected in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

In that moment, I appreciated her sobriety and conflict resolution skills.

“Of course not,” her twin, Loretta, agreed. “Our Zeke couldn’t hurt a fly.”

“You never know what someone is really capable of,” Susan said darkly.

For once, I found myself agreeing with her.

“Who was this dead kid?” Armani asked. She’d missed all the excitement of the police raid because she’d been in the barn’s schoolroom, polishing off the last of the donuts the teacher had brought in.

“Cole Fieldstone,” Alice said with dislike. “He made our lives a living hell.”

“Language, Alice!” Susan reprimanded.

“He was a bully,” I told Armani softly.

“An untouchable bully,” Alice elaborated. “He played varsity football from the time he was a freshman and was captain of the wrestling team his junior and senior years. Teachers fawned over him, kids hung on his every word. He was the golden boy with a mean streak.”

Armani blinked, taken aback by the bitterness of my friend’s tone as she ranted about a former classmate. I shared her sense of discomfort and desperately wanted Alice to stop talking.

“He picked on the weak and got away with it,” Alice continued to complain.

“More mashed potatoes?” Herschel said suddenly, reaching in front of her to hold the bowl toward me.

Realizing he was attempting to redirect the conversation, I took them.

Thankfully, that little exchange triggered a memory for Loretta and Leslie. They started reminiscing about a girl who’d dumped mashed potatoes in the hair of another girl in the school cafeteria. The memory made them laugh, which dissipated a lot of the tension. Herschel contributed by asking questions since he hadn’t been in their lives at the time, and even Susan voiced approval of how the school principal had handled the problem.

Alice sat silently, stewing in her own thoughts, poking at the food on the plate in front of her with a fork, but never actually eating any of it. Armani’s gaze kept flitting nervously between me and Alice, like she expected me to do something to alleviate my old friend’s mood.

When the meal was over, Templeton said we should leave the mess and get Alice settled in my room. Thankfully, Zeke hadn’t locked his car so we were able to retrieve her luggage. I carried it to my bedroom, with Alice trailing listlessly behind. She stood in the doorway, watching as I stripped the bed and remade it with fresh bedding and a brand new pillow that Susan had provided.

“I’m sure it’s not as nice as Zeke’s place, but you should be comfortable here,” I told her as I worked.

“You sleep with a mouse?” Alice asked, eyeing Benny, who was watching the activity with interest.

“I’ll take him with me,” I assured her. With both God and Piss missing, and DeeDee and Matilda glued to the girls, I was in for a lonely night.

“I’m glad he’s dead,” Alice announced.

I glanced over at her as I adjusted the comforter.

Her face was a contorted mask of hatred. “He deserved to die.”

A chill ran down my spine as I wondered if this was her way of confessing to the murder of Cole Fieldstone. Had she and Zeke killed him? Is that why Zeke had run?

I froze. If God had been with me, he would have told me how to proceed. On my own, the sense of dread was paralyzing.

“I brought you some spritz and stones,” Armani announced, limping up behind Alice.

Her arrival jolted me out of my paralysis. “Thanks?” It came out like a question since I had no idea what she was talking about.

Pushing past Alice, Armani began spraying a fine mist all over the room from an amber glass bottle. “Lavender. It calms the mind and promotes rest.”

“Stinky, stinky, stinky,” Benny complained.

“I love lavender,” Alice said.

“Keep it,” Armani offered, pushing the bottle into her hands. “Any time you need a refresh, just give it a spritz.”

Alice raised the bottle toward her face and sniffed. “Heavenly.”

Reaching into the pocket of her pants, Armani pulled out a couple of dark crystals. “Smokey quartz, which helps with letting go of old negative energy patterns. Put them under your pillow.” She tossed the magical rocks onto the bed.

“Thanks,” Alice said.

“Sleep well,” Armani wished her and then limped out.

“I’m really tired,” Alice told me. “Do you mind if I turn in now?”

“Of course not.” I picked up Benny’s enclosure. “If you need anything, just give a yell. There’s a whole house full of people who will help you.”

“Thanks, Maggie.”

“Good night.” I walked out and she shut the door behind me. Clutching the enclosure to my chest, I grabbed a throw blanket off the living room couch and tiptoed out of the house. I could have slept on the sofa, but I didn’t want to be alone, so I’d decided to spend the night in the barn.

Rowdy and Twitch met us halfway.

“Hi, Benny,” the bunny called shyly.

“Hi! Hi! Hi!”

“Alejandro, Percival, Mike and Billy are all patrolling,” Rowdy informed me, for once sounding responsible instead of sarcastic.

When I was almost at the barn that was lit up by the solar lights Herschel had hung for Irma, I heard, “Hey, Sugar.”

“Piss! Piss! Piss!” Benny squeaked excitedly.

A mixture of powerful emotions flooded through me, causing me to speed up my steps. Reaching the building, I put the blanket and mouse’s enclosure down on a bale of hay. The raccoon and rabbit hopped right up to it, pressing their noses against the glass.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” the donkey brayed softly. “Make yourselves comfortable.”

“I heard what happened,” the cat began.

I whirled to face her. “Where were you?”

She drew back, flattening her good ear. “I⁠—”

I didn’t let her finish. “You should have been here!”

“I’m—”

“I needed you and you weren’t here!” I shouted at the cat.

Twitch let out a little squeak of fear and raced out of the barn.

“You scared him!” Rowdy accused before chasing after her friend.

“I didn’t mean to,” I said defensively. I called out into the darkness, “I’m sorry! Come back!”

Neither did.

I sank down on the nearest bale of hay, put my head in my hands and, overwhelmed by the stress of the day, I let out a shuddering sob. My whole family had been traumatized, Zeke was suspected of murder, God was gone, and I was lost.

10

“Breathe, Sugar,” Piss purred as she rubbed against my shins. “It’s going to be okay.”

“It’s not,” I told her shakily. “He’s g-gone.”

“Zeke?”

“And God,” I wept. “Zeke and God are both gone.”

“Not really,” she replied.

“We searched everywhere,” I insisted. “We couldn’t find him anywhere.”

“I know where he is.”

I lifted my head out of my hands and stared at her. “What?”

“I know where they both are.” She gave me a smug look.

“Take me to them,” I demanded, jumping to my feet.

“Not tonight, Sugar. It’s too dark and you’re too tired.”

“But—”

“I need you to trust me, Maggie. They’re safe and well-fed. I gave God a cricket before I left them.”

“But where are they?”

“At my friend’s place down the road.”

“The old man?”

“As soon as I heard the sirens, I sprinted home,” she explained. “When I saw my Zeke was running from the cops, I led him through the woods to a safe place to hide.”

“And God had jumped onto his shoulder to save himself from Alice,” I remembered. “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?”

“He insisted on staying with Zeke. But he said I should tell you to keep breathing.”

I chuckled, knowing that was just the kind of thing God would tell me in this situation.

“Lie down, Sugar,” Piss urged. “Get some sleep.”

I made a makeshift bed out of a couple of bales of hay. It was hard and random pieces poked at me. I didn’t think I’d catch a wink as I pulled the blanket over myself, but Piss curled up beside me and her purring must have lulled me to sleep.

“Minty lurks.”

Alejandro’s words woke me the next morning. Squinting into the early morning sun, I croaked, “What?”

“Minty lurks,” the llama repeated.

“I’ll go check on Zeke,” Piss declared, leaping off our makeshift bed. “I’ll be back soon.” She raced away.

I rolled off the hay, stiff and sore.

“This way.” Alejandro trotted off, expecting me to follow him.

Groaning, I chased after him. Instead of leading me up the driveway, the llama guided me through the trees. Roots tried to trip me, branches scratched at me. It wasn’t the kind of terrain someone who hadn’t had their coffee should try to traverse. I stumbled and crashed through the woods like a blind woman.

“Minty awaits,” Alejandro announced, coming to a stop.

Looking past the llama, I saw the redhead, sitting on a fallen log, studying his phone, oblivious to our presence.

“Thank you.” I patted the neck of the llama before accidentally snapping a stick I stepped on.

Patrick looked up, alarmed by the sound. He stood while I approached.

“Geez, Mags,” he gasped when I finally reached him.

“You couldn’t have found an easier to reach meeting place?” I asked breathlessly.

“Brian Griswald has units regularly patrolling the driveway.” He surveyed my entire body while he spoke, no doubt determining if I was injured. “Wouldn’t be a good idea for someone to see me here.”

“So, they haven’t caught Zeke yet?”

He shook his head.

“Why is he a suspect?” I asked.

“Brian didn’t tell you?”

“Would I be asking if he did?”

He raised his hands defensively. “You have straw in your hair.”

“I slept in the barn.” I began to finger comb my hair to get rid of the offensive particles. “Now tell me why Brian thinks Zeke killed Cole Fieldstone.”

“Besides the fact that he ran?” Patrick asked.

I threw a piece of straw I’d pulled off my head at him.

“They got the court order and dug up the grave. Sure enough, there was another body in there. They’re running tests to confirm it’s Fieldstone.” He hesitated before revealing the evidence that pointed at Zeke. “You can’t let anyone know what this information is.”

“I won’t.”

“You can’t go screaming it at Brian,” he stressed.

“You heard about that?”

“The entire department heard about it, probably the whole town.”

“I’ll take the secret to my grave,” I pledged.

“Maybe not the best choice,” Patrick joked. “A notebook that belonged to Zeke was found under Fieldstone’s body.”

I frowned. “So, he was smart enough to successfully hide a body but he left his calling card with it? That doesn’t make sense.”

Patrick shrugged. “No reason to think the body would ever be dug up, so maybe Zeke thought it would be the perfect place to hide the notebook.”

“Zeke did not do this,” I told him firmly.

Patrick raised his eyebrows but kept his doubts to himself. Instead, he said, “Missed a piece.” He reached out and plucked another piece of straw out of my hair.

“Did they find the girl’s body, too?”

“The girlfriend he supposedly ran off with? No.”

“Maybe she’s your murderer,” I suggested.

“A 105-pound girl managed to kill the football player, bury his body, and run off and make a new life for herself at fifteen?”

“Maybe.” Even to me, my sense of conviction sounded weak.

“Listen, I know you’re upset about your friend, but we’ve still got to deal with the Jeremy Crank problem. He’s not going to put off going after your future sister-in-law just because you’re distracted.”

I nodded, knowing he was right. I couldn’t leave Kristen unprotected just because I was trying to help Zeke.

“I’ve got to go into work now, but I should be free around eleven. Can you meet me then at Donuts Are Life?”

I nodded.

He turned to go and then spun back. “Be careful, Mags.” He kissed my cheek and then said with a wink, “And maybe take a shower.” With that, he jogged off.

I turned back to where Alejandro waited.

“You are never alone, Maggie Lee,” the llama reminded me.

“I didn’t get to thank you for protecting the girls yesterday,” I said as he led me through the woods.

“It is my duty to defend those you love,” he declared solemnly. Then, he confided on a lighter note, “Katie always gives her apples to Irma, but Alicia often offers hers to me and Matilda.”

Hearing about my niece’s generosity felt like a ray of sunshine hitting my heart in the middle of this dark storm I was caught up in. “I didn’t know you like apples.”

“Very much, almost as much as broccoli.”

“You like broccoli?” I asked with a surprised chuckle.

“I love broccoli!” He kicked up his rear hooves to emphasize his point. “Templeton always gives me the chewy ends.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“He is kind to all the animals,” Alejandro approved.

“Good morning,” a small voice called tentatively.

“Twitch?” Looking around, it took me a moment to spot the tiny brown bunny. Once I focused on him, I added, “I’m sorry I scared you last night by yelling at Piss.”

He wiggled his ears. “You yelled twice yesterday,” he reminded me.

I winced. “Guilty as charged.”

“I explained this to you,” Rowdy said in her best know-it-all teenager voice. “You run away when you’re scared.”

I spotted the raccoon on a nearby tree stump as she lectured Twitch.

“But Maggie yells when she gets scared,” Rowdy concluded.

“No, I don’t,” I said defensively.

“You sometimes do,” Alejandro agreed gently. “But we understand because you carry so much for one with only two legs.”

Twitch hopped closer to me. “Rowdy says that no matter how you yell, you’d never hurt us.”

“She’s right about that,” I confirmed.

“Told ya!” Rowdy cheered.

“Hey, toots!” Mike cawed from above.

I squinted up at the black crow who’d landed on a branch.

“You’d better get back to the house before Griswald calls in a search party to look for you.”

11

“Where have you been?” Lawrence Griswald demanded the moment I emerged from the woods flanked by the llama, rabbit and raccoon.

“I went for a walk, a nice long walk.”

He scowled and I could tell that he didn’t believe me. His gaze met mine, hard and unyielding. It was the kind of stare that had, no doubt, served him well when facing down criminals as a U.S. Marshal. “Did you meet with Zeke?”

“Nope.” I met his gaze steadily. I had nothing to hide since I wasn’t lying.

“Your aunt has been worried sick about you,” he accused. “Where were you last night?”

Remembering that I didn’t want to yell in Twitch’s vicinity, I kept my voice low and controlled. “Where were you yesterday when Brian terrified everyone?”

I saw a flash of guilt in his gaze before he hardened his jawline. “Brian was following department procedure. Your friend is the one who should be answering questions. Why did Zeke run?”

I glared at him, refusing to respond.

He tried again. “You gave Alice your room. Where were you last night?”

“She slept in the barn,” Templeton explained.

We turned to find him walking toward us, the blanket I’d used the night before draped over his arm, as he carried Benny and his enclosure like a bomb that could explode if jostled even the slightest bit.

“And if she smells anything like this throw, she desperately needs a shower,” Templeton added.

Griswald swung his gaze back to me, taking in the bits of straw that clung to my clothes and in my hair. “Is that true?”

“That I slept in the barn? Yes. That I desperately need a shower? Double yes.”

Griswald frowned. “Why didn’t you just tell me that when I asked?”

“Why did you yell at me before I’ve had any coffee?” I countered sullenly.

“I’ve got coffee brewing and a pepper and kale quiche in the oven,” Templeton said, pretending to be oblivious to the tension between myself and the retired lawman. “Get washed up and I’ll throw this stinky thing into the wash.” With that, he headed into the house, leaving me to finish my standoff with the nosy Griswald.

We stared at each other for a long moment, then I turned away from him and made a beeline for the house. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the animals retreat to the tree line, leaving Griswald standing there all alone.

By the time I got out of the shower, Alice had vacated my bedroom. I dressed quickly, knowing it wasn’t the day for anyone to catch me in my fuzzy robe. I dressed all in black, not just because it matched my dark mood but because it was what I wore most often when I had to kill someone. I was in the middle of tying my sneakers when I fell off the bed.

A boomed, “Long night?” startled me so much that I practically jumped out of my skin, a move that resulted in me slipping off the end of the bed and landing on my butt on the floor.

“God?” I whispered. “Are you there?”

“You really should work on your observational skills, Sherlock,” the lizard drawled.

Scrambling to my feet, I followed his voice and spotted him lounging on his driftwood. “You’re back!”

“Miss me?”

“Very, very much,” I unashamedly admitted. If he’d been any other animal, I’d have kissed him, but I didn’t want to risk irritating his sensitive skin. I visually swept the room. “Where’s Piss?”

“She went to beg for cream,” the lizard informed me.

Moving closer to the terrarium, I whispered, “How’s Zeke?”

“He’s acting⁠—”

Someone kicked my door, interrupting him. Not knocked, kicked.

I grabbed my hairbrush, ready to use it as a weapon against whatever attacker was about to burst in.

“Margaret!” Susan’s voice was shrill with outrage. “I know I didn’t raise you in a cave! You cannot leave a rodent on the coffee table!”

Yanking the door open, I found her shrieking while holding Benny’s enclosure. “Give me that!”

We proceeded to have a tug-of-war over Benny and his domicile while the little mouse inside squeaked, “Help! Help! Help!”

“Let go!” I shouted at my aunt.

“A rat is not a socially acceptable piece of decor,” she raged, refusing to release it.

“He’s a mouse!” I corrected.

“Like that would be acceptable?” God mocked

“You can’t make a home a zoo!” she bellowed.

“Stop!” Templeton thundered as he came up behind her.

It was such an out-of-character outburst that Susan was stunned into silence. I used her distraction to my advantage and snatched Benny out of her grasp.

“I accidentally left the mouse on the table,” Templeton confessed as I gingerly put the enclosure down where it belonged. “I carried it inside and Alicia asked for help, so I put it down for just a moment and then I forgot about it.”

Susan frowned. “Why is anyone carrying it around?”

“Because I didn’t want him to disturb Alice last night,” I told her. “Because I was trying to be a considerate hostess.”

“Oh,” Susan said in a small voice. “Well, make sure it doesn’t happen again.” With that, she rushed off, probably to hassle someone else.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Templeton apologized.

“It’s not your fault,” I assured him.

“Is Benny okay?” he asked worriedly.

“Okay! Okay! Okay!” Benny squeaked in confirmation.

“He’s fine,” I assured Templeton. “Do you think the girls heard us?”

He shook his head. “Herschel walked them out to the barn a little while ago.”

“You should probably come talk to your friend,” he suggested. “Alice is sitting at the table looking a little shell-shocked.”

I nodded and glanced toward the lizard.

“You’re on your own,” God said. “I need to catch up on my beauty sleep.”

I was pretty sure I heard Benny titter three times.

Pulling the door closed behind me, I followed Templeton to the kitchen. He hadn’t been exaggerating. Alice, sitting at the table, looked pale and horrified. I slid into the seat opposite her and offered a warm smile. “Bet you forgot how crazy it can get with my family.”

She blinked as my words cut through her stupor.

“You should have been there when the Bed & Breakfast was blown to smithereens,” I joked. “Now that was an explosive time.”

As I talked, Templeton slid a mug of coffee in front of me.

“It’s more insane than when your mother was here,” Alice pointed out shakily.

“Some days it is,” I agreed, toasting her with my cup.

“Quiche?” Templeton offered.

“Please. You should try it,” I urged my friend. Lowering my voice to a whisper, I confided, “Templeton’s an even better cook than Aunt Susan.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” he warned on a whisper. Without waiting for Alice to respond, he put plates with quiche and grapes in front of each of us. In a normal tone, he informed me, “Archie will be by soon.”

“Why?” I asked tiredly. Despite being a retired criminal, I love my father. Aunt Susan does not feel the same way about him, and I wasn’t in the mood to referee if she decided to go after him for some old fault.

“Marlene asked him if he could bring sandwiches for the girls,” Templeton explained. “Something special after what happened yesterday.”

“Archie Lee really makes sandwiches?” Alice asked in amazement.

I nodded.

“He actually makes excellent sandwiches,” Templeton confirmed. “Plus, the girls love visiting with him.”

“And he’s a doting grandfather?” Alice asked.

“Yup.” I gulped my coffee.

“We’re stealing Alice,” Aunt Loretta announced as she came teetering in on her stiletto heels.

“Who’s we?” Templeton asked.

“Me,” Loretta replied.

“And me!” Armani called from behind her.

“And where are you taking her?” I asked suspiciously.

“To The Corset,” Loretta and Armani replied simultaneously.

Before I could tell my friend that she didn’t have to go to their lingerie shop, Alice beamed. “This is going to be so much fun!”

“And then we’re going to get mani-pedis,” Loretta continued. “And lunch at the tea shop. It’s a Girlie Day!”

“But first, we’ll flirt with the construction worker guy,” Armani said.

I wondered what that said about the status of her relationship with the crime reporter, Jack Stern, but I didn’t ask. Instead, I concentrated on the quiche, which was delicious despite containing kale.

“You can join us, Maggie,” Armani invited. “I asked yesterday, he’s single.”

“Maybe next time,” I told her. “I already have plans.”

I needed to kill Jeremy Crank.

12

I gulped down my breakfast and coffee while they discussed their girlie plans, offered an excuse nobody paid attention to, returned to my room to rouse the napping lizard, and made a break for it.

As soon as I stepped outside, I noted that Herschel was already at work with the dopey Danny. The other man he’d hired was nowhere in sight.

God, perched on my shoulder, remarked, “I’m surprised the worker returned after yesterday’s chaos.”

“Like you said, he has more muscles than brain cells,” I muttered. “Hey, Mike!”

The crow, who’d been keeping watch from atop a fence post, flew toward us, cawing. “Hey, toots!”

I tossed a piece of the quiche crust and a grape on the ground for him. He landed with grace and then gobbled up the goodies greedily.

“Do you know where Piss is?” I asked the bird.

“Schoolroom,” Mike replied. “Archie is almost here.” With that, he beat his wings and took off.

Looking up the driveway, I saw he was right. My father’s car was rolling down it. I strolled over to meet him.

The car door swung open and a guy who looked a lot like Santa Claus, wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt, climbed out. “Good morning, Maggie May!”

“Morning, Dad.” I threw my arms around his belly full of jelly and hugged him tightly.

If he was surprised by the show of affection, he didn’t say anything. He just squeezed back and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

Even God didn’t complain about the embrace.

“I brought the girls and Dominic some sandwiches for lunch,” he explained awkwardly. “Marlene asked me to do it. I hope it’s okay.”

“They’ll love it,” I assured him.

“I heard there was some excitement here yesterday,” he said carefully.

“That’s one way to put it.”

He squinted at me. “You okay?”

I nodded. “I’m fine. Everybody is okay.”

“What about Zeke?”

I shrugged.

“He’s a good kid. Tough childhood but he always managed to be kind to Mary. Even on her worst days he managed to connect with her.”

I nodded my agreement. Zeke and my institutionalized mother still shared a special bond.

“And I heard Alice is in from Chicago,” Dad continued.

“She’s having breakfast,” I told him, nodding toward the house.

“Would it be okay if I said hello to her?”

“Of course.”

“Templeton asked me to leave the sandwiches in the kitchen before I go to the classroom to see the girls. Do you think it would be okay for me to knock on the kitchen door or will Susan take my head off?”

“She already took mine and she’s limited to one beheading per day, so you should be fine,” I joked.

Archie Lee threw back his head and laughed. “Glad I didn’t get here any earlier then.” He pulled an insulated bag out of his car and headed for the house.

“Dad?” I called, chasing after him.

He turned.

“I need a favor,” I began.

He blinked, surprised. “From me?”

I nodded.

“Anything for you, Maggie May,” he pledged.

“Ian told Aunt Susan I was arranging the going away party for him and Kristen,” I said in a rush. “They don’t want anything fussy, but I’m so swamped with everything that’s going on, I haven’t done anything for it.”

He nodded his understanding.

“Is there any way…do you think you could…would you mind catering it? Just sandwiches. Nothing fussy.”

“Me?” He sounded shocked.

“If it’s too much—" I began.

“You’d trust me to do something that important?” he asked in amazement.

Considering he was acting like I was entrusting him with the codes to launch nuclear weapons, I was starting to think I’d made a very big mistake asking for the favor.

“I’d be honored.” He pulled me in for a tight hug. “I won’t let you down, I promise!”

“I know,” I told him. For most of my life, my father had not been a man of his word, but he’d changed, and I knew in my heart I’d be able to count on him for this. “Thank you.”

Whistling off-key, he jauntily carried the sandwiches toward the kitchen door.

“I can’t tell if that was master delegation or a touching act of kindness and forgiveness,” God admitted from my shoulder.

“Delegation,” I told him. “I really don’t have time to do it.”

“Assuming he pulls it off, he’ll engender the good will of everyone at the party,” the lizard predicted.

“An added bonus,” I agreed.

“You, Maggie Lee, believe in redemption,” the lizard said.

“Only in some cases,” I corrected.

“Hey, Sugar,” Piss purred from beside me.

I looked down at the cat. “Morning.”

“Ready to go see my Zeke?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Then follow me.” Tail held high, she trotted up the driveway.

I hustled after her, my body protesting with every step. “Remind me to never sleep in the barn again,” I muttered. “Everything hurts.”

“The fact that you feel you’ll need a reminder not to do something stupid again says a lot about you,” God pointed out in his most superior tone.

“I enjoyed the silence while you were gone,” I sniped back.

Once we reached the road, the feline guidance system turned left and picked up the pace. Not that we got far.

An ivory SUV soon slowed beside me, stopped, and the rear passenger door was opened.

“You knew she had to make an appearance,” God griped.

Peering into the shadows of the vehicle, I observed the woman in an impeccably tailored cream pantsuit watching me.

“Get in, Ms. Lee,” she urged.

I bent, scooped up Piss and, cradling the cat against my chest, heaved myself into the back seat.

“You’re crushing me, Sugar,” Piss meowed loudly.

“Is this vehicle higher than your last?” I complained to the woman who’d invited me in.

“It just seems that way because you slept in a barn last night,” God reminded me.

Ms. Whitehat’s icy gaze bounced from the squirming cat, to the squeaking lizard, to my eyes. “Where is he?”

I met her stare steadily. For a split second, I considered playing dumb and asking who “he” was. Deciding the stakes were too high to play games, I instead answered with, “I don’t know.”

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to determine whether I was telling her the truth. I looked back at her, comfortable that I wasn’t technically lying. The cat and lizard might know exactly where to find Zeke, but I didn’t.

“Why did Zeke run from the police?”

“Not a clue.”

“Do you think he killed your classmate?”

I shrugged.

She scowled. “I can help him.”

“Depending on whether or not he killed someone?” I challenged.

I sensed the driver of the SUV tense. Whitehat headed up a shadowy organization. As a rule, people don’t talk back to her.

I wasn’t in the mood to follow rules. I tilted my chin up and waited for her to respond.

Her lips curled in a brittle semblance of a smile as she warned, “It would be better for Zeke if you and I were working on the same side. I’m not your enemy, Ms. Lee.”

I’d done enough work for her to know that much was true. I dipped my head in acknowledgment and admitted, “I don’t know what’s going on with him.”

“If you find him,” she said. “Help him.”

“That’s my intention,” I assured her.

She nodded at the driver. He got out and opened my door, indicating it was time for me to make my exit.

Piss clasped to my chest, I slid out.

“Ms. Lee,” Whitehat said before the driver could close the door. “I don’t want to lose two of my best assets. Be careful.”

13

“I can never tell if she’s trying to be helpful or scary,” Piss noted as the ivory SUV pulled away, leaving me standing on the side of the road.

“Me neither,” I admitted, gently placing the cat on the asphalt.

“She’s never actually done you any harm and she’s saved you and your family members a number of times,” God reminded us. “There’s no reason to believe she means Zeke any harm.”

“Speaking of my Zeke,” Piss purred. “Let’s go.”

I followed the cat down the road until she turned on a narrow, overgrown graveled driveway. I hesitated at road’s edge.

“What’s wrong?” God asked.

“It looks creepy,” I admitted.

“Like something out of a horror movie,” he agreed.

“You went down this driveway yesterday,” the cat reminded the lizard.

“I was in Zeke’s shirt pocket and didn’t actually see it,” God admitted. “And when we went home this morning, you took the shortcut through the woods.”

“It’s fine,” Piss told us impatiently. “Herschel’s place looked worse the first time you found it. Now, you call it home.”

“Do you have a gun?” God asked me hopefully.

“No. I can’t risk Brian Griswald catching me carrying around an unregistered weapon.”

“Then you should have brought the Killer Canine,” he said.

“Again with the suggestions that come too late,” I muttered.

“Where is the drooling furball?” God asked. “I haven’t seen her since I got back.”

“From what Matilda told me, she’s stuck to Katie’s side since the police were here,” the cat revealed. “And she’s sulking, refusing to talk to anyone.”

“What is she upset about?” I asked.

“You yelled at her,” the cat revealed.

“I did?”

“That’s what she claims.”

Confused, I needed clarification. “About what?”

“She didn’t say.”

“Odd,” God remarked.

“You wait here, wimps.” The cat hissed her exasperation. “I’ll bring Zeke to you.” She bounded down the scary driveway.

The lizard watched her go and said defensively, “There’s a difference between wimpiness and measured caution.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Watch any horror movie and you’ll see the wimps die first but the plucky heroine who survives uses measured caution.”

I couldn’t argue with that logic, so we waited by the road until Piss came racing back toward us.

“He’s gone,” she announced.

“What do you mean gone?” God asked.

“The old man said he left before sunrise without saying a word,” the cat revealed.

“Oh, Zeke,” I muttered. “Please stay safe.”

We trudged back home in dejected silence, each wrapped up in our own thoughts.

“What now?” God asked as the house came in sight.

“I’ve got to go meet Patrick about the Delveccio job,” I replied.

“But my Zeke’s in trouble,” Piss protested.

“So is Kristen, and I know exactly how I can protect her,” I told the cat. “If I can figure out how to help Zeke, I will.”

“Maggie! Maggie!”

I looked over to find Aunt Leslie waving for me join her at the porch. I waved back and said to Piss, “Can you help watch over the girls while I’m gone and see if you can find out why DeeDee is sulking?”

“Sure, Sugar.” She streaked toward the schoolroom in the barn.

I hurried over to Leslie, hoping that whatever she was going to ask me for wouldn’t take much time or energy.

“I have a dilemma,” Leslie revealed as soon as I was within earshot.

“How can I help?”

She looked around nervously and patted the seat beside her, wanting me to sit nearby. I slid into the seat and watched her expectantly.

“I have a secret,” she whispered, twisting her hands anxiously.

“In addition to the dilemma?” God mocked.

Ignoring the lizard, I tried to sound patient as I asked again, “How can I help?”

“I should have come forward a long time ago,” she revealed.

“I’m still not following,” I admitted.

“I saw the boy,” she confided. “I saw him stealing the principal’s car.”

I blinked. “Vice Principal Burke’s car?”

She nodded. “I was in the back of the parking lot, buying drugs. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t tell the police.”

I nodded my understanding. “You saw⁠—?”

“There you are!” Aunt Susan called as she came around the corner of the house. “Come on, Leslie, we’re going to be late.”

“We were just talking,” I told Susan.

“We can finish this conversation later,” Leslie said, getting to her feet. She caught my eye, silently begging me to not pursue it.

I nodded slowly. “But we will finish this later?”

“Promise,” she said with a weak smile. Then, she hurried to join her sister.

I sat on the porch and watched them get into Susan’s car and drive away. “She saw Cole Fieldstone steal Vice Principal Burke’s car.”

“That’s not what she said,” God argued. “She said ‘the boy’ not ‘the missing boy’ or ‘the dead boy’. She didn’t specify who she saw. For all you know, she could have seen Zeke steal it.”

“She would have said Zeke,” I argued.

“Probably. But all you know right now is that she thinks she saw a crime committed and didn’t report it. But she admits she was high, so who knows if any of it is real.”

“I can’t worry about that right now,” I decided, getting to my feet. “I have to meet Patrick and scope out Jeremy Crank.”

“Agreed.”

I dashed into the house, grabbed my purse and car keys while Benny snored softly in his enclosure, and got out to my car without anyone spotting me.

Herschel was nowhere in sight. Daniel leaned against a post, staring at his phone, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

If I hadn’t been in a hurry, I would have told him that there was no smoking allowed on the property, but I was in a rush. I got into the car and drove away without saying a word.

A few minutes later, I pulled into Donuts Are Life and spotted Patrick coming toward me. He balanced a tray with two large to-go mugs and a bag that I fervently hoped contained donuts he intended to share.

He strode over and slipped into the passenger seat, flashing a smile. “You showered.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or slap him.

“It’s a major improvement,” he approved with a chuckle. “You looked kinda rough earlier.”

“Gee, thanks. You really know how to charm a girl.”

“I may not know how to do that, but I did get you a coffee and a cruller,” he tempted. “They do say the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.”

“They don’t say that,” I giggled. “But it’ll work on me.”

“No flirting!” God boomed from where he was sprawled out on the dashboard, soaking up the sun.

The intensity of his squeaking startled Patrick and he frowned at the lizard.

“Where to?” I asked.

“Do you know where the Island Time Café is?”

“The tacky place where the outside seating is supposed to look like a Tikki hut and all the drinks are served with little umbrellas?”

“That’s the one.”

I pulled onto the road. “Interesting choice.”

“How do you know it so well?” Patrick asked curiously.

“Aunt Loretta threw herself a birthday party there. It was a wholly mortifying experience, and every detail is burned into my brain.”

Patrick chuckled. “Let me guess, she wore a bikini top.”

“Made out of actual coconut shells,” I confirmed, shuddering at the memory. “Tell me Crank doesn’t wear a hula skirt there.”

“Apparently, Jeremy is obsessed with the owner’s daughter, who’s a waitress. He holds all his business lunches there.”

“So, she could be in danger, too,” I mused.

“Could be,” Patrick agreed. “Any news about Zeke?”

“You’d know better than me.”

“His running and hiding makes him look guilty.”

I nodded.

“Do you think he did it?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, then I added softly, “he certainly had motive. He was one of Cole’s favorite targets to pick on.”

“Why?”

I squeezed the steering wheel. “Zeke’s parents were drug dealers. He turned them in. They disowned him. It’s how he ended up living at the Bed & Breakfast with us. He got himself emancipated and Aunt Susan kept him fed and with a roof over his head.”

Patrick let out a low whistle.

“When I was a teenager, I didn’t appreciate what a big deal that was, but now, I look back and I’m in awe. She managed to take care of Zeke along with me and my three sisters, while doing her best with my nutty mom and criminal dad. Not to mention her two sisters, who were probably more problems than help.”

“Impressive,” Patrick murmured as I pulled into the parking lot of the Island Time Café. “We can watch him in the mirrors. Don’t park facing the dining area directly.”

I slid the car into an appropriate spot and turned off the engine. I sipped a coffee and ate a cruller while we waited for the man I was going to kill.

14

Patrick didn’t have to point out Jeremy Crank to me. I knew the moment he arrived by the way the body language of the restaurant’s staff changed the moment the tanned man, in a too-tight tank top, wearing his corded sunglasses draped over his back, walked in.

“That’s got to be him,” I said.

“Yup.”

We watched as he and his companions, two men in matching blue polo shirts, were seated. The polo shirts laughed in unison every time Crank smirked, as though they’d been coached on how to stroke his ego.

Meanwhile, Crank flexed his muscles and flirted unabashedly with the waitress, who was stiff and stone-faced.

“What do you think?” Patrick asked after the men’s drinks had been delivered.

“The man preens more than Percy,” I muttered.

“Who’s Percy?” Patrick wondered.

“The peacock.”

Patrick guffawed. “Yeah, he is a lot like a peacock, but I meant, what do you think about the job.”

“Too many witnesses here,” I replied without hesitation.

“Agreed.” I watched the reflection of my target. “He obviously spends time working out. Does he have a home gym or does he belong to one?”

“I can find that out,” the redhead promised.

“Death by dumbbell. It has a nice ring to it,” God approved.

“Also,” Patrick said carefully, “he’s going to a black-tie event tomorrow night.”

“Too many people,” I dismissed automatically.

“But not when he’s prepping for his grand entrance.”

I turned to look at the man beside him. “You think that’s going to be the best chance to take him out.”

“It might be. If the gym thing doesn’t work out. Either way, it’s got to be done quickly. You don’t want him to have enough time to hire another hitman…or woman,” he amended quickly.

I drove Patrick back to Donuts Are Life and then headed home.

“You’re not prepared for this job,” God began to lecture as soon as the redhead was out of the car. “If you rush, you could make a mistake. You could get caught. You could get killed.”

“I know, but if I’m going to save Kristen, it has to be this way.”

“It reeks of desperation, plus you’re distracted about Zeke.”

“Yup.”

“That’s all you have to say? Yup?” he raged.

“I don’t have other options,” I reasoned.

“Tell Delveccio no.”

“Not a good option and you know it,” I replied.

“Ask Mulligan to do it.”

I sighed. “If he was willing to do it, it would have already been done.”

The lizard twitched his tail frenetically, signaling his agitation. “You could ask Whitehat for help.”

“I’d thought of that,” I admitted. “But I need her attention and resources focused on helping Zeke.”

“It’s a big organization, surely she can handle both,” God argued.

“I’ll think about asking her,” I told him.

“You’re just saying that to get me to stop talking about it,” he seethed.

“Yup.”

He grumbled under his breath until we turned into our driveway. “If you get yourself killed or locked up, you won’t be able to help Zeke,” he pointed out as a last-ditch effort to change my mind.

“Then you’d better help me to not get caught or dead.”

“What do you think I am?” God asked. “A miracle worker?”

I was surprised to see Alice sitting alone on the porch when I pulled up to the house. I felt a pang of guilt. She’d come to visit, and she’d been left on her own.

She waved when she recognized my car and rushed down the stairs toward me, carrying a small bunch of flowers.

I rolled down my window. “I thought you were doing your Girlie Day thing.”

“I skipped the tea,” she confessed. “There was something else I was hoping to do with you instead.”

“Sure, anything in particular?”

“I’d like to visit Teresa.”

I blinked, totally caught off-guard by the request.

“I got her these.” Alice waved the flowers for me to see. “Can we go now?”

A painful lump had risen in my throat, so I just nodded.

“Great.” She ran around the car and hopped into the passenger seat. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the lizard sunning himself on the dash. “Oh my!”

“You’re sure this is what you want to do?” I managed to croak out.

“Yes,” she replied firmly.

I turned the car around, noting that, once again, Danny was standing around doing nothing. This time, instead of staring at his phone, he was studying the barn.

“They’re not making much progress on the paddock,” I muttered aloud.

“I overheard Danny telling Herschel they need another man, but Ian couldn’t be here today,” Alice offered.

“He probably should have never hired that one in the first place,” I muttered. “He doesn’t seem to actually do anything.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Alice said with a laugh. “Loretta and Armani have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of ogling him and I’ve gotten a kick out of watching Loretta. She never changes.”

I wanted to ask my old friend what her visit was about. Why had she left her husband and baby in Chicago to make this impromptu trip? Why on earth did she want to visit my sister, Teresa?

When I pulled onto the narrow familiar road that snaked through the cemetery, I was surprised to see it was clogged with traffic ahead.

“Must be a bigwig’s funeral,” I told Alice. “We can park here and walk up the side of the hill.” I pulled off into the small, gravel-covered parking lot that was used as a staging area for graveside ceremonies, scooped the lizard off the dashboard, and climbed out of the car.

Alice moved more slowly. She took her time looking around. “I haven’t been here since…”

“Since we buried Teresa and Dirk the Jerk?” I asked.

“You shouldn’t speak ill of the dead,” my friend told me in a reverently hushed tone.

“I spoke ill of Katie’s father when he was alive, too,” I assured her. We all had. Nobody had liked my sister’s husband.

Alice shook her head, making her disapproval clear.

“This way,” I said and began leading her toward Teresa’s plot.

“Must have been someone important that died,” she remarked breathlessly as we topped the small hill. “They got a tent for privacy and a police escort.”

I glanced over at the crowd gathered a few rows away from Teresa’s final resting place and realized Alice was right. I counted four uniforms.

Clutching her flowers, Alice pushed past me, making her way to Teresa’s headstone.

“Oh no,” I groaned softly as the crowd shifted and I got a better look at what was actually going on. Most of the crowd was around my age. Suddenly feeling sick to my stomach, I instinctively took a step backward.

“What’s wrong?” God whispered.

“Look. The cops aren’t here for a funeral,” I told him. “They’re guarding a crime scene. What do you want to bet that’s where Cole’s body was found?”

“Not good. You need to get out of here before anyone notices you,” God urged. “It’ll look suspicious that you’re here. Everyone knows murderers love to revisit the scene of the crime.”

He’d watched way too many true crime shows, so I believed him.

I turned to tell Alice that we had to go, and realized it was too late.

I’d been spotted.

15

Detective Brian Griswald’s steely gaze locked on mine over rows of grave markers.

I gulped nervously, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Following my gaze, God said, “Well, this isn’t good. Just don’t behave like you’re guilty. The key is to act normal.”

I found it hard to breathe as the detective began marching toward me.

I dimly heard Alice saying, “I hadn’t seen her headstone before.”

“Act normal,” the lizard repeated worriedly.

Despite my legs feeling leaden, I managed to turn toward my friend, who stood before Teresa’s stone.

“It’s beautiful,” Alice said.

“Susan ordered it.”

My voice was strained by anxiety, but my friend mistook it for grief. “You must miss her.”

“I do.”

“I see so much of her in Katie,” Alice noted. “The way she wrinkles her nose when she laughs…”

I nodded. It was something I often observed myself. The fact that someone else noticed it, too, brought tears to my eyes.

“Maggie?” Brian Griswald stood just behind me, his voice hard and official.

I turned; my sight blurred by tears. I dashed them away and offered him a weak smile.

He looked confused.

“Alice,” I said, my voice still strained. “This is Brian, Lawrence’s nephew.”

“I believe we’ve met,” he murmured.

She waved at him and then began removing the flowers she’d brought from their cellophane wrapping. It crinkled loudly in the silence that stretched between myself and the police detective.

“What are you doing here?” he asked finally.

I twisted and tapped the top of Teresa’s headstone. “This is my sister’s.”

He glanced at the carving and then looked back at me, his gaze landing on the lizard on my shoulder.

“I wanted to pay my respects,” Alice explained as she laid the flowers on the ground. “I can see so much of Teresa in Katie.”

“Is that where they found Cole Fieldstone?” I jutted my chin toward the crowd milling around the police tape.

“How’d you know that?” Brian asked suspiciously.

“It appears that half the town knows,” I told him with a forced laugh. “I went to school with most of those minivan-driving moms and T-ball-coaching dads. Back then, they were cheerleaders and teammates.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re right,” Alice declared, squinting at the gathered group. “I see Sharon Hughes. I have to go say hi.” She quickly hurried toward her old friend.

“Quite the reunion,” Brian drawled dryly.

“There’s that word again,” God whispered.

“You spend a lot of time here,” the detective remarked.

I shrugged. “I guess. I miss her and usually it’s a quiet place to sit and think.”

“Unless there’s a shootout like the one my Uncle Larry got caught up in here,” he remarked.

I winced at the memory.

“Your friend visits from out-of-town and you decided to bring her here?” His tone indicated he found it hard to believe.

“Alice asked to come,” I replied calmly. “She wanted to pay her respects.”

“And it gave you a good excuse to come snoop into an investigation that implicates your friend Zeke. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from him and that he’s going to turn himself in for questioning.”

I shook my head.

“Does that mean he’s not coming in or that you haven’t had contact with him?”

“I don’t know where Zeke is or what he’s doing,” I answered honestly. Tilting my chin up, I met Brian’s gaze steadily. “Is he your only suspect or are you actually trying to solve this case?”

I saw a flash of anger in Brian’s gaze and could tell he was gritting his teeth. He didn’t like that I was implying he wasn’t doing his job. I didn’t care.

“And you’d been doing so well acting normal,” God sighed.

Turning away from the detective, I took a moment to observe the swell of people. Mostly, they seemed to be old classmates, with a few former teachers sprinkled in. I even saw Vice Principal Burke lurking at the fringe. Alice was deep in conversation with her old Biology partner, Sharon. I noted aloud, “It would be hard to do much snooping with such a crowd.”

Brian stepped up so that we were standing shoulder to shoulder. “Do you see anything amiss?”

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “Amiss?”

“Out of place.”

“Besides the fact that the cemetery has become an active crime scene?”

“Anything about the crowd?”

I frowned, unsure of whether he was really looking for my input or was hoping that I’d trip myself up and reveal something incriminating about Zeke. “Like I said, it’s mostly old teammates and cheerleaders, with a couple of teachers mixed in.” I noted that Alice was making her way through the group, reconnecting with people I’d left in the past without a second thought.

“What can you tell me about Cole Fieldstone?”

I eyed him suspiciously. Since we’d already talked about this, I chose my words carefully. I didn’t want him to trip me up and use it against me. “Probably not much that you don’t already know. I had a couple of classes with him, but we weren’t friends. Average student. Star athlete.”

“Bully?” He let the single word hang between us.

“Biggest in the class,” I agreed, knowing that it was the first word some of my classmates would use to describe the jock with a mean streak. I waited for him to ask if Zeke had been one of Cole’s victims. Too many people knew, I couldn’t protect Zeke by lying about it.

“So why are the teachers here?” Brian asked instead.

“Coaches,” I explained. “They were Cole’s coaches.”

“His enablers,” Brian deduced.

Surprised by the description, I twisted my neck to get a better look at him.

He was staring at the crowd, studying them. “Star athlete who got away with being the school bully would have needed enablers in positions of power. That’s what a professional investigator would deduce, isn’t it?” He glanced at me and winked.

I wasn’t sure if he meant to put me in my place or if he was letting me know that there was more than one suspect for the murder of Cole.

“Any of his victims here?” Brian asked in a conversational tone.

I considered my answer carefully as I turned back to study the crowd. “Well, besides me and Alice, I’m pretty sure that the guy on the edge, in the yellow baseball cap, is Franklin Tonne. His sister committed suicide our junior year and everyone assumed it was the result of bullying.”

“Did you know her?”

“Not really. I was a below-average student, which is why I had classes with jocks like Cole. Betsy Tonne was in the running to be valedictorian.”

“And her brother?”

“A year younger than us. Also a brainiac…until his sister’s death. Then, he spiraled. If there was a fight anywhere on school property, chances are he’d end up on Burke’s chair.”

“Burke’s chair?”

“Vice Principal Burke,” I explained. “He was in charge of school discipline. He had this wooden chair in his office that was two inches too short and had all these sharp edges.”

“Sounds like you spent time in it,” Brian remarked.

“Too much,” I admitted.

“Maggie Lee was a juvenile delinquent,” he joked. “Susan must have loved that.”

I grinned and then shared, “She never knew. Burke always gave the option of notifying parents, or in my case, my guardian, or accepting a harsher punishment. It was always wiser to take what he doled out than to risk the wrath of Susan.”

Brian chuckled. “I imagine that was a wise choice. Your aunt is one scary lady.”

“And you’ve only met the mellowed-out version of her,” I confided. “When I was a kid, she had so many rules.”

“She was probably just trying to keep you safe,” he excused.

I nodded.

We stood in companionable silence for a minute, listening to the muted murmuring of the crowd.

“This must be a peaceful place when nobody is here,” Brian remarked thoughtfully.

“It is. Sometimes I bring a picnic and have lunch with Teresa,” I admitted. “I bring the cat and dog and let them run around.”

“Aren’t you worried she’ll get hold of a bone she shouldn’t?”

I laughed. “No. DeeDee doesn’t dig and she’s pretty well-behaved.”

“Unless she’s sulking,” God whispered.

I frowned at the reminder of the Doberman’s odd behavior. She sulked, and before that she’d barked at Zeke. The memory of her “Like don’t I him!” rang in my ears. It made no sense that she would turn on Zeke like that.

Unless it wasn’t him she’d been barking at. My heart skipped a beat as I remembered that Danny, the laborer, had been off in the distance. What if she’d been trying to tell me that she didn’t trust him? Is that why she’d refused to leave the side of my nieces?

What if she’d been trying to warn me that the girls were in danger?

16

“Aaaah!” God screamed, startled as, without any notice, I pivoted hard and began to sprint toward my car. He latched onto my hair like it was a lifeline. “What’s going on?”

“Maggie!” Brian called, equally surprised by my running.

“The girls!” I shouted, hoping it answered both of them.

Fear fueling the adrenaline that pumped through my veins, I ran fast and hard, leaping over headstones like an Olympic hurdler. For once, the lizard couldn’t find fault with my athletic prowess. All he could do was hang on for dear life.

Reaching my car, I threw myself behind the wheel, started the engine, and peeled out of the lot, sending chunks of gravel spraying through the air.

“What’s wrong?” God asked.

Instead of answering, I hit the redial button on my phone and focused on my driving. “Answer. Please answer,” I gasped.

It was answered on the third ring as I took a corner too fast, making the car tires squeal in protest. “Hey, Chica.”

“I think the girls are in danger,” I told Armani breathlessly. “Get to them. Stay with them.”

“I can’t. I’m not home,” she replied.

I hung up on her immediately, feeling like a vise was crushing my chest.

“Why are they in danger?” God asked.

Ignoring him, I hit the call button on my steering wheel. “Call Herschel,” I enunciated with exaggerated care, thinking he’d be physically close to the girls since he was working on the paddock.

I broke every safe driving rule and maybe some laws of physics as I hurtled toward home at an alarming speed.

“Who are they in danger from?” the lizard demanded to know.

The phone rang. Again and again and again. My grandfather didn’t answer.

“Hold on!” I yelled as we careened wildly onto the driveway. Instead of slowing, I accelerated.

Alejandro had to leap out of the way as we bounced down the uneven surface.

“I think I’ve bruised my spleen,” God complained.

“Look out! Look out! Look out!” he shouted at the blind bird in our path.

I kept my foot on the gas as I swerved around Percival, who stood, brightly colored tail feathers splayed, like the peacock believed he could stop the speeding vehicle.

As the house and barn came in sight, I laid on the horn and pumped the brakes. We fishtailed across the yard in a sweeping arc that took out three of the newly installed paddock posts.

Skidding to a stop, I tumbled out of the car and spun around, searching for Danny. He was nowhere in sight. Nobody was visible. Not the worker, or Herschel, or any of the animals.

A single gunshot exploded from the barn.

“Noooo!” I screamed, realizing I’d gotten there too late.

Heart in my throat, I sprinted toward the building with God dangling from my hair.

Dashing through the scattered straw on the floor, I threw open the schoolroom door and leapt inside. I swayed unsteadily as my mind tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

There was no one in the room.

“It’s empty.” God sounded as shocked as I felt.

“They’re this way,” a voice said from behind me. “Follow me.”

Turning, I found Rowdy skittering away. I followed the raccoon as she led me out of the barn and behind it. My heart twisted painfully as I heard faint sobbing before I rounded the corner.

Gasping, I stopped abruptly at the sight that awaited me.

Danny, a pool of blood spreading from his chest, was sprawled out on the ground. Griswald, gun in hand, stood over him, watching him bleed out.

Beyond them stood Kristen, her head resting on Ian’s chest as she sobbed softly.

“Mr. Law and Order popped the guy to keep him from offing blondie,” Mike, the crow, cawed from a nearby tree, giving the tableau some context.

As God scrambled from my hair to my shoulder, the sound of an approaching siren filled the air.

“The girls?” I asked.

“Safe and sound in the house,” Griswald assured me.

The adrenaline that had fueled my desperate journey here seemed to whoosh out of my body. Feeling suddenly weak and dizzy, I had to lean against the barn in order to remain standing.

Looking to Ian, I asked, “Is she hurt?”

He shook his head. “Just scared. But she’ll be okay, won’t you, Kristen?”

She sniffled a reply that only he understood.

I swung my gaze back to Griswald and noted that he’d lowered the gun to his side.

He met my gaze and joked, “I’m thinking that between his psychotic killer girlfriend and this guy, we need to vet everyone your grandfather brings to the house.”

I nodded. “I think that’s a good plan. We should probably hold a family meeting and vote to make it a rule.”

Griswald chuckled. “Sounds like the cavalry is arriving. Lead them back here.”

As I pushed myself off the wall, Alejandro trotted up. “Can I be of service, Maggie Lee?”

Waving him closer, I leaned heavily on the llama as I stumbled to the front of the barn. As we reached it, Brian Griswald leapt out of his car, gun drawn.

“This way!” I called. “Everyone’s okay. Well, almost everyone.”

“What happened?” the detective asked, jogging toward me.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “Your uncle is in the back.”

He sped past me. With the llama’s help, I hurried after him.

As I rounded the corner, I heard Brian ask, “What happened?”

Griswald met my gaze. “Maggie called Armani saying the girls were in danger and Armani called me, as the person most equipped to protect them,” he said pointedly.

I flinched as he drove home that I’d made the wrong call.

He pointed at the dead man on the ground. “Realizing that Danny Boy, here, was probably the threat, I kept an eye on him while Templeton and Leslie snuck the kids, the teacher and the pets out the secret tunnel and back to the house.”

“What secret tunnel?” I blurted out.

“Your friend may be a quirky flake with all her psychic predictions and whatnot, but she’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Griswald said with obvious respect. “When she designed and built the schoolroom, she had an escape hatch installed in the floor, along with a short tunnel that leads away from the building. It opens up behind the beehive.”

“That’s why she was so ‘We have to save the bees’ during the construction phase,” I realized aloud.

He nodded, then turned his attention to his nephew. “I thought he was after one of the kids, but he tried to shoot Ian or Kristen. I told him to drop the weapon but…”

“I can’t be the one to take this report,” Brian said. “I have to call it in.” Holstering his gun, he pulled out his phone and stepped away from the scene.

“How’d you know he was trouble?” Griswald asked me curiously.

“DeeDee,” I revealed. “She really didn’t like him.”

“Smart dog,” the retired Marshal murmured.

On my shoulder, God made a scoffing noise.

Ignoring the lizard, I explained, “I didn’t realize her dislike of him was significant until I was at the cemetery and…oh no!”

“What now?” Griswald asked.

“In my rush to get back here, I forgot about Alice and abandoned her at the cemetery,” I groaned.

“I’ll have a patrol car bring her back,” Brian offered, having caught the last of the conversation as he’d been rejoining us. He turned away again to make another call.

“And you thought Armani was the right choice to call?” Griswald challenged.

I shrugged. “Hers was the last number I’d dialed. She had the sense to call you, and she knew about the escape tunnel.”

“Better to be lucky than good, I guess,” Griswald muttered. Turning his attention to my brother, he asked, “Do you know this man?”

Ian shrugged. “I met him here yesterday. Do you know him, Kristen?”

She stole a glance at the dead man’s face and shook her head.

“Why did he target you?” Griswald wondered aloud.

I knew the answer to that. Jeremy Crank had hired him.

And I was going to kill him for it.

17

I answered the questions of the police about Danny Boy’s death and was then allowed to go into the house.

Before I went inside, I thanked Matilda and Billy for guarding the front and kitchen doors of the house. Once I went in, I found DeeDee and Piss guarding the entrance to the basement. I assured them that the danger had passed, and that everyone was safe.

As I descended the stairs, I was met by the sound of giggling. Katie, Alicia and Dominic. They were playing a spirited game of charades with their teacher Lorraine Lassalan and Aunt Leslie, oblivious to what had happened behind the barn.

Templeton stood at the bottom of the stairs, a baseball bat clutched in his hands like he was ready to defend the children with his last breath. His relief was palpable when I reassured him that everyone was okay. “What do you think of throwing a basement picnic with the sandwiches Archie brought?”

“Great idea!” He put the baseball bat down and jogged up the stairs to prepare the meal.

“Aunt Maggie!” Spotting me, Katie ran over and threw herself into my arms. Squeezing her tightly, I whispered in her ear, “I love you, baby girl.”

Not wanting to miss out, her cousin rushed to us.

Pulling Alicia into the embrace, I made a show of smothering her with kisses until her peals of laughter echoed off the basement walls.

Looking up, I saw that Leslie and Lorraine were sagging against each other with relief. I saw the questions in their eyes, but it wasn’t the time or place to answer them.

Noting that Dominic stood alone, I opened my arms wider, inviting the little boy in. “What are you waiting for?”

He leapt into our little scrum of huggers and we all fell to the ground, rolling around and giggling uncontrollably.

Once everyone had caught their breath, Katie announced, “We went through a secret tunnel.”

“I heard,” I told her.

“Templeton’s head just popped up out of the floor!” Alicia elaborated.

“That must have been funny,” I said.

“It scared Miss Lassalan,” Dominic revealed.

“It did a little bit,” Lorraine confirmed with a laugh. “In all my years of teaching, no one’s head has ever popped out of the floor. It was ridiculous!”

This sent the children into another round of unrestrained giggling.

Knowing they would remember the experience as a funny adventure instead of a traumatic event loosened some of the tension in my chest. I finally felt like I could take a deep breath.

“I think it’s a good day for a basement picnic,” Templeton announced as he made his way down the stairs carrying a tray of food.

“I love basement picnics,” Lorraine declared enthusiastically, picking up on the plan. “They’re the best because you don’t get any pesky ants.”

“Aunt Leslie is here,” Alicia pointed out with a devilish grin.

“But she’s not pesky. She led us down the tunnel,” Lorraine said, kissing Leslie’s cheek.

“She’s not pesky,” Alicia agreed, rushing over to kiss my aunt’s other cheek.

“Armani’s in the kitchen,” Templeton whispered to me while the other two kids swarmed Leslie, not wanting to be left out.

“Archie made these sandwiches for you,” Templeton told the children as I climbed the stairs. “That means they’re extra good.”

When I stepped into the kitchen, DeeDee and Piss were both watching Armani worriedly as she struggled to precariously pour apple juice into glasses with just one hand.

Taking the bottle from her, I marveled, “A secret tunnel?”

She shrugged. “I had a feeling it could come in handy someday.”

“You saved them,” I told her, blinking back tears as I topped off the glasses.

“Not me,” she said. “Templeton and Leslie did that.”

I shook my head. “You called Griswald. If you hadn’t…” I trailed off, my chest tightening again as I imagined what could have happened.

“You called me first,” she reminded me. “How’d you know there was danger?”

“I didn’t,” I admitted. I put the juice down, walked over, and knelt in front of the Doberman, tears leaking from my eyes. “DeeDee knew. I should have listened to her better.” I hugged the dog tightly. “I’m so sorry.”

“Okay it’s,” she panted, licking my cheeks. “Cry don’t.”

“You did a good job, hairball,” God told her from my shoulder.

It was unclear if he sounded like he was being strangled because of emotion or if it just pained him to compliment the dog.

She tried to lick him, too.

“Don’t push your luck!” God shouted. “You drooling bag of⁠—”

Piss let out a warning hiss, silencing him. Then, she rubbed her head under the dog’s chin. “Good girl, DeeDee.”

“You should bring the juice down,” Armani suggested. “I can’t handle those stairs, even if I wasn’t carrying drinks.”

Knowing she was right, I patted the heads of the cat and dog and stood up. I loaded the glasses on a tray and headed for the basement.

“Maggie!” Herschel called, stopping me before I reached the steps.

Turning back, I saw that his face was pinched with worry. I put the tray down and hurried to hug him. “It’s okay. Everybody is okay.”

“I brought a killer here,” he choked out. “I endangered the family. Again.”

The guilt dripping from his words made me ache for him. “You couldn’t have known. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Susan’s going to…” he began to lament.

I cut him off. “I’ll handle Aunt Susan. Don’t worry about her.”

He nodded. “The police want me to go with them and Lawrence to the station to answer some more questions.”

“Okay. Do you want me to go with you?”

He shook his head.

“Then I’m going to bring the kids their⁠—”

A sharp rapping on the kitchen window startled us all.

“Toots! Toots!” Mike cawed, knocking on the pane with his beak. “Come quick. The mob guy is gonna lose it!”

“He must be worried sick about Dominic,” I realized.

“Go!” Herschel urged.

I ran through the house and out the front door. My sudden emergence startled the nearby uniformed police officers, and they reached for their guns.

“She’s fine! She’s good! Stand down!” Detective Brian Griswald shouted.

“Delveccio,” I said.

He nodded his understanding. “You might want to run.”

As I sprinted along the driveway, it occurred to me that Nat Hunting would have been proud if he’d seen me. All the time he’d invested teaching me to run a 5k paid off in that moment. My steps were sure, my breathing controlled, and I didn’t think I’d die before I reached my destination.

Halfway there, the llama began to trot beside me.

“It’s getting heated!” Mike cawed from above, giving me a play-by-play of the Delveccio situation as I ran. “He’s out of the vehicle.”

Reaching the road, I turned right, shouting, “He’s okay! Dominic is okay!”

“You’re going the wrong way!” Mike croaked.

“Turn around! Turn around!” God shouted in my ear.

I spun mid-step. That’s when I twisted my ankle. My whole body buckled, but I managed to stay on my feet. “Dominic’s okay! Dominic’s okay!” I was no longer shouting but screaming in agony as I limped in the opposite direction, trying to get the mob boss not to do anything stupid.

18

I didn’t know Delveccio could run. Or at least waddle as fast as he was moving. The buttons of his shirt strained to hold in his ample gut as he hurried toward me, a phalanx of uniformed cops following behind.

Afraid the men in blue would use this as an excuse to execute him, I held up my palm toward him and yelled as loudly as I could, “Stop! He’s fine! He’s safe.”

The mobster halted and bent over. Hands on his knees, he gasped for breath as I limped up to him. He raised his head to watch my approach. “Swear?”

I nodded, desperate to suck in oxygen myself.

“Everyone relax,” a familiar voice commanded. “The situation is under control.”

I turned to find Detective Patrick Mulligan striding toward us, a no-nonsense expression hardening his features.

“Mr. Delveccio,” Patrick lectured sternly. “I appreciate that emotions are running high, but there are consequences for ignoring orders like that.”

The mobster stood up, spit at Mulligan’s feet, and growled, “Screw you!”

“Okay, okay,” I said, putting myself between the two men who were glaring at each other with unbridled hatred.

“They are acting, aren’t they?” God whispered.

“Everybody calm down,” I said. “Mr. Delveccio, Dominic is unharmed. He doesn’t even know what happened. At this very moment, he’s in the basement of the house, gorging himself on gourmet sandwiches and apple juice.”

The mob boss tore his gaze from the redhead to look at me and say with disgust, “That is the most disgusting food combination I’ve ever heard of.”

“He’s never seen Armani eat,” God muttered.

With the stare-down broken, Patrick was able to back off without losing face in front of his brothers in blue. He turned his back on the mobster and began barking orders at the nearest uniform.

“They won’t let me in,” Delveccio complained, rivulets of sweat running down his face.

“It’s a crime scene,” I told him gently. His color didn’t look good, and I was worried he could keel over with a heart attack at any moment. “There’s nothing for you to do. Dominic is perfectly safe. The kids are all having a great time having a basement picnic.”

“What’s a basement picnic?”

“Templeton made it up to keep them distracted. They’re having lunch in the basement and think it’s a treat.” I looped my arm through his and began leading him back toward his black SUV. I assumed his was the one with the black-suited bodyguard handcuffed to the driver’s door and the crow on the roof.

“You saved the day, toots!” Mike cawed.

“Is that one of your creatures?” Delveccio asked as he noticed the bird.

“Yes.” Pointing at the man attached to the door, I asked, “Is he one of yours?”

Delveccio threw back his head and laughed, attracting the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

“Uncuff that guy,” Mulligan ordered with undisguised impatience.

A uniformed officer hurried to obey.

“You should go home,” I urged Delveccio.

“Go home? There were shots fired, there’s a massive police presence, and they’ve called for a meat wagon, and you want me to go home?”

I opened the rear passenger door and indicated he should get in. “There’s nothing you can do out here on the street and Dominic doesn’t know anything is wrong. If you show up in the middle of the day like this, especially when he’s having such a good time, it could upset him. You don’t want to do that.”

He searched my face for a long moment and saw the wisdom of my advice. With a grunt of protest, he climbed into the back seat.

Once he was settled, I leaned in and whispered so that only he could hear, “Kristen was the target. Griswald killed the hitter. Nobody’s after Dominic. I’ll take care of it.”

He nodded his understanding and called to the driver rubbing his wrist in front of the car. “Take me home.”

“See you at pick up time.” Then, for the second time, I shut the door in the face of the mob boss.

As they pulled away, I slowly limped back toward the driveway, conscious that every cop in the vicinity was watching my progress.

“Margaret! Margaret!” Aunt Susan’s strident shriek threatened to lacerate my eardrums.

My shoulders slumped as I turned to face her. She hurried toward me, prim, proper, and pissed off. I fought the childish urge to start shouting, “It wasn’t my fault!” as she approached. Instead, I maturely assured her, “Everybody is fine. Everything is okay.”

“It’s obviously not okay!” she railed. “These officers won’t even let me into my own home.”

“There was an…incident,” I replied carefully.

“Was Zeke arrested?”

I blinked, surprised by the question. It was a perfectly reasonable assumption on her part, but I’d forgotten about that problem in the midst of the more pressing issue. “This has nothing to do with Zeke.”

A patrol car pulled alongside us. Alice waved from the back seat.

“Did Alice get arrested?” Susan gasped in horror.

“No,” I said quickly. “I forgot her at the cemetery.”

“You forgot her? At the cemetery?” The appalled look my aunt directed my way made me want to be swallowed up by a sinkhole.

I nodded guiltily.

“She’s a human being, Margaret. What’s wrong with you? We don’t just leave human beings behind.”

“Certain populations of society would disagree,” God opined.

Hearing him squeak, Susan glared at the lizard on my shoulder. “I bet you’ve never left it behind.”

“She has, actually,” God corrected.

“That slimy, squeaky thing,” Susan continued.

“I’m not slimy and I don’t squeak!” the lizard bellowed.

I winced because it made the squeaking sound that everyone else heard even worse.

The driver of the car Alice was in, opened the door and let her out.

“I’m so sorry, my dear,” Susan wailed. “I can’t believe she did that to you!” She enveloped a confused Alice in a hug.

Alice shot me a questioning look. I just shook my head and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

“Miss Lee?” Patrick called, walking over to me. I could see a mixture of amusement and pity glittering in his green gaze. “Detective Griswald is looking for you. If you could go down and see him…”

Realizing he was offering me an escape from Susan, I nodded my understanding and hurriedly limped away.

Behind me, I heard Susan say, “Detective Mulligan! Perhaps you can provide me with some answers.”

Favoring my painful joint, I leaned on Alejandro for the entire length of the journey down the driveway.

Twitch and Rowdy joined us at the halfway point.

The bunny innocently observed, “You walk funny, Maggie.”

“And she forgets people in cemeteries,” God mocked.

“I twisted my ankle, and it hurts,” I explained to the rabbit.

“Like when you get caught in a trap?” Twitch asked.

“Yes,” I told him. “A lot like that.”

“Kristen finally stopped weeping,” Rowdy announced dramatically. “I thought she’d never turn those waterworks off.”

“You wouldn’t like being hunted, either,” I pointed out.

“I’d rip his face off!” the raccoon declared, swiping at the air with her claws.

“Good to know,” I muttered.

“What are you going to do now?” God asked as we approached the police milling around the house.

I answered honestly. “I’d like to ice my ankle and get something to eat.”

19

The police were gone by the time Delveccio came to pick up his grandson, Ian and Kristen had gone home, Loretta, having returned from The Corset, was mourning the loss of the murderous eye candy, and Aunt Susan had worked herself into a panic as she worried about her husband and father, who’d both been taken to the police station.

As I limped out to meet the mobster’s SUV, the cat and dog ran off into the woods to play, having earned some downtime.

“Wait for us!” Twitch called as he and Rowdy raced after them.

I smiled, glad the animals were feeling carefree.

“The kids are back in the classroom,” I told Delveccio, who’d rolled down his window to talk to me. “He’s going to tell you he went through a secret tunnel. Believe him.”

The mobster nodded. “It’s my fault he was here.”

I tensed. Feeling the need to advocate for the little boy, I said, “He needs schooling, and socializing with the girls is good for him.”

Delveccio shook his head. “Not Dom. The shooter. He must have decided to try to take out Kristen here because the protection I’ve had on her everywhere else has been so heavy.”

I blinked. “You’ve been protecting her?”

He shrugged. “I figured if I didn’t, you might kill me.”

“Thank you,” I murmured.

“But here, it’s tougher,” he confided. “You’ve got Griswald, and his nephew is here all the time. We keep a perimeter but it’s hard to get close during the day.”

I nodded my understanding.

“Besides, your grandfather just waltzed this guy in.”

I winced. “I’m sure that’s eating him alive.”

“I’d imagine so.” He gave me the once over. “You really hurt yourself?”

“Just twisted it.”

“You gonna be able to…?”

I stood up straighter. “I’m more motivated than ever.”

He nodded his approval. “I’m gonna take Dom home. Maybe have a movie night with him.”

“He’ll like that,” I told him with a smile. Delveccio may be a violent criminal in business, but he’s a squishy teddy bear when it comes to family.

I stepped back and let the SUV continue on toward the barn.

DeeDee raced up to me. “Quick come! Quick come!”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, following the dog into the woods.

“Zeke!” she barked softly.

I followed her to a stump where Zeke sat, cradling the purring Piss like she was a baby. They both looked so content that I regretted having to disturb the moment. “Zeke?”

He looked up and grimaced ruefully. “I messed up.”

“How?” I asked, thinking he was about to confess to murdering Cole Fieldstone.

“I shouldn’t have run.”

I nodded my agreement.

“Now the cops are only looking at me for this, but I didn’t do it. You’ve got to believe me, Maggie. I didn’t kill Cole.”

“I believe you.”

“You’ve got to find out who did,” he begged. “Otherwise…”

“Whitehat would help you,” I told him. “She can move you to another state. Set you up with a whole new life. She’s done it before.”

A strange expression that I couldn’t read crossed his face before he shook his head. “No. I’m innocent…of Cole’s murder, at least. You and your family are my family. You’re all I’ve got. You have to help me, Maggie.”

“I’ll try,” I promised.

“You can do it,” he said. “I have faith in you, Margaret May Lee.”

I smiled weakly, hoping he was right.

“Maggie?” Alice called. “Maggie, are you out there?”

“Go!” I told Zeke. Then, despite the pain shooting from my ankle, I speedwalked in Alice’s direction. I didn’t want her spotting our mutual old friend. Partially because I wanted to protect her from having to lie to the police to protect him, and partially because I sensed she was up to something with this sudden visit, and it made me distrustful of her.

“There you are,” she said as she heard me crashing through the trees.

“What’s up?” I tried to sound casual, as though it was perfectly normal for me to be tromping about in the woods.

“We need to talk.” Her voice and expression were serious.

“Okay,” I said nervously. “If this is about me abandoning you in the cemetery, I’m really, really sorry. I was just so worried about the girls that I didn’t think, I just acted.”

“You leaving me there is why I feel comfortable asking you for a favor. A big favor.”

“Don’t let her guilt you into anything,” God warned from my bra.

I watched Alice carefully. She was twisting her thumb with her opposite hand. I recognized her childhood tell and knew that she was nervous. “Just say it,” I prompted.

She nodded, took a deep breath, and blurted out, “My husband is dying.”

I took a step back, the news hitting me like a physical blow.

“Her husband’s impending death was not on my bingo card,” God admitted.

Ignoring him, I stared at her. “What?”

“Kidney failure,” she elaborated. “He does dialysis four days per week and he’s on the transplant list, but the odds aren’t in his favor.”

“I’m so sorry,” I murmured. “You should have told me sooner.”

“He wanted to keep it private.”

Closing the distance between us, I tried to give her a supportive hug.

She stumbled out of my embrace and talked faster and faster, like she had to get it all out in one big chunk. “And if he doesn’t get a match, he’ll be dead within four or five years. He needs someone to donate a kidney for him.”

As she sucked in a breath, God said, “Asking you to give up a piece of your body is a very big favor indeed.”

“Of course, I’ll be tested,” I told her. “Whatever you need.”

She blinked, confused. “You already passed the test.”

“How?” I asked, feeling thoroughly befuddled.

“You left me at the cemetery.”

“Maybe she hit her head while she was there alone,” God suggested.

“I don’t understand,” I told my old friend.

“You dropped everything. Forgot about me. Ran like a crazy woman, and from the look of the paddock posts, drove like one, too, in order to protect Katie and Alicia.”

I stared at her blankly, unable to connect the dots between the events of the day and her husband’s kidney failure.

“I want you and Zeke to be godparents!” she revealed breathlessly. “I want the peace of mind of knowing you’ll step in if something happens to me too.”

“Ohhhh,” God said. “Despite the convoluted delivery, the message is now clear.”

“I was going to ask Zeke first,” Alice explained. “That’s why I wanted to stay with him, to feel him out and then ask you, but things went sideways.” She looked at me expectantly. “You’ll say yes, won’t you?”

“Don’t rush your decision,” God coached.

“Of course, I will,” I told Alice without hesitation.

The lizard groaned.

My friend threw herself at me. Squeezing tightly, she chanted, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! You and Zeke are the perfect godparents.”

“You’re welcome,” I told her weakly.

God drawled sarcastically, “Now all you have to do to grant this favor is prove that Zeke didn’t kill Fieldstone.”

20

It was the single worst party I’d ever attended, and I’ve been to some doozies. The band played “Who Let The Dogs Out?” on an endless loop and I had a pounding headache.

As I stood at the bar, I tugged at the hem of the short white dress I wore. Not an easy feat, considering I carried a glass of bubbly in one hand and a gun in the other.

DeeDee sat beside me, wearing a black mortarboard cap. She’d been denied entry until she’d agreed to “dress for the black tie occasion” by the power-hungry twerp manning the door. Given the choice between the head covering and a shiny satin skinny tie, she’d gone with the option that covered her ears.

I scanned the faceless partygoers in their overpriced drab outfits, searching for the man I was there to kill. Jeremy Crank was a dead man.

A whistle jolted me out of my dream.

Startled, sleepy, and disoriented, I tried to sit up and immediately fell off the living room couch.

“That’s twice in a week you’ve ended up on the floor,” God mocked from a distant corner.

Ignoring him, I scrambled to my feet, thinking I’d heard Alejandro alerting to danger with his whistle.

I’d rushed outside by the time I realized that the whistling had a melody that sounded a lot more like “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” than alarm. Skidding to a stop on the front porch, I squinted into the rising sun.

“Morning, Lee.”

Shading my eyes with my hand, I saw Nat Hunting pulling a paddock post out from beneath my car. It was still strange to see that he no longer sported the Ouroboros tattoo circling his throat.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” he panted, breathless from exertion, “but I don’t think being a race car driver is in your future. You messed up your car pretty good.”

I hurried over to him. “Let me help you with that.”

“I’ve got it.” With one last tug, he pulled out the pole and then tossed it aside. Straightening, he gave me the once over. “Is that what you wore yesterday?”

Glancing down at my smudged and wrinkled ensemble, I nodded. “I slept on the living room couch last night.”

“In your shoes?”

I looked down and realized I’d never taken my footwear off. How lucky was I that Aunt Susan hadn’t caught me with my sneakers on the furniture? “I guess.”

“Doesn’t sound comfortable.”

“It was more comfortable than sleeping in the barn like I did the night before.”

His gaze narrowed with concern. “Is there something wrong with your actual bed? Are there monsters hiding underneath it? Because if they are, I could scare them away for you.”

Despite my weird dream and the adrenaline-inducing wake-up call, I found myself smiling as I explained. “My friend Alice is visiting so she’s using the room.”

“So, you don’t have access to clean clothes?”

I shook my head. “She fell asleep early, and I didn’t want to disturb her.”

“You had a busy day yesterday.” He pointed at the car.

I nodded.

“I brought muffins.”

I blinked at the non-sequitur. “What?”

“I baked blueberry muffins, and I brought them,” he explained. “They’re probably still warm.” He pointed at a bag of plastic food containers that had been left on the steps. “Let’s have one.”

He strode over, grabbed the top container, and extended his hand. “Let’s go sit in the barn.”

Resting my palm in his, I let him lead me toward the barn. “What are you doing here?”

“I was called in to help,” he said mysteriously.

“By Griswald?”

“Nope.”

“Ms. Whitehat?”

“Nope.” He stopped and stared at me intently. “What kind of trouble are you in that Griswald and/or Whitehat would want me here?”

“Someone tried to kill Kristen yesterday,” I admitted. “That’s how I banged up my car and the posts, rushing to stop him.”

Nat’s forehead wrinkled with concern as he continued toward the barn. “Because of your friend, Zeke?”

“It had nothing to do with him. You heard the police are looking for him?”

“Mmmhmmm.”

“Good morning, Maggie,” Irma brayed softly.

I stroked the donkey’s snout.

“What’s that?” Billy, the goat, asked, making a beeline for the container Nat held.

“Not for you!” I said sharply, stepping into his path.

Headbutting my thigh softly, he snorted his frustration and loped off.

Nat plopped onto a bale of hay and patted the spot beside him. Then, he removed the lid of the container and waved the baked good enticingly.

I took a muffin, still warm, as promised. “So, who called you in to help?”

“Your Aunt Susan called and told me that she needed a trustworthy man with muscles. I’ve got the muscles to do the labor, so I guess one out of two isn’t bad,” he joked with a wink.

“I trust you,” I said somberly.

He gave me a doubtful look.

“I do.” Sure, he was a thief, turned insurance investigator, turned pretty much anything Griswald or Whitehat needed him to be, but he’d never let me down, even when it meant endangering himself.

“Thanks, partner,” he said softly. “That means a lot.”

Nodding, I sat down beside him and bit into the muffin. Besides being someone I trust, he is an excellent baker. “Delicious.”

“So, who tried to kill Kristen?” he asked in a light, conversational tone, like we were talking about the weather instead of attempted murder.

“I don’t think they’ve figured that out yet,” I said carefully. “Griswald shot him dead.”

Nat arched an eyebrow and chewed on his muffin thoughtfully before saying, “Methinks we have different definitions of the word trust.”

I looked away guiltily. “You’re better off not knowing.”

“So, you’re protecting me?”

I gave him a one-shouldered shrug.

“But I have muscles,” he teased.

I chuckled. “Susan shouldn’t have asked you to help. I’m sure Herschel can find someone else to hire.”

“I don’t mind. Plus, she’s right. I’m a safe choice. You know I’m not going to kill anybody in your family.”

“You haven’t had Aunt Susan supervising you yet. She could turn a monk into a murderer.”

“Speaking of murderers, your friend, Zeke…”

“He’s innocent. Someone is framing him for Cole Fieldstone’s death,” I said with conviction.

Nat didn’t respond.

“What?” I asked impatiently.

“I don’t think that anyone who works for Whitehat’s organization is totally innocent,” he murmured. “But if you think he’s being framed, I believe you. How can I help?”

“You can loan me your truck.”

He immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out the key fob, which was attached to one of those Swiss army knife multi-tool keyring things. He started to hand it to me and then pulled back.

I waited for him to say he was kidding, and to point out that I’d just wrecked my own car the day before so nobody in their right mind would let me drive their vehicle.

“I might need this.” He wiggled the tool free and held the fob out to me. “Here you go.”

“Really?” I asked in disbelief.

“Sure.”

“But I crashed yesterday.”

“So be sure to wear your seatbelt,” he replied mildly.

“You’re going to give me your truck?”

“You can borrow it,” he stressed. “It would be nice if you brought it back. It’d be even nicer if it’s in one piece. It would be nicest if it isn’t reported to be used in the commission of a crime.” He pressed it into my hand.

Touched by the gesture, I choked out, “Thank you.”

He closed his hand around mine. “I trust you, too, Lee. And I’m guessing your friend Zeke is counting on you to save him.”

21

“You smell worse than the barn animals you’re so fond of.”

I regretted my choice of retrieving the lizard when I’d gone inside to grab my purse. Now, as I walked through the cemetery, he was riding on my shoulder and my last nerve. I resisted the urge to sniff my armpits.

“I can’t believe you left the house wearing yesterday’s clothes,” he griped.

“Alice was asleep, I didn’t want to wake her by rummaging through my closet, and I wanted to get an early start.”

Reaching Teresa’s grave, I absentmindedly murmured, “Morning, sis” as I rearranged the flowers Alice had left.

“And now you’re talking to the dead.”

I assumed that the flash of motion I detected out of the corner of my eye was the lizard throwing his paws into the air in exasperation.

Ignoring him, I studied the crime scene. It was too early for the nosy crowd to have assembled, which gave me a clear view of it. The police had finished their examination of the site. There were no longer cops guarding it. Only the blue tarp covering the ground, the yellow crime scene tape fluttering in the morning breeze, and the pile of freshly dug dirt made it look any different than all the surrounding graves.

“I wonder who Cole was buried with,” I mused aloud.

“Who cares,” God muttered unhappily.

“It could matter. Maybe it’s significant. Maybe the cops should be looking into connections with the dead guy or girl.” I began to walk over to the scene, wanting to get a look at the headstone.

“Have you considered the possibility it could have been Zeke?” The lizard spoke softly, as though he knew he could be stepping on an emotional landmine.

“No.”

“Just no?”

“I didn’t consider it. He said he didn’t do it. Case closed.” I squinted at the stone. “Can you read that?”

“He did run the moment the authorities arrived,” God reminded me.

I took out my phone and used the zoom on the camera. I read the headstone aloud. “Gladys McElroy. Born 1906. Died 1968. Guessing that means she didn’t know Cole.”

“Fascinating,” God drawled.

Hearing a noise behind me, I whirled. Head bowed, a man, hands jammed in his pockets, was trudging toward me. His shoulders were hunched like he was carrying the weight of the world.

I lowered my phone to my side, thinking the closest things I had to a weapon were the device, and the bag with a blueberry muffin I carried in my other hand.

Deciding to be proactive, I said a tad too loudly, “Morning.”

Scowling, the man raised his head and squinted at me as though surprised he didn’t have the place to himself.

Without moving my lips, I begged the lizard on my shoulder, “Please hide.”

He ducked under the hair at the back of my neck.

“Franklin?” I called out in recognition. “Franklin Tonne? It’s me. Maggie Lee. We went to high school together.”

Drawing closer, his scowl disappeared. “Maggie Lee. We had choir together.”

“That’s me.”

Stopping a few feet away, he frowned at the crime scene tape. “Here to pay homage to Cole Fieldstone?”

“Hardly,” I scoffed. “I was visiting my sister, Teresa.” I pointed toward her grave. “I miss her,” I confided impulsively. “I’m helping to raise her daughter and there are moments I’d swear I’m looking at Teresa at that age.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he murmured.

“And you?” I prompted, wondering if his sister Betsy was buried nearby.

“I wanted to see the final resting place of the boy who caused my sister’s death.” He glared at the tarp.

Taken aback by the hatred in his tone, I rocked back on my heels. “You must miss her.”

“Every day.”

“Does knowing he’s dead bring you any peace?” I asked curiously.

He gave me a strange look, shrugged, and walked away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, God scrambled from beneath my hair to my shoulder. “I’d put him at the top of your suspect list. Hating someone is a motive for murder.”

I didn’t disagree.

Turning, I made my way back to Teresa’s grave. Once there, I sat down and leaned against the headstone.

The lizard leapt from my shoulder onto the carved rock. “Don’t abandon me here.”

“I really do miss you, Teresa,” I murmured softly. Opening the paper bag that Nat had provided, I took out the muffin he’d packed. I ate it, listening to the birds and watching the squirrels race from one tree to the other. It was the first moment of peace I’d had in a while. I should have known it wouldn’t last.

“Company at the crime scene,” God warned.

Twisting, I peered over my sister’s stone. Sure enough, a man in a black leather jacket was standing near the dug-up grave. He was looking right at me.

Instinctively, I ducked down. Realizing that made me look guilty, I popped back up. He was striding toward me.

“Maggie?” he called in a gravelly voice.

Brushing muffin crumbs from my chin and chest, I scrambled to my feet and pasted on a cheery smile for Armani’s on-and-off boyfriend. “Morning, Jack.”

“Morning.” He ran an assessing gaze over me. “At first glance, I thought you were a homeless person.”

“Just me,” I said, hanging on to my grin with everything I had.

“You look a little…disheveled,” he said carefully. “Is everything okay?”

“He’s being polite and not mentioning the stench,” God piped up from atop the headstone.

“I’m fine,” I assured the man. “Just visiting my sister before the morning rush.” I tapped on her marker for emphasis.

He cocked an eyebrow. “There’s a morning rush?”

I pointed at the tarp and tape. “I was here yesterday with my friend, Alice, and the place was crawling with people.”

“Cops,” he clarified.

“And people being nosy…or paying their respects, I guess.”

“You knew Fieldstone?”

I tilted my head and narrowed my gaze. “Well, I’m guessing you know the cops are looking for Zeke, so you know I went to school with Cole.”

He bowed his head slightly, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, like a little boy who’d gotten caught but had no regrets. “Sorry, playing dumb is an old crime reporter’s trick.”

“Is that why you’re here?” I guessed. “Writing a story about Cole Fieldstone?”

“Maybe. It’s news. Did you know him well?”

“We weren’t friends,” I answered honestly.

“What do you remember about his disappearance?”

I shrugged. “He pranked the vice principal the night before graduation and was never heard from again.”

“Despite having athletic scholarships lined up?”

“I guess.”

“Did you know his girlfriend, Ora Williams?”

“Not personally.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it was high school. I was a senior and she was a sophomore. It’s like two different worlds. We passed in the hallways but weren’t friends. I didn’t even know her name until the news of them running away together broke.”

“Is that what you think happened? That they ran away together?”

I jerked my chin toward the disturbed grave a couple of rows away. “Not anymore.”

“Any idea of where she is?”

I shrugged. “I don’t, but if you hang around, I’m sure old classmates will show up. The place was swarming with them yesterday. You might find someone who’s more help than I’ve been.” I scooped the lizard off the headstone. “I’ve got to go.”

God scrambled up my arm.

“One last question. What was the prank that Fieldstone pulled?” Jack asked.

“He buried the vice principal’s car in cement right in front of the school and left the man’s keychain beside it.”

Jack winced. “Ouch!”

“An enduring ouch,” I told him. “Burke, the principal, and the head of the school board at the time didn’t get along, so the board wouldn’t approve the funds to remove it. It’s still sitting there. Every summer it gets a fresh coat of paint and every year it’s covered with insults and expletives.”

“And they just leave it there?”

I shrugged. “They probably think it’s better the mini-mountain of cement is defaced than school walls.”

Jack nodded.

“I’ll see you. I want to be home before the kids start class.” I gave him a half-wave and headed toward my car.

“Maggie!” he called.

Sighing, I turned back.

“Do you have any idea who told the cops where to find Fieldstone’s remains?”

22

“The person who informed the cops about the location of Cole’s body had to either have witnessed the burial or done the burying,” God deduced while lounging in my bra.

I was sitting alone at a table on the outdoor patio at the Island Time Café while the lizard spouted his theory. I had no idea whether Jeremy Crank would show up to dine, but I was hoping to get some insight about him from the waitstaff.

“What can I get you to drink?” a waitress asked as she slid two tacky plastic coconut cups filled with ice water onto the table.

I glanced up and did a doubletake. Time had not been kind to one of the prettiest girls in high school. Her hair was dull, her eyes were flat, and the wrinkles around her mouth suggested she was a smoker. “Stef?”

She stared at me blankly. “Do I know you?”

“Maggie,” I told her. “We went to high school together.”

She squinted at me, but there was no recognition in her gaze. “Sorry, don’t remember you.”

“It’s okay.”

“Drink? The special today is a pina colada.”

“Great,” I told her. “Virgin, please.”

She made a face.

“Work,” I added defensively.

She shrugged and sashayed off.

“Another reunion,” God pointed out.

“And yet another is headed our way,” I murmured as a man in a shirt and tie was led to a nearby table. The years had been much kinder to him. He looked healthy and self-assured.

The moment our eyes met, he beamed. “Maggie?”

I greeted him with a smile. “Hi, Mateo.”

“How are you?”

“I’m good.”

“Liar!” God interjected.

Thankfully, Mateo didn’t hear his squeaking over the Calypso music being blasted from the restaurant’s speakers.

“How have you been?” I asked him.

“Good, good. Married.” He pointed at the ring on his finger. “Kids.” He traced the circles under his eyes. “Living the white picket fence dream. You?”

“Still single,” I admitted.

I saw a flash of something in his eyes. Surprise? Pity?

“You’ll find your one,” he assured me. “You heard they found the body of Cole Fieldstone?”

“Did he just match you with a dead guy?” God asked.

I sipped my water. “I did hear about that.”

“Crazy, right? We all thought he’d run off with Ora to live an adventure.”

“Weird, isn’t it?” Stef interrupted, walking over to place a coconut cup in front of him. “When you think about the fact Cole never even left town.”

Mateo stared at her blankly.

I could tell he was struggling to identify her. “You’re right about that, Stef.”

Recognition dawned in Mateo’s gaze when I used the other woman’s name. I could tell from his expression that he was just as shocked by her deterioration as I’d been.

“What can I get you to drink?” she asked.

“Water’s fine. I’m here for a meeting. He should be arriving soon,” Mateo told her.

“Water it is.” Sounding disappointed, she turned, making it clear she was talking to both of us as she announced, “The special of the day is jerk chicken and we’re out of snapper.” Locking eyes with me, she added loudly, “I remember you now. Maggie, whose mother streaked naked across the football field during Homecoming.”

My cheeks warmed with the remembered mortification.

“I’ll get your virgin drink,” Stef added with venom.

As she stalked away, Mateo noted, “Still charming.”

I giggled. We hadn’t been exactly friends in high school, but we’d shared a few classes, and he’d always treated me fairly. “What kind⁠—”

“Mateo, my man!” a voice boomed, interrupting me.

I looked over to see Jeremy Crank striding toward us. Again, he was outfitted in a snug sleeveless shirt and his sunglasses dangled between his shoulder blades.

Mateo rose to shake the other man’s hand. “Mr. Crank.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as he approached. Even if I hadn’t known that he’d hired someone to kill Kristen, I wouldn’t have liked him. The man oozed manipulative maliciousness.

“Target acquired,” God whispered.

I watched a smirking Crank shake Mateo’s hand.

Stef, suddenly sweet and accommodating, hurried over. “Hello, Mr. Crank. I’ve got your beer all ready for you.”

Crank shot her a dismissive look. “I want Carly.”

“Yessir. She’s just finishing up something in the back. She’ll be right out.” Stef awkwardly put the frosted bottle down in front of him and then scooted away like a dog who’d been kicked.

I pretended to be studying the menu as I eavesdropped.

“Thanks for taking the time to meet with me,” Mateo began. “As I explained on the phone, I⁠—”

“Fritters!” Crank bellowed, interrupting him. “I want fish fritters!”

Mateo, shocked into silence by the outburst, stared at him.

“They’re on the way, Mr. Crank,” another waitress assured him, rushing over. She was young, blonde and obviously scared to death of him since she avoided eye contact as she spoke. “Do you know what else you’d like today?”

“You, Carly,” Crank leered.

My dislike of the man ratcheted up and every muscle in my body tensed.

“You’re just here to observe,” God reminded me urgently. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Knowing he was right, I forced myself to take a deep breath.

Without raising her gaze, Carly informed him, “We’re out of the snapper, but we just had a delivery of tuna and the day’s special is jerk chick⁠—”

“I’d like a jerking,” Crank crudely interrupted.

The waitress visibly trembled.

“Not cool,” Mateo intervened immediately. “You owe her an apology.”

Jeremy turned a cold stare on his lunchmate. “You’d do well to mind your own business.”

Uncowed, Mateo glared at the other man. “If that’s how you conduct yourself, I’ll be taking my business elsewhere.” He slowly got to his feet, keeping his attention pinned on Crank, signaling he wasn’t afraid.

“You’re making a mistake,” Jeremy warned.

Mateo didn’t appear to be impressed by the threat. I’d always liked him, but now I was ready to join his admiration society.

The terror on her face was unmistakable as Carly took advantage of the distraction and slipped away.

As he made his exit, Mateo touched my shoulder. “It was good to see you.” With head held high, he stalked out.

Jeremy Crank, clearly frustrated, took a long swig of his beer and stared off into space, drumming his fingers on the table surface.

“Pina colada,” Stef announced quietly, putting the umbrella-topped concoction in front of me. She glanced nervously in Crank’s direction before asking politely, “Have you decided on what you wanted?”

“The chicken Caesar salad.”

“Anything else?”

“That’s it.”

Nodding, she flicked another quick look at Crank and then hurried away like a woodland creature trying to outrun a forest fire.

I pulled the pink umbrella out of my drink and studied it, wondering if it would be enough to kill Jeremy if I jammed it into his eye.

“How do you know him?” Crank blurted out.

Since we were the only two people on the patio, I had to assume he was talking to me.

“Play it cool,” God coached.

I looked over at the man I was going to murder and smiled at him.

23

I have done many unsavory things in my role as assassin, but few were as disgusting as flirting with Jeremy Crank.

After I explained I’d attended high school with Mateo, he asked why a beautiful woman like me was sitting alone.

“See?” God quipped softly. “I told you taking a shower would pay off.”

I “confessed” that my lunch date had canceled on me when I was already in the parking lot, and I didn’t want to let my plans for a pina colada go to waste. I even held the stupid pink umbrella up to my face and blinked coquettishly over it at him.

Soon, he’d moved to the empty seat at my table. As he was regaling me with tales about providing limousines to all sorts of professional athletes and celebrities as part of his tour company empire, the waitress, Carly, returned with his fish fritters. Without a word, she placed them in front of him and then raced away. Crank didn’t seem to even notice her none-too-subtle escape, since I was making a point of pretending to hang on his every word.

“Try one,” he offered, pushing the food toward me. “They’re the house special.”

Sitting near him had been enough to turn my stomach. The idea of eating the fish almost made me gag. I tried to smile politely as I shook my head. “No, thanks.”

“Just one. I’ll be insulted if you don’t,” he wheedled, his malicious manipulation on full display. I got the distinct impression that he wasn’t in the habit of hearing no.

Forcing myself to sound calm, I told him, “I don’t eat fish.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Then what are you doing here?”

I picked up my drink and said with a flirtatious giggle, “For the pina coladas!”

Chuckling, he picked up his bottle of beer and clinked it against my glass. “I think you might enjoy a party I’m having at my place.”

“I might,” I agreed, leaning back in my seat so that Stef could put a salad down in front of me.

“Will that be all, ma’am?” she asked with formal stiffness.

I nodded and she hurried away.

Jeremy Crank devoured his fish dish while I pushed my salad around my plate. All the while, he gave me the details about his party.

Thankfully, he ate quickly. When he was done, he revealed he had an appointment to get to, gave me a business card with a QR code I could scan to get the details of the party, and left.

I stayed seated; my eyes glued to my plate. I wanted to give him plenty of time to exit the parking lot before I ventured out.

“You did well,” God murmured. “Impressive to get your victim to invite you in like that.”

I exhaled shakily and put down my fork. There had been a few moments when I’d been tempted to stick it in the slimy Crank’s jugular.

“Do you want a box for that?” Stef asked, coming up behind me.

“No, thanks. Just the check, please.”

“Your lunch has been paid for.”

I frowned.

Stef picked up the plate. Before she walked away, she murmured, “Be careful, Maggie. He’s not one to mess with.”

I nodded my understanding, and she headed toward the kitchen. Rummaging in my wallet, I pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and left it as the tip.

A redhead was leaning against Nat’s truck when I returned to it. I wondered if he was there to keep an eye on Crank or me. Patrick wordlessly opened the driver’s door and helped me inside. Then, he hurried over and climbed into the passenger seat. I closed my door, he closed his, and we sat in silence for what felt like hours but was probably less than thirty seconds.

Finally, he asked in an exaggerated pleasant tone, “Did you two have a nice chat? It looked like you really hit it off.”

Matching his delivery, I replied. “We did! In fact, he invited me to his party.”

Patrick turned his green gaze on me, his eyes shining with incredulity. “You can’t be serious? You were supposed to kill him, not become his BFF. You can’t go waltzing into a party with dozens of potential witnesses. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that it’s a masquerade party so nobody will see my face.”

He blinked. “But⁠—”

“I’m going to need a burner car and a gun I can fit into an evening bag,” I told him matter-of-factly.

“Burner cars aren’t a thing,” he muttered. “You just made that up.”

“But you know what I mean. An untraceable vehicle I can use to get there and make my escape.”

“Unlike Hunting’s truck,” he said pointedly. “Why are you driving this heap?”

“I think I hear a green-eyed monster,” God commented. He scrambled up my bra strap and onto my shoulder as if he wanted to get a look at it.

Ignoring the implied jealousy, I told Patrick calmly, “Nat let me borrow it. I kinda crashed my car yesterday.”

“I saw,” he said dryly.

I shrugged. “You can get me a burner car?”

“Still not a thing, but yeah.” Shaking his head, he added, “If you bring a gun, you’ll need a silencer, too.”

“Okay,” I agreed easily, glad that he was getting on board with my plan.

“Poison would mean less mess, less chance of being noticed if he has security.”

“Even better!” I agreed with a grin.

Patrick frowned. “You’re nuts.”

“Just figuring that out?” I mocked. “Not much of a detective, are you?”

He chuckled and then grew serious.

I was startled when he suddenly took my hand.

“There’s something else, Mags.”

“A declaration of undying love?” God guessed from my shoulder.

I held my breath, waiting for Patrick’s revelation.

“Zeke’s at the police station.” He spoke softly, as though he thought the low volume could soften the blow.

It still felt like a body blow to the gut. “How?”

“He walked in and asked to talk to Detective Brian Griswald. He’s being questioned as we speak.”

I focused on the warmth of his fingers wrapped around mine, taking comfort in the contact. “Has he been arrested?”

“Not as far as I know…but he will be,” he added hurriedly, not wanting to get my hopes up.

I looked away from him, trying to control the panic that was making it hard to breathe. “I should go home. My aunts will be beside themselves when they find out.”

“What about you?” Patrick asked.

“I’m fine.”

“He’s your friend. One of your oldest friends.”

“Which is why I’m going to prove his innocence.”

“And you’re trying to save Kristen,” he pointed out. “That’s a lot to deal with. If you’re distracted…”

“I’m not distracted,” I snapped at him, yanking my hand free of his. “I know what I’m doing.”

Patrick rubbed the base of his skull, clearly worried. “You need to be careful with Crank. There’s a lot that could go wrong. One misstep and you’ll end up in prison…or dead.”

24

When I got home, I was grateful that Patrick had warned me about Zeke. Otherwise, I might have panicked at the sights that greeted me. Everyone except the kids and Lorraine Lassalan was gathered in front of the house.

Aunt Susan was shouting at her husband, Aunt Leslie was weeping into Herschel’s shoulder, and Templeton was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to hold up a hyperventilating Aunt Loretta.

Nat mouthed, “Help!” at me as he tried to comfort Alice, who appeared to be talking a-mile-a-minute as she swayed unsteadily. Piss, DeeDee, Matilda and Billy anxiously milled around the interior of what would be the paddock.

Armani, the bag of tiles clutched in her good hand, limped toward me determinedly as I slid out of the truck.

I tried to feign confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Zeke turned himself in,” Susan yelled in despair.

“He’s just answering questions,” Griswald argued.

“Why is everyone so upset?” I asked.

“We’re losing Zeke-ums forever!” Loretta gasped.

“Zeke-ums?” I muttered.

“Pull.” Armani thrust the bag under my nose.

Ignoring her, I decided to act like the voice of reason. “Everyone needs to calm down. We all know Zeke didn’t kill Cole Fieldstone. He’ll answer some questions. He’s not going to get the death penalty, so everyone needs to just calm down.”

“New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007,” God said from my shoulder. “He could get life without parole.”

Thankfully, with the exception of Herschel, nobody understood the lizard. They seemed to be following my lead.

“Let’s all have a nice snack and regroup,” Templeton suggested.

I shot him a look of gratitude, which he acknowledged with a slight nod before ushering the others inside.

Everyone except Armani and Nat followed him. Even Piss and DeeDee trailed into the house.

Oinking, Matilda lumbered toward the barn and Billy wandered off.

“Pull!” Armani demanded forcefully.

Knowing it would be more efficient to just do what she asked, I pulled seven tiles out and arranged them on my palm.

“A B B C O S T,” she read aloud. “Decent abs probably do cost a pretty penny.”

Nat wandered over to see what we were doing.

“Cast Bob,” Armani guessed. “Do you know a Bob? Are you running a theater show I don’t know about?”

I shook my head.

“It could mean to cast a bobber,” Nat suggested. From his mischievous grin, I could tell him that he was enjoying playing along with the game. “Like a fisherman.”

“Fisherwoman,” my friend corrected. “Are you going fishing, Maggie?”

“No.”

She scowled and made another guess. “Stab Cob. Do you know a Cob?”

I shook my head.

“Maybe it means those sharp little things that Susan likes to use when we have corn on the cob. They could definitely be considered cob stabbers!”

“Maybe,” I said doubtfully.

“Don’t be like that,” Armani snapped. “The psychic tiles are never wrong!”

Nodding, I dumped the message back in the bag.

“Using my powers makes me hungry,” Armani declared. “I’m going to get a snack.” She limped toward the house muttering, “Bot Cabs. A self-driving car taxi service.”

“Sorry about that,” I told Nat.

He shrugged. “Emotions are running high.”

I nodded. “Looks like you got a lot of work done on the paddock.”

“We did.”

“Any idea of when you’ll finish?”

He surveyed the progress that had been made on the enclosure. “Hopefully tomorrow. Maybe the next day.”

“No, I meant, what time will you finish working today?”

He shrugged.

“Do you have plans for tonight?”

He tilted his head. “I’m not helping you break Zeke out of jail.”

I grinned and shook my head. “I wasn’t going to ask you to.”

He let out an exaggerated sigh while he wiped his brow. “Whew. That’s a relief.”

“But I could use your help,” I admitted.

“Doing…?”

“I need help to apply fake tattoos. I did it once on kids as part of a job, but I need some big ones that look real and yours were so good…”

“Did you buy them yet?”

I shook my head. “Is there a local place you can recommend?”

“Don’t bother. I have a huge stash. I’m sure we can find something in it that will work for you.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, struck by the fact he hadn’t asked why I needed them. He’d simply agreed to help.

“Can you come by my place around 7:30?”

I nodded.

“We’ll get you fixed up,” he promised. “Just don’t tell Susan it was me that did it. I’m sure she wouldn’t approve.”

An hour later, I was thinking that Susan wouldn’t approve of the dress I’d chosen for Crank’s party. It was white, with a skinny black belt, and a tad too everything. It was a smidge too tight, with a neckline that dipped too low and a hemline that rose too high.

“Skanky!” God approved from where he perched on my black evening bag on the floor.

Sitting beside the lizard, Benny whisper-squeaked, “Pretty! Pretty! Pretty!”

“Thanks, Benny,” I said indulgently. I’d snuck him, the purse, and my black heels out of the house in a reusable shopping bag while a battle raged in the kitchen about whether Armani’s money would be better spent paying for Zeke’s bail or attorney, if he was arrested. I’d sprinted up the driveway, where Alejandro had waited with us until my Uber had picked me up to take me shopping.

“You should wear long gloves with it. It’ll enhance the look and prevent you from leaving fingerprints.”

“That’s a good idea,” I admitted.

He proudly puffed out the orange flap of skin beneath his chin. “I’m a criminal mastermind.”

I bought the dress and went to a nearby leather shop the cashier recommended for the gloves.

“I’m submitting an expense report to Delveccio for this job,” I said.

“Don’t forget he pays for your mother’s care,” God reminded me mildly.

Lastly, I ended up at a party store in search of the perfect masquerade mask.

I stood looking at the display, deliberating with the lizard in my bra offering his unsolicited opinion.

“You need one you can wear,” God declared. “It would be too easy to drop the kind on a stick. Then, you’d be faced with the dilemma of whether to kill innocent witnesses.”

“I’m not sure how innocent anyone who parties with Crank is,” I muttered under my breath, remembering how quickly and decisively Mateo had walked away from the creepy man.

“Help you?” A short, middle-aged man in eyeglasses offered.

“I’m looking for a masquerade mask, preferably the biggest one you have. I’m shy.”

He nodded his understanding. “A volto.”

“Excuse me?”

“A volto is a mask that covers the entire face,” he explained.

“Perfect!” I beamed.

“I think I have one for you in the back. Give me a minute.” He hurried off.

“The shy assassin,” God mocked.

“I figured that was less suspicious than saying I need to remain anonymous.” While I waited for the sales associate to return, I wandered down the aisle. I picked up two feathered boas for Katie and Alicia, thinking they’d enjoy them.

“Found it!” The associate rushed up to me, holding out a white mask molded with a simple nose and lips. Without the intricate gold mask-on-a-mask that surrounded the cutouts for the eyes, it would have looked like a Michael Meyers reject, but gold elevated it to fancy party level.

“That’s exactly what I need.”

“There’s a loop that goes around your head,” he said as he showed me.

“It’s perfect, thank you.” I added a trio of candy rings for the kids to my order and checked out.

I stepped outside the store, had the party invitation and costume, now, all I needed was the means to kill Jeremy Crank.

25

As though he knew I was thinking about him, I got a call from an unknown number.

“Hey, Mags.”

“Hey.”

“Where are you?”

“The Devil’s Shops,” I replied.

He guffawed. “Let me guess. That’s what your prim and proper aunt calls the Indulgence Strip?”

“Excellent guess,” I chuckled.

“Can you be done in five minutes?”

“I’m done now.”

“I’ll pick you up in five.” He disconnected the call.

Having heard the conversation, God asked, “Is that really what Susan calls this place?”

“In her defense, the shops that are here now are an upgrade. There used to be a strip club, an X-rated book and movie shop, a biker bar and a sex toys distributor. Not to mention it was the first location of The Corset. Susan was not happy when Loretta set up shop here.” I chuckled at the memory of their fights.

I waited in front of the flower shop at the end of the strip. Patrick showed up three minutes later in a silver-gray SUV.

I threw the bags with the dress, gloves and mask in the back seat. As I hopped in the front, I carefully placed the bag that Benny was riding in between my feet.

“Did you get everything you need?” Patrick asked as he maneuvered out of the parking lot.

“Yes. Did you get everything I need?”

“One burner car and one Epipen loaded with a poison that can stop the heart of an elephant in less than five seconds.”

“Sounds like overkill.”

Patrick glanced over at me. “You’re only going to get one chance. It’s got to work.”

I nodded.

“I’m serious, Mags. One chance.”

“Have a little faith,” I told him. “This isn’t my first time.”

“You almost got yourself killed the first time,” my murder mentor reminded me. “And the time after that. And the time after that.”

“He has a point,” God confirmed.

“You need to take this seriously. You need to be careful,” Patrick stressed.

“I am. I will,” I promised.

He turned down a side road and slid to a stop behind a luxury sedan. “That’s your ride.”

“That’s a heck of a burner car,” I murmured.

“I programmed Crank’s address into the GPS for you. You didn’t scan that QR code, did you?”

“And leave a trail of virtual breadcrumbs leading right to me? Of course not.”

Nodding his approval, he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out an Epipen. “You push this end,” he tapped it, “but only after jamming this end into your target.”

He handed the tube to me.

I stared down at it in my hand. “One shot,” I murmured. “Literally.”

“Be careful, Mags.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

Nodding, I gathered up Benny and my purchases and made my way to the waiting car.

Once I was inside the vehicle, Patrick waved and drove off.

After God was comfortable on the dashboard and Benny was curled up in a cupholder, I headed to Nat Hunting’s apartment.

“Patrick seems more worried than usual,” the lizard remarked.

“He does,” I agreed.

“Are you?”

“Worried? Not too much. Crank hires people to do his dirty work. I’ve tangled with people who were bigger threats.”

God echoed the redhead’s concerns with, “And you’ve almost died, multiple times.”

“Don’t die! Don’t die! Don’t die!” Benny squeaked from the cupholder.

“I’m not planning on it,” I assured him.

“Then don’t get cocky,” God urged.

The rest of the ride to Hunting’s place was devoid of conversation. Up until that point, I’d been focused on eliminating Crank because he was a threat to my family. Danny Boy could have killed any of them. But now, as Patrick and God drove home how dangerous the assignment could be, I was starting to get nervous.

My stomach was churning by the time I reached Nat’s front door. Clutching my bags, I rang his doorbell, shifting my weight from one leg to the other.

“Lee!” Nat threw open the door. “Come in.”

I stepped inside and noted the apartment smelled like curry.

“Did you eat?” Nat asked as he closed the door behind me. “I had a curried butternut squash soup simmering in the slow cooker all day.”

“It smells amazing,”

“Come eat. Whatever badassery you’re planning on getting into will be easier with a full stomach. You can leave the bags on the floor.”

I put them down. As Nat moved toward the kitchen, I whispered to Benny, “Wait here.”

Stopping, Nat looked back at me. “Do you have someone with you?”

“God and Benny,” I admitted.

“Bring them along,” he invited.

By the time I’d retrieved Benny from the handbag and joined Nat in the kitchen, he was ladling steaming soup into bowls.

“A man with muscles who cooks,” I teasingly marveled.

“And is a tattoo artist,” he reminded me. “Tell me what you’re looking for with the fake ink.”

I considered the question and answered carefully. “I want people to notice the tattoo instead of me.”

Carrying the soup over to the table, he indicated I should take a seat. “A hiding in plain sight thing.”

I nodded.

He grabbed a box of crackers out of a cabinet and put it in front of me. “Garish will be good?”

“Yes.”

“We should be able to do that.” He handed me a spoon. “Dig in and then we’ll get to work.”

“I need to leave no later than 11:30,” I warned him.

He frowned. “Doable.”

Something in his expression put me on edge. “Not doable?”

“No, it is.”

“Then what’s bothering you?”

He met my gaze steadily. “Whatever it is you’re doing reeks of desperation. I don’t if it has anything to do with Zeke because you were so calm at the house when everyone else was freaking out.” He studied me as he spoke.

I fought the urge to hide my face.

“Only other logical conclusion to come to is that it’s about the danger your family was in, but Griswald killed that guy.” He paused for a moment and then nodded. “But that would explain why you’re so driven and desperate to get whatever this is done.”

I held my breath. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I still needed his help. I didn’t know what to do.

“If you need more help than just applying tattoos, all you have to do is ask,” he offered.

I shook my head slightly.

“Okay then. I’ll drop it. Eat your soup. When we’re done, we’ll get to work.” He picked up his spoon. “And before you ask, the secret ingredient is apples.”

The whole time I ate the soup and crackers, I considered looping Nat in on the Crank situation.

He never asked another question. Instead, he relayed an amusing story about having watched Rowdy dash into Irma’s stall to steal an apple she’d dropped, taking a single bite of it and then feeding it to the donkey. “I guess you can never really know who your friends are.” He let the sentence hang between us for a long moment before he got up to clear the dirty dishes.

“C’mon, Lee. The lighting in the hall is best. Let’s load you up.”

I followed him and realized he’d already set up a work area. His supplies were laid out and he’d even thought of a step for me to stand on.

“Hop up.”

While I got on the step, he pulled out his keychain multitool and used it to open the packaging of the fake tattoos.

“Scissors would have worked,” I teased.

“Yeah, but scissors don’t have sentimental value,” he countered.

“Your keychain, a tool that could be bought at any hardware store, has sentimental value?” I scoffed.

He shrugged. “Sometimes it’s not the item itself. Sometimes it’s where you got it or who you were with.”

“Which is yours?”

He grinned. “No way, partner. If you’re keeping your secrets, I’m keeping mine. Stick out your arm.”

It was time to get to work.

I was moving one step closer to pulling off the Crank assignment and protecting my family.

26

“You sound like Darth Vader.”

The lizard wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t realized how challenging breathing would be behind the masquerade mask. I felt like I was suffocating. I now understood why the half-masks covering only the top portion of the face were so popular. People preferred oxygen.

I focused on toning down my labored wheezing as I scanned the long driveway. I needed to slip unnoticed into a group of partygoers who were piling into Jeremy Crank’s house.

A large, boisterous crowd of nine approached and I knew they were my chance. The men were in tuxedos and the women wore dresses that made mine look like it could pass for a nun’s habit. Joking and laughing, they were loud and undisciplined, which made scooting into the middle of the group easy. Clutching my evening bag, which held Benny and the poison epi pen, I let the partiers sweep me right along with them into the house.

Deafening music thumped through unseen speakers as we flowed from the foyer into the great room. A dance floor, complete with a glittering disco ball, had been set up in the middle of the space. It was packed with black-and-white clothed, mask-wearing gyrating bodies. There was a bar set up in the rear of the room, flanked by two buffets. In many ways, it looked like a normal party, but it was being hosted by a man who regularly hired contract killers.

Wanting to blend in, I snagged a glass of champagne off a tray being circulated by waitstaff, all of whom were dressed like court jesters. Then, I began to weave through the crowd, searching for my target. A spin through the room did not immediately reveal Crank, but I wasn’t sure I’d recognize him in the sea of masks.

Hidden faces wasn’t a problem I’d anticipated dealing with and I felt the need to regroup and come up with a better plan. I retreated to the doorway, where the noise was a little less intense and the air was fresher.

“Nice ink,” a man said from beside me.

I tensed. Nat had stressed that I should avoid talking about my temporary tattoos because it was an easy way to get caught in a lie.

I turned slowly toward the man trying to strike up a conversation and gave him a cold look.

“Cool mask,” he tried again.

I turned away from him. He got the message and backed off.

Suddenly, the music stopped and the room’s inhabitants froze like they were caught in some macabre game of freeze tag. A man in a royal purple tuxedo strode into the center of the room. Unlike the partygoers, he wore a crown instead of a mask.

“It’s time,” Jeremy Crank announced dramatically.

Five men immediately walked away from their various pairings and groups and headed toward the exit. Since I was standing near the doorway, I took a few steps back into the hallway. To anyone watching, it would have looked like I was getting out of their way, but I was really trying to get into position to follow them.

I watched the men, speaking in hushed tones, climb a nearby staircase.

“Party on, dudes!” Crank shouted from the great room.

The music blasted again. I pressed my back against the foyer wall and managed to go unnoticed as Crank bounded up the stairs after his guests.

“Gentlemen, let’s talk blackmail,” he said as he ushered them into a room at the top of the stairs.

I looked around to make sure nobody was watching me, and then ran up the stairs as fast as my high heels would allow.

The door to the room the men had gone into was closed. Disappointed that I couldn’t hear or see anything useful, I continued down the hall. I had no destination in mind, just a desire to get away from the thudding music. Spotting that the next door was to a bathroom, I ducked inside and closed the door.

Ripping off the mask, I greedily sucked in a couple of breaths of air.

“It’s just us,” I whispered. “Can one of you go eavesdrop on Crank’s mysterious meeting?”

“Me! Me! Me!” Benny squeaked from my evening bag.

I scooped him out of the purse and carefully put him down on the floor. Before I could give him any instructions, he skittered away, sliding under the door and disappearing from sight.

“Be careful!” I whispered, even though he couldn’t possibly hear me. As I stood up, I caught my reflection in the mirror. Since I was wearing the long, leather gloves, Nat had adorned my upper arms in a collection of tattoos. One arm had a string of numbers wrapped around it. The other was a collection of roses, featuring one with a knife through it, another dripped blood drops, and another was a black shriveled mess. He’d apologized that his collection was so violent. I hadn’t told him how appropriate they were.

God scrambled onto my shoulder. “What’s the plan?”

“Get him alone.”

“How?”

“Haven’t quite got that part figured out yet,” I admitted. “But I’ve got to do something. And soon. Next time, Griswald won’t be there to save Kristen, and the would-be killers might get Ian or someone else.” My voice cracked as I imagined the worst.

“Desperation can lead to mistakes,” the lizard warned.

“Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!” An excited Benny slid under the door into the bathroom. “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” He ran out again.

I took a deep breath like I thought I was some kind of deep-sea diver and pulled my mask on.

I dashed out of the bathroom and smack into my target. The unexpected impact sent God flying off my shoulder.

I’m sure he screamed, but I didn’t hear him over the thumping bass of the blasting music.

Unaccustomed to wearing heels, I stumbled awkwardly, finding it hard to regain my balance.

“What are you doing here?” Jeremy Crank demanded to know, grabbing my arm in a cruelly tight grip.

“Using the bathroom,” I gasped, trying to sound dumbly innocent.

“Who are you?” He shook my arm and then tore my mask off.

I stood paralyzed for a moment. Having been literally unmasked, I needed to come up with a new plan quickly.

“Come on now,” I told him, keeping my tone light. “You can’t have forgotten about me already. We met at Island Time less than twenty-four hours ago.”

He stepped back, surveying my outfit. “This is an improvement.” Then, he twisted my arm painfully and pinned me to the wall, pressing a sloppy kiss to my lips. His free hand roamed over my body.

Instinctively, I bucked against the unwanted touch, but it didn’t faze him.

A new wave of panic hit me as I realized that Jeremy Crank was much stronger than he looked and more vicious than I’d imagined.

Eyes. Nose. Throat. Groin. Patrick Mulligan’s early self-defense lesson filled my head, but I didn’t have enough space or leverage to mount a counterattack. I’d managed to hold onto my evening bag, but I couldn’t open it.

Tearing my mouth from his, I gasped, “Slow down. What’s the rush?”

“I’m an impatient man,” he growled. Keeping his relentless grip on my arm, he propelled me into the room where he’d held his blackmail meeting. He closed the door, locking me in with him. “Let’s have some fun.”

No longer pinned to a hard surface, I pivoted hard and drove a knee upward.

To avoid the brunt of my blow, he jumped back, and I managed to wrench free of his grip. Trying to get the large desk that took up most of the room between us, I stumbled away. The gloves made it difficult to grab the pen.

I wasn’t quick enough. Crank’s body slammed into mine, sending us crashing to the floor and the pen flying out of my hand. Twisting free of his weight, I crawled toward the device, which had rolled beneath the desk, but couldn’t reach it before he leapt on top of me.

My focus was no longer killing him, I was fighting for my life.

27

Eyes. Nose. Throat. Groin.

“Get off me!” I roared, rolling free of him, kicking at his face like a maniac.

With a crazed darkness shining in his gaze, Crank kept coming at me.

“Keep fighting!” God shouted. “Hit him again!”

I tried, but the man was too fast and strong. It didn’t take long for him to gain the upper hand. Soon, he’d trapped my arms overhead and straddled me. “I’m going to kill you when I’m done,” he pledged. “And I’ll enjoy it.”

I tried to buck and roll, but I couldn’t get him off me. He pinned both of my hands with one of his and reached for the zipper of his pants.

“Push! Push! Push!” God shouted.

“I’m trying,” I gasped.

“Push, Benny!” God bellowed.

“Help. Help. Help.” There was no terror in his small voice, only determination.

I turned my head and saw that the little white mouse was using all his strength to roll the epi pen toward me. It was less than an arm’s length away, but I couldn’t reach it because of the pressure Crank was exerting on my wrists.

“Help. Help. Help,” Benny grunted as he pushed the pen even closer.

“Get ready, Maggie!” With what sounded like a primitive war cry, the lizard ran up Crank’s arm and launched himself at the man’s eye.

Instinctively, Crank released me as he tried to swipe the squeaking lizard off his eye.

I grabbed the pen, jammed it against his thigh that was entrapping me and released the poison.

His gaze met mine for the briefest instance before he collapsed on top of me.

It wasn’t easy to wriggle free of his dead weight, but, with the encouragement of the lizard and mouse, I did it. I gathered the pen, purse, mouse and lizard. I closed the door to hide Crank’s body as I left, and then retrieved my mask and repositioned it. I did my best to appear unhurried as I walked down the stairs, out the front door and to my burner car. I even managed to drive away without attracting attention, quite the feat considering that, by then, my whole body was shaking.

“Thank you. Thank you,” I kept telling the lizard and mouse. “If you hadn’t…”

“You’re okay,” God assured me. “You just need to keep breathing.”

“Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!” Benny coached.

I was stopped at a red light when the car behind me tooted its horn. Aggravated, I glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw Patrick waving at me.

I raised a hand in a half-hearted attempt to respond. “How’d he find me?” I wondered aloud.

“Obviously he put a tracker on your burner car,” God replied in a superior tone.

Patrick pulled in front of me, indicating I should follow. He led the way to the parking lot of a darkened office building, parked and jogged over to my car. Opening the door, he bent down and peered at me worriedly. “Hey, Mags.”

“Hey,” I managed to choke out.

“Are you hurt?”

I shook my head.

“Is he…?”

I nodded.

“So, what’s wrong?”

I couldn’t tell him that Jeremy Crank would have raped and murdered me if it hadn’t been for the valiant efforts of the mouse and lizard. “I’m just tired.”

“Let me take you home,” he offered. “We can leave the car here.”

Patrick stood with his back to me while I changed into my normal clothes in the shadows of the parking lot. I put almost everything I’d worn to the party into a trash bag, along with the epi pen, and watched as Patrick tossed it into the building’s dumpster. I kept the handbag for transporting the mouse.

He took me home and left me at the top of the driveway. “Get some sleep, Mags.”

Alejandro and Rowdy silently escorted me to the barn, where I curled up on a bale of hay and immediately went to sleep.

I woke up to a dog sniffing my face.

“Okay Maggie is?” DeeDee panted worriedly.

“I’m okay,” I told her. I sat up slowly, stiff and sore from the beating my body had taken the night before.

“Okay God is?” the dog wanted to know.

“Except for enduring the stench, I am fine,” the lizard announced from his current perch. He had spent the night on top of the handbag.

“Okay Benny is?” the Doberman asked.

“Good! Good! Good!” the mouse squeaked in reply, sticking his little whiskers out from inside the bag.

“Now that we know everyone is safe and sound, we need to get down to the important work,” Piss announced.

“You don’t think us killing someone who was a threat to the family was important?” God asked testily.

“We?” the cat mocked.

“It was a real group effort,” I said quickly, wanting to defuse the situation. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”

“You’d be dead if we hadn’t been there,” God corrected.

“Probably, probably, probably,” Benny agreed somberly.

Sighing, I focused on the cat. “I assume you’re talking about helping Zeke.”

“You’ve got to prove that he didn’t commit murder,” Piss stressed. “My Zeke can’t go to prison.”

“You should present your list of suspects,” God suggested.

“I don’t really—” I began.

“Top of the list has to be Zeke,” the lizard continued.

Piss hissed and flexed her claws toward him.

Nonplussed, he kept stating his case. “Since Zeke’s notebook was found with the body. And Alice.” He paused, looking at me like he expected an argument.

I surprised him by saying, “Because of the timing of her visit.”

“Exactly! Who else?” the lizard prodded.

I shrugged. “His ex-girlfriend Stef?”

“And the other one,” Piss suggested. “The one who disappeared when he did.”

“Excellent,” God approved. “Anybody else?”

“Franklin Tonne,” I offered. “He has a good motive, with Cole’s bullying driving his sister to suicide.”

“Motive!” God cheered. “Now, we just need to find evidence!”

“Morning, Lee.”

Looking over, I was surprised to see Nat standing in the barn doorway.

“Did you sleep out here?” he asked.

“I got in late and didn’t want to disturb anyone.”

He walked over and took a good look at me. “Did you do what you needed to?”

I nodded.

“And obviously you’re still in one piece,” he noted.

“Barely,” God muttered.

The sound of galloping hooves caught the attention of all of us.

Nat looked toward the sound. “It’s the llama.”

Alejandro whistled, “Minty awaits.” Then, galloped away.

I jumped up. “I need to…I’m sorry.”

“Do what you need to, Lee. No explanations or apologies necessary.” Nat turned and walked out of the barn.

“Keep an eye on him,” I told Piss and DeeDee. “If he comes looking for me, let me know.”

“You got it, Sugar,” Piss purred. “We have your back.”

Scooping up the lizard in one hand and the mouse in the other, I rushed out of the barn and up the driveway.

Alejandro met me halfway and led us to Patrick.

He was pacing back and forth, clearly agitated. I swallowed hard as a chill ran down my spine. Had I messed up? Had someone seen me kill Crank? Was Crank not dead?

Patrick came to a stop when he saw me. He held his hands up defensively in front of him. “Don’t kill the messenger.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Zeke was witnessed threatening to kill Fieldstone the day he’s believed to have been killed.”

“By who?”

“The principal, Burke. He’s a viable witness, Mags. It’s not looking good for your friend.”

28

“Heads up, toots,” Mike cawed from above. “Mob boss incoming.”

“Delveccio’s on his way,” I told Patrick. “You should get out of here.”

Nodding, he jogged through the woods.

A moment later, the mobster’s SUV rolled down the driveway. It pulled to a stop beside me and the rear window rolled down.

“Wait here,” Delveccio ordered.

The SUV continued on its journey to drop Dominic off at school.

“He didn’t look happy,” God noted.

“The job’s done, what does he have to be unhappy about?” I snapped back.

The lizard fell silent as I paced up and down the driveway. My body was sore from Crank’s attack and sleeping in the barn. My emotions were raw from the stress of planning one murder and having a friend accused of another. It felt like I was approaching some kind of breaking point and that terrified me.

A few minutes later, Delveccio’s SUV returned. As God had said, the mob boss didn’t look happy. I walked over to the window, braced for whatever he was going to unload on me.

“He wants to have a Safe Room picnic,” the mobster complained bitterly.

I blinked.

“It would be like a basement picnic but in the safe room.” Delveccio shook his head.

Having no idea what to say, I kept my mouth shut.

“You did good with the other thing,” Delveccio approved. “One less creep in the world to hassle defenseless young women.”

I nodded.

“Let’s go,” he told his driver, and they sped away.

“That wasn’t too bad,” God said.

“Not bad at all,” I agreed, heading back to the house.

“Do you think Zeke threatened Fieldstone?” the lizard asked.

“He could have,” I admitted. “He and Cole were⁠—”

“Margaret! Margaret!”

I sighed as Aunt Susan closed in on me.

“I was looking for you.”

“You’ve found me,” I pointed out. “Was there something I can help you with?”

“How are the plans coming along?”

I blinked at her blankly.

“For Ian and Kristen’s sendoff,” she reminded me impatiently.

“I confirmed the caterer,” I told her. It wasn’t a lie. My father had agreed to supply sandwiches.

“Excellent! Have you seen my husband?”

I tensed, wondering if Griswald was lurking in the woods and if he’d overheard my conversations with Patrick or Delveccio. The last thing I needed was the former lawman sniffing around.

“His car is gone,” she complained.

“Have you called him?” I suggested.

“I don’t want him to know I’m looking for him.”

Again, I decided silence was the safest option, so I just nodded.

“I’ll keep looking,” Susan declared and hurried off.

I, once again, headed toward the house. Hearing another vehicle coming down the driveway behind me, I turned around.

My stomach dropped as Detective Brian Griswald pulled to a stop beside me and said, “We need to talk.”

“Act normal,” God coached, running up my arm to settle on my shoulder. “Don’t panic. Breathe.”

I was wearing a shirt with long sleeves, but I still self-consciously tugged on them, knowing it was important that the police detective didn’t see my fake tattoos.

Brian parked his car and climbed out.

“Stay cool! Stay cool! Stay cool!” Benny urged.

Brian’s gaze flicked from the squeaking white mouse in my hand to the lizard on my shoulder.

Trying to appear relaxed and casual, and not like a guilty murderer, I asked, “Have you seen your uncle? Susan is out here searching for him.”

“I passed her on the road. I’ll tell you the same thing I told her: I haven’t seen him.”

He frowned and put his hands on his hips. “I’m here in an official capacity, Maggie.”

“Okay,” I said carefully. My heart was racing. Was he here to arrest me for Crank’s murder?

“It’s about the Fieldstone case.”

I nodded, trying not to sag with relief.

“What can you tell me about Principal Burke?”

Surprised that it wasn’t a question about Zeke, I stared at him for a beat. Then, trying to recover, I said flippantly, “He was Vice Principal Burke when I knew him. He was in charge of discipline and most kids called him Jerk Burke.”

Considering that he’d just thrown Zeke under the bus by telling them about the Fieldstone threat, it seemed like an accurate moniker.

“And what can you tell me about the graduation prank everyone thought Fieldstone had pulled off?”

I shrugged. “I can only tell you the story that went around school. Cole stole Burke’s car, parked it in front of the school and covered it with cement. The next morning, Burke reported his car stolen to the police, got a ride to work, and found the newly installed “sculpture”. It’s still there. Every summer it’s painted maroon and white, the school colors, and every year by the end of the school year, it’s covered with insults scrawled on it by the graduating class.”

“How’d they know it was Burke’s car?” Brian asked.

“The car was encased in cement except for the top couple of inches of the antenna. The stupid banner that always hung off it, was still there. Plus, his keyring was on the ground in front of the sculpture.”

“And you think Fieldstone did it?”

I shrugged. “Back then, everyone did. Nobody else claimed credit and we thought Cole had left town. It fit.”

Brian nodded.

“Can I ask you something?” I ventured cautiously.

He shook his head. “I can’t discuss Zeke’s case with you.”

“I understand that and I’m not asking you to tell me who it was, but who called in the tip that led to the discovery of the body?”

“It was anonymous.”

“That’s convenient.”

He shrugged. “People don’t like to get involved.”

“So why do it after all these years?”

“Maybe the tipster felt guilty. Maybe they wanted to bring the family some peace.”

“Cole’s family, maybe, but what about the family of Ora Williams? She’s still missing, isn’t she?”

Brian nodded.

“Do you think she’s dead, too?”

He considered me for a long moment. “It’s a possibility. My turn for a question.”

“Shoot.”

“I know he’s your friend, but do you think Zeke could have killed Cole Fieldstone.”

“No,” I replied without hesitation.

Brian glanced around, like he needed to make sure nobody could hear him. “Can we have an off-the-record moment?”

I refrained from pointing out that I wasn’t a journalist and nodded.

He leaned closer to me before revealing in a barely audible voice, “Having interrogated Zeke, I agree with your assessment, but I think someone’s trying to frame him.” He leaned back and said in a normal tone, “Guess he’s lucky he’s got a friend who doesn’t know how to mind her own business. If you find anything, let me know.”

With that, he returned to his car and backed out of the driveway.

I watched him go, a mixture of nervousness, hope and surprise tumbling around in my gut.

I’d just been encouraged to prove Zeke’s innocence.

29

When I got back to the house, I found Alice and Armani sitting on the front porch, sipping coffee and watching Nat work on the paddock.

“Tell her he was sexier with ink,” Armani ordered.

“Good morning,” I pointedly said to Alice, making it clear I wouldn’t be discussing the man’s sex appeal. “Sleep well?”

She nodded and pointed to the table at the end of the porch. “Templeton brought a tray with extra coffee and cups.”

“Great.” I climbed the stairs, wincing against the pain that shot up my back.

“Rough night?” Armani asked curiously.

“I fell asleep in the barn.” It wasn’t a lie. Wanting to get the attention off me, I asked Alice, “You were there when Franklin Tonne tried to kill Cole, weren’t you?”

“Wait! What?” Armani asked excitedly.

I let Alice tell the story.

She began slowly, nervously. “Cole, the guy they think Zeke killed, was really mean to Franklin’s sister, Betsy. He embarrassed her in front of the entire school. Betsy couldn’t…she didn’t…” Alice looked to me.

“She offed herself,” I said bluntly.

“You have a charming way with words,” God said sarcastically. “And no reverence for the dead.”

“Franklin blamed Cole,” Alice continued.

I noticed that her knuckles, wrapped around her coffee mug, were white, like she was squeezing the life out of it.

“And one day, Franklin just snapped in gym class,” Alice concluded.

“Did he take a baseball bat to the bully?” Armani asked hopefully.

Alice shook her head.

“Did he bounce his head off the floor like a basketball?” Armani wanted to know.

“She has a very violent imagination,” Go remarked.

“No,” Alice said. “He wrapped the volleyball net around Cole’s head and began to drag him, on his back, all around the gym. Cole couldn’t breathe and was kicking, and Franklin wouldn’t let go.” She shuddered at the memory. “If Mr. O and Jerk Burke hadn’t pulled the net away, Cole would have died.”

Visibly upset, Alice slammed her mug down and ran into the house.

“I thought she didn’t like the dead guy,” Armani said, looking confused.

“Me too.”

“I vote for Tonne being at the top of the suspect list and Alice in spot two because of that weird reaction,” God announced.

“What did he say?” Armani asked.

“That Franklin Tonne should be questioned by the cops,” I lied smoothly.

“And the missing girlfriend with the odd name should be, too.”

“Ora,” I supplied. “Kind of hard for the police to do if she’s missing.”

“But getting away with murder is wrong!” Armani protested loudly.

“Who’s getting away with murder?” Nat asked, climbing the stairs of the porch.

I poured him a cup of coffee while Armani said, “Somebody killed that poor kid who ended up in the cemetery and it wasn’t our Zeke. The police need to round up suspects and not let the murderer get away with it.”

Nat wordlessly took the coffee that I silently offered him.

“They need to let Zeke go,” Armani ranted.

“I’m going to check on Alice,” I murmured, heading for the front door.

As I walked past Nat, he touched my elbow to stop me. I recoiled at the contact, both because it was sore from being twisted by Crank, and the freshness of the memory of being restrained. Noticing my reaction, he dropped his hand and searched my face worriedly.

“If he’s smart, he’ll sue them for false imprisonment,” Armani continued, oblivious to the tension between me and Nat.

“I’m sorry,” Nat whispered. “I was just going to offer you the use of my truck.” He pulled out the fob on the keychain and held it out to me.

“You don’t want to keep your sentimental tool?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

“I trust you with it.” He stared into my eyes, and I could tell he was wondering if I trusted him.

“Thank you,” I murmured, taking the key.

“I’d bankroll Zeke’s lawsuit,” Armani pledged.

“There isn’t going to be a lawsuit,” I told her before walking into the house.

I hadn’t gotten through the living room when Templeton stopped me by getting in my way. “Maggie?”

Squeezing the keychain, I tried not to show my impatience. “Good morning.”

“Alice is in your room and she’s crying,” he said with concern. “Maybe you should go check on her.”

I nodded grimly. “That’s exactly where I’m headed.”

Templeton stepped out of the way, and I hurried to my room. I rapped on the door three times and then pushed it open.

“Go away!” Alice sobbed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’ve got to put Benny in his enclosure,” I told her. I walked over, kissed his little head, and put the white mouse on the straw bedding.

“Cole didn’t deserve to die like that,” Alice sniffled.

“He was a bully with enemies.” I pulled a change of clothes out of my dresser as we talked.

“Yeah, but it’s not like he was the biggest monster in the school,” she said angrily.

“Who was?” I asked curiously.

She rolled over, turning her back on me.

“Alice?”

“Go away, Maggie. You’ve never understood.”

I stood there for a long moment, hurt and confused by the accusation. “Alice, I⁠—?”

“Just go away,” she groaned.

I practically tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door behind me.

“What was that about?” God asked.

“I have no idea.” I went into the powder room to change clothes.

“It makes her look suspicious,” the lizard insisted. “The timing of her visit, her weird reactions.”

“You think she’s trying to frame Zeke?” I frowned as I caught a reflection of my tattoos as I changed shirts.

“Somebody is.”

I did a little hopping dance as I pulled on my clean jeans. Since it was a small space, I knocked into the little plant table where I’d put Nat’s keys.

I watched in horror as it tipped over and the fob fell toward the toilet.

Miraculously, I moved fast enough to catch the keychain before it fell into the tank. Clutching it to my chest, I sighed in relief.

“You saved the sentimental value item from destruction!” God cheered.

An idea scratched at the back of my brain. Trying to make sense of it, I looked from the lizard, to the keychain, to the toilet, and back to the keychain. “Sentimental value.”

“You know it’s important to Nat,” God reminded me.

“Maggie! Maggie!” Piss yowled, clearly panicked.

I shoved my feet into my sneakers and burst out of the half-bath. “Piss? Piss?”

The cat raced up to me. “Alice just took a carving knife and the keys to Templeton’s car and took off.”

“Where could she be going?” God asked worriedly.

“To slay the biggest monster of them all,” I guessed.

30

I raced through the house and out the front door. Armani was still on the porch. Nat had gone back to work and was cutting wire for the paddock.

“Nat!” I screamed.

He looked over, alarmed by the panic in my voice.

“What’s up, Chica?” Armani asked worriedly, struggling to her feet.

“I need your help,” I shouted to Nat.

He dropped the wire and cutter he held.

DeeDee came racing out of the barn. “Help I!”

“Bobcats,” I told Armani. “The word is bobcats.” Despite my physical pain, I ran down the stairs and sprinted toward Nat’s truck.

Piss kept pace with me.

“Matilda, Rowdy, Billy, keep watch over the girls!” God ordered from my shoulder.

“You drive!” I told Nat, tossing him the keys.

“Where?” he asked as he climbed behind the steering wheel.

I scooped Piss into my arms and jumped into the passenger seat.

Nat started the engine.

I let out a gasp of pain as I forced myself into a cross-legged sitting position. “DeeDee, up!”

The Doberman leapt into the small space between the seat and the glove box.

I contorted myself to pull the door closed. “Drive! Drive!”

As the door slammed shut, the truck lurched forward.

“Where are we going?” Nat asked as we hurtled along the driveway.

“The high school.” I fumbled to pull out my phone.

I’m sure that Nat had a million questions, but he kept them to himself and concentrated on his driving.

I pushed a pre-programmed number. “Pick up. Please, pick up.”

Reading my sense of urgency, Nat ignored speed limits and took corners too fast as we raced toward the school.

“It’s not a good time, Maggie,” was the irritated greeting I got when the call was answered on the third ring.

“I think it was Burke,” I blurted out.

“What?” Detective Griswald asked.

“Burke. Remember I told you the pennant on the antenna and the keychain were untouched?”

“Yes.”

“Because they’re of sentimental value to Burke,” I hypothesized.

Nat shot me a look. I pointed at the road ahead of us.

“If Cole had ruined Burke’s car, he wouldn’t have cared about them,” I elaborated. “I mean, maybe he would have left one out just to make it clear whose car had been ruined, but not both.”

“It’s a theory…” Brian acknowledged doubtfully.

I closed my eyes, hating that I was going to say this next part, but knowing it would convince him to take the idea seriously. “Armani predicted Bobcats. That was the name of the high school football team Burke played on. It’s what the pennant and keychain say.”

Brian was silent for a long moment. Then, he said, “Let me look into this” and hung up on me.

Nat shot me a disbelieving look. “You expect a cop to believe your friend’s psychic prediction?”

“No. I expect the cop who met his significant other because of Armani’s…skills, to at least listen to the theory.”

He shook his head. “And why are we racing through town?”

“Because I think Alice may have gone to confront Burke. If I’m right, and he’s killed before, she could be in real danger.”

“I save her will,” DeeDee panted.

I patted the Doberman’s head.

“We’ll save her,” Piss corrected.

The high school parking lot was empty except for three cars. One of them, I recognized as being Templeton’s.

“There!” I pointed.

Nat sped toward it.

“They could be anywhere on campus,” I said. “We’ll have to fan out.”

As soon as Nat stopped the truck, I opened my door. Piss leapt from the vehicle to the pavement and took off running.

“Find Alice,” I told DeeDee as she awkwardly turned herself around. She jumped out and ran in the opposite direction that the cat had gone.

“Be careful,” I warned Nat. “They both might be armed.” I tumbled out of the truck and ran for the nearest door of the building, not even looking to see which way he headed.

The door was locked. I pounded on the glass in frustration and then headed toward the next door I could find. It, too, was locked.

“Think, Maggie,” God urged from my shoulder. “Where would they go?”

“The scene of the crime,” I muttered. Ignoring the pain pulsing through my body, I ran as fast as I could around the building. I had to get to the cement sculpture. The place where it all began.

Rounding the corner, I gasped. Alice was running toward me, her eyes gleaming with terror as she was chased by Burke. Sunlight gleamed off the blade of what I was pretty sure was Aunt Susan’s favorite carving knife.

“Leave her alone!” I yelled, racing toward them.

“DeeDee! Piss!” God bellowed.

“Run, Maggie!” Alice screamed as Burke gained on her.

Straining to go faster, it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I knew I wasn’t going to reach Alice before Burke. His arm was raised overhead, ready to plunge the knife into her back.

He never even saw the blur of black that barreled into him like an out-of-control freight train, knocking him off his feet.

“DeeDee!” God cheered.

The blow must have stunned her, too, because the Doberman lay on the ground, motionless.

“Keep going,” I told Alice when she looked over her shoulder to see what had happened.

I ran past her and dropped to my knees beside the dog, gasping for air. “DeeDee? DeeDee, can you hear me? Are you hurt?”

The dog didn’t stir.

“No, no, no,” I moaned.

Piss raced up to us. “What happened?”

“She saved Alice,” God explained.

Stroking the spot between the dog’s eyes, which were glazed over, I began to cry. “Please don’t die. Please don’t die.”

“Hang in there, DeeDee,” Piss mewled pitifully.

“It you do can,” God told her, his voice stretched thin with emotion. “It you do can.”

“Stop!” Nat yelled from behind me.

I turned around, expecting to see him, but another person blocked the view. “Stef!”

The actress-turned-waitress had picked up the carving knife and was preparing to plunge it into the principal’s chest.

“You told the cops where to find Cole,” I guessed, suddenly understanding why she’d aged so badly. Carrying around that guilt for so long had taken a toll on her body and mind.

She hesitated and looked over at me. “He killed them and ruined my life.”

The wailing of sirens filled the air. The cops were coming.

“Owww,” DeeDee whined softly.

I let out a shuddering sigh of relief.

“You’re a good person, Maggie,” Stef said. “Turn away so you don’t see this.”

“Tell the police,” I urged, keeping my gaze locked on hers. “Ruin his life. Let him suffer in prison for a long time. You deserve better than this.”

She nodded and slowly lowered the knife. “I’m only listening to you because you’re a good tipper.”

31

Irma kicked up her heels as she joyfully trotted around the completed paddock. Billy followed behind her and a waddling Matilda brought up the rear of their little farm animal parade.

Piss, DeeDee, Rowdy and Twitch cheered the paddock group on enthusiastically.

The ensuing cacophony made my grandfather chuckle with glee.

“Quite the show,” Nat said in amazement.

“You’re a good man, Hunting,” Herschel said, clapping him on the back. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Always happy to help,” Nat told him.

My grandfather headed toward the house.

“How’s Alice?” Nat asked.

“Emotionally wrung out,” I told him. I’d sat with her, offering moral support, when she’d made her statement at the police station. We’d been best friends as teenagers, and she’d never confided that she’d been abused by Burke. “I should have been there for her.”

“You saved her life.”

“I meant when we were kids. I was so caught up in all my family drama that I didn’t know what was happening with her.”

“One,” Nat said, “you were a kid. And two, you solved the case and saved her life.”

We looked over as a car rolled down the driveway.

“That’s Brian Griswald,” I told Nat.

The two front doors of the car swung open simultaneously. Brian emerged from the driver’s side and Zeke climbed out the other door.

“My Zeke!” Piss, who’d been lounging near the paddock, was the first to reach him.

Chuckling, Zeke picked her up.

My aunts had been sitting on the front porch. They rapidly descended on him, honking like a trio of joyous geese.

He looked over Aunt Leslie’s shoulder and mouthed “Thank you” at me. I flashed him a smile and a thumbs up.

Brian sauntered over to talk to me. “You were right.”

“She was correct about many things,” God, curled up in my bra, corrected haughtily.

“An x-ray revealed a skeleton in the cement-encrusted car,” the detective revealed. “It looks like Ora Willams has been on the school grounds all this time.”

“That’s so sad,” I murmured. “Her poor family.”

“Maybe they’ll take some comfort knowing that when we told Burke that between Stef’s testimony and whatever the crime scene team unearths that he’d be going to prison for a long time, he confessed.”

“Maybe,” I said doubtfully. “Did he say how Cole ended up at the cemetery?”

Brian nodded. “Apparently, back in the day, that was a popular drinking site for high schoolers. Burke was looking for a reason to prevent Fieldstone from graduating, so he went there to try to catch him in the act. They fought. Burke claims to have accidentally killed him. He tossed his body in a freshly dug grave and covered it with a layer of dirt.”

“And Ora?” I asked.

“She witnessed the whole thing and was in a state of shock. He took her back to his car to, in his words, ‘have his way with her’. She freaked out and he killed her, too. But he got his car bloody, so he did the cement thing to cover up the evidence and start the rumor that the prank had been Fieldstone’s, and they’d run off together.”

“We all believed it,” I admitted.

“The cops did, too,” Brian acknowledged. “And he would have gotten away with it if Stef hadn’t been there, drinking alone. The guilt of not reporting what she’d witnessed ate her alive all these years and she finally spilled the beans.”

“What about Zeke’s notebook?” God asked. “Why was it with the body?”

“Zeke’s notebook?” I asked Brian.

“Fieldstone was a bully to the end,” the detective said. “He stole it from Zeke on the last day of school. Apparently, he was thumbing through it at the cemetery, so Burke dumped it in the grave as part of his clean-up efforts.”

“Aunt Maggie! Aunt Maggie!” Katie ran toward me, excitement shining in her eyes. “Guess what?”

“What?” I asked.

“We’re going to Knight’s Fighting!” She did a happy dance.

My heart swelled. For the moment, all was right in my world.

The End

A note from JB:

I hope you enjoyed The Hitwoman's Reunion. If you could leave a brief review, I'd be grateful.

Don't miss Maggie's next misadventure The Hitwoman’s Knight Fight. It just may be her most ridiculous job ever!

Hugs and murder,

Jen

The Hitwoman’s Knight Fight

Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman 46

Our favorite part-time assassin, Maggie Lee, is no damsel in distress, but she does end up as a serving wench.

Working undercover at Fight Knights, a medieval-themed dining experience, Maggie must deal with a suffocating corset, a pair of cocky and sharp-eyed falcons, dancing horses, and an outrageous scoundrel who must be stopped at all costs.

Can Maggie go from zero to shero…or will the corset make her pass out?

Order The Hitwoman’s Knight Fight

Oh Shoot!

A Kiki Long Mystery Free Prequel

Ever since her husband disappeared seven months ago and it came out that he’d been embezzling funds from the town, pet photographer Kiki Long has been keeping a low profile.

But now it’s time to focus on creating a new life for herself.

Risking the wrath of the town’s residents, Kiki attends the annual Pride Falls Fair where she’s regarded with a mix of animosity, curiosity, and pity.

When a participant in the pie eating contest drops dead due to poisoning, Kiki realizes that the pictures she captured at the fair could hold the key to figuring out the mystery of his death. But it’s not like she can go to Sheriff Rockland with them. He still considers her to be a suspect in her husband’s disappearance.

With the help of her cat, Kodak, Kiki sets out to prove that her friend, who baked the deadly pie, did not poison it. Can she catch the killer? Or will this new development be what lands her in prison?

Get Oh, Shoot! for Free

Psychic Consignment Mystery Series

Sun, sea, and murder…

Escape to the beach town of Sarasota, Florida, visit an inherited consignment shop and meet the Concordia sisters in this cozy mystery series with a twist.

Bea, Winnie and Amanda use their powers to run a store brimming with unusual merchandise and even quirkier clientele while solving mysteries and falling in love.

Check out the Psychic Consignment Mystery Series

Now available on Audio

One Woman’s Junk

Gently Used, Still Works

Another Woman’s Treasure

Something Old, Something New

Cursed Chicks Club

What do you get when you combine a witch who doesn’t know her own power, a possessed cat and a dragon, all traveling in an RV caravan trying to break a curse?

Chaos and Adventure! Love and Laughter!

Follow Ravena and her friends as they try to right the world of wrongs, one magical moment at a time.

Visit the Cursed Chicks Club!

Also by JB Lynn

HITWOMAN BOOKS IN ORDER

Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman

Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman

The Hitwoman Gets Lucky

The Hitwoman and the Family Jewels

The Hitwoman and the Neurotic Witness

The Hitwoman Hunts a Ghost

The Hitwoman and the 7 Cops

The Hitwoman and the Poisoned Apple

The Hitwoman’s Downward Dog

The Hitwoman’s Act of Contrition

The Hitwoman Hires a Manny

The Hitwoman and the Sacrificial Lamb

The Hitwoman and the Chubby Cherub

The Hitwoman and the Mother Load

The Hitwoman Under Pressure

The Hitwoman Plays Chaperone

The Hitwoman Takes a Road Trip

The Hitwoman in a Pickle

The Hitwoman and the Gold Digger

The Hitwoman's Juggling Act

The Hitwoman and the Fallen Angel

The Hitwoman Goes to Prison

The Hitwoman and the Exorcism

The Hitwoman Plays Games

The Hitwoman Owes a Favor

The Hitwoman and the Teddy Bear

The Hitwoman and the Body

The Hitwoman Pays a Debt

The Hitwoman Plays Courier

The Hitwoman’s Girls’ Night Out

The Hitwoman's Getaway

The Hitwoman vs The Security Guard

The Hitwoman Investigates

The Hitwoman Gets Her Man

The Hitwoman and the Ninjas

The Hitwoman's Charity Case

The Hitwoman's Egg Hunt

The Hitwoman's Dying Wish

The Hitwoman and the Sitting Duck

The Hitwoman and the Flash Mob

The Hitwoman Gets Caught

The Hitwoman VS the Training Schedule

The Hitwoman VS the Embezzler

The Hitwoman Spirals

The Hitwoman’s Reunion

The Hitwoman’s Knight Fight

A Kiki Long Mystery

Oh, Shoot!

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

Shoot The Moon

The Cat, The Witch, and the Dead Dude

Thankful, Grateful, Busted

And don't miss the Psychic Consignment Mystery series

One Woman’s Junk

Gently Used, Still Works

Another Woman’s Treasure

Something Old, Something New

Cursed Chicks Club

Once Cursed, Twice Shy

2 Spells Too Many

3 Times A Charm

Mind Your Own Magical Beesness

4 Wonky Jinxes

About JB Lynn

Author of the never-ending Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series, JB Lynn (you can call her Jen) is a Jersey girl, who was transplanted in Florida for a while and is now putting down roots in North Carolina. When not taking photos and exploring the mountains with her rescue mutt, she writes the Psychic Consignment Mysteries and the Cursed Chick Club series because she’s got a soft spot for hijinks, humor, and heart (not to mention an almost compulsive need to tell stories!).

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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to others. If you’d like to share this book (and the author hopes you’ll want to), please purchase an additional copy for each person. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at jb@jblynn.com.

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For more info about my books, visit:

http://www.jblynn.com

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