1 A Small Case of Murder (30 page)

Epilogue

“Okay, we have the ice cream, the chocolate sauce—”

“Hot fudge sauce,” Murphy interjected.

“Is the hot fudge ready yet?” Joshua asked Tracy.

“Oh, Tracy,” Sarah moaned, “can you get me a glass of iced tea while you’re over there?”

“Sure.” After stirring the melting fudge sauce on the hot stove, Tracy yanked open the refrigerator door to retrieve the iced tea pitcher.

Donny came into the kitchen with a pillow, which he tucked in behind Sarah’s back at her seat at the head of the table. “Is that better, sis?” He adjusted the pillow for his sister.

“Yes, much.” Sarah said.

Uneasy, Joshua watched the scene. For his family, things weren’t quite back to normal. Sarah was enjoying the attention too much. He anticipated a war when her demands wore thin on her siblings.

“Don’t forget cherries.” Curt diverted his attention from the scene of family harmony. “You can’t not have cherries.” He looked like a different man out of his sheriff’s uniform.

Joshua double-checked the jar. “We always have cherries.”

“I want mine without any sauce,” Tad reminded them from where he observed the making of the sundaes on the other side of the counter.

Behind Joshua’s legs, Admiral was hiding from Dog, who was pawing and barking at him while wagging his bushy tail.

“And you call yourself an American,” Curt cracked at Tad before telling the ice cream chef, “I’ll take his sauce.” He sat across from Jan, who was typing away on her laptop at the kitchen table.

Tracy placed the pan containing the hot fudge sauce on the bar. “I think you’re ready to go. Serve ‘em up, Dad.”

“Scoop.”

Tracy slapped the scoop into her father’s outstretched hand, and Joshua proceeded to prepare the sundaes.

“Dad, there’s something I don’t understand.” Sarah cleared her throat. “Why did Tess wait so long to kill Vicki, if she had been blackmailing her for years?”

“Because she was crazy,” Murphy answered.

“Crazy like a fox,” Tad said.

“Are you saying it’s all an act?” Jan asked the doctor.

“I’m not a psychiatrist,” Tad told them, “but those murders were too well planned to be the work of an insane person.”

Curtis Sawyer agreed. “The boyfriend’s murder wasn’t premeditated. That was the first one. Tess hid his body right in the guy’s own basement. She planned all the other murders.”

Jan asked, “What did she have in that safety deposit box? Was it drug money she stole from Vicki?”

“Yep,” the sheriff answered, “over one-hundred-and-fifty-thousand dollars that Vicki had picked up on the way home from jail.”

Joshua said, “Of course, the Rawlings couldn’t report it missing because it was drug money. That’s what Tess was counting on.”

“Why did Tess Bauer slice up that reporter’s face?” Donny wanted to know.

“Jealousy,” Jan answered. “Morgan was pretty and Tess wasn’t.”

“She wanted to make it look like some crazy person did it,” Joshua told them. “Tess said in her statement that Morgan did give her the opportunity to confess to the fraud, which would have put a bullet in her career. If she didn’t, Morgan was going to do it for her. Tess came up with another option.”

Jan stopped with her fingers over the keyboard. “Why attack Tracy? The night of the attack, you were supposed to be dead. She had reported it herself.”

The sheriff answered, “Tess had enough sources to know that the hit was a fake.”

Joshua said, “She took the opportunity of everyone thinking I was dead to scare me off. The best way to do that would be to attack one of my kids. She would have attacked any of you kids who was in that bathroom that night.”

“I knew there was something wrong with Tess Bauer,” Jan said. “I knew it.”

“Get real.” Laughing, Tad took his bowl of ice cream and sat next to her. “You thought I’d killed Beth.”

Jan flushed. “Who told you that?” She glared at Joshua, who turned away to look for something in the fridge. “Josh actually thought Beth Davis was Maggie’s mother.”

“Did he really?” Tad gave an exaggerated scoff. His secret was safe for the time being.

Joshua caught his eye from behind Jan. “I guess I was having an off day then,” he said with a hint of humility.

“Did Vicki know that Amber was Tess?” Jan asked with her fingers poised over her keyboard to type out the answer.

“I doubt it.” Joshua sat on a kitchen stool. “My guess is that Vicki didn’t know who Amber was until right before she killed her.”

Curt eyed his host’s large ice cream sundae with admiration.

Tad took rawhides out of the cupboard to serve the two dogs. “Tess probably would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for her ambition. She had to be the first one on the scene to scoop everyone else, and, in doing that, she gave away that she had been at the scene of the crime earlier.”

Tracy said, “I can’t get over all the people Reverend Rawlings had killed in his life.”

“But he wasn’t Reverend Rawlings,” Jan reminded them. “He was an escaped murderer.”

“All those people he hurt,” Tad said, “and he was totally incapable of remorse. He rationalized that it was just what he had to do.”

“Even killing his wife,” Tracy mused.

Curt said, “Yep. And all those members of his church. They have hundreds of members, and they all believed Rawlings was a man of God.”

“The church is already crumbling,” Tad told them. “The members are jumping ship like rats with all the evidence coming out about the Reverend Rawlings. Believe it or not, there are still some things that you can’t spin enough to cover up.”

“That’s too bad. They were looking for direction in the right place, but from the wrong man,” Jan pointed out.

Tad was somber. “Most of the people in his church were sincere in their faith, but because of Rawlings, who were as far from God as you can get, some of his followers may turn their backs on God forever, when God had nothing to do with the Rawlings, except maybe in exposing him for who he really was.”

The sheriff scoffed, “What do you mean God exposed him? Josh exposed him.”

“Yeah, but I think he had some help.”

“From who?” Donny asked.

“From God, you dummy.” Sarah slapped her brother’s knuckles with her spoon.

“Stupid!” Donny flicked a spoonful of ice cream at her.

The frozen propellant hit her between the eyes.

Sarah dove for Donny, but Murphy separated them.

“Dad,” she screamed, “did you see that?”

“Yes,” Joshua chuckled. “If you two are going to kill each other, please do it in the other room so we don’t have to witness against you.” Everything was back to normal.

“Slimeball!” Sarah grumbled while Tracy escorted her upstairs.

When Donny saw the look directed at him from the kitchen counter, he swallowed his glee. Dropping his head, he turned his attention back to his sundae.

“Come on, Tad,” Curtis returned to the subject. “If God wanted Rawlings exposed He would have done it like three decades ago, but He didn’t. What do you think, Josh?”

Joshua answered, “I never would have been able to prove that Rawlings was Penn, even if I had it all figured out down to the last detail, if Bridgette hadn’t taken that very gun out of Wally’s collection to give to Hal to shoot at us and kill Wally with.”

J.J. screwed up his face. “Why did she want to have Hal kill you guys? I mean, Wally had already hired Sheriff Sawyer to do it.”

“She didn’t actually order Hal to kill anyone,” Curt responded. “She only told him to follow your father to make sure he didn’t find out anything that would interfere with their family performing their lordly duties. After Hal was dead and she discovered that Josh was still alive, she had no choice but to call in her old friend Scott Collins.” He turned back to Joshua. “Do you really think God helped you to nail Rawlings, I mean Penn?”

Joshua asked between licks of his spoon. “How many guns did Wally have in his collection?”

Curt answered, “Thirty-two.”

“Out of thirty-two, Bridgette selected the only gun, that could have exposed her father for who and what he really was, fifty years after he had committed his first murder. If his daughter, who grew up to be as evil as he was—”

“Sins of the father,” Jan interjected.

“—hadn’t picked that gun, Penn would have gotten away with everything, and we never could have proven anything.”

“Yeah, but what good would it have done to have the gun if you didn’t have the brains to put it together,” J.J. said.

“Well, Josh, three murderers in one day,” Curt said, “The attorney general is impressed. I know I am.”

“You should be.” Joshua grinned.

“What’s next?” the sheriff asked.

“I’m taking the kids to the beach,” Joshua said. “For the rest of the summer, I’m going to be the father I’m supposed to be.”

“What a swell guy!” Jan sighed dreamily, “Will you marry me?”

“I’m still in mourning.”

“You can’t mourn forever.”

“As much as I hate to interrupt a marriage proposal,” Curt cleared this throat to ask Joshua once again about his plans, “What are you going to do after the beach? Are you going to run in this next election? Our county can use a good prosecutor working on our side.”

“How about it, Josh?” Jan asked. “My book does need an ending.”

Joshua finished off his sundae under the eyes of his sons, Jan, Curtis, Tad, and the two dogs.

His answer was a mysterious smile.

The End

Lauren Carr

About the Author

Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries,
A Small Case of Murder
was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award.

Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
It’s Murder, My Son
,
Old Loves Die Hard, and Shades of Murder, Blast from the Past, The Murders at Astaire Castle, The Lady Who Cried Murder,
and
Twelve to Murder
have all made the best-sellers ranks on Amazon in cozies and police procedural mysteries, as well as receiving rave reviews from readers and reviewers.

Dead on Ice
introduced a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, in which Joshua Thornton joined forces with homicide detective Cameron Gates. The second installment,
Real Murder
, was released to rave reviews in February 2014.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:

E-Mail:
[email protected]

Website:
http://acornbookservices.com/

                
http://mysterylady.net/

Blog: Literary Wealth:
http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991

Gnarly’s Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/GnarlyofMacFaradayMysteries

Lovers in Crime Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/LoversInCrimeMysteries?ref=ts&fref=ts

Twitter: @TheMysteryLadie

Check Out Lauren Carr’s Mysteries!

The Mac Faraday Mysteries

Click here to view book trailer
.

The story takes hold immediately and the reader quickly identifies with Mac.  The plot is well done without being overplotted.  There are just enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.  The climatic confrontation with the killer is good and the wrap up leaves you laughing and feeling good.  The writing style is easy and draws the reader in effortlessly.  I am looking forward to the next installment!

Reviewer: Ariel Heart, Mystery and My Musings Review

What started out as the worst day of Mac Faraday’s life, would end up being a completely new beginning. After a messy divorce hearing, the last person that Mac wanted to see is another lawyer. Yet, this lawyer looked very unlawyer-like, wearing the expression of a child about to reveal a guarded secret. This secret would reveal Mac as heir to undreamed of fortunes and lead him to Spencer, Maryland, the birthplace of America’s Queen of Mystery, with her millions and an investigation that unfolds like one of her famous mystery novels.

It’s Murder, My Son
is Author Lauren Carr’s third mystery novel. Carr’s first novel A Small Case of Murder was named finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards. She resides in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where she lives with her husband and son on a mountaintop. “I love a good mystery,” said Author Lauren Carr. “Growing up in a small community an argument at the corner store can become a murder by dinner. Making the story a reality on paper is a real thrill.”

Behind the gated community in Spencer, Maryland, multi-millionaire Katrina Singleton learns that life in an exclusive community is not all good. She thought her good looks and charm made her untouchable; but, for reasons unknown, a strange man calling himself “Pay Back” begins terrorizing her and her home. When Katrina was found strangled in her lake house, all evidence points to her terrorist, who is nowhere to be found. Three months later the file on Katrina’s murder was still open with only vague speculations from the local police department.

In walks Mac Faraday, sole heir to his unknown birth mother’s home and fortune. Little does he know as he drives his new Dodge Viper up to Spencer Manor that he is driving into a closed gate community that is hiding more suspicious deaths than his DC workload as a homicide detective. With the help of his late mother’s journals and two newfound companions, this recently retired cop puts all his detective skills to work to pick up where the local police have left off to following clues to Katrina’s killer.

Click here to download It’s Murder, My Son, the first installment in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, today!

The fast-paced complex plot brings surprising twists into a storyline that leads Mac and his friends into grave danger. Readers are drawn into Mac’s past, meet his children, and experience the troubling relationships of his former in-laws. New fans will surely look forward to the next installment in this great new series.

Reviewer: Edie Dykeman

Bellaonline Mystery Books Editor

Old Loves Die Hard
…and in the worst places.

Retired homicide detective Mac Faraday, heir of the late mystery writer Robin Spencer, is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up—and she wants him back! Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac’s private penthouse suite at the Spencer Inn, the five-star resort built by his ancestors.

The investigation leads to the discovery of cases files for some of Mac’s murder cases in the room of the man responsible for destroying his marriage. Why would his ex-wife’s lover come to Spencer to dig into Mac’s old cases?

With the help of his new friends on Deep Creek Lake, Mac must use all of his detective skills to clear his name and the Spencer Inn’s reputation, before its five-stars—and more bodies—start dropping!

Click here to download Old Loves Die Hard, the second installment in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, today!