It's Murder, My Son (A Mac Faraday Mystery) (44 page)

“Still, Travis was very clever,” Ben countered. “The Hardwicks’ murders and the way he set up his alibi for Katrina’s murder wasn’t the work of a dummy.”

Mac said, “He stole both of those crimes from my mother’s books: setting up the flight to California with Betsy pretending to be him, sending the Hardwicks a gift card to the spa. He put a lot of work into those murders. He didn’t have the luxury of time to plan when he killed Betsy.”

“If he was in love with Katrina why did he kill her?” Catherine wanted to know.

David explained, “Travis was hot for Katrina, but he wasn’t in love with her. He had plenty of other women, but Katrina rejected him.” He sighed. “I really don’t think she meant to. I think, like I thought Yvonne would never be interested in a guy like me—” He kissed Yvonne’s hand. “I think Katrina, being from the same side of the tracks, assumed Travis wouldn’t be interested in her.”

“Travis could have any woman he wanted,” Mac said, “except Katrina. It must have bothered him someplace in his psyche. Maybe he saw Katrina as the one he could never have and became obsessed with having her.”

“That was twelve years ago,” Yvonne said. “What about last year?”

Archie explained, “When Katrina ran into David and Travis at the Inn, she naturally directed her attention at her first love, David, who happened to be available. Once again she rejected Travis, even after all his success. His ego couldn’t handle it.”

Catherine asked Mac, “But when did you come to actually suspect him?”

“Something my mother observed in her journal clicked with me. She noted that Betsy was always working so hard while Travis was playing. Then, Yvonne mentioned that she wrote his papers in school. Between that, and seeing how close he stuck to the case, I started thinking, ‘If he isn’t a writer, then why is he so interested in this case?’”

Yvonne asked, “If Katrina killed Niles Holt, and the evidence showed that she did, then why did she come back here? If she hadn’t, then Travis wouldn’t have seen her and thought that she rejected him for David again.” She gasped. “If she had stayed away, she would have gotten away with murder!”

Mac said, “Quite simply, Katrina thought she could get away with murder.”

Having wheeled over to listen in on the conversation, Violet interjected, “She was stupid with beauty.”

“Think about it.” Catherine noted, “Katrina married Niles Holt and killed him for his money. Then, Chad Singleton married her for her money and let Travis kill her. Now, he’s living high on the hog with Niles Holt’s money. Where’s the justice in that?”

“Oh, but there is justice.” Archie smiled at Mac.

He said, “Archie has been a very busy girl. She went digging through galaxies in cyberspace where she didn’t belong and found out that Niles Holt fathered a daughter twenty-eight years ago.”

“She’s a single mother of two living on food stamps in Florida,” Archie told them. “Ed Willingham is going to represent her in an inheritance suit and the Forsythe Foundation is picking up the tab. Robin wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Since Katrina inherited Niles Holt’s estate by illegal means, as in murder, then she had no right to his fortune,” Mac explained. “As a result, Chad Singleton has no claim to all those millions he had inherited from her.”

“Excuse me.” David went down to the dock.

A silence fell over the table.

Mac went to the bar, got two beers, and joined David on the dock.

“Sorry.” Mac handed one of the beers to him.

“She trusted me,” David said. “I saw a side of her that she was afraid to show anyone else. She was very insecure.”

“She was also a murderer,” Mac said.

“I know.” David shrugged. “What are you going to do now?”

“Be a rich playboy.”

“Whose hobby happens to be murder,” David laughed. “Robin made her fortune off Mickey Forsythe chasing killers.”

“I’m not Mickey Forsythe.”

“Sure, you’re not. Next thing you’ll be telling me is that Gnarly isn’t Diablo.”

Smiling, Mac turned away to look up at his guests on the deck, patio, and inside the house—all around him. He still had to remind himself that it was all his. He glanced down at his suit, which he had tailored for close to twenty thousand dollars. This time writing the check was painless.

As if he were reading Mac’s mind, David grinned at him.

“Okay,” Mac whispered, “but let this be our little secret.” He sucked in a deep breath. “David, there’s something we need to talk about.”

“Dad told me about you years ago.”

“Really? You’ve known all along?”

“But he didn’t know where you were,” David explained. “When Robin found you and told Dad, he told me.”

“All these years, you knew where I was?”

“I knew everything about you.”

“And you didn’t mind my moving out here?”

David laughed. “Mac, I showed up on your doorstep within hours of you racing into town in that Viper.”

“You were waiting for me,” Mac said.

“Weren’t you curious about me?” David asked. “I’m sure Robin mentioned me in her journal.”

“Now that you’ve gotten to know me, what do you think about having a brother?”

Looking out across the lake, David sipped his beer. “Mac, since meeting you, I’ve been fired from my job, accused of murder, and shot twice.” His shoulders shook with laughter. “I haven’t had so much fun since the police academy.”

Carrying her glass of wine, Archie came out onto the dock. “What are you two talking about?” In contrast to her white lace cocktail dress, she was barefoot, as always.

“Who stole my cookies?” Violet loudly demanded to know. “Our waiter is a thief!”

David could see Yvonne looking for his help while Violet picked a fight with Jeff Ingles. “I believe I’m being summoned.” He jogged up to the deck.

“What are you two up to?” Archie asked Mac.

“Shenanigans.” Mac pulled her to him. “Now, where were we?”

“Where were we when?”

“You name it.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’ve been trying to kiss you for the longest time, but it seems like every time I get you this close—”

“Somebody interrupts us.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Why is that?”

“Can’t we talk about that later?” She pressed her lips firmly against his. She sighed when they parted. “Finally.”

Their romantic bliss ended when screams erupted from up on the deck.

“Gnarly! No!” Jeff was yelling.

Partiers scattered in an effort to escape. Servers carrying trays of glasses collided, spilling drinks and breaking glasses. One of the buffet tables overturned. Spilt guacamole and salsa caused a slippery escape route for the stampeding guests.

To Mac’s and Archie’s horror, they saw the source of the chaos.

Carrying a tray covered with thick steaks, the chef ran to and fro, trying to escape the host’s dog. Seeing his only escape, he raced toward the lake. From the deck above, Gnarly took a flying leap and hit the cook in the back to send him and the steaks flying.

Oblivious to the screams, Gnarly plopped down in the midst of the meat to feed on his kill.

“Gnarly! I’m going to kill you!”

The End

 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. A Reunion to Die For was released in hardback in June 2007. Both of these books are in re-release.

Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. The first two books in her series, It’s Murder, My Son and Old Loves Die Hard have been getting rave reviews from readers and reviewers. The next book in this series will be released in spring 2012. This will be Lauren’s fifth mystery.

The president of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publisher, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. Visit Acorn’s website at http://acornbookservices.webs.com for more information about these services.

In addition to being an active member and director of the Association of Independent Authors, Lauren is a popular speaker who has made speaking appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions.

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

Visit Lauren at her website: http://mysterylady.net; or blog: http://fromthewritersstudio.blogspot.com for more information.