Edward screamed and pointed. “No, the other one!”
I looked up and saw another massive porcelain urn wobbling and quickly steadied the cabinet. The urn managed to stabilize and I breathed in relief.
“Brooklyn!” Derek dashed into the room and grabbed me. I glanced around and was pleased that no books had been ruined in the melee.
Alex’s dress, on the other hand, was torn badly.
Epilogue
Two weeks later, Alex was still telling stories about my valiant effort to catch another killer, just as Vinnie had promised her I would.
The night of the party, when Derek ran into the library and saved me from Grizzly and the falling urns, Alex had been right behind him. She was shocked to see all the destruction, but also secretly tickled that she’d been an eyewitness to the wrap-up of another successful murder investigation by the amazing Brooklyn. Or so her story went.
She was laying it on a little thick, but I wasn’t about to ruin all her fun. I owed her too much. For one thing, she had helped stop Mrs. Sweet in her tracks. The murderous housekeeper had been sneaking down the stairs to make her escape when Derek and Alex came running upstairs, looking for me. Alex had chased after the woman and forced her to stay put while Derek ran ahead and saved me from the monstrous Grizzly.
And, for another thing, Alex hadn’t cared about the damage to her dress, which she insisted could be fixed. She was more concerned about me. And not just because I had been confronted by that monstrous woman and her two criminal sons.
No, Alex’s main concern for me had stemmed from her having experienced a mind-numbing conversation with the dreadful Minka. It was during the party, after I had already run off to the library.
Alex had stood at the bar with Minka and, in an effort to make small talk, she’d mentioned that she was my friend. The vitriol began, with Minka spewing all sorts of vile and semi-intelligible insults about me.
I was used to Minka’s despicable wrath, but Alex had never heard anything like it. I brushed it off, but she claimed to fear for my sanity if I ever had to work with Minka again.
Meanwhile, Vera Stoddard had a lovely niece who came forward to claim her meager estate. Unfortunately, since The Secret Garden had been stolen from Edward, she wasn’t entitled to the book. But she was happy to take over running Vera’s beloved flower shop.
I was shocked—pleasantly so—to hear that Edward Strathmore had decided to donate The Secret Garden to the Covington Library’s children’s collection. Ian explained that Edward felt so guilty about Vera being killed by his housekeeper—his own sister!—as well as me being attacked by his horrible nephews, all over a “silly” book, that he no longer wanted to have it in his house.
He must’ve been carrying around a whole boatload of guilt if he’d been so willing to give up that exquisite book with the added bonus of Mae West’s signature on it.
I found out from Inspector Lee that more than ten years ago, Edward had bailed Lug Nut and Grizzly out of jail and paid some big bucks for their legal defense. In return, Mrs. Sweet had agreed—or been coerced, more likely—to become his housekeeper. Essentially, she’d signed on as an indentured servant in exchange for her sons’ freedom. It was Edward’s way of keeping her and her violent boys under his thumb. So much for brotherly love.
The inspector also revealed that Mrs. Sweet’s second husband was Mr. Sweet, so her name had come to her honestly. Still, it was quite possibly the most ill-suited name I’d ever heard.
The dust had settled on the case, and it seemed like a good time to pay Alex back for everything she’d done for me. She had taught me those defensive moves that had probably saved my life and she’d loaned me that beautiful dress which, it turned out, was indeed easily repaired by her tailor.
So one Saturday night, Derek and I invited Alex over for dinner. Derek was pouring champagne for the three of us when the phone rang.
“Should we answer it?” I asked.
“It might be important,” he said apologetically.
I saw Ian’s name on the screen and grabbed it. “Hi.”
“Hey, I’ve got news,” Ian said.
“What is it?”
“Did you hear about Minka?”
“Oh no. What has she done now?”
“She’s moved.”
I frowned at the phone and pressed the speaker button so Derek and Alex could hear, as well. “So where did Minka move? County jail?” I cringed in fear that Ian might tell me she was moving into our apartment building.
“No, you probably heard that the charges against her were dropped,” he said. “But after what she did on the show, she couldn’t find a job. And then, all of a sudden, she got a phone call and was hired within days.”
I almost hated to ask. “So where’s she going?”
“To the National Library of Kosovo.”