The Marsh Madness

“The caller told me if I came in through the back door, I’d find Chadwick’s killer and maybe save another life. From the look of things, I got here just in time.”


Kev was flushed with pride. He’d managed to make that prearranged call to Tyler without screwing up. Of course, Kev hadn’t been able to resist coming into the house instead of remaining outside as agreed. Good thing that Tyler Dekker had been in on the sting. I was glad he wasn’t the kind of guy who let his mail pile up and he’d opened the envelope I’d sent him. And he’d trusted me.

I hoped Smiley’s career in the police took off, because he sure wouldn’t make it as an actor. But he didn’t need to. While Smiley called for backup, I skipped around the corner and found Cherie with a huge candy-pink grin splitting her face.

“Did you get everything?” I said.

“I got it all right. And it’s beautiful. Even better than beautiful. You know, I think a person could enjoy doing this for a living. I edited out the bit that shows Kev and Lucky. No point in complicating things. And even if the cops might notice the video’s been edited, it’s not likely they’ll be able to get it back.”

“Good thinking. You sure have the gift for taping evidence. I’m not sure how many opportunities there will be for business, but my money’s on you,” I said. She was truly a perfect fit for my family. Perhaps we should make her an honorary Kelly.

As the adrenaline in my system faded, I wanted the night to be over and Lucas Warden to be safely behind bars. I needed to know he wouldn’t outwit the police, because he was capable of it. I wanted to be free to go home and to tell Vera and the signora that we were no longer suspects in a murder case. I wanted to tell Mick he didn’t have to worry anymore about being charged with possession of stolen goods and Lance that his job and freedom wouldn’t be threatened.

But of course, there were hours of interviews to get through first. It was just as well that Uncle Lucky, Kev and Cherie were able to melt like ice cubes into the dark night. They wouldn’t have been at their best under those circumstances. Good thing they’d all worn gloves too.

For once I was happy to hear sirens in the driveway.





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE





WHEN THE DUST settles, there’s no place like home. Not that Van Alst House had been my home for long or would be home forever, but I was back again, and it sure felt like home to me. I had barely stopped myself from kissing the floor when I finally returned at two thirty in the morning after our great adventure.

Vera met me at the back door, in her tartan dressing gown. If it wasn’t totally out of character, I might have thought she’d been nervously hanging around for my arrival. I couldn’t help noticing that she’d brought a book to read while she waited for me.

Walter scampered merrily to me.

“Your police officer friend dropped him off earlier today. He said you’d be missing him.”

“Hmm. Well, the big news tonight is that they’ve got the person who killed Chadwick, and Shelby Church. In case you don’t know, Shelby was the woman pretending to be Lisa Troy. We have good recorded evidence—audio and video— against him. It adds up to a confession, really. And more to the point, we are all off the hook.”

“About time,” Vera sniffed.

“Agreed. I’ll fill you in with the details in the morning if that’s okay.” I wasn’t looking forward to telling Vera that my former boyfriend was the reason we’d all been dragged through this hellish week. More to the point, that relationship was why Vera had been of interest to the police. My head would be clearer in the morning. Vera was always in a bad mood at breakfast, and maybe I would think of a decent spin to put on it.

Vera said, “Mr. Kelly gave us quite a play-by-play before he left to visit a friend. He’s staying over at the friend’s place tonight.”

“Oh, is he?” And what had he told Vera? Accuracy isn’t Kev’s best thing. He probably came out as a hero.

“Yes. You were lucky to have him with you when you did.”