Small Town Murder: Midwest Cozy Mystery Series

by Dianne Harman

  “Get them off me!” Georgina screamed. “These people and their dogs are trying to kill me! These dogs are going to eat me!” she shouted.

  Kat wondered if she was trying to get the attention of the neighbors.

  The dogs had finished their work with her on the ground. Hunter ran over to Georgina and sat down on her back, and at the same time, he wrestled her hands behind her back, gripping them as tightly as he could.

  “Get off me! You’re supposed to be my husband and not betray me! You’re not being the least bit Biblical!”

  Lennon spluttered with angry laughter. “Not Biblical? How about killing your own sister? Murdering your own sister in cold blood for money? How Biblical is that?”

  “What do you know about real life, Lennon Forbes? You live in your perfect little bubble with your perfect little husband and your perfect little kids,” Georgina spat out with jealousy. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same if it was all threatened, and everyone would know about it.”

  “I never would.”

  “Yes, you would,” Georgina hissed. “The pressure we’re under as women to keep everything perfect? That can drive us to do anything.”

  Lennon swallowed. “I’ll admit we’re under pressure. I’ll admit I like to have things under control to keep things together. But if everything fell apart, I’d just have to deal with it. I certainly wouldn’t go around murdering people, much less my own sister, to pay off my husband’s gambling debts. That’s just crazy, Georgina, can’t you see that?”

  “Of course it is,” Hunter said. “She’s clearly lost her mind. This is not the woman I married. This woman is like a stranger to me.”

  Georgina burst into tears, but they didn’t sound real to Kat. “But Hunter… we plotted this together! You said you wanted me to kill her to get the money.”

  “You’re a liar!” Hunter yelled.

  “You did, too. Don’t you remember, you were the one who got the idea for Jacqueline to change her will and transfer her assets to me in the first place? That was your idea, and you were the one who managed to persuade her to do it.”

  “No,” Hunter said desperately. He looked up at Lennon and Kat. “Please, don’t believe her. None of it is true.”

  “I believe you, Hunter,” Kat said evenly. “Georgina, don’t you remember? We heard you before you knew we were there. “When Hunter was asking you if you did it, and you admitted it. And he was shocked. Your story doesn’t add up.”

  “I believe you too, Pastor Moncherry,” Lennon said.

  “I believe you too, Pastor Moncherry,” Georgina said, mocking her. “Seriously, do you hear what you sound like? You’re pathetic.”

  Kat shook her head. “No, she’s not. And actually, she illustrates a very important point. Your husband made a series of mistakes, including hiding his gambling addiction from the congregation. He was under a lot of pressure to be perfect, and he found release in gambling. That’s not an excuse, but it’s an explanation. It was clearly a secret world for him, away from all his responsibilities, that felt exciting and thrilling. He spent a lot of money on it, which was a huge violation of your trust, and a huge violation of the church.”

  “I’ll say,” Georgina spat.

  “But he wants to come clean. And today, Lennon and I have heard all about his story and seen how remorseful he is. How willing he is to accept the consequences of his actions. And Lennon still calls him Pastor Moncherry, because she respects him. Yes, he took a fall. Yes, he messed up, big time. But because he’s admitted it and owned it, he has regained his integrity. You, though? You didn’t have the courage to do that.”

  “Why should I have the courage? I didn’t gamble all the money away! Why should I have to suffer for his weakness?”

  Kat nodded. “I understand what you’re saying. It must have been a terrible shock. And it’s not your fault he chose to gamble, you’re right. But you had choices other than killing Jay. You could have chosen to stay by his side while he came clean to the congregation. You could have chosen to divorce him, if you wanted to.”

  “And admit failure?” Georgina said with a bitter laugh. “I don’t think so.”

  “It’s not about failure,” Kat said impatiently. “It’s about choices. About not murdering people. The thing is, Mrs. Moncherry, you cared more about looking righteous than actually being righteous. In fact, you were prepared to go to the lengths of committing murder, just to keep up the façade of looking holy. Don’t you see how twisted that is?”

  “People judge,” Georgina said. “That’s a fact of life. Who wants a first family who is falling apart at the seams? Look at Lennon. She wants someone to idolize. A perfect family to look up to.”

  Kat couldn’t deny this. It was true enough. She stayed quiet.

  “Yes,” Lennon said, her voice choked with tears. “I did want a perfect family to look up to. A Godly example. But what I’ve learned is that Godly and perfect are not the same thing. We all fall short. We all make mistakes. What I want is someone who has enough courage to admit their mistakes and be honest.”

  “Oh,” Georgina sneered. “You want me to be just like my pathetic dead sister Jacqueline, huh? She writes a book airing out all her dirty laundry, dishing the filth on her husband, and making herself look like an absolute failure. You want me to be like that?”

  “People loved her for it,” Kat said. “She had ten million in the bank because of it, the money you wanted to steal. The money you killed her for. She had that because of the ‘dirty laundry’ as you call it. People loved how open and honest and transparent she was. How she didn’t pretend to be perfect or have it all together. She was vulnerable. She shared her heart with the world. And the world loved her for it.”

  Georgina, despite being on the ground under the heavy weight of Hunter, sniffed like she was superior to them all. “The world is full of sinners, so that doesn’t surprise me.”

  “Sinners like you and me,” Hunter said.

  “I spoke to her just before her death,” Kat said. “She didn’t understand her popularity. I can see you didn’t either… Were you jealous, Georgina?”

  “You do everything perfectly and you don’t get a reward. She just admits she’s a total screw-up, and gets ten million. How is life fair?”

  Just then, the police arrived. They stormed through the back gate, guns held at the ready.

  “Thank goodness you’re here!” Georgina wailed. “These people are trying to kill me!”

  “That’s not true,” Kat said quickly. “She confessed to the murder of Jay Talbot, and then tried to attack us with a knife. The dogs knocked her over, and Hunter, who is her husband, has been sitting on her so she couldn’t get away.”

  “It’s true,” Lennon said.

  Hunter nodded his head. “Yes.”

  “Okay,” the policeman who seemed to be in charge said. He then went over to where Hunter was sitting on top of Georgina, and knelt down beside him and asked, “What’s her name?”

  “I do understand English, you know,” Georgina said to him. “My name is Georgina Araminta Moncherry.”

  “Georgina Araminta Moncherry, did you murder Jay Talbot?”

  Kat held her breath.

  “Yes,” Georgina said.

  Kat breathed a huge sigh of relief, as did Lennon.

  Georgina was arrested, read her rights, and led away.

  Hunter turned to Lennon. “I’m so sorry I let you down. I let the whole congregation down. And I can’t help but think the murder is my fault. If I hadn’t gambled away the money, Georgina wouldn’t have gotten it into her head to commit murder.”

  “Don’t blame yourself,” Kat said. “That was her own crazy plan.”

  “I guess,” he said.

  Detective Randson Butler arrived a few minutes later and took a statement from each of them about what had happened, and about Georgina’s confession. Kat’s breath caught in her chest. Was she going to be arrested and charged for interfering in the official police investigation?


  He conducted the interviews in the kitchen, which was sparkling white and completely spotless. Kat felt awkward, and kept shifting in her seat as he asked her questions, wondering if she’d be the next one cuffed and taken for a ride in a police car to the station. But once he was done, he said, “You’re free to go.” He took a long look at her. “I didn’t expect to see you here. But you say it was a social visit to come and support Georgina?”

  “Yes, sir, it was, but it turned out to be something different.”

  “That’s a pretty big coincidence, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “All right. Go.”

  Kat couldn’t wait to get out of there. She was met in the driveway by Blaine, who rushed up to her and crushed her in a hug. Lennon had already had her interview, and was in the large Chevy with her husband, crying on his shoulder. All the kids were there, too.

  Kat looked at the Chevy, thinking of all the family inside, and wondered what effect today’s development would have on them. After all, their life revolved so much around the church.

  But her mind was too tired to think about any of it. All she could manage was to be driven home by Blaine, who had insisted when she’d called him that she leave her car there and pick it up tomorrow. He cooked her a comfort food dinner of chicken and broccoli in a cheese sauce, with roasted potatoes. It was wonderful and she finished the meal with a whole tub of cookie dough ice cream, too.

  They watched mindless movies all night, and she tried not to think of anything much at all. The evening was cool and Kat was glad, because it made it kind of cozy. She wrapped herself up in a blanket on the couch and cuddled into Blaine. That was how she fell asleep. Her last thought before she drifted off was What an unbelievable day.

  CHAPTER 20

  A few weeks later, Lennon and Kat were clinking their champagne glasses together at Stillwater Spa, a wonderful day spa just outside Topeka. They’d decided to go for a girls’ weekend with Lacie and Lennon’s oldest daughter Candace. Kat had been a little concerned about the age difference between Lacie (who was twenty-three) and Candace (who was sixteen), but Candace was very mature, and Lacie was very kind, so it was a good match and they got along fine.

  They’d gone for a swim, while Lennon and Kat lay on chaise lounges by the pool, having spent the morning being pulled and pummelled by various massage therapists.

  “To a wonderful summer and then a wonderful fall.” Kat said. “Speaking of fall, it always feels like the beginning of a new year, even though Lacie’s been out of school for a while now.”

  Lennon laughed. “I know. Because my kids are being home schooled, they’ve never been to school, ever, and September still reminds me of the smell of fresh books.”

  “I think it’s a less depressing time of the year than dreary January and February,” Kat said. “I can’t ever make any New Year Resolutions in January. I don’t have enough energy to change my habits at that time of year.”

  Lennon chuckled. “Maybe we should set some now, then. What are you hoping for in the upcoming year?”

  “I’ll definitely be writing more books,” Kat said. “I might even branch out into something else.”

  “Like…?”

  “I’m not quite sure.”

  Lennon paused for a moment, then burst out with, “I know!” Her eyes were bright and she poked a finger in the air. “You should write some non-fiction memoirs about your investigating work!”

  Kat laughed. “I don’t think so.”

  “It might be therapeutic. You could get it all out of your system.”

  “Rather than get it out of my system, it would probably retraumatize me,” Kat joked. “I much prefer escapism. But what about you? Will you write more non-fiction? Or will you get into fiction?” She flashed her a big grin.

  “I couldn’t write fiction if my life depended on it,” Lennon said. “I love organizing and practical things. I have literally no imagination. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I’m okay with that.”

  “I like that attitude,” Kat said. “It’s great when you know yourself on that level. You know, your strengths, your limitations. I think it helps you to become more successful. For example, when I first started writing, I thought I could make my own book covers to save money. Big mistake! My books weren’t selling at all. I became very frustrated. In the end, I tried a designer, and then my books started taking off. I just don’t have an eye for book cover design. It’s not my strong point.”

  Lennon nodded. “I’m glad I finally have a writer friend to talk to, even though you do fiction and I do non-fiction. It’s great to be able to talk about page counts and writers’ block and cover design, isn’t it?”

  “You bet,” Kat said. “I talk to people online, but it’s not quite the same.” She smiled. “You know, I’m really glad we became friends, just in general.”

  Lennon smiled back. “Me too. And because you’re my friend, I’m going to tell you what my real resolution is for this year. But promise me you won’t tell anyone. And promise me you won’t laugh.”

  “Of course not,” Kat said.

  “You say that now,” Lennon said, “but you haven’t heard what it is yet.” Her face was turning red, in sharp contrast with the soft white towel twisted around her head.

  “Go on,” Kat said softly. “I’m not going to judge you or anything.”

  Lennon picked at a thread on her robe. “Oh… I don’t know.”

  “Oh, I know what it is,” Kat said. “I see why you’re getting embarrassed. You want to be a pole dancer!”

  “No, I don’t!” Lennon burst out, horrified. “I want to be a pastor.” Then she slapped her hand over her mouth. “Kat, I didn’t mean to tell you.”

  “Sorry,” Kat said apologetically. “I just had to get it out of you. That’s a great idea though, Lennon. You were an amazing speaker at the conference. And you clearly love God so much.”

  Lennon chewed on her lip. “Do you think I could do it? Pastor Moncherry is stepping down permanently. He’s going to a rehab facility near his parents in Texas, then he’s going to re-evaluate his life.

  “The congregation told him they would welcome him back when he finished his rehab, but he felt it was better for him to start with a clean slate, to understand himself in a new way, to start again. The church is looking for a new pastor, and I did get a divinity degree in college. Do you… do you really think I’d be good enough?”

  “I can’t think of anyone that would be better,” Kat said with a huge smile.

  “And…” She turned to look at Candace where she was swimming in the pool and lowered her voice. “I’ve told Rhett, and he said he doesn’t want to speak in public, but that’s totally fine, I can do it myself. The thing is, I know Jethro and Candace love speaking. They’re always doing it wherever they can. Candace even does a service at the church. I’m thinking this would be the perfect opportunity for them, too.”

  “Wow!” Kat said. “It sounds perfect.”

  Lennon dared to grin. “You think?”

  “You bet. I would love to have a pastor like you. You’re like superwoman, but you’re also very down to earth and humble and kind. You’ll do great. I just know it.”

  “Thanks.” Lennon said as she took a deep breath. “I mean, before, I’d never have considered it. I never saw myself as good enough, as worthy, do you know what I mean? I’ll admit, I put Pastor Moncherry and Georgina on a pedestal. I thought they were a higher class of person than me. But now I see they’re humans, just the same as me.” She grinned. “You’ve convinced me. I’m going to go for it.”

  Kat smiled back. “I’ll be rooting for you, Lennon.”

  EPILOGUE

  “It seems like such a long time since the investigation into the murder of Jay Talbot was closed, doesn’t it?” Kat said, passing the creamed potatoes to Jethro.

  “You bet it does!” said Rhett. “Thank goodness for that. Lennon was under a great deal of pressure during that time. I was glad when it was all
wrapped up.”

  Kat was at Sunday dinner a few months later after the case had been closed. Blaine, Kat, Lacie, Tyler, Rhett, Lennon, Candace, Jethro, Susannah, Gideon, Esther, and Abigail were all sitting around the large table at the Forbes home. Candace and Jethro had cooked a wonderful dinner of honey baked chicken, creamed potatoes, and asparagus, with a side serving of black-eyed peas.

  Gideon had put his baking skills to work and made a black forest gateau. Susannah, who wasn’t into cooking or baking, had set the table beautifully, with a proper tablecloth and numerous candles.

  Lennon had given the most spectacular sermon Kat had ever heard earlier that Sunday morning. She had mixed Biblical teachings in with her self-development passion, and created something truly beautiful. She taught about the power of forgiveness, and how we are all imperfect struggling humans. “We need to help each other, to forgive each other,” she’d said, and had given the congregation an update on Hunter Moncherry’s progress at the Texas rehab clinic.

  The whole thing was extremely moving, and Kat came out of the auditorium with tears in her eyes, feeling a kind of love and compassion toward all of humanity that she hadn’t felt before. Other people were crying, too, and there were plenty of hugs and deep conversations going on in the entranceways and lobbies.

  But the most surprising thing that happened was when Reiss Talbot, with his two small children, came up to Kat after the service. He had tears in his eyes.

  “It’s Kat Denham, isn’t it?” he said.

  “Yes,” Kat said, too taken aback to say anything else.

  “I recently found out what role you played in the investigation of Jay’s death. I apologize for being rude to you when you came to see me. I wasn’t a good person. In fact, I haven’t been a good person for a very long time. But, maybe a week after Jay’s death, something hit me. I didn’t understand it. I felt like I was going crazy. But then I came to church, and it all began to make sense. I’ve totally changed my life. I’m trying to be a better person now. I just wanted you to know.”