Amber Dee's Missing Toe

by Matt Ferraz

  “What? Have you brought someone else?” asked Lydia, folding her arms.

  “Yes,” said Grandma Bertha. “The killer will be arriving at any time.”

  Lydia’s chin went to her chest. “Albertha, you didn’t—”

  “Of course not!” said Grandma Bertha with a laugh. “Just a Christmas joke. Do you have any beer?”

  Soon, Todd arrived with Mr Hanks. They all sat around the Christmas tree and talked, while Winifred helped Lydia in the kitchen. Winifred waited until the two of them were alone to speak. “Lydia, I hoped we could start afresh.”

  “I know,” said Lydia. “I know I can be a bitch sometimes. You’ve done a lot of good to Grandma Bertha – don’t think I can’t see that.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Did you see the woman?” asked Lydia. “The killer, I mean.”

  Winifred nodded. “Twice. The first time, when she attacked me; the second time, when I identified her to the police.”

  “It’s strange to look into the eyes of a killer,” said Lydia.

  “I almost blinded her with a can of fly spray,” said Winifred. “Can you believe I feel guilty about that?”

  “Yes, I can,” replied Lydia. “You’re a good person, Winifred. All I ask is that you take good care of Grandma Bertha. Don’t let her get hurt.”

  They didn’t say another word after that. Winifred chose dishes and silverware and organized them on the table. She smiled at the sight of Stu sitting on his grandmother’s lap and Inspector Shaw wearing the Santa Claus hat Grandma Bertha had knitted. It felt good. It felt like family.

  Amber’s sister’s real name was Maude, not Cathy, and she was spending that evening in custody. The court case was going to be a strange one. Amber had been as good as dead when Maude had stabbed her; she had thought she was stabbing a corpse. She turned herself in to the police a few hours after Grandma Bertha made her official statement, which Maude corroborated almost entirely. After that, it was easy for the police to track Jeannie, Dr Balsam’s former lover and mother of the two girls.

  “I see a strange pattern here,” said Grandma Bertha that morning. “My first and second cases had a lot to do with this one. What changes everything is the people involved, and how they act.”

  “Is this lesson number three?” asked Winifred. They smiled.

  Grandma Bertha was granted permission to visit Maude in her cell. Later, she told Winifred that Maude seemed at peace now that the real murderer had been caught. “She had trouble explaining what she did, and why,” Grandma Bertha told Winifred. “It’s a very sad thing to find a sister – and then to lose her.”

  “Yes, it is,” said Winifred.

  It all seemed to have happened a million years ago, as the family gathered around the table and ate their meal. Everyone smiled and complimented the food. Mr Hanks asked Lydia for the recipe. Todd and Inspector Shaw got along well; they were both fans of the same football team. Winifred decided to eat quietly and let Stu enjoy his grandmother’s company.

  After they had eaten, they exchanged presents. Everyone gathered around the Christmas tree.

  “This is for you, Grandma Bertha,” said Stu, handing her a big green box.

  “Thanks, hun!” said the old lady, kissing him on the forehead. Inside the box there was a collection of books by Laura Childs. “Cosy mysteries! Where did you get these?”

  “I bought them online,” said Stu. “Dad paid for them, of course.”

  “I love them!” said Grandma Bertha, handing him a present in return. “Why are you laughing, Winifred?”

  Winifred couldn’t help giggling. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you!”

  THE END