Montana chimed in. “With all the anti-Muslim sentiment in this country, setting up Mr. Farkada to possibly take the blame for the missing money was a stroke of genius—and another red herring that sent local law enforcement sniffing down the wrong foxholes.”
I still didn’t understand one crucial point in this whole scheme. “Why did Nancy Owens have to die? Because she recognized the janitor?”
“No.” Detweiler spoke softly. I could tell this was the part of his job that wore him down. “If you recall, Mrs. Owens was Hungarian. It was because of her efforts that St. Louis joined with Budapest in the Sister City program. The real Hungarian ambassador was actually an old classmate of hers. That was yet another reason she’d been so thrilled to be handing over a big check to Prince William. Like most of us, she was happy to be able to show an old friend how well her life had turned out.
“But Rochelle knew about her stepmother’s friendship with the ambassador. In fact, Bert and Nancy had even invited the ambassador to have dinner with them after the event at the zoo. So Rochelle passed along that information to the terrorists as well. When they heard that Nancy knew the ambassador, they panicked. You see, they’d planned all along to swap out a fake ambassador for the real one. It was their Plan B if they couldn’t steal the cashier’s check before the ceremony. Plan A called for the fake to muddle his way through the event and then run off with the check. His job was to get it to their bank in Chicago. The fake diplomat knew just enough Hungarian to fake his part, but he wasn’t careful about his pin.”
Sanders slapped his knee. “That dope actually borrowed a flag of Italy! That’s why it caught your eye, Mrs. Detweiler.”
“But to answer your question, honey,” Detweiler continued, “Nancy Owens had to die because otherwise she would have recognized that the Hungarian ambassador was a fake. The terrorists thought that shooting Nancy would solve all their problems. And it very nearly did.”
“Okay,” I said, “but why didn’t the janitor try to deposit the cashier’s check for a million dollars immediately after he killed Nancy? Why did he wait?”
“He waited because his instructions were to hand the check over to Rochelle. She would pass it to the fake ambassador, and he would take it to Chicago. We’ve had our eyes on a bank up there that the terrorists have done business with in the past. In fact, we haven’t shut down their operation because it’s been useful to track money as the terrorists move it around. If they tried to present the check down here, someone would have surely asked questions. But up there, they had a good shot at getting the funds.”
I still didn’t understand. “Why hand it to Rochelle? Wasn’t she superfluous at that point?”
“Yes, she was,” Sanders agreed. “You are right. They had two choices, kill her or blackmail her. They decided she might be useful in the future. By asking her to hand the check to the ambassador, they protected the identity of the fake janitor, and they got her so deeply involved that they knew they could control her from then on out.”
“What happens to Rochelle now?” I wondered.
“She’ll face charges,” Sanders said. “It is my intent to see that she is charged with everything we can. Then we’ll stand back and see what sticks. Providing material support and resources to terrorists will just be the start. Frankly, the law is overly broad and non-specific, but in light of this case, it’s just the ticket. Rochelle’s also an accessory to murder. Although a good attorney will argue that she didn’t know her stepmother would get killed, she did knowingly put Mrs. Owens in grave danger. After Mrs. Owens died, Rochelle was less than candid. She covered up the crime. She also knew that the money was going to support terrorism. Granted, she can argue that she thought it was going to stop animal cruelty, but I bet when we crack open her social media, we’ll be able to prove she knew all along that the goal wasn’t to set the penguins free.”
He grinned. “By the way, please tell your daughter that was one impressive escape plan. Who would have guessed that penguins could be so uncooperative? And those fish sticks? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Your Anya has a fabulous career ahead of her if she decides to go into law enforcement. We can always use bright agents who think outside of the box.”
EPILOGUE
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to speak directly to Prince William or the Duchess of Cambridge. I know that’s a big disappointment, honey.” I hugged my daughter when she finally got out of bed and wandered into the kitchen. She must have been exhausted because she didn’t wake up until one.
“It’s okay. Brawny taught me a line from a poem by Robert Burns. It says things gang aft agley, and that means stuff happens. But gang aft agley sounds a lot cooler, doesn’t it?”
“It sure does.” I passed along the compliment she’d been paid by Special Agent in Charge Sanders. Anya beamed with pride.
“Wow. Do you think he’d write me a recommendation?”
“I think if you stay in touch with him, he would. After all, he probably doesn’t solve a lot of cases that involve penguin parades at a zoo. I have a hunch you’ll be easy to remember. That said, Anya, you scared the dickens out of me. What possessed you to head straight for the penguins?”
“That story I told you about the one man who got knocked around by those Emperor penguins. Remember? There was another story, too. I stumbled over it while I was doing my research. Did you know that when Newt Gingrich was running for president, he visited our zoo? Yes, it’s true. And guess what? He got bitten by a penguin. The bird tried to chomp off his finger. How funny is that? I guess he has this habit of posing with animals, but—” and she shrugged “—I bet next time he’ll skip posing with the penguins.”
“How bad was the bite?”
“Bad enough that he had to wear a bandage.” Anya laughed. “Want to hear what makes it even funnier? He was here for a meeting of the NRA, the National Rifle Association. I bet he never expected an attack by an unarmed bird. Get it? Penguins don’t have arms!”
“I got it.” I pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “It’s so good to have you home again and to hear you laugh.”
“Yeah, I don’t like being upset. At first, it’s sort of thrilling, but it gets old fast. I’m glad to be home.”
I spoke to her scalp. “Everything okay between you and Brawny?”
“Better than okay. She didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“I’m in charge of getting speakers for our student government meetings. I asked our sponsor, Mrs. Phelps, if I could ask Brawny. She said sure, and then when she heard all about Brawny’s background, she went to the headmaster and asked if he’d hold a special convocation in the chapel. Brawny is going to come and talk to the whole school, all of CALA, about growing up with gender confusion and how she served her country anyway. She’s going to talk about listening to yourself, knowing who you are, and not burning your bridges with other people who have trouble accepting you. I’ve already told a few of my friends at school about her, and they think she’s absolutely awesome!”
“I think you are absolutely awesome, young lady.” I kissed her on the cheek. For a while, we just sat there. I held her and she let me, even though we both knew that one day soon she would be too big for this.
“Fish sticks,” I said. “Honestly. Who would guess that terrorist would get brought down by a couple of fish sticks.”
“It worked, didn’t it? I knew the penguins would go for it.” Anya paused and pressed her hand to her tummy. “By the way, Mom, what’s for dinner? And please, please, please, don’t say fish sticks.”
~ The End ~
The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series
Every scrapbook tells a story. Memories of friends, family and … murder? You’ll want to read the Kiki Lowenstein books in order:
0.Love, Die, Neighbor (The Prequel) - http://bit.ly/LoveDieN
1.Paper, Scissors, Death -- http://bit.ly/PSDKL1
2.Cut, Crop & Die -- http://bit.ly/CutCropD
3.Ink, Red, Dead
-- http://bit.ly/IRDead3
4.Photo, Snap, Shot -- http://bit.ly/PSSKL4
5.Make, Take, Murder -- http://bit.ly/MTMKikiL5
6.Ready, Scrap, Shoot -- http://bit.ly/RSSBook6
7.Picture, Perfect, Corpse -- http://bit.ly/PPCorpse7
8.Group, Photo, Grave -- http://bit.ly/GPGrave8
9.Killer, Paper, Cut -- http://bit.ly/KillPC9
10.Handmade, Holiday, Homicide -- http://bit.ly/KikiHHH10
11.Shotgun, Wedding, Bells -- http://bit.ly/SWBKiki11
12.Glue, Baby, Gone -- http://bit.ly/GBG12
13. Fatal, Family, Album
The Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series
A new series that’s a spin-off of the Kiki Lowenstein books. If you believe in second chances, you’re going to love Cara Mia and her friends. Here are those books in order:
1.Tear Down & Die
2.Kicked to the Curb
3.All Washed Up
~Our Gift to You~
Kiki and I have a special gift for you. We have a file filled with instructions and patterns so you can create the projects mentioned in this book. Just send an email to [email protected], and our computer guru will automatically send the file to you.
Furthermore, we will add you to our online newsletter mailing list at no charge. Each month we send you a list of free and discounted books and other goodies. You’ll see why people can’t wait to get it! If you have any trouble accessing the free bonus or with the newsletter, contact my assistant, Sally Lippert, at [email protected]
With gratitude from your friend,
Joanna
P.S. If you enjoyed this book, I hope you’ll consider writing a review and posting it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Goodreads. In today’s crowded marketplace, more and more of us turn to reviews to make purchasing decisions. (I know I always read all the reviews before I buy. Even the bad ones, because they are enlightening.) Your opinion matters. In addition, I read reviews to get a better understanding of what you, my readers, like and enjoy. So…thanks in advance.
P.P.S. I’d like to introduce you to a few of my author friends. Go to http://bit.ly/2HH, and you’ll be able to download a copy of Happy Homicides 2: Crimes of the Heart absolutely free. It’s a collection of short mysteries by a variety of authors.
About the Author
National bestselling and award-winning author Joanna Campbell Slan has written 30 books. Her first non-fiction book, Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience, was endorsed by Toastmasters International, and lauded by Benjamin Netanyahu’s speechwriter. She’s the author of three mystery series. Her first novel − Paper, Scissors, Death (Book #1 in the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series) − was shortlisted for the Agatha Award. Her first historical mystery − Death of a Schoolgirl: The Jane Eyre Chronicles − won the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. Her contemporary series set in Florida continues this year with All Washed Up (Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery #3). In addition to writing fiction, she edits the Happy Homicides Anthologies. When she isn’t banging away at the keyboard, Joanna keeps busy walking her Havanese puppy Jax or making miniatures. Her husband, David, owns Steinway Piano Gallery-DC, so he provides the class in the family while she figures out how to turn trash into treasure. The Slans make their home in Jupiter Island, Florida.
Visit Joanna at − http://www.JoannaSlan.com
Email her at − [email protected]
Ask her questions and share quotations at ---http://www.Goodreads.com/JoannaCampbellSlan
Join her community of readers for fun, special offers, contests, and more at − http://bit.ly/JCSGroup
Like to color? We do too at http://bit.ly/JCS-ColoringClub
Send her mail through the USPS at –Joanna Slan / 9307 SE Olympus Street / Hobe Sound FL 33455
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Thanks!
Many thanks to the wonderful people who’ve helped me with this book: Allyson Faith McGill, Amy Gill, Amy Goodyear, Dru Ann Love, Lynn Tondro Bisset, Marla Husovsky, Tricia Yifat Cestare, Nena Hanna, Frank Wright, Bronwyn Best, and Frances Walker.
Special thanks to my dear pal and Author Assistant, Sally Lippert, and my Queen of All Proofreading, Wendy Green.
Also I want to express my appreciation to Lee and Jeff Alderton, who are really much, much more terrific than any characters who’ll ever appear in my books. Love you, guys!
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