by Marja McGraw
My relatives understood that because of Joseph.
Pete and I went home and collapsed.
Stanley stopped in to check on us before returning to his wife and baby. I was glad they hadn’t been involved in this fiasco.
~ * ~
The next day Detective Redding stopped in to tell us what this had been about. My mother and aunt practically bounced up and down on the couch.
Phil had been producing and selling illegal plastic guns that he’d made with a 3D printer, apparently the latest fad. It was quick money for him. His CPA had found out, quite by accident, and planned to turn him in – after he blackmailed him.
“And we thought he was such a nice man,” my aunt said.
Mother nodded her agreement. “But what’s a plastic gun? It sounds like a water pistol.”
“Just what it sounds like,” Redding said. “It’s a gun made completely out of plastic and they’re difficult to detect. A 3D printer can create the parts.”
I’d have to research this issue because it was foreign to me.
Pete nodded, apparently up on the subject.
“He had a few other irons in the fire, too,” Redding said. “That nice man who ran the bed and breakfast,” he glanced at my aunt, “and murdered three people was also selling drugs, and he was looking into ways to launder money. The B&B was his hideaway. He figured no one would ever find him out in the country like this.
“If it hadn’t been for Mateo and your relatives, he’d have been right – at least for now.”
I glanced at my mother and aunt. They were beaming.
Stanley and Felicity had come up front to the house and sat listening.
“It’s funny,” Felicity said, “but for some reason I kept thinking about Phil. I can’t explain why, but I had a funny feeling about him. I probably would have said something if I hadn’t been busy having a baby.” She gently rocked Joseph.
Redding wanted to complete his story, but I stopped him. “That’s enough. We’ve got the gist of it, and now our lives need to get back to normal – whatever normal is.”
“She’s right,” Pete said. “The ladies need to spend time spoiling Joseph before we all go home.”
Redding smiled and held out his hand to each of us in turn. “I get that. Just don’t forget that you’ll all have to come back to testify at Phil Stewart’s trial. It’s been a pleasure meeting all of you.”
He turned to my mother and aunt.
“Especially you two. I won’t forget you anytime soon.”
He left and shortly after that Joe showed up with his wife.
Pete and I knew Kimberly from our last visit to Washington. She gave each of us a hug.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted Kimberly to meet my namesake.” Joe held out his arms and Felicity handed him the baby.
“Be sure to support his head,” she said. She was giving everyone the same warning.
~ * ~
We stayed in Washington for two more weeks.
Zasu and Mateo brought Sophie to visit us so we could spoil her, too. They’d made plans to marry right away. After what they’d been through, they didn’t want to waste any more time. Since neither of them had family to speak of, they asked all of us to attend the wedding which would be held in Vancouver.
I knew it would be a happy day for all of us.
~ * ~
After everyone packed and we were ready to go home,
my mother and aunt called me aside.
“Not long ago you said this might be one adventure too many,” Aunt Martha said.
My mother nodded. “You were right.”
I smiled. “I’m going to miss seeing your sweet faces every day, believe it or not.”
My mother had an impish grin on her face. “You’ll see us again when you least expect it.”
About the Author
Marja McGraw has worked in both civil and criminal law, state transportation, and for a city building department. She has lived and worked in California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska, Arizona, and Washington.
She wrote a weekly column for a small town newspaper in Northern Nevada, and conducted a Writers’ Support Group in Northern Arizona. A past member of Sisters in Crime (SinC), she was the Editor for the SinC-Internet Newsletter for a year and a half.
Marja writes two mystery series, The Sandi Webster Mysteries and The Bogey Man Mysteries, which are light reading with a touch of humor. She also occasionally writes stories that aren’t part of a series.
Marja says that each of her mysteries contains a little humor, a little romance and A Little Murder!
She now lives in Washington, where life is good.
You can visit her website at http://www.marjamcgraw.com/
Her blog can be read at http://marjamcgraw.blogspot.com/
You can contact her at: [email protected]/
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Table of Contents
One Adventure Too Many
Marja McGraw
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Epilogue
About the Author