by C S McDonald
“And, Paxton let Fats know I was on my way to the cafeteria with Devyn’s parents?”
“Yep, meanwhile, Paxton also informed Jewel where I and the rest of his police were, so she could ditch the knife in Romeo Navarro’s apartment, then get out of Mountaineer undetected,” Nathan explained.
“Was Romeo in the casino, as he stated?”
“Sure was, the security camera footage confirmed he was playing the machines almost all evening. Problem was, there was also a tiny tidbit of footage of Jewel watching him from a corner. She wasn’t counting on that. However, after she bumped into Romeo and Vic after she’d killed Devyn, she knew exactly where he was when she headed for his apartment.”
“Nice.” Fiona yawned. “What about, Fats? There’s no way he wasn’t involved somehow. Surely, he’ll be charged with something.”
“Conspiracy. Most likely, Fats won’t spend as much time in prison as Jewel and Paxton, since he didn’t actually participate in the murders, but he’ll definitely see some jail time. Paxton will be extradited to Pennsylvania Monday afternoon, and with the list of charges against him, I added one more, attempted kidnapping. Except, the attempted kidnapping happened in West Virginia, so, he’ll be all theirs for that charge.”
“What about Vic Deveaux? I thought for sure he was involved in some way.”
Nathan ran his hand over the nape of his neck. “Ol’ Vic Deveaux was a tough one to figure. With those kidnapping charges he had, I definitely thought there was a red flag over his head. But in the end, I put in a recommendation to shorten his parole. We’ll see what happens.”
“Well…that’s that, I suppose.” She reached over to kiss Nathan’s lips. “I’m going to bed. I took your advice and called off tomorrow. I’d be of little use to my class, not to mention, I’d be totally unable to defend myself.” Pushing the door open, she slipped out of the vehicle and started for the house.
Nathan let the passenger window down. “Hey! Haven’t you forgotten something...like your mom?”
Fiona turned back. Her shoulders drooped. She shuffled to the car, opened the back door. “Mom…Mom…c’mon, let’s get you into bed before you get a stiff neck.”
Rubbing her neck, then her shoulders, Mom scooched across the seat. “Too late, it’s already stiff. So who got charged with what?” She waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, never mind. I really don’t care. I just want to go to bed. You can let me in on all the details tomorrow.”
Wearing a weary smile, Nathan watched the two women, arm in arm, make their way to the porch, unlock the door, and go inside. He noticed the front porch light was shining into the morning mist, and he knew exactly who’d turned it on for them. “Thanks, Grandma Ev,” he whispered, as he pulled away and drove down Oxford Street.
SEVENTEEN
Whistle…
Whistle…
Whistle…
It was a faraway sound, somewhere deep in Fiona’s subconscious, somewhere lingering on the wisp of a dream. Nonetheless, the incessant whistling stirred her. No, it wasn’t her subconscious. No, the noise wasn’t permeating from a dream. The whistle was coming from her cell phone. She was receiving a text message. Seriously?
Rolling over to fumble for her cell phone lying on her nightstand, Fiona let out a weary groan. The home screen lit up, making her squint and flinch. “Who would be texting me at…seven in morning?” Ugh! So much for sleeping in. She may as well have gone to school. Promptly awake, she sat straight up in her bed. “Dad!” As fast as she could move her sleepy fingers, she swiped to the text message:
I’m standing at your front door. Do not wake your mother, just come let me in. QUIETLY, Fiona Nicole.
“Fiona Nicole? He’s calling me, Fiona Nicole after he’s been MIA for the past week?”
Agitation washing over her, she shot a text right back:
You’ve got a lot of questions to answer, Garrett Bradly Quinn!
A nanosecond later, Dad replied:
Just come to the door!
Fiona blinked. She had no idea her father could produce a text message so quickly. Kudos! Hoping the man had good answers to the four-hundred and twenty-two questions her mother would shoot at him like a machine gun, she kicked off her blankets, pushed into her slippers, and as covertly as possible, hastened down the stairs. She was barely half-way down the staircase when the soothing aroma of coffee wafted on the air. She stopped, it was her father’s favorite flavor, toasted almond. Her lips lifted into a smile. Gram knew Dad was there. Most likely, she knew where he’d been and perhaps what he’d been up to. Suddenly her irritation with her father eased into a feeling of consolation. No matter what had gone on, she had a hunch it would all be revealed and smoothed out in the coming moments.
Taking in a cleansing toasted-almond breath, she trotted down the stairs, across the small foyer, then unlocked the door to find her handsome father standing on the other side. That’s right, he was handsome. More so than usual this particular morning. There he stood, Garrett Quinn, dressed in a tuxedo, holding a single red rose. Fiona was most impressed by the solitary rose, and she couldn’t help but believe a dozen would have been overkill. One solo rose spoke volumes. Mom was his one and only love. And, evidently, he was ready to blink
Dad smiled at her, and her heart melted. Yeah, it was one of those smiles. A dad smile that said, don’t worry, everything is just fine. Watch this. He kissed her cheek. “Mom’s still in bed, right?”
Fiona nodded. “Along with Sting and Harriet, yes.”
“Good.” He lifted his head. Furrowing his brows, he sniffed the air. “You made coffee?” He took in another whiff. “Toasted almond coffee?”
Fiona glanced over her shoulder toward the kitchen. “Um…yeah, you’ve been on our minds of late.”
He favored her with another charming smile. “And you’ve been on mine, sweetie. Help your brother, would ya?”
That’s when she caught a glimpse of Chad stumbling up the sidewalk with four dog kennels. He grasped a kennel in each hand and one tucked under each arm. He appeared…overwhelmed, and for the life of her, Fiona could not muster an ounce of helpfulness. Rather, she remained in place and waited for him to struggle up the short set of steps and onto the porch before reaching out to relieve him of two kennels.
“Thanks for the help, Fiona,” he groused.
“You’re welcome.” She peered into the kennels to find little Yorkies peering back at her. In one kennel, the Yorkie she believed to be George, was sporting a darling burnt orange bridesmaid dress with an ivory halo of silk flowers perched on the little dog’s head. The dogs were wearing the colors from her parents wedding, thirty-five years ago. Too cute for words! Hearing an incessant whine that reminded her a lot of her mother’s, Fiona moved to the next kennel where the Yorkie known as John was wearing an adorable little tuxedo. Chad had set his kennels to the floor, and when she peeked inside, Ringo was wearing a matching gown to George’s, and Paul a tux. Straightening from her bent over position, Fiona asked, “I’m assuming there’s a plan in place?”
Dad opened the kennel to pick up George. “Follow your brother’s lead. He knows what to do. Now, grab a dog, Fiona. Chad, you grab two. And remember, John goes last. Let’s do this.” With that, Dad stepped into the foyer and waited at the bottom of the stairs with Paul tucked under his left arm, and the rose in his right hand.
Meanwhile, Fiona and Chad set to gathering up the remaining Yorkies. “You knew all about this, didn’t you, Chad?”
“I was sworn to secrecy. Dad was worried you’d cave and tell Mom.”
“I would not have,” Fiona snarled, most affronted by the accusation of weakness under pressure, the weakest link, pushover…
“Yeah, ya would’ve.”
“You’re the one who told her Dad bought a ring. What was that about?”
“I don’t know. It just came out. Thank God that goofy lady showed up.”
“Really? You considered that a good thing?”
“Are you two coming, or what? The do
gs aren’t going to cooperate for much longer,” Dad whispered, loudly.
After tossing each other dirty looks, Fiona and Chad joined their father in the foyer. Ever so quietly, the trio climbed the stairs, then tip-toed across the second-floor foyer. The floor creaked. They froze. George let out a whimper.
Shhh all three humans begged, while the Yorkies’ ears were perked, their tails whipped madly shaking their little rumps, and their little noses twitched, sniffing the air. Clearly, the little dogs were anticipating a reunion with Sting and Harriet, and of course, their mommy.
Dad inched his way to the bedroom door and with his fingertips, he turned the knob to open the door a tiny gap. He set George’s paws to the floor, she scampered into the room. They heard her jump onto the mattress. Harriet and Sting were instantly awake. Dad waved a hand at Chad who set Ringo down to let her dash into the room. Right behind her, he released Paul.
Now the commotion on the bed was quite noisy, and they heard Mom say, “What’s this?” She laughed. “My babies are here, and look how adorable you all are! But how?”
That’s when Dad gestured to Fiona to free the final pup, John. As he scuttled into the room something dangling from his collar sparkled in the soft morning light. Fiona cupped her hand over her mouth. It was a gorgeous anniversary band.
“See…” Chad hissed. “I told you he bought a ring.”
Dad lifted the rose as if to toast. “Here goes nothing.” And into the room he went.
Fiona and Chad stood in the hallway, waiting. Exchanging wary glances, it was evident they weren’t exactly sure what they were waiting for, an argument, an explosion? For several moments all they could hear was the sound of the dogs wrestling, growling, and yipping, and then it came, the sound of Mom’s gasp. Both Fiona and Chad drew closer to the door to listen.
“Garrett! It’s beautiful! I thought you’d forgotten. I thought you’d—”
“I didn’t forget, Nancy. How could I forget? I’ve loved you from the moment we met. But I gotta tell ya, you’ve made my plans far more complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wanted to surprise you. Claire Boyer and I had been planning a renewal of vows ceremony in the park in our retirement village. Then you got all weird and came home to Pittsburgh. We’ve spent the last few days moving all the arrangements to Pittsburgh. Claire made calls. I made calls. We had to hustle, but we got everything rearranged to take place here instead of Daytona.”
“You mean, you and Claire were planning this whole surprise together?”
“Yeah…what ya think we were doing?” he laughed. “Having an affair?”
They heard Mom laugh out loud, a little too loud. Fiona rolled her eyes at Chad.
Mom said, “Of course not. You? My Garrett, have an affair? With Claire Boyer? How silly is that? Oh, Garrett, you look so handsome. You’re like a present for me to unwrap. I love you so much.”
Then there was a long pause.
Freaked, Fiona met her brother’s gaze. “Coffee?”
“Like right now,” he replied. They scrambled across the foyer, tripping over each other to get to the stairs as fast as they could go.
~End~
A NOTE FROM C.S. MCDONALD…
DUSTING OFF CHARACTERS
In September of 2011, I released my very first book, Deadly.Com, from my very first series, Unbridled. The five-book murder-suspense series was based on a family, the Wests’, who owned a lucrative Thoroughbred farm in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania.
When I decided to write Saddle Up for Murder, I thought it would be apropos to dust off some of the characters from the Unbridled Series and have them make “guest appearances”, if you will, in this Fiona Quinn Mystery. Eric, Mike, Shane, and Kate West are four of the main protagonists from the Unbridled Series. Ah, but the cantankerous, Vic Deveaux was a character who I so enjoyed writing back then. He was a bitter old jockey who betrayed Eric West, in book number three, Dangerous Deception. I’m not sure Vic could be considered a protagonist, except in the story, he didn’t start out as a villain. Rather, Vic was a long-time friend of Eric’s who ended up on the wrong side of a kidnapping scheme. He was a perfectly tenacious character who could not be denied. To be honest, I had a little trouble recalling the personalities of the West family. After all, it has been 2014 since the last publication of an Unbridled book. However, Vic’s character came charging back into my recall like a bull chasing me toward the pasture gate. So, ol’ Vic Deveaux was dusted off to join the list of suspects in this Fiona Quinn Mystery, and I had an absolute blast writing his character once again.
Actually, this is not the first time I’ve crossed characters over from one series to another. The lovely ballerina, Silja Ramsay, who graced the pages of Murder on Pointe was, in fact, a character from my romantic suspense series, First Force. No, I wouldn’t have had a bit of trouble creating a fresh ballerina for the Fiona Quinn Mysteries, but hey, I already had a ballerina who was basically just sitting around and could use another adventure. That’s when I decided to recruit Silja from book two of the First Force Series, To the Breaking Pointe. Using this character turned out to be ideal, and she was more than happy to oblige. Well, Silja worked out so well that she returned to make yet another appearance with Fiona in book number six, Mambo and Murder.
So, will I cross characters from one series to another in the future? Hm, most likely, yes. I mean, why let perfectly good characters lie around gathering dust?
Hey, thank you for reading Saddle Up for Murder. I hope you will read the next installment from the Fiona Quinn Mysteries slated for November 2019. For more information on the Fiona Quinn books and audiobooks, please visit my website, www.csmcdonaldbooks.com. The Fiona Quinn Mysteries are available in paperback, kindle, kindle unlimited, and audiobook as well. The audiobooks are narrated by the outstanding talent of Maren Swenson Waxenberg. She brings the characters to life in such a delightful way.
Please check out the other books from the Fiona Quinn Mysteries…
Murder on Pointe
Merry Murder
Waves of Murder
Tastes Like Murder
Good Luck to Murder
Mambo and Murder
C.S. McDonald has also written a short story series – Fiona Quinn Quick Mysteries…
Banking on a Murder
Harriet’s Heist—available on audiobook
Crystal Clear Confusion—available on audiobook
And just in case I’ve whet your curiosity…
From the Unbridled Series, a murder-suspense series, by Cindy McDonald…
Deadly.Com
Hot Coco
Dangerous Deception
Against the Ropes
Shady Deals
Please note: The Unbridled Series has some adult content.
I would like to thank these lovely services:
Cover design: DusktilDawn Designs
Silver Lining Editing Services
Guardian Proofreading Services
Acorn Book Services
Table of Contents
Saddle Up for Murder: Book Information
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Dusting Off Characters
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