Sleighed
Page 8
“There!” Ellie yelled, joining her.
George emerged from the water, stumbling to the shoreline, carrying the woman in his arms. A series of flashlights bobbed on the beach, heading toward George.
The black speedboat spun around in a tight U, throwing up a wall of water, and disappeared along the coastline, into the night.
Chapter 11
“And here we go, Ellie, a café latte with a dash of cinnamon,” Michael said, putting a steaming cup in front of her.
“Are you sure the coffee’s good here? You know I am a bit of a coffee snob.”
“Oh…,” Michael snatched a napkin from the table and folded it across his arm. “My lady, here at the Bitter Sweet Café we serve only the finest brews. We source our beans from local farmers in Costa Rica and Brazil. I’m sure that you will find your coffee pleasing to the palate.”
“Bravo! Bravo!” Olivia laughed. “You’re hired.”
Michael gave a slight bow. “Lady Olivia, you look magnificently stunning this morning. I bring to you a caramel macchiato with freshly whipped cream.”
“Gorgeous,” Olivia whispered.
“Thank you,” Michael replied. “I get that a lot. And, Sir George the Brave, a cup of our finest joe with a splash of cream and two squares of sugar.”
“Thank you, Michael.” George beamed up at him. “Masterfully done.”
“Thank you.” Michael flung the napkin from his arm with a flourish. “I shall return momentarily.”
“I think someone finally got some sleep.” George chuckled.
“I think so. It’s been a stressful few days for everyone.” Ellie smiled.
“Did I miss anything?” Michael asked, sliding into his seat and sitting two cups of coffee on the table.
“Two cups, Michael?” Olivia stared at him, shaking her head.
“I couldn’t decide. There was pumpkin spice and then cookies and cinnamon. I’m going to alternate sips. I believe William Cowper said it best, in his famous poem The Task. Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor.”
“Well, if it’s in a poem,” Ellie reasoned, “then it has to be true.”
“Undeniably,” Michael agreed.
“So, George,” Ellie said. “I spoke to Officer Ryan. He said that you’re free and clear.”
“Yes, thank you so much, Ellie.” George nodded. “And thanks, you guys, too.” He smiled at Olivia and Michael. “If it hadn’t been for your help, things would have ended much differently. I’m terribly sorry for lying to all of you…. Michael, I came to your house and wanted to tell you all the truth about the book—when I went to your bedroom to call Gordon and ask him what to do, my phone rang. It was Sarah. She told me they were going to kill her if I didn’t bring the book to the Bonos.” He shook his head. “I knew that I just couldn’t get you all involved. So I decided to continue hiding the book and lied about calling Gordon.”
“It’s okay, we understand,” Ellie said, giving George a compassionate smile. “I would have done the same thing.”
Michael and Olivia nodded in agreement.
“Did you see what was in the book?” Michael asked.
“No, Sarah tried to tell me, but I told her I didn’t want to know. She told me Drew stole it to try to get back into the good graces of the Calvetti crime family—but of course, it didn’t work out that way.”
“Do you think the police are going to investigate Mr. Bono? I hear his family has been untouchable for generations,” Ellie asked.
“I don’t know.” George shook his head and clasped his weathered hands on the table. “Detective Mitchell thinks Mr. Bono will be well insulated from anything that happens. He said they found his car. There were bloodstains in the trunk that were a match to Drew—the gun recovered at the pier was registered to him. There are multiple witnesses. The Bonos are saying they have no idea who the man at the pier was, and that he acted on his own. Plus, witnesses at the Bernstein’s party claim that Mr. Bono was there during the entire party.”
“So you never saw Mr. Bono?” Ellie asked.
“No, only the man who tried to kill us.”
“What’s going to happen to Sarah?”
“I don’t know…. She knows what’s inside the book. Maybe she’ll exchange information for a lighter sentence—maybe even witness protection, who knows?”
Ellie nodded, deep in thought.
Michael looked at his friends and shook his head. “Come on, guys, why the mournful expressions? We stopped a murder, broke up a crime ring, and…,” he pulled out three envelopes. “A little Christmas gift.”
George gave Michael a curious stare.
“I’ll explain later, but for now…,” Michael handed each of his friends an envelope.
“Twelve hundred dollars,” Olivia gushed. “Michael, this is too much.”
“It’s not from me,” he exclaimed, “it’s from our mystery friend. He gave us five thousand dollars, and I’m dividing it equally.”
“I don’t deserve this.” George slid his envelope back across the table.
“You deserve it more than any of us,” Ellie said. “You protected your friends; you risked your life to save Sarah—”
George’s face turned bright red. “Thank you, Ellie.”
Michael’s eyes widened, and his heart sank. The local news had George’s picture on the screen. The news anchorwoman stood on the pier, where just a few hours ago, George and his friends had battled for their lives.
Ellie glanced around the café warily. Everyone’s attention was focused on the television. She wanted to jump from her seat and rip the cord from the wall, but she sat there, as if glued to her chair.
The anchorwoman’s hair whipped around her face. She pulled up her collar on her coat to try to shield her microphone from the wind. “Police tell us that just a few hours ago, Gabriel Roccio was arrested after attempting to murder Sarah Lewis and George Owens. Sarah was shot in the leg, and George Owens dove off the end of the pier to rescue her.”
The cameraman pointed the camera down into the crashing waves some forty feet below.
“We have some video of that rescue—we apologize for the quality.” The screen went black as the video image moved up and down.
“Help him!”
The video swung up again, showing crashing waves, and then George, carrying a woman in his arms, the waves pounding at his back. He disappeared below the surface and then reemerged, fighting to keep the woman’s head above the surface.
“Two other people raced into the water to help him. George struggled to the shore and collapsed. We can see cameraman’s hands and feet in the video as he helps to pull George out of the water.”
The words Lana Cove Hero scrawled across the screen.
The Bitter Sweet Café was silent for a moment, the only sound was the drumbeat of The Little Drummer Boy and the news anchor saying Sarah Lewis was hospitalized.
All of a sudden, a man leaped to his feet and shouted, “George, George!” throwing his fist into the air.
Soon the entire café was on their feet shouting, “George!”
Michael studied Ellie. She was beautiful, her brown eyes filled with joy. He pulled a card from his pocket and slid it across the table to her.
“What’s this?” she asked. The outside of the card read: Inside this card lies your secret desire. “Oh, well, I’m not sure I want to look at this here.”
“Go on,” Olivia exclaimed.
Ellie rolled her eyes and opened the envelope. A spring-loaded mistletoe branch shot up, hovering over her head.
She gazed at Michael and smiled. “Okay, you win.”
“Yes!” Michael stood and leaned across the table, puckering his lips.
Ellie stared deep into his eyes and then turned and gave George a kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, George.”
George’s face turned bright red, and his nose glowed like Rudolph’s. Michael’s mouth fell open as he glanced from Ellie to George, then back to Ellie.
&nbs
p; “Maybe next year.” Olivia laughed, patting him on his back.
George looked adoringly at his friends and winked at Michael. “Best Christmas ever, best Christmas ever.”
More from T. Lockhaven
We hope you enjoyed reading the first book in The Coffee House Sleuths Series: Sleighed. Also a children’s author under the name Thomas Lockhaven, you may find his other works at the following links:
Ava & Carol Detective Agency Series
Book 1: The Mystery of the Pharaoh’s Diamonds
Book 2: The Mystery of Solomon’s Ring
Book 3: The Haunted Mansion
Book 4: Dognapped
Book 5: The Eye of God
Book 6: The Crown Jewels Mystery
Book 7: The Curse of the Red Devil (Upcoming title)
Quest Chasers series
Book 1: The Deadly Cavern
Book 2: The Screaming Mummy
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Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Twisted Key Publishing, LLC
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First Printing: 2019
ISBN 978-1-947744-40-0
Twisted Key Publishing, LLC
www.twistedkeypublishing.com
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