by Dave Cravens
“She takes after her mother.”
Parker let out a chortle. “No, this music stuff is all her father.” She smiled as she rubbed away more tears dribbling down rosy cheeks. “Too bad Boo Fest was such a shit show. I guess we’ll have to go the private lessons route again.”
“I’ve yet to donate.”
“Yeah? You got thirty thousand dollars you’re willing to part with?”
“Oh my,” Valerie frowned at the suggestion. “You’re that short? I suppose I could.”
“No,” Parker shook her head. “No, I can’t ask you to donate so much. That’s really nice and all, but it’s not sustainable. This thing has to stand on its own.”
“Well, what did Ken donate?”
Parker grimaced. She pulled out Ken’s envelope from her pocket and tore it open. Inside she found a check folded between three papers stapled together. “Ken wrote a check for five hundred dollars.”
“That’s nice of him.”
“It is,” Parker’s voice trailed off as she examined the papers.
“What is that?” asked Valerie. She gently placed her dish onto the counter and moved to her daughter’s side. “A letter?”
Parker’s eyes scanned the text. “Legal documents.” She flipped to the last page. “Signed today.” Parker looked up, realizing she no longer heard Maddy playing the piano. After she’d finished Moonlight Sonata, a gentle silence reined over the house.
Parker and Valerie walked into the piano room to find Maddy standing in front of Ken’s chair. Maddy turned to address her mother, stepping away to give a clear view of Ken’s face. His eyes were closed, his face locked into a small smile. Maddy put a finger to her lips. “He fell asleep,” she whispered.
Valerie cupped her hand over her mouth as tears welled up.
Parker slowly approached Ken and Maddy, looking for any signs of shallow breathing. When she couldn’t detect any, Parker reached out to touch Ken’s bony hand that rested on his lap. Ken’s fingers were cold and unresponsive. Parker wrapped her hand around his wrist. There was no pulse to be found.
“He’s not asleep, is he?” asked Maddy calmly.
“No,” answered Parker. She watched Maddy carefully. This would be the second dead body she’d witnessed in a month. “I’m sorry, Maddy. Are you--?”
“I’m okay,” said Maddy. She nodded to Ken’s body. “He looks – at peace.” A sharp contrast to Maddy’s discovery of Karen’s body.
We should all be so lucky to go like this. “Yeah. He does.” Ken told me he wanted to know who his wife’s killer was before he died. Was he holding on just long enough for that? The thought prompted Parker to give another look at the stapled papers in her hand. And then he delivered this. Parker lifted them, squinting to read the fine print.
The papers detailed a copy of Ken Heller’s newly revised will. With no children or living relatives to inherit his estate, all property was to be liquidated and resulting monies donated to Oak Creek Elementary under one singular condition—
--it be used to fund a music program in the name of Karen Heller.
Parker smiled. “I can work with that.”
The end.
Acknowledgements:
This story is an ode to mothers everywhere trying their best to take care of their families, raise their kids right and navigate the organized chaos that is our public school system -- all the while trying to keep their own sanity and sense of self worth intact. That’s a pretty tall order, but my life has been blessed with strong women who do that and so much more everyday.
Emily Cravens, my wife of over twenty years, is one of several real life inspirations for Parker Monroe. Her experience as a mother and volunteer was invaluable. It’s hard to believe what started off as an off-color joke about a Unicorn Killer blossomed into such a thrilling mystery. Most importantly, Em gave me space for me to be me – an essential ingredient for any writer looking to create something authentic.
Ann Ramirez, another inspiration, put up with a lot of random texts about crazy ideas, possible book titles, characters names, etc. for the past two years. She was a great one to bounce ideas off.
Colleen Graph eagerly read every draft of this book and I always appreciated her insightful feedback.
Erin Potter not only read all four drafts of the book, but was often one of the first to get back to me with constructive feedback and follow up questions. Her enthusiasm was invaluable.
Emma Somers’ blunt language and honesty was not only a source of inspiration for Parker, but desperately needed when parsing the words I threw at her.
George Castro never read the book, but he was often the first person I’d try ideas out on our afternoon coffee runs. I guess he got the audio version. If George is blown away by an idea, you might have something.
Stacey Burns, my favorite East Coast redhead, served as another great inspiration for Parker. Parker’s love for all things Bonjovi definitely comes from Stacey. Her insight into my writing surprised me time and time again.
Kim Wilson Holst has become one of my favorite test readers over the years. She is always timely and professional as well as a good friend.
Chuck Yager for all of his excellent wine selections!
Natalie Wang, Andy Marchi, Lisa Oelkers Daak, Carrie Mayo Clift, Amanda Davis, Nancy Shubsda and Chris Elliot, all of you, thank you so much for taking precious time out of your day to read and help hone this experience into what it was meant to be!
Of course, thank you to all the real life teachers and PTA’ers who work tirelessly to make our kids’ future as bright as it can be. I have some fun with all of you in this book, so I hope you enjoy it.
Finally, I’d be horribly remiss without thanking my mother, Suzanne Flora Cravens. Mom followed every draft of this book, and would always, without fail, get me feedback on new chapters within minutes after reading them. Her encouragement was often the shot in the arm I needed to push through to the next chapter. Sadly, she died before I could publish this work. She never knew the title I landed on, or saw the final cover. But I know she’s looking down on it, proud of what she had helped to accomplish in her own way.
Mom was my first true fan.