by Lillian Bell
“What were we supposed to do?” Jasmine demanded. “Let you run around town getting shot at by someone by yourself?”
“You tag teamed me?” I was still processing the information.
“We have lives, you know,” Luke said. “Work of our own to do. It seemed easiest to kind of pass you around.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t decide how to feel. No. No. I knew exactly how to feel. Grateful. Grateful to my friends. Grateful to my family. Grateful to my town.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome, Desiree,” Luke said.
I kicked him under the table. There was no point in acting too gracious.
“What are you going to do with the rest of Violet’s blackmail material?” Jasmine asked.
I stretched and yawned. “I think I’ll burn most of it. If the pattern holds, most of those people will have turned their lives around because of Violet.”
“Funny how someone can do so much good while trying to do so much evil.” She shook her head.
Later, Orion and I walked home by ourselves. It was nice to be without a bodyguard. The house was quiet when we got there. I could hear the television in the family room and figured Donna and Greg were in there. I peeked in. Donna and Greg were cuddled up on one end of the couch. Uncle Joey and Zenia were cuddled on the other. It looked cozy, but I wasn’t quite ready for cozy at the moment. I tiptoed past to my room. I opened my laptop and pulled up the e-mail from Loreta Godfrey at the Frenso Post. I hit reply again.
Dear Ms. Godfrey,
I’m afraid I’m going to have to cancel our appointment next week. Thank you so much for considering me for the open position at the Post. For the moment, however, I’m planning on staying in Verbena.
Sincerely,
Desiree Turner
*
It was a week later when I drove past the house where Violet had taken my father’s photo. Things had been busy. Business had picked back up at Turner. Solving Violet’s murder made everyone realize that I wouldn’t be accusing people of crimes willy-nilly.
I can only imagine how Violet would have figured out what she did about my dad. Certainly, his face had been plastered all over missing flyers and papers all over northern California. Maybe she’d seen one of those and then seen him in this new town where he was living.
It was early. The sun was coming up. The light was still amber and golden, the shadows long. My dad’s favorite time of day. He loved the dawn.
The house was cute. Nothing special. Just a typical little ranch-style house, barely distinguishable from all the other ranch-style houses in the neighborhood. Not nearly as interesting as Violet Daugherty’s Eichler. I parked down the street. I could see if someone came or left, but wouldn’t be noticeable to them. At least, not at first.
There were two cars in the driveway: a gray Element and a minivan. I didn’t know if it was the same gray Element that I’d seen months ago parked near where my dad and I used to hike or not. It hadn’t occurred to me to mark down its license plate until after I’d found something on my car that could have been from my father. By then it was gone. It had a roof rack that definitely could be used to carry a surfboard.
As I watched, the garage door rose. Whoever came out was on the other side of the Element and I couldn’t see him clearly, especially since he had a surfboard balanced on his head. He flipped it up onto the roof rack. It was when he came around that I could see his face clearly.
I got out of the car with Orion. We walked down the street. The man’s head turned at the noise of our car door closing. A range of emotions flitted by on his face. Surprise. Consternation. Acceptance. “Desiree,” he said.
“Hi, Dad,” I said back.
“I can explain,” he said.
I thought about it for a second. “I’m listening. Everybody deserves a second chance.”
*
The Verbena Free Press
October 17
By Desiree Turner
City Council Refuses to Accept Mayor’s Resignation
Jocelyn Headley of the Verbena City Council refused to accept Mayor Wilburn’s resignation saying “everybody makes mistakes.” Wilburn had confessed to accepting bribes in exchange for construction contracts over the past several years and had voluntarily tendered his resignation.
“Mayor Wilburn showed great strength of character in coming forward on his own to confess. The kind of person who admits their mistakes and takes action to correct those errors is exactly the kind of person we need running our city,” said Headley.
Acknowledgments
It has been a great privilege to meet the people of Verbena, California and to be part of their adventures. I know that might sound weird since Verbena is the product of my imagination (plus eighteen years of living in northern California), but it really feels like that some days. These funny, quirky, good-hearted people seemed to pop up in my brain unbidden. When that happens, there’s really nothing for an author to do but write it down.
That said, however, I don’t know if I’d have opened the doors for the characters in this book, their town, or their adventures without the vision of Matt Martz and the gentle direction of Jenny Chen. Thanks to both of you for your kindness and advice.
I wouldn’t have had much idea of what went on in a funeral home without the very generous Mark Alexander who took time out of his busy day to take me through his establishment and to explain to me what he does and how he does it. Beyond that, however, his quiet dignity and clear compassion impressed on me the qualities it takes to be a funeral director. I went in looking for information. I came out with that plus a whole lot of respect.
Very special thanks to my sister Marian who devised the murder method in this book. Any details that are wrong are due to my faulty understanding, not to her knowledge. As always, though, I’m left with the very strong feeling that I need to stay on her good side. Love you, sissy! You can borrow any of my clothes that you want.
I am not actually a dog person. I know that sounds terrible, but it’s true. Or it was true until Teddy Rendahl and Jolie Law brought Orion into my life. Apparently having a grand-dog changes everything. I couldn’t resist putting him into the book. Thank you for sharing him with me.
I am surrounded on a daily basis by an incredibly supportive family and a group of friends who feel like family. Diane Ullman, Alex Rendahl, Carol Kirshnit, Kris Calvin, Catriona McPherson, Beth McMullen, Ellen Shields, Deb Van Der List, Spring Warren, Tilly Rodrigues. You all buoy me up.
Finally, thank you to Andy Wallace. He bears the brunt of those dark nights of the soul when I fear I’ve taken on a task I can’t rise to and remains patient and supportive through it all.
Also by Lillian Bell
The Funeral Parlor Mysteries
A Grave Issue
Author Biography
Lillian Bell was born in Dayton, Ohio. She moved when she was four and only remembers that she was born across the street from Baskin-Robbins. Lillian remembers anything that has to do with ice cream. Or chocolate. Or champagne. She recently graduated from the Creative Writing MFA program at Antioch University in Los Angeles. This is her second Funeral Parlor mystery.
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-68331-711-1
ISBN (ePub): 978-1-68331-712-8
ISBN (ePDF): 978-1-68331-713-5
Cove
r illustration by Ben Perini
Book design by Jennifer Canzone
Printed in the United States.
www.crookedlanebooks.com
Crooked Lane Books
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First Edition: September 2018
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