Murder and Brandy Boy: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series Book 2

by Dianne Harman

  “Seems that one of your guests here at the spa did the ding-ding-ding thing and then filmed Brandy Boy on his cell phone leaping up to take some brandy to the guest’s cottage. What the guest didn’t expect was that he’d be filming Brandy Body knocking down the woman who was evidently planning on killing you. He called our television station, and sent us the film he shot. It’s going to be all over the news tomorrow and even the 11:00 news tonight if I can feed it to the newsroom fast enough. You may not know it, ma’am, but your dog is going to be the talk of the country in a few hours. Great story! Oh, by the way, glad you’re okay.” He spoke in the true news dictum, “If it bleeds, it leads.”

  While Liz was talking to the news reporter, Roger hustled Bill into the lodge, feeling that the insensitivity of the news crew might be a little too much for him right now. Liz thanked the crew for coming, and she and Winston went down the hall to where Roger and Bill were.

  “Bill, this is Winston. Thought you might need a friend tonight. He can stay in your room and make sure you’re okay. We’ll have breakfast before you leave, and I think it might be a good idea for Roger, who’s an attorney, to accompany us tomorrow and be there at the meeting. Is that okay with you?”

  “Yes, and thank you, Mrs. Lucas. I’m so sorry about what my mother was going to do to you.”

  “Honey, I’m sure you are. But you’re Bill Bird now, a new person with a whole new future lying ahead of you. From now on you can live any way you want. It will be a future your mother won’t decide for you. In a way, that might be pretty exciting. Good night, Bill. Try and get some sleep. I can only imagine how stressful this day has been for you.”

  “Well, Mrs. Lucas. I think it would be fair to say that your day has been just as stressful,” Roger said a few minutes later. “Come here. I’ll bet you could use a hug.”

  She walked into his warm embrace, feeling safe for the first time in several days.

  CHAPTER 25

  On their way to meeting the assistant principal and Superintendent Wesley the following morning, Roger said to Bill, “Let me do the talking until I get a firm commitment from them that they won’t take any disciplinary action against you. Is that all right with you?”

  “Bill,” Liz said, “this is what Roger does every day, defend people who have been accused of committing a crime. You haven’t been accused of anything, but he wants to make sure before you tell them anything about what took place that night, that they don’t plan to involve you if they choose to do something with the information you give them.”

  “I understand. I won’t say anything until you say I can.”

  A few minutes later they entered the assistant principal’s office. Seated across from him was a large silver-haired man wearing a golf shirt and khakis. He stood up when they entered. “Hi, I’m Superintendent Wesley. Thank you for coming here to meet with us. Rick, I think we need two more chairs. Would you get them from the other room?”

  “You must be William Bird,” he said and then turned to Liz, “And you must be Mrs. Lucas. And you sir, are?” He looked directly at Roger.

  “My name is Roger ­­­­­­­­­­­Langley. Mrs. Lucas asked me to attend the meeting this morning. She felt that Bill, that’s what he goes by now, not William, might be in need of some legal counsel. I’m a lawyer and representing Bill. Before he talks to you, I’d like to know a few things.”

  “Of course. How can we help you?” he said as Rick arranged the extra chairs in the room.

  “Before my client talks to you about the alleged break-in and computer hacking, I’d like to know if you plan on taking any disciplinary action against him if it turns out that he was involved. Of course, his being involved is completely hypothetical at this time.”

  “Mr. Langley, I think I can set your mind at ease. I have no intention of bringing any disciplinary action against Bill, and I believe I can speak for Rick as well. Isn’t that right, Rick?”

  “Absolutely. I just want to get to the bottom of this, and if grades were changed, and people are going to graduate with higher grade averages than they should have, it can’t be allowed. It would set a horrible precedent for the students who work so hard to legitimately bring up their grade averages. And to think that one of these students might get a football scholarship to Stanford based on changed grades doesn’t set well with me. It’s simply not fair to the students who play by the rules and abide by whatever the consequences are.”

  “Rick, you’re looking at it from this high school alone. I have to not only look at it from the standpoint of this high school but also the others in my district, to say nothing of a principal who would allow something like this to happen and knew about it. Let’s get started. Are you comfortable with that, Mr. Langley?”

  “Yes. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of preparing a little something for both of you to sign indicating that no action of any kind will be taken against William Bird. You can sign right here.”

  The superintendent looked at Roger and raised his eyebrows. “I imagine you’re a very good attorney if you thought ahead to do this. I understand that you managed to arrive at the lodge at a very interesting time last night.”

  “Some people say I’m a good attorney, and yes, I certainly did get there at an interesting time, thankfully for Liz, just in time. Thanks for your signatures. Bill, why don’t you tell them exactly what led up to the break-in, about the break-in and the computer hacking, who was there, what they said, and everything relevant to it, and anything that may have occurred afterward relating to it.”

  Bill began to speak and when he finished an hour later, he looked as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his small frail shoulders.

  The superintendent looked at Bill and said, “Thank you very much for having the courage to tell us about this incident. Rick and I need to discuss what needs to be done now. I promise you that whatever decisions we make regarding this, no one will ever know that the information was obtained from you. You have my word on it.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Roger stood up. “Liz, Bill, we have things to do at the lodge. Gentlemen, thank you for your time.”

  “It’s we who need to thank you.” The superintendent laughed and turned to Bill, “Young man, I’m sure you’ll never need a criminal attorney, but if you ever do, I think you know where to find a good one.”

  “Bill, you did the right thing,” Roger said a few minutes later. “You really were an innocent bystander, who, because of your genius with computers, became involved in this whole thing. You’ve got to feel good that it’s over.”

  “I do. At least that’s one thing I don’t have to worry about.”

  *****

  Liz looked out the window of the lodge and saw a large black Mercedes Benz driving up the lane. She turned to Bill. “Bill, what did your uncle do for a living?”

  “I think he owned a bunch of mortuaries in several towns north of here. Why?”

  “Well, if this is your aunt’s car that’s pulling up to the lodge, I’d say business was good, and that she probably inherited quite a bit of money.”

  He looked out the window and turned to Liz. “In bed last night I was trying to remember the last time I saw her. I think I was only four or so. I know she never had any children. My mother said it served her right. It’s kind of sad to think she doesn’t have anyone.”

  “That’s not true. She has you and from the way she sounded on the phone last night, I think she’s very much looking forward to a reunion with you. Are you ready for this?”

  “Yes,” he said walking to the door to greet his estranged aunt. He opened the door and Liz smiled at the woman who held her arms open for her estranged nephew.

  This part of the nightmare makes me believe in happy endings. This is going to work out just fine for the two of them.

  She looked over at Roger, who was broadly smiling at her. She nodded as if to say, thank heavens!

  EPILOGUE

  Brent Ackler and Kaitlin Mosley wer
e expelled from school before their scheduled graduation. Neither one of them ever attended Stanford or any other college, for that matter. Kaitlin learned she was pregnant with twins a few weeks after the graduation date. She and Brent eloped to Reno and got married. Brent is working as an assistant log truck loader in the nearby forest industry. Kaitlin is a stay at home mom expecting the birth of their third child. She can be seen from time to time wiggling down Main Street in Red Cedar, happily chewing on her wad of gum, pushing a baby stroller.

  Manatu “Manny” Sanwapatu was allowed to graduate and nothing happened to him as a result of his participation in the school break-in and computer hacking. The school board members decided he was more or less an innocent bystander. Manny never intended to go to college, but much to his surprise, he received a football scholarship to Kansas Bethlehem, a small Christian school in Kansas. A pro football scout for the Kansas City Chiefs happened to see him play and was impressed with his performance. He was drafted by the Chiefs in the fourteenth round and subsequently made the team as a defensive tackle.

  William Bird, also known as “Nerdy Birdy” was not disciplined for his involvement in the school break-in. The superintendent and the assistant principal kept their promise. Nerdy graduated from high school the following year at age sixteen and received an academic scholarship to Caltech where, after quizzing out of lower division classes, he graduated when he was eighteen. Bill was recognized as one of the youngest students to ever graduate from Caltech. He is currently living in Silicon Valley and working for Google in their advanced experimental computer department. Every week Nerdy receives a handwritten letter from his mother which he throws in the trash, unopened.

  After undergoing a battery of mental examinations ordered by the court, Helen Bird was found competent to stand trial for the murder of Mark Scott. She pled guilty to first degree murder in connection with Mark’s death. She was sentenced to prison for a term of twenty-seven years to life. She is incarcerated at the California Women’s Prison in Chino, California, where she works as a seamstress sewing prison uniforms in the garment shop. Every Tuesday she writes a long letter to her son William telling him how much she loves him and misses him and begging him to come for a visitation. There has been no reply to her letters.

  Darcy Martinez was fired from her position as the principal of Red Cedar High School for her actions in trying to cover up the school break-in and computer hack. She moved away from Red Cedar and is currently living in Oakland, California, teaching kindergarten to non-English speaking immigrant children.

  Mike Mosley divorced his wife, Cissy, and moved to Oakland to continue his affair with Darcy. He told Darcy when he moved in with her that he had no intention of ever marrying her, and that she should consider their relationship as being “short-term.”

  Cissy Mosley sold all of her jewelry in order to help make ends meet after her husband, Mike, left her. She’s receiving alimony from Mike, but constantly complains to anyone who will listen that Mike is paying her a mere pittance, and he can easily afford to pay much more.

  Rick Jones, the assistant principal of the Red Cedar High School, was promoted to principal after Darcy was fired by the school board. He is one of the youngest school principals in California.

  Nate Ackler decided to sell his candle shop in Red Cedar and move to San Francisco where he is reportedly working for Clamhammer as an enforcer.

  Chief Seth Williams continues to bumble and stumble his way through various criminal investigations that happen to come his way. He notified the school district that he would not be able to return their computer to them as he was holding it in the evidence locker for possible future use if the school break-in case was ever reactivated. He neglected to tell the school district that the local district attorney had refused to file charges against those responsible for the break-in because the evidence needed to prosecute the case had accidently been destroyed when Seth and Leroy tried to take the school computer apart and examine it. Seth has kept his subscription to the catalog published by Victoria’s Secret current, and he reads it from cover to cover as soon as it arrives in his mail box, all the time thinking of Liz and how great she’d look in black lace.

  Gertie continues to attract customers from far and wide with her chocolate malted milks and terrific hamburgers. Local residents know it’s the place to go to find out the “real skinny” about what’s happening in Red Cedar.

  Liz Lucas has been kept extremely busy with her work at the Red Cedar Spa. Business has been good and her relationship with Roger has become very serious as the weeks and months have passed by. Given the fact she has been closely involved with two recent murders, she made a pledge to Roger to keep Winston with her at all times. He’s her constant companion and is ever on the alert to protect Liz if it becomes necessary.

  Emily Miller has become invaluable to Liz as her assistant. The spa has become so successful that Emily is working at the lodge full time helping Liz and doing much of the cooking. A son of one of the lodge guests was quite taken with Emily, and they’ve been seeing each other. The budding relationship has gone a long ways in helping Emily heal emotionally from Mark’s death.

  Roger Langley is just thankful that Liz is all right. He’s thinking about asking her to marry him and moving to Red Cedar to be with her. He’s debating whether to help her run the spa, set up a law practice, or perhaps even run for election as police chief. His car has been driven back and forth between San Francisco and Red Cedar so many times it could probably drive itself.

  Brandy Boy has become famous. His exploits in saving Liz from an unpleasant end at the hands of Helen Bird on the night the Mark Scott murder mystery was solved by Liz were written up in numerous national newspapers around the country. The big lummox is unfazed by his newfound notoriety and spends most of the day sleeping and lolling around on the porch of the lodge. However, after the dinner guests have retired to their respective cottages for the night you can see Brandy Boy’s ears moving ever so slightly as he listens for the telltale ding-ding-ding of a bell being sounded from one of the cottages.

  Recipes!

  There's a surprise following the recipes.

  HERBED OLIVES

  Ingredients:

  1 cup mixed olives (3-4 different kinds) in brine, drained

  1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

  2 tsp. finely chopped mixed herbs such as rosemary, oregano, basil, etc.

  ¼ tsp. lemon zest

  1 garlic clove, minced

  Directions:

  Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and let stand for 1 hour. Serve at room temperature. May be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

  OVEN BAKED ZUCCHINI STRIPS

  Ingredients:

  Cooking spray

  1 egg lightly stirred

  1 tbsp. water

  ½ cup Panko bread crumbs

  ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

  2-3 medium size zucchini squash

  Sea salt, to taste

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking sheet lightly.

  Trim ends of zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each half into 3 lengthwise strips. If you’re using large zucchini, reduce the size of the strips by cutting crosswise.

  Mix egg and water together. Dip each zucchini strip in egg wash and then coat with the bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Lightly spray zucchini with cooking spray.

  Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, lightly sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and sea salt. Serve immediately.

  CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT CAKE

  Ingredients:

  1 pkg. sour cream dark chocolate cake mix

  1 small pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix

  1 ¼ cups sour cream

  ½ cup cooking oil

  ½ cup lukewarm water

  2 cups chocolate chips

  4 eggs

  Powdered sugar, for garnish

  Directions:

&nbs
p; Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Combine, cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, and eggs in a mixing bowl.

  In another bowl combine water, chocolate chips, and oil. Add the mixture to the cake mix mixture. Blend together by hand.

  Turn combined mixture into a lightly oiled bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool 30 minutes on baking rack and remove from pan. Sift powdered sugar over top of cake when cool.

  FROZEN BUTTERFINGER PIE

  Ingredients:

  40 Nabisco Famous chocolate wafers

  1 ½ tbsp. butter, melted

  1 large egg white

  Cooking spray

  4 cups vanilla frozen yoghurt

  3 tbsp. light corn syrup

  3 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

  1 tbsp. milk

  2 chocolate covered Butterfingers, (2.1 oz. each), chopped into ¼” pieces

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9” pie plate with cooking spray.

  Place chocolate wafers in food processor and pulse until crumbly. Add butter and egg white. Pulse until moist. Press mixture into prepared pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and put in freezer for at least 15 minutes.

  Spoon yoghurt into frozen crust. Combine corn syrup, peanut butter, and milk in small bowl. Stir until smooth. Drizzle ½ of peanut butter mixture over yoghurt. Sprinkle with ½ of chopped candy bars. Repeat drizzle and sprinkle. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours. Enjoy!

  Note: If you wish to make this lighter, use non-fat frozen yoghurt and milk.

  CONGO BARS

  Ingredients:

  1 box light brown sugar

  1 cup margarine

  3 eggs

  2 ¾ cups flour

  2 ½ tsps. baking powder