by JoAnna Carl
Aunt Nettie, of course, was the heroine of the hour. That she had managed to convince Bill and Bob that she (1) needed a cane, and (2) had one that just happened to look a lot like a broken umbrella—well, it sounds like the dumbest thing in the world.
She had a simple explanation. “I guess it was dark,” she said.
And I suppose she was right; the cousins simply couldn’t see what she was carrying in any detail. She said she had a cane, and it looked vaguely like a cane, so they believed her.
I didn’t get nearly as much praise and attention for merely dropping a jacket over Bill’s head and kicking Bob’s pistol thirty or forty feet. But my attack on Bill did leave him with two broken legs. I tried to feel sorry for him. But maybe I didn’t try as hard as I could have.
And my wonderful aunt Nettie will always be a heroine to me.
As soon as Bill and Bob were off the scene, Watt slowly joined life in Warner Pier. He still lives alone in the cabin in the woods and does chores for Wildflower. He also caught the raccoons under our porch and took them to safety in the Fox Creek Nature Preserve.
Shortly after Mike Herrera came back from his trip, a job as a cook opened up in one of his restaurants. He hired Watt. So now Watt still works hard, but he is usually home by midnight. And he and T. J. are still pals, and T. J. talked a high school friend into taking the summer job cleaning kitchens.
Watt’s also still taking pictures. In fact, he recently won a prize from a wildlife publication—for a darling photo he took of a mama raccoon with six babies.
As for why Watt was kidnapped, it was simply because Bill and Bob thought he knew too much. Or so we all think. Watt had, over the years, caused Bob a lot of trouble, and I believe Bob simply decided to get him out of the way.
The czarina’s jewels, of course, were never in Warner Pier. As soon as Alex and Hogan realized the danger of theft was real, about a day after Paige’s body was found, Gold’s Jewelry had lost its stop on the tour. Alex got high marks from the police for continuing to pretend the famous jewels were still coming.
But Alex says the czarina’s jewels will be back next year. “And the previous plot to steal them will be fabulous publicity!”
One other interesting event happened after all the ruckus died down. Mike was out of the hospital in a few days, and he and Dolly quietly got married.
They’re now living in Mike’s house and making plans for a big remodeling project on his cottage. They’re happy, and we’re happy for them.
But when I’m working on the TenHuis Chocolade budget, and I need a quick estimate about the amount of chocolate required to produce a hundred pounds of bonbons, I sure do wish I could just holler up the stairs to Dolly.
Acknowledgments
With many thanks to friends and relatives who have helped me with information for this book. They include lawman Jim Avance, Michigan neighbors Tracy Paquin and Susan McDermott, banker Joan Houghton, security company veteran Jerry Houghton, retired master sergeant Terry Anderson, truck expert Aaron “Shug” Shugard, photographer Jeff Dixon, and chocolate expert Elizabeth Garber.
In addition, the Lawton, Oklahoma, Arts for All organization once again sponsored an auction in which donors bought the right to have their names used in the book. Thanks to Barbara Boguski for a generous gift honoring Dale Nomura.
I also received help and support from my husband, Dave Sandstrom, and our three kids: Ruth Anna Henson, John Carl Sandstrom, and Betsy Jo Peters.
About the Author
JoAnna Carl is the pseudonym for a multipublished mystery writer. She is the national bestselling author of the Chocoholic Mysteries, including The Chocolate Bunny Brouhaha and The Chocolate Shark Shenanigans.
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