Gary held firm with his denial. “That still doesn’t mean anything. Pibst is a very popular brand.”
“I can’t argue with that. Only this particular beer can happens to have your fingerprint on it. The crime lab has already confirmed it,” I said.
Gary’s voice started cracking. “That doesn’t prove I killed Nick. I visited my brother all the time. That could have been an old can that you found in the trash.”
I shook my head once more. “Wrong again. The garbage man had just come to pick up Nick’s trash in the morning on the day he was murdered. Your beer can was the only piece of trash in the garbage can. It was a fresh can of beer that you had just brought over yourself and finished before going inside Nick’s house. You obviously thought the police wouldn’t think twice about seeing an empty beer can in Nick’s garbage, especially after all the effort you made to trash your brother’s place to make it look like his death had been due to a burglary gone wrong. Your assumption was incorrect, though, because it stood out to me immediately.”
Gary went into full denial mode. “No. You have it all wrong.”
I didn’t listen to him. “My guess was that on the drive over to Nick’s house, your nerves got to you. Why wouldn’t they when you were about to kill your own brother? So, in order to give yourself the courage to go through with your plan, you had a beer to take the edge off. Once you finished up the beer, you tossed it in the garbage can, then went inside your brother’s house to kill him.”
“No. I didn’t kill Nick,” Gary replied.
I stared Gary down and soldiered on. “Are you really going to pretend that you didn’t kill your brother? You had the motive, means, and opportunity. On top of that, we have your fingerprint on a beer can found at your brother’s house. You can argue with us all you want, but you’re going down. You did this. Just admit it, Gary. You killed your brother, didn’t you?”
Gary shut down on me. He averted his eyes, desperate not to make eye contact.
I went after him again. “Didn’t you?”
Gary took a deep breath then muttered his reply, “Yes.”
I shot him a glare. “You disgust me.”
A mixture of anguish and rage came to Gary’s face as he tried to explain himself. “Every betrayal in life hurts, but the wounds caused by your family cut the deepest. When Nick and I lost both of our parents in that car accident a decade and a half ago, Nick promised to take care of me, to always be there for me. Yet, there he was, living in his nice house with his posh life, while I was slumming it in some lousy apartment, toiling away at a low-level job. Even so, I remained loyal to him, continuing to work for his agency even though I could have gotten paid more if I had taken a job at another agency. And how did Nick repay me for my loyalty? By giving the promotion I had been working so hard for to Lisa Dalton—the woman he was having a fling with. Nick passing me up for that promotion was a stab in the back. All I did was return the favor.”
I shook my head. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Unfortunately, Gary wasn’t ashamed in the least. He didn’t realize it yet, but he would be. Gary would have plenty of time to regret what he did when he spent the rest of his life behind bars. What a waste of a life.
As I tried to get over the shock of how this case had ended, my brother handcuffed Gary, read him his rights, then dragged him off to his patrol car. I spent the next half an hour in a fog of disbelief before I realized that it wouldn’t do me any good to keep fixating on something I couldn’t change.
Chapter Eleven
It was always a relief to put a case behind me. With this investigation, that was especially true. Not only had we gotten justice for Nick, but we were also able to put his killer behind bars before this case stretched too deep into the holiday season. That part made me especially happy, mostly because it would have been impossible to ring in the season with joyous cheer if the killer was still at large.
With Gary Newton behind bars, I could cut loose and indulge in some real holiday cheer. Christmas had always been one of my favorite holidays, but this year, it would be even more special.
Getting my holiday spirit back would also allow me to get rid of all this tension that I had been holding onto. Throughout the case, anxiety and stress had quickly been eating me up inside. I wanted it all to fade away as quickly as possible.
My brother wasn’t as quick to switch into a festive mood. He always made a slow transition back to normalcy after closing the book on a case. One thing he did in a hurry was poke his hand into a box of donuts. After he had taken a bite of a chocolate-frosted one, he let out a big sigh.
“What a way to ring in the holidays,” Joe said.
I shook my head. “This isn’t how I’m ringing in my holidays.”
“Oh, yeah? Big plans?”
“Are you kidding? With this case closed, I’m planning on taking part in as many holiday festivities as I can.”
“Ah, Hope. You always find a way to look on the bright side, don’t you?”
“During the holidays, absolutely. If there’s ever a time to look on the bright side, it’s now.”
Thankfully, he didn’t argue with me. Instead, he gave my statement a lot of thought.
“You’re probably right,” he replied.
I corrected him. “I’m definitely right. After all, the season is about celebrating the birth of Christ, a man renowned for looking on the bright side.”
Joe nodded. “True.”
Joe then got lost deep in thought.
I decided to pick his brain. “What are you thinking?”
“Just how glad I am to have this case behind us.”
I knew there was a lot more going on in his mind than that, but if he wasn’t ready to share it all with me yet, I wasn’t going to force the issue. I had already done plenty of mental prodding with the murder suspects.
Instead, I commiserated with my brother. “I second that. I have never been happier to put a case to bed in my entire life.”
Joe held up what was left of his donut and looked like he was about to propose a toast. “Here’s to the Hadley family ingenuity paying dividends yet again.”
“Absolutely.” My focus then shifted to the future. “So, what’s on tap for you next?”
My brother polished off his first donut then grabbed a second one from the box. “You know my donuts come first, and everything else comes second.”
“Right. You want to savor that flavor as long as you can. You have the rest of your life to make plans.”
Joe smiled wide. “You know me so well.”
I chuckled. “That’s because you are predictable beyond belief.”
“I prefer to call it consistent.”
“Call it whatever you want. There’s no denying that you are a creature of comfort.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“No. I’m just saying that there’s nothing wrong with mixing things up every once in a while.”
“You do things your way, and I’ll do them mine.”
I chuckled. “Joe, it is Christmas time. Is it too much to ask to get in the spirit of the season?”
“You’re right. It’s better to give than receive and all that.” He held out the box for me. “Donut?”
“That wasn’t what I meant. I was just saying, I get that you don’t want to go too far out of your comfort zone, but surely the bakery makes holiday-themed donuts.”
“They do, but I’ve been getting the same flavor from them for eight years. I have never gotten a bad chocolate-frosted donut from them, so why should I mess with such a good thing?”
I shook my head and laughed again. “You’re hopeless.”
“Does that mean you’re not going to have a donut?”
I turned him down. “No donut for me today, I’m afraid.”
He seemed surprised. “Really?” Joe shrugged his shoulders. “That leaves more for me.”
“I’m saving my appetite for something better,” I said.
; Joe looked baffled. “What could be better than a donut?”
“Daniel’s Christmas cookies,” I said.
I could see my brother’s thoughts drift off into the land of sweets. “They don’t sound half bad.”
“They taste even better than you can imagine.”
“I don’t know. I can imagine a lot.”
“Trust me, they are the best cookies you have ever tasted,” I insisted.
“I’ll have to take your word for that,” Joe replied.
“No, you don’t. Come over to Daniel’s with me. I’m sure he has some extra cookies to spare.”
Joe declined. “Nah. I don’t want to intrude on you lovebirds.”
“Joe, don’t be ridiculous. The holidays are meant for family to get together.”
He was still reticent. “All right. As long as you’re sure I’m not intruding.”
“You’re not,” I assured him.
I then moved to get into the passenger seat of his car.
Joe stopped me before I did. “Hope.”
I turned to him. “Yes?”
“Thanks for being such a good sister.”
“Of course.”
“No, really. I’m a lucky guy to have a sister like you.”
“Right back at you. Other than how irrationally stubborn you are about your donuts, I can’t imagine having a better brother.”
We gave each other a hug before my appetite once again took center stage.
“By the way, I’m sure Daniel has some eggnog to go along with his delicious cookies.”
“That sounds good.” He had one caveat. “As long as it’s not spiked. Alcohol has caused enough trouble this holiday season.”
I laughed. “That’s so true.”
The End.
The Last Frontier Of Murder
Chapter One
“Hi, darling,” Jake Talbot said.
I never used to think I’d like being called “darling.” I’d always viewed it as an antiquated saying from a bygone era. A carryover from a more sentimental time. The kind of thing my grandfather would tell my gramma. After all, I was a modern woman. My friends and I rarely ever heard people being called “honey” or “dear” anymore, much less “darling.”
Yet, the term of endearment flowed so naturally from Jake’s lips. As far as I was concerned, he could call me “darling” any time he wanted. A lot of my opinions had changed since I’d met Jake. It turned out my beliefs weren’t quite as entrenched as I once thought they were.
My boyfriend had a soothing voice, the kind that would fit in perfectly as a morning radio host at an easy-listening station. His actual profession was strikingly different. He ran his own private-eye firm. While his voice was sweet, his body was strong. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders, a square jaw, a handsome angular face, and a heart of gold. His hair was short, brown, and slightly scruffy. I sometimes got lost peering into his baby-blue eyes.
I wished that I was gazing at him right then. Unfortunately, he was still at work. I, meanwhile, was done with my managerial shift at Frozen Pine Espresso Company, the local coffeehouse in town. If there was one benefit of the dawn patrol shift, it was finishing my work shift by the early afternoon. Because I often had to wake up before the sun even rose, I’d frequently use the two or three hours between when my shift ended and when Jake finished his job to sneak in a nap.
It was interesting how I got a different perspective on things as I grew older. When I was five years old, I never wanted to take naps. I was far more interested in running around. Now that I was thirty-five years old, a nap seemed like a luxury that came along all too rarely. I certainly wasn’t going to squander the opportunity to fit in a few extra minutes of shut-eye.
Before I’d had a chance to drift off, Jake had called me. As it was only the middle of the afternoon, I couldn’t help but wonder if something had gone wrong. Was he calling to cancel our date later? I hoped that wasn’t the case.
“It’s good to hear your voice,” I replied.
He must have heard the groggy exhaustion in my voice, because he was able to pinpoint my location over the phone from halfway across town.
“Are you in bed?” he asked.
“Can you tell?”
“Kind of. I wish I could take a nap right now.”
“So do I. You know me, I’m not one to turn down some good snuggling.”
“Neither am I.”
Jake had come around at just the right time in my life. His love was like a ray of sunshine cutting through a blanket of clouds. He was also proof that timing truly was everything. We met a little over a year ago. It had been the dead of winter. In Alaska, that was saying a lot. Alaska was known as the last frontier, but in my mind, it was first on the list of the worst winters imaginable.
After living through thirty-five Januaries, I’d learned that there was no winter quite like an Alaskan winter. The days were short, the nights were long, and the cold was so intense that it shook me to the bone. When Jake and I first met, I was slogging through the longest winter of my life.
Back then, I’d hit a low point. It truly was the darkest time in my life. Shortly before, I’d had my heart broken by a cheating boyfriend. I was so devastated that the prospect of having to ever run into my ex again was enough to twist my stomach into knots. Unfortunately, in a town of only 10,875 people like Frozen Pine, the chances of me crossing paths with my two-timing ex were dangerously high.
In the excruciating aftermath of our breakup, I was mulling over moving out of town, leaving my home state behind for hopefully greener pastures. After losing both my parents, I didn’t have any family left in town. My father had died in a deep-sea fishing accident when I was nine. Then, my mother passed away three years ago after a heart attack. If I moved, I’d miss my friends, but I could always call them, and thanks to the wonder of social media, they were only ever one click on the computer away.
It seemed like it was time for me to make a fresh start in my life. After all, I’d always felt like I was born in the wrong part of the country to begin with. I’d never been a fan of winter, which made living in Alaska an uneasy fit for me.
Then, just as it seemed like nothing could keep me from leaving, I met Jake. He was everything that my ex-boyfriend was not—kind, sweet, considerate, intelligent, funny, and most of all, caring. The first date began with dinner and a movie but ended with us talking effortlessly until deep into the night. More dates followed, each succeeding in making me fall slowly in love with him. As our relationship progressed, the idea of moving out of town eventually faded from my thoughts.
That didn’t mean my feelings about my home state and its brutal winters had changed. Far from it. I just had a counterbalance in my life. As deeply as I disliked Alaska was as much as I loved Jake. Any ideas that I could convince him to move away were dismissed as quickly as they came into my mind.
That was because Jake had deep ties to Frozen Pine. He hadn’t just grown up here. Other than the occasional vacation, he’d spent his whole life in this part of the world. In addition, he was an only child. His parents lived only a few blocks away from him. If he left, it would be a big blow to them. Then you threw in the fact that he’d also spent close to a decade building up his own private-eye business from the ground up.
Both personally and professionally, the roots of his life were planted as firmly as some of the pine trees that surrounded our historic town. If that wasn’t enough, the idea of picking up and starting over fresh had never once crossed his lips during any of our conversations. So, even though I hadn’t asked him as much, I got the distinct sense that he wanted to live the rest of his life in Frozen Pine.
Aside from my complaints about the weather, I didn’t regret my decision to stay in town. To me, Jake was worth it. After a series of failed relationships, I knew how special it was to find a genuinely good man. Not to mention rare. Our friends often remarked that we acted like honeymooners. Maybe, in the not-so-distant future, we would be. The name Andrea Talbot
did have a good ring to it. Maybe even more than my given name of Andrea McDougal.
Only time would tell what our future had in store. Either way, one thing was clear—the honeymoon phase in our relationship was far from over.
While my head was firmly in the clouds, Jake switched gears in our phone conversation.
“I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“No. I hadn’t drifted off yet,” I said.
“Good. I can’t wait to see you later.”
“Right back at you.”
“Anyway, I’ll let you get to sleep. Sweet dreams.”
This time, I was the one to notice something in his voice that stood out. I had to stop him from hanging up. He was bringing our conversation to a much too abrupt end, especially since I had a distinct feeling he had something else on his mind.
“Wait. Jake, is something wrong?”
“No. What would make you think that?”
“It’s just that you called me in the middle of the day, and you don’t usually do that unless something is wrong.”
“I just wanted to hear your voice.”
My heart fluttered as I heard that. Compliments had the biggest effect when they were completely unexpected. That one, in particular, was a very pleasant surprise.
“That’s so sweet.”
I would have let my doubts go right there, but I still had an uneasy feeling in my gut. When it was combined with the nagging suspicion that was growing at the back of my mind, I found it too difficult not to speak up. “Are you sure everything is all right?”
He let out a big sigh. “It has just been one of those days.”
Jake clearly didn’t want to get into specifics. I decided not to push him any further. If he’d already been through the wringer, the last thing he needed was for me to hassle him.
“Is there anything I can do?”
There was defeat in his voice as he replied. “I wish there was.”
Even though I told myself I’d simply remain sympathetic and that I wouldn’t stick my nose in his business, my curiosity got the best of me. I couldn’t help myself. The words had spilled out of my mouth before I had the chance to restrain myself. That was a bad habit of mine that had stuck with me throughout my entire life.
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