Love 'Em or Leave 'Em Dead
Page 31
“Thank you. She adores you, too.” She leaned up to kiss me on the cheek.
“Does Luke know?”
“Do you think he’s old enough?”
“It’s your call, but I’d tell him before he hears it on the bus or playground.”
“Oh.”
“I hope our agreement still applies. No sleepovers with lovers when it’s our week with the kids.”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. I gotta get back to Dallas.”
“She may be more comfortable being around me now.”
“I think you’re right.”
And the rest of the evening was comfortable and quite enjoyable. We dined on steak and salmon, danced to the band, and drank too much. The five of us left the wedding close to one o’clock and sang along to the Red Hot Chili Peppers all the way back to the hotel. We made drunk plans to go on a beach vacation together. Hungover the next morning, we had breakfast with the crew of deputies, then left in a caravan for Prairie Falls.
THAT EVENING, PATRICE CALLED to tell me Zabrina had given birth to a baby girl the day before. That’s why she hadn’t made it to the wedding.
“How’s she doing?”
“She had a hard time of it, but the baby’s healthy and beautiful. Zabrina didn’t want to even hold her. She’ll spend a couple days in the hospital before she goes back to the jail. I bring little Evelyn Justine home tomorrow.”
“So you’re going through with the adoption?”
“Yes, it’s what Justine would have wanted.”
“Then, congratulations.”
“Thanks . . . I guess. So, how was the wedding?”
“Fun. You missed a tasty meal of steak and salmon.”
“I bet. Okay, I’ll see you soon. I’m taking a couple weeks off, then will work part time for a few months. Carol Knight will be filling in for me.”
Maybe Carol Knight should be running for sheriff, I thought.
ZABRINA HAD PLED GUILTY and would serve only about ten years. By the time she was released, she’d be one year shy of having access to her mother’s inheritance. For her safety, arrangements were made for Zabrina to be housed in the Wright County Jail, rather than in Shakopee with Brenda LaMere, who was sentenced to an additional sixteen years for conspiracy to commit murder. Rumor had it, Brenda and Grady LaMere planned to file a civil lawsuit against Patrice and Birch County.
Many lives were ruined in the name of greed, but one good thing that came out of Sonya’s death was the Sonya Donovan Memorial Scholarship Fund Patrice set up. The first recipient was Moriah Moore. She received enough to pay her tuition at Augsburg College.
Della Moore moved her family down to the Cities to live with her mother, Harriet Quinlan. Harriet and Della bought a house in Burnsville and started their own house-cleaning service. An anonymous benefactor made it possible. I had my suspicions it was either Patrice or Bobby Lopez.
As soon as I hung up from Patrice’s call, Mom called to tell me she signed a contract with an agent for her memoir. Bloody hell. I supposed I better read it now. She mentioned her current project was a crime novel—the story of how her son solved the Sonya Donovan murder. Over my dead body.
Acknowledgements
When writing my novels, I frequently call upon the expertise of those who know far more than I on many topics, and I continue to draw from the knowledge they freely shared with me at one point along the way. Special thanks to Hennepin County prosecutor Debbie Russell, Attorney Marc Berris, Maple Grove Police Officer Ryan Modeen, Dr. Tom Combs, Hennepin County CSI Sarah Buck, Orono Police Chief Corey Farniok, Officer Steve Sterm, and all the speakers who’ve shared their expertise and time with the Twin Cities Sisters in Crime. A shout-out to Lee Lofland and his informative blog geared for crime writers.
Special thanks to Char Squire for allowing me to draw from her personal breast-cancer fight to use in this novel. Thanks to Darrell Maloney for editing my manuscript and to Timya Owen and Rhonda Gilliand for beta reading Love ’Em or Leave ’Em Dead. Your help was invaluable. Also thanks to the talented Amy Jauman for crafting the snappy teaser ad! Thank you to the Twin Cities Sisters in Crime, with whom I can freely talk crime writing without receiving a raised eye. Your friendships have come to mean so much to me. Also, thanks to the wonderful Women of Words (WOW) west and north, for their valued friendship, support, and encouragement.
Once again, thanks to my incredible husband, Tim, my go-to man for questions on several topics; my “favorite” children—Stacy and Shawn, and their loves: Drew, Kristen, Emma, Hudson, TJ, and Nolan. Also, to my cherished extended family and friends (old and new) for their continued support. Thank you to my readers for showing up at my signing events, inviting me to your book clubs, and buying my books. Your encouragement and smiling faces spur me onward to continue to fabricate more stories.
And finally, thanks to the fantastic folks at North Star Press of St. Cloud: Corinne, Curtis, and Anne, for believing in and publishing my work. Your patience and hard work are much appreciated.