“Her new heir is my grandson,” Matilda blurted out. “He’s not some random distant relative. He’s my flesh and blood. He lost his parents and has been stuck in the foster system, penniless. I may not have been able to raise my son, and the real Carlton Jr. might have taken off and left me high and dry, but I can find some semblance of redemption by taking care of my grandson. And obviously Mother thought so too—”
“Shut your mouth,” Carl ordered, pacing toward her. “I don’t want to hear one more word about this stupid kid. If you can’t handle the publishing company, like I said, Marco and I will handle it.”
“No. I want the memoir published,” Matilda continued, the defiance in her voice bouncing off the high ceilings. “I want the truth to come out, finally, after all this time.”
A string of expletives flew out of Carl’s mouth as he shoved Matilda against the wall, then went to put her in a chokehold. She screamed, and seconds later the house was stormed by BBPD officers, who had no issue taking Carl into custody. He backed down as soon as he was surrounded by men and women in blue.
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Carl shouted as they led him out of his house in cuffs. “She can’t publish that memoir. It’s libel! It’s slander! I’ll be suing her estate, the publishing company, and you too, Matilda Monroe!”
Chief James and I climbed out of the van and began to walk up the street toward the house, Carl’s continued tantrum echoing down the block as we approached. “I’ve been set up!” he yelled. “I’ve been framed. She was my mother! If you’re going to arrest me, you better arrest Nate too because he was the mastermind behind the coverup. And my dad! He may be crazy, but this was all his idea!”
“Wow, he just won’t shut up, will he?” Chief James noted, looking down at me with a smug smile.
“Lucky us, huh?”
“Oh, I don’t think luck has anything to do with it.” He let out a two-note huff of a chuckle, then he reached for my hand to shake it. “Well done, Sunshine. Well done.”
Nineteen
The duty of calling Knox to fill him in on the family drama he didn’t even know he was part of fell to me. It was a job I didn’t mind doing, as I’d grown pretty fond of the kid. I picked him up at the Shaws’ house and drove him over to Mrs. Monroe’s beautiful Victorian mansion.
“This was really my great-grandmother’s house?” he gasped as he walked up the steps.
“Yep. And it could even be yours someday. I guess it depends on what you and your grandmother decide to do with it,” I explained.
He seemed too shocked to formulate words, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d really been put through the wringer in the past year, and though the last few surprises he’d had were good ones, I knew it had to be taking a toll on him emotionally.
Matilda beckoned us inside. “Knox! It’s so wonderful to meet you!” She extended her hand to shake his. They were both a little stiff, but this was all very new to both of them. And not everyone is a hugger like you are, Sunshine, I reminded myself.
Matilda was looking elegant and refined in a black pantsuit with a lovely silk scarf tied artfully around her neck. “I’m so sorry I didn’t know your father,” she said. “It’s all a very long story. I’m not sure if Ms. Baker has filled you in.”
“I know enough,” he answered, nodding. There were times he seemed so much older and wiser than his sixteen years. Then the very next minute he could be sullen, angsty and defiant. Right now, though, he was definitely taking all of this like an adult.
“What do you think about coming to live in California with me?” she asked him.
I couldn’t tell if the look in her eyes was one of hope or one of duty. If she didn’t want to take responsibility for Knox, she was doing a good job covering it up. Then again, it’s hard to tell with an actress, right?
Knox’s reddish eyebrows creased as he looked from Matilda to me, then at the floor and back up again. “Honestly…I want to stay here and finish my community service at the very least.”
“Community service?” Matilda’s eyes widened.
“He’s doing a project at the library,” I explained. “Putting his artistic talents to good use.”
“Where will you stay if you live here?” she pondered. “I really want to get you out of the foster system.”
I didn’t get a chance to stop the words that flowed out of my mouth. It was like they were the most natural and reasonable words one could ever speak: “He can stay with me.”
“Really?” Knox’s freckled face glowed as he looked over at me.
“If it’s okay with Ms. Monroe and with the foster people.” I shrugged. I didn’t know why it wouldn’t be okay, but I didn’t like to make assumptions.
“Do you think you’d want to live in California someday?” Matilda asked, and this time I definitely detected some hope in her voice.
“Yes, someday,” he agreed. “I’m going back to school next month. I’ll be a junior. Maybe when I finish up high school?”
“Whenever you’re ready,” Matilda said, tears glittering in her eyes as they roamed over the face of her grandson. “I’d love to have you whenever you want to visit. Even if it’s just temporary. I know we don’t know each other at all now, but I’d like to get to know you.”
“Were you really a model and actress?” His face scrunched up as he looked her over. “Mrs. Shaw said you were.”
Her eyes still full of unshed tears, she bobbed her head up and down. “I still am an actress, actually.”
“That’s really cool,” Knox decided. “I’m an artist. I hope you’ll stay a few days and see what I’m working on at the library.”
Matilda smiled. “I can definitely do that.”
On Sunday, my family’s pew was a little more crowded than usual. My mother, father, brother, sister-in-law, Knox, Matilda and myself all piled in. “Nothing like a little family togetherness!” I observed, earning a curious look from my mother.
“Knox is going to be staying with me for the foreseeable future,” I announced, putting my arm around him. I expected he might balk at my affection, but he didn’t. He leaned into my shoulder and smiled.
My mother started to voice a protest, but my father put his arm around her and shut her up with one look. Before she could say anything else, Molly slid into the pew in front of us with her sister and brother-in-law. “Looks like I can’t squeeze in with you this week.”
“Molly, this is Matilda Monroe and her grandson, Knox,” I introduced.
“It’s very nice to meet you! Hey, do you like dogs?” My best friend wore a beaming smile as she held her phone in her hand.
“Yeah, I guess. I’ve never had one of my own, though,” Knox answered.
Molly flipped through a few pictures. “See this little guy? This is Natty. He was your great-grandmother’s. Her pride and joy.”
“Really?” Knox leaned in to study the photo. “I’m glad you showed me that. He’s really cute.”
Matilda also took a look. “I remember hearing about Natty. I never got to meet him.” She had a wistful sound in her voice, like maybe she regretted the years she’d stayed away from her mother. I wondered how her feelings would change when she read the memoir. She had decided to publish it, as per the contract, fulfilling her mother’s last wishes.
We’d pieced together her brother’s involvement and how he worked with Marco Callaghini to plant evidence and frame one of his guys, and now he had been arrested too, an accessory to his own mother’s murder. If I thought the Mystery at the Marina had some crazy twists and turns, it was like a straight road compared to this case.
Word on the street was Carl was planning to use an insanity defense. The source of his insanity? The rhododendron honey, of course. That the victim had been sending him. I didn’t know if the jury would buy it, but I suspected my idea of analyzing the honey with mass spectrometry would definitely be coming to fruition.
So to speak.
I waited on the porch, basking in the warm August sunshine as Kno
x went in to get his things from his foster family’s house. Mrs. Shaw stepped out on the porch and gave me a once-over. I couldn’t tell if she was relieved, grateful, or somewhere in between when she said, “I think he responds better to you than to me.”
“We do seem to have a mutual understanding,” I agreed. “The kid has been through a lot. I’m going to have him talk to someone. From what I understand, he saw a therapist right after his parents died, but then he changed foster homes, and therapy was abandoned.”
“That’s a good idea.” She looked off into the street, her eyes trailing a butterfly that was hovering above her neighbor’s rose bushes. “Take good care of him, please. It’s not that I don’t care about him… I do. It’s just a bit of a personality clash. Especially with my husband.”
“I understand, and of course I will.” I shook her hand just about the time Knox popped out the door pulling a wheeled suitcase behind him, with a backpack slung over his bony shoulder. “I hope you’ll come to the library on Thursday. We’re having a memorial for Mrs. Monroe, and Knox’s artwork will be featured.”
“I’ll be there,” Mrs. Shaw promised with a smile.
“You didn’t tell me your cats were so nice!” Knox exclaimed as he settled himself down on my sofa. Bond had curled up in his lap, and Paige was weaving back and forth between his legs.
“That’s because they’re not always that nice,” I explained. “But they definitely seem to like you.”
“What are their names?” He stroked Bond’s black fur, then reached down to scratch under Paige’s chin.
“The black and white one is a boy, and his name is Bond. For James Bond.”
He beamed. “Nice!”
“And the calico is a girl, and her name is Paige Turner.”
“Oh, because you’re a librarian. That’s cool.” He crossed his feet at the ankle, and Paige jumped on the sofa next to him, rubbing against his leg and begging for more scratches.
“She doesn’t like very many people, so you must be extra special,” I assured him as I came into the living room with sandwiches and glasses of lemonade. “Here, you must be starving.”
He took one of the plates and a napkin. “We can eat in the living room?”
I laughed. I wasn’t the most fastidious housekeeper. I ate in my living room around ninety-nine percent of the time. I’d never thought about having rules for kids before. This was going to take some getting used to. “Yeah,” I shrugged, “why not?”
“I think I’m going to like living here.” He laughed before taking a bite of the sandwich. After chewing, he looked at me with a thoughtful expression on his face. “So I can go to the library tomorrow and work on my project?”
“Yes, of course. I can’t wait to see what you’re up to in there.” He’d been working in the reading room, and I had a feeling I knew where Evangeline was headed with the project. I couldn’t wait to see if I was right.
“I got a great idea when we were at church today, so thanks for taking me.” He was already half done with the sandwich by now, and I started to wonder if I should have made him two. He’s a growing boy, after all.
“I go every Sunday,” I told him, “and so will you, as long as you’re living here.” See? I can make rules.
“Okay,” he agreed. “I don’t mind. I used to go with my mom sometimes.”
“They have a youth group. So you might even make some new friends.”
I set down my plate and went over to the cabinet in my foyer where I stuffed shoes and other miscellaneous things like hats and gloves. I popped open the drawer and slid in the envelope I’d found on my doorstep when I arrived home from church and picking up Knox’s things. It matched the ones I’d found after solving my other two cases. After Paul Bethany’s confession, I assumed they were coming from him, but I thought he’d stop after I rejected him.
Maybe they’re from somebody else?
I’d revisit that later. For now, I just wanted to hang out with my new roomie.
Outside the reading room, a huge banner hung over the double doors, inscribed with “Welcome to the Willa Bryce Monroe Reading Room.” Evangeline was wearing the purple dress she’d worn to the fundraiser gala in April. I assumed it was one of her only wardrobe options that wasn’t black. She greeted everyone as they came inside to enjoy cake and punch and see the magnificent mural painted by a local resident.
But not just any local resident—the great-grandson of the woman whose life we were celebrating: Willa Bryce Monroe.
It took my breath away when I caught my first glimpse of it. The entire back wall of the room was filled with a lovely scene. On the left was Willa Bryce Monroe herself, carrying a jar of honey in one hand, and holding a leash in the other that led to a perfect replica of Natty the Pomeranian. Behind her stretched the town of Bryce Beach, with the library in the foreground and the spires of Bryce Beach Community Church in the background. Beyond that, the sand and surf rolled and sparkled between our two most famous landmarks, the lighthouse and the marina.
Knox ran up to me as soon as he saw me walk through the doors. He’d been here all day putting the finishing touches on the wall, while I’d gone home to change clothes after work. “Well, what do you think?”
Tears stung at my eyes as I looked from him to the mural and back again. “Knox, I don’t know what to say. This is truly…amazing.”
“I’m glad you like it!” And next thing I knew, he was throwing his arms around me.
“Freeze!” came a voice behind us.
We both turned, and there was Molly, standing with Matilda, Jada, Evangeline, Tom, Barbara and a few other library staff. Molly had a camera poised, ready to snap our photo.
“Can you hurry up?” Knox asked after she took a few pictures. “I think I need a piece of cake after all this hard work!”
We all laughed and assured him he definitely deserved as much cake as he wanted. As he bounced over to the cake table, happier than I’d ever seen him, Chief James approached me, still wearing his uniform. He glanced at the mural and then back to me. “Well, Sunshine, I think it’s safe to say the kid’s community service has been satisfied.”
“Good. I think so too. Isn’t it stunning?”
“Beyond stunning,” he agreed. “I think it’s a really noble thing you’re doing, taking him in like this.”
I shrugged. “Well, it might only be temporary, but I’m happy to have him as long as he wants to stay.”
“Did Ms. Monroe sign all the paperwork to name you his legal guardian?”
I nodded. “We took care of that yesterday. It’s official. She seems a little…sad…but also relieved in a way. I can’t quite pin it down.”
“She’s going to be shocked when she reads that memoir,” Chief James asserted.
“I know. Heck, I’m still getting over my shock, and it’s been almost a week now!”
“That was some pretty stellar detective work,” he said. “I know it’s not official…but I’m glad to have you on our team.”
“Does that mean we’ll be working together in the future?” I lifted an eyebrow in hope.
“I think it’s safe to say we will.” He offered me a warm smile and a soft pat on the shoulder.
After the celebration, I took Knox home, and he fed the cats, who were absolutely livid their dinner had been delayed. They seemed to forgive him, though I wasn’t entirely sure they would forgive me.
While Knox was putting his painting supplies away, I took out that envelope I’d tucked away. Opening it, I saw the familiar printed handwriting, with one single word bolded, just like the other notes I’d received.
Dear Sunshine,
You’ve stuck by this town through thick and thin. Thank you for your dedication and always doing the right thing. You’re a good role model for the youth of our community, including a young man who is very lucky to have found a new home with you.
Respectfully,
Your admiring friend
Now I had collected the bold words “thin,” “your
” and “admirer.” I still didn’t understand what they meant, but I would keep all of the cards together. Hopefully they would make sense at some point. I didn’t relish the idea that someone was playing games with me, but maybe I just needed to be patient and see what happened.
Ah, patience. Lord, you know I could use a good dose of that.
THE END
Make sure to check out Sunshine and the gang’s next adventure in Book 4:
Poisoned at the Pier
Learn more about the series at www.cozychristianmystery.com
About the Author
K.L. Montgomery writes #bodypositive sweet romance, romcom, and cozy mystery. A librarian in a former life, she now works as an editor and runs the 5000-member Indie Author Support group on Facebook in addition to publishing under two names.
Though she remains a Hoosier at heart, K.L. shares her coastal Delaware home with some furry creatures and her husband, who is on the furry side as well. She has an undying love for her three sons, Broadway musicals, the beach, Seinfeld, the color teal, IU basketball, paisleys, and dark chocolate.
Also by K.L. Montgomery
Dangerous Curves Series
Betrayal at the Beach
Mystery at the Marina
Shooting at the Shore
Poisoned at the Pier
Romance in Rehoboth Series (romantic comedy)
Music Man
The Flip
Plot Twist
Badge Bunny
Wedding War
Stage Mom
Shark Bite
Dangerous Curves Boxed Set 1: 3 Cozy Christian Mysteries Page 49