Toni L.P. Kelner - Laura Fleming 07 - Mad as the Dickens
Page 26
Everybody in the room turned to see what had made Tim laugh so loudly, but we wouldn’t explain. A few days later, I heard through the grapevine that the Murdstones had welcomed Tim with open arms. I was glad. Maybe Tim hadn’t gotten the father he wanted, but at least he had two brothers and a sister-in-law who wanted him. That made a pretty good Christmas present.
What with the play wrap-up, the finishing touches on our Christmas preparations, and then the big day itself, it wasn’t until the day after Christmas that I had a chance to go see Junior. She was back on duty, of course, and I found her at the police station. She was sitting behind her desk, and though there were papers in front of her, I suspected she was really just enjoying being back where she belonged.
“Hey there, Laurie Anne,” she said. “Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?”
“Pretty much. Richard even got me another D’Arcy pocketbook. How about you?”
“No complaints. Though I could have used a new deputy in my stocking.”
“I am sorry about Mark. How it all turned out, I mean.” Though I didn’t think him much of a loss, I knew that shooting him hadn’t come easily to her.
“I’m sorry I never realized who he really was. Daddy’s feeling even more got away with, after having hired and trained Mark himself. Here Mark had been on the take all these years, and we never had the first clue.” She shook her head. “You remember how Seth told the Todgers he left Mr. Gamp’s body because he thought he heard sirens? According to Jake, he really did hear a siren. Mark was there that night and offered to forget what he’d seen. That’s how far back it went.”
“I take it that Jake’s cooperating.”
“Oh, yeah. Florence is making a case for temporary insanity or diminished capacity, because of what happened to Barnaby. So the more Jake cooperates, the better that’s going to look to the judge and D.A.”
“You realize that he could have turned me over to Mark, and Mark only hit him because Jake wouldn’t let him kill you.”
“I know. Maybe I won’t add him to my Christmas card list, but I can’t blame him for what my own deputy did. You can bet I’m going to be more careful about who I hire next time.” She looked at me. “I don’t suppose you’re interested in law enforcement, are you?”
“Me?” I laughed. “Thanks anyway, but I’d never be able to keep up with all the rules you’ve got.”
“Just a thought,” she said. “If you ever do decide to turn professional, I’d be proud to have you work with me.”
“Junior, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
She looked alarmed. “You’re not going to hug me again, are you?”
“Hey, it was you who hugged me last time.”
“So it was,” she said. “I never thanked you for what you did that night.”
“You don’t have to. In fact, I ought to apologize for not helping when Mark kidnapped you.”
“Laurie Anne, don’t you ever think that,” she said firmly. “There was nothing you could have done to stop Mark. He was armed, he was trained, and he was desperate. The only reason I was talking so loud was to warn you. I wanted you to stay where you were.”
“I know, but if Clara Todger hadn’t sent Jake to come get me—”
“But she did. By the way, when I spoke to her the other day, she asked after you. And she says she loves your pocketbook.”
I laughed. “Maybe I’ll get her one as a thank-you.”
Junior’s face turned serious. “Laurie Anne, even though I appreciate your saving me more than I can say, I don’t want you ever to put my welfare ahead of your baby’s again. The day I let anything happen to a Burnette baby is the day I’d have to leave town. Because if your family didn’t get a hold of me, my own mama would.”
“I’ll make a New Year’s resolution to be more careful.” Then I asked, “Do you think I should stop these investigations? For the baby’s sake?”
“I don’t know, Laurie Anne. It wouldn’t hurt for you to be more careful, but that’s true of anybody. Having a baby changes you, but it’s not supposed to change you into somebody else.”
“You lost me.”
“Would I still be myself if I quit being a cop?”
“Lord, Junior, I can’t imagine you doing anything else.”
“Then what you have to ask yourself is this: can you imagine yourself not getting into these situations?”
I tried to picture myself no longer asking questions and tracking down answers, all the while knowing that solving problems made me feel special in a way nothing else did. I felt as if I was really helping people, making a difference, and other Peace Corps slogans. It wasn’t that I looked for dead bodies, but I couldn’t seem to ignore any that came my way. “I don’t think I can, Junior.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I got another hug out of her before I left, and as I walked out to the car, I rubbed my tummy and said, “Baby, we’re going to have some interesting times together.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Toni L.P. Kelner is the author of the Laura Fleming mysteries and the “Where are they now?” series. She has also co-edited, with Charlaine Harris, a series of New York Times bestselling fantasy-mystery anthologies, including Many Bloody Returns; Wolfsbane & Mistletoe; Death’s Excellent Vacation; and the forthcoming Games Creatures Play. Her short stories have been nominated for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Derringer, and she has won the Agatha Award. Under her pseudonym Leigh Perry, she writes the Family Skeleton mysteries.
ALSO BY TONI L. P. KELNER
SKELETON FAMILY MYSTERIES
(writing as Leigh Perry)
A Skeleton in the Family
LAURA FLEMING MYSTERIES
Down Home Murder*
Dead Ringer*
Trouble Looking for a Place to Happen*
Country Comes to Town*
Tight as a Tick*
Death of a Damn Yankee*
Mad as the Dickens*
Wed and Buried*
ANTHOLOGIES CO-EDITED WITH CHARLAINE HARRIS
Many Bloody Returns
Wolfsband and Mistletoe
Death’s Excellent Vacation
Home Improvement: Undead Edition
An Apple for the Creature
Games Creatures Play (forthcoming from Ace)
“WHERE ARE THEY NOW?” SERIES
Curse of the Kissing Cousin (originally published as Without Mercy)
Who Killed the Pinup Queen?
Blast from the Past
*available as a Jabberwocky ebook
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