by Lyndsey Cole
“That clever little stinker,” Juliette said with pride dripping from her words.
Petunia walked through the gate as if she was on a fashion show runway, looking left and right. The Moodle, with the potbelly pig trotting behind, moved out of view of the window.
Juliette looked at Hannah. “What now?” she whispered.
They didn’t have to wait for long. Noise from the other side of the bedroom door drew their attention back inside.
Hannah scanned the bedroom for anything that could be used as a weapon. She picked up the heaviest book on the bookshelf and noiselessly moved to the side of the door and motioned for Juliette to do the same. Juliette armed herself with her scissors.
They waited motionless for what felt like an eternity but nothing happened.
Voices filtered into the bedroom but Hannah couldn’t understand any words. Was someone talking to Vanessa?
Suddenly, the clomp, clomp of heavy shoes running up the stairs rang through the house. Someone pulled on the door until it flew open. Hannah had her book ready.
“Jack?” Hannah’s arms fell to her sides and the book dropped to the floor with a loud thud. Juliette still held the scissors in front of her. Jack carefully relieved her of her weapon.
“Are you two all right?” Jack’s eyes searched Hannah up and down before he did the same to Juliette.
Pam, Samantha, and Ruby crowded into the room.
Like a bullet, Maisy dove through all the legs and leaped up into Juliette’s arms, kissing her face until Juliette laughed and fell on the bed.
“Where’s Vanessa?” Hannah asked.
“Don’t worry about her. She’s locked up tight in my police car, ready for a little trip to a secure facility. Along with her partner.”
“Colin?”
“Uh-huh. He spilled the beans as soon as I pulled into the driveway behind his Mustang,” Pam explained. “It’s a good thing you called me or you two might have ended up as fish bait. Vanessa had a boat all ready to go to dump your bodies out to sea.”
“That must have been why Colin was hiding out near the marina. Did he really plan to let Vanessa get rid of Gwen?” Hannah asked.
“Nope. He had a big change of heart but he is still in trouble for dismantling the security camera for Vanessa and hiding the fact that she was the one who pushed Monique into the pool.”
“Geesh.” Hannah shook her head. “Vanessa is one sick woman. She was actually delusional enough to want Harold back. And to think he’d want her back, too. Does Harold know about any of this yet?”
“He showed up after I had Colin in custody. I don’t know how he knew where to go.” Pam gave Hannah a glare from the corner of her eye but kept what she was thinking to herself.
Jack put his arm around Hannah. “So Petunia escaped again and she dragged Maisy along to get help. Can you believe it?”
Hannah laughed and looked at Juliette. “Well, that’s not exactly what happened. We watched Maisy from the bedroom window as she opened the latch on the gate and led Petunia out of the backyard. We didn’t know where they were going, but Maisy was definitely in charge. Is Petunia back in her pen?”
“She is, but I’d better add a different latch if Maisy is going to be around for a lengthy visit,” Jack said.
“About that.” Juliette put her hand on Ruby’s arm. “Do you think Olivia could take care of Maisy for me? I’ve decided to do some traveling.”
“Are you serious? Olivia is madly in love with Maisy and I think it’s mutual. She couldn’t have a better home away from home. Olivia’s downstairs with her treasure box, why don’t you go give her the good news.”
Juliette picked up the hot pink knitted blanket. “I finished this, too. Should I wrap it up?”
Ruby stroked the soft yarn. “It’s beautiful. Why don’t you wrap Maisy up in it and put them both in Olivia’s lap?”
Juliette took Ruby’s advice. All that showed of the Moodle was her white head and bright black eyes sticking out of the blanket. The color suited her perfectly.
Jack followed them down the stairs, leaving Hannah and Pam in Juliette’s room.
“You can stop by the police station tomorrow and give me your statement. I’ve got enough to do now with Vanessa and Colin in custody,” Pam said. She stared out the bedroom window. “I don’t suppose my father has shared anything with you yet?”
“Not yet.”
Pam sighed. “I wish he wasn’t such a stubborn curmudgeon but I think he’s too old to change.”
“I’ll agree with that.”
Hannah followed Pam downstairs. Olivia cuddled Maisy while Juliette told Ruby everything that happened with Vanessa. Hannah let herself out and walked to the beach. She was more than ready for a quiet walk back to her place.
The waves rushed over the sand, almost licking her feet. It was a good feeling to know that some things never changed.
Cal was waiting on Hannah’s porch with his long legs perched on the railing. He held his arms out and Hannah fell into his lap. She inhaled his woodsy, salty scent. “Before you say anything, I only went to Ruby’s house. How could I know that Vanessa was ready to murder Juliette and I stumbled into her plan?”
Cal stroked Hannah’s long braid and wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. “Ruby called me. I heard Petunia and Maisy were the heroes.”
Hannah snickered. “Not exactly. Gwen’s phone call to me asking for help set everything in motion, but Maisy and Petunia brought in the reinforcements.”
“How about I get the burgers out of your fridge and bring them to my boat for dinner. I’ll pick up wine and beer and some salad, too.”
“That sounds perfect. After I take a shower, I’ll swing by.”
“Okay.”
They snuggled for a while before Cal left.
By the time Hannah stepped into her shower, she was more than ready for the hot water to wash away the day’s grime and everything else—fear, worry, and her anxiety circled the drain and disappeared, too.
Hannah had one stop to make before she joined Cal on his boat. She turned her Volvo station wagon into the driveway behind the tidy cedar shingled cottage with a view of the ocean. As she walked around the side of the cottage she heard two voices.
“We should spend more time together.”
“You are a stubborn son-of-a-gun sometimes, Jack. What did it take for you to finally reach that conclusion? Expecting a death sentence in that lab report?” Caroline scolded.
Hannah slowed her pace and heard one last comment. “I’m already dead,” Caroline joked, “but I’m glad you got a clean bill of health.”
Hannah coughed to give them a warning.
“Hannah? Get over here so I can touch you. Jack just told me what happened and I can’t bear to think that miserable woman even considered harming you. And we all thought the bad guy was Harold.”
“I don’t think he’s exactly a good guy, but he’s not a murderer,” Hannah said as she scooched in between two of her favorite people. She looked at Jack. “Did you tell Pam about the results yet? She’s going out of her mind worrying about you.”
“Women!” Jack squeezed Hannah’s knee. “I called her on my way over here. I knew I would never hear the last of it if I didn’t tell Pam first. But I still think you all should worry more about yourselves and less about an old curmudgeon like me.”
Hannah smiled and put one arm around Jack and the other around Caroline.
The twinkle was back in Jack’s eyes when he grinned at her.
This is the end of Caught Dead Handed. I hope you enjoyed the story. Click here and start reading my next book today!
A Note from Lyndsey
Thank you for reading my cozy mystery, Caught Dead Handed.
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About the Author
Lyndsey Cole lives in New England in a small rural town with her husband who puts up with all the characters in her head, her dog who hogs the
couch, her cat who is the boss, and 3 chickens that would like to move into the house. She surrounds herself with gardens full of beautiful perennials. Sitting among the flowers with the scent of lilac, peonies, lily of the valley, or whatever is in bloom, stimulates her imagination about who will die next!
Also by Lyndsey Cole
The Hooked & Cooked Series
Gunpowder Chowder
Mobsters and Lobsters
A Fishy Dish
Crook, Line and Sinker
Catch of the Dead
Lily Bloom Series
Begonia Means Beware
Queen of Poison
Roses are Dead
Drowning in Dahlias
Hidden by the Hydrangeas
Christmas Tree Catastrophe
The Black Cat Café Series
BlueBuried Muffins
StrawBuried in Chocolate
BlackBuried Pie
Very Buried Cheesecake
RaspBuried Torte
PoisonBuried Punch
CranBuried Coffee Cake
WineBuried Wedding
Jingle Buried Cookies
Easter Buried Eggs