Magic & Mystery

by Sara Bourgeois

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lara

  Since Gordon didn’t know that Frankie had inherited a cabin in the hills of Kentucky from her grandmother, he hadn’t been able to take any steps to prevent me from getting a copy of her will from the State of Kentucky.

  As soon as Brody revealed that she had property there, we jumped in his car and drove straight to the closest courthouse on the other side of the border. With the court order from the judge presiding over Frankie’s estate, I was able to secure a copy of her will from the clerk for a mere ten dollars cash.

  “How did no one but you know about her cabin in Kentucky?” I asked as we drove back. “And why didn’t you say something sooner?” That was a question I’d grown tired of asking.

  “I didn’t remember until my father hit me. My head rang like a bell and it jostled something loose,” he said. “She made an offhand comment about the cabin to her husband. I was hiding in her yard from my dad. It was the only other time he’d ever physically hit me. When he punched me today, it brought the memory back to the surface.”

  Thinking about everything Brody had been through at the hands of his father made me soften toward him a little. He must have spent his entire life in fear. After being raised by a monster like Gordon, I was actually surprised that he’d found the courage to stand up to his father.

  “I’m proud of you,” I said and took his hand.

  “That’s the first time anyone has ever said that to me,” he said.

  I was about to say something else, but I’m not sure what. I heard a loud popping and a rushing of air. Brody’s car swerved to the side and spun off the road.

  The airbag knocked me out for a moment. When I came to, Brody was rubbing his face and trying to snap himself out of the stupor the blows to our head had caused.

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  Before I had a chance to answer, I saw a large, black SUV approaching us. It slowed down as it approached us, and then came to stop a hundred feet from where Brody and I had skidded off the road.

  My heart sank when Gordon got out of the driver’s side and Sylvie emerged from the passenger seat. I noticed right away that she had a gun in her hand.

  “Get out of the car. Keep your hands where I can see them,” Sylvie called in a voice that was very different from the sing- song bubble gum lilt I’d become accustomed to hearing from her.

  “Sylvie, you know as well as I do that I don’t have a gun,” Brody barked and rubbed his temples trying to dispel the pain. “Stay in the car,” he said to me. “No matter what happens, just remain in the car.”

  “Brody, they have a gun.”

  “And if they’re going to shoot you, they’ll do it whether you get out of the car or not,” he said and switched from rubbing his temples to massaging the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “If I get the chance, I’m going to go for the gun. If something goes wrong, you’ll have more protection in here.”

  “Get out of the car!” Gordon boomed. “Sylvie, get over there and get them out.”

  “I’m coming,” Brody said as he opened his car door.

  “Her too,” Gordon yelled.

  “She’s hurt and needs to stay in the car,” Brody said calmly. “You can deal with me.”

  “Do I look like I care if she’s hurt?” Gordon asked. “Lara, get out of the car and bring the will with you. Hand it over.” He turned to Sylvie. “Sylvie, sweetie, shoot my ungrateful son if Lara doesn’t get out of the car and give up the will.”

  Sylvie aimed the gun at Brody but her hands began to shake. I could see clearly that she didn’t want to kill him, but the way her hands were shaking could’ve caused her to shoot him accidentally.

  “I’m getting out. I’m all right,” I said and swung my door open. “You know, it’s only a matter of time before someone else finds this will. Even if you get the money now, you’re eventually going down, Mayor O’Malley,” I said defiantly.

  “How are we going to keep them from getting another copy?” Sylvie asked. She sounded like a frightened child.

  “Oh, Sylvie. My son and his meddling girlfriend were never getting out of this alive. We’ve gone too far. I can’t leave any loose ends.” He turned and took a step toward her. “Shoot them both.”

  “I can’t... I can’t do that,” she said and shook her head no at the same time. “I won’t kill anyone else.”

  “That’s right, Sylvie,” Brody soothed. “You’ll notice he said that he can’t leave any loose ends. You’re a loose end too. He’s using you to kill us, but eventually it will be your turn too.”

  “Shut up,” Gordon growled. “Sylvie, sweetie, that’s not true. I’m going to marry you, baby. Killing them is it. After that, you can start planning your dream wedding. Anything you want, sugar. We’ll have so much money.”

  Sylvie was still shaking her head no. Tears streaked down her face and soaked into her pink t-shirt. She didn’t see Gordon advancing on her.

  “Sylvie, look out,” I cried out.

  Without another moment of hesitation, she raised the gun and shot Gordon in the stomach. He moaned like something out of a horror movie and stumbled before falling to the ground.

  “I’ll wait in the car,” Sylvie said and handed Brody the gun with her head hung low.

  Epilogue

  The gunshot wound didn’t kill Gordon. After extensive surgery, he survived and was taken into custody once he was released from the hospital.

  I was still living with Nora when the call came in from my agency. They had another job for me and I’d need to be in Colorado in three days if I wanted to take it.

  “I think I’m going to take a hiatus,” I said.

  For some reason, I had no desire to leave Ash Road. I had plenty of savings to live off of for a while, and the cost of living in a small town is ridiculously low. There was also a lot of unresolved personal business waiting for me to address.

  A will surfaced for Ellie a couple of weeks after Gordon and Sylvie were first arrested. She didn’t want a funeral but several of our mutual friends got together in Ash Road for a memorial party. They stayed at the Magnolia and Willow Inn, and Becca made us appetizers for a gathering in the breakfast room and parlor. We stayed up late talking and laughing about good times with our old friend. She left her SUV to our friend, Jack. Fortunately, he let me keep it long enough for my car to get delivered to Ash Road.

  One benefit of staying in Ash Road was that I got to attend the annual Library Gala. The party was much larger than usual because of the library’s share of a very generous donation from loving patron. Five different men asked me to be their date, including the mailman. I almost accepted old man Harper’s invitation.

  He’s Nora’s and my next-door neighbor, and he made the best homemade meatballs. Antonio Harper shared them with us often too. I was pretty sure that he was sweet on Nora, and in fact, when I turned him down for the gala, he immediately invited Nora. She accepted.

  The man whose invitation I eventually accepted was Brody. I wanted to be angry with him, but my heart wouldn’t let me stay mad forever. He was afraid and was trying to protect his sister, Madeline, and me at the same time. I couldn’t say that I would have made better decisions in his place. So I decided to give him another chance.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he said when I opened the door to him on the night of the gala.

  “You probably say that to all of the girls,” I teased.

  “No. Never.” His eyes were wide, and Brody’s mouth was agape. “Where did you even get a dress like that?”

  “This old thing?” I said and smoothed the skirt of my red silk gown. “I just had it lying around.”

  The truth was that Nora and I had driven into the city and had custom gowns tailored for the event. Nora said that I deserved something luxurious after what I’d been through.

  We danced the night away, and when the gala was over and Brody took me home, I let him kiss me again. I even agreed to go on
another date. He still made my heart pound like a stampede of raging buffalo, and that wasn’t something I was ready to give up yet. It wasn’t a fairytale ending.

  But it was a start.

  Old Man Harper’s Meatballs

  Gather:

  1 pound of ground beef

  1 pound of ground Italian sausage

  2 cups of bread crumbs

  2 cups of shredded parmesan cheese

  1 TBSP of the following spices:

  Oregano

  Sage

  Garlic Powder

  Onion Powder

  Basil

  You can use salt and black pepper to your tastes.

  2 eggs

  1/3 cup milk

  3 TBSP cooking oil of your choice (I like to use butter.)

  Cast iron skillet (or frying pan and casserole dish)

  Directions:

  Beat eggs and milk together in a small bowl. Put the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use.

  In a large bowl, mix the bread crumbs, spices, and parmesan cheese together with a large fork.

  Once they are blended thoroughly, add the beef, sausage, and egg milk mixture.

  Use your hands to squish everything together until well blended.

  Scoop out mixture using a large spoon. You can either make several small 1-inch meatballs or four large ones. Roll the mixture with your clean hands into ball shapes and then place them in a skillet coated with your choice of oil.

  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating, brown the outside of the meatballs in the skillet.

  If you use a cast iron skillet, you can put it directly in the oven once it is preheated and the meatballs are browned. If you use a skillet and casserole dish, transfer the browned meatballs to the casserole dish.

  Place the browned meatballs in the preheated oven and a bake for 18 – 22 minutes, or until no longer pink, for 1-inch meatballs. Bake large meatballs for 25 – 30 minutes or until no longer pink.

  Remove from the oven when the meatballs are firm and no longer pink in the center. Let them cool for a few minutes before serving with your favorite pasta and sauce.

  Copyright© 2017 Sara Bourgeois

  All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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