by K. J. Emrick
The discrepancies Christina had found in her books were the result of this man forging pages of the ledger. He'd gotten her handwriting perfect but little details had been messed up, making funds appear to be missing.
"He might have even done that on purpose," Brandon guessed, "to make Miss Christina spend more time with the ledger. Every time she touched a page or ran a finger along a column she would have been absorbing arsenic through her skin. What I can't figure out is how you managed not to be poisoned, too."
"Chris never lets me touch her ledger book," Rysen explained. "I only did the computer spreadsheets and things like that. So do they know why he killed the woman in Bea's shop yet?"
"No. Not yet." He paused. "There's something else."
"I could tell."
"Oh? Getting to know me that well?"
Her smile slipped. "A little too well, maybe."
He must have read the look on her face. "Troubles with your boyfriend?"
She nodded miserably. "He might have, sort of, broken up with me."
"Sorry to hear that."
"Are you? Really? Because you don't sound it. And I'm not sure how I want to feel about it, either." She wanted so badly to be mad at him, was what she wanted. She just couldn't make herself do it. This wasn't Brandon's fault. None of it was. She had chosen to be with Josh, but fate or God Himself kept throwing her and Brandon together. She just wasn't sure what to make of it.
"How about we let that go for now?" he suggested, reaching out to take her hand.
She looked to the door, expecting Josh to be standing there to see this, too. She was almost disappointed when there was no one there.
Still, she didn't take her hand away.
"Tell me the rest of it," she said, feeling his fingers curl around hers. "You said there was something more."
"Right. Turns out the police found a connection between the dead woman and the delivery truck driver we busted last month. Their bank accounts are tied to the same bank account. Both of them got paid from that account. Someone hired both of them. I wouldn't be surprised if they hired the bald guy in your cellar, too." He put a hand to his head like he was remembering the events in the cellar. "It's a good first step, anyway. Maybe now we can find out who the real person behind all this."
"They don't know who the bank account belongs to?"
"Not yet. It's under a fake name, and I'm betting it leads to another fake account, and another, and so on. Someone's gone to a lot of trouble to cover their tracks."
She didn't know what to say. All of these people, hired by a single, shadowy bastard who they didn't know. How could anyone hate her sister that much? Robbed, assaulted, laid up in the hospital. Who would do that?
And why?
Rysen didn't know those answers. Yet. She would have to put all of her new found sleuthing skills to work solving this riddle.
For now, all she knew was that Brandon's hand felt good in hers. Warm and strong and comforting. Brandon didn’t expect anything from her, and he was always there when she needed someone's help. As guys went, he was wonderful.
There was a fleeting moment when she knew this was what she wanted in her life. This, right here. Even the dangerous situations they kept falling into. It was that simple. Or, it should be. Shouldn't it?
Why couldn't things be this simple all the time?
***
The next morning, Rysen awoke to the smell of pancakes wafting up from downstairs. She smiled. Christina must be back from the hospital, her sleepy mind reasoned. Stretching, she rolled out of bed and put on her slippers, then padded down the hallway still in her pajamas.
She was halfway down the stairs when she remembered Christina wasn't going to be released from the hospital until tonight. Rysen was supposed to pick her up, for that matter.
So who was downstairs making pancakes?
When she came around into the kitchen she saw him. Tall, imposing, and very out of place flipping pancakes on an electric griddle.
"Uh. Good morning, dad."
He scooped a pancake up and placed it over onto a plate that held a growing stack. "Good morning to you, too. I thought you might like some breakfast."
"Well I usually eat breakfast in the morning, so that's good timing." Was that a smile she saw on his face? It was there and gone so quickly she couldn't be sure. "Dad, what are you doing here?"
With his back to her, he shrugged and poured out more batter. "Like I said, I'm making you pancakes."
"Okay…" She didn't get it. The last time she'd spoken to her father he had practically frozen her out and then stormed out of the room like all the men in her life had been doing recently.
Every one of them except Brandon, that is. Something else to consider.
She sat down at the kitchen table, feeling awkward in her pajamas and still confused. The silence continued for a long time as her dad put together plates of golden brown pancakes with syrup and strips of crispy bacon. He put one plate in front of her, and sat down with the other one, folding out a napkin onto his lap.
As she stared at him, he cut into his three pancakes, took a bite, and chewed. It was like this was a normal thing for them, something they did every day, like nothing had ever been said between them or—
"I'm proud of you, Rysen," he said after a drink of milk. He never looked at her as he cut another bite. "What you did for your sister means a lot."
Rysen couldn't believe what she had just heard. Her father had just told her that he was proud. Of her! Wow. She'd have to mark that one on her calendar.
They ate in silence after that, but Rysen couldn't help like the fact that she and her dad had just grown a little closer. It wasn't like he'd come over to give her a big hug, but it might just be the first step toward healing the hurts between them.
Those were the best pancakes she'd ever had in her whole life.
***
The wine shop was going to stay closed today. With everything that had happened Rysen figured she needed a day off. Christina would be back tonight and they could discuss how to go forward from here. One thing was certain. They would need to have much better security. If the man who killed the woman in Bea's shop and then tried to steal the poisoned ledger to cover his tracks could break through security alarms that easily, they'd have to come up with something different.
Brandon would probably be able to help them with that. He'd already offered to stay in the area for them, and help with whatever they needed. Rysen sighed as she walked up Main Street. That was one more complication she would have to iron out.
Josh or Brandon. Both men were perfect, in their own way. Both of them were obviously into her. She couldn't just lead both of them on and she couldn't just keep pretending she didn't have feelings for both of them.
She was a leaf being blown around on the wind. She needed to land somewhere, to make a decision and ground herself in her choice. It would be nice if someone could make the choice for her, but that wasn't how these things worked. It was her choice to make and she would have to make it.
Just not today. Today she was going to drop in on Beatrice and let her know everything they had found out. The killer. The arsenic. The link to whoever was behind everything. It was like the plot to a mystery novel.
The bell above the door to the flower shop jingled as she entered. The buzz around Bea's store had died down in the days following the murder, and now the shop was empty in the early morning hours. Rysen found Bea in the work area behind the sales counter slamming vases out of her way to toss a bunch of flowers down on the table. She must be putting together an order.
"Hi, Bea," she said, leaning over the counter. "Did you hear about what happened?"
Bea jerked around to Rysen, a pair of curved garden shears gripped tightly in her gloved hand. "Oh," she said almost immediately, "hi, Rysen. I didn't hear you come in."
"That's all right. You must have a lot of work to catch up on."
"I do," she said with a tight smile. "Especially now that Josh doesn't work
here anymore."
She turned back to the flowers, roses and purple lilies, and began expertly snipping the stems shorter. Rysen could only imagine how Bea must feel, how she must be tense and upset still about the dead woman in the back of her shop. Hopefully what Rysen had to tell her would make her feel better.
"Well," she said to Beatrice's back, "I've got good news. Christina's going to be home tonight. Wait until you hear the rest of it!"
Bea turned, a rose in her hand. With a harsh snip she cut the head of the flower off. It fell to the floor at her feet.
"Bea? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong! Seriously, Rysen?" Bea slammed the shears down on the counter and began waving her hands around as she practically screamed at Rysen. "How about the fact that you basically swooped in here and stole Josh away from me? How about the fact that there was a murder here in my shop and now the police are back asking questions since they think there's a big old conspiracy going on, thanks to you! How about the way you—"
Beatrice took hold of herself, fisting her hands, squeezing her eyes shut, and breathing for a long few seconds while Rysen stood there in complete shock.
"Bea," she said, "I had no idea that you were so upset about all of that…"
"Nevermind," her friend said slowly, sighing out the word with a heavy breath. "Just…forget it, Ry. I didn't mean all of that. I'm just so upset. Worried, I guess. I mean, all of this murder and intrigue stuff may be great for you and that Brandon guy but it's just too much for me. I'm all worked up. Forgive me?"
Rysen brightened immediately. "Of course, Bea. I understand. I'm just glad that Chris is going to be all right. It shouldn't be much longer and we'll be able to catch the person behind this as soon as the police track the bank account information they found."
"Yes," Bea said with a tired smile. "I'm glad for all of that, too. Listen, I have a bit of a headache. Can we maybe catch up later? Please?"
"Um, sure. Sorry, Bea. I didn't mean to worry you."
"It's all right. Really. It's just like I said. You and I are very different people."
"Still friends, though, right?"
Beatrice picked up a lily in bloom and handed it to her. "Of course. Friends. I'll call you later. Promise. I just think I need to lay down now."
They said their goodbyes and Rysen left, still worrying about Bea. She'd really taken all of this hard. And she obviously wasn't as over Josh and her dating each other as Rysen had thought. Well. She'd have to think about that, too. Not that it would be the final deciding factor, but she had to consider her friend's feelings, at least.
For now, it was a bright sunny day. The sun was out and the air was warm and scented with the nearby vineyards and the distant ocean. Rysen breathed in the world around her and smiled.
Life in Cambria might not be as boring as she remembered. From where she stood, that wasn't a bad thing. This really was becoming home now. Everything was unfolding around her in ways she never could have dreamed. Some good, some bad. Wasn't that what life was all about?
She took another deep breath of air. In, and out. It felt good.
Hello world. Bring it on.
-To Be Continued-
More of the Rysen Morris Mystery Series
Thank you very much for reading Spirit of the Soul Part Two: Toxic Attack– A Rysen Morris Mystery!
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About the Author
Strongly influenced by authors like James Patterson, Dick Francis, and Nora Roberts, Kathrine Emrick is an up and coming talent in the writing world. She is a new Kindle author/publisher and brings a variety of experiences and observations to her writing.
Based in Australia, Kathrine has wanted to be an author for the majority of her life and can always be found jotting down daily notes in a journal. Like many authors, she loves to be surrounded by books and is a voracious reader.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at the local library.
Her goal is to become a bestselling author, regularly producing noteworthy content and engaging in a community of readers and writers.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
About the Author