For Letter or Worse

by Vivian Conroy

  “It’s never completely safe. I think that in order to kill, you have to be different than normal people. Somehow deranged in your mind. Even coldblooded killers who are far from crazy are still different, in the sense that they can kill without remorse. So, you never know what a person like that might do when he realizes that he’s caught out. But we can discuss how to handle it to make it as safe as possible for you. I know the place where we can do it. It’s remote, and he will feel like he has the advantage.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that at all.” Zara ducked into her collar. “Why would I even do this? Apart from wanting to know who my father really is. I never liked Sally.”

  “Or Lena, or anybody around here.” Jonas gave her a direct, hard stare. “That’s what you tell yourself. But I think you want to belong. And by helping us solve this case, you can belong. With us.”

  Zara eyed him. Delta wasn’t sure what she was thinking. Were they even right in trusting this girl, who had proven herself to be manipulative and volatile?

  But what other choice did they have? Drake wouldn’t give himself away. If a stranger claimed to know something, he might work his way out of it. But if it was his own daughter confronting him, claiming to have seen him walk away, and showing off her greedy nature by asking for money to keep her mouth shut…

  Delta suppressed the nerves wriggling in her stomach. She could only hope they were not making a terrible mistake.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The morning sunshine was playing through the trees, casting shadows on the path leading to the water. Zara stood there, shivering in her coat. She had her back turned on the water and the beautiful rainbows shooting across it while the breeze wrinkled the surface.

  Jonas and Delta sat in hiding with full view of the spot where, once upon a time, the villa’s boathouse had stood. The boathouse where a young woman had been stabbed—Athena Barrows. Delta wondered whether she had felt any sense of discomfort or alarm when she had come to the boathouse on that fateful day. Had she met someone there? Or had the killer been lurking, waiting for her to appear and take a boat out on her own?

  They might never know. But they would know, soon enough, what was going to happen right in front of them.

  She glanced at Jonas. His expression was full of focus, not easy to read. If he was worried, he didn’t show it. But worrying now didn’t serve a point. They were past that. They had decided to do it, and it had to work, somehow.

  “Where did you leave the dogs?”

  The sudden voice made Delta jerk. Drake appeared on the path. He wore a dark-blue woolen coat and strode toward his daughter.

  Zara shrugged. “Does it matter? You don’t like them. Neither does Lena, when push comes to shove. They’re symbols of her rich wife’s life.”

  Drake laughed softly. “Isn’t it a bit early to be so cynical?” He halted in front of her.

  Delta admired that Zara didn’t flinch or move back, betraying that she knew something.

  “This kind of meeting isn’t smart.” Drake stamped his feet as he stared past Zara and across the water. “Lena may not be around to notice, but people could see things. It’s such a small town, full of busybodies.”

  “Don’t worry. We only have to do this once.” Zara smiled at him. “You see, I’m not coming back to the villa. I’m taking my leave. And I’d like to take a little something along…for my trouble.”

  “That is sudden.” Drake let his gaze roam her face. “Any reason?”

  “Other than the murder, the power outage, Lena on the run?” Zara made a hand gesture. “Need I go on? I’ve had time to get to know you. I know enough.”

  “Really? I don’t understand this.” Drake gestured around him. “Why not talk at the villa? So much more comfortable. And if you want money, I could have written you a check right away.”

  “Yes, but I’m not quite sure what you have in the drawer of your desk besides a checkbook.” Zara smiled at him. “I feel better here in the open.”

  Drake shifted his weight. Delta felt Jonas tense beside her. They had no idea what the man was going to do.

  Zara said, “I’d like to leave Tundish with enough money to make a few of my dreams come true. Travel the world. See faraway places. How about one hundred thousand?”

  Drake laughed. “You can travel the world for as little as ten thousand if you work in the places where you’re staying. Would teach you something too.”

  “I learned enough here. How about it?”

  “Not a chance.” Drake stepped away from her. “You’ve been acting like a spoiled brat, and I’ve been sorry I couldn’t send you to your room like I should have done long ago. I’m not giving you that kind of money.”

  “Not for anything in the world? Not even my silence?”

  Drake froze. “Silence? Do you intend to go to lurid news sites and sell your story? ‘How I infiltrated my father’s household as dog walker?’” He held up his hands as if unrolling the headline on a banner. “I don’t think they will be very interested.”

  “How I infiltrated my father’s household as a dog walker and caught him committing murder.” Zara’s voice was low. “It would make an excellent headline.”

  “Murder?” Drake frowned at her as if the word was foreign to him.

  “Yes. My aunt. Sally? You killed her. I saw you do it.”

  “Oh, no, Zara.” Drake shook his head. “I’m sure you didn’t see anything of the kind.”

  “Because you are so careful?” She laughed. “You think no one knows, no one understands. But I know everything. About the statue she stole and the offer she made you to have her come into the company. You killed her for the statue. Which unfortunately will never be yours, because the police have it now. But to prevent the police from getting you as well, you’re going to pay me one hundred grand. Come on. It’s nothing to you. You have millions in the bank. I’m just asking for a little money to travel. I’m your daughter. Let me have some fun.”

  Drake eyed her. Delta wasn’t sure he believed her or that the mention of the statue even struck any response in him. Maybe they were barking up the wrong tree, and Drake was now wondering if his daughter had completely lost her mind with this attempt to wring one hundred thousand dollars away from him.

  Zara said, “You write me ten checks for ten thousand. I won’t cash them all at once.”

  “I could simply cancel them, one by one.”

  “Then I will talk.” Zara sounded cold. “I came here to get to know you. I’ve come to know you all right. You’re ruthless when it comes to what you want. And you know, I am just like you.”

  “You’re nothing like me.” Drake closed in on her. “I worked hard for everything I have. You’ve never worked in your life. Not a single day.”

  “I took care of the dogs—”

  “You call that work? You couldn’t control them. You let them roam. You behaved like you were entitled to everything. You don’t understand what work means. Or why it matters.”

  “Matters?” Zara laughed. “I’m a rich man’s daughter. I need not work. You give everything to me.”

  “You sound exactly like Lena. She also wants me to give everything to her. You see, people think I’m a giving person. But I’m not. I have a credo. You can get something off me. But only in return for something else.”

  “Then my deal should appeal to you. I get the money in exchange for my silence, which means you don’t go to jail for the rest of your life. Isn’t that fair?” Zara’s eyes flashed. “How much is freedom worth?”

  Drake grabbed her. It happened so fast that Delta almost missed it. His hands were suddenly around her throat, and he was wringing all the air out of her.

  A male voice called out from the brush, “Put your hands up in the air. You are under arrest. Put them up.”

  Even though Delta had known the deputy was hiding there, his sudden cry start
led her, and her heartbeat stuttered. But Drake didn’t seem to hear anything. He kept squeezing. Jonas jumped to his feet and ran for the man. He gave him a well-placed blow to the shoulder just where the neck began. Drake crumpled. Zara staggered back and almost fell into the water. Jonas grabbed her and steadied her. “You okay?”

  The deputy closed in and knelt to cuff Drake. “You shouldn’t have run into my line of fire,” he groused to Jonas. “That wasn’t the deal.”

  “He didn’t hear your call to surrender. He was livid with rage. He would have killed her sooner than have put his hands in the air.” Jonas took a deep breath. “But thanks for coming. You could have told me to get lost with my crazy idea.”

  “I should have. West will have my hide for this. Yes, I deliver him the killer, but he won’t like who it is. And I still doubt we have proof enough to get him convicted.”

  Jonas gestured at him. “Your experts must have gotten DNA off the body. They always have something, even if it’s miniscule skin particles on clothing. They can compare it to Drake’s DNA now that we have him for the attack on his daughter. And the knife… There must be something on it of his as well. He might have wiped it, but you can never clean away all DNA traces. You will get him. I promise you.”

  The deputy nodded and leaned down over Drake. He was coming to and making spluttering sounds.

  Zara rubbed her throat. She looked down on her father. “I got to know you better than I ever wanted to.” She burst into tears, and Jonas put an arm around her and led her away.

  Delta followed, looking back over her shoulder at the place where, decades before, Athena Barrows had died. This whole situation had given her an idea. Was it possible that Athena had been killed by her own husband? Who had used the remote place and the nearness of Athena’s alleged lover to divert suspicion? Several options had been discussed in Coldard’s article in the book about cold cases Ray had lent her. An unknown intruder. Tony Taylor, with his poems possibly inspired by Athena’s beauty. Never the husband.

  She had to let Coldard know about her idea and see if he would delve into it and maybe find something to support it. That would give him a nice, new challenge. He needed to stay busy to keep the melancholy of old age away. Maybe Gran would like to meet him.

  Delta grinned to herself. Now that Gran couldn’t stay in her old house, she had a plan for her future. Right here in Tundish. But how to convince her that it was a good idea? Gran would, of course, not want to impose on her, etc. She could already imagine all the reasons.

  But wouldn’t it be perfect? Her new hometown, the shop, friendships, and family close as well?

  Chapter Twenty

  They took their bows, and the entire room clapped and cheered. Delta was glad to get out of the bright stage lights and disappear backstage. Mrs. Cassidy gushed that it had never sounded so fine and offered her something to drink. “Too bad, though, Randall Drake left town in a hurry and couldn’t perform with us tonight. He was so charming.”

  “Yes, but after his uncle got arrested for the murder of his aunt, he wasn’t too keen on all the attention. I guess he will be driving about in his Buick elsewhere, charming the ladies.”

  Delta was just savoring the cool juice when Gran popped up with Jonas on her one arm and Ray on the other. They were both dressed up in suits and looked the part for this grand night of entertainment at the town festival. Gran beamed at Delta. “I loved every minute of it. Good thing you persuaded me to stay for it.”

  “I intend to persuade you to stay much longer.”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  Delta wagged a finger at her. “No discussions now.” She looked at Ray. “Weren’t there some after-show drinks in the entry hall?”

  Ray nodded and led Gran away. Jonas said to Delta, “Great song.”

  “Thanks. I couldn’t see much of the audience. The lights were glaring.”

  “The room was full. So many familiar faces. Even Lena Laroy. She put an envelope into the money coffer for the good cause, so I’m counting on a big donation to the gold-mining museum.”

  “I’m surprised she wanted to show her face here after her husband got accused of murder. I mean, Randall Drake ran, and she’s sticking around?”

  “I think she believes in the adage that any publicity is good publicity, even if it’s bad publicity, if you get my drift. In fact, Marc LeDuc shared breaking news on his website while the performance was on that Lena will be writing a book about her life with a criminal brother and then a criminal husband.”

  “No.”

  “Yes. And I guess it will be a bestseller. People love to gobble up that kind of thing.”

  “I can’t believe she would try to cash in on it like that. She must feel terrible, knowing she lived with Drake after he killed his sister in cold blood. I can still see him come in and go for Lena like he was so worried about her. He knew full well who had died and why. He had done it!”

  “Calm down now.” Jonas patted her back. “He’s behind bars where he will stay. His lawyer got him to sign a full confession, of course twisting things to his own advantage. He claims Sally threatened to lie and tell the police that he had forced her to steal the statue from the museum depot and deliver it to him. Then he got in a panic that she had actually stolen something. To keep her from implicating him in the theft, he stabbed her. But it doesn’t hold water. Where did he suddenly get a knife? He claims she had it with her to threaten him, but that’s so unlikely. And why lie to Rosalyn about when he was going to pick up the present for his wife? That was before he was confronted by Sally and fell into this so-called panic. No, there never was any panic on his part, and I’m quite sure we’ve got it right when we reconstruct the case as Drake having planned on killing Sally at the party all along. He had even hired me to be at the party to keep an eye on Lena to divert attention. Sally had to put the present with the bottle on the table when he had gone to create a scene. Later, she couldn’t tell it had been him asking her to do it for him, because she would already be dead. It was fiendishly clever. And Sally never saw it coming. She trusted him. Or she wanted a way out of her situation. Lost her job, about to lose her marriage as well.”

  “I feel so sorry for her.” Delta shook her head.

  “Me too.” Jonas looked around him. “Nice backstage area. Do you want to do things like this more often? You seem to have a talent for singing.”

  The compliment was great, but it also made her a bit uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t call it a talent. And tonight was for a good cause. A one-time occurrence.”

  “I wouldn’t say that off the bat. You need time off, hobbies. Can’t just work at the store or be at home designing new paper stuff. You need to get out and about every now and then.”

  “I know.” Delta lowered her voice. “Any news on the property front?”

  “Not yet, but I’m keeping an eye out. I’m sure we can find something perfect for your grandmother and you to live in.”

  “I hope Hazel won’t feel like I’m abandoning her. But I always intended to get my own place, and with Gran now losing her home and having to move—”

  Jonas tapped her arm. “You can discuss things with Hazel once you’ve found something you like. Maybe you can stay with her on weekends or whatever. It’s not like you’re moving away to the other side of the country. It’s just Tundish.”

  Yes, it was just Tundish, their little town with a heart of gold that had banded together tonight to support their mining museum. It was Tundish, where something was happening all of the time, and friends could be counted on to be by your side. Tundish, her new home and maybe Gran’s new home as well.

  Delta couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for the both of them, for Hazel, Wanted. Their Paper Posse pals.

  And Jonas and she…

  He had seemed concerned for her, getting closer to her. She was still not sure she actually wanted to exchange the
comfort of their easy friendship for more, but she could explore her feelings at leisure. After all, she wasn’t going anywhere.

  She had arrived.

  Acknowledgments and Author’s Note

  I’m grateful to all agents, editors, and authors who share online about the writing and publishing process. A special thanks to my amazing agent, Jill Marsal; my wonderful editors, Anna Michels and MJ Johnston; and the entire dedicated Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen team, especially Katie Stutz, Shauneice Robinson, and Anne Werthiem as well as Dawn Adams and Kelly Lawler for the adorable cover.

  This series combines two of my loves: stationery and the great outdoors. I had a fabulous time building the fictional little town of Tundish, which was inspired by real-life towns in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, and developing the characters who make up the community, including the canine stars Spud, Nugget, and for this installment, the spoiled poodle duo, Pearl and Emerald, who even, unwittingly, contribute a vital clue. Dogs just bring a book to life for me, and I love writing their very different personalities as much as I love writing my human characters.

  For those who are inspired by the Paper Posse’s outlaw names, have a look online for the intriguing histories of individual outlaws and gangs, especially the female gang members. That they willingly posed for photos while they were wanted described their attitude to a tee. I’m delighted that the Paper Posse’s Wild West names can keep some of their stories alive.

  And thank you, reader, for your visit to Tundish and to Wanted. I hope you will be back for Delta’s next adventure in her brand-new hometown, “the town with a heart of gold.”

  Don’t miss out on any of the Stationery Shop Mysteries!

  Read on for an excerpt from Last Pen Standing

  Chapter One

  Even though the sign of her destination was already in sight, calling out a warm welcome to Tundish, Montana, “the town with a heart of gold,” Delta Douglas couldn’t resist the temptation to stop her car, reach for the sketchbook in the passenger seat, and draw the orange-and-gold trees covering a mountain flank all the way to where the snow-peaked top began. From this exact point, their autumnal glory was reflected in the water of a clear blue lake that stretched without a ripple. Delta could just see this image reproduced on wrapping paper, notebooks, or postcards.