Frank held out his hands. “Justin told us everything he knew.”
Chapter 47
“We got a letter from Blaine,” Doris said, setting a plate of zucchini bread on Frank’s desk, next to his afternoon coffee. “From the federal prison in Kentucky. He told us it’s not so bad there. The other guys are mostly lawyers and accountants who embezzled money or swindled people.”
“Nice,” Earl muttered.
Doris let Earl’s unusual sarcasm pass. “I know it’s crazy to be happy about that, but it’s better than Blaine being in with murderers and gang members who know that Lenny Vicker fellow.” Doris shivered. “Blaine said he’s gained some weight. He’s been reading books. It’s a relief to hear him sounding normal.”
“That’s good, Doris.” Frank stopped scrolling through his inbox and gave Doris his full attention. “I’m glad your family feels ... encouraged.” Frank spoke cautiously. Blaine had provided the necessary testimony in the Lupton murder and sex trafficking case and accepted the deal, so Frank felt disgruntled by Blaine’s parents’ continued outrage at their son’s banishment. He’d done what he could for Doris’s family and stepped away from the drama, declining to defend his solution to their problem. Today, Frank was glad to hear this glimmer of acceptance.
Doris moved to return to her desk. Then she pivoted and trotted to Frank’s side, flinging her arms around him and squeezing him tight. “Thank you, Frank. You saved Blaine’s life. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law can’t see it yet, but they will.”
Frank squirmed to loosen her clench. He didn’t need appreciation from Doris’s family, but blame had been a bitter pill to swallow. Now he felt a surge of affection for his secretary. “I know it wasn’t the fairy tale ending you all were hoping for.”
The ending where Blaine miraculously evaded a prison sentence and became a hard-working, sober citizen of Essex County, New York, willing to have Sunday dinner with his folks. Even the miracle-worker Doris believed him to be couldn’t have delivered that.
Doris bit her bottom lip, leaving a smudge of coral on her front tooth. “None of us could wrap our heads around how bad things had gotten for Blaine. We just couldn’t believe that people that evil were,” she spread her arms out, “around here.”
Frank patted her shoulder, and Doris stepped away. But she still stared at him through her thick glasses. “Do you think that Lenny Vicker and the other guys who got Blaine addicted are gone for good now, Frank?”
Frank felt like he was being asked to rule on the reality of the tooth fairy. Should he maintain the happy fantasy or tell the hard truth? He tended to give Doris the answers she wanted to hear to shorten the duration of their discussions, but in this moment, he felt she deserved better. “I think those particular guys are gone, and I think it might be a while before someone else moves in to take their place. But no, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of heroin in the North Country. As long as there’s despair, there will be people selling a way to dull the pain.”
Doris gave a slow, sad nod. “Maybe I’m just a silly bird brain. I get so much pleasure from little things. Getting my African violet to bloom...finding a lost earring...winning the best apple pie prize at the Fall Festival.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Am I the only one?”
Frank pulled her gently toward the window. A hummingbird hovered over the red petunias in the hanging basket near the front steps. Middle-school boys pedaled in a pack on their way to swim at the river. Two hikers flopped onto the bench outside The Store, toasting the end of their journey with Gatorade.
“No, Doris. You’re not the only one.”
I HOPE YOU’VE ENJOYED Jumping Rise. Please leave a review to help other readers discover this book. I appreciate your support! If you’d like to receive periodic updates on my new releases, sales, and special events, please join my mailing list: http://swhubbard.net/contact
Read all the Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mysteries:
The Lure
mybook.to/TheLure
Blood Knot
mybook.to/BloodKnot
Dead Drift
mybook.to/DeadDrift
False Cast
getbook.at/FalseCast
Tailspinner
getbook.at/Tailspinner
Ice Jig
getbook.at/IceJig
Frank Bennett Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
getbook.at/BoxedSet1-3
If you’ve read all of Frank’s adventures, please try my other series:
Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series
getbook.at/estatesalemysteries
LIFE IN PALMYRTON WOMEN’S Friendship Fiction Series
mybook.to/LifeinPalmyrton
About the Author
S.W. Hubbard writes the kinds of mysteries she loves to read: twisty, believable, full of complex characters, and highlighted with sly humor. She is the author of the Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series and the Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series. Her short stories have also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and the anthologies Crimes by Moonlight, Adirondack Mysteries, and The Mystery Box. She lives in Morristown, NJ, where she teaches creative writing to enthusiastic teens and adults, and expository writing to reluctant college freshmen. Visit her at http://www.swhubbard.net.
Jumping Rise Page 23