by Laura Scott
Her eyes flashed with anger, then her hard expression abruptly crumbled, and two fat tears slid down her cheeks. “I loved him,” she whispered.
Who? Marty? Dumbstruck, Ally could only gape in surprise.
“There, there, Rosie. It’s okay.” Gramps reached over to pat her hand. “Why shouldn’t you love him? Everyone deserves to have someone special in their life.”
“I—I didn’t want anyone to know, because everyone was so mad at him.” Rosie sniffled loudly and reached for a tissue. “They all acted as if he was some sort of criminal!”
“I know, that wasn’t very nice,” Gramps admitted, which also made Ally’s jaw drop, since Marty had been taking money without providing his promised services, ones his clients likely didn’t even need. And wasn’t Gramps the one who’d booted Marty out of the Legacy House the afternoon before the murder?
“Th—then he was murdered. In cold blood. As if his life d—didn’t matter.” A sob erupted, and Rosie pressed the tissue to her mouth in a vain attempt to muffle the sound. “It wasn’t right that people were so mean, acting as if Marty deserved what happened to him.”
“Everyone’s life matters, Rosie,” Gramps assured her. “And the police did their job in bringing Marty’s killer to justice.”
“Yes, I know.” Rosie grabbed another tissue and dabbed at her eyes. She offered a watery smile. “It was silly to lie about talking to him, but I just didn’t want anyone to know about us.”
Ally could understand her reasoning. After all, Marty had soon become persona non grata around Willow Bluff. Being in a relationship like that would be difficult at best.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Rosie,” Ally said. “And I shouldn’t have brought this up at the grocery store yesterday. Please forgive me.”
Rosie waved the tissue. “It’s my own fault for trying to hide it. I always was a lousy liar.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll feel better now that the secret is out,” Gramps said.
“I do, thanks, Oscar.” Rosie squeezed Gramps’ hand. “I’ll take a look through our new books and call you next week if I find anything I think you’ll like.”
“Appreciate that, thanks.” Gramps turned toward Ally, a satisfied gleam in his eye. “Ready to go?”
“Sure.” Ally tugged on Roxy’s leash and walked alongside Gramps. When they were out of Rosie’s earshot, she whispered, “I cannot believe you got her to admit she was seeing Marty Shawlin on the side!”
“I told you I’m good at interrogating people,” he said smugly. “Hey, maybe you should convince your detective to let me interview his suspects from now on?”
Ally nearly choked on her own spit. “Um, I don’t think so, Gramps.”
“Why not?” He demanded. “Haven’t I just proven how valuable my skills are?”
Ally simply shook her head, imagining the exasperated expression on Noah’s face if she ever suggested such a thing. “You’re great at what you do, but so is Noah. And we promised to leave the investigating to him from now on.”
Gramps snorted in derision. “You promised that, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did, Oscar,” a deep voice said from behind them.
Ally caught the woodsy scent a second before recognizing Noah’s voice. She glanced over her shoulder at him, sighing as Roxy greeted him with sloppy kisses. “Hi, Noah, what’s new?”
“Did you know about Rosie having a fling with Marty Shawlin?” Gramps asked.
Noah smiled and nodded. “As a matter of fact, I did know. We found some emails and text messages between them when we dumped the information from his phone.”
Gramps scowled. “I got Rosie to admit it. But you could have let us know that was why she was lying about talking to Marty. It was driving me crazy wondering why she’d do such a thing.”
Noah flashed a smile. “I can’t tell you all my secrets, Oscar. What fun would that be?”
“Well, I’m just glad it’s over,” Ally said. “That was certainly enough excitement for the week.”
“I’m glad I saw you here, Ally. I wanted you to know that once Eli White knew about the forensic evidence we were compiling against him, he broke down and confessed everything, killing Marty, throwing the rock at your clinic, and stealing the GMC truck to run you off the road.”
“Really?” Ally brightened. “Does that mean he’s going to pay for my broken door?”
Noah hesitated. “Maybe, although the damage was done in the course of committing a crime, so we’ll have to work through that between his homeowner’s insurance and yours. You might want to start with your insurance company first. Oh, and Eli admitted to having an affair with Anita, then killing her when she threatened to go to the police about seeing him leaving Marty’s house that morning. Apparently the guilt over being complicit in Marty’s death was eating at Anita.”
“So it should,” Ally said. “And what about Ginny? Did she know about the affair?”
Noah grimaced. “She admitted she suspected he was seeing someone because of his strange comings and goings.”
“She lied about the cuckoo clock,” Gramps said.
“Yes,” Noah admitted. “But she was truly horrified to discover Eli had murdered two people.”
“That’s completely understandable. But I have one more question, Noah,” Ally said.
“What’s that?” His tone was wary.
“Does Kimberly Mason smoke?”
Noah looked surprised. “Yeah, but why does that matter?”
“I knew it! That must be the reason Roxy growled at her green Ford!”
“I can see how cigarette smoke might have set Roxy off, especially if she associated the scent with Eli White.” Noah glanced at the boxer. “I guess she’s smarter than I gave her credit for.” He reached down and stroked Roxy’s soft golden-brown fur. The animal sighed and rubbed against him, making Noah smile. “Anyway, you should know we’re officially closing the case.”
“Sex and money,” Gramps said with a nod. “The root of all evil.”
“You’re right about that, Gramps.” Ally was hit by an overwhelming sense of relief. “Well, thanks again, Noah.”
“Oh, Ally? If you’re free later this evening, Jim and Erica thought it would be nice to get together at the Lakefront Café.”
“Um, yeah, sure,” Ally stammered, trying to ignore Gramps’ all-knowing grin and his not-so-subtle elbow jammed into her side. Where were her grandfather’s manners now? Sheesh.
“Sounds good,” she managed. “Should be fun to reminisce about old times.”
“I’ll swing by your place, say about six?” Noah offered. “It’s not supposed to rain, so we can walk.”
She hoped he’d think the redness in her cheeks was from the sun beating down. Now it seemed official … this was a date.
“Okay, see you then,” she said weakly.
Noah gave Roxy one last rub before turning to walk away. Then he paused and turned to glance back at her. “Oh, and Ally? You’re welcome to bring Roxy along.”
“All right.” As she watched him walk away, she found herself wondering who he really wanted to spend time with.
Her or the dog?
Yeah, probably the dog.
Also available by Laura Scott
Swat Top Cops Series
Mirror Image
Under the Lawman’s Protection
Forgotten Memories
Holiday on the Run
Wrongly Accused
Down to the Wire
Her Mistletoe Protector
Undercover Cowboy
Twin Peril
Identity Crisis
Crystal Lake Series
Christmas Redemption
Second Chance
Christmas Reunion
Worth the Wait
Coming Home
A Soldier’s Promise
Healing Her Heart
Callahan Confidential
Protecting His Secret Son
Primary Suspect
Shattered Lullaby
>
Christmas Amnesia
The Only Witness
Shielding His Christmas Witness
Mcnallys Series
To Promise
To Believe
To Honor
To Laugh
To Cherish
To Love
Lifeline Air Rescue Series
A Doctor’s Christmas
A Doctor’s Rescue
A Doctor’s Reunion
A Doctor’s Trust
A Doctor’s Dilemma
A Doctor’s Secret
A Doctor’s Promise
Justice Seekers Series
Wyoming Mountain Escape
Guarded by the Soldier
Soldier’s Christmas Secrets
Security Specialists Series
Target for Terror
Target for Ransom
Target for Revenge
Other Novels
Finding Justice
Proof of Life
Lawman-in-Charge
The Christmas Rescue
Secret Agent Father
The Thanksgiving Target
Author Biography
Laura Scott is a registered nurse by day and an author by night. She has written over 60 books and has more ideas than time to write! Laura lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin with her husband of 35 years and takes care of a variety of pets, including a beautiful chocolate lab named Moose.
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by Laura Iding
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-64385-657-5
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-64385-658-2
Cover illustration by David Malan
Printed in the United States.
www.crookedlanebooks.com
Crooked Lane Books
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First Edition: July 2021
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