by Maisy Morgan
Preston shook his head, and Mary realized that Preston was going to have to shoot Josephine. Mary’s stomach lurched. She really didn’t want to see another person get shot after what had happened at the bank. It had given her nightmares. “Josephine!” Mary called. “Come on, you have got to stop this!”
“You know my brother used to work at a bank, right?” Josephine called. “He got fired! He’s been in debt ever since. It was a different branch we went to, but it’s the same bank. We wanted to hit them.”
“You’re acting like you killed Roger to protect your brother and that you robbed the bank to help your brother get revenge at the bank for firing him,” Mary called from behind the barn. “Be honest with yourself Josephine. You killed Roger to protect yourself. You robbed the bank because you’re up to your neck in student loans. This has nothing to do with you trying to be a good sister, and you know it!”
“Stop ticking her off,” Preston whispered. He sighed and turned himself slightly, getting ready to shoot out from behind the barn. Mary suspected that Preston, who had been a cop for most of his life, was probably a good shot. This wasn’t going to end well for Josephine.
Just as Preston threw himself from behind the barn with his gun drawn and ready to fire, Mary saw him lower his arms. Mary could hear Josephine grunting, and as she hurried to take a peek, she could see that Joseph had made his way out onto the lawn. The two of them were in the midst of a tug-of-war over the shotgun, and he at last managed to yank it away from her and fling it up the driveway grabbing his sister by the arms. “I am not about to let you get shot Joe-Joe!” Joseph snapped.
“On the ground!” Preston shouted, and Joseph gave Josephine a shove before jumping down on his knees himself and putting his hands behind his head.
Josephine bolted, but Preston was on her before she got anywhere near the gun her brother had wrestled away from her. He had her handcuffed and seated in the dirt just as a second patrol car came zipping up the driveway. Two cops jumped out, and one hurried to Joseph and put him in cuffs while the other helped to yank the flailing and swearing Josephine up off the ground.
Mary smiled. She just needed to hand her recording over for evidence, and just like that, it seemed like everything was going to be wrapped up rather nicely. Preston stood upright and brushed off his pants because he had taken a bit of a fumble chasing Josephine around. He came over to Mary as the other officers shoved the siblings into separate patrol cars. “What’s going to happen now?” Mary asked.
“They’re going to be going to prison probably,” Joseph said. “We’ll see what happens after the court date. However, I’ll probably be willing to speak on Joseph’s behalf since he helped me out with his sister. I know he did it to protect her, but if she had managed to one up me in a shoot off, this would have ended extremely bad for everyone.”
Mary smiled. “Good,” she said. “This ended better than I thought it would. I’m glad it’s over.”
“Same for me,” Preston said. “We were wrong though. We let Josephine play us like a fiddle, didn’t we?”
“Well, I guess it happens,” Mary said with a handwave just as her phone started going off. “Hold on a second, it’s Cindy.” Mary held the phone up to her ear, and she jumped after hearing Cindy’s shrieking voice.
“They’re gone Mary! I can’t find them! I can’t find them! The kids are gone! They’re not answering their phones Mary!” Cindy was wailing, and Mary could tell Cindy had likely not seen them for a while.
“What are you talking about Cindy? Calm down and tell me what’s happening,” Mary said firmly.
“The kids!” Cindy bawled. “I took them to the movies, and when the movie let out, they weren’t there! I’ve looked all over the Pavilion, and they’re not here! I’m calling the police! They’re just gone!”
“Take a deep breath,” Mary said though truthfully, she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. “We’re going to find them okay? I’m sure they’re just being teenagers and thought it would be fun to ditch you at the theater. I’m with Preston now, but I’ll be there soon. Keep looking. I’m headed your way.” Mary hung up the phone with her heart racing.
“Is everything okay?” Preston asked.
“No,” Mary said. “The kids are missing.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mary had the unpleasant duty of calling Draco’s parents to inform them that, once again, their sons had managed to get into some serious trouble together. Soon, it felt like everybody in Fayette County was out looking for the missing teens. The police were not willing to do too much as they were teenagers, and they had only been missing for about an hour. However, when some footage showed up from a nearby store of the kids getting into some stranger’s car, all hell broke loose. The next thing Mary knew, there were cop cars zipping up and down Highway 85 in search of the van that the kids had been spotted getting into.
Cindy, who had been looking for the kids for at least an hour before anyone else, was so unnerved by the situation that Mary had insisted she not drive but that she would drive her. Preston had to go to the station to handle Josephine and Joseph’s booking, but Mary suspected he had already sped through that and was on the lookout as well for the missing children.
“I just feel like such a terrible mom,” Cindy was saying with her hands shaking. “Why would they get into a car with some stranger? I don’t understand. Why would they just leave? Where were they going? Why didn’t they just go to the movie like they told me they were?”
“I’m sure there is a reason,” Mary said though she was white-knuckling the steering wheel at this point. The thought of something happening to Tripp made her nauseated.
The Bluetooth speaker in her car started to ring, and Mary answered it. It was Roy, Draco’s father. “Mary, Anna and I just finished searching Summit Point,” he said, referring to another shopping center in Fayetteville. “They’re not here either. I just spoke with the police, and they’re going up and down Highway 54 right now looking for them, but they haven’t found a thing.”
“Is there any news on the car?” Mary asked. “Have they identified the driver yet?”
“No, not yet,” Roy said.
“Cindy and I are leaving the Pavilion,” Mary said. “They’re definitely not here, and the police are still searching the place. Plus, they have footage of the car leaving the Pavilion, so they’re long gone from here.”
“I swear,” Roy practically growled. “Draco can’t seem to stay out of trouble.”
“I’m so sorry Roy,” Mary said. “I’m sure you think Tripp is just awful. This is twice this summer our kids have gotten into enough trouble together that the police had to be called!”
“I’m wondering if they might have gone to the bowling alley?” Anna’s voice piped up on the phone. “There’s an old rollerskating rink out that way too.”
“Turn left when the light turns green, Mary,” Cindy said. “I didn’t think about the bowling alley.”
“Hold on, Preston’s calling me,” Mary said. “Let me see what he has to say Roy, and I’ll call you right back.”
“Okay,” Roy said, hanging up.
Mary switched the Bluetooth over, and Preston’s voice came through. “Mary! We found the driver!” Preston said with great excitement.
“Y’all did! Okay, what did he say? Where are our kids?” Mary asked, and she could see Cindy leaning forward in her seat.
“He’s a Lyft driver,” Preston explained. “The kids ordered a Lyft ride, and the driver took them to the Marriot hotel near the square.”
“Turn right!” Cindy yelped when the light turned green, and Mary made an abrupt maneuver to get out of the left turning lane causing a car to honk angrily at her three times.
“Are you two driving safe?” Preston asked.
“Shut up, we’re going to go get our kids!” Cindy exclaimed looking suddenly green to learn that her daughter was off with a couple of boys at a hotel for whatever reason.
“I’m pulling up to the h
otel right now. Oh, thank God!” Preston exclaimed. “They’re here! They’re here right out-front sitting on a bench!”
Both Mary and Cindy sighed loudly. “We’ll be there in just a minute,” Mary said feeling a sense of relief wash over her. “I’ve got to call Draco’s parents and let them know.”
Mary hung up with Preston and immediately called Draco’s parents. They both sounded beyond relief to learn that Preston had found the kids. Even though Mary was glad to learn that the kids had been found, she knew she wouldn’t feel completely better until she was standing face to face with Tripp. Finally, she was pulling up in front of the hotel, and she could see Preston’s patrol car parked off to the side of the main entrance. He was knelt down in front of Tripp and Draco who were seated on the bench, and he was talking to them. Hannah was seated beside the bench in her chair with her arms crossed looking like she was fuming.
Draco’s mom and dad had arrived first, and they were standing off to the side shaking their heads a bit. When Draco’s dad Roy spotted Mary and Cindy jumping out of Mary’s car, he hurried to meet them. I’m going to kill Tripp,” Mary hissed.
“I wouldn’t,” Roy said sounding concerned. “Mary, they snuck off to meet Jonathan.”
Mary felt almost like she was having a stroke when he said this. “Jonathan, as in my ex-husband Jonathan?” Mary covered her face for a moment when she questioned this. “He must have overheard me that day at the shop.” She glanced up toward the hotel, and she realized that Tripp was shaking and crying, and she felt blood rush to her face. “What happened?”
Roy glanced back over his shoulder toward the kids. “Nothing good,” he said bitterly, and Mary and Cindy hurried alongside Roy back to the kids.
“Tripp!” Mary exclaimed, and her grandson looked up at her with very sad eyes. He rapidly tried to wipe his face. Cindy darted around her to Hannah checking to make sure she was okay while Hannah grumbled and shoved her mom back. Draco had a similar look of anger plastered on his face. “Tripp, what happened?”
Tripp shook his head. He didn’t want to talk. “Your stupid ex-husband is a jerk!” Hannah roared. “First, he didn’t believe Tripp when he said he was his grandson, but then when he realized it wasn’t a joke, he acted all nice for a second. He wanted to know why Tripp was here in Georgia, and Tripp told him about his dad dying. He seemed happy to hear it!”
“He was such a tool!” Draco said with his fist clenched at his side. “Said ‘that’s what he gets for knocking up my girl’ and then tried to apologize about it or whatever saying he misspoke. Tripp yelled at the guy, and then he told Tripp his mom would have been better off if she had listened to him and had an abortion!”
Mary thought she was going to fall out for a second. “He actually said that to you?” Mary angrily questioned, and Tripp just kept looking down at his shoes. She knew that back in the day the man had tried to convince their daughter to have an abortion, but for him to actually say it directly to Tripp was something she would never have expected from him. “I’m going to wring his neck!”
“Let me first,” Preston said standing upright and gazing toward the front door of the hotel where a familiar looking man was standing with a rolling suitcase. Preston stormed down the sidewalk, and Jonathan looked up just in time to get a quick glimpse of Preston’s fist before it made contact with the side of his face.
“Whoa!” Hannah cried out excitedly.
“Well, that’s our que,” Roy said, yanking Draco up and marching him and his wife to the opposite end of the parking lot. Cindy made Hannah start up her chair and follow them.
“You moron!” was all Jonathan could think to say in his surprise as he landed in the hotel’s bushes. “You punched me in the face!”
“Yeah, I did!” Preston said and kicked over the man’s suitcase.
Mary left Tripp for a moment on the bench. The kid was staring at Preston and Jonathan in surprise, and she felt like she needed to end this. “Preston, that’s enough,” Mary said.
Jonathan struggled out of the large bush. “Mary?” he questioned, and Mary glared at him.
“You’re a real piece of work, Jonathan!” Mary snapped. “I hope you are headed back to LA.”
“That’s the plan,” he said.
“Good,” she hissed. “Now you listen to me right now, if you ever come near me or my grandson again, I swear you’ll regret it.”
“I’m guessing you spoke to the kid,” Jonathan said. “I’ll admit this wasn’t one of my best moments.”
“Don’t try to play coy,” Mary said. “Don’t try to act like you didn’t mean what you said now just because I’m here. You are a disgusting excuse for a human being Jonathan! I’m glad you left. I am so glad. Now, don’t ever show up in my life again. I mean it!” She started to turn around, but she felt Jonathan reach out to grab her by the arm.
“Mary, hold on,” he started to say, and Mary put every bit of force she had into stomping hard on the man’s foot.
He yelled and released her, and she stormed back down the sidewalk alongside Preston, and they stopped by the bench. “Let’s go,” she said to Tripp who was now smirking slightly.
The three of them met with the Draco, his parents, Cindy and Hannah. Glancing over, Mary could see Draco’s little sister peeking her head out of the family car evidently having been along for the ride during the search. “Let’s go back to Brooks,” Mary said. “I think after all that, I want something sweet. Desserts are on me.”
“Please,” Anna said with an exasperated sigh. “None for you Draco.”
“Seriously?” he questioned, and Anna smacked her son in the back of the head. “You’re lucky if I ever let you leave the house again.”
Soon the group was crowded around inside the dessert shop all talking a good bit of smack about Jonathan and how impressed they were with Preston’s swing and Mary’s soon-to-be infamous foot-stomping. She pulled out a key lime pie for them to enjoy together announcing that they were going to have to come up with a new dessert special soon. It was then, while everyone was eating, that Mary pulled Tripp aside, and they stood beneath the framed photograph of himself on the day he was born being held by his mother with his father leaning over and smiling.
“I’m so sorry about your grandfather,” Mary said.
Tripp shrugged. “I should have just told you that I knew,” he said. “I just assumed it was you being a bitter ex-wife kind of thing, and that you were trying to punish him or something by not letting him see me. I know now you were just trying to protect me from him.”
“I was,” Mary said. “Jonathan didn’t know you were here in Georgia with me. He didn’t even know about what had happened to your father. I wanted to keep it that way until I decided what to do with the information that he came here to give me, but I should have told you from the get go. I shouldn’t have kept the fact that he was here from you.”
“What information did he come here to give you?” Tripp asked.
She nodded up at the framed picture hanging behind the shop’s counter. “He found your mom,” Mary said, and Tripp’s eyes widened. “She’s working on getting clean. She checked herself into a nice rehab center in California, and he wanted to make sure I knew how to contact her. Now the question is what you want to do with that information.”
“Me?” Tripp asked. “What about you? She’s your daughter.”
“I want to support you. If you want to go see her, I will go see her,” Mary said. “But you are my responsibility now, Tripp. You’re my priority and I’d like to do what’s best for you. So you give it some thought.”
Tripp nodded. “Okay,” he said anxiously. “I will, but for now, I think I’m just going to eat some of your key lime pie. It’s been a long day.”
Mary laughed. “That sounds like a plan to me kiddo.”
Fudge & Murder
Sweets Shop Cozy Mysteries Book Three
Book Description
It’s a back to school pool party, but looks like the party is about to be
over sooner than expected…
When Mary’s grandson Tripp gets invited to a pool party, she decides to come along with him. Looks like Tripp is making some new friends. And Mary gets along great with all of their parents.
Too bad one of the men fell off the roof while she was there! It turns out to be the father of Tripp’s new friend.
And somebody’s hiding something…
Not only does Mary have the murder to worry about, but she also had to hire someone to help out at the sweets shop. And man does her fudge taste good!
Come along with your new favorite duo, Mary and Officer Preston as they figure out if this was an accident…or if there was foul play involved.
Chapter One
Mary Hopkins sat in the back passenger's seat of the family van, staring out the window as cars and trees zipped by. A lot had changed in the past few months for her and her fourteen-year-old grandson, Tripp. She had been planning on moving to Georgia—a sort or retirement journey to the South after a successful career as a newscaster. She had purchased a building with the intention of opening up a dessert shop. But, of course, things hadn’t worked out quite as she had planned. Her grandson’s father had been killed, and the next thing she knew, she was responsible for this boy she certainly loved but was hardly close to. She had invested her retirement into the dessert shop, so they had no choice but to move across the country.
The move was something she had been looking forward to, but it had been a whirlwind of change for Tripp. But things had turned out for the best. All of her greatest worries—how will Tripp do in a new town? Will he make friends? How will I take care of him?—all seemed to have disappeared over the summer.
In fact, here they were, on an end of summer/birthday celebration with the charming Morris family. Anna and Roy Morris were a rather unusual couple, but Mary loved their quirks. Anna was a writer and Roy an EMT and part-time actor. They worked on movie and television sets all over the state together. Right now, Mary was enjoying listening to Anna and Roy’s rendition of Summer Lovin’ that they were blaring over the van’s loudspeakers.
