A Deadly Fortune
Page 30
Including, unfortunately, Bryce Weaver. Julia’s widower had recently announced his engagement to the daughter of a wealthy financier. Amelia shook her head, trying to let go of her self-reproach. They’d brought Julia home. Too late, but perhaps it was the best they could hope for from a story with so few happy endings.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, Andrew sighed next to her. “I wish we could have done more.”
She reached down to squeeze his hand. “At least she’s avenged. And no more women will disappear the way she did. That’s all we could do.”
“It might be all the two of you could do,” Jonas said from her other side. “But Sidney and I decided to do a bit more.”
Ned and his parents reached them in time to hear his last statement. All three stared at him blankly, too full of grief and exhaustion and resignation for curiosity. Jonas smiled his brilliant, gentle smile at them as he continued.
“A lawyer friend and I went to see Mr. Weaver last night. We found him toasting his engagement at the Union League Club. He threatened to call the police when we started talking, but we explained that if he did, every scandal sheet in the city would get a very interesting story. And since he was now engaged to the daughter of such a prominent citizen, we felt certain some of them would print it. He could sue, of course, and he might win, but the damage to his reputation would be done. His new fiancée’s father would probably have something to say about it.” He glanced toward the cemetery gates as if waiting for something, then turned back to them. “Once we explained what we wanted, he wasn’t actually all that hard to convince.”
Jonas reached into his pocket and withdrew a packet of papers. He handed it to Mrs. Glenn, who looked confused.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A notarized declaration, giving you and your husband full custody of Kitty.” At their astonished expressions, he continued. “He barely hesitated. He called over a pair of friends as witnesses and signed it right there at his table. I don’t think he wanted her anyway. He wants a fresh start with his new wife. A son to carry on the name, all that nonsense.”
Just then a cab clattered to a stop outside the cemetery gates. The door opened, and Sidney alighted, his hair glinting in the sun. He caught Jonas’s eye and raised a questioning brow. Jonas tilted his head in reply, and Sidney’s answering smile made Amelia wonder how she could ever have thought him plain.
Sidney turned back to the cab and reached a hand inside. A little girl appeared, clutching a battered stuffed rabbit around the neck. Sidney swung her down as she looked around uncertainly. Then she caught sight of Mrs. Glenn.
“Nana!” The girl broke into a run, joy on her face, and flung herself at her grandmother. Sobbing, Mrs. Glenn swept her into a ferocious hug. Her husband enfolded the pair in his arms. Both of them looked a decade younger than they had only a moment before.
Unable to speak through the sudden lump in her own throat, Amelia laid a hand on Jonas’s shoulder. He glanced up at her, and she saw her own understanding reflected in his eyes. With one bold stroke, he’d changed three fortunes—undoubtedly for the better. Fate might plan, but it often wrote lightly—in pencil rather than ink. Their choices mattered.
Where their own path would lead, she didn’t yet know. But it didn’t matter. Fate would not write their future. They would.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I started writing this book on a whim. By the time I realized what I’d gotten myself into, I was far too fond of the characters and too involved in their stories to put it aside. Which is not to say I wasn’t tempted. Frequently. I would not have kept going if there had not been so many people who believed in this book, and in me, and who were tireless cheerleaders along the way.
Since the first time I walked into a meeting, Michael Klein and the members of the Arlington Writers Group have been unwavering in their support and encouragement. Their criticism made me better; their praise kept me going. My thanks especially to Sarah, Dale, Richard, Lori, Paul, Evie, and Todd, who beta-read the novel--some of them more than once--and told me I had something worth putting out there.
I owe an eternal debt to everyone involved with Pitch Wars 2018. Revision is hard, querying is awful, and I’m so thankful I didn’t have to ride either roller coaster alone. I’m most especially grateful for my wonderful mentor and friend, Carolyne Topdjian. Carolyne loved this story from the beginning, pushed me to make it stronger, and held my hand for four months while I broke my book and put it back together again. And her emoji game is first-rate.
Thank you to my stalwart agent, Jill Marr, who told me she was determined to find Amelia a home, and to my lovely editor, Katie McGuire, who offered her one.
To Mom, Dad, and Sara, for everything, always.
And finally, my thanks and my love to my husband Alex, who once paid me what I consider the finest compliment of my life by comparing me to a wolverine, and who hasn’t seemed surprised by any of this. When asked why, he just said “I knew that if you decided to do it, you would. And that it would be good.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STACIE MURPHY grew up near Nashville. She began writing A Deadly Fortune as a way to force herself to stay off Twitter in the evenings. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, daughter, and the worst cat in the world.
A DEADLY FORTUNE
Pegasus Crime is an imprint of
Pegasus Books, Ltd.
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Copyright © 2021 by Stacie Murphy
First Pegasus Books edition January 2021
Interior design by Maria Fernandez
Front cover photos: © Arcangel / © Getty Images
Author photo by Alyona Vogelmann
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN: 978-1-64313-630-1
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-64313-631-8
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