by Pandora Pine
Maxine’s eyes darkened. Her nostrils flared as she turned a hateful look at her daughter. “Thank you, Hope.” She ground out between clenched teeth. “I’d managed to forget that humiliation.”
“Why was that humiliating, Maxine? I love Italian food.” Tennyson’s voice was gentle.
“I love Italian food too, but that wasn’t why Harold bought the book. He always told me my cooking was awful, so the book was his little way of telling me I needed to improve. We always watched that chef on Saturday afternoons and he’d say how good her dishes looked and much he’d enjoy dinners if we could eat her food. That damn book wasn’t a present. It was another in a long line of put downs.”
“And you were sick of being put down, weren’t you?” Ronan asked. “Thirty years of faithful service to your husband and all you got in return was grief and a plain gold wedding band.”
“I didn’t even have any say on what he spent my money on,” Maxine said, bitterness dripped from her voice. “Every penny of the grocery budget needed to be accounted for, but it was a different matter when he went out and bought another new truck when the old one still had four years left on the loan.”
“Your DNA wasn’t on the murder weapon, Maxine.” Ronan held his breath. Either she was going to take the bait or was just going to hit him with another denial.
“Of course it wasn’t, detective. I wasn’t about to touch that dirty piece of wood with my bare hands.” Maxine made a disgusted face.
“You put on your dish gloves, since the rubber would protect your hands from getting dirty.” Tennyson was nodding along with the story.
Maxine nodded. “Yes, I knew there was wood in the basement.”
“Jesus, Mom, shut up.” Hope’s mouth was hanging open.
“It’s over, Hope. They already know.” Maxine looked like she’d aged ten years since the start of the conversation.
“Why did you use the two-by-four instead of a kitchen knife or a cast iron frying pan or poison?” Ronan asked. He had his confession, but at this point in time, there was no joy in it. He was looking at a broken woman. First her husband had broken her with his cruelty and now, realizing her crime had caught up with her, she was just plain worn to the bone.
Maxine shrugged. “The washer and dryer were in the basement. Before Harold had fallen asleep, he’d reminded me that there was laundry to do. Like a good slave, I went down to do it. I loaded the washing machine and when I turned around I could see the pieces of wood sprinkled around the work bench. More of my money wasted on these projects that Harold started and never finished. I just felt this burning in the pit of my stomach like a fire. I thought of the fucking cookbook under the Christmas tree and the diamond bracelet still sitting in its glass case back at the jewelry store. I told myself that if my footsteps on the stairs woke him up, I’d sit back down and forget the crazy idea in my head, but of course my footsteps didn’t wake him up. So, I grabbed my dish gloves and went back down cellar and grabbed a piece of the discarded lumber. When I got back to the living room, Harold was still asleep. He was snoring. His mouth was hanging open and he was drooling. I thought back to our wedding day when my life was full of so much promise and love, and thought to what that life had turned into and I swung with all my strength. And then I thought about the way he treated my daughter and I swung again. And I thought about the way that bastard raised my son to disrespect and hate me and I swung again.” Maxine shrugged and folded her hands in her lap.
Ronan looked up at Tennyson whose eyes were glittering with unshed tears. “Maxine, I’m going to have to place you under arrest for the murder of your husband. I will say this though, the right attorney will be able to take the extenuating circumstances you’ve told us about and work with them. Do you understand me?”
Maxine nodded and hugged her crying daughter.
Ronan got up from the couch. He needed to call Fitzgibbon and have him send a BPD patrol car down here to take Maxine into custody. They were also going to need an official statement from Hope and determine if charges were going to be filed against her as well. She wasn’t complicit in the murder of her father, but she sure as hell was involved in the twenty year cover up, knowing full well her mother had been the one to murder her father. There was also the matter of the insurance fraud to deal with, but that wasn’t his fight to fight.
As far as Cold Case Detective Ronan O’Mara was concerned, the Harold Owens murder investigation was closed.
EPILOGUE
The Fourth of July…
It had been the best four days of Ronan’s life. So far.
Sand Dollar Shoal was even better the second time around. Tennyson had booked the Captain Kidd room for them again and it was like coming home when they were ushered into it by old friends, Head Chef, Gregor Allen and his son, Henry.
They’d walked on the beach, collecting sand dollars and looking for prized pieces of sea glass to enter in the Fourth of July contest. Tennyson had found the best piece on their second day at the hotel. It was a perfect piece of tumbled cobalt glass that happened to be in the shape of a heart. Several of the pieces Ten had found on the beach had been heart-shaped. Ronan couldn’t help thinking the glass was a sign.
In addition to all of the beach walking, they’d done yoga together on the beach every morning. Surprisingly, Ronan had really enjoyed the stretching and the mental calmness of the movements. Not that he’d say this out loud to anyone other than Tennyson, but he wished he’d given yoga a try sooner.
The one thing Ronan had really been looking forward to was getting to know the guys who owned the hotel. He and Ten had been invited to have dinner with Griffin Fox and his husband Leo. They’d been the ones who’d found love letters from the sea captain, who built the house that was to become Sand Dollar Shoal, to his lover, Jeremiah.
Tennyson had loved hearing the story about how the spirit of Ezekiel Benson had visited the hotel two years ago to help tell his story to Henry and in Henry’s eyes had been here to protect the hotel from a late season hurricane. Ten had tried reaching out to Zeke and Jeremiah after dinner, but neither spirit had been around.
“Ronan? How do I look?” Ten bounced out of the bathroom dressed in a black tank with matching black shorts.
Ronan snorted. “We’re going to the sandcastle building contest. You look fantastic. Why does it matter how you look?”
Ten narrowed his eyes. “I would think you would always want me looking scrumptious, but there’s something up today.” Ten tilted his head as if he were trying to get a better read on what he thought was going on.
Ronan rolled his eyes. He stalked over to Ten and pulled his lover into his arms. “You always look amazing, babe. I would think you would know that after all of the bone-melting sex we’ve had in the last four days.” Ronan kissed him hard. “Of course there’s something up today! It’s the Fourth. We’re going to the sandcastle contest, which we’re totally going to win and then the big clambake and then the fireworks on the beach. I can’t wait to lie back on the sand and watch them with you.”
Ten grinned up at him. “You’re really settled in to this vacation lifestyle, huh?”
“I never want to leave and that’s the God’s honest truth.” Ronan never wanted to go back to Boston. He never wanted to go back to work. He wanted to stay here on Cape Cod forever.
“I’m so glad we’re here together, but I miss our friends.” Ten rested his face against Ronan’s heart.
“I miss them too.” Ronan had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. What Tennyson didn’t know was that Ronan had invited the whole gang down here to spend part of their vacation with them. “Hey, you know what? Now that I’ve gotten a good look at you, I’m not really feeling the all black outfit. Plus, it’s like eighty-five degrees out there. Why don’t you change into something a bit cooler since we’re gonna be out in the sunshine building our sandcastle?” Ronan kissed him again, tugging on Ten’s bottom lip with his teeth.
“Hmm,” Ten ran back into the bathroom
. “I guess you’re right. This outfit is a bit too hot. I’ll wear the tank with the flag on it.”
“While you’re changing, I’ll run downstairs and grab us some bottles of water and get a good spot on the beach. Okay?”
“Okay, I’ll be down in a minute,” Ten called from the bathroom.
“Bye, babe! Love you!” Ronan called.
“Love you too!” Ten shouted back.
That was easier than he thought it would be. Ronan hated asking Ten to change his clothes, but he needed to get out of the room ahead of Ten to make sure the surprise he’d planned was all set up. Ten was going to lose his mind when he saw what Ronan had done for him.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Drake DeMelo, the hotel’s social media guru and photographer was waiting for him. “Hey, Ronan. Your friends are all here and are waiting for you outside. Do you have the thing?”
Ronan grinned. “I’ve got the thing.” Ronan had done a little bit of shopping after the Owens case wrapped up. Drake was asking if Ronan had that purchase with him now.
Once the full the story of the Owens’ marriage and home life came out, the Suffolk County DA had been willing to make a deal with Maxine, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years’ probation, five of those years to be served under home confinement.
There had been no charges filed against Hope. She was not a witness in any way to her father’s murder and could not testify to what she did not see or hear.
Ronan had no qualms with Maxine’s sentence and with the DA’s decision not to charge Hope. Sometimes cases just worked out like this where the guilty parties paid for their sins prior to the crime being committed.
Walking out into the bright July sunshine, Ronan was greeted by Carson who was walking around the deck of the hotel rocking a sleeping Bertha. “Hey, there you are. I was about to text you to see if you needed help getting out of the hotel room.”
“Ten was having wardrobe issues, so that was a good excuse to get me out the door without him.” Ronan pressed a kiss to Bertha’s downy head. “Is everything all set?”
Carson nodded. “The sandcastle is built and the message is written. Do you have the thing?”
Ronan laughed. “I’ve got the thing. Is everyone here?”
“Yup! Truman, Stephanie and Brian are down by the castle with Cassie, Cole and Laurel. Man, that little girl loves dipping her toes in the water. Lyric, Katie, and Astrid are looking for shells. The gaggle of Abruzzis are over by the sand castle and Fitzgibbon and Greeley are here too. I’m so glad they could arrange to spring him from rehab so he could be here for this vacation.”
“Me too.”
“Bertha and Erin are here too, Ronan. Do you want to talk to your Mom before Tennyson gets down here?”
Ronan felt his breath catch in his throat. “My mom is here?”
“Of course she is. This is a big day.” Carson patted his shoulder.
“Hey, Mom. Here I am. Bet you didn’t think this day would ever get here.”
Carson laughed. “She says she knew this day was coming the minute you met Tennyson.”
Ronan shook his head. “Oh, you mean when I accused him of being a fraud to his face?”
“It was love at first sight, Ronan. We all could see that.” Carson grinned at him. “Be true, be loyal, be loving, be his everything,” Carson whispered. “Boy, your Mom packs a wallop. I’m gonna go make sure Leo and Presley have the video equipment all set and ready to roll.”
“Okay.” Ronan took a deep breath. He was about to go over his speech one last time when his phone rang. He slipped it out of his pocket, figuring it was Tennyson wanting to know if his new outfit was perfect, but it wasn’t.
Ronan frowned when he saw the 617area code of the unknown number on the caller ID. He knew that was Boston’s area code. Unable to help himself he pressed the green button. “O’Mara,” he answered. The line clicked twice and went dead. “Asshole wrong number,” he muttered and shoved the phone back into his pocket.
The wrong number didn’t matter. What mattered now was getting ready for the surprise. He took a deep breath and turned toward the beach where everyone was gathered. He was about to head down to the sand when Henry came sprinting toward him.
“Hi, Ronan!” he called out, waving frantically.
“Hi, Henry.”
“I’m so excited for your big day. I made a special dessert with Daddy to celebrate.” Henry’s gap-toothed smile was on full display, as was his Spiderman shirt.
“Ten’s gonna love that shirt.” Ronan grinned at the boy.
“I know. You should get him one. I can tell you where the best comic book store in Hyannis is if you want.”
Ronan nodded. He’d have to take Henry up on that offer. “Here comes Tennyson now. Better go take your place.”
“Good luck, Ronan!” Henry called before he sprinted down the stairs to join his fathers.
Ronan turned back to the French doors leading out of the hotel. He wasn’t going to need luck. He had Tennyson on his side. Oddly enough, Ronan had made up his mind to do this during the ride home from Hyannis after Maxine Owens’ arrest. Some people just weren’t meant to live happily ever after, but Ronan firmly believed that he and Tennyson were not two of those people.
“Hey there, handsome!” Ten greeted. “I thought you were going to get a place for us on the sand.”
Ronan laughed. “I was going to babe, but some other people beat us to the best spot. Come on.” Ronan led him down the deck steps and onto the sand. He stopped in front of a bunch of people standing with their backs to them. “This was the spot I had picked out for us, babe, but these people were already here!”
With that, everyone turned around and started applauding.
Tennyson’s mouth dropped open when he realized it was all of their friends standing there on the beach. “Carson! Truman! I can’t believe you’re here with the babies. Cole and Cassie? You’re here too! Lyric and Katie and Kevin and Greeley? Tony and Carlie? Oh, my God! Ronan, what’s going on?” Ten looked dazed.
“Today is the sandcastle building competition, so I had all of our friends build one for us.” Ronan grinned at Tennyson, who so far looked like he had no idea what was about to happen. Ronan had been worried when Ten said that he knew something was up. After all, how did you keep a secret this big from a psychic?
“You all built us a sandcastle?” Ten’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets.
Everyone stepped back out of the way to reveal a perfect castle. There were towers and a moat. It was decorated with shells and sand dollars. “Guys, this is absolutely amazing! I can’t believe you all got together to make this for me and Ronan.” Ten looked absolutely thrilled. “Oh, and look, there are words written over there in the sand. What do the word say? I can’t read them from here.”
“Why don’t you get a little closer and read them out loud.” Ronan stood back and got ready for his big moment.
“Be my forever, Tennyson?” He read out loud. Gasping, Ten spun around to see Ronan down on one knee in the sand. “Oh, Ronan! Oh my God!”
Ten’s reaction blew Ronan away. He could see tears forming in his fiancée-to-be’s eyes and only hoped he could get through this next little bit before he ended up crying too. “Ten, I never imagined the day we met that our journey together would lead to me being down on one knee asking you to be my husband. Here we are and I am the happiest man alive. The only thing that could possibly make me even happier is if you said yes and agreed to be my husband.” Ronan opened the ring box which he’d been clutching in his sweaty palm.
Ten gasped at the diamond studded platinum band.
“There was no way in hell I was going to propose with a plain gold band, Ten. You deserve diamonds from day one because you are my diamond. My shining light in the darkness guiding me home.” Ronan felt the tears coming on and he knew if he didn’t wrap this up soon, he wasn’t going to get out the most important words of all. “I love you
to the moon and back. Make me the happiest man alive and be husband. Will you marry me, Tennyson?”
Ten was holding his right hand over his mouth. He looked stunned. Actually, he looked frozen in time. A single tear cascaded down his cheek which seemed to break him out of his spell. “Oh, Ronan.” Ten batted at the tears which were now falling faster. “This is so amazing with all of our friends here and Bertha and your mother. I just don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes!” Carson shouted.
Ten started laughing and turned to find Carson in the crowd. “A speech like that deserves more than just a yes.”
“I’d take a yes, my knee is killing me.” Ronan groaned.
Ten pulled Ronan to his feet. “You are the peanut butter to my jelly. The Spock to my Kirk. I couldn’t possibly love you more than I already do, but every single day, you give another reason to love you even more.” Ten shook his head. “I can’t believe you pulled off a surprise like this without me knowing about it.”
“I can’t believe you still haven’t said yes, Ten. I love you, so much. Marry me, babe. We’re stronger together than we could ever be alone.”
Ten snorted. “Of course I’ll marry you, Ronan. This is the best moment of my life with all of our friends here. I didn’t want it to end.”
Ronan took out the ring and slid it onto Ten’s finger. It was a perfect fit. “It never has to end. I promise you that I’ll make you feel this special every day for the rest of our lives.”
“Right back at you, Ronan.” Tennyson wrapped his arms around Ronan’s neck.
“He said yes!” Ronan shouted. He wrapped his arms around Tennyson and held his fiancée tight. He knew not every day was going to be filled with love and promise like this one, but he knew the foundation that they’d laid together was strong enough to weather any storm to come.
Dead Weight, Book Four of the Cold Case Psychic series will be available on April 10, 2018.
Cold Case Detective Ronan O'Mara is looking forward to starting a new life in his new home, but when a strange house warming gift appears on his doorstep, Ronan has no idea that it marks the start of a series of events that will put his life, and the lives of everyone close to him in danger. When murders similar to those committed by dead serial killer Rod Jacobson start occurring around Boston, Ronan is certain he has a copycat killer on his hands.
