“May eighth—it’s in the register,” Mom said. “Is that the reason for the disguise?”
The sheriff nodded. “As for Cuthbert, Pamela says Marlon never intended to hurt him. He tried to give him some knockout drops—evidently the same kind he injected Queenie with—but they got into a struggle and … and Marlon picked up whatever was handy, which happened to be the wrench. I don’t believe that part, since the attack took place in Cuthbert’s trailer and we’ve got a scan of a receipt showing Marlon bought the wrench in Sarasota, Florida, last March, meaning he had it on him when they met. Marlon assumed Cuthbert was dead and hit upon the idea of hiding the body in the old well. All this is from Pamela. Marlon’s not talking.”
Bertha came out with sandwiches and drinks plus yet another sausage for Arthur. He’d been snacking pretty much nonstop for hours.
“Miranda?” Harmony said. “Feel like a bike ride?”
Miranda, who’d been staring down at the patio floor, said, “That would be nice, but I don’t have a bike.”
“You can ride on my handlebars,” Bro said.
“Yeah?”
“No problem,” said Bro. “I rerigged them.”
“Kinda,” Harmony said.
They laughed, first just Bro and Harmony, and then Miranda joined in. They went off and not long after that I spotted them biking across the meadow, black silhouettes against the fiery sky, Miranda’s silhouette perched up high on the handlebars.
Randa Bea went inside to make some calls. That left me, Mom, and the sheriff. Plus Arthur, lying on one of the padded chaises.
The sheriff looked at Mom. “Is there anywhere we could go to talk about Arthur out of his hearing?”
Mom laughed. “How about a little walk?”
They went for a little walk, side by side, in the direction of the herb garden. Just before they rounded the corner of the house and vanished from view, their hands almost touched. Hand-holding is one of the very best things humans do. Were Mom and the sheriff about to hold hands? They rounded the corner, so I couldn’t tell you.
Right after that, the phone rang inside the inn. No one picked up. Then came a voicemail-type voice.
“Mrs. Reddy? Is the sheriff there? This is Dr. Adomakoh down at the ICU. Please tell him the patient is awake and breathing on his own.” Click.
I walked over to the padded chaise, glided up, and lay down between Arthur’s paws. One of his eyes opened. Did he look alarmed? I had no problem with that.
Many thanks to my very talented editor, Mallory Kass.
Spencer Quinn is the pen name of the Edgar Award–winning novelist Peter Abrahams. He has written many books for younger readers, including the New York Times bestselling Bowser and Birdie series, the Edgar-nominated Echo Falls series, and the Queenie and Arthur series. His novels for adults include Oblivion, The Fan (made into a movie starring Robert De Niro), The Right Side, and the New York Times bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series. He lives with his wife, Diana, and dogs, Audrey and Pearl, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Copyright © 2020 by Pas de Deux Corp
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First edition, October 2020
Author photo by Randi Baird
Cover art by Jennifer Taylor, © 2020 Scholastic Inc.
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e-ISBN 978-1-338-24585-1
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