“I still don’t understand why the dog didn’t pick up Janice’s scent.”
“It’s pretty muddy out here,” Peterson said. “And desolate enough that we might not have been searching in the right area.”
“You weren’t,” Janice exclaimed. “I could hear the dogs, but only in the distance.”
“You might have received a call from Brian by the time you located the men and thought you were done with the search,” I said. “I’m sure the sheriff did all he could to find you when he thought you were out here.”
“I’m not complaining. Luckily I was able to get a call out to Agnes for help. I’d be good as dead if she hadn’t shown up when she did.”
“Us you mean, dear,” Eleanor said with a curt shake of her head.
“Brian must have known the police thought they caught the person responsible for running Donald and Mary off the road,” I said.
“What?” Brian said from where the deputies held him. “But I thought you figured out I was the one responsible.”
“See,” I said. “Crime doesn’t pay and now you’ll pay the price.”
“Yeah,” Eleanor said. “Do the crime, do the time.”
We watched as Brian was walked handcuffed to a waiting police car. “We better get going,” Andrew said. “Your friends are anxiously awaiting to see if you two managed to find Janice.”
“Oh, that’s right. Give us a call, Janice, if you need anything. We’ll make room for you if you need a place to stay.”
“It’s okay. I’ll give Aaron and Darin a call. It looks like it’s only the three of us now.”
I tried to sit there without shivering, but couldn’t. “I-I have no idea how Janice made it out in the marsh all night without freezing.”
“Or without getting hypothermia,” Eleanor added.
“I’ll feel better after the both of you are into a hot shower,” Andrew said.
“Separately, of course,” I added, before Eleanor could say anything.
* * *
We arrived back at my house and our guests were quite worried as they gathered around us, asking for all the details, until Andrew insisted we go inside and get cleaned up first and talk later.
When the hot water was finally pounding over my weary body, I counted my blessings. I had never imagined when this case began that I’d actually be able to prove that what looked like accidents had ended up being murder. I felt bad that Donald and Mary had lost their lives so needlessly. Janice had never even told Donald how she felt about him, although Donald may have had some idea of it, since he had dated Mary secretly.
I pulled on jeans and the heaviest of my sweaters while Eleanor took her turn with the shower. I walked into the other room where Andrew and Martha were chatting about finding a way to stop us from investigating any more crimes.
“Really?” I asked. “And what would you have us do, bother you all day, Martha?”
“Lord, no. I was just saying that on Andrew’s behalf.”
“Don’t bring me into this. I know better than to stop your mother from doing exactly what she wants.”
“It’s about time,” I said.
“It’s about time we eat,” Elsie said from the door. “Come out here before the police eat up all the food. Andrew invited the police over after they’ve wrapped things up. Well, other than the sheriff and Trooper Sales. They’re busy writing their reports, I’m sure.”
“We’ll be out when Eleanor is done with her shower.”
I didn’t have any clothes that would fit Eleanor, but I did have one terry cloth bathrobe that was too big for me, so that’s what she put on. I think it looked more comfortable than what I wore.
We wandered over to where the food was set out and we filled out plates with the grilled chicken and every salad imaginable. Of course I loaded my plate with the taco salad, but I used Thousand Island dressing with mine instead of the Catalina dressing most people used.
I took a bite of the chicken and sighed in delight. “This is so good, Andrew.”
“It’s Rosa Lee’s special recipe. I’m not sure what her secret ingredient is but I’d love to know her secret.”
All I could think about was her medicinal days, but I knew she’d never do that anymore. When it came to brownies, though, one never knew for sure how happy they might be later.
“Thanks, Elsie,” I said.
“For what, dear?”
“For calling the sheriff right away and telling him where we went.”
“That was Jack’s idea. He told me you two would need help much sooner than forty minutes. That you could die before the cops showed up.”
I smiled. “You hear that, Eleanor? Looks like we owe Jack a thank you.”
“How about you ladies don’t thank me for anything. I like that we don’t see eye-to-eye on anything. It’s more interesting that way.”
“How was jail, Jack?” Eleanor asked. “Make any new friends?”
“Not any more than normal.” He laughed.
That was the Jack we had grown used to and I wouldn’t want him any other way. Throughout the rest of the day, we enjoyed the company of our friends, thankful that we were once again home for the long haul. Traveling was nice, but I’d much rather be in the town I called home and surrounded by all of our zany friends. I gazed from Elsie and Jack, the oddest couple we knew, to Marjory and Bill Hays, whose habit of wearing matching clothes was eye opening at times. Bernice was there, too, with three of her cats that were currently being chased off the dessert table by Martha and her captain. The funniest thing was how Rosa Lee Hill and her sons Curt and Curtis had parked the lawn chairs they brought so they could keep a good eye on the fire pit as another round of chicken was roasting to be ready for Sheriff Peterson and Trooper Sales when they arrived. The two did show up within the hour, bringing with them my granddaughter Sophia and my great-grandbaby Andrea, who was about to turn one.
When it came to Tawas, you just never knew who would show up one day and become part of our unique group and that was why I called June Crawford and Mrs. Patterson to come over, too. They arrived with a crash and a blasting of horns as their rental car smashed into my metal trash cans. I wasn’t about to worry about it. Instead I went off to meet our newest friends.
“Hello, June. I’m happy to report it’s much safer to drive on Plank Road now that the killer is behind bars.”
“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stay off that road for a while,” June muttered. Mrs. Patterson nodded in agreement.
We had a good laugh about that and I took them into my backyard and introduced them to my friends.
“It’s about time we met,” Elsie said. “But from the sounds of it, you don’t drive much better than Eleanor.”
“Don’t look at me to file any police reports,” Trooper Sales said, looking up with chicken leg clutched in his hand.
“So, what did you do about that deputy who wouldn’t file a report when June and Mrs. Patterson were nearly run off the road?” I asked.
“Deputy Ellis was spoken to about that and he won’t be working the nightshift again. I wasn’t aware that he was having sleeping problems and I can’t have one of my deputies making a mistake like not reporting an incident like that,” Peterson said. “I told him we do things much different than they do where he came from.”
“Now, sheriff. I don’t hold any grudges,” June said. “If you ever need help with a high-speed chase, Mrs. Patterson will be happy to help out.”
Peterson laughed. “I almost wish I could take you up on that. Come along, ladies, and have something to eat.”
“Would you like a brownie, sheriff?” Rosa Lee offered.
He laughed. “No, I’m afraid not. My wife would kill me if she found out I cheated on my diet.”
“Actually, the sheriff here has banned all of his deputies from eating your brownies,” Sales said with a chuckle.
“I won’t take offense, sheriff, but I assure you there’s no special herbs in them.” She laughed.
> “Special herbs like in Colonel Sanders chicken?” June asked.
Mrs. Patterson laughed. “I really don’t think that’s what she meant.”
“No bother. I’ve never been one for brownies anyway.”
I smiled at Andrew, who stood on the other side of the table, and I joined him. “Thanks again.”
“For what?”
“For suggesting our friends come here for a change. Do me a favor, though.” When he looked me in the eye, I added, “Don’t tell the sheriff that Rosa Lee Hill made the cake.”
About the Author
Madison Johns was born and raised in a small town in Mid-Michigan, where she spent most of her time in a fantasy world inventing stories in her head. Fast forward to 2012 when she burst onto the writing scene at the age of 48, with her first mystery Armed and Outrageous, depicting a zany cast of persons of a certain age characters. A series that takes place in the real town of Tawas, Michigan, one of Madison's favorite vacation spot as a child.
Visit her on the web at: http://www.madisonJohns.com. Sign up for Madison's mystery newsletter list http://eepurl.com/4kFsH.
Other Books By Madison Johns
An Agnes Barton Senior Sleuth Mystery Series
Armed and Outrageous
Grannies, Guns & Ghosts
Senior Snoops
Trouble in Tawas
Treasure in Tawas
Bigfoot in Tawas
High Seas Honeymoon
Outrageous Vegas Vacation
Agnes Barton Paranormal Mystery
Haunted Hijinks
Ghostly Hijinks
Spooky Hijinks
Kimberly Steele Romance Novella (Sweet Romance)
Pretty and Pregnant
An Agnes Barton/Kimberly Steele Cozy Mystery
Pretty, Hip & Dead
A Cajun Cooking Mystery
Target of Death
Kelly Gray (Stand alone) Sweet Romance
Redneck Romance
Paranormal Romance
Writing as Maddie Foxx
Clan of the Werebear
Hidden, Clan of the Werebear (Part One)
Discovered, Clan of the Werebear (Part Two)
Betrayed, Clan of the Werebear (Part Three)
Shadow Creek Shifters
Katlyn: Shadow Creek Shifters-Book One
Taken: Shadow Creek Shifters-Book Two
Tessa, Shadow Creek Shifters-Book Three
Western Historical Sweet Romances
Writing as Clara Kincaid
Nevada Brides Series
McKenna
Cadence
Kayla
Abigail
Birds of a Feather (An Agnes Barton Senior Sleuth Mystery Book 9) Page 18
