by Sonia Parin
Grinning, Lauren said, “That’s the fun part. You never know and that’s how we keep you on a tight leash.” She nudged her revolver. “So, where is it? The library? Surely, you didn’t keep it somewhere so obvious… Or, maybe you did.”
Eve tried to swallow. Her mind had frozen, just when she needed to generate some lifesaving ideas. Deciding to buy herself some time, she turned and strode into the living room. “As you can see, there are books everywhere.” But Mira had a system. She had all her books organized by genre. As she entered the living room, she remembered Mira saying Phillip Manningham had borrowed some books from her once.
Had he somehow managed to sneak the ledger in with the other books he’d borrowed?
Lauren had clearly searched high and low for it. Either it had been lost forever or it had been well hidden.
Mira had said she’d met Phillip once at the bookstore. He’d been looking for a particular author and the store hadn’t carried any books by him. Knowing some of the author’s titles sat on her bookshelves, Mira had offered to let him borrow it. In the end, he’d walked away with several copies which he’d returned within the month.
What would someone like Phillip Manningham read?
Crime fiction?
Mysteries? Suspense.
“Well?” Lauren prompted.
Eve scanned the shelves. If she had to hide a book, how would she do it? Use the jacket? Mira had such a large collection of books, it would be impossible to guess where the ledger could be hidden, if indeed it was hidden in the house.
Think, Eve. Think.
She ran her fingers along the spines. If Phillip Manningham had hidden the ledger here, he might have used a dust jacket to disguise it, and if the ledger book hadn’t been the same size… then there would a gap…
Eve glanced at Lauren. “Were you the one who took a shot at me?”
Lauren gave her a tight smile. “Yes, of course. Although, at the time, I wanted you to believe it had been Nick.”
“So, you do know him.”
“He’s nothing but a lackey and a backstabbing one at that. He thought he was being smart by meeting Derek Tucker right here in town, right under my nose. As if I wouldn’t find out he wanted out of the business.”
“That’s why he wanted the ledger,” Eve murmured.
“There’s only one way to leave the family business. Feet first.”
“So, who killed Phillip Manningham?”
Lauren lifted her chin a notch. “I did. Of course, my dad disapproved. But Phillip wanted out of the business too. So, I issued him his release papers. As I said, if you want out of the business, it’s feet first.”
“It didn’t occur to get the ledger before killing him?” Eve asked.
The slight tinge on Lauren’s cheeks suggested Phillip had probably given her some misleading information regarding the whereabouts of the ledger.
Eve resumed her search along the shelves. To her surprise, when her fingers brushed against the spine of a book they sunk into it.
What would Lauren do when she gave her the book?
She’d mentioned keeping people on a tight leash. Would she threaten Eve into doing something illegal?
What if she forced her to work for the mob?
Eve Lloyd, mobster’s lackey. Her inn could be turned into a holiday retreat for mobsters. Her worst fears…
What if it spread, one threat leading to another and another until they were all working for the mob? Everyone, including Jack.
It would all be her fault.
Jill had been right. Setting up a business in town had been asking for trouble.
“You won’t get away with this,” Eve warned.
“I have been getting away with it for as long as I can remember,” Lauren said.
“Really? You’ve killed before?”
Lauren chirped, “I must have been about seven when I picked up my first revolver. Nanny thought she knew better, so I showed her who the real boss was.”
Eve drew the book out and removed the dust jacket.
The ledger had been in Mira’s house all along.
“Hand it over.” Lauren’s eyes brightened. “Just wait until I show daddy what I have. Here I am stuck in this dead-end island when I could be the queen of the East Coast.”
Eve handed her the ledger and stepped back. “Do you have everything you need?” Eve asked.
Lauren held the book against her chest. “What else do you think I want?”
“Oh, I wasn’t talking to you,” Eve said. “I was talking to Detective Jack Bradford who is standing right behind you, listening to your confession.”
Lauren’s eyes narrowed. “W-what?” before she could turn, Jack had his handcuffs out and was reading Lauren her Miranda rights.
Despite seeing him peering around a corner several minutes before, Eve only now managed to draw a calming breath.
The phone tree had worked.
She hadn’t been sure if she’d hit the right call button.
But she had…
Sinking back against the bookshelf, she savored her triumph. But it lasted only a second. It was all the time it took for her parents to appear behind Jack.
Eve held her phone up and looked at the screen.
She hadn’t called the phone tree. She’d hit her mom’s number.
Epilogue
Her parents had been left speechless.
They’d heard the entire conversation Eve had held with Lauren Wright. Insisting they stick to their plans and go out to dinner, Eve had decided to go with the flow by putting an end to all her pretenses.
That night, she became the fabulous, the courageous Eve Lloyd, regaling them with tales of all her close calls during the previous year. She’d never realized the truth could be so liberating.
“Oh, and remember Charlotte McLain? She was my childhood nemesis at that boarding school you insisted I attend. Well, she ended up saving me by using her Birkin bag to stop a bullet. I can’t claim to now be her best friend, but we share a newfound admiration for one another.”
Mira nudged her under the table and winked at her.
Jill set her fork down and asked Jack, “So, why did Nick “the Lynch” Cooper confess to killing Phillip Manningham?”
“The mob found out about his family,” Jack explained. “He’d been hiding them in Maine. Lauren’s father promised no harm would come to them if Nick Cooper took the fall and confessed to killing Phillip Manningham. Before that, Nick had hoped to cash in by selling his exclusive story to Derek Tucker. That’s why he’d been meeting with him on a regular basis.”
“Do you have enough to put away the Wright family?” Eve asked.
“We sure do. That ledger is pure gold. It has names of everyone involved in the family business and all the lackeys on the payroll. A few heads are going to roll.”
Eve tried to not think about the enemy she’d made for life. “I guess this means Derek Tucker has his scoop, after all.” Eve took a moment to enjoy her sip of wine. “To think, the answer was right there all along. The key to the store.”
Jill nodded. “You kept talking about the killer having easy access to the store. I guess you were right.” She turned to Josh. “I hope you listened carefully. Stick close to Eve and you’ll learn a thing or two about suspecting people and thinking outside the square.”
Eve glanced at her parents and thought about the danger they’d faced. Without even realizing it, they’d come close to working for the mob.
“I’m sorry you had to find out about my life the way you did. Fact is, I tried to trigger the island’s phone tree but ended up calling you.” Eve looked at Jill. She considered asking her if she’d been taken off probation but decided against it. If Jill felt responsible for sponsoring Eve, then the decision would be hers to make when she saw fit to do so.
“It’s a pity about your store, Eve.” Jill gave her an impish smile.
Eve took a long sip of her drink. She’d been trying to forget about the bad news that had nearly ruined
her night. The store was one of hundreds of buildings owned by the Wright family and used to launder money. Palmer Robinson had been a smokescreen. A name invented to cover their tracks and as a proxy for all activities.
“Oh, well. Who knows what will happen to it now… After they are all convicted, I’m guessing the property will be disposed off. Mira? How would you like to invest in a little venture?”
Her parents surprised Eve by saying, “If Mira doesn’t want to go in on it, we’ll be happy to help out.”
In business, with her parents?
“We… Your father and I could be silent partners.” Her mom made a zipping motion across her mouth.
How had she earned their approval?
Mira whispered, “Just smile and say thank you.”
Eve raised her glass to them. “Thank, mom. That’d be good.”
Her mom brightened. “Oh, we can iron out the details later. Your father and I have decided to extend our stay for a while. We’ve made bookings at this charming little inn right here on the island.”
Jack took Eve’s hand and gave it a light squeeze.
She had survived being run off the road and having a gun pointed at her. She could survive her parents staying at her inn…
I hope you enjoyed Dying Trade.
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Other cozy mystery books by Sonia Parin
A Deadline Cozy Mystery
Sunny Side Up
Snuffed Out
All Tied Up
The Last Bite
Final Cut
Sleeping with the Fishes
A Kink in the Road
The Merry Widow
Dying Trade
An Evie Parker Mystery
House Party Murder Rap
Murder at the Tea Party
Murder at the Car Rally
A Dear Abby Cozy Mystery
End of the Lane
Be still my Heart
The Last Ride
The Last Stop
The Last Dance
A Mackenzie Coven Mystery
Witch Inheritance
Witch Indeed
Witch Cast
Witch Charm
Witch Trials
Witch Namaste - A Mackenzie Coven Mystery Short
Good Witch Hunting - A Mackenzie Coven Mystery Short
Witch in Exile
Witch Fairy Tale
