Murder, of Course

by Diane Weiner

  After Emily left, Henry said, “I hate this as much as you do, but we have to pack your things, I’ll help.”

  “I don’t want to go and I’m not packing.”

  “It’s just for a little while. Pack the essentials and we’ll keep your room just like you leave it.”

  Henry’s phone vibrated. “Yeah? Now? You can’t get anyone else?” He slammed the phone down on Maddy’s bed. “I have to go to the hospital. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Regretting at the moment his decision not to fully retire, he hugged Maddy and left for the hospital.

  Once he arrived, he didn’t have a moment to breathe. A severe car accident had brought half a dozen patients into the ER. When he’d finally finished, he checked his phone. Pat had left several texts saying Megan was with him and wanted to talk to him. Henry ran down to the morgue, hoping she would still be there.

  “Sorry, had a big mess to deal with upstairs. A little ice and these tourists don’t know how to drive.”

  “We’re expecting quite the storm later today. It’s only going to get worse. For me, too,” said Pat.

  “Megan, did you find out something?”

  “Boy, did we. Danielle LaPierre. We finished going through her things and found out she was in town to deliver something to a young lady named Maddy Fraser. You remember she was an estate lawyer, right?”

  “What’s that have to do with Uncle Malcolm?”

  *****

  Emily could barely concentrate on the road, sliding on the freezing rain, distracted by thoughts of Maddy getting on the plane. She planned on being gone an hour, but the meeting dragged on, and now the weather was making it impossible to hurry. A call came through the Bluetooth system.

  “Rebecca? I’m in the car and the roads are pretty bad. Can I call you when I get home? What? No way? Are you sure?”

  With the determination of a starving dog, she set her sights on home, heart pounding like a jackhammer. She couldn’t wait to grab Maddy and tell her everything was going to be okay. She gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her hands were numb when she finally pulled into her driveway.

  “Maddy, Henry, come quick. I have some great news!” She tossed her keys on the table.

  Henry, on his phone, met her at the door and signaled her to wait, cupping his hand over his ear. Emily checked Maddy’s room.

  “Henry, where’s Maddy?” She looked at her watch. It was too early for the limo service to have picked her up to go to the airport.

  Henry put the phone in his pocket. “She’s gone. I came home and there’s no note, she’s not answering her phone. I think she ran away.”

  “In this weather? How far could she have gone? I have something important to tell you.”

  “Me, too!”

  “Rebecca called me on the way home. She located the woman who cleaned the castle. She said Malcolm was dying when she left. He had a nurse—Josefer Rubric—and he…he told her she was no longer needed. Malcolm was at death’s door when she left the castle.”

  “And let me guess. Josefer ‘died’ and Malcolm made a miraculous recovery, coming to America to fetch his niece, the sole heir to the family riches.”

  “Rebecca uncovered a death certificate. Malcolm died of Huntington’s around six weeks ago. Josefer switched places, trying to get Maddy before anyone found out. I’ll bet he planned on killing her once they got to Scotland. Thank God we found out in time.”

  Henry said, “We have to find Maddy.”

  “What if he knew we were on to him and he’s taken her?” Emily opened the front door. “The storm is raging. I’m going to look for her.”

  “No, you can’t go on foot.” Henry called Megan. “The police are putting out an APB. I’m calling Coralee.”

  Emily pulled on her boots. Henry made his call.

  “Coralee says Malcolm’s airport limo just showed up, but Malcolm, I mean Josefer, is gone. I’ll bet he picked Maddy up early and is on his way to JFK.” He chirped open the Jeep and followed Emily out the door. “Let’s head to the airport.”

  Emily said, “No, wait. If he took off early, that means he knew we were on to him. He wouldn’t risk going to the airport.”

  “Canada!” said Henry. “We’re so close to the border, I’ll bet that’s his plan.” He started the car, then realized he already needed to scrape ice off the windshield.

  “Hurry, Henry!” Emily turned on the heat and drummed her gloved fingers on the seat. If she could have one superpower…

  Henry jumped in the seat next to her. “We’re off.” Thankful for four-wheel drive, he trampled over the icy roads. “I never even told you what Megan said. You won’t believe it.” He swerved out of the way of a tractor trailer.

  “Henry, watch the road.”

  Pellets of ice pinged against the Jeep. Henry gripped the wheel and accelerated. “I’ve got this.”

  “What did Megan say?”

  “Our Uncle Malcolm isn’t only an imposter and a kidnapper. He’s also a murderer.”

  “What!”

  “When the police went through Danielle’s things, they found a sealed document. It was a will, leaving the Scotland castle to Maddy. Danielle handled the transaction and was in town to deliver the news to Maddy. Malcolm, I mean Josefer, followed her here to intercept.”

  “So Danielle’s murder had nothing to do with Splash Panels or Brody or Hartman or Winnie.” The stuffy heat from the car coupled with the news made her feel nauseous. “And the whole cat commercial audition was just a coincidence.”

  “That’s right. Maybe she volunteered to handle the transaction because she was headed here anyway, but in the end, it was all about the inheritance.” Henry swerved. The storm made it nearly impossible to see, with the windshield wipers rendered useless. The desolate road was lined with snow covered pines and gradually crept up the side of a mountain.

  They’d barely made it out of town when Emily shrieked, “Henry, there’s a car over there on the side of the road.”

  Henry, wondering how she could see anything in this weather, pulled the car over to the guard rail, then got out and investigated. He wiped off the license plate with his glove. “It’s a rental and it fits the description of Josefer’s car. Look. It must have smashed into the guardrail.” He pointed to the mangled bumper.

  “That’s the white sedan that followed me. I see footprints,” said Emily. She hoped she was right, but the truth was, if there were any, they were already covered by the icy snow. She found an opening through the pines. “Come on.”

  Emily wrapped her scarf around her nose and mouth, trying to stay warm. “There’s kind of a path over here.”

  Henry followed her. Then he froze. “Did you hear that?”

  “It’s Maddy screaming. Come on!” She grabbed his hand and they followed Maddy’s voice. “Look! He’s just ahead.” She tried to run, but fell into the snow. Henry pulled her up. She panted, “He’s just ahead. Do you think you and I can take him down?”

  Like a mother lion protecting her cub, she ran until she ducked behind a large tree. She whispered to Henry. “He’s slowing down. He’s stopping to rest. Let’s go for it. On three.”

  Henry and Emily tackled Josefer to the ground. Maddy screamed and kicked the monster before her. Emily said, “Do you hear that?”

  A beam of light illuminated the ground as the propellers whirred louder and louder.

  Megan and her partner jumped out of the plane. Into her walkie, Megan said, “We got him.”

  Chapter 36

  Henry, Maddy, and Emily snuggled on the couch under a crocheted afghan.

  “Drink your hot chocolate,” said Emily. “I can’t believe we almost lost you.”

  “He was going to kill me. He said he had a change in plans and I wouldn’t make it to see Scotland. I didn’t think anyone would find me.”

  “We did and we’ll be here to protect you forever,” said Emily, squeezing Maddy. If the police had waited a minute longer to go after Malcolm, the helicopter would have been grounded due
to the weather. They’d tell Maddy the whole story tomorrow. For now, they hugged their daughter tightly. Chester snuggled on the back of the sofa over Maddy’s head, purring into her ear.

  “It really does take a village, you know. Raising a child, I mean,” said Emily. “If it wasn’t for Megan and Rebecca, who knows how this would have played out.” The wood crackled in the fireplace.

  “All’s well that ends well,” said Henry. “And now we have a new vacation home, as long as Maddy’s willing to share her castle with us.”

  “You mean Fiona Manor? My place outside Edinburgh?”

  Henry said, “Fiona Manor. Has a nice ring to it.”

  Emily got up and cradled Chester in her arms. “I’m really tired. Goodnight Henry, goodnight Emily.” She gave them each a kiss on the cheek and headed into her room. Before she closed the door, Maddy called back to them, “I love you.”

  THE END

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Award winning author Diane Weiner is a veteran public school teacher and mother of four grown children. Fond memories of reading Nancy Drew and Mary Higgins Clark books on snowy weekends in upstate New York inspired her to write books that would bring that kind of joy to others. Being an animal lover, she is a vegetarian and shares her home with two precious cats. In her free time, she enjoys running, shopping, attending theater productions, and spending time with her family.

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