I called him the first thing Saturday morning, this time not waiting for any Shakespeare reviews before launching into the story. I ended it with, “And I’ve already put your sword back.”
“Laura, you didn’t really think I’d be worried about a sword, did you?”
“No,” I admitted, “but I didn’t want to lose it if I could avoid it.”
“You really hit a cop with it?”
“I didn’t know he was a cop.”
“Wait until Junior hears.”
“If you think I’m going to tell Junior, you’ve got another think coming.”
“You won’t have to. Thaddeous will tell his mother, and she’ll tell Aunt Daphine, and Aunt Daphine will tell Vasti—”
“And Vasti will tell everybody in the known universe. Maybe I should call Junior myself and get it over with.”
“Now that I know the sword is safe, what about you? Are you okay?”
“A couple of scratches, and I bruised my knee, but otherwise, I’m fine.”
“I don’t mean scratches and bruises. I mean you. Are you okay?”
I took a minute to think about it and finally said, “I think I am. I didn’t really owe Philip anything, but even if I had, all debts would be paid now. And I’ve been worried about betraying friends, but I don’t feel at all guilty about getting Vincent put away.”
“What now?”
“I guess I’ll go to SSI on Monday and quit, then call the boss to let him know I’ll be back at GBS on Tuesday.”
“You’re not going to SSI alone, are you?”
“I’ll be fine. I need to do this.”
“Call me afterward if you need to talk.”
“Count on it.”
Chapter 46
I spent most of the rest of the weekend by myself. Thaddeous and Michelle came by, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they wanted to be alone. So I made a few excuses to let them off the hook. Thaddeous picked up some clean clothes and they were gone again.
Jessie called a couple of times, but I let the phone machine answer and didn’t return her calls. I wasn’t ready to talk to her or anybody else at SSI quite yet. I did call Vasti to tell her that Arthur wasn’t going to be in a book, and then Junior to tell her about my swordplay. As expected, Vasti was disappointed and Junior was mighty amused.
Under the circumstances, I took my time getting to SSI Monday morning. I wanted to be sure everybody had heard all there was to hear before I got there. Even though it was nearly noon, Roberta wasn’t at the front desk. I called out, “Hello?” and a few seconds later, Jessie walked in.
“I wasn’t expecting you to come in today,” she said.
“ ‘Twere well it were done quickly,’ ” I said, which I thought was an appropriate quote, even if I couldn’t remember which play it had come from. “I take it that you’ve spoken to the police.”
“And Neal,” she said. “I tried to talk to Vincent, but all he would say was that his brother the lawyer advised against his saying anything. I did talk to his wife.”
“Muriel must be pretty upset.” I hadn’t even thought about her. How would it feel to find out that the father of your unborn child was a murderer?
“I guess so,” Jessie said. “She seemed more concerned with finding out about the money from SSI, to tell the truth. Poor Vincent.”
“I’m finding it hard to feel sorry for Vincent right now,” I said.
She looked sheepish. “I can understand that.” She paused for a minute. “I left messages for you.”
“I’m sorry. I just wasn’t up to talking.”
She nodded.
“Where is everybody?”
“Well, Roberta quit. She said this wasn’t a safe place to work. I suppose she’s got a point. The rest of us have been trying to decide what to do next.”
“Any conclusions?”
“Some ideas. Do you want to come join us?”
“I don’t think so, Jessie. I was planning to clean out my desk and get out of here.”
“I thought that’s what you’d say. We’ll be in the conference room if you need us.”
“Thanks. Jessie, I’m really sorry about the way things turned out.”
“I know you are,” was all she said.
There wasn’t a whole lot in my desk to clean out, which seemed odd. Though I had only been at SSI for a little over a week, it seemed longer. I was finishing up a note detailing the work I had done on StatSys when Inez came over.
“So you’re leaving?”
I started to make excuses, but instead I nodded and said, “I talked to my old boss, and he wants me back.” That was fudging a bit, but I didn’t really want to admit that I had only come to SSI to find out about Philip’s murder. Folks probably guessed as much.
“That may be for the best. SSI is on its way out anyway.”
“I’m sorry, Inez. I know how much this company means to you.”
She held up one hand to stop me. “Don’t worry. We’ve got a plan. Jessie, Dee, and I are going to form a new company. A real one this time, not just a bunch of nerds playing business. We’re going to buy StatSys from SSI, change the name, and start over. Having no reputation will be better than the one we’ve got after all this.”
“What about Dom?”
“He and Dee decided it was about time they split up.” Before I could say anything, she added, “Professionally, that is. They need some space. He’ll get another job in no time. Besides, with all women running the show, we just might be able to swing a minority loan.”
“Neal?”
“Well, first we’ve got to see what his legal position is. We found him a lawyer, and she’s optimistic. Neal didn’t mean to kill Philip, and he did help you guys at the end. Plus he says he’ll testify against Vincent. If he stays out of jail, we’ll hire him. He’s one of the best.”
“What about Sheliah?”
“We’ll hire her, too.”
“Inez, this is none of my business, but if I were you, I’d consider bringing Sheliah in as a full partner. She’ll do better work for you that way, and y’all need new blood. It’s been a long time since MIT.”
“You’ve got a point. I’ll see if I can talk Jessie and Dee into it.” Then she smiled. “Not that I’ve got any worries about that. We’re going to be great together.”
“It does sound good.”
“Sure I can’t talk you into staying on? Full partner if you want it.”
“It’s tempting, but no thanks. I’m not one for taking chances with a new company.”
“You’ll chase after hit men with a sword, but you’re not one for taking chances?”
I had to laugh at that. “I never said it made sense. Besides, y’all don’t need me around, reminding you of other things.”
“Maybe you’re right. And I have a hunch that it wouldn’t be easy to talk you into doing things my way.”
“Damned straight it wouldn’t be.”
“Jesus, Laura, what happened to that quiet little Southern belle Philip brought by all those years ago?”
“She’s long gone. And good riddance, too.”
Chapter 47
My boss at GBS was glad I was coming back to work, and fortunately never found out about my undercover work at SSI because very little about Vincent or Philip made it into the newspaper. That was one advantage of living in a big town. The story would have filled up an entire issue of the Byerly Gazette.
Thaddeous and Michelle spent the next few days together, though they did include me some of the time. We tried to hit all of the tourist places we had missed, and as many good restaurants as we could stand. I did bow out when Michelle took Thaddeous to meet her family, but I was glad to find out that he’d passed inspection. He’d liked them, too.
Still, it was time for Thaddeous to think about going back home, and the next Sunday, Michelle and I escorted him to the airport. When we got to the end of the concourse, I gave my cousin a big hug and said, “Thaddeous, I’m so glad you came. You come bac
k any time you want, you hear?”
“You know I will. Tell Richard I’m sorry I missed him.”
Then I stepped back a few feet to let Thaddeous and Michelle have a little privacy, but not so far that I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“Michelle,” Thaddeous said, looking down into her eyes, “I’ve never met anybody else like you. You’re beautiful, and brave, and smart, and …” Words failed him, so he finished up with a long, and from what I could see, passionate kiss.
After they both caught their breath, he went on. “I’m never going to forget you, not ever.”
“You’re damned straight you’re not going to forget me.”
“Of course I won’t. If there was any way we could be together … Well, there’s not and there’s no point in wishing there was.”
“Are you saying that this is it? That you’re going to get on that plane and I’m never going to see you again?”
Thaddeous looked confused. Clearly this wasn’t going according to his script. “Well, I’d like to come back up to visit, but I imagine you’ll be with somebody else before too long, a woman like you.”
“What do you mean ‘a woman like me’? You think I won’t wait for you?”
“I wouldn’t expect—”
“Don’t you tell me what you expect! Do you think you’re going to get away from me that easily?”
For a minute he looked hopeful, but then he said, “Michelle, there’s no way I could live up here. I like Boston and all, but it’s not Byerly, and I just couldn’t do it. No matter how much I care for you.”
“Care for me? Is that all there is to it?”
“Well, no, that’s not all.”
“Then what?”
It like to have killed him, but he got it out. “I love you.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. As it so happens, I love you, too.”
“You do?”
“Would I say it if I didn’t? Would I have kicked that man where I did if I hadn’t been trying to help you? Of course I love you.”
“But—”
“You don’t want to live in Boston, we don’t live in Boston. They’ve got apartments in Byerly, don’t they? They’ve got jobs. I’ll get Laura to teach me how to say y’all and I’ll move down there.”
“But—”
“But what? Thaddeous Crawford, you are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’ll be damned if I let go of you now.” This time she pulled him down for a kiss, and this kiss made the other one look like a peck on the cheek.
When they came up for air, Thaddeous said, “Michelle, I … I can’t wait for you to meet Mama.” Which, funny though it might have sounded, was the biggest compliment that Thaddeous could have given her.
Fortunately, Michelle could tell. I guess Italian families aren’t that different from Southern families. She said, “You tell your mama I’ll be there just as soon as I can get there. And another thing—you so much as look at another woman until I get down there, I’ll make a lasagne out of you.”
“Why in the Sam Hill would I ever look at another woman?” he said. He reached for her and they kissed one more time, this time for so long that I got right jealous.
“All right, then,” Michelle said, more than a little out of breath. “You’d better get on that plane.”
I don’t know that he needed the plane—from the expression on his face, I think he could have floated home.
Michelle watched him go down the corridor, then turned to me. “Do you think his mother will like me?”
“No,” I said.
“No?”
“I think she’s going to love you.”
She grinned. “That’s good to hear. And another thing. Who is this Sam Hill person you two keep talking about?”
ALSO BY TONI L.P. KELNER
SKELETON FAMILY MYSTERIES
(writing as Leigh Perry)
A Skeleton in the Family
LAURA FLEMING MYSTERIES
Down Home Murder*
Dead Ringer*
Trouble Looking for a Place to Happen*
Country Comes to Town*
Tight as a Tick*
Death of a Damn Yankee*
Mad as the Dickens*
Wed and Buried*
ANTHOLOGIES CO-EDITED WITH CHARLAINE HARRIS
Many Bloody Returns
Wolfsband and Mistletoe
Death’s Excellent Vacation
Home Improvement: Undead Edition
An Apple for the Creature
Games Creatures Play (forthcoming from Ace)
“WHERE ARE THEY NOW?” SERIES
Curse of the Kissing Cousin (originally published as Without Mercy)
Who Killed the Pinup Queen?
Blast from the Past
*available as a Jabberwocky ebook
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Toni L.P. Kelner is the author of the Laura Fleming mysteries and the “Where are they now?” series. She has also co-edited, with Charlaine Harris, a series of New York Times bestselling fantasy-mystery anthologies, including Many Bloody Returns; Wolfsbane & Mistletoe; Death’s Excellent Vacation; and the forthcoming Games Creatures Play. Her short stories have been nominated for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Derringer, and she has won the Agatha Award. Under her pseudonym Leigh Perry, she writes the Family Skeleton mysteries.
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Toni L.P. Kelner - Laura Fleming 04 - Country Comes to Town Page 25
