by K M Morgan
“Actually, there’s somewhere I need to stop first.”
“Where?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Grandma Gwen’s nosiness suited her well when trying to solve a murder case. Deanna didn’t feel the same way about her grandma peeking through the blinds of her front window to watch Tyler kiss Deanna good-bye in the driveway.
When Deanna entered her grandma’s living room, Gwen was not shy with her opinions.
“It looks like you and that detective are really hitting it off,” Grandma Gwen said.
“Been staring through the blinds again, haven’t you?” Deanna teased.
“You’d be surprised at all the things you can see if you look close enough.”
“Or, if you’re spying on them.”
“Speaking of, how did the sleuthing go today?” Grandma Gwen asked.
“Not as well as I hoped,” Deanna replied.
“You’ll crack this case.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. That’s what grandmas are for.”
Deanna laughed.
Grandma Gwen continued. “Besides, there’s never been a case you haven’t cracked, on TV or in real life.”
“This is one time I’m hoping there isn’t a first time for everything.”
“Yeah. Everyone wants to avoid those dubious firsts.”
Deanna changed the subject. “Enough about me, though. How about you—were you able to dig anything else up?”
Grandma Gwen shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. Go figure—there are still people in the world who don’t overshare on social media.”
“That doesn’t seem possible.” Deanna sighed. “What a time to for people to get smart. Where are all the dummies when you need them?”
Grandma Gwen laughed. “There’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear.”
“Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures, and I’d love it if one of these suspects would slip up and do something stupid.”
“In the meantime, how about watching a couple of cute animal videos?”
“Grandma, you know I have a weakness for adorable little fur balls. I can’t afford to disappear for hours into a black hole of insane cuteness like that.”
“It’s better than spending the whole night driving yourself crazy thinking about this case.”
“Actually, Tyler is going to be taking me out to Joe’s Diner for dinner,” Deanna revealed.
Grandma Gwen’s mouth began watering. “Deanna, you know better than to make me hungry like that.”
“Sorry, but it’s not my fault. I introduced him to the diner this afternoon, and he loved it so much, he couldn’t resist going back there again for dinner.”
“It’s good to know you’re with someone who has good taste. Otherwise, I’d have to kick him to the curb for you.”
“The minute he tasted their burgers, he was hooked. Although I have to admit, he was a little apprehensive of the place at first, considering how run down the décor is and all.”
“That’s just how I like it. The longer we can keep Joe’s a secret, the better it is for our taste buds,” Grandma Gwen insisted.
“I agree. Still, you should have seen the look on Tyler’s face. He never thought a burger that good could come from a greasy-spoon diner like that,” Deanna said.
“It’s like they say—you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
That statement got Deanna’s mind racing. It appeared the break she was looking for all day might have just arrived in the most unlikely of packages.
“Wait a minute. Say that again,” Deanna replied.
“Just that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Sometimes the truth isn’t what it seems.”
Just then, a light bulb went off in Deanna’s head. She started kicking herself. It turned out the answer was right in front of her this whole time—she just didn’t see it until now. Suddenly, there was no doubt in her mind. The truth about this murder case was finally crystal clear.
Deanna smiled. “That’s it.”
Grandma Gwen was confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I know who killed Kenneth Gibson.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The next day, Deanna waited for Wyatt Gibson to leave his house. The moment he began walking to his car, Deanna came out from the tree she was hiding behind and confronted him.
“You know, you almost had me fooled,” Deanna said.
Wyatt was startled as he turned around. When he saw Deanna staring him down, he became outraged.
“What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?” Wyatt wondered.
“I’m just doing the same thing you did to your father the night you killed him,” Deanna revealed.
Wyatt played dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Deanna pressed on. “Yeah, you do. You managed to fool a lot of people, but not me.”
Wyatt scoffed. “You’re crazy.”
Deanna shook her head. “No, I’m dead on. Do you know what gave it away?”
Wyatt was dismissive. “I don’t have to listen to this.”
“Ever heard the saying, ‘never judge a book by its cover’?”
“What about it?”
“That saying is especially true now. The fact is, looks can be deceiving. You said yesterday that when people look at your Mohawk and tattoos, they have trouble believing you get emotional about things. Guess what? When people see my girl-next-door friendliness, they have trouble believing there’s a hard-nosed reporter underneath who won’t stop at getting anything less than the truth.”
Wyatt furrowed his brow. “What does this have to do with anything?
Deanna shook her head. “You still don’t get it. That was the key to blowing this case wide open. You ended up tipping your hand yesterday without even realizing it. You were right. I was surprised to see you so emotional and broken up. The fact is, you did love your father. That’s why his misdeeds hurt so much. He cheated on your mother, treated your girlfriend like a freak, and was ashamed of the man you’d become.”
Wyatt tensed up.
Deanna continued. “Your father kept hurting everyone you cared deeply about until finally you couldn’t take it anymore. His actions threw you over the edge. You had to put a stop to the pain he was causing. So you waited outside the employee exit that night, looking to exact your revenge. When Amelia Brady showed up to confront your father, you realized she’d be the perfect person to frame for the crime, so you waited for her to leave the scene, snuck up on your father from behind, stabbed him in the back, then placed an anonymous call to the police. Isn’t that right?”
Wyatt stared her down, looking ready to erupt. “Yeah, I did it. And you’re next.”
Wyatt outstretched his hands and lunged at Deanna, determined to choke her.
He wouldn’t get a chance to.
Just before Wyatt was able to get his hands around Deanna’s neck, half a dozen police officers, including Detective Goodman, came out from their hiding spots behind the neighbor's trees. The officers drew their guns on Wyatt.
“Freeze,” Tyler said.
Wyatt looked around and saw a slew of guns pointed at him. It was then he realized the jig was up.
Knowing there was no escape, Wyatt got emotional again and spilled his guts. “My father always had to have his way. That was true with the store, with my mother, and with me too. He never asked what we wanted. He had to be stopped. At least now he can’t hurt anyone else.”
Deanna stared him down. “Actually, now that you’ll be spending the rest of your life behind bars, you’ll be the one who is hurting now.”
***
“Take him away, boys,” Tyler said.
The deputies followed the detective’s orders and hauled Wyatt away. That gave Tyler and Deanna a moment alone.
“I guarantee he never saw that coming. He had that ‘deer in the headlights’ look,” Tyler said.
“You should never underestimate a report
er,” Deanna insisted.
“Especially not one who is known for writing about dog fashion shows,” he joked.
“Those days are behind me.”
“I’ll say. That paper would be foolish to ever put you on puff-piece duty again after the sleuthing you’ve been doing. Speaking of, you’re getting pretty good at cracking cases,” Tyler added.
“Trust me, I’m just as surprised as you.”
“What an odd thing to hear coming from a Detective Drumstick super fan.”
“Let me tell you something. It’s one thing to solve TV murders from the comfort of your couch. It’s another thing to do it in person.”
“You seem to be doing it quite well. Are you sure you don’t have an interest in becoming a professional detective?” Tyler asked.
“And fill out all that paperwork? No, thank you,” Deanna joked.
Tyler laughed.
“In all seriousness, I like reporting too much to leave it,” she added.
“It doesn’t hurt that your sleuthing is giving you the scoop on some plum stories.”
“It’s funny—when I was doing nothing but puff pieces, I wanted nothing more than to tackle harder-hitting stories. Now that I’m knee-deep in serious drama, covering a brownie bake-off doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Go figure. The grass isn’t always greener,” Tyler said.
“Especially in the desert, where we don’t even have any grass,” Deanna joked.
Tyler chuckled. “Very true.” He then switched gears. “What we do have plenty of in the desert are good restaurants. Now, I don’t know about you, but my stomach is seriously grumbling. What do you say after I wrap up my paperwork, that I take you out to dinner?”
“Now there’s a plan,” Deanna said. “Don’t let that evil paperwork bog you down for too long, you hear?”
“I won’t. In the meantime, I should be heading back to the station.”
“Until later then.”
“Just one more thing before I go.”
“What’s that?” Deanna asked.
Tyler pulled Deanna in close and gave her a deep kiss.
***
While Tyler was back at the station doing paperwork to wrap up the case, Deanna paid her friend a visit. When Amelia heard the news that the killer was behind bars, she was over the moon. Relief was all over her face. She almost couldn’t believe it. No doubt it would take a while for everything to sink in.
One thing was clear. She was as grateful as could be. Amelia flung her arms around Deanna and gave her a big hug.
“Thank you so much,” Amelia said.
“You’re welcome,” Deanna replied.
“I’m serious. I can’t thank you enough,” Amelia said.
Deanna remained humble. “It’s what friends are for.”
Amelia wasn’t about to pretend that this was some ordinary occurrence. “No. Friends are for shopping and the occasional boisterous girls’ night out. I’ve never had a friend get me off a murder charge before.”
“Before? Have you ever had another murder charge leveled against you?”
“This is the first…and hopefully the last. My heart can only take so much stress.”
“Same with mine. I’ve now had two close friends wrongfully suspected of murder.”
“That’s a little too much adventure for a simple desert girl.”
“Tell me about it. Bring back the sleepy Desert Palms any time,” Deanna insisted.
“In the meantime, thanks again for saving my bacon,” Amelia replied.
“I guess the question is, now that you’re officially a free woman, what are you going to do now?”
“To be honest, a nice plate of bacon sounds pretty good right now.”
“I was thinking bigger picture,” Deanna said.
“There’s plenty of time to figure that out. I’m just happy this case is over.”
“Fair enough.”
“Although, with everything that’s been going on recently, I’m not quite sure Desert Palms will ever go back to being the sleepy town we grew up in. When you combine that with the fact that I’m out of a job and maybe it’s time for me to make the move to Los Angeles that I’ve been threatening to do for the last couple years.”
Deanna laughed.
Amelia was confused. “What’s so funny?”
“I was just thinking about how Tyler couldn’t wait to move out of LA to come here, and now here you are, sounding like you’re in a hurry to leave here to head to Los Angeles.”
“Hey, we haven’t all been lucky enough to land a handsome police detective for a boyfriend. Otherwise, I might be willing to stick around.”
“There are other officers on the police force.”
“Any you can recommend?”
Deanna bit the corner of her lip. “Not unless you get excited about the idea of going to a firing range on a first date.”
Amelia grimaced. “Moving to LA is sounding better and better. Call me a traditionalist, but my idea of a good first date is dinner and a movie.”
“Which reminds me, the detective is taking me out to dinner.”
“I think you might have found yourself a keeper,” Amelia said.
“It’s too early to tell for sure, but I have a hunch that you might be right,” Deanna replied.
Epilogue
“If it isn’t Deanna Devlin, desert detective,” Sabrina said.
Deanna’s friend sure knew how to give her a hero’s welcome. Ironically, despite the attention she was getting, Deanna had no interest in the spotlight. She had come for a scoop of ice cream and was looking to wind down. Deanna should have known Sabrina would have her eyes squarely on the case. That was a small town for you. Big things happened so rarely that when something like a murder occurred, the whole place was abuzz for weeks.
While Deanna did not crave accolades, her grandma was just the opposite. Gwen couldn’t get enough attention, and she wasn’t afraid to ask for it if it didn’t come her way.
“Hey, what about me?” Grandma Gwen wondered.
“Don’t worry. I could never forget Grandma Gwen, the smartphone sleuth,” Sabrina insisted.
“We’re going to have to work on tweaking that name. I need something with a little more panache,” Grandma Gwen said.
“That’s my grandma for you. If it doesn’t have flair, it doesn’t have any place in her life,” Deanna added.
“If you’re going to do something, be awesome at it,” Grandma Gwen insisted.
“It’s definitely working for you, Grandma. I couldn’t have solved this case without you,” Deanna said.
“What can I say? Justice is my middle name,” Gwen boasted.
“Here I thought your middle name was Gertrude,” Deanna joked.
“Well, legally it is. But metaphorically, I’m the new face of justice in town,” Gwen continued.
“In that case, you should be known as the desert detective. The nickname is all yours,” Deanna said.
Grandma Gwen shook her head. “No. I want my own thing. I’m an innovator, not an imitator. After all, I’m one of a kind.”
Deanna smiled. “That’s for sure.”
“Now, how about that scoop?” Gwen suggested.
“Good idea. All my best ideas come to me under the influence of chocolate,” Sabrina said.
“Flashy new nickname or not, I couldn’t have solved this case without you, Grandma,” Deanna replied.
“We are a good team, aren’t we?” Grandma Gwen asked.
Deanna nodded. “Murderers don’t stand a chance when Team Devlin is on the case.”
Gwen smiled and then turned to Sabrina. “On second thought, make that two scoops. I’m in my eighties. What am I watching my weight for?
“Oh, come on. Don’t you want to live to be a hundred and twelve?” Sabrina joked.
Grandma Gwen scoffed. “It’s not the number of years in your life that matters, but rather the life in those years.”
Deanna looked out the window at the horizon. “Isn’t t
hat the truth? And considering the fact that there have been two murders in town this year, suddenly life is more precious than ever.”
“That’s why you have to live life to the fullest, one scoop of ice cream at a time,” Grandma Gwen said.
“That’s an interesting philosophy,” Deanna replied.
“It would also make a great motto for the store,” Sabrina added.
“All right, so my philosophizing got a little distracted by my craving for chocolate. You both got my drift,” Grandma Gwen said.
“We did. Speaking of, is anyone up for another scoop?” Deanna asked.
“Are you kidding? You shouldn’t even have to ask,” Grandma Gwen replied.
The End.
The Deadly Political Affair
Chapter One
“What do you think?” Daisy McDare asked.
This was Daisy’s favorite part of her job—the big reveal. She had been redecorating the parlor, living room, and dining room of Mayor Walter Redmond’s home for two weeks and was now showing them the fruits of her labor. It had been a very special job for Daisy, not just because she had redecorated the mayor’s house, but also because the job would provide her with a sizable paycheck.
Daisy often found that unveiling her work to a client made for a nail-biting experience, but she felt confident that Kelly Redmond, the mayor’s wife, would appreciate the finished product. Walter, meanwhile, was another story. Walter had been a thorn in Daisy’s side throughout the entire project, pinching every penny he could along the way.
Were it not for the fact that the mayor was in a heated bid to get reelected, he would have hung over Daisy’s shoulder every step of the way. That kind of interference would have proven insufferable, so Daisy was thankful that the mayor had spent the lion’s share of his time at city hall. Unfortunately, Walter had insisted on being present for the big reveal and had taken a special break from campaigning to join his wife right then.
