While Lydia had been in the hospital bed, Aunt Edie explained how she knew that something was wrong that night. Sunny was acting strangely, and this convinced her to go looking for Lydia. She had arrived just in time to stop the killer from acting out another deadly deed.
Lydia started telling her aunt about all the cases she had been mixed up in and the reasons that she had for getting involved. Aunt Edie was surprisingly supportive but made Lydia promise two things. The first thing was that Lydia would be more careful during her sleuthing, and this included always having backup. The other thing was that Lydia had to keep her updated on all the excitement in her life. Lydia gladly agreed.
After Daniel set down their blanket, Lydia took a seat on it, and he joined her. Aunt Edie set up her beach chair next to them so she could keep her toes in the sand. They were keeping Sunny away from the loud noises by keeping her at home with some music playing. Combined with the noise of the air conditioning, they thought it was likely that Sunny would snooze through this night like she did many others.
Mona walked up to them but didn’t set her towel down. “I think I’m going to watch the fireworks with Kelsey and Quinn.”
“I think that sounds like fun for the three of you,” Lydia said. “And hopefully, it will be the start of a great friendship outside of work and maybe a girl’s night or two.”
“And we’ll see you at home later,” said Aunt Edie.
“About that,” said Mona. “I really appreciate being able to stay with you, Lydia. And Cora made it sound like it will be a month before I’m able to move back in. But Annette just came back into town, and she offered me a place to stay too. I think I might take her up on that offer so that you and your aunt can have more family time together.”
Lydia knew that Annette had been feeling like an empty nester all over again when her daughter’s family moved out of the house after staying with her while their family home was built. Visiting her this week must have reminded her how much Annette missed them at the house when she returned home. Lydia knew that it would probably be a great pairing for both of them. They were both missing their family in different ways.
“I think it’s great for you to stay with Annette,” Lydia said. “But you’re always welcome with me too if you need it.”
Mona thanked her and then went off in search of her friends.
“It will be nice to have some alone time with you when you’re not thinking about a murder,” Aunt Edie said. “But I won’t be in town for much longer. There’s still a lot of the world I need to see.”
“Well, I’ll enjoy every moment that we do have here,” said Lydia.
They smiled and watched as the sun began to set, and then they were joined by Trina. She had a strangely stoic look upon her face.
“Is everything all right?” Lydia asked.
“It is,” Trina. “I mean, besides the fact that you didn’t call me when you figured out the case and went off on your own. But everything else is all right. In fact, it’s good. I just broke up with Carl!”
“You did?” asked Lydia.
Trina nodded. “I took all your advice to heart. I need to find the person who is right for me and not stay with someone just so I don’t feel alone. And now that I’m officially single again, I can start the search for Mr. Right.”
Lydia hugged her friend. She thought that this was a change for the best, but she knew that it had been a hard decision.
They didn’t get to talk much about the breakup because then Leo walked up to them wearing a very festive tie with firework designs on it.
“I’m glad to see you’re well enough to be here,” he said civilly. “And I thought I would let you know that Neil confessed to both the murder of his wife and the doctor. We’ll also get him with attempting to murder you.”
“So the killer is caught,” Aunt Edie said with a smile. “And both of your efforts paid off. I love when you both work on something together.”
“Don’t encourage her,” Leo said. “She was almost killed.”
“Yes. She does have to work on that part,” Aunt Edie said.
Leo sighed. “She needs to stop interfering with police matters. But I guess I should thank her for pointing us in the right direction for this one. We weren’t even looking at Neil. We were focused on the victim’s wife until we learned what she was really up to at the time of the murder.”
“What was that?” asked Daniel.
“She was selling off some of their community property antiques planning to hide the money,” Leo explained. “That’s why she didn’t want to admit it right away.”
“Since we’re tying up loose ends, there is something I want to know,” said Trina. “What is going to happen to Neil’s dog now?”
“He’s going to be adopted by a neighbor named Maggie,” said Leo.
“It seems she was fond of the dog after all,” said Lydia.
“And there is one more thing,” said Leo. “Lydia, by any chance have you had the feeling that you were being followed?”
“Yes!” said Lydia. “But I didn’t get the chance to ask Neil about it.”
“It wasn’t Neil,” Leo explained. “It was the reporter Brie Rankin. It seems she decided that if she couldn’t get the scoop on her stories from the medical examiner she was going to see if she could get her information by following you. I’ve asked her to stop.”
Lydia laughed. Of all the explanations for someone following her, this was not what she expected.
Leo started to look down at the sand awkwardly. “Aunt Edie, there is something else I want to tell you. Or someone I’d like you to meet. There’s this woman I’ve been seeing. And I’d like to introduce her to you.”
“I’d be delighted!” Aunt Edie said.
Aunt Edie followed him off so she could meet Suzanne. Then, Trina made an excuse to leave them for a few minutes before the fireworks began. Lydia suspected this was because her best friend wanted her to have a moment alone with Daniel.
It ended up being a romantic moment as the couple looked into one another’s eyes. They both moved closer. They finally shared their first kiss – and they both saw fireworks!
Also by Allyssa Mirry
The Sticky Sweet Series
Book 1: Pineapple and Poison
Book 2: Double Chocolate and Death
Book 3: Cinnamon Swirl and Suspicions
Book 4: Cotton Candy and Corpses
Book 5: Banana Split and Bodies
Book 6: Dragon Fruit and Dread
Book 7: Strawberry Kiwi and Slayings
Author’s Note
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