“What did you find out?” Silas tossed the wig back to Humboldt.
“When Robert Blackford lived in Alaska he didn’t have a son with him. He went by the name of Melborne Shultz.”
“Well, if Amelia’s detectives couldn’t track him and my son couldn’t find anything out about him, how did you find him, Snowshoe?” Granny was suspicious of what Humboldt was telling them.
Silas answered Granny’s question. “Money talks. I’m not above a little bribery here and there. Apparently, Dickey Lee had plenty of time to talk to his cellmate. When his cellmate was questioned by my son, Ephraim, he said he didn’t know anything. But you should know that Dicky Lee happened to be in the same prison where Cornelius is serving time.” Cornelius, also known as the Big Guy, previously held the position now held by the Tall Guy.
“The Big Guy is in the same prison as Dickey Lee Hatchet?” Granny shook her head at the coincidence.
“Well, not exactly.” Franklin entered the room along with Amelia.
“Amelia, Franklin!” Granny exclaimed, surprised to see them.
“We heard what you were saying as we were coming in the house,” Amelia explained. “Why are we here, Franklin?”
“I called them while you were in the other room pretending to call Franklin, Granny,” Silas answered, “I figured you were up to no good, so I thought we’d better explain this to Amelia too before you both got yourselves in hot water.”
Franklin picked up the story where Silas had left off, “Ephraim and Thor have hit a dead end and they’re also up to their ears in Justine’s murder. I decided to call in some favors from some of the friends I made while I was a detective in New York. We got the Big Guy transferred to the same prison where Dickey Lee Hatchet was in and guess who his roommate was?”
“How did you get him to talk if Thor and the Tall Guy couldn’t?” Amelia asked.
“Like Silas said, money talks. The Big Guy offered Dickey Lee’s former roommate a bank account to be waiting for him when he’s released from prison next year,” Franklin explained.
“Isn’t that illegal?” Granny questioned.
“It might be if he actually was going to get the money and be released next year.” Franklin chuckled.
Silas smiled. “Yes, Dickey Lee’s former roomie sang like Radish, incriminating himself in a case the FBI had been trying to solve for years. Don’t know why he spilled everything to Cornelius, but Cornelius turned the information over to the FBI. Because of his help on this, my son is going to be released early. Cornelius will be coming back to live here too at the end of the summer. Of course, he can’t go back to his old job, but I think being on the inside of a prison cell instead of putting someone behind bars gave him a real jolt.”
“And….we knew how to find out where Robert Blackford had been living so Silas called on Snowshoe here.” Franklin nodded at Snowshoe.
“Snowshoe Notorious to the rescue!” Humboldt popped the red wig back on his head before continuing the story.
“I tracked down where Melborne Shultz lived. He was hiding out in the boonies of Alaska. I had to take the mail plane to get to the village where he lived. Apparently, he left a girlfriend there who was none too happy with him. To make a long story short, according to her, he had talked about finding his son. He had gotten into some trouble after he left Amelia, so he gave up his son for adoption and he’d wanted to find his son ever since. When he got a message from his brother Dickey Lee, he left Alaska.”
“But if he came back here, he must have thought his son was somewhere here in Fuchsia,” Granny said, turning to Amelia, “We’re going to find him!”
Amelia, with tears in her eyes, shook her head, “How do we start? That’s why I had my detective watching Hermiony. I thought perhaps she was helping Robert hide Vitale somewhere here in Fuchsia. Now I know I was mistaken.”
Granny walked up to Amelia and looked her straight in the eye, “I may think you were a fiancé stealer, but I would never keep your son from you. We need a plan.”
Franklin held up his hands. “No, you do not need a plan, Hermiony. You and Amelia need to stay out of trouble until we find, I mean, until we solve Justine’s and Dickey Lee Hatchet’s murders. Thor and Ephraim haven’t found the thread that connects the two crimes yet, but since one murder happened at your farm and the other at Amelia’s Chocolate Factory, and you two are sisters, we have to assume the murders are tied together.”
Granny rolled her eyes. “I can take care of myself.” Turning to Humboldt Notorious, she ordered, “Take that ridiculous red wig off your head; it makes me want to hook you like I did that contemptuous woman.”
Granny’s cell phone rang just as she was going to snatch the red wig off Humboldt’s head. Her hand moved from snatch mode to her pocket to grab her cell phone. Seeing it was her new granddaughter Angel, she answered, “Hello, my angelic Angel. What’s up?”
“Granny, Momma and Thor said you need to come and meet Herman.”
“Who’s Herman, dear?”
“He’s my new baby brother! We’re at the Fuchsia Hospital. And Granny, Thor says he has lungs just like you.”
Granny turned away from the other’s in the room to hide the emotion in her eyes. “I’ll be right there, sweetie.”
Angel continued, “Thor said Aunt Penelope would pick you up at your house. Aunt Starshine is coming too. Do you know where Grandpa Franklin is? He isn’t answering his phone.”
Granny turned and looked at Franklin. “He’s right here. We’ll meet Aunt Penelope and be right there.”
Hanging up her phone, she addressed Franklin, “Where’s your phone?”
Frowning, Franklin patted his pockets. “Must have left it at Amelia’s.”
“Fine detective you are,” Granny chided. “We have a new grandson. Do you suppose you can find the hospital without your GPS? Come on! Penelope is waiting for us.”
“Wait, wait! I want to go too. I’m a new aunt!” Amelia’s voice gave away her excitement.
“You can ride with Franklin,” Granny told her, “I don’t want to get lost. I’m riding with Penelope.”
Granny was out the door before Franklin and Amelia could protest.
“Go on,” Silas said to Franklin and Amelia. “Ol’ Snowshoe and I will keep digging. With a laugh, Silas added, “Oh, and Franklin, You’d better warn your daughter, now that Granny has a namesake, it’ll mean double trouble later on. She’ll teach him all she knows.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Angel was waiting for Granny and Penelope at the door of the hospital. “Where’s Grandpa?”
“He’s right behind us with Aunt Amelia,” Granny answered, taking Angel’s hand. “Why don’t you lead us to your little brother and mom and dad? Oh, look! Grandpa and Aunt Amelia are here now.”
Franklin and Amelia came though the revolving door. “Hello, sweetie!” Franklin greeted his granddaughter.
“I’m going to warn you,” said Angel, “he cries a lot. My mom and Thor say he has loud lungs, whatever that is. I’ll show you where they are.”
Heather was holding Herman, and Thor stood by the bed, mesmerized by his new son when the group entered the room. Seeing them, Heather handed Herman to Thor. Thor took the baby over to his mother. Franklin moved by her side to get a look at his new grandson.
“Mom, Franklin, meet your new grandson, Herman Jester Fiddlestadt.”
At the same time, Granny and Franklin remarked, “They named him after me.”
Amelia shook her head and couldn’t resist. “Yes, poor kid; he doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Why Aunt Amelia, are you sure you and Granny haven’t switched personalities again? That sounds more like a Granny quote,” Heather chuckled.
Granny handed the baby to Franklin so he would get a chance to hold his grandson. Turning to Amelia, she said, “Haven’t quite got it down yet, Amelia. Good try, no wonder Robert wasn’t fooled.”
Franklin took the baby over to Amelia and put Herman in her arms.
Amelia looked at the tiny baby and tears formed in her eyes. “I so remember the day that Vitale was put in my arms. In fact, Herman looks a little like him, must be the Criony genes in him.”
Granny’s eyes were misty when she broke in, “It’s late, almost midnight, and we’d better let the new mother get some sleep. Angel, do you want to stay with me?”
“It’s okay, Mom, we have a bed for her in this room. It’s a family room so we can all bond. We’ll take care of her. I heard from the Tall Guy that you’ve had quite a day. You’d better get some rest too.”
“Have you heard any more about Justine and who might have murdered her?” Granny snuck the question in to see if Thor might give her some info in a weak moment, being all misty-eyed at having a new baby.
Thor laughed. “Good try, Mom. You just let Franklin and Silas keep you safe until we can figure out if the two murders are connected.”
“Murders?” Angel’s ears perked up. “Like in the movies?”
Granny frowned at Thor. “I’m sorry, Angel; I meant murders such as in a flock of crows. A flock of crows is called a murder and there are some mean crows in Fuchsia that we are trying to eliminate so they don’t hurt anyone.”
“Yes, I guess crows aren’t like Radish. I was in the yard once and they took my shiny ring that I got out of the candy machine right out of my hand. Did they try and take something from Justine too? Are Silas and Grandpa protecting you so the crows don’t get you because you wear shiny things some time?”
“Yes, exactly; you’re very smart for your age. It’s time for everyone to leave, and you and baby Herman to get to sleep.” Thor lifted his new son back into his arms.
Franklin ushered Granny and Amelia out of the room. “I’ll drop you off, Hermiony, and then take Amelia home.”
“Uh, um, I think I’d like to stay at Hermiony’s tonight,” Amelia said, poking Granny in the arm.
“You would? You want to stay at my house?” Granny questioned.
Amelia poked her again so Franklin couldn’t see. “Yes, remember, we have a lot of time to make up for, and I think it would be good if we spent more time together. I just want to bond again with my sister.”
Granny reached over and grabbed Amelia before they got into Franklin’s car and hugged her tightly to her side in an over-the-top gesture so that Franklin would see. “Yup, bonding time, that’s what we need.”
Franklin muttered as he got into the car. “Fine, but remember Silas will be right across the street in case there’s any trouble.”
“Yes, and George and Mavis too,” Granny reminded him.
“Double trouble,” Franklin stated. “Maybe I should stay, but then again, I repeat, Silas is right across the street.”
“That’s what I’m counting on,” Amelia commented.
Granny gave Amelia a disbelieving look as the Escalade pulled away from the curb.
“Franklin, why haven’t you been driving your black, ‘57 Chevy convertible?” Franklin owned a car just like Granny’s but in black.
“It’s in my garage, but it only holds two people. I’m thinking of selling it.”
“You love that car. It was what brought us together,” Granny said, not believing what she was hearing.
“But it’s not practical anymore, Hermiony. I’m getting older and with my daughter moving here this fall and now that we have our grandchildren; I decided to get something more conservative.”
Amelia’s eyes got wide when she saw Granny roll her eyes. She knew what her twin was thinking.
“Fuddy-duddy,” Granny muttered.
“What did you say?” Franklin didn’t hear the muttered words.
Amelia held her breath waiting for Granny’s reply.
“We’re here.” Granny opened the car door the minute Franklin pulled up in front of the house, saving her from elaborating. Franklin might not have wanted to hear what she wanted to say.
Amelia followed Granny out of the car. Turning to Franklin, Amelia put her hand on his arm through the open window. Granny raised her eyebrows at the gesture.
Franklin patted Amelia’s hand and said, “Get a good night’s sleep, and remember Silas is right across the street.”
He addressed Granny, “Goodnight, Hermiony, when we get this mess straightened out, we need to plan our wedding again. It’s coming up soon.”
“You have a date set?” Amelia asked in surprise.
“Yes, August 6,” Granny answered. She leaned over and gave Franklin a quick kiss through the window.
Franklin beamed at the uncharacteristic gesture. “I’ll watch as you two go into the house. It looks like the shysters and the cohorts are still here.”
Granny and Amelia turned around to see all the animals perched at Granny’s big front window watching them.
“Come on, Amelia, I’ll teach you what to feed this crew. They like to eat healthy.” Her tone changed to a whisper as they walked to the house, “You and I, we’ll have wine and chocolates.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Pounding and crashing woke Granny from a deep sleep. The noise sat her straight up in bed, forcing her to hit the floor with her feet without steadying herself on her bedpost. Trying to get her balance, she weaved down the hallway to the kitchen. The noise had surprised her so much that she hadn’t checked to see what she wore to bed the night before.
Amelia rushed into the kitchen at the same time as Granny after having spent the night in an upstairs bedroom. They both stopped when they saw a gaping hole in the side of Granny’s kitchen. A face appeared though the hole.
“Starting your new addition today, Granny!” Woodly Spackle grinned through the hole.
“You didn’t think to tell me?”
“I did tell you.”
Granny frowned. “When?”
“Well, I told your sister when I called your house last night.”
Granny looked at Amelia. “You didn’t think to tell me? When did he call? I thought we were together until we went to bed.”
Amelia shrugged her shoulders. “We were. He didn’t talk to me.”
Granny turned back to the face in the hole. “What time did you talk to me? Did you call my cell phone?” She turned to Amelia before Woodly had a chance to answer. “Maybe I forgot he called and maybe I forgot I was me and I pretended to be you.”
Amelia rolled her eyes at her sister. “That is so you, Hermiony, always trying to blame it on your memory.”
Amelia turned to the hole in the wall, “Again, what time did you call and did you call Granny’s cell phone and why do you think you talked to her sister?”
“It was about ten––sorry about it being so late––but we’d just finished a job and I wasn’t sure till then that we could get here today. So, I called your home phone and the person who answered said she was your sister, although at first I thought it was a man because it had a deeper voice than a woman. Anyway, she said I could call her Gram. I told her I’d be here first thing this morning and she said she’d pass the message along. Sorry, the chat is nice but I have work to do!” With that, he began pounding again.
Granny and Amelia made their way to the living room, deep in thought.
“Franklin said she was dead,” Granny murmured.
“She must have been here,” Amelia looked around the room.
“Or someone is pretending to be Gram and they’re out to make everyone think I’m losing my marbles,” Granny suggested.
“You lost your marbles a long time ago,” Amelia chuckled. “That was the one game you could never win with Briony.”
Granny gave Amelia a long look. “Why are you here? Why did you want to stay the night?”
“I have a plan.”
“You have a plan? This ought to be good. I’m sorry, Amelia, but don’t you remember? Your plans never worked.”
“You had to bring that up, didn’t you?”
“Well, if the shoe fits––” Granny smugly reminded her.
“Fine. This plan will work, but we need Silas.”
“Why in the world would we trust Silas with our plan? He’d tell Franklin and Thor. And they’d try and stop us.”
“But he’s not above being a little underhanded.”
Granny choked at the word underhanded, “And you aren’t?”
“Well I can be, I will be, if that’s the only way I’m going to find my son.”
“We’re talking in circles. You haven’t told me what this plan that’s not going to work is?”
“Get dressed.” Amelia looked at what Granny was wearing, “You really wear boring night clothes, Hermiony. If you’re going to marry Franklin you’d better get something with a little more pizzazz. I know of a great boutique called Red Hot Momma’s over in Brilliant.”
Granny looked down at her Granny pj’s that she’d put on last night since Amelia was staying. With a sly grin on her face, she answered her sister, “Perhaps I should take your advice, Amelia. Really? A store named Red Hot Momma’s? Who knew?”
Granny decided to put on the old outfit that she wore when she worked undercover for the Fuchsia merchants. She dug into her closet and found her old-fashioned flower dress, this time she chose the blue one instead of the red one––it was more understated. She put on her Granny hose and pulled the hose down so it was wrinkly, and finished her ensemble by plopping her hat on top of her head. She then added her red sparkly high-top tennis shoes.
“What happened to you?” Amelia’s shocked voice penetrated the air when she saw how Granny had dressed.
“This is my usual garb; I’ve been on a quest to find myself but I’ve decided this is who I am.”
Amelia was skeptical but decided to save her questions for another time. “Let’s go.”
“I’m game; where we going?” Granny grabbed her pink pitchfork.
“To see Silas and tell him our plan.”
Granny reminded Amelia, “We don’t have a plan, you do, and you’d better warn Mr. Supercilious that your plans never work out.”
Amelia smiled. “This one will.” She held the door open for Granny.
Granny Forks A Fugitive (Fuchsia Minnesota Book 4) Page 15
