Opera House Ops: A Morelville Cozies Serial Mystery: Episode 10 - Tresspasses

by Anne Hagan

  “I’m guessing she didn’t know how little you were ultimately willing to offer for the place at the time she showed up here that night but regardless, when Gregory wouldn’t even listen to her or budge on selling and splitting any proceeds with her, she pushed him and killed him.”

  “There’s your answer Sheriff and it’s all on her, not on me!” Kent said. “She wouldn’t even talk to me…wouldn’t even answer that number when I called it after that. I tried to get more contact information for her aside from that number but no one would give it to me.”

  He made a sound that came out like a growl and then continued. “I wasn’t there the night that man died. I wasn’t even in town and I can prove that, as I’ve said!”

  “I know you can; I looked into all of that before. That brings me back to you Doris. I believe Ms. Bradshaw had the motivation to kill Mr. Sellers but I believe you helped her return his rental car to Port Columbus afterward and then she dropped you off at Greyhound and you took a bus back to Zanesville.”

  “I didn’t know she killed him, I swear,” Doris wailed.

  “We’ll see about that,” Mel said. She asked Doris to stand and she recited her rights to her as she cuffed her.

  Before she walked the older woman out, she addressed the Council one last time. “As we speak, Blake Wagner is being arrested for arson. The way I figure it, he was paid to set the shop blaze from inside the building in a back corner, closest to the opera house in hopes it would go up too since it was so close. He had no such luck and he got framed to boot.”

  Mel looked pointedly at Kent Gross. “I wasn’t at all sure he did it, when I heard the so-called evidence against him, but I got suspicious the day I was questioning him in the lot outside the bakery and you saw us and had to stop to put your two cents in but you couldn’t be bothered to tell me at the time that the building wasn’t even insured. I suspect you initially framed him but then backed me off after thinking it through rather than risk him fingering you. You better just hope you paid him enough to keep him from ratting on you for commissioning the crime.

  “What crime?” Kent demanded.

  Chapter 4 - Certified

  Tuesday Afternoon, November 10th

  Faye burst into the store waving a heavy cardboard envelope. “Look what came in the mail,” she called out to Chloe and Marco. She pulled an ornate certificate from inside the packet and held it out for them to see.

  “The National Register!” Chloe exclaimed. “We did it!”

  “Darn right, we did!”

  “Congratulations ladies,” Marco said to them both. “Now you’re all set.”

  “We are? But we don’t own the building. Aiden’s lawyer held his check to Kara while they were trying to work out the details and…” Faye stopped mid-sentence when she saw Chloe’s smile. “What?”

  “I have some good news too. Aiden was just in here; you just missed him. He told us that Kara Bradshaw waived all her rights to everything and she plead guilty to manslaughter. She’ll be sentenced soon. Now Gregory Sellers’ family is in control of the opera house building and they’re transferring it to Aiden’s foundation immediately, free of charge.”

  Faye slapped her right cheek in shock. “Well, I’ll be! I never thought it would come about after all the hullabaloo with her being extradited back here to Ohio and, frankly, I figured she’d fight it tooth and nail since there wasn’t any evidence but Doris Proctor’s word.”

  “These things just have a way of working out sometimes,” Chloe said. “We both have kids who are cops, after all. This isn’t anything like we haven’t seen before.”

  “Oh,” Faye said, “but it always takes me back when they actually admit to what they’ve done. Anyway, now what? We’ve got all sorts of stuff going on with the bakery with the holidays coming and now this too? We’ve got a lot of work to do over there.”

  Marco laughed. “Cole takes over from here, ladies. As for you two, you need another reclamation project to keep you out of trouble and out of Mel’s hair. What’s it going to be; that old Baptist church?”

  About the Author

  Anne Hagan is an East Central Ohio based government employee by day and author by night. She and her wife live in a tiny town that's even smaller than the Morelville of her Mystery fiction novels and they wouldn't have it any other way. Anne's wife grew up there and has always considered it home. Though it's an ultra-conservative rural community, they're surrounded there by family, longtime friends and many other wonderful people with open hearts and minds. They enjoy spending time with Anne's son and his wife, with their nieces and nephews and doing many of the things you've read about in her books or that will be 'fictitiously' incorporated into future Morelville Mysteries and Cozies series books. If you've read about a hobby or a sport in either series, they probably enjoy doing it themselves or someone very close to them does.

  Anne and her wife are the co-owners of a haunted house: Hagan's House of Horrors. Much as her dream has always been to write fiction, her spouse's dream has been to create it through the medium of horror. They took their haunt operation fully commercial in 2015. Watch them as they grow!

  Also Written by the Author

  The Morelville Cozies

  The Passed Prop: The Morelville Cozies – Book 1 – The first book in the Morelville Cozies series featuring meddling mother sleuths Faye Crane and Chloe Rossi.

  Chloe Rossi wants to retire with her husband and move away from suburban sprawl to bucolic Morelville; the only trouble is, Morelville is experiencing its worst crime wave ever and Marco Rossi wants no part of a move there. What to do?

  Faye Crane would like nothing more than to have her good friend Chloe move closer to her and to Chloe’s own daughter. She’s got Chloe convinced it’s a smart move but Marco is a tougher nut to crack. A string of brutal crimes around Halloween with no witnesses and little evidence to work with has her own Sheriff daughter and her entire department stymied. Marco is second guessing even taking his retirement since Sheriff Mel can’t get a handle on it all and bring peace and well-being back to the tiny village.

  Someone has to root out a killer. Can Faye and Chloe nose around and figure out what the police can’t to solve the crime? If they do, will Marco still waver or will he consent to move?

  This is the first book in a spin off series from the Morelville Mysteries series by Anne Hagan. The book stands alone but, if you’re interested in getting all of the Crane and Rossi families back story, you should check out the fifth book in the first series, Viva Mama Rossi!.

  The Books of the Morelville Mysteries Series

  Relic: The Morelville Mysteries – Book 1 – The first Dana and Sheriff Mel mystery and the first book in the Morelville saga. It is widely available as a free download wherever eBooks are sold. Please click the link above which will take you to Anne’s website where you can obtain a link to get the book at your retailer of choice.

  Cases collide for two star crossed ladies of law enforcement…

  Customs Special Agent Dana Rossi was forced to start her life anew after a bad breakup with her former girlfriend and the loss of job that she loved. These days, she spends life on the road, moving from one case to another until one day when runs run right into the path of Sheriff Mel Crane. The feisty, sexy butch cop is as determined to uncover a counterfeiting ring in her county as Agent Rossi becomes to stop a stalker obsessed with Mel and hot for her company. Dana is under the added pressure of conducting an undercover investigation of her own with a tight deadline: finding and then stopping a ring of smugglers bringing high end designer knock-offs into the states.

  Could their cases be related? When repeated vicious attacks on Mel and on her home accelerate the danger for her and also their attraction to each other, they become desperate to find the truth and solve the two mysteries. Can they find a way to work together to resolve both cases while coming to terms with their growing feelings for one another? Can Dana move beyond her jilted lover past and find true happiness with a small town Sher
iff?

  Busy Bees: The Morelville Mysteries – Book 2

  Romance and Murder Mix in the Latest Story Featuring Sheriff Mel Crane and Special Agent Dana Rossi!

  Customs Special Agent Dana Rossi is down but not out after being shot and seriously injured during her previous assignment. Will romance blossom or will sparks fly when she agrees to shack up in Morelville with the beautiful butch Sheriff Melissa ‘Mel’ Crane and her extended family while she recovers?

  Will murder get in the way of love? If murder doesn’t, will life in a house with children or a political campaign keep them apart? Can Mel solve two major crimes and keep her former job on the road loving girlfriend happy in a tiny town?

  Dana’s Dilemma: The Morelville Mysteries – Book 3 – The relationship matures between Mel and Dana in an installment that features a breaking Amish character, an ex-girlfriend, a conniving politician and murder.

  Elections and Old Loves Combine with Deadly Results in the Newest Romantic Mystery Featuring Sheriff Mel Crane and Special Agent Dana Rossi!

  What happens when Mel runs for Sheriff, an Amish girl runs away from home and Dana runs – er, limps - for cover? Can anything else possibly go wrong for these two ladies of law enforcement? Sure it can and it will!

  Can the two sometimes lovers work it all out once and for all and finally have a happy life together or will more crime, murder and mayhem get in the way?

  Hitched and Tied: The Morelville Mysteries – Book 4

  Mel and Dana attempt to bring their growing romantic relationship full circle but family, duty and family duties all conspire to get in the way.

  A victim with close ties to the Cranes escapes a deadly assault with his life only to die from his injuries minutes later. Mel has few clues to find the fighter turned murderer and the further she goes with her investigation, the more the situation deteriorates. Meanwhile, Dana’s trying to plan their wedding but the family is resisting both her efforts and the wishes of the couple while focusing more on her sister and her traditional relationship.

  Family angst, violent crime and more than a few Holstein steers abound as Dana and Mel fight against the odds to solve Mel’s case and find their own happily ever after.

  Viva Mama Rossi!: The Morelville Mysteries – Book 5 – The 5th tale in the Morelville Mysteries and the book that gives fans a full introduction to future Morelville Cozies series sleuths Faye Crane (Mel’s mom) and Chloe Rossi (Dana’s Mama). The two series stand-alone but they’re certainly better together. For just the back story on Faye and Chloe and how they came to team up to solve mysteries, Viva Mama Rossi! is a quick and entertaining read. The synopsis:

  A delayed honeymoon getaway takes a deadly turn for newlyweds Mel and Dana; meanwhile, two meddling mothers won't let sleeping fisherman lie in the latest Morelville Mystery.

  Does an unsolved shooting death far away from Morelville have local ties? Did a fisherman really drown or was there something more sinister afloat?

  All Mel and Dana wanted was to enjoy a nice, relaxing honeymoon in the Smokey Mountains, away from the strains of life in the public eye. Instead, they end up involved in a case local law enforcement has completely written off. Things are no better back home where their own mothers are stirring up an all new hornets’ nest that they think Mel and her own department have written off.

  If there is going to be any rest for anyone, something is going to have to break in one case or the other...

  A Crane Christmas: The Morelville Mysteries – Book 6

  Is it the Christmas season or the ‘silly season’?

  All Sheriff Mel wants to do is close out the year and spend a joyful first Christmas with Dana and with their extended families. She’s even hired a new detective, Janet Mason, to ease some of the workload for her and her only other detective, Shane Harding. Things were shaping up great for her and Dana for a relaxing holiday season. Too bad it just wasn’t meant to be…

  The local criminals want it all too and a string of burglaries in high class county enclaves have Mel and both of her detectives stymied. Throw in a bunch of disappearing dogs, some designer sheep, a lonely woman and an unsolved murder case, and the good guys are at their wits end. Meanwhile, back in tiny little Morelville, things aren’t much better; the village is buzzing over Dana’s family taking over the store but Dana herself isn’t so sure that’s a good thing.

  Can Mel and her team resolve everything before Christmas dinner comes out of the oven? Will Janet Mason fit in at all? Will Dana find a balance between work and family that works for her in time to enjoy her first Christmas with Mel?

  Mad for Mel: The Morelville Mysteries – Book 7

  Rival gangs will stop at nothing to gain sole control of the drug trade in Muskingum County and they’ve picked Valentine’s week to create a firestorm of murder and mayhem as they battle each other for supremacy.

  Sheriff Mel Crane is blindsided by looting, murdering and marauding bikers at a time of year when most Harley’s are tucked safely away from the effects of Ohio winters that come rife with snow and ice. They’re rolling out, they’re out of control and she can’t stop them. On the home front, she’s feeling guilty about spending so much time working and hardly any time with Dana, especially when she knows Valentine’s Day is right around the corner…or so her mother-in-law keeps reminding her.

  Dana just wants Mel to be safe; she has her own problems to worry about. Her attempt at novel writing isn’t going as well as she hoped and she’s bored. She got a little taste of what it was like to be an investigator again and she misses it. What to do?

  Hannah’s Hope: The Morelville Mysteries – Book 8

  A young mother with a troubled past seeks help from Mel and Dana but is their effort to assist her too little, too late?

  Hannah Yoder appears on Dana and Mel’s doorstep late one night with her teenage friend Katie and Katie’s newborn baby in tow telling the couple the girl and child are in trouble and have no place else to go. Dana and Mel offer refuge for the night and a firm promise to talk about the future. Plans are barely made when first one mysterious tragedy strikes and then another leaving Mel, Dana, Hannah and the Crane and Rossi families with few clues and little hope.

  Mel knows there’s a killer out there; she just doesn’t know where to start looking. She’s stonewalled at every turn and running out of time. Somebody knows something that will unlock the mysteries swirling all around, but who?

  ~~~

  Broken Women – Anne’s first romance novel

  Can two women, unlucky in love, find solace in each other?

  Where do you go when you lose everything? Who do you turn to next when nobody seems to want you for more than a causal fling?

  When death unexpectedly takes the love of your life, the best you can do is to try to cope and to hold on to the good memories. When your beloved’s family takes everything else you have, hope is all that’s left…if you can hang on to that.

  You’ve been smitten more than once. You’ve even been in love a time or two. The trouble is, your feelings are always only yours. Cupid’s arrow always fails to land.

  Can two love weary people, from different worlds, find strength together? Can they find more and even a happily ever after?

  Fans of the Morelville Mysteries mystery/romance series may recognize these two characters, who played supporting roles in those books but this novel stands alone.

  ~~~

  Three multi-eBook boxed sets of the Morelville Mysteries series works of Anne Hagan are also available for purchase.

  The Morelville Collection is an eight eBook set that includes all of the full length Morelville Mysteries novels featuring Sheriff Melissa ‘Mel’ Crane and Special Agent Dana Rossi. It is currently available exclusively at Amazon for the Kindle and via Kindle Unlimited.

  The Morelville Mysteries Full Circle Collection is a five eBook set that contains the first four Morelville Mysteries novels and an exclusive Companion Guide that is only available with this set. The set is available for
$3.99 at multiple outlets. Most carry it with the 3D cover on the left. Apple iTunes/iBooks does not allow 3D cover views so it’s available there with the more generic cover on the right. Please click the hyperlink just above for a page at Anne’s website where you can get links to all the retailers who carry this set.

  The Morelville Mysteries: Books 5-8 Collection is a four eBook set that contains the most recent additions to the ongoing Morelville Mysteries series. The set is available for $3.99 at multiple outlets. Please click the hyperlink just above for a page at Anne’s website where you can get links to all the retailers who carry this set.

  Check Anne Out on her blog, on Facebook or on Twitter:

  For the latest information about upcoming releases, other projects, sample chapters and everything personal, check out Anne’s blog at https://AnneHaganAuthor.com/ or like Anne on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnneHagan. You can also connect with Anne on Twitter @AuthorAnneHagan.