“I’m just glad we could bring Rachael’s killer to justice.”
He extended his hand. “If there’s ever anything I can do for you, please let me know.”
“I will.” She shook his hand, and as she watched him walk away, a thought hit her and she yelled out, “Hey, Max. Wait up. Maybe there is something you can do for me.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was Christmas Eve, and Tess had just finished setting the table in the dining room when the doorbell rang.
“Hey Char, will you get that? I’ll be out in just a second.” She untied her apron, set it on the chair next to the buffet, and smoothed out her dress.
“I’m in the kitchen,” yelled Char. “Charlie, will you get that?”
A moment later, Tess walked into the foyer and smiled. “Merry Christmas!” she said to her guests. “I’m so glad you all could make it for dinner.”
Detective Curtis stood in the foyer along with his two sons, their wives and their children. Their arms were filled with presents and covered dishes.
“Merry Christmas,” said Detective Curtis. “And thank you for inviting all of us to the opening of the Nutcracker.”
“Don’t thank me for the tickets, thank Max Dovelin junior,” she said. “He bought the Rialto Theatre and donated it to Leaper’s Dance Academy in Rachael’s honor. Now they have a forever home.”
“I’ll be sure to thank him tonight.” He handed Tess a brown grocery bag and said, “Here, this is for you.”
“What is it?” she said.
“You’ll have to open it and see,” he said with a wink.
Tess opened up the bag, peered in and laughed. “A six pack of Guinness,” she said, pulling it out of the bag. “How did you know?” She turned to Char who had just entered and handed her the beer. “Will you please put this in the fridge and show our guests where they can put the food?”
“Of course,” said Char.
While Char took them into the dining room, Tess led the detective into the living room. They stood in front of the fireplace and Tess said, “Are you ready for trial?”
“We’re not going to trial.”
“Why not?” asked Tess.
“Once we got the lab results back confirming that it was Duke’s DNA under Rachael’s fingernails, along with the paint from his carpenter pencil, he confessed to killing her out at Bountiful Farms,” said Detective Curtis.
“What was he doing out there in the first place?” said Tess.
“He’d been out there picking up some of the old barn wood for Walker’s remodel.”
“But why did he kill her?” said Tess. “He didn’t even really know her, did he?”
“No, he didn’t,” said Detective Curtis. “It was over an argument that Rachael and Walker had while they were out at the farm.”
“I’m confused,” said Tess. “Duke killed Rachael because she wouldn’t go out with Mr. Walker?”
He shook his head. “That’s not what the argument was about. Remember when I told you there was something about Walker’s story that didn’t ring true to me?”
“Yes, I do remember.”
“Turns out Walker had been committing mortgage fraud.”
“Mortgage fraud? What do you mean?” said Tess.
“Apparently, Mr. Walker and Mr. Dovelin had quite a racket going. Walker made loans to all of Dovelin’s property buyers, even if they didn’t qualify. In exchange Dovelin gave him a kickback.
“Rachael found out about it, and when Walker tried to coerce her into going out with him in exchange for the donation, she threatened to turn him in to the Banking Ethics Committee.
“Duke overheard the argument, so he followed Rachael home, killed her, used her own wire cutters to cut the fence, and then dumped her body in the preserve. He assumed no one would find her body in there, not for a long time.”
“But why would Duke kill her?” said Tess.
“Turns out, he was getting all of the remodel jobs from the sales, and he was spending that money just as fast as he made it,” said Detective Curtis. “He knew that if Rachael turned Walker in, he’d lose out on a lot of income.”
Tess picked up the fireplace poker and stoked the fire. “How did Rachael find out about the scam?”
“Max junior told her. Apparently, he and his father had been at odds over it.”
“Ahh,” said Tess. “So that’s what Mr. Dovelin had against Rachael. He must have known that Max told her.”
“It would appear so,” said Detective Curtis.
“What’s going to happen to Mr. Walker and Mr. Dovelin now?”
“The FBI is going to start their own investigation on both of them,” said Detective Curtis. He walked over to the tree, stared at the lights for a moment then said, “I just have to know.”
“Know what?” said Tess, walking over and standing next to him.
“How did you figure out that Duke was the killer?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “And don’t tell me it was a lucky guess. I know better.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she said and glanced at the book with the gold filigree wedged in between the other books next to the fireplace.
“Try me,” he said.
She stared at him for a moment, debating whether or not she should tell him about the book, then glanced at it one more time. Rachael’s body might never have been found nor the killer caught had it not been for the clues in that mysterious book.
The detective’s eyes softened and he gave her a little nod. “I won’t think you’re crazy, if that’s what you’re worried about. I may be a detective, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in a little bit of magic every now and then.”
She smiled. “Funny you should say that.” She walked back over to the bookshelf, ready to reach for the pop-up book when she stopped and gasped. “That can’t be!”
“What can’t be?” he said.
Tess stared at the empty space where the book had been only moments ago. She looked back at the detective and stammered, “I . . . I . . .”
“Are you okay?”
She paused, not quite knowing what to say when a thought hit her. The book was magical, she had no doubt about that. And now that she didn’t need it anymore, maybe there was someone else out there who did.
She looped her arm through Detective Curtis’s, smiled as she walked him into the dining room where the others were and said, “How did I figure it out? Let’s just say it was a Christmas miracle.”
Epilogue
Pasadena, CA,
One year later
The woman, her eyes rimmed in red, sat in her car staring at the people walking into the small flea market.
“I’m sorry, honey,” the woman said, “but I don’t think I can do this, not without him.” She glanced over at the young girl seated in the passenger’s seat.
“Yes, you can, Mom. For Bobby’s sake.” She put her hand on her mom’s arm. “You know how much he loved going to the flea market on Sunday mornings.”
The woman nodded, choking back a sob. “It was his favorite thing to do.” She started to open the door then stopped. “I can’t. What if he comes home and I’m not there? Or what if the police call saying that they found him?” She took her hand off of the door handle. “No. I need to be there just in case he . . .”
“Mom,” said the girl quietly. “Bobby’s been missing for two weeks. He’s not-”
“Don’t say it, Christine,” said her mom, abruptly. “Your brother is coming home. I just know it!” She pulled in a ragged breath. “He just has to. It’s Christmas . . .”
“You’re right, Mom,” the girl said softly as she opened her car door. “He would never miss Christmas. So, we should go in there and find him something special.”
“Yes, a Christmas present,” the woman said, smiling slightly. “That’s a good idea.”
They exited the car and walked into the small area where vendors had set tables up to display their wares. Everything from glassware to vintage ca
r parts could found there if one had the patience to look.
As they perused a table of antiques and collectables, the girl picked up an old book bound in soft, supple leather with gold filigree on each corner. She ran her fingers over the gold embossed lettering on the front, amazed at how pristine it was.
“A Christmas Miracle,” she murmured as she read the title.
“What, honey?” said her mother.
“Look at this book. Isn’t it cool?”
“It looks old,” her mother said, looking down at it.
The girl turned the page. “It says it was printed in 1898 by Heavenly Press.” She turned to the next page and said, “Hmm, there’s a poem. ‘Tis the season for holiday cheer. A time to spend with those so dear. A tree, some lights, where carolers sing. And messages arrive on an angel’s wing. So, believe in what you cannot see. Trust that what will be will be. Just turn the page and know ‘tis true, A Christmas Miracle a-waits for you.’”
She looked up at her mom with a twinkle in her eye, and then she turned the page.
THE END
Books by Kathryn Dionne
The Eleventh Hour Trilogy
The Eleventh Hour: The Enlightened Ones
The Eleventh Hour: Day of Atonement
The Eleventh Hour: Resurrection
Savannah Swift Psychic Mysteries
Six Mile Canyon
Pleasure Point
Cathedral Rock
Stevie Elliott Epicurean Adventures
Murder at the Holiday Bazaar
Murder in Marrakech
At the End of the Line
You can find out about Kathryn Dionne and all of her books by visiting her on Amazon.
Murder After Midnight by Dianne Harman
MURDER AFTER MIDNIGHT
by Dianne Harman
Murder after Midnight Copyright © 2018 by Dianne Harman.
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Prologue
“Ten, nine, eight…” DeeDee Wilson stood towards the back of the crowd of revelers milling around on the front lawn of the sprawling grounds of Dana Donnelly’s home on Bainbridge Island. DeeDee knew that Dana’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display was sure to be a good one and tried to join in the spirit of the occasion. After all, it wasn’t every night her business, Deelish, got to cater a sit-down dinner for fifty guests. The party would probably get a mention on Dana’s Entertainment and Showbiz segment on the following morning’s New Day NW morning television show. And, judging by the compliments DeeDee had received about the food, the meal had been a hit. Three high-profile guests had already made bookings for DeeDee to cater their upcoming events, and her business cards had made it into the hands of several more.
The chorus from the guests grew louder.
“…three, two, one, Happy New Year!!!!”
DeeDee nodded to her helpers, who immediately sprang into action. Her regular waitress, Susie, and the two other servers on loan to her for the night from her friend Tammy, who owned a small cafe in town, took that as their cue to start popping the corks on the champagne bottles that were lined up in ice buckets on a long trestle table on the patio. With practiced expertise, they began to fill the crystal champagne flutes which sat on trays on top of the white linen covered table scattered with candycanes. Moments later, DeeDee lifted a tray and started moving through the crowd with ease. The loud bangs and explosions coming from the fireworks were followed by a fizzing sound as rockets streaked across the murky sky followed by dazzling bursts of light that lit up the night in a blaze of color.
DeeDee steadied the tray, a fixed smile on her face, as she served the specially imported champagne Dana had requested. She nodded mutely at the people who thanked her for the beautiful meal, not trusting herself to speak. Her emotions were all over the place at the moment. There was no doubt that her menu of seafood cheesecake, sausage stuffed clams, cranberry blue cheese salad, roast tenderloin of beef, and garlic mashed potatoes with honeyed carrots had been a huge success. The dessert was a hit with everyone as well, especially the hostess.
“The chocolate tiramisu cake! I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” Dana had said to her after the meal was over. “Oops. Are you all right, my dear? Did I say something wrong? You look white as a sheet.”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” DeeDee had reassured her. She knew Dana was joking, but the thought of another death so soon after the last one DeeDee had been caught up in, was emotionally almost too much for her. DeeDee had tried pushing the events of the last week out of her mind while she rearranged the plates of petits fours. She noticed Susie, who was pouring the coffees, was looking at her worriedly, but to her credit, she hadn’t said anything.
Now, watching Dana Donnelly embrace her husband Mickey, DeeDee was overcome with a sense of sadness at what she herself had recently lost. There was a lot of hugging and kissing going on among the guests as they celebrated the start of the new year, and DeeDee was oddly comforted by the light touch of a reassuring hand on her back.
“Happy New Year,” whispered the voice beside her.
DeeDee looked around with a start. “Happy New Year, Susie,” she said with a faint smile, before gazing up at the shooting star rockets illuminating the skyline. For a moment, she thought about making a wish.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, DeeDee,” Susie went on, “but I’m sure you and Jake will patch things up.”
DeeDee’s eyes never left the meteoric shower of shooting stars as she watched them disappear into the blackness. “There is no me and Jake, Susie, and there never will be again. We need to get back to work. I think it’s time to start cleaning up and packing.”
DeeDee and Susie had just turned back towards the house, when the high-pitched ringing sound of a spoon being tapped against a glass caused everyone to look at Dana, who was trying to capture the attention of the guests.
“My dear friends,” Dana beamed. “Happy New Year to all of you.”
“Hear, hear,” heckled a male voice, and several others clapped and cheered.
Dana bowed and giggled. “Thank you so much for celebrating with Mickey and me tonight.” She reached out for her husband’s hand, and he stepped beside her, kissing his wife’s cheek. No matter what the rumor mill said about Dana’s extra-marital dalliances, to DeeDee the look of love they shared was very real.
“It’s a special night for us,” Dana went on. “A night of new beginnings. And much as I love to party, I have to be live on television at 8:00 a.m. Please join me in raising a glass to good health, happiness, and new beginnings. And please have a safe trip home.”
“Health and happiness,” the guests murmured, clinking their glasses and draining them.
DeeDee walked around the garden with a tray, collecting empty glasses. She hoped she hadn’t been too sharp with Susie, who had gone back inside the house to begin the cleanup process. Wandering across the now deserted lawn, she paused and looked at the faint outline of the moon as it tried to peep out from behind the dark scattered clouds. Just a slight glimmer of light was visible in front of her, where the garden overlooked Puget Sound. Behind her, Dana’s house was still bustling with activity as guests said their goodbyes, and a line of cars, limousines, and taxis snaked its way down the long curved driveway.
DeeDee reached in her pocket and held her breath. The phone she was carrying had buzzed several times with New Year’s texts, and she quickly scrolled down the list of names on the screen, not finding the one she was hoping to see.
The sound of Dana’s distinctive laughter rang out through the open glass accordion doors that separated t
he house from the patio, snapping DeeDee out of her feelings of self-pity. Although her instinct was to hurl the phone into the Sound, she knew she might regret it later, and placed it on the tray she was carrying for safekeeping. She’d been foolish, no, she’d been downright childish, to throw the eternity ring Jake had given her back at him the last time she’d seen him. But there was nothing she could do about it now.
She turned and made her way back to the house. When she entered Dana’s kitchen, she saw that Susie had already packed everything up, and was wiping down the white marble countertops.
“I sent the other two helpers home. I hope that’s okay,” Susie said. “I think they were waiting for their money, but I wasn’t sure how long you were going to be outside in the garden. I told them you’d give it to them at Tammy’s in the next day or so.” Susie shifted from foot to foot, waiting for DeeDee’s response.
“That’s fine, Susie,” DeeDee said with a sigh. “I’m sorry if I sounded harsh when we spoke earlier, and I apologize for it. I didn’t mean to.”
DeeDee saw a wave of relief pass over Susie’s face, and the younger woman appeared to relax a little. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry, DeeDee. I shouldn’t have said anything about, well, you know.”
DeeDee smiled at her. “It’s okay, really. I’ll be fine. A new year is all about new beginnings, like Dana said. Thanks for taking care of all of this,” she said, gesturing towards the boxes on the floor.
Containers of food were stacked neatly and labelled, and all of the dishes, silverware, and cooking utensils they’d brought with them had been cleaned and were neatly stacked in boxes. DeeDee glanced at her watch, confused as to how Susie had done everything so quickly. “Oh, my. I didn’t realize I was outside for so long. You go ahead, Susie. I know you want to see your boyfriend. I’ll drop your money by Tammy’s in the next few days.”
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