by Lori Woods
“No?” Marie said, looking around in confusion. Sanchez’ eyes lit up in understanding, but everyone else looked confused.
“The two had a rivalry,” Sanchez explained. “One night at a party, Henry asked if anyone would get rid of such a pest. His knights thought it was an indirect order, and so they killed the archbishop for the king. The king hadn’t meant it, and he got into serious trouble. It nearly cost him his crown.”
“I’m Henry,” Luke explained, looking up at the others.
“Oh,” Marie said. “No, I don’t really understand. Can you explain?”
“They had dinner, and Luke vented. Payton thought it was a request, or an invitation.”
“She thought Eli was in the way of us being together,” Luke shrugged sadly. “I don’t know where she got the idea. I despised the woman. I shouldn’t have vented, it was wrong. But I never wanted her to hurt Eli. I love him. He’s my favorite part of life. He’s like my son. I never even thought about it that way. I’d rather be poor and have him than having money without him.”
“She tried to kill him,” Clary explained to the others. “She thought she did. She left poor Eli in a sinking boat. Then she probably went straight to Luke to tell him what had happened.”
“She bragged about it,” Luke said, clenching his fists angrily. “I couldn’t take it. So, I snapped. I put her in the trunk and drove the car away. This morning, I called the cops and reported him missing.”
“But you thought he was dead, and in the lake,” Clary finished for him.
“Oh, dear,” Marie said in horror, looking at Luke as if she didn’t know whether to yell at him or give him a hug.
“I was coming to turn myself in,” Luke said, looking up at Sanchez. “I just wanted to say goodbye to Eli. That’s all. I won’t see him for a while, and when I do, it’s probably going to be in handcuffs. I don’t want him to think I just left him.”
“The loneliest child in town has someone who loves him enough to kill,” Clary shook her head.
“So,” Marie said slowly, “he’s going to jail. Who’s going to look after Eli now? His nanny is gone.”
“I don’t know,” Luke said, looking at the ground to try and hide the fact that there were tears in his eyes. Logan stepped forward and tapped his shoulder lightly. It was his way of comforting a person.
“I can take you to say goodbye to your nephew,” Sanchez offered, “but I can’t do more than that. I understand why you did what you did, but murder is still murder.”
“I understand,” Luke said, getting up. “Thank you.”
The two of them started walking off and Ben stared after them with a conflicted look on his face.
“So we’re not going out for that drink then?” he asked, giving Marie a sidelong glance.
“I don’t feel like celebrating,” Logan admitted, watching them go.
“Me neither,” Marie said sadly.
“I better go after them,” Ben said slowly, and then he ran after his mentor.
Clary looked at her friends, and they shared a sad smile.
“Does he really expect these things to work?” Marie asked, looking critically at the home alarm system that Logan was busy installing for them.
“Yes,” Logan piped up, “I do, because I’m the master of these things.”
“What’s that red wire?” Marie asked, pointing at it, “It’s sticking out. Should it do that?”
“Yes…” Logan said slowly, before quickly unscrewing the device from the ceiling.
“Clary,” she whined, “he’s messing it up. We should call a professional.”
“I am a professional!” Logan protested.
“Professionals cost money,” Clary sang happily, arranging the new stock on her shelves. “Logan’s all we can afford right now.”
“And don’t you forget it!” he crowed. She laughed at his antics, glancing over her reading glasses to watch him work.
“You’re drooling,” Marie teased, leaning against the counter and nibbling one of her gooey chocolate chip cookies.
“You shouldn’t put those cookies out to tempt me,” Clary defended, looking back at her books.
“Of course,” Marie said with a mischievous smile, “it’s just the cookies. And not the fact that Logan’s shirt looks very nice with those arms of his?”
“Stop checking out the handyman,” Clary chastised, blushing slightly, causing Marie to chuckle in delight. She quickly stopped when she bit into the cookie and messed crumbs everywhere.
“You know what I don’t understand,” Logan said, getting down from his ladder.
“Basic handyman techniques?” Marie asked, eyeing the plate of cookies that was technically Logan’s payment for all his help.
“No,” he scowled at her. “How did you figure it out?” Logan asked Clary. “None of us had been paying attention to the nanny, but somehow, you managed to figure out who killed her.”
“That doesn’t count,” Clary told them. “Luke was going to turn himself in. Technically he did. I didn’t catch him.”
“I never said you caught him,” Logan scoffed. “I asked how you figured it out.”
“Well, when you listen to what people say, you can sort of build up a picture when you sift it all together. I found out that Payton went to go see Luke the day they disappeared. I also found out that she came home the night before because she was spending time with him.”
“And all that talk about Luke being broke must’ve been very useful,” Marie pointed out. “He was also convinced that his nephew was dead.”
“Exactly,” Clary snapped her fingers and pointed at Marie. “Either he killed Eli, or he knew someone else did. Then the maids told me about how manipulative Payton was, and how she didn’t really care about Eli. She hated her job, and if she ended up with Luke, then she wouldn’t have to work.”
“But only if Eli was out of the way,” Marie supplied.
“She’d thought about it herself, and so when Luke vented, she thought he was thinking like her. She figured that if Eli was out of the way, then all her dreams would come true. That’s all she needed. The next morning, she was the perfect nanny. She wanted to make sure no one would suspect her.”
“I also think she had a hand in all those rumors about Ava,” Marie said suspiciously.
“We can’t prove that,” Clary said slowly, “but those rumors would’ve helped her out.”
“So, she went to Luke after she thought Eli was dead. Why didn’t she wait to watch what happened?” Logan interrupted.
“I don’t know,” Clary admitted. “It could’ve been arrogance. Eli’s not a strong child, and he can’t swim. Or maybe she wanted to make sure that she was nowhere to be found when it happened. Or maybe she didn’t want to hear it happen. Anyway, I’m just glad she wasn’t around to finish the job.”
“I have a theory,” Marie said suddenly.
“What is it?” Logan asked curiously.
“Well, she never paid attention to the kid,” Marie pointed out. “She wasn’t going to at the end either.”
“That’s a good point,” Clary nodded. “Thank goodness for negligence. But when Luke heard what she’d done, he was angry, and I think he felt guilty too. He snapped and took it out on her. By the time he’d calmed down, it was too late to go find Eli, so he got rid of her body instead. He didn’t care too much. He was always going to turn himself in, he just wanted to make sure that they found Eli first.”
“And then Eli was alive,” Marie finished. “It’s not a perfect ending, but at least it’s a happy one.”
“Not for Eli,” Logan shook his head. “The poor kid lost his nanny and his uncle in the same day. Who’s going to look after him now?”
“That’s the best part,” Clary said with a smile. “Ava came to visit yesterday, and she explained everything. She and Bryan are moving back to Valley Springs to be closer to Eli. Bryan’s looking into early retirement so that he can spend more time with his son. Layla and Grace will also be looking after him n
ow. They’ll work every time that Ava and Bryan have to go to work for a meeting or something. Between the four of them, Eli’s going to get more love and attention than he’s used to.”
“Which he needs,” Marie said decisively, “he’s such a good kid.”
“I love that child,” Clary said with a happy smile, “he’s so sweet.”
“He brought us cookies to say thank you,” Marie said fondly. “They were almost as good as mine.”
“Which you told him repeatedly,” Clary rolled her eyes.
“The child must know how good he is. And how good he can become with practice,” Marie joked.
“Well, at least something came out of all this,” Logan said, smiling down at them. “And poor Alex learned to always take children back to their parents before taking them on a camping trip. I’m grateful that he was there, but things would’ve worked out much better if he had just called Bryan.”
“And none of this would’ve happened if Bryan was home more,” Clary pointed out. “We can’t blame people for what could’ve happened. It’s a lesson that Bryan had to learn the hard way, but at least he learnt it. Don’t you start thinking like him now.”
“I guess you’re right,” Logan said with a small smile. “We don’t blame the could’ve beens, we blame the people who did the bad things. The blame here lies solely on Payton.”
“I agree,” Marie said, nodding vehemently.
“I don’t know,” Clary shrugged. “Luke should’ve had more self-control. I know he was in a bad place, but that doesn’t excuse what he did.”
“You’re so controversial, Clary,” Logan sighed.
“Someone has to be,” she teased. She went to the box to pick up another stack of books when a little piece of paper fluttered to the ground. She froze and looked up at Marie and Logan. Marie was munching on another cookie while she criticized Logan’s work. He took it all good-naturedly as he argued with her about the alignment of the alarm’s sensor.
Clary flipped the note and saw the handwriting that was becoming as familiar as her own. Her heart grew heavy with dread, and she wished that she could just throw the note away. She could. She knew she should. But Clary knew that she’d always wonder what the note said. And so, she read it.
Is it a happy ending when there’s another storm brewing?
I’ll see you soon, amateur. There are so many more secrets.
-The Secret Keeper
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Books, Picnics and Murder. If you have a moment, I’d love a review on Amazon, which will help others too.
Please join my mailing list to be updated on all my latest releases:
http://eepurl.com/c0Bv5b
Why not read the others books in the Sweet Treats mysteries too? You can find the links overleaf.
Thank you,
Lori xo
Also by Lori Woods
Story Tree Cozy Mysteries:
Books, Brownies and Murder (Book 1)
Books, Scones and Murder (Book 2)
Books, Canapés and Murder (Book 3)
Sweet Treats Cozy Mysteries:
Strawberry Crunch & Murder (Book 1)
Peanut Butter Fudge & Murder (Book 2)
Lemon Bars & Murder (Book 3)
Mint Choc Chip & Murder (Book 4)
Key Lime Pie & Murder (Book 5)
Red Velvet Cake & Murder (Book 6)
Carrot Cake & Murder (Book 7)
Caramel Apples & Murder (Book 8)
Pumpkin Pie & Murder (Book 9)
Double Apple Pie & Murder (Book 10)
Cinnamon Cookies & Murder (Book 11)
Peppermint Bark & Murder (Book 12)
