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  I nodded.

  “The last week while I was in New York I realized something. Maybe because I was there to sort out a problem a family member was having with his fiancé.”

  “A family member?”

  “Ah, yes. My cousin, Dmitri. High flier. Probably in way over his head this time.” He chuckled. “But I don’t want to talk about my crazy family.”

  The man did not know crazy. If Mama Kat ever got him to Texas for that barbeque he would meet full-blown crazy.

  He took my hand and turned me so I had to look at him. “What I want to say to you is this.” He paused. “You, Caro Lamont, are the woman for me. That will never change. There is no expiration date. There is no rush. Whatever time you need is the time you need. I will be here.”

  The doorbell rang.

  And thank the Good Lord for that because my heart was so full, I was about to fall to pieces.

  He didn’t move right away, but continued to look at me. “We will take this one step at a time. We will take as long as you need.”

  The doorbell rang again.

  He didn’t move for a full minute. “You understand?”

  I nodded, unable to speak.

  He released my hand and went to answer the door.

  “It’s the police,” he called.

  How many guys can declare their love, and then answer the door to a homicide detective without breaking stride?

  Not many I’m thinking. Not many.

  MALONE FILLED IN the gaps on what had transpired between Mandy and Purple. She’d lawyered up but not before a tirade about her frenemy, Purple. Malone felt like there was enough evidence for a jury to send her away for a very long time.

  “She admitted to making up the stalker. She’d done it to rattle her boss, but then it turned into good publicity so she continued. She also admitted to the note on your car hoping to rattle you,” Malone said. “She was just a fount of information. Until her lawyer arrived and put an end to that.”

  “How on earth did you get the blood work done on the tox screen so quickly?” I knew it usually took weeks if not longer.

  “I called in a few favors.” Malone grinned. “Now, I owe a few.”

  “So, Mandy hadn’t known Purple was the reason Trevor dumped her way back when?” Sam asked.

  “Not until he showed up wanting Purple to acknowledge she’d not given him credit for one of her big songs.” Malone took the coffee Sam offered him. “When the truth came out and Purple told her to get over it, Mandy lost it. Bashed the singer over the head with a statue of herself.”

  “And Geoffrey?” I asked. “The Ritalin mixed with alcohol made Geoffrey act crazy and then stopped his heart.” I still had the awful visual of him grabbing his che2qst. “But why kill him?”

  “It looks like from some of the emails we were able to recover, he was engaging in a bit of blackmail.”

  “Now that I can believe.” I hadn’t thought Geoffrey was capable of murder. But blackmail? Yeah, I could see that.

  “We’ll need you to come down and sign a statement about tonight.” Malone drained his cup and went to put it in the sink.

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” I grabbed my bag and pulled out my notebook, the pupcakes, dog treats, my makeup bag, several dog toys, and finally the list that Marsha had given me.

  Sam and Malone looked at each other and shrugged.

  “This is from one the Purple Posers.” I handed the note to Malone. “She says you’ll find several of the missing memorabilia items on these sites.”

  “Two different crimes. Same crime scene.” Malone took the note.

  “Before Purple was killed?” I’d wondered about the timing.

  “Most likely before she was even in the room.” He tucked the paper in his pocket. “By disabling the cameras so he could break in, our thief really complicated the murder investigation. We’ll follow-up.”

  Sam walked Malone out and then refilled our wineglasses and settled in beside me on the couch.

  “I know what,” I said.

  “What?” He smiled.

  “Let’s talk about something other than murder.”

  He held out his glass to clink it with mine. “I can toast to that.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  THE NEXT DAY, I finally got my run on the beach. Not to be too dramatic about it, but I felt like I’d been caged. I’d needed so badly to get out and feel the sand beneath my feet.

  Sam and his hugely handsome Border Collie Mac, joined me, which brought the day up another notch on the best days list. We played in the surf, soaked in the warmth, and as the sun melted into the horizon, ran along the beach until we were flat exhausted.

  Exactly what I needed.

  Sam, Mac, and I had just crossed PCH and started down the block to top off the perfect evening with a dark-chocolate hazelnut gelato, when I spotted Mr. Swanson a half block away. A quick sprint, and I had him by the arm. I could see his Range Rover parked on the street and wasn’t going to lose track of him this time.

  I’d convince him to give me Grandma Tillie’s brooch back and then I would call Melinda and we’d sort this thing out once and for all. It was time to mend fences. Enough was enough.

  I held on.

  “Let go of me.” Swanson twisted to get loose.

  “When you hand over my brooch, I will.” I didn’t let go. “I know you want the money for gambling debts.”

  “How do you know that?” He stopped twisting and stared at me.

  “I have my ways.” I looked him in the eye. “You know, something like that can be awful, but you need to realize that you have a problem.”

  “What I need is to get the money back in our retirement account before my wife finds out,” he muttered.

  “The money won’t really solve your problem though, will it?” I knew there was a pattern with a gambling addiction, and he’d be right back at it if he didn’t get help. “I have a colleague who works with gamblers. Let me give you his information. Okay?”

  He nodded.

  I reached in my cross-body for Dr. Hille’s card.

  When I let go of him, the little gnome immediately took off for his vehicle. Who knew he could move that fast?

  My legs were longer than his, though, and I was motivated. I caught him just as he reached for the car door.

  “Not nice.” I latched on to his wrist. “Okay, if you don’t want help, you don’t want help. Just hand over the brooch, and I won’t have you arrested as a jewel thief.”

  “Arrgh.” He clenched his teeth in frustration, but I wasn’t giving up so easily.

  Ooof!

  I staggered forward as I was suddenly smacked on the backside with what felt like a fifty-pound bag of dog food.

  “Let go of my husband.” The petite woman reared back to hit me again with a purse the size of a suitcase. I think she was probably aiming for my head, but I was so much taller than she was, all she could reach was a lot lower.

  “Stop!” I let go of Swanson and put up my hands to defend myself.

  “Get in the car, Otis,” the little spitfire yelled. “Quick before she grabs you again.”

  “Okay, fine.” I let go of Mr. Swanson who did apparently have a first name and it was Otis. “I’ll just call the police and report you as a jewel thief. We’ll let Detective Malone sort things out.” I whipped out my cell phone.

  Of course, I wouldn’t call a homicide detective. Heck, I wouldn’t even call the police, but I thought throwing out Malone’s name gave my threat more credibility.

  “A jewel thief?” The Mrs. stopped hitting me with her handbag long enough to ask.

  “Okay, okay,” Mr. Swanson said. “I’ll give you the ugly brooch.”

  “Let’s go get it right now.” I put my cell phone away. “I don’t
trust that you’ll give it to me otherwise.”

  “Okay,” he confirmed. “Come on then.”

  He moved to get into the car, but Mrs. Swanson didn’t move. Still as a statue she stood, her mouth left open mid-comment.

  “What’s the matter, dear?” Mr. Swanson asked.

  “Are you talking about that ugly brooch you had hidden in the sugar canister?”

  “You knew about it?” he asked.

  “Of course, I knew about it,” she scoffed. “I just didn’t know what you were up to with it.”

  “That doesn’t matter now.” He opened the door to the car. “I need to go get it and give it to this lady.”

  “Well, you can’t.” She frowned at him.

  “Why not?” He turned to look at her.

  “Because I gave it to that funny-looking lady.”

  “What funny-looking lady?” he asked.

  I had a bad feeling.

  I was pretty sure Melinda was not the funny-looking lady.

  “You remember her. The one with lipstick for eyebrows. We met her at the glamping thing we went to.”

  I’d been this close to getting the Grandma Tillie’s brooch back and Mrs. Swanson had gone and given it to Betty Foxx.

  Unbelievable.

  I stuffed the counseling referral card I still held in Mr. Swanson’s shirt pocket. “Buddy, I’m afraid you’ve got some explaining to do, and I think you’re probably going to need this.”

  I left Mr. and Mrs. Swanson standing there and walked back to where Sam and Mac stood on the sidewalk waiting for me.

  Unbelievable.

  The End

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  Caro’s Apple Pupcakes

  Ingredients

  2-3/4 cups water

  1/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened)

  2 teaspoons of honey

  1/8 tablespoon of vanilla extract

  1 medium egg

  4 cups whole wheat flour

  1 cup dried apple chips (unsweetened)

  1 tablespoon of baking powder

  Directions

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  Mix water, applesauce, honey, egg, and vanilla together in a bowl

  Add remaining ingredients and mix until well blended

  Pour into lightly greased muffin pans

  Bake 75 minutes

  Let cool before frosting. For frosting I use plain yogurt or cottage cheese that I’ve run through the blender until creamy.

  Please note: I always clear my clients for allergies before giving any of my homemade treats. And then I make a notation of any allergies on their charts.

  Acknowledgements

  First, a huge thank-you to the whole team at Bell Bridge Books and especially to our editor extraordinaire, Debra Dixon. We continue to learn and improve because of you, and we thank you for sharing your expertise and insight. Also, special tip of the hat to Niki and Kendal, BBB’s marketing mavens. We can’t thank you enough for all you do for us.

  We are also grateful to Christine Witthohn, our agent, at Book Cents Literary Agency for her ongoing guidance, encouragement, and support.

  A special shout-out to Justin, Candice, Joshua, Kelli, and Aaron on this book. It takes a special family to talk plot twists, clues, and murder methods at a family gathering.

  And, as always, Tami, Cindy, and Christine—it couldn’t happen without you.

  Finally, a heartfelt thank-you to our readers. We feel incredibly blessed by your messages, posts, and emails. We love how you love our stories and how you care about what happens with Caro, Mel, and the rest of the crew. We’d hug you in person if we could. And if we see you in person, look out, because we probably will.

  Don’t forget to sign up for updates so we can keep in touch!

  Mary Lee and Anita aka Sparkle Abbey

  About the Authors

  Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets—Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). They reside in central Iowa, but if they could write anywhere, you would find them on the beach with their laptops and, depending on the time of day, with either an iced tea or a margarita.

  Mary Lee Salsbury Woods is the “Sparkle” half of Sparkle Abbey. She is past-president of Sisters in Crime-Iowa and a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death, the RWA Mystery Suspense Chapter, Sisters in Crime National, and the SinC Internet group Guppies.

  Prior to publishing the Pampered Pets Mystery Series with Bell Bridge Books, Mary Lee won first place in the Daphne du Maurier contest, sponsored by the Kiss of Death chapter of RWA, and was a finalist in Murder in the Grove’s mystery contest, as well as Killer Nashville’s Claymore Dagger contest.

  Mary Lee is an avid reader and supporter of public libraries. She lives in Central Iowa with her husband, Tim, and Sparkle, the rescue cat namesake of Sparkle Abbey. In her day job, she is the non-techie in the IT Department. Any spare time she spends reading and enjoying her sons, daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren.

  Anita Carter is the “Abbey” half of Sparkle Abbey. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death, the RWA Mystery Suspense chapter, and Sisters in Crime.

  She grew up reading Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and the Margo Mystery series by Jerry B. Jenkins (years before his popular Left Behind series). Her family is grateful all the years of “fending for yourself” dinners of spaghetti and frozen pizza have finally paid off, even though they haven’t exactly stopped.

  In Anita’s day job, she works for a fitness company. She also lives in Central Iowa with her husband and four children, son-in-law, grandchild, and two rescue dogs, Chewy and Sophie.

 

 

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