A Reunion to Die For (A Joshua Thornton Mystery) (28 page)

“No, but he told me what was in it.”

The judge then asked her, “Mrs. Connor, have you had a chance to read this manuscript since Rex Rollins’ murder?”

“Yes,” Margo responded.

“Is everything Mr. Rollins had written, about you extorting him into murdering your first husband so that you could inherit the capital to start your business and you paying him off in real estate, true?”

“Yes.”

“And when Rollins told you that he was writing this book,” the judge continued, “did you hire Herb Duncan for a similar deal? Payment in the form of real estate, a truck, and a job, to kill Rollins and steal this book, and the computer on which he wrote it, in order to conceal your role in your first husband’s murder?”

“I already said I did,” Margo answered with growing impatience.

Christine gestured for her client to control her rising frustration. She glanced over at Joshua. The defense lawyer’s smug expression was replaced with one of worry. The prosecutor had made a deal for a sentence recommendation. It was within the judge’s power to decline the recommendation.

“Did Herb Duncan do the job you hired him to do?” the judge was asking Margo.

“Yes.”

“When this book landed in the hands of Bella Polk, did you then order him to kill her and retrieve the manuscript for you?”

“Yes.”

While Christine and Margo held their breaths, the judge then stated that he needed to review the case more closely before handing down his final judgment.

Margo beamed for the cameras when she and her defense lawyer stepped out of the courtroom.

Led by her son, Eve Boyd collapsed with grief on the first bench she came to in the corridor.

When Joshua came out with Jan, Tad, and his children, he turned away to avoid seeing the anger in Greg’s eyes. He led his family down the hall.

While Margo gave her statement to the media with her legal guard at her side, Tad said, “I think you better start looking for another job, Cuz. Even if the judge rejects your recommendation and throws her butt behind bars, a lot of people are going to remember this come time for re-election.”

Jan asked Joshua, “How could you let her get away with this?”

“I cannot win a conviction for her killing Rex Rollins and Bella Polk without proving that she had her husband killed back in 1988.” No one noticed the smile on the corner of Joshua’s lips.

“This proves it,” Sarah said. “He who has the biggest lawyer wins.”

Down the corridor, they saw Eve drop her head while her son squeezed her shoulders.

Joshua swallowed the lump in his throat.

Jan told them, “I should get a statement from her for the paper, but I don’t have the heart.”

Margo was laughing at a comment from a journalist when a woman with ultra-short black hair and big hazel eyes made her way through the crowd. Most of the journalists dismissed her as a teenage kid in her jeans and leather bomber jacket until they noticed two sheriff’s deputies dressed in Columbiana County uniforms at her side.

“Ms. Margo Connor?” the woman asked.

“Yes.” Margo giggled when she responded.

Diana flashed her badge for everyone, including the news cameras, to see. “I’m Detective Diana Windsor of the Columbiana County sheriff’s department in the State of Ohio. We have a warrant for your arrest for the murder of Dr. Dan Boyd.” There was a stunned silence while she recited her rights to Margo. One of the deputies handcuffed the prisoner.

Christine whirled around and shouted down the corridor to Joshua. “We had a deal!”

The Hancock County prosecuting attorney replied, “And I kept my deal. She’s not being charged in Hancock County for murder. Dan Boyd was murdered in Columbiana County in the state of Ohio. I have no authority over there. However, I don’t think, in light of all the evidence, including your client’s statement before the judge about her arranging her first husband’s murder and the accuracy of Rex Rollins’ book, that they will be so willing to make a deal . . . over there.”

Christine gasped at the realization of her error.

Eve Boyd shrieked with joy and hugged her son. Greg mouthed a thank you to Joshua.

Joshua acknowledged the gratitude with a bow of his head.

Diana stepped down the hall to Joshua and said for the defense lawyer to hear, “I’ll be waiting for a copy of the transcript from this hearing.”

“I’ll hand deliver it.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Diana replied. “Call me sometime.” She winked at him.

Stunned by Joshua’s cleverness, his children, Jan, and Tad watched Diana stroll down the hall after her handcuffed prisoner.

Joshua whispered into Tad’s ear, “You’re right about one thing. A lot of people will still remember this come re-election.”

The media chased Margo down the stairs to capture shots of her being put in the backseat of the Columbiana County sheriff’s cruiser.

Joshua’s children forgave him enough to take him up on his offer to take them to dinner. “Care to join us?” he invited Tad and Jan. He tried to ignore his cousin’s arm across Jan’s shoulders.

Tad declined his invitation. “We’re going to dinner at the Ponderosa.”

“Again?” she responded.

“I guess it’s becoming ‘our place.’ ” Tad steered her towards the elevator.

“Did you hear that?” Jan told the group, “We have our own place.”

Joshua fought to tear his eyes away from the two of them in the elevator while the doors closed between him and them. “But I’m the one who caught the killers. Why did you get the girl?” His last sight of them was Tad waving at him.

“Are they dating or what?” Sarah asked.

“Of course they are,” Tracy said. “Can’t you see that they are in love?”

“I vote we go to Tom’s for dinner,” Murphy yelled.

The rest of the children agreed.

Epilogue

Common sense told Joshua that Tad and Jan would not call him that night. While he lay in his bed trying to concentrate on yet another deep book, he wished they would.

What is wrong?
Joshua cursed himself. He had always wished that Jan would find someone else, and then when she did, he was upset about it.

Time to move on.

He forced himself to recall the comparison Tad made in explaining the benefit of Jan and him seeking a relationship together.
“There comes a time when we all have to either move on, or stagnate until our lives turn into a parasitic swamp.” If you don’t move on,
Joshua analyzed the statement,
then you stagnate.

That was what happened to Doug Barlow. For two decades, he tread stagnant water in his insane fantasy of a suicide pact with Tricia Wheeler until his mind became so polluted that he killed Gail Reynolds in order to protect his love’s memory.

Then there was Gail. For years, she followed Joshua under the guise of her journalism career. Her obsession made her vulnerable to gang rape and murder. She refused to consider another relationship. She died alone.

They both refused to face the reality of relationships that were over and wallowed in their own loneliness until they reached tragic ends.

Joshua heard his children shrieking in the family room two floors below his bedroom. They had rented a DVD of the latest action film.

His children’s mother was dead. It had been more than a year, and life moved on. Donny was taking a girl to the Christmas dance for his first date. J.J. stood a good chance for an academic scholarship. Murphy was a candidate for the Naval Academy. Tracy had a boyfriend. Joshua saw Sarah wearing green nail polish at breakfast that morning. She was growing out of her tomboyish ways. All of his children had made lives for themselves in their ancestral home.

Even Jan had moved on. She was glowing when she left the courthouse with her hand in Tad’s. Joshua’s relationship with her had shifted. They were friends and would remain friends.

Time to move on like a river flowing with fresh clean water, or turn into a parasitic swamp.

Joshua picked up the phone and dialed the number he had come to memorize.

“Commander O’Henry here.”

“Commander Thornton here.” He plunged on, “I’m sorry for what happened while you were here.”

“What happened while I was there?”

“I wasn’t ready, but now I am.”

“Are you sure?”

He braced the phone against his ear and slipped the gold band from his finger. “I took off my wedding ring.”

“Did you really?”

Joshua sensed a glimmer of hope when he picked up a note of enthusiasm in her tone. “Do you want pictures? Official statements from witnesses?”

“I’ll see for myself. I got re-assigned to the Pentagon. I’ll be there this coming spring.”

“In time for the cherry blossoms?”

“I’m planning on it.”

“I’m serving my reserve duty at the Pentagon this summer.”

“Then I’ll see you in Washington, my love.”

The End

Lauren Carr

About the Author

Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries,
A Small Case of Murder
was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award.

Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
It’s Murder, My Son
,
Old Loves Die Hard, and Shades of Murder, Blast from the Past, and The Murders at Astaire Castle
have all made the best-sellers ranks on Amazon in cozies and police procedural mysteries, as well as receiving rave reviews from readers and reviewers.

Dead on Ice
introduced a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, in which Joshua Thornton will join forces with homicide detective Cameron Gates. The second installment,
Real Murder
, will be released January 2014.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:

E-Mail:
[email protected]

Website:
http://acornbookservices.com/

                
http://mysterylady.net/

Blog: Literary Wealth:
http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991

Gnarly’s Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/GnarlyofMacFaradayMysteries

Lovers in Crime Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/LoversInCrimeMysteries?ref=ts&fref=ts

Twitter: @TheMysteryLadie

Check Out Lauren Carr’s Mysteries!

The Mac Faraday Mysteries

Click here to view book trailer
.

The story takes hold immediately and the reader quickly identifies with Mac.  The plot is well done without being overplotted.  There are just enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.  The climatic confrontation with the killer is good and the wrap up leaves you laughing and feeling good.  The writing style is easy and draws the reader in effortlessly.  I am looking forward to the next installment!

Reviewer: Ariel Heart, Mystery and My Musings Review

What started out as the worst day of Mac Faraday’s life, would end up being a completely new beginning. After a messy divorce hearing, the last person that Mac wanted to see is another lawyer. Yet, this lawyer looked very unlawyer-like, wearing the expression of a child about to reveal a guarded secret. This secret would reveal Mac as heir to undreamed of fortunes and lead him to Spencer, Maryland, the birthplace of America’s Queen of Mystery, with her millions and an investigation that unfolds like one of her famous mystery novels.

It’s Murder, My Son
is Author Lauren Carr’s third mystery novel. Carr’s first novel A Small Case of Murder was named finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards. She resides in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where she lives with her husband and son on a mountaintop. “I love a good mystery,” said Author Lauren Carr. “Growing up in a small community an argument at the corner store can become a murder by dinner. Making the story a reality on paper is a real thrill.”

Behind the gated community in Spencer, Maryland, multi-millionaire Katrina Singleton learns that life in an exclusive community is not all good. She thought her good looks and charm made her untouchable; but, for reasons unknown, a strange man calling himself “Pay Back” begins terrorizing her and her home. When Katrina was found strangled in her lake house, all evidence points to her terrorist, who is nowhere to be found. Three months later the file on Katrina’s murder was still open with only vague speculations from the local police department.

In walks Mac Faraday, sole heir to his unknown birth mother’s home and fortune. Little does he know as he drives his new Dodge Viper up to Spencer Manor that he is driving into a closed gate community that is hiding more suspicious deaths than his DC workload as a homicide detective. With the help of his late mother’s journals and two newfound companions, this recently retired cop puts all his detective skills to work to pick up where the local police have left off to following clues to Katrina’s killer.

Click here to download It’s Murder, My Son, the first installment in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, today!

The fast-paced complex plot brings surprising twists into a storyline that leads Mac and his friends into grave danger. Readers are drawn into Mac’s past, meet his children, and experience the troubling relationships of his former in-laws. New fans will surely look forward to the next installment in this great new series.

Reviewer: Edie Dykeman

Bellaonline Mystery Books Editor

Old Loves Die Hard
…and in the worst places.

Retired homicide detective Mac Faraday, heir of the late mystery writer Robin Spencer, is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up—and she wants him back! Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac’s private penthouse suite at the Spencer Inn, the five-star resort built by his ancestors.

The investigation leads to the discovery of cases files for some of Mac’s murder cases in the room of the man responsible for destroying his marriage. Why would his ex-wife’s lover come to Spencer to dig into Mac’s old cases?

With the help of his new friends on Deep Creek Lake, Mac must use all of his detective skills to clear his name and the Spencer Inn’s reputation, before its five-stars—and more bodies—start dropping!

Click here to download Old Loves Die Hard, the second installment in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, today!