Terry Odell - Mapleton 01 - Deadly Secrets (31 page)

Nothing like putting away a bad guy to counteract sleep deprivation. Gordon relaxed his grip on the bouquet of flowers and knocked on the door. After a moment, Megan appeared.

“Hope it’s not too late.” He extended the flowers. “For Rose.”

Megan motioned him in and took the flowers. “She’ll love them. I’ll put them in water. Everyone’s upstairs.”

Gordon collected his thoughts until Megan returned, and they went upstairs together. “How’s she doing?” he asked.

“Typical Rose. Took a few stitches to close the gash in her arm, and she’s got a strained ligament in her ankle. She’s not complaining about the pain. More about how she’s not allowed on her feet for a few days.”

“I trust the three of you will be able to hold her down. If you need help, I can send a couple of cops over.”

“As if she’d be afraid of them,” Megan said. She stepped into the room and announced his arrival with a flourish of her hands, as if he was being presented at court, then set the vase of flowers on the dresser beside a bottle of brandy. Sam sat on the edge of the bed, Justin in a chair. Both swirled crystal snifters.

Gordon crossed to the bed and kissed Rose’s forehead. “You scared us, you know. Should have known you could take care of yourself.”

She’d been holding the bloody knife. How had she explained Buzz’s injuries to her family?

“I hid.” She drilled him with a defiant stare that sent a chill through him. “Where I grew up, hiding from evil tyrants was a skill we learned at an early age. I had plenty of practice.” Her face closed, and he didn’t ask for more. There would be time for her official statement another day.

“I just wanted to check on you,” Gordon said. “I should let you rest.”

Sam’s gaze shifted from Rose to him, saying he knew damn well that was only part of the reason for his visit. “Justin, get Gordon a drink. We might as well go over everything now. And then Rose will sleep.” The last was delivered with an attempt at a stern look.

Gordon accepted a brandy from Justin. He sipped. Warm and smooth. He nodded his approval to Sam.

“You want to know of the mysterious journal,” Sam said.

“We all do,” Justin said, a touch of impatience in his tone. As if Gordon’s arrival was Sam’s signal to talk.

“You know where it is?” Gordon asked.

Sam took a slow sip of his brandy. “
Ja
. I saw it.”

“You did?” Megan’s voice was incredulous. “When? You knew?”

Sam gave her an indulgent smile. “Slow down,
Kinde
.” He swirled his snifter again, staring into the amber depths. “Several years ago. I don’t recall exactly. It was in a box of books, papers, other
tschotschkes
that Betty found while she was setting up her shop.”

“But you read it?” Justin said. “And it didn’t bother you?”

“Why would it?” Sam asked.

“But…your brother…what he did…” Justin grew pale. He took a huge swallow of brandy, then paced the room. “All this. Everything. It’s all my fault. If I’d only come out and said something.”

“
Ach, nein
. No, no.” Sam started to get up. Gordon motioned him to stay where he was. He trapped Justin and gripped his shoulders.

“You can’t blame yourself. Things happen. We accept them and move on.” How many times had his father and Dix said similar words to him? Would Justin accept them any more than Gordon had? In time.

“Listen to me,” Sam said.

Justin jerked away.

“Justin, listen to your grandfather. And Gordon,” Rose said.

Justin’s jaw was clenched as he returned to his chair. “I shouldn’t have been so secretive.”

“Are you through?” Sam asked. When Justin nodded, Sam continued. “I saw the journal. Yes, reading it angered me. All thoughts of that time and its atrocities angered me. But there was nothing in the journal, nothing that would ever have led me to believe it was written by my brother. Whoever wrote it did not identify himself as such.” Sam waved a gesture of dismissal. “I sent it to the Wiesenthal Center.”

Silence descended over the room. Justin drained his snifter and set it on the dresser. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I am going to mourn the loss of my brother once more.” He patted Rose’s hand. “And then I am going to bed. I think we will all feel better in the morning after a good night’s sleep. Then you, Justin, will call this cousin of yours and let me speak to a new-found member of the family. Perhaps we can meet for
Pesach Seder.
”

Gordon shook Sam’s hand, kissed Rose again and went downstairs. Megan and Justin saw him to the door. “Sam has it together,” Gordon said. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Turner was crazy. He’d probably have done what he did even if you’d told him the journal wasn’t here. He wouldn’t have believed you.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Justin said.

“I think Sam has the right idea,” Gordon said. “Get some sleep. It’s been a stressful few days.”

“No kidding,” Megan said, but she was gazing at Justin.

The heated look they exchanged propelled Gordon’s thoughts to Angie. He checked his watch. Not
that
late. “Good night.”

He’d solved three crimes, put away the bad guy, and his staff could take care of the paperwork. Mapleton’s citizens could rest easy tonight. With luck, so would he. He glanced upward.

How’d I do, guys?

Maybe it was good to be the Chief. Especially when you could still be a cop.

~~~~~

Acknowledgments

When I first began writing, I thought I would write a mystery. According to my daughters, that book (and the 7 that followed) were actually romances. So, at long last, I’ve created a book that can be classified as a mystery—although hints of relationships continue to sneak in.

Deadly Secrets has its roots in my own roots. I want to thank everyone in my family—my own Oma, Opa, Nana and Gramps, and long-time family friend Curt (whose own experiences provided valued information for Heinrich’s story), as well as Mom, Dad, and the countless cousins and all the family gatherings. There’s a little of everyone in here. Traditions deserve to be preserved and shared, and our heritages should never be forgotten.

And for all the technical help, as always, Steve and Karla of Novel Alchemy provide critical eyes and advice. Mark Hussey, Lee Lofland, Josh Moulin: Thanks for answering my questions about radios and cell phones. Wally Lind and the rest of the wonderful helpers at Yahoo’s Crimescenewriter group—many thanks. Special thanks to L.J. Sellers who read the draft manuscript and gave it the green light. And of course, thanks to my wonderful editor, Brittiany Koren. Working with you is a pleasure, and the book is better for your suggestions.

And, as always, mistakes are my own, or I’ve stretched reality for the sake of the story. It IS fiction, after all.

Lastly, thanks to you, my readers, who give me the motivation to keep writing.

~~~~~

About the author

Terry Odell began writing by mistake, when her son mentioned a television show and she thought she’d be a good mom and watch it so they’d have common ground for discussions.
Little did she know she would enter the world of writing, first via fanfiction, then through Internet groups, and finally with groups with real, live partners. Her first publications were short stories, but she found more freedom in longer works and began what she thought was a mystery. Her daughters told her it was a romance so she began learning more about the genre and craft. She belongs to both the Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America.

Now a multi-published, award winning author, Terry resides with her husband in the mountains of Colorado. You can find her online at:

Her website -
http://www.terryodell.com
Her blog -
http://terryodell.blogspot.com
Facebook -
http://www.facebook.com/terry.odell
Twitter -
http://twitter.com/authorterryo

Other Kindle e-books by
Terry Odell
:

Finding Sarah
(Pine Hills Police)

Hidden Fire
(Pine Hills Police)

Finding Fire
(Pine Hills Police—short story anthology)

When Danger Calls
(Blackthorne, Inc.

Danger in Deer Ridge
(Blackthorne, Inc.)

What’s in a Name?