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THE LATE AFTERNOON sun hid behind the tall trees lining my quiet neighborhood as Burke and I strolled down the middle of Elm Street. Beside me, Moocher wagged his tail and barked. I thought he might be calling his brother Samson to join us, but Samson was nowhere in sight. “I’m glad—relieved—that Sharon’s funeral is over and that she finally has a proper resting place. Whatever happened to the necklace?”
“Farnsberry found it in his mailbox, sold it, and started a scholarship fund for our high school graduates who want to go to college or to a trade school.”
Jim waved at us from his garage. I lifted a hand, grateful he didn’t intercept us on our long overdue and very peaceful walk. I was indebted to him. If he hadn’t watched Frank take me to the vacant house the other night and then called Burke, I would probably be dead right now.
“Sophie, we have a match from the DNA results from Laura’s crime scene and Sharon’s.”
“And?”
“You’ll be surprised when you hear—”
I nudged his shoulder. “Just tell me, Officer Maguire!”
“Virginia Crane was at both murder scenes.”
“Virginia?” I was shocked beyond measure. “Not Rita?”
“Apparently, Virginia couldn’t live with the thought of Farnsberry married to anyone but her. Her diary wasn’t much help. Didn’t mention the trip to Europe, Clarke Farnsberry, or killing Laura and Sharon, but she wrote in detail of her love for Farnsberry. She also wrote about a gold necklace with a cross and two pendants that she had given Sharon. She even mentioned burying it with her. I think it was Virginia who returned it to Farnsberry as an act of contrition for everything she’d done to him.”
“But Virginia told me she and Sharon were soul mates.” I shook my head. How could she murder her soul mate? That was like me killing Terri. Heavenly days, I couldn’t even go there.
“Maybe they were, but she loved Farnsberry more, in a convoluted way. You were right about her killing them.”
I basked in the glow of his words for a few moments. “Virginia Crane was one very sick woman. She’d make a good case study on how to compartmentalize your life, to appear normal to everyone even though you’re a murderer. This is such a mess. Virginia killed Laura and Sharon and Frank Zagorsky. Frank killed Jonas and Edna and Virginia. And Rita didn’t kill anyone.”
“She assaulted Farnsberry, wrecked your car and Farnsberry’s—by the way, the paint came back a match, which was no surprise. Rita also tampered with evidence, plotted to kill your mother, assaulted a police officer, shot at a police officer, and held several people hostage.”
“Assaulted a police officer?”
“It was Rita who hit me from behind in Farnsberry’s yard. Frank was inside the house.”
“Farnsberry told me she was out to get me until she realized my mother wasn’t her mother.”
“In Rita’s mind, your mother was just as guilty as her mother, Edna, for giving her up for adoption. It was Frank and Rita at your house that night, Frank inside and Rita, the rock thrower, outside.”
I nodded. “One loose end is Garrett Flint who didn’t do anything but love Sharon. No one’s seen or heard from him in a while. He probably knows who killed Sharon now. Maybe he’ll find some peace and move on with his life.”
“He won’t leave Vivian,” Burke added. “I saw something between them.”
I smiled. “I did, too. And I finally heard from my father. Mother is with him in Kansas. I hope she’s happy now that her baby is back in her life. Actually, Daddy told me Jim is moving to Kansas soon to live on their property and help out.”
“I hope it works out for all of them. Another loose end is the man who sent you the package on your back porch.”
“I never heard from him after we found Moocher at that ramshackle shed.” I playfully nudged Burke and expected him to feign a stumble or something, but the nudge didn’t rock him at all. The man was built like a tank.
“Also, the dentals on Frank Zagorsky match Clarke Farnsberry.”
“No surprise there. Well, hello there.” Samson’s entire body wagged when he caught up with us. Barking playfully, he jumped up and licked my face. Ugh! “No licking, Samson.”
Burke poked his side to get him down and then picked up a stick and threw it. Samson and Moocher ran after it, snarled and fought over it, and Samson the Conqueror proudly brought it back to Burke.
“Oh, I’ve solved the problem of Samson and our neighbors’ newspapers. I put him in the backyard at night and let him out after ten in the morning. Most of the papers have been picked up by that time.”
Burke nodded. “A simple solution.”
We passed Vivian’s house and, heavenly days, she was outside working in a new garden. “What’s this, Vivian? You’ve taken up gardening? In broad daylight?”
She flapped a hand at me and laughed. Mrs. LeGraff stepped out of Vivian’s house wearing a gardening hat and gloves and carrying a trowel. Vivian lifted her eyebrows at me and sent me a with-a-little-help-from-my-friend grin.
And Vivian was wearing shoes. Would wonders never cease?
Another surprise came out of her house: Garrett Flint, wearing a cowboy hat and work gloves. He dipped his head at us, his gaze squarely on Burke, who acknowledged his greeting with one of his own.
Well, good for Vivian and Garrett! I sent her a big smile and a wave. She held up her left hand with her fingers splayed. On her third finger rested a wedding band. “Oh, Vivian, congratulations!” I ran up and hugged her and then Garrett. Vivian giggled as Garrett draped an arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“I’m so happy for you two!”
“We are, too.” When Vivian looked at Garrett and he smiled at her, she was beautiful with love.
I decided right then to throw a wedding shower for Mrs. Flint.
We left and reached my next-door neighbor’s house. A FOR SALE sign was in the front yard. After Jonas died, his nephew came right after the funeral and set things in motion to get everything in his uncle’s life sold. Hopefully, a family with children would move in. Our neighborhood needed more children.
We approached my driveway and turned toward the old vacant house. Samson disappeared around back with Moocher close on his heels. A few kids were on the front porch, playing jacks. The vacant house was the only playground for several streets, and kids came to Elm Street to play in its back yard or on the stoop in front.
Burke nodded toward the old eyesore. “The vacant house is going to be burned down next week.”
“Really?” I stared at the house that had initiated solving my first mystery with Burke, when Samson gave me Sharon’s necklace. The vacant house was a big part of my life growing up, my ‘go-to’ for emotional outbursts and crying bouts and wars with my Nerf guns. It was also a sweet spot for my time with Burke. Maybe burning it down will usher in a new era for me, one not so reclusive. Or maybe not. I liked where and who I was right now. Mostly.
“Someone bought the land and plans to build a house there.”
“Do you know who?”
Burke chuckled. “Me.”
“You, Officer Maguire? We’re going to be neighbors?”
“I was raised on this street, and it’s the only available lot.” He nodded at Jonas’ house. “I heard someone’s put earnest money down. You’ll soon have next-door neighbors moving in.”
“Who?”
“No idea. Happened earlier today. That’s all I know.”
“When will you start construction on your new house?”
“A month or so.”
I nodded, smiling. “Neighbors. I like that. If a monster comes into my house, I’ll scream, and you’ll come a-runnin’, right?”
“Right.” He chuckled. “Everyone knows you can sure scream.”
Samson ran out from around back of the vacant house with a piece of white paper in his mouth.
“What’s this, buddy?” Burke leaned over and plucked it out of his mouth. “Looks like something you’d write, Soph.” He handed it to me.
I gasped.
A page from my latest book!
I’d printed a copy of it just this morning for a final read-through. How did it get out here? I groaned. “Oh, no.”
“What?”
“This is my book! Check the back yard. See if more pages are there!” I dashed up my driveway and inside my house. At the fastest clip I’ve ever made, I topped the stairs and raced into my room. “No.” My desk was bare, and my book was gone. “No, no, no.”
I whimpered when I grabbed the computer mouse and moved it. “Come on. Come on!” My computer woke up. My hand shook as I clicked on the working copy of my book, sitting as bold as you please on my desktop.
It didn’t come up. “No, no, no.” I clicked on a document with a made-up name—a hidden version of my book. The document opened, and it only had the words, “You should have gone out with me when I bought you the tickets” on it.
“Burke.” My voice wobbled. I could hardly breathe. “Burke!”
By now, my whole body was shaking. This psycho had been in my house! I went into my email. I’d sent a copy to my account as a safe measure, so I wouldn’t lose any of my writing if my computer crashed. But the file I put it in was gone!
“Burke!”
I heard him talking downstairs. He was on his cell phone when my life was falling apart?
I searched my SENT file. That email was deleted, too.
I checked the Recycle Bin. Gone!
Someone had stolen my book. I opened the locked compartment on my desk and reached for my memory stick. It wasn’t there.
“Burke!” I screamed as loudly as I could. “Burke, where are you?” I’ve been violated! I’ve been robbed! Someone is out to get me!
Just when I thought things had settled down, a thief appears.
“Buurrrrkke!”
Loud footsteps pounded on my stairs. Burke ran into my bedroom, frowning and holding a stack of papers. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“My book. Someone stole my book. Someone deleted everything and stole the copy I printed this morning.”
“Don’t you have a backup system?”
“No. I don’t trust them.”
“Uh, twenty-first century, Soph?”
“Exactly why I don’t trust them. Twenty-first century hackers, Officer?”
Burke took a moment to look around my room and then guided me toward the door. “This is a crime scene now, Soph.” He slipped on gloves. “Let’s get you outside.”
“But—”
He slid a hand into one of his pants’ pockets and pulled out some gum.
Oh, this man.
I unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth. As I led the way down the stairs, Burke called in the burglary. I stood in the foyer, trembling like a nervous foot.
When he finished the call, he opened the front door.
“What do I need to do?”
“Stay out of my way.”
“Stay out of—? If you think a stick of gum is enough to bribe me out of your way, Officer Maguire, then you haven’t learned much about me the last few weeks.” I stepped outside in the best huff I could come up with.
He chuckled and followed me outside, pulled the door shut. “I’ve learned plenty about you. You’re courageous, stubborn, generous, and kind. At least stay with Terri until I get this crime scene cleared.”
Oh! I’m generous and kind?
“And beautiful.”
Beautiful, too? “Thank you, Burke.” I decided to let him have his way. I learned something about me just now: I can’t be bribed with gum, but compliments work. I glanced around my neighborhood as Burke walked to his car. Mrs. LeGraff stood with Vivian and Garrett in Vivian’s front yard, none of them moving a muscle as they stared in my direction. Then Mrs. LeGraff lifted a cautious hand and fluttered it at me. I waved and sent her a thumbs-up to reassure her that things were under control.
Burke stooped to look in the gutter, carefully picked up something small, and held it up. “Is this yours?”
Oh! My memory stick! I hurried over to him. “My book is on that. He must have dropped it.” I reached for it, but Burke withdrew his hand.
“Fingerprints, Sophie. Let’s get inside and see what’s on it.”
“We can use my laptop downstairs on the dining table.” I wanted to dance a jig, I was so happy. “Come on.”
A patrol car pulled up in front of my house. Officer Sheenen got out, grabbed a backpack, and shouldered it as he rushed toward us.
“Upstairs, the bedroom on the right,” Burke told him. “I’ll be up there in a few minutes.”
I hurried to my laptop, inserted the memory stick, and breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s all here. I’d like to save a copy to my desktop, Burke.”
“All right. I can’t leave you alone with the evidence, so get that done and get outside. When Sheenen’s finished, we’ll figure out how he broke in.”
We? Hmmm. I liked the sound of that, although I was sure he meant Sheenen, not me. I smiled warmly at him. “We’re bull dogs, aren’t we, Burke? Tenacious and ferocious. We’ll get this guy.”
“Bull dogs?” He grinned. “I do feel the need to nibble on something.”
“Bull dogs don’t nibble, Deputee. They bite.” I bared my teeth and chomped at air, my teeth clicking in the quiet room.
“I like the direction this is going.” He reached for me, tugged me close.
I leaned back to say something, and he captured my mouth in a soft, just-go-ahead-and-melt-my-toes kiss. His arms tightened. His mouth became more insistent, and I leaned in and gave as much as he did. It was all so familiar—and all so new. Our first not-in-the-line-of-duty kiss.
He stopped, brushed my lips lightly, and said, “I could do this all day, but right now, let’s get to work and catch this guy.”
Let’s? As in, ‘let us’? So, he did mean me? “Okay,” I said in my most professional voice, although I wanted to wiggle my eyebrows and grin like a possum. “Where to, first?”