In a stunning turn of events, I was a free woman.
I hadn’t been arrested because of my excuse and because I’d stopped Noah from escaping the house before the police got there. He’d had a bag packed and ready to go and had used the last of his inheritance from his parents to buy two plane tickets to Puerto Rico.
The police theorized he’d planned on taking Emmy with him, whether she wanted to go or not. Creepy.
Regardless, I had made it through another investigation, even if this one definitely hadn’t gone as planned.
I sat on the porch swing, Sunlight in my lap, and took a breather. So much had happened over the past week that I needed it.
My grandmother exited onto the porch and leaned against the doorjamb. “You know, he’s not going to stop calling.”
“I’m not ready to talk to him yet.” Goode had been trying to get hold of me all week. And I’d been successfully ignoring him.
I’d pretty clearly declared my intent to become Gossip’s fixer by capturing the killer, and I didn’t care what he thought about it. I didn’t want to hear the apology yet, if there was one, and I wasn’t ready to talk about it.
“I just want to focus on the future,” I said. “I was thinking about Christmas. And after Christmas.”
“After Christmas?” Gamma asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I think… I want to stop working here. At the inn. I’m going to try to find a place of my own and start my business as a fixer for the town. I don’t want to put any financial strain on you, though. If you need me here then—”
“Oh, Charlotte, please,” Gamma laughed. “All you do is dust on occasion and entertain the cats. I’ve been secretly looking for a second assistant.”
“Wow.”
“No offense.”
“None taken,” I said. “I haven’t exactly been the best assistant around.”
Gamma sat down on the porch swing beside me, smiling at Sunlight who purred at her and demanded a few head scratches. “The best assistant?” Gamma asked. “No, not that. But you have been and always will be the best granddaughter a woman could ask for.”
It was such a rare occurrence that she would break cover, even in private, that I welled up.
“You’re not too bad yourself, Gamma,” I whispered.
She squeezed my hand once then released it and got up. “Well, if you plan on leaving the inn in the New Year, I’ve got to plan something extra special for Christmas.”
“Like what?”
“How about a getaway?” Gamma asked. “Somewhere cold and snowy. Where Goode can’t find you. Where there’s no cell phone service so he can’t phone you either. Or me for that matter.” She clicked her tongue and drew her phone from the pocket of her apron. She showed me the screen. “Speak of him, and he shall make his appearance.” Detective Goode’s number flashed on the screen. “He really wants to talk to you.”
“Like I said, he can wait.” I stroked Sunlight’s furry head and rocked myself back and forth. “I’ve got much more important things to worry about.”
Like my gorgeous cat, my time with Gamma and Lauren, Christmas coming up, and beyond that, the very bright and exciting future.
Finally, I had started taking steps to be the person that Gossip needed me to be. I would never look back, only forward to the shimmer on the horizon. A life with the cats, my grandmother, and a real purpose. I couldn’t wait.
Charlie and Gamma’s adventures conclude in the show-stopping finale of The Gossip Cozy mystery series available here.