Chapter Twenty-seven

Shandra felt bad for Mrs. Lawrence and Lana. Neither one had any clue Lenny had been caught up in the two murders.

The students and faculty were so distraught the school board closed school for a week. Shandra wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do. They needed to see one another and know that life would go on and that their school would come out of this a better place to be.

Mr. Pawner was removed immediately and the vice principal took over until the board found a suitable replacement. Shandra took the week the school was closed down to return to her place. She’d missed Huckleberry Mountain, her studio, animals, and even Lil.

“You going back to that school when it reopens?” Lil asked as they saddled horses to go for a ride.

“Yes, I have two more weeks left. I don’t want to let the students down.” Shandra hoped she’d see Lana Lawrence. The girl had been beside herself the last time they’d talked, after her brother had been arrested.

“How long will you be here before you go off to your aunt’s?” Lil walked Sunshine, her horse out of the barn and into the spring sunlight.

“I should be here a month to six weeks. Just enough time to get another vase made. Why?” Shandra mounted her horse, Apple.

Sheba stood at the start of the path up the mountain, her tail wagging and her tongue hanging out in anticipation of a good walk.

“Just wondering. It seems like you’ve been gone more than you’ve been home lately.” Lil headed up the trail.

“I feel the same way.” She breathed in the scent of pine and the crisp spring air and wondered why she ever left this heaven.

###

Thank you for reading Artful Murder. When the idea came to me in a previous book to have Shandra volunteer at a high school, I didn’t know who would be murdered or how it would affect the whole school. Doing the “what if’s” to boil the story down is how the storyline came to be. Keep reading the series to be part of Shandra and Ryan’s wedding and to see what other murders they help solve.

If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review. It is the best way to thank an author for an enjoyable read.

I love to hear from fans. You can contact me through my website, blog, or newsletter. By joining my newsletter/Paty’s Posse you could get access to my books for free. Join and find out how.

All my work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. My husband and I raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, I not only write the western lifestyle, I live it.

You can contact me at these places:

blog / website / Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub

Other Shandra Higheagle books

Double Duplicity

Tarnished Remains

Deadly Aim

Higheagle Box set 1-3

Murderous Secrets

Killer Descent

Reservation Revenge

Higheagle Box Set 4-6

Yuletide Slaying