Twenty-Eight

Or at least I thought I was. Turning my back on what the cops were doing, I dashed into the Barkery to check on Biscuit. She was fine, thank heavens. I gave her a big hug, even though it would mean an intense hand-washing session before I began baking again, assuming the cops would let us use our kitchen today. I placed her in her enclosure and returned to the kitchen, shutting the door behind me.

It appeared that Wayne and Bridget were free for the moment. Or, as it turned out, they were waiting for me. “We’ll need a statement from you, Carrie,” Bridget said.

“Which needs to include how you called me so efficiently,” added Wayne. “I gathered that good old Silas couldn’t hear me when I answered and kept saying ‘Carrie, Carrie’ before I shut up and listened. And recorded, by the way.”

“That’s all great,” I said. “But before we continue with this, there’s something else I want to do.” I turned the volume back up on my phone, then located the KnobTV website. “Maybe you’ve already handled this, but I just want to see …” I focused in on the site so I could look at excerpts from the morning news. Sure enough, the site showed a clip of Silas apparently somewhere around the resort, talking about how the lake was sparkling today as the early morning sun rose. The clip that had been shown on TV as if in real time. “Or maybe you haven’t handled it yet,” I added.

“We’ve got a team on our way to the studio and another going to the lake,” Wayne said defensively. “It takes a little time to—”

Almost as if someone at the TV station had heard us, another clip popped up, featuring Bobbi Hanger. The young reporter looked wild-eyed and even frightened. “Er …” she began, not very professionally. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Sorry for the interruption, but there were a few errors on our broadcast this morning, and … Anyway, I believe we’re about to have some breaking news about some of our own staff. Please stay tuned.” She disappeared as a commercial began.

“Well, at least they can use this to their station’s advantage,” I said. “They’ll certainly have more information about this interesting bit of news, at least at first, than any other TV station.”

“That’s for certain,” Bridget said.

“Now, can we take your statement?” Wayne held his phone toward me, clearly ready to record what I said.

“This may take a little while,” I said. “Why don’t we go sit down in the Barkery?”

I left Dinah in the kitchen, where, after the cops took photos and gave her the okay, she promised to do a preliminary scrubbing of the walls to remove the blood. That would also involve tossing any of our baked goods that happened to be out on any kitchen counter. Only then would she remove anything new from the oven and finish preparing our initial goods for both stores. I got the detectives and myself some scones from the glass-fronted case in Icing. Then, seated around one of the Barkery tables, I answered their intense questions—even while recognizing that they already had most of the answers, thanks to Wayne’s eavesdropping on my frightening conversation with Silas.

And when we were done, Wayne rose first, then Bridget.

“Okay, Carrie,” Wayne said. “Thank you for helping to solve not just one but two murders here in Knobcone Heights.”

“Two more murders,” Bridget clarified, aiming an apparently amused smile toward me.

“Yeah, two more murders,” Wayne echoed. His expression appeared more amazed than amused.

“You’re very welcome,” I told them, also smiling, but only for a second. Then I said to both of them, “And thank you for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome, too,” said Bridget as Wayne gave a formal, detective-like nod.

They left, then, making it clear they might have more questions. Well, whether I’d have more answers wasn’t clear to me, but I’d cooperate as much as I could.

It was time to open both shops, and Janelle was my next assistant to arrive. She burst into the Barkery from the kitchen and flung herself at me, arms out. “Oh, Carrie.” She hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re all right. Neal is, too. We saw the breaking news about the capture of Silas Perring—the newscaster, of all people—just before I left this morning, and your involvement in it all, and … well, we tried calling, but you didn’t answer.”

“The detectives hijacked my phone before they took my statement,” I said. “It has evidence on it. Looks like they’ll keep it for at least the rest of the day.”

I opened the door to the Barkery and had to step out of the way as a flood of people entered, all congratulating me, wishing me well, and expressing happiness that I was okay. A lot of those kind people had their dogs along and bought treats for them. I gave out almost no free samples today, but we did have enough items available in the Barkery thanks to my early baking.

Dinah apparently had opened Icing on time, for when I headed in there, it was as full as the Barkery. Its patrons, too, were full of best wishes, and we had enough fresh leftovers to at least start the day.

I appreciated the business and the good wishes—but I’d had enough for now. Both Vicky and Frida soon came in, even though Vicky wasn’t scheduled till the next day. I took advantage of their presence, grabbed Biscuit, and headed to Cuppa-Joe’s. No respite there. Lots of people at the coffee shop knew who I was and also made a fuss over me. The Joes insisted that Biscuit and I spend some down time at a table with them and Sweetie. And they hugged and congratulated me a lot.

Things weren’t much different when, after returning to my shops, I headed for my late-day shift at the vet clinic. Arvie, the other vets and my fellow vet techs, doggy daycare manager Faye and her staff, and even pet owners waiting for appointments all expressed concern and amazement. I was becoming exhausted from all the good wishes and worries.

When Reed broke away from his latest patient and grabbed and kissed me in the hallway, I clung to him.

“I know you were getting frustrated that the detectives seemed to ignore your suspicions, but I’d rather it was that than … Well, at least you seem okay. Are you?”

“Now I am,” I told him with a smile, then nestled back into his arms despite the traffic in the clinic hallway. I needed that hug.

I didn’t do much vet tech work that day, and I popped over to see Billi at Mountaintop Rescue without leftover treats. “Next time,” I promised. “And tell me when you’re ready to do another adoption event at the Barkery.”

My friend shook her head as she smiled. “You never quit, do you, Carrie?”

“Not if I can help it.”

But things were quieter as I returned to the shops. The only unusual thing was the appearance of Neal, since he hadn’t been able to reach me. “Just wanted to see for myself that you’re all right, sis,” he said, giving me a big brotherly hug.

“I’m okay,” I assured him as I hugged him back.

So … it was over.

Things remained somewhat quiet over the next few days, too. Oh, a lot of people asked what had happened, how I’d figured out that Silas was the killer, and how I’d helped to bring him in, but the interest fortunately began to wane. The news commentators seemed to be having fun with the idea that one of their own getting arrested was the biggest story. Silas was booked and incarcerated, and so was Wilbur. Their trials would occur sometime in the future. But their colleagues in the news industry seemed to have no doubt they’d be found guilty.

I hired a local crew to finish fixing and scrubbing the kitchen wall. The cost was worth it.

And my life got back to normal … mostly.

At least until that Friday night, when Reed and Hugo joined Biscuit and me at my house, and Neal and Janelle and Go were there, too. We were all in the living room watching—what else?—TV news, and there was a story about the ongoing investigation into the Schulzer murders and the current suspect.

When it was over, Neal used the remote to turn off the sound and walked over to look down at me where I sat on the sofa.

“Your presence is requested at the resort restaurant tomorrow evening, Ms. Kennersly. The town is throwing you a thank you celebration for getting to the bottom of this situation that had so many unanswered questions over the years, not to mention its most recent developments. Will we see you there around seven tomorrow night?”

I glanced at Reed, who nodded. There was a strange smile on his face that I couldn’t quite read, but that was okay.

“You can count on my presence, Mr. Kennersly,” I told Neal.

We all spent the night at our house, each couple giving the other one space.

When I eventually slid into my bed beside Reed, both of us in our pajamas with our dogs near us on the floor, I said, “The party idea is really sweet, but I think I’ve had enough attention over solving those murders. I just want to get fully back to my normal life.”

Reed pulled me close. “I don’t imagine you’ll ever get back to the way things were before,” he said. But before I could ask what he meant he began kissing me and using his hands in a highly enjoyable way … and so the subject was dropped.

I was full of anticipation the next day, like it or not. Dinah, at the shops, seemed so jazzed about my party that night. “It’ll be even better than the birthday party you threw for me,” she said. We were once again in the kitchen, baking, before the shops opened. “And you know how awesome that was.”

“Yeah, and it also kind of led to a murder. Is that what this is all about? Who’ll be the victim this time?”

Dinah laughed. “No victims,” she said. “But I bet it’ll be a lot of fun.”

I hoped she was right—and I fretted for part of the day over what to wear. I decided on an outfit that was far from casual, but not formal, either—a pretty blue lacy blouse over a navy skirt, and short-heeled beige pumps. I wore a blue ribbon in my hair and tied a matching one around Biscuit’s neck.

Neal told me he would drive Biscuit and me there and we’d meet everyone else in the restaurant. He parked in the employee lot and the three of us headed inside.

Reed had said he would meet us there too. He had some last minute things to finish at the clinic.

Neal, Biscuit, and I strolled through the resort lobby, which was busy as usual, and headed straight to the restaurant. We walked through the arched doorway. As when I’d thrown the party for Dinah, the area to the right was filled with people, and on the left side of the room a lot of tables had been pushed together to make one long one, with the restaurant’s pristine white tablecloths gleaming on top of it.

But when I’d arrived for Dinah’s gala, the party area had still been empty. Tonight, it seemed my entire world of people was there!

Near an empty spot at the head of the table sat Reed, with Janelle guarding another empty seat that was clearly for Neal. Hugo and Go were with them, too.

Then there were Arvie and the gang from my vet clinic. Joe and Irma Nash from Cuppa-Joe’s. My assistants from my shops. Billi and Mimi from Mountaintop Rescue. Les Ethman and a couple of other City Council members.

And not far from where I would be sitting were Mayor Sybill Gabbon, Chief Loretta Jonas, and the two detectives. Wayne even handed me back my phone.

I cringed when I spotted Francine Metz from the Knobcone News, but at least I didn’t see anyone try to step into Silas’s role from KnobTV, at least not here.

“This is quite a celebration,” I said to Neal.

“It’s meant to be.”

I was soon seated beside Reed, who looked very handsome in a suit. He handed me a glass of champagne. I gratefully took a sip. “Did you know things were going to be so … big?”

He smiled, and his eyes captured mine. He still seemed to be hiding his thoughts, but oh well. “I had a hunch they would be.”

Our orders were soon taken—chicken, fish, or salad, and I chose fish. Then Neal rose and said, “Thank you all for coming. I always want to celebrate what a great person my sister is, but it’s nice to see I’m not the only one. We’ll talk more later.”

He sat back down again. I was a little surprised he hadn’t made a toast, but maybe that would come later, too.

Reed touched my arm. “It’s a bit crowded in here. Let’s go out to the balcony overlooking the lake.” He shrugged his shoulder in the direction of the window. “Okay?”

“Sure.”

We stood, and after we got Janelle to hold Biscuit’s and Hugo’s leashes with Go’s, Reed took my hand. A few of the others looked in our direction but most kept up their conversations—although I saw a couple of smiles that hadn’t been there before and wondered what they were talking about.

Reed led me out the door, then past the few people who were outside to the end of the balcony, where it was mostly dark. Lights from boats and the shoreline reflected on the lake. It was a pretty night. A pretty place. And—

Oh my. Suddenly Reed got down on one knee on the concrete pavement, still holding my hand.

“I thought we still had some talking to do,” I choked.

“I think we’ve talked enough.” Reed smiled and opened his other hand, which held a box. He let go of me and opened it—displaying a ring with a diamond. “Carrie Kennersly, I love you. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

“Oh, yes, Reed,” I said. “I love you too.”

He rose and put the ring on my finger—and I wasn’t surprised when the lovely thing fit perfectly. Then we kissed.

And kissed again.

“We’d better go back inside.” Reed sounded regretful.

“Does everyone know what we’re doing out here?”

“Some do, and I’m sure the others suspect it.”

“Maybe I should solve multiple murders, both historic and current, more often,” I said as I clasped his hand—and as other people on the patio grinned at us.

“Maybe you shouldn’t,” he said, again looking down at me. I stopped, stood on my toes, and we kissed again.

“We’ll see,” I said. “Now, let’s go have some more of that champagne.”

I now knew why Reed had indicated last night that my life might never get back to normal.

And I was glad.

the end