Life goes on. It was several days later when I was browsing through my DVD collection in search of a 40s noir film to watch with Matt when a blaring car horn shattered the peace of my farm. Who was that disturbing my animals?
I opened the front door in a huff and saw Asa standing by a black Jeep with a huge smile on her face. I was filled with a mixture of delight and boiling anger. How could Asa drop off the face of the earth one day and then pop up unannounced the next?
I said, “I thought you had absconded for parts unknown.”
“I thought about it, but I knew it would make you angry.”
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.”
Asa replied, “Act I, Scene 4 of King Lear.”
“You got that right, daughter of mine. Hey, what happened to your face?”
“A cat scratched me.”
“Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it.”
“That’s how I want to play it.” Asa laughed. “You’re nosy, you know.”
I didn’t return the laughter as I was not amused. “Now what?”
“I think it is time I take a vacation.”
“Really?” I replied, folding my arms.
“There a dinky little motel in Key Largo. Actually it’s a very nice motel—mid-century with all the modern conveniences. I think you would like it—for a week or so. They even have manatees.” She looked at me expectantly. “You want to go—with me?”
It took me a few seconds to respond as Asa caught me by surprise. “I’ll take a week—or so with you. You know I love manatees. You are inviting me to take a vacation with you?”
“Yep.”
“Maybe I’d like to go.”
“Good. It’s settled. We’re leaving now.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Like right now?”
“Grab a toothbrush and some undies and let’s go.”
“I can’t, Asa. I have to make arrangements for the animals. Can’t do it on a moment’s notice.”
“I’ve already arranged with Charles to take care of the stable and the rest of your menagerie.”
“There’s Baby to consider.” I felt crushed. I really wanted to go.
“Bring Baby along.”
“The plane won’t accept a two hundred pound dog in the main cabin, and I won’t put him in cargo storage.”
“I’ve got a hundred and twenty thousand dollars burning a hole in my pocket. I have chartered a private plane. There’s chilled champagne and a charcuterie board waiting for us. Baby will be flying first class.” Asa clapped her hands. “Now, let’s go, woman. Time’s a wastin’.”
I ran inside and grabbed my toothbrush, clean underwear, and my phone, tossing them in my purse. I roused Baby from his nap and snapped a leash on his collar. He lumbered after me looking very puzzled. Oh, yeah, I snatched a box of treats for him which I could not stuff in my purse.
I put Baby in the back of the Jeep and jumped in the passenger’s seat, slamming the door. I was so excited to be going to the Keys with my daughter. The last time we were there, I had been recuperating from my fall.
Asa turned on the Jeep and drove down the gravel driveway.
“So you proved Micah did not kill Juan Gomez—hence the extra twenty thousand?”
“He was involved in the scheme to kidnap Last Chance, but he wasn’t even there when the kidnapping went down. I reported him and his whereabouts to the police—an anonymous tip. When the police catch up with him, he’ll spill his guts—he’s such a flibbety-gibbet.”
“And Logan will hire a white shoe lawyer and get him off.”
“Probably.”
“Who did kill Juan Gomez if not Micah?”
“I’ll tell you on the plane over drinks. It’s a long involved story. It should last us our plane trip.” Asa punched in the code to open the gate to Tates Creek Road. “We really have to get going. We don’t want the champagne to get warm.”
“I see you have the safe house up for sale.”
“You blew my cover. Had to.”
“Sorry about that.”
Asa chuckled. “Look at your lying face in the mirror. No, you’re not.”
“No, I’m really not,” I confessed. “I think it was awful of you to flit in and out of the Bluegrass and not come to see me.”
“I’m not gonna argue about this. It was for your own protection.”
We sat in silence until Asa asked, “What about Last Chance? Did Jean Harlow ever accept him again?”
“Begrudgingly at first, but I think they are a tight bond now. However, Shaneika is keeping a close eye on them.”
Asa asked, “Are they going to wean Last Chance in a couple of months?”
“Lady Elsmere and Shaneika are going to try a different method of raising him. They are going to keep those two together for a much longer time. They want to see if that will lessen the trauma for Last Chance when he starts his training.”
“What do you think his prospects of becoming a Kentucky Derby contender?”
“The same as every other Bluegrass horse born to run. I hope Last Chance makes it. I’d like to see Lady Elsmere have a horse of hers win the Kentucky Derby before she dies.”
Asa remarked, “She’d better hurry.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Wasn’t meant to be.”
We sat in silence again. Asa was correct that Lady Elsmere had very little time left, but I didn’t want to think about it.
Asa spoke, “Mom, you’ll never guess what this motel’s name is.”
“Surprise me.”
“It’s called the Last Chance Motel.”
“You’re kidding me?”
Asa shook her head. “Nope. I think you’ll like it. It’s a place where new chances are given. I can’t explain it, but the motel is magical.”
“If new beginnings are made there, the owner should change the name,” I said, intrigued.
“Maybe the motel will give us a new beginning. I know you’re very angry with me, but I do what I have to do. Sometimes a cowboy in a white hat is not sufficient for what needs to be done. Sometimes it takes a dark knight with proficiency for violence. Know what I mean?”
“Asa, I don’t want to talk about guns, spies, murder, or even the prospect of death. I want margaritas, sea breezes, manatees, and lots of seafood. Happy. That’s what I want. Can we be happy for a week? Can we concentrate on that for a change?”
“May I say this?”
“What?” I snapped.
“I love you, Mom.”
And that declaration, my friends, made everything right with the world. See you around the next spin of the planet.
Signing off.
Josiah Reynolds
You’re not finished.
Keep going for the next Josiah Reynolds Mystery
plus a Prequel to Death By Theft in an Asa short story—Asa is Back!
Josiah is looking forward to the county fair coming up soon. She comes across a battered tin box with a bunch of yellowed 3x5 note cards with her mother’s old recipes. Nobody could make apple walnut cake like her mother. By golly, Josiah decides to make her mother’s cake and enter it in this year’s fair. It’s sure to be a winner.
She makes a sample, asking Hunter and his new farm assistant, Palley, to try a slice. When the farm helper hears it’s for the fair, the young man tells Josiah about the demolition derby each year. Ever since Palley received his driver’s license, he has been waiting to be old enough to compete in the derby. The only problem is he needs an old car to enter.
Josiah tells Palley he is welcome to use an old jalopy that’s been gathering dust in an unused shed on her property. Everyone’s excited about going to the fair to see if the old beater car comes out a winner—until the trunk pops open to reveal—you guessed it—a body.
Whose body is it? How did it get there? Josiah is on the trail of murder again.