A Lonely Way to Die: A Utah O'Brien Mystery Novel (Minnesota Mysteries Series Book 2) (23 page)

Cameras swung in my direction. When I didn’t speak, they swung back towards Gabe. “And it was Sam who helped us prove it.” He looked behind him, and asked Sam to come forward. He did.

“Sam asked his bloodhound to track my mother’s movements on the night she died. That’s Molly.” He pointed towards the dog, who was currently inspecting Sabina Greene’s highly polished boots. Angie was getting a nice shot of the slobber dropping slowly from the bloodhound’s lips onto the expensive leather. Cameramen pushed through the crowd to get a shot of the dog. A few of them almost lost their balance.

When Sabina felt the dog’s nose pushing against her leg she was startled, and bent over to push Molly away. Her movement jostled the reporter behind her, who pushed back a little too hard. Sabina fell forward. Molly moved out of the way just in time.

Angie was getting all of it with her phone.

The reporter who pushed Sabina Greene was pushed, in turn, by reporters trying to get a shot of the dog. He went down, and a few more people went down after him.

When everyone was finally back on their feet and all the equipment was sorted out, someone called out, “OK, so who did it? Who killed Sonje McCrae?”

Mort stepped forward. “The sheriff wants that kept quiet until the suspect has a chance to get legal council. You’ll have to talk to the sheriff. He’s transporting the suspect back to Randall now, as a matter of fact. He left West Elmer …” he looked at his watch, “… about twenty-five minutes ago, so he’ll be at the station soon. I’m sure there’s still a few reporters outside the sheriff’s office. He’ll make his announcement to them.”

The mad rush to leave would make another great shot for YouTube. “Gabe, you know how to edit video, don’t you?” I asked.

“Sure. It’s easy. Elementary, really.”

We went into the museum. When everyone was inside, I turned the bolt and locked the door.

TWENTY-FIVE

We gathered in the kitchen. Josie, Emma and Mildred were already there with the baby, and all the breakfast dishes were washed and put away.

Gabe told Jocko how great Molly was, and how smart she was, and how good she was a tracking. Jocko thought all that praise was going to the wrong dog. He pushed in between Molly and Gabe, trying get his share of the love.

Mort’s cell phone rang. It was Wally. Mort listened to the sheriff for a few moments, and ended the call. By this time, most of us were sitting at the big table in the middle of the room.

“The preacher confessed in the car on the way to Randall,” Mort said. “They typed it up when they got to the office. It’s already signed. There won’t be a trial unless he changes his mind.”

Emma asked the obvious question. “Did he say why he did it?”

Mort shook his head sadly. “He won’t tell them. He doesn’t mind everyone knowing he’s a murderer, but whatever he did all those years ago, it’s too shameful for him to say. Probably wasn’t much, really. Maybe what they’re calling ‘inappropriate touching’ nowadays. If it was worse, she would have told somebody. It’s a damn shame, is what it is.”

Angie handed her phone to Gabe, and he edited the video. The way he was giggling, we were sure it would be a big hit, but he wouldn’t let us see it until he hit the upload button. He asked me for my laptop, and I brought it. He pulled up the new video on YouTube, and we stood behind him, watching and laughing.

Both Gabe and Gavril got out their own phones and sent the link to to all the people in on their contacts lists. It would be an instant hit.

Angie wanted to know what was going on when she and I were kicked out of Gavril’s car so Josie could talk to Emma and Mildred.

Gabe said, “Grace will live with Aunt Emma,” he said. “Dad will get joint custody, and maybe Aunt Emma will adopt Grace, but I’m not sure …”

He looked at Josie for a technical explanation. She said, “I looked it up on the Internet yesterday. I don’t know for sure if the court will allow Emma to adopt the baby, but it shouldn’t be hard for her to get guardianship, because she’s so closely related. The situation with Gabe is a little more complicated. Paul Haase can help us figure out the legal part of it.”

Mildred said, “I already called Paul, while you were talking to the reporters. He expects us all in his office tomorrow morning.” Mildred was back to normal, taking charge and calling the right people, fixing things. It was good to have her back.

“Aunt Emma says I can see Grace any time I want,” Gabe said.

Emma was smiling so hard, it looked like it would hurt. “Of course you can, Gabe. Little Grace will need her big brother. And Gavril, you come as often as you can, OK?”

Gavril looked at Angie and smiled. “I think I’ll be coming back quite often,” he said. “To see the kids, of course.” Angie smiled back.

Mort shook his head and scowled. “She could do better,” he whispered to Josie, loudly enough for all of us to hear.

Gavril grinned. He was going to fit in just fine.

Epilogue

The funeral for Sonje Neilina McCrae took place later that week, at her church in the city. Mort, Josie, Sam, Gabe and I drove there in Sam’s big pickup. The back seat was a little crowded, so the dogs had to stay home. Pete Hansen offered to take Mildred and Emma in his car, with the baby.

The members of Blue Malachi got together one last time to play some of Sonje’s favorite tunes at the service, and the church choir invited Gavril to sing the solo parts of Sonje’s version of “You've Been a Friend To Me.” The pews were filled with Sonje’s friends and business associates, and the eulogies made me wish I’d known her. It was a beautiful service.

Laura Rey was the only one who showed up that Saturday to protest the Devil’s work in the museum. We invited her in for a cup of coffee and a slice of Josie’s nut bread. We had a nice little chat, and I invited her to volunteer at my after-school drama classes. She came the very next week, and she’s been helping ever since.

Photos of Gabe and Grace have been added to the growing display of grandchildren behind Mildred’s desk at City Hall, and new ones show up at least once a week.

I finished my sculpture of the Clovis people and moved them out to the front of the museum. The sound of hammers and saws can be heard in the old studio, and Josie is already planning how she’ll use the new greenhouse. Gabe is still sleeping on the couch, but he’ll move into his own bedroom in a week or two.

And last week, Pete and Mildred announced their impending marriage. The ceremony will take place at the Methodist church, because the General Baptist church is closed. We hope they’ll send a new pastor, but we’ll have to wait and see.

In other words, things are getting back to normal—but ‘normal’ is going to be very different from now on.

About the Author:

I'm a sculptor, and the author of four popular non-fiction books for artists. I grew up in a small town in the state of Washington (a town even smaller than the fictional town of West Elmer), and I now live in Minnesota with my two dogs and a demanding cat who insists on helping me when I make my YouTube videos.

Jocko, the Border collie in this book, is based on several rescue dogs I’ve lived with over the years. One of them is sleeping under my desk as I write this note.

You can find me almost every day on my blog at
UltimatePaperMache.com

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The Owl Thief

Gossip, blackmail and murder in a small Minnesota town ...

If you missed
The Owl Thief
, the first book in the Utah O’Brien Mystery series, you can find it here:
http://amzn.to/22CcYSa

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Before You Go:

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