Deviled!: Lake Erie Mysteries Book 2 (19 page)

A
fter squatting
behind that chair for so long, my leg muscles were screaming for release. Hamm had walked off in the direction of the exit, looking for Jack. I spied June making her way around the perimeter toward me, so I figured the coast was clear. I stood up and did a quick yoga stretch. No one in the theater seemed too ruffled by the pandemonium. Animated conversation swirled around my head.

“Wow! What a performance!”

“I knew it had to be the emcee. He was too good to be true.”

“That gunfire sounded so realistic.”

“Did you see the guy with the bloody arm? Now those were some sweet special effects!”

Hard as it was to believe, it seemed the dinner guests had no idea of the actual danger they’d all been dragged into by Gabriel’s insane scheme. June and I finally reconnected, and only one lady had the nerve to comment on our outfits.

“Who are you two supposed to be? Aren’t you both a little old for those hemlines?”

“Said the lady with the orange hair.” I snickered.

June giggled at my remark. “Right. If I were doing orange, I would have gotten my color out of a box, not a Kool-Aid packet. But now what? These people are expecting an ending. There were some pretty competitive groups back there. This could get ugly.”

“Could? What do you call a guy getting shot and all the owners and coordinators of the event being hauled off to the police station?”

June bit her upper lip. “True. But now they’re expecting the winner to be announced.”

“And dessert,” I added. “I’d be mad if they left out dessert.” I got an eye roll from June.

Enter Eddie Sneed. His tuxedo had to have been custom made; you couldn’t buy something so tailored and elegant off the rack—at least not in his size. He strode up the main aisle, waving his arms dramatically, the weasel perched above his eyebrows hanging on for dear life. So much for suave and debonair. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you would all take your seats, you’ll discover the solution to tonight’s mystery.”

June and I sat down in the seats where Hamm and Jack had been. “This I’ve got to hear.” June whispered. I nodded. The guests settled down, and an expectant hush fell over the crowd. I had to give the little guy credit. Eddie did a pretty convincing job of ad-libbing the conclusion of the show, explaining away the crazy guy and the blood and the very real police presence.

Heads were bowed and pencils scratched out notes on tickets in order to prove they’d figured out the solution before the big reveal.

Eddie walked around the room, glad-handing the men and patting the women solicitously on the back or shoulder. After stopping at every table, he made his way back to the podium, picked up the microphone from where it had rolled under a chair during the brouhaha, and announced the grand prize winner. How he determined which group deserved the lavish prize package was beyond me. He probably chose the six people most likely to punch him in the face if they lost.

“Congratulations to our winning group and runners-up! And thank you one and all for being such great sports. Please enjoy your dessert and have a pleasant evening. Don’t forget the fireworks on the beach at ten o’clock.”

“I told you there would be dessert. Gives the losers something to focus on.”

“Okay,” June conceded. “Since we’re here and no one is trying to kill us at the moment, we might as well stay to enjoy it.”

I heard a soft, familiar voice over my shoulder. “Would you prefer the chocolate or the strawberry cheesecake, ma’am?”

For once, her appearance neither startled nor angered me. “Sasha, it’s so good to see you. Are you okay? Have you spoken to Eddie about everything that’s been happening?”

“I haven’t spoken to him since we got to the hotel. There was so much preparation needed for this final act. Now that Gabriel has been arrested, I will be able to breathe a little bit.”

Eddie bounded across the room and flung his arms around Sasha. “Oh sweetie, there you are. Are you okay?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that? Of course I’m okay. But what about Sofia? She’s the one we need to worry about. I still need to find her.”

I couldn’t stop the grin that was spreading across my face even if I wanted to. Sofia had approached her sister without a sound and tapped her on the shoulder.

I was distracted from the exuberant reunion of the sisters by the distinct sound of the ringtone I reserve for Hamm. But I didn’t have my phone. “What the …?”

Eddie pulled the familiar device from the inner pocket of his tuxedo jacket and handed it to me. “I thought you might want this,” he said.

It was too late to catch the call, but seconds later, a ping alerted me to the waiting voicemail. “Where are you, Francie? Jack and I came for you guys, but before we could find you, all hell broke loose. You won’t believe what just happened, and you’ll be sorry you missed all the excitement. Let me know where you are.”

I decided to reply via text message to make sure my voice didn’t give anything away. In my grammatically correct message, I informed my husband that June and I had been working on the show behind the scenes.
True story, right?
Just a little more cleanup to do and we’d meet back at the boat in about an hour.

Back in our room, changing clothes was our number-one priority. I opted for my favorite stretchy, black, yoga pants, a black-and-white-striped top with a sparkly anchor on the front, and my flip-flops. I twirled my hair into a loose bun and let the curls around my face land where they would. June must have felt the need to cover all the parts of her body that had been out in the elements far too long. She chose a red and white maxi skirt and a long-sleeved, boatneck top in navy blue. White ankle socks and red canvas shoes made the outfit uniquely hers.

Startled by a knock on the door, I kicked the playing card outfit and shimmery minidress under the bed as I went for the door.

“May I come in?” Detective Reed said, placing one foot in the doorway. She looked relaxed and more like she was stopping by for a chat among friends than coming to arrest us. What could I say?

“Of course. Please don’t mind the mess. We’re in the middle of packing. We’re leaving the hotel as soon as we finish up and heading back to the marina for the fireworks. We plan to head home in the morning. That is . . . well, unless you’re here to deliver bad news.”

“I think you’ll like what I have to say. I had a feeling right from the start you were innocent, Francie. But I had to follow the evidence, and eventually it ended up clearing you of all suspicion. Angelina explained how she’d kept your scarf after your visit to her suite. When she learned it was the murder weapon, she didn’t know how or if you were involved and kept the information to herself. When Gabriel used the scarf to strangle his brother, he thought it belonged to Angelina. Angelina and Damien DeVille were also victims in Gabriel’s scheme. As soon as they finish up their statements, they’ll be free to go as well.”

“So, about the evidence . . .” June said.

“A certain man, whose identity I promised not to reveal, presented us with a box full of evidence containing not only everything we needed to charge Gabriel DeVille with murder, conspiracy, kidnapping, and attempted murder, but also links to the Scorpione family and their attempts to take over all of Devil’s Island Resort and turn it into a major mob-funded hotbed of gambling and other activities contrary to the values and lifestyle of our lake town residents. There was also evidence that Bob had been involved in some shady dealings of his own, though on a much smaller scale. The police department owes both of you our sincere apologies. I hope there are no hard feelings.”

June called the front desk to collect our bags and deliver them to the dock. Without a backward glance, we stepped into the hall, and I shut the door behind us for the last time.

H
amm and Jack
were ready for us. The smell of hot pepperoni pizza greeted us even before we stepped aboard. There was a bottle of La Crema uncorked and waiting to be poured into real glass stemware. “Welcome back, ladies. We can’t wait to hear all about your weekend.”

“There’s nothing much to tell. You’ve probably heard the same stories from me a hundred times.” I smiled sweetly at Hamm.

“There were some pretty cool zombies at lunch one day,” June chimed in.

“How could I forget? Oh, and I got to play magician’s assistant on stage.”

Hamm smiled and humored me. “We enjoyed what we saw of the final dinner show.”

“I must confess,” Jack added, “they had me fooled. I was up and ready to help the cops catch a crook, but was informed by a short guy in a tuxedo and a bad toupee that it was all part of the grand finale.”

“Why don’t you tell us about your weekend instead. It was probably much more interesting.”

They took the bait. For the next half hour, June and I pretended to be fascinated by their stories of birdies, holes-in-one, and hijinks on the golf greens. Yawn.

The moon lit the cloudless sky and reflected off the lake’s glassy surface. It was a perfect night. We were anchored offshore, and the fireworks were about to begin. After indulging in a second glass of wine, I curled up next to Hamm in the sweet comfort of his warm embrace to wait for the show.

“Fantastic! That was the best fireworks display I’ve ever seen.” Jack stood, pumping his fist in the air and causing the boat to list to the starboard side.

“Huh?” I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “Did I miss something?”

Hamm kissed my forehead and tucked a fuzzy blanket around my shoulders before starting up the engines and heading for Beacon Pointe. Fifteen minutes later we were back in our own slip across the bay.

T
he rich aroma
of my favorite coffee enticed me from my sleep, and I followed my nose out to the kitchen of our condo where Hamm sat holding a mug and reading the morning news. Cup in hand, I joined him at the table. I was still relishing my first sip when Hamm set the carefully folded newspaper on the table so I could see the lead story. A full-color photo of Gabriel DeVille in handcuffs graced half the front page. Under the picture ran the headline, Murder, Mayhem, and Mafia Star at Drama Divas Convention.”

I read the first few lines of the story and felt the color rising in my cheeks. “The dynamic duo strikes again, keeping our peaceful Lake Erie islands and shores free from criminal activity.”

“Is there anything you’d like to tell me about, dear?”

M
aureen K. Howard
is the pen name of mother/daughter writing partners, Maureen Kovach and Brigette Howard. They both live in Findlay, Ohio with great husbands and dogs.

Maureen recently retired from a long career as a high school English teacher. These days, she focuses her time on spoiling her grandkids, spending long weekends at the lake with her husband and their golden doodle, Joe, and making friends with fellow mystery writers and readers across the globe via social media. Oh yeah, she also writes books.

Brigette works full time managing multiple national restaurant franchises. She has a knack for making employees want to come to work and motivating them through fun competitions and contests. She enjoys taking her charcoal lab, Isabella, on running adventures and spends her free time reading, gardening with her husband, cooking, and planning the perfect murder.

P
raise for
Sunny Side Up
, Book 1 in the Lake Erie Mysteries:

“
N
ancy Drew
please meet Janet Evanovich. That is the mysterious and hilarious adventure you will discover between the pages of this feel good caper. Francie and June are the two main characters with whom I think most females can relate. It’s a feel good book with just enough laughs. The ending was a shocker. I didn’t see the twist coming but totally loved the plot. I suggest you grab a bottle of wine, slip off the shoes, forget about cooking, and enjoy the adventure. Cheers!”

“
T
he mystery sneaks
up on the reader amidst beautifully written descriptions of the locale and the relationships. There are many twists and turns as the story unfolds that keep the plot moving. The best part, however, is the characters – they are well-developed and unique, but not too perfect, very human. The descriptions of the lake town are inviting and relaxing. This is not a story to rush through, but one to savor and enjoy.”

“
T
his is
a fun cozy with amateur sleuths who reminded me of Lucy and Ethel. I laughed out loud at some of their antics- especially those involving the inflatable rafts! The setting is beautifully described- I felt as though I was on vacation right along with Francie and June.”

“
I
did enjoy
this book immensely. Loved loved LOVED the June character. Reminded me of a young (very young) me. The setting was to die for! (Pun intended). Just when you have relaxed and are floating along with the bucolic atmosphere – BAM. Well written. The end had me scratching my head … why didn’t I think of that? It was actually staring me in the face for a while and the writing was artful enough that I never even saw it!”

For more information please visit us at:

• @mhowardbooks
  
• maureenhowardauthor