Every Trick in the Book (32 page)

Smiling, I said, “Got it. And I’m hoping that the sudden decrease in the crime rate
means that you and I will be spending more time together.”

He pointed at my leg. “Just don’t be in any rush for that to mend, because when all
my paperwork has been filed, I’m going to spend my time sweeping you off your feet.”

I liked the sound of that.

I MET UP
with Makayla at the police station the next morning. Sean had driven me there so
I could give my statement, and Makayla appeared to do the same. I waited for her in
the lobby while she finished, and then she offered to give me a ride home.

“I don’t know how I’ll manage to get through my day,” Makayla said as she started
the engine. “I hardly slept a wink last night. Couldn’t get that nasty, evil man out
of my mind. I was relieved that my bash on his noggin only gave him a slight concussion.
The last thing I’d want to do is kill somebody, even if he’s a lowlife, scumbag murderer.”
She looked at me. “How’d you sleep?”

“Surprisingly well. Knowing that both Justyn and Jasper were in police custody helped.”
I couldn’t keep from smiling, “Besides, having Sean sleep over made me feel safe.
I conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Just like that? You and Romeo didn’t knock boots first?
I’d think you’d be clinging to that man like a kudzu vine.”

I shook my head, amused by the image. “I crawled into bed and was gone.” My cheeks
got hot. “Though it was really tempting to spend the whole morning in bed. Too bad
neither Sean nor I could play hooky today. At least we got
to snuggle for a bit.” Wanting to keep the memory of those brief moments to myself,
I changed the subject. “Did Sean tell you what made Justyn track Melissa and Tilly
down?”

She nodded. “Something about him being desperate to get ahold of his mother’s medical
records. Why he couldn’t have gone through proper channels is beyond me. I know filling
out paperwork is a drag, but Lordy, he didn’t have to go postal over a little bureaucracy.”

“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Apparently, he’d recently been diagnosed
with juvenile diabetes and had to give himself daily injections, something he hated.
He blamed his birth mother for his condition and wanted to confront her,” I began.

Makayla made a sympathetic noise. “That’s a tough illness to have.”

“It wasn’t just the diabetes that was tough.” I sighed. “This is going to sound like
I’m defending him, which I’m not, but he had a hard and loveless childhood in Dunston
and then grew up to enjoy a hard and loveless adulthood in the same town. He wanted
someone to pay for that. In any case, Social Services wouldn’t give him his mother’s
identity, but the clerk he spoke with inadvertently revealed the caseworker’s name.
That was Melissa Plume. That started him on his quest for vengeance.”

“But why hurt Melissa?” Makayla shook her head, perplexed. “What did he have against
her? She wasn’t the one who gave him up when he was a baby.”

I shrugged. “I don’t think he intended to kill her. He just wanted information from
her. He wanted to scare her into telling him about his mother, Tilly. And he confused
me for
her at first and that’s why he left me the raven’s feather and came after me in the
hallway of the town hall. Unfortunately, when he finally did manage to get Melissa
alone, something in him snapped. Perhaps her answers frustrated him and he attacked
in a rage. Perhaps he blamed her for placing him in all those unhappy foster homes,
since she was his caseworker. I guess he was already pretty unstable.”

“What was with the feathers?”

“He wanted to let Melissa know that he was following her—that he knew about her life,
both public and private. She has a blog and, like her business card, the graphic design
includes a quill. Because her last name is Plume. Get it?”

Makayla nodded.

“That’s also how Justyn knew she’d be in Inspiration Valley,” I explained. “She posted
on her blog that she planned to attend our conference.”

“I’ll never look at a crow the same way again,” Makayla mumbled. “And we all know
he went after Tilly next.”

I nodded sadly. “With no formal education and no family support, Justyn could only
land thankless, low-paying jobs. He worked as a housepainter, as a roofer, and for
a landscape company mowing lawns. And what he saw during those years as he changed
from a boy to a man was what a real family looked like. A loving family.” I thought
of Trey and felt a lump in my throat. “He saw mothers singing lullabies and dads throwing
baseballs in the front yard. He saw parents and children gathering around the supper
table to enjoy a home-cooked meal. He saw pictures taped to refrigerators and Christmas
trees surrounded by presents. He saw all that he’d never had, and it turned him into
a monster.”

Makayla had tears in her eyes. “He wanted someone to pay.”

A loud sigh escaped my lips. “When he finally found Tilly, only to discover that she’d
had other children after leaving him on the proverbial doorstep, he must have seen
red. Especially since you only had to watch her with those kids to know that she clearly
doted on them.”

“It sure would have put salt in the wound to see what a loving mom she was to them.
The same woman who gave him up so he could be passed from one foster home to another—who
never tried to reconnect with him. Meanwhile, she’s baking cookies and knitting scarves
for her other kids.” Makayla frowned. “I’ve got to admit that that boy had a bad time
of it. Still, lots of people face rejection from their own mothers and don’t go around
murdering them.”

“Tilly was no longer the drug-addicted teenager who gave birth to Justyn. She’d cleaned
up, made a new life for herself, and wanted to forget all about her dark past. That’s
why she lied to me about knowing Melissa, so the old Tilly could remain buried.” I
shifted in my seat. “You know, even though she was messed up then, I think she thought
she was doing the right thing by leaving him at a church so he could be taken care
of. The teddy bear Justyn placed beside Tilly’s body was the same one she’d left in
the laundry basket with him before walking away forever. Her only gift to her son.”

Makayla pursed her lips in disapproval. “Drugs will twist people’s lives into all
kinds of knots. Everything would have been completely different if Tilly hadn’t gotten
hooked on drugs when she was young.” She glanced my way. “It’s a good thing Jasper’s
little ’shroom operation at the co-op was
closed down. Who knows how many more kids’ futures would have been derailed by it.”

I heartily agreed, pushing aside images of what might have happened if Trey had gotten
pulled into those “meditation sessions.” We were quiet for a while, each with our
own thoughts, watching the road flit past.

“I wonder how my assistant managed the Sunday morning at the coffee shop,” Makayla
mused, breaking the silence. “Lila, we make a mighty sharp sleuthing team, if you
ask me.” She reached over and touched my hand. “But let’s hang up our superhero capes
and focus on being Bella Barista and Awesome Agent. Books, coffee, and a good-looking
man are all the excitement we should be seeking from here on out.”

ON MONDAY MORNING
, I showed up at Novel Idea scandalously late, hobbling up the stairs at ten. My knee
was still giving me a lot of pain and I was moving slowly, despite getting some rest
on Sunday. Vicky followed me into my office carrying a hot caramel latte and a stack
of phone messages for me to sort through. “Officer Griffiths is quite the gentleman,”
she said, handing me the Espresso Yourself take-out cup. “He called and explained
everything that happened this weekend and why you’d be tardy today. There was no need
to worry, seeing as Ms. Burlington-Duke informed me that she wouldn’t be in until
eleven, but I would have covered for you in any case.”

Thanking her for the coffee and the understanding, I examined a few phone messages.
Most were from members of the media. I balled them up and tossed them in the garbage.
“I plan to read an entire manuscript by lunchtime,” I
said to Vicky. “It was rewarding to help the police, but I belong here.” I booted
up my computer and was pleased to find T. J. West’s manuscript waiting in my email
inbox. I opened the file and hit the print button. Pointing at the document pages
that quickly began to pile up in my printer tray, I said, “
This
is what fulfills me. And I’ve been distracted from my work for too long.”

Vicky, who’d probably never been diverted from a task her entire life, nodded in approval.
“I’ll see to it that no one disturbs you. We have a staff meeting at one, and Bentley
was very clear that no one was to eat lunch before that time.”

A little perplexed by my boss’s order, I grinned at Vicky and promised not to sneak
to Catcher in the Rye for a sandwich or have a large pepperoni pizza delivered on
the sly. Then I settled down at my desk, read through a dozen emails, and picked up
T. J. West’s manuscript. Seven chapters later I sighed with contentment. Not only
did I love the book, but West’s charming characters and bucolic setting had also allowed
me to put aside all thoughts of Justyn or Jasper. I sipped my latte, read, and welcomed
the feeling that I had made it through a dark and ugly time and could look forward
to a calm, peaceful winter.

West’s book concluded with a festive Thanksgiving scene, and I realized that I’d soon
be celebrating the same holiday in my new home. While pulling up West’s contact information
on my computer, I imagined the people I hoped to see at my table. Trey, my mother,
Sean, Makayla, and Iris, too. Just picturing their faces as I entered the dining room
carrying a behemoth turkey made my heart flood with warmth. I dialed West’s number
to offer him representation and knew that I had much to be thankful for.

“LILA!” ZACH BURST
into my office seconds after I’d finished talking to an ecstatic T. J. West aka Thomas
Jefferson Wipple.

“Do you have a low-key setting, Zach?” I teased. “You’re always so revved up.”

Zach looked confused by the question. “Why wouldn’t I be? I have the coolest job ever,
I’m single, I’m good-looking, and women find me irresistible!”

“Must be that incredible modesty that draws them to you.” I laughed. “Are you here
to make sure I’m not late for the meeting?”

He flopped into the chair on the other side of my desk. “Guess again! Actually, don’t
guess. We don’t have time for that. I wanted to tell you that not one, not two, but
three
studios are bidding on the rights to the first book in Calliope’s new series. I fielded
the calls this morning. I hope that’s okay, seeing as she’s your client.”

My mouth hung open. I’d only been a literary agent for a couple of months and I’d
never dreamed that someone I represented might have their work turned into a movie
or television show.

“I’m glad you did. After all, aren’t you Mr. Hollywood?”

Zach puffed out his chest importantly. “I sure am. We’ll split the commission on any
sales to film studios. Lady, you might be trading in that scooter for a sweeter ride.
I could see you tearing down the road in a convertible Vette. A yellow one.”

I shook my head. “That’s your style, Mr. Hollywood. I love my scooter and I’ll borrow
my mother’s truck when I want to go on a long-distance drive.”

My comment piqued Zach’s interest. “And who will you be visiting? Someone
special
?” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Yes,” I said, gathering a pen and notebook in preparation for the staff meeting.
“My son. Come January, he’ll be a college freshman.”

Zach leapt out of his seat and waited for me to leave the room before following. “Hey!
Trey could write a book about his experiences on Red Fox Mountain. I could totally
sell it to a TV studio. Impressionable kid corrupted by drug-dealing hippie, et cetera,
et cetera. If I had a screenplay of those events, I’d be fighting off producers with
a stick. Especially since the leader escaped.”

I halted just outside the conference room. “Not a chance, Zach. Trey needs to look
ahead. Maybe Jasper would like to pen an autobiography. You could stop by the jail
and ask him. Franklin could be his agent and you could sell the film rights. It’s
a win-win.”

Completely missing the note of sarcasm in my voice, Zach’s face lit up with enthusiasm.
“You are
so
brilliant.” And with that, he bounded down the corridor and into Franklin’s office.
Without knocking, of course.

In the conference room, everyone was already seated around the table, except Zach,
who darted in behind me and plunked himself into a chair. As soon as they noticed
me, the chatter in the room stopped, and as if by mutual arrangement, Franklin, Flora,
and Jude jumped up and threw their arms around me.

Bentley peered over her diamond-studded glasses and smiled. “Lila, I appreciate that
you’re here today, considering.”

“We are so glad you’re okay,” Flora exclaimed, enfolding
me in an embrace. “We heard all about what happened over the weekend.”