Thread Reckoning (27 page)

“Nah, I don’t think it’s all that serious. You’ll be able to talk her down from the ledge.” He took my arm and directed me through the crowd. We weaved in and out of groups and couples until we reached a hallway. “Right down here.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “It’s kinda dark.”

“I’m positive.”

“Marcy!”

I whirled around at the sound of Blake’s voice. It was Blake, all right. He was only wearing a half mask, and it was plain to see that the Blake at the far end of the hall was the real one. But if he was Blake, then who was this other Blake? I glanced back at Faux Blake to see that he’d pulled a small dagger out of his cloak. I screamed. Real Blake came barreling down the hall and tackled Faux Blake. Vera was tottering along behind Real Blake. I hurried to her side.

“Nine-one-one!” I yelled in the direction of the crowd. “Emergency!”

Faux Blake and Real Blake scrambled to their feet. Thankfully, the knife had been dislodged from Faux Blake’s hand. Unfortunately, he was a pretty good fighter without it. He smashed his fist into Real Blake’s nose. I screamed.

“Tallulah Falls Police,” Ted shouted. “Nobody move.” He stepped between Vera and me, his gun on Faux Blake. He moved closer to them and pulled the mask off Faux Blake’s face. It was Nicholas Santiago.

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Epilogue

S
o, my first masquerade ball lasted about ten minutes—twenty or so, if you count all the “excitement” with Nicholas Santiago . . . which I don’t count, thank you very much. Oh well, there’s always next time.

After we gave our statements to the Tallulah Falls officers on duty, Ted took me to Captain Moe’s, where we played songs on the jukebox and danced the night away. Captain Moe even cut in for a couple dances.

Nicholas had been his older brother′s enforcer. That meant both brothers would likely be going to prison for a long time. Francesca had caught Caleb Jr. doing some very imaginative bookkeeping. She’d taken up the matter with Caleb Sr. but he was loyal to his son. Caleb Jr. had fired Francesca and had given her the worthless stock, believing she’d think she was sitting on a gold mine. Smarter than he’d given her credit for being, Francesca investigated the stocks and found them to be junk. She contacted Junior and threatened to turn him over to the SEC. He’d used the jewels to try to keep her quiet. After his mother reported the jewels stolen, he was afraid Francesca would get nervous and tell everything she knew.

Even after ridding himself of Francesca and retrieving most of the jewels, Junior wanted to get those stocks back. He knew that if Frederic tried to cash them in, he’d learn what Francesca had known. Cassandra went into the apartment and caught Nicholas looking for the stock certificates.

By the way, David was following us the night of the ball. But he didn’t get in. And he finally gave up on me altogether and returned to California. It had been a coincidence that he was in town at the time of the murder. But I’m glad he’s gone. Mom called the other day to say he’s working in an art gallery. I hope he’s found his calling. Truly I do.

Harriet is helping Frederic . . . work through his problems, and I see a rosy future ahead of those two. Even Vera has been bitten by the Valentine bug. She’s seeing a distinguished reporter who interviewed her about the incident at the masquerade ball.

As for me . . . well, we’ll see.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda Lee lives in southwest Virginia with her husband and two beautiful children, a boy and a girl. She’s a full-time writer/editor/mom/wife and chief cook and bottle washer, and she loves every minute of it. Okay, not the bottle washing so much, but the rest of it is great. Please visit Amanda online at
http://www.gayletrent.com
or on Facebook at Gayle Trent and Amanda Lee, Cozy Mystery Writer.

Also by Amanda Lee

The Quick and the Thread
Stitch Me Deadly