Murder and Mayhem (55 page)

An autopsy determined that the victim was male,
approximately thirty-five to forty years old, whose throat had been cut with
such rage the head was almost detached from the body. The original burial site
has never been found.

To date, no arrest has been made in connection with
the murder. And the body has not been identified
.

*****

“Well, I’m glad Steven finally got his just deserts.”

“It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving
person.”

“So tell me, what happened to Danny?”

At Rosie’s check-up she received the all clear from
her doctors with no sign of cancer anywhere in her body. We pray it remains so.

Our dear friend, Louanna gave birth, prematurely to
two fine, healthy girls, the image of their mother. Mother and babies are doing
fine, and putting on weight. 

Ross and I plan to fly to San Francisco for the
christening next month.

And, I’m pleased to announce that my beloved sister
and I, after much cajoling from Louanna and Shaylon and the rest of their
family finally agreed to be Godmothers to these precious little bundles of
sweet delight, and I for one plan to take my Godmother duties very seriously.

My life is not often given to prescient moments, but
when they do come, they’re not preceded by flashing red lights, or the ringing
of bells, or the loud clash of symbols, but, occasionally I do have them. So I
feel safe in predicting that these two little miracles of God’s own creation
will grow up surrounded by the love of a large extended family. And, believe
me, they’re going to need all the help they can get, because, we all know that
compared to a house filled with teenage girls, life on the Gaza Strip would be
akin to living in a Five Star holiday resort!

In case you were wondering, I never took Grace up on
her offer, even though it was tempting.

As to what happened to Danny….

Epilogue

November the following year

It had been a hard road Danny had traveled this past
year. Not only was he arrested for killing the woman he loved, but also for the
murder of eight other women across the eastern states of America, as well as
the young Corte Madera woman, Amelia Hill, whose body was found in the redwood
forest near Cascade Falls after a storm. However, after months of investigations
he was released, innocent of all charges. The F.B.I. are still looking for the
man all evidence pointed to–Nicola’s ex-husband, Steven.

But, the hardest thing Danny had to face was the death
of Nicola and their unborn child. The autopsy had confirmed that Nicola was
pregnant. The pain of treading this lonely life without them seemed almost
unbearable but Danny knew from past experiences that life goes on regardless,
and so it was time for him to pick up the pieces of his life and move on.

He grabbed his helmet and jacket from the back of the
chair and headed into the restaurant to settle the bill. When he dropped a
large tip on the counter the waitress smiled her thanks. He pocketed his wallet
and headed for the door.

The sad, lonely man walked down the Promenade with the
hot afternoon sun on his back while beads of sweat formed on his skin. The
grief he was carrying was like a weight bearing down blocking out all hope of
sunlight ever entering his life.

When he reached the
curb
Danny
put on his helmet, hoisted his leg over the fuel tank and inserted the key. He
pushed the ignition switch and felt the engine roar to life. While the powerful
Harley Davidson motorcycle vibrated beneath him, Danny flipped the tinted visor
down and stood for a long moment looking down at the beach while he waited for
the engine to warm up.

Two young girls barely out of high school, dressed in
skimpy beachwear and too much mascara, stopped and flashed him provocative
smiles. The tall handsome rider sitting astride the thunder machine conjured up
romantic images of a modern day knight riding into battle on his gallant steel
charger.

“Sex on wheels,” they whispered to each other as they
strutted back and forth, smiling seductively, in an effort to attract the man’s
attention.

Danny revved the engine, kicked up the stand and took
off down the road, without so much as a backwards glance.

He checked his side mirrors and accelerated around a
slow-moving driver and felt the power of the ride kick in with an exhilaration
he hadn’t felt in a long time.

As he rounded a bend on the narrow coast road the
front driver’s side tire on a dark blue Land Cruiser, driven by an
inexperienced eighteen-year-old high on testosterone and drugs, shredded, and
sent the vehicle careering out of control into the path of oncoming traffic.

Forty-four-year-old Daniel Patrick Richards never knew
what hit him.

THE END

The startled look on my sister’s face put me in mind
of a stunned mullet who thought he’d caught a nice juicy fat worm, but found himself
hooked instead.

“Bet you didn’t expect that,” I said as I reached over
and closed Rosie’s mouth with a flick of the finger.

…ooOoo…