One Dog Too Many (A Mae December Mystery) (29 page)

They walked back out to the front porch and watched the sunlight spill over the hills and across the valley floor. The perfect morning was marred only by the sound of bulldozers tearing up the road. The construction crew had started widening
the road down by the river. Mae looked at Robin after a particularly loud scraping noise. She shook her head with a half-smile.

“We wanted this, right?

Robin gave a tentative smile in return. “I guess change is always rough.”

M
ae’s first year of hosting Spring Fling was going well. The weather was perfect and everyone seemed to be having a great time. The Fannings hadn’t come, but Robin told her they were staying away this year. She understood. Silas and Terry were there and they brought David Allison with them. After Laura’s arrest, David had found a loft apartment in Nashville.

“Hi David.” Mae smiled. “It’s good to see you. How’s Elvis adapting to city life?”

“Very well.” He gave a half-smile. “You’re looking good.”

“Thank you. So are you.” She meant it. He looked like a different person than he had six weeks ago.

“Having closure on the investigation helps. I’ll always miss Ruby, but Silas and Terry treat me like family. We get together often and I love living in Nashville. I’m close to my office and the downtown area is a good place for a single man and his dog.”

“So you don’t miss us out here then?”

“This was always Ruby’s home. I never felt like I belonged here, at least not the way she did.”

Mae looked over at Joe,
who was standing with Neesy. She held their baby and the other three were running around with the Jensen kids.

“I’m glad Joe wasn’t involved in Ruby’s death,” David said.

“I am too, but then again, I never really thought he was.”

“I don’t see Connolly’s aunt and uncle.”

“No, they put their house on the market and moved to their beach house. It’s on Sanibel Island. I’m hoping my uncle Phil and aunt Jean will buy their house here.”

“I’m going to mingle a little.” David gave her a hug. “Thank you for everything you did to help the investigation. I’m sorry you had such a rough time.”

“You’re welcome. If you ever need help with Elvis, please call me.” She felt incredulous that those words actually came out of her mouth.
Mae December, have you lost your mind?
Elvis needed to come back to Mae’s Place about as much as Mae needed another murder on Little Chapel Road. He was just one dog too many.

David squeezed her arm, nodded, and walked away. Mae stood alone for a minute, watching her friends and neighbors enjoying themselves. Titan and Tallulah tried vainly to avoid the attentions of some of the younger guests.

The party was almost at an end when Ben came across the grass toward her. A little boy walked beside him, holding his hand. She and Ben hadn’t seen each other since her discharge from the hospital.

Mae took a deep breath, walked toward them and crouched down beside the child. “You must be Matthew.”

He nodded. He was a solemn-looking little boy with brown curls, round cheeks, and bright blue eyes. His left wrist had a cast on it.

“Could I offer him a cupcake?” She looked at Ben.

“Yes.” Ben’s face broke into a smile. When she looked back at Matthew, he smiled too.

Ben held his other hand out to Mae. She took it and stood up.

“Do you have chocolate?” Matthew’s little voice was husky and deep for such a young boy.

“Yes. We have chocolate and red velvet cupcakes.”

His eyebrows went up. “Could I have both?”

“It’s up to your…” she looked questioningly at Ben.

“Daddy. I’m his father.” Ben let go of his son’s hand and tousled Matthew’s curly hair. “He ate his dinner, so he can have two cupcakes.”

Thoreau ambled over and nosed at Ben’s leg. Matthew and the big dog were at eye-level. Mae watched them with interest. She knew Thoreau was completely trustworthy with children, but he looked a little fierce. Thoreau licked the boy’s chin and Matthew giggled.

“The cupcakes are on the table over there.” Mae pointed out the desserts. “Miss Annie will help you.” Annie gave Ben and Matthew a big smile and beckoned to the little boy.

He ran off with Thoreau right behind him. There was an awkward silence and then they both started to talk at the same time.

“You first.” Ben laughed.

“I’m glad you didn’t need to investigate the Van Attas
,” she said, watching Annie put two cupcakes on a plate for Matthew.

“I talked to them again recently
. I’m going to see if David Allison and Silas Mead will compensate Jason for the song Ruby stole. I’ve been thinking a lot about this case since we wrapped it up. We know Laura isn’t legally sane, but she fooled her husband, Detective Nichols, and me.

“
The night Ruby died she drove the babysitter home in James’ truck, killed Ruby and dragged her body into the grove. Then she went home, changed the time on the clock to show an hour earlier and got into the shower, knowing James would wake up from the sound. He went down to the kitchen and saw the time, which gave her an alibi. If I’d dug a little deeper, she might never have had a chance to kidnap you.’

“Just because she’s crazy doesn’t mean she isn’t smart.” Mae looked at Ben. “She really was fanatical when she took me, though. I’ll never forget her eyes.”
Mae’s lips trembled and she wet them with her tongue. She folded her arms over her body.

“Deputy Phelps was watching the Connollys’ house. When he left to get some dinner, Laura drove out and closed her garage door. When he came back, he didn’t realize that she was gone. Later on, when we were looking for you, Detective Nichols went to the Connollys’. Laura answered the door and said James was gone, but really she’d drugged him and he was asleep upstairs. So I assumed James took you. Anyway, it’s sad to say this, but with all the shady things Ruby was up to, if Laura hadn’t killed her, someone else would have. I’m just so sorry you got hurt by this too.”

Mae sighed. “I’m glad it’s over. I don’t like feeling like the world is out of control.”

“Well, there’re all kinds of crazies in the world. Speaking of which, Wayne has been following up on Vince Harper. He didn’t stay in Rosedale after the stalking charges were dropped. He went back to Alabama.”

Mae smiled. She didn’t know what to do with her hands and just let them drop at her sides. “That’s a relief.”

“After the last time we talked, I was pretty upset. I didn’t know what to do about Matthew, or our relationship. After we wrapped up the case, I invited Wayne and my dad to go out to the cabin with me. Have I ever told you about that place?”

“No, where is it?”

“It’s
south of Rose County, in the middle of nowhere. I think you’d love the old place.” He smiled briefly. “I took Katie there once and the visit was a complete disaster. She kept complaining about the bugs, the wind, and the minimal bathroom facilities. Even the darkness scared her. I guess I should have known she wasn’t right for me then.

“
Anyway, Dad and Wayne worked me over pretty good. Wayne told me what it was like to grow up without a dad, or any parents really. My dad talked about how becoming a father, raising my brother and me, made him grow up. We stayed for a few days and when we got back, I forced myself to call Katie.” He grimaced and Mae saw the toll all this had taken on him.

“
After I talked to her, she still wanted to get back together with me. I told her I could never be in a relationship with someone I couldn’t trust. We did the DNA test. I guess it’s obvious when you see us together, but I wanted to be certain. I’m his father. We’re still working out the arrangements for custody and child support and I’m getting to know him.”

“He seems like a sweet little boy.” Mae paused. She put her hand on Ben’s arm and looked up at him. “So, why are you here?”

“I think you know why.” He took a deep breath. “I’m here because I can’t stop thinking about you, Mae. I feel terrible about what you went through. I don’t feel like I deserve another chance, but I hope you’ll give me one. Can we start over, please? ” He took her other hand in his. “I’m crazy about you.”

Mae nodded wordlessly.

“I saw Tammy earlier this week and she told me you were throwing this party. I wanted you to meet Matthew and I have something to say to your guests, if that’s all right.”

Her chest was tight. She nodded.

Ben climbed up on a picnic table, put two fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp whistle. Everyone looked at him. “Could I have your attention please?”

There were cries of “Speech! Speech!” He shook his head. “I’ll keep it short. I
just wanted to thank our hostess. I met Mae because of this case, and although I thought she was pretty cute, I found her to be a little annoying.” There was general laughter. “She wouldn’t stay away from the investigation, but as it turns out, we could never have solved the case without her. My only regret is what Mae went through.”

Joe walked over and handed Ben a beer from the cooler.

“To Mae!” He took a swig of beer.

“To Mae,” everyone chorused.

Ben reached his hand down. When Mae took it, he pulled her up onto the picnic table beside him. He was flushed and grinning. She looked at her neighbors, and at Matthew. His face was covered in frosting. So was the cast on his wrist. Ben put his arm around her waist and kissed her.

“I’m speechless,” Mae
said, after their lips parted.

“I don’t believe it,” Joe yelled. “You’re never speechless.” Neesy gave a quick stomp to his foot.

“Thanks for coming, everybody. All I can say is, I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be tonight, and so are all of you.”

Lia Farrell
is actually two people: the mother and daughter writing team of Lyn Farquhar and Lisa Fitzsimmons.

Lyn Farquhar
taught herself to read when she was four years old and honed her storytelling abilities by reading to her little sister, Susan. Ultimately, her mother ended the reading sessions because Susan decided she preferred being read to rather than learning to read herself.

Lyn fell in love with library books when a Bookmobile came to her one-room rural school. The day the Bookmobile came, Lyn decided she would rather live in the bookmobile than at home and was only ousted following sustained efforts by her teacher and the bookmobile driver.

She graduated from Okemos High school and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Michigan State University. She has a master’s degree in English literature and a PhD in Education, but has always maintained that she remained a student for such a long time only because it gave her an excuse to read.

Lyn
is Professor of Medical Education at Michigan State University and has authored many journal articles, abstracts and research grants. Since her retirement from MSU to become a full-time writer, she has completed a young-adult fantasy trilogy called
Tales of the Skygrass Kingdom. Volumes I and II (Journey to Maidenstone and Songs of Skygrass)
, available on amazon.com. Lyn has two daughters and six step children, nine granddaughters and three grandsons. She also has two extremely spoiled Welsh corgis. Her hobby is interior design and she claims she has the equivalent of a master’s degree in Interior Design from watching way too many decorating shows.

Lisa Fitzsimmons
grew up in Michigan and was always encouraged to read, write, and express herself artistically. She was read to frequently. Throughout her childhood and teenage years, she was seldom seen without a book in hand. After becoming a mom at a young age, she attended Michigan State University in a tri-emphasis program with concentrations in Fine Art, Art History and Interior Design.

Lisa, with her husband and their two children, moved to North Carolina for three exciting years and then on to Tennessee, which she now calls home. She has enjoyed an eighteen
-year career as a Muralist and Interior Designer in middle Tennessee, but has always been interested in writing. Almost five years ago, Lisa and her mom, Lyn, began working on a writing project inspired by local events. The Mae December Mystery series was born.

Lisa, her husband and their three dogs currently divide their time between beautiful Northern Michigan in the summertime and middle Tennessee the rest of the year. She and her husband feel blessed that their “empty nest” in Tennessee is just a short distance from their oldest, who has a beautiful family of her own. Their youngest child has settled in Northern Michigan, close to their cabin there. Life is good.

You can find Lyn and Lisa online at www.liafarrell.net.