Dead in the Water (Kate Ryan Mysteries Book 10) (24 page)

Epilogue

As it turned out, I was right on almost every point of what happened between David Bledsoe and Daryl. And not surprisingly, Shirley Adams was spot on with her theory of the EMP event, which I was told was what it was called.

Daryl, also not surprisingly, did not offer any assistance to the Coast Guard when they arrived. He was hauled off on a separate ship. We left the stranded cruise ship in the middle of Lake Superior. Poor Monty would have to figure out how to get it back to port. I was glad I didn’t have to worry about that.

We sat in our office, trying to console Phil Bledsoe. Costello handed him a cup of coffee and gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder.

Maggie and Hannah looked on, not saying much.

“So when I couldn’t get in touch with any of you, I got really worried,” Costello said. “I mean, it wouldn’t have been unusual if Kate didn’t answer her cell, but when neither of you did, well…I gave it the rest of the day, then in the morning, I really got worried. So I made a few calls and got in touch with the Coast Guard. When they couldn’t contact the ship, they made the move. You were off course, that’s why it took them that long. They didn’t look for you that far out until they searched the course Monty gave them first.”

“That makes sense,” I said, stretching out my legs. “What a weekend.”

“I just can’t believe it.” Phil Bledsoe let out a sad sigh. “My own father. For what?”

“Revenge,” I said simply. “He wanted Monty ruined, and he nearly succeeded. If Daryl hadn’t killed Chad, we would never have known or been involved. Daryl had it all figured out, and to tell you the truth, Phil, I honestly think it would have worked. But when he saw me, he knew he had to change his plans. He couldn’t take the chance I’d see him. I would have recognized him, and he would have never been able to start anything.”

“And Chad went along with my father,” Phil said with a wry chuckle. “Dad said he didn’t want me involved, which is why he told Chad it was to be between the two of them. As if that made all this all right.”

“We still don’t know why Daryl killed Chad,” Maggie said.

“I know,” I said, “and unless Daryl starts talking, we may never know.”

“One coincidence after another,” Costello said. “I mean, what are the odds?”

“I’d never take them.” I took a drink of coffee and watched Phil, who still looked like he was punched in the gut. “I’m sorry about Chad and about your father.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Thanks for at least figuring this out. I suppose this Daryl fellow argued with Chad over money, maybe?”

“Well, if your father was adamant about you not being involved, maybe Daryl was worried he’d tell you.”

“But to kill him?” Phil sounded incredulous.

“We’ve had experience with Daryl,” I said, glancing at Maggie. “That he would do that is not surprising at all.”

“What will you do now?” Hannah asked Phil.

“I don’t know. My father will be in court. His lawyer called this morning. Dad would like me to be there but would understand if I don’t go.” He stood and offered his hand to me. “Thanks again, Kate. And all of you.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, shaking his hand. “I’m sorry it turned out this way with your father. Let me know if I can do anything. We all got a subpoena, so we’ll probably be seeing you.”

We watched as he dejectedly walked down the street and out of sight. Then we saw Simon standing in the window, waving. He walked in and greeted all with kisses and hugs.

“Well, I got a nice letter from the state of Illinois.”

“We got the same invitation,” I said, holding up the subpoena.

“Oh, and I thought I was special,” he said, slumping into the chair by Hannah’s desk.

“You are,” Hannah said. “Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

“Thank you, darling,” he said. “Now that all the drama is out of the way, isn’t it time to talk about a wedding?”

Hannah grinned and looked at me. I immediately began to sweat. Costello was no help at all.

“It is,” she said. “I just left Annie. She can’t wait to get involved. She said congrats to you both.”

“Thanks,” I said. For some reason, I avoided Maggie. Was I nervous?

“I think we should have lunch at Matt’s,” Hannah announced. “And we can talk about all sorts of wedding plans. Like dresses and cakes and announcements.”

I pulled at the collar of my shirt but said nothing. Gratefully, Maggie stepped in to take care of me. As I knew she would for the rest of my life.

“All right, enough kidding,” Maggie said sternly.

“Who’s kidding?” Hannah looked around the room.

“Enough, Aunt Hannah. Now why don’t all of you go to Matt’s? We’ll meet you there later.”

“But…”

Maggie held her hand up to Hannah. “But nothing, shoo…”

I sat back with a grin on my face, as Maggie shooed them out of the office. I raised an eyebrow as she locked the door behind them.

“Just in case,” she said. “We know Aunt Hannah.”

“Yes, we do,” I agreed.

I watched as Maggie walked over to me and sat in my lap. “Alone at last,” she said, tracing her finger up and down my jawline.

“You saved me there,” I said, looking into her blue eyes.

“I know. I have a feeling I’m going to be doing that a great deal. But then once we’re married...”

“Say that again,” I whispered.

She offered a dimpled smile that would always melt my heart. “Once we’re married.”

“You still want to go through with this?” I pulled her farther onto my lap; she nestled her head into my shoulder with a happy sigh.

“Yep. I keep telling you, you can’t get rid of me.”

“Never,” I whispered. “Never thought you’d say yes. I was so scared.”

“You don’t have to be scared anymore. This is what I’ve wanted all along. Just to be with you. To be happy and wake up next to you for the rest of our lives.”

“We’re pretty sappy, you know.”

“I know. That’s what I want to be. An old sappy married couple. Sitting on the couch, holding hands, and watching one of your old movies.”

“Eating popcorn with butter.”

“Not too much butter. Have to watch the cholesterol.”

“Okay, there you go. Nag, nag, nag.”

“And you love, love, love it.”

I reached over her with a groan and picked up my cellphone—my new cellphone.

“Who are you calling?”

“Shush…” I whispered. I did as Hannah instructed the day before, and the music miraculously started. “Technology. What a wonderful time to be alive.”

Nat King Cole began singing
Paradise
. Maggie smiled, and once again, the tears formed in her blue eyes. With one blink, it sent them streaming down her cheeks.

“Remember when we were on the pier at my cottage and
When I Fall In Love
played? I knew I loved you then,” I said, kissing her forehead.

“About that.”

“No. It doesn’t matter. There are things that should just stay as they are. No explanations.”

She smiled through her tears. “Okay, no explanations. I loved you then, too. So this song?”

“Paradise. That’s how I feel when you’re in my arms, Maggie.” I kissed her deeply, tasting the saltiness of her tears. “You take me to paradise.”

“Oh, my God,” she whispered against my lips. “I love it when you get like this.”

We kissed until Maggie pulled away; she held my hand and stood. “C’mon, Kate. Let’s get this life started.”

The song ended, the dimpled grin started, and so did our life.

About the author

Kate Sweeney, a 2010 Alice B. Medal winner, was the 2007 recipient of the Golden Crown Literary Society award for Debut Author for
She Waits
,
the first in the
Kate Ryan Mystery
series. The series also includes
A Nice Clean Murder,
The Trouble with Murder
,
a
2008 Golden Crown Award winner for Mystery
,
Who’ll Be Dead for Christmas?
a 2009 Golden Crown Award winner for Mystery,
Of Course It’s Murder, What Happened in Malinmore
,
A Near Myth Murder, It’s Not Always Murder,
and
Recalculated Murder
.

Other novels include
Away from the Dawn
,
Survive the Dawn
,
Before the Dawn,
Residual Moon
,
a
2008 Golden Crown Award winner for Speculative Fiction
, Liar’s Moon,
The O’Malley Legacy, Winds of Heaven, Moonbeams and Skye, Sea of Grass, Paradise, Love at Last, Someday I’ll Find You, Moon Through the Magnolia, Stone Walls, Second Time Around
,
Love in E Flat, One Night in Paris, I Love You Again, Buoyed out on the Foam of the Sea, Build Me a Dream, Mistress of Peacock Walk,
Who Wouldn’t Love Me?
and
Hypotenuse of Love.

Born in Chicago, Kate moved to South Carolina, and this Yankee doubts she’ll ever get used to saying y’all. Humor is deeply embedded in Kate’s DNA. She sincerely hopes you will see this when you read her novels, short stories, and other works. Email Kate at [email protected]