Falling in Love on Willow Creek by Debbie Mason

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sadie blew a raspberry on her daughter’s soft tummy, smiling when Michaela rewarded her with the gurgling giggle she usually reserved for Chase.

“Oh my gosh, she’s so happy. What happened to our cranky-pants Michaela? She’s a completely different baby.” Abby stood beside Sadie at the counter in I Believe in Unicorns, gazing down at Michaela.

Sadie zipped her daughter into the ruffled pink unicorn onesie. “She’s started sleeping through the night.”

“I have a feeling it’s more than that. Her mommy looks pretty happy too.”

“Because Mommy has also been getting sleep, hasn’t she, sweet face?” She lifted her daughter off the makeshift changing table on the counter and cuddled her to her chest.

“Really? It doesn’t have anything to do with the extremely hot special agent residing under the same roof?”

“All right, I’ll admit having Chase around has probably made the biggest difference. He’s the reason we’re both getting more sleep. He’s also the reason my house is clean and we have clean clothes to wear.”

Abby looked shocked. “He does your laundry?”

“Yes, because apparently clothes are supposed to be separated by color and fabric.”

“Can I borrow him?”

“No. He’s all ours, isn’t he, baby?” she said to her daughter, then shook her head at her grinning friend. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yes, you did. The Gray girls are falling in love on Willow Creek, and I couldn’t be happier for all of you. I just wish you’d gotten a picture of you and Chase at Lover’s Leap yesterday.”

“Even if I had, you couldn’t use it. If Dwight and his partner had seen it, they might have guessed Chase was the one shooting at them.”

“You and Elijah were lucky he was there last night. You must have been terrified.”

“For Elijah, but not for myself. Not with Chase there. He was calm and completely in control of the situation.”

“From what I hear, he was just as impressed with how you handled yourself. Chase was talking about it to Hunter when he dropped you off. He said he couldn’t have asked for a better partner. He was also pretty impressed with your photos, which he shared with me.”

“He thinks I should try and turn it into a business.” Sadie placed Michaela in one of the electric baby swings her grandmother had ordered, despite Sadie putting the kibosh on all new orders.

“He’s absolutely right. The photos you took of Lula Belle are incredible. We’ve already had a big uptick in subscribers. The unicorn weekend is going to be bigger than last summer’s Outlander event, I can feel it.” She glanced around the store and nodded. “Let me think about it. There has to be a way we can use your unicorn photos to generate an income for you.”

“I know everyone loves unicorns, but even if I created wall art, it wouldn’t bring in enough income to live on.”

“Why not? Anne Geddes did it with babies. She sells books and calendars and makes a fortune. You could do the same with unicorns, and you could advertise the store at the same time.”

Agnes walked from the hallway into the store with the map Sadie had printed off after she and Chase had come up empty-handed this afternoon. She was hoping her grandmother might provide a clue about where Elijah had buried his stash.

Abby looked from Agnes to Sadie. “I’ve got it. You can write a children’s book using your grandmother’s story and illustrate it with photos of Lula Belle the unicorn. She’ll become the store’s mascot. It’ll be great exposure for both you and the store. You can write a series of books and then branch off with Lula Belle merchandise.”

“That’s a grand idea.” Agnes beamed. “Elsa has been after me for years to write the story. You know how much she loves to promote local history and authors.” Elsa Mackenzie was Hunter’s aunt and one of the owners of Three Wise Women Bookstore on Main Street.

“Perfect. I’ll call Elsa, and we’ll—”

Sadie had to stop Abby before she got on the phone with Elsa. If she didn’t put on the brakes, every member of the Sisterhood would arrive at the store. Honestly, she was surprised neither Abby nor her grandmother had called a meeting of the town’s most influential women.

“Hold it. It’s a good idea, and I promise I’ll think about it once Elijah is…” She couldn’t say back home or in jail, so she settled on: “…safe. Did you think of any other locations than the ones I already had, Granny?”

“No, but I circled the ones that I think are most likely.” She handed Sadie the map.

Sadie glanced at the locations her grandmother had circled and held back a sigh. Agnes had circled all nine locations, including the ones Sadie and Chase had already searched.

Sadie put the map on the counter. “If I knew where Elijah had been drinking the night he’d buried the drugs—and, we’re assuming, his phone—we could narrow this down. But the only person I can think to get the information from is Payton, and Chase would kill me if I spoke to her.”

Abby smiled at her grandmother. “She’s in love with him.”

“Head over heels,” her grandmother agreed. “And it’s about time she found a man worthy of her love.”

“Hunter agrees with you. He likes Chase, and that says a lot. He thinks he’s good for Sadie too.”

“Sadie’s right here,” Sadie said, trailing her finger over the map, location to location, before looking up. “I agree with you though. Chase is good for me. Too good for me.”

“Come on, Sadie, don’t do that. You’re incredible. You are—” Abby began.

“Let me rephrase that. He’s good for me, but I’m not good for him.” Before either her grandmother or Abby could argue in her defense, she said, “You know Elijah’s gun? The one they’ve tied to the deputy’s murder? It’s mine. Your gun was jamming, Granny, and I gave Elijah mine. I haven’t told Chase.”

“But you didn’t kill anyone. You were nine months pregnant, and you were at your own baby shower. You have an alibi,” Abby protested.

“Not for every minute of every day that weekend, and I don’t think they’d consider Granny a reliable witness. Sorry, Granny, but you were hiding Elijah for all those months,” she said at her grandmother’s hurt expression.

Sadie explained that she couldn’t remember if she’d left her gun in Highland Falls in February or brought it from Charlotte when she moved back home, but it had turned up at the cottage a few days before she met her brother in the woods. “If I can figure out who stole my gun, we’ll know who murdered the deputy.”

“Okay, so it’s just the three of us, and each of us would hide the body for the other if we, say, had to kill someone in self-defense. So this right here”—Abby linked her fingers over her head, making a dome—“is a sacred place where we can say anything and not be judged. I didn’t take the gun, and I didn’t kill that poor deputy.” She gave Sadie a play along look, and that’s when she realized what Abby was up to.

Sadie’s pulse began to race at the thought her grandmother might have had something to do with Brodie’s murder. She knew Agnes would do anything to protect Elijah but would she really go that far? “I didn’t either. I wouldn’t, even to protect my brother.”

They looked at her grandmother, who had her head cocked as if thinking over her answer. “Granny?” Sadie said, unable to keep the panic from her voice.

Agnes frowned at her. “You can’t be thinking I had something to do with the poor lad’s death.”

Abby answered for Sadie. “Of course not, but we wouldn’t judge you if you did. Under the dome, anything you say is just between us.”

Granny waved her hand. “I’d not do such a thing, and neither would our Elijah. I had a hard time convincing him to take my gun.” She looked at Sadie. “I was thinking back to Valentine’s Day weekend. Elijah had come home a few days before you. He said everything would be all right because the deputy was going to help him.”

“Please don’t tell me he was in your apartment when I was home that weekend. I know I had pregnancy brain and was sleep-deprived but surely I would have noticed.”

“No. He stayed at the cottage that weekend.” She tapped her fingers against her lips, and then her eyes went wide. “Wait now. When we came home from the baby shower, I noticed a few things out of place. So did you. You said something about your room being tossed. I passed it off, saying how your room is always a mess.”

“And I’d believe that, because it’s true. But at the time, I didn’t think anything was missing. Was anything missing from the apartment?”

“At the time, I didn’t think so either. But later that week, I discovered the emergency money I kept in the orange juice container in the freezer was gone.”

“Did you confront Elijah about it?”

She nodded, her reluctance obvious. “I did. He apologized and promised to pay me back. He didn’t want to mooch off Payton is what he said.”

“But it was fine to mooch off you.” Sadie took a deep, calming breath. It wouldn’t do her any good to point out her brother’s faults to her grandmother. Agnes would just get defensive.

“Okay, so we know that Elijah, and possibly Payton, were in the apartment that night. But why would they take Sadie’s gun? More important, how did they even know it was there?” Abby asked.

“I told Elijah. I was afraid he’d try to sneak in while Sadie was here, and she might suspect he was an intruder and shoot him.”

“So that leaves us with Elijah and Payton.” Sadie narrowed her eyes at her grandmother. She was holding something back. “Granny, what aren’t you telling us? Who else was in your apartment that night?”

“Colin might have dropped in for a wee visit while you were sleeping,” she admitted sheepishly.

“How long have you been having an affair with Mr. Murphy?”

“It’s not an affair. His wife died going on two years ago now. We’ve been seeing each other since last fall.” She smiled at Sadie. “He likes Chase too, and Nate. Although Colin would prefer if he was my bodyguard. He said I wouldn’t have been able to sneak out on him. He was a spy, you know.”

“Has Mr. Murphy shared his thoughts on who he suspects of killing Brodie?” Sadie asked.

“Oh, aye, he thinks it was Dwight.”

“Did he ever think that Elijah might be involved?”

“He did, and he was none too pleased when he found out Elijah was hiding here. He broke up with me, if you must know. But when he heard about the deputy, he came back around. He was afraid they were going to arrest me so he’s been working to solve the mystery.”

Sadie was beginning to think Mr. Murphy might be good for her grandmother, until Abby said, “Don’t get mad at me, Agnes, but Mr. Murphy was in your apartment the night Sadie’s gun went missing, so we have to include him on our suspect list. To be honest, if he was a spy like you say, he’s the most qualified to pull it off.”

Sadly, Abby made a good point. As Sadie knew, her brother didn’t have the stomach or the skills to lie in wait and shoot a man who was armed. And while he did have opportunity, Brodie’s death made his situation worse. Sadie didn’t see Payton as a murderer, but her brother’s girlfriend did have motive and opportunity. She also had a connection to Dwight. From the sound of it, Mr. Murphy had both the skills and the opportunity.

“But why would he want Brodie dead?” Sadie asked Abby instead of her grandmother.

“To protect your brother. He knows how much Agnes loves Elijah, and it sounds to me like Mr. Murphy is in love with her. Sorry, Agnes. I just think we need to look at everyone, especially now that we know the gun that killed Brodie belonged to Sadie.”

“Aye, but there’s one problem with your theory. Colin wanted to turn in Elijah. He only agreed not to if I agreed that I wouldn’t give Elijah shelter or money or lie to the police to protect him when he’s arrested.”

“Once this is over, I look forward to spending time with your Mr. Murphy, Granny. I like the sound of him. I think he’s good for you.” It didn’t escape Sadie that her grandmother had said almost the same about Chase not ten minutes ago.

Agnes smiled. “You’ll meet him before this night is over, my girl.” Her grandmother walked around the counter, bending to pick up Michaela. “You’ll be a good girl for your granny now, won’t you, my wee angel? She’s a right love now that the fairies have given her back to us,” Agnes confided to Abby.

“Granny, how many times do I have to tell you she’s not a changeling? She’s grown out of her colic, and she’s sleeping—”

“I know what I know.” Agnes tapped a finger to the side of her head. “If you’d grown up in Scotland like I did, you’d see the truth of what I—she’s here now.” Her grandmother gave an almost imperceptible nod at the window.

Sadie’s eyes went wide. “Granny, I told you to tell Payton we’ll have to make it another night.”

“I did. I told her you were busy taking photos for the new website, just like you said. But she wouldn’t be put off. She must want that money for the bairn something fierce.”

“I don’t have any money.”

“We’ll figure something out to string her along. But for now, tell her you forgot your checkbook at home and—”

“Granny, no one uses checks anymore. Everyone does e-transfers.”

“No wonder people can hack into bank accounts so easily these days.”

Sadie didn’t bother responding. Her grandmother wouldn’t believe Elijah had hacked into her bank account even if Sadie had photographic evidence, which she didn’t.

Agnes continued. “Just tell her the computer is down.”

Abby smothered a laugh with her hand.

Payton knocked on the door, her attractive face pressed to the glass. “Go answer the door. Colin will be waiting for you at Payton’s house. Don’t worry about the bairn. We have it all worked out,” Agnes said while giving Payton an enthusiastic wave. “Stall her for five minutes while I get the bairn settled and do a sound check with Colin’s listening device. Come, Finn.” She patted her leg when the dog moved to sit beside Sadie, growling low in his throat.

Sadie rubbed Finn’s head. “It’s okay. Go with Granny and look after our baby, boy.” As though he understood, he loped after Agnes.

Abby turned slightly so her back was to the door. “Okay, so Finn’s reaction to Payton just put her on the top of our suspect list. We have to check out her place. Chase will understand.”

“Maybe the top of your suspect list, but not mine. Finn was just being protective,” Sadie said through a clenched-teeth smile. Waving at Payton, she held up a finger and then mimed unlocking the door. When she went to dig around in the diaper bag on the counter, she let her hair fall forward. “We can question her here just as easily.”

“If she’s been up to what we think she’s been up to, she’s a lot more devious than she looks.”

Sadie thought about the life insurance policy. She still had a hard time believing her brother had bought one so maybe it would be worth checking out. “Okay, but we can’t be long. Chase said he’d be back within a couple hours. If he finds out—”

“He won’t,” Abby promised.

Sadie gave her a look.

“Trust me, as much as you don’t want Chase to know what we’re up to, I don’t want Hunter to know either.”