AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We’re backat the lodge. We barely get out of the truck before April appears. She strides over, shoulders set, as if she’s walking toward a firing squad. She stops. Pauses. And then seems to steel herself.
Casey passes me a worried glance and then looks back at her sister. “What’s wrong, April?”
“I have a confession to make.”
“All right.”
“I planted the fake corpses.”
Casey’s brows shoot up. “You?”
“I was attempting a practical joke. I thought it would be amusing, as we’re always teasing you about stumbling over bodies.”
“Uh, no,” Casey murmurs, too low for April to hear. “You’re always giving me shit for stumbling over bodies.”
“What’s that?”
“Just agreeing with you.”
April nods. “I thought it would be amusing, and it seemed to be the first two times, but I understood that I took it too far when Eric expressed annoyance.”
Casey walks over to her. “Itwasfunny.”
“I also planted the letter.”
Casey glances at me again. “The... letter in the bottle?”
“Yes. I had discovered it while cleaning under the porch. I don’t believe anyone ever cleans under there. When Eric indicated that I had gone too far with my joke, I decided he was right. Murder is not amusing. However, a message in a bottle—particularly a love letter—is always intriguing. It seemed a safe mystery for you to enjoy. I did not, I realize now, think it through.”
“Think it through?”
“Realize it could involve a tragedy. Or that, by putting it into the bottle, I would make you think it had never been read by the recipient, which would be quite sad.” She squares her shoulders. “I am sorry. I had the best of intentions.”
“I’d hug you, but I know better,” Casey says. “Virtual hug?” She puts out her arms.
April moves forward and accepts an actual hug, which Casey keeps to a brief embrace.
“You did fine,” Casey says. “The bodieswerefunny, and the letterwasintriguing. There’s no tragedy. Joni Mayfair is fine. We just had coffee with her.”
Casey tells the story, and while April doesn’t react, she’s obviously relieved.
“It is a good ending,” April says.
Casey smiles. “An excellent ending, and I very much appreciated the mystery. Thank you.”
“There are still mysteries to be solved, though,” I say. “How’d you get a bottle from the same time period? And how’d you know Storm would sniff it out?”
The smallest hint of satisfaction warms April’s blue eyes. “The letter was under the bottle, which I presumed meant it came from a similar period. To ensure you found it, I placed it along your usual morning walk, and I rubbed the bottle with cooked chicken. Storm’s very fond of cooked chicken.” She glances over at the dog, who has heard her name and come running. “I should also confess that I gave her some actual chicken. It seemed wrong to tease her with the smell and not give her some after she found it.”
“Nicely done,” Casey says. She reaches down to pat Storm. “If you aren’t busy, April, would you have time for a short walk? There’s something I need to ask you.”
“Certainly.”
I leave them to it and head into the lodge. I’ve come to a decision, which Casey and I discussed on the ride back. Now I have a phone call to make.
* * *
“It’s me,”I say when Gene answers. “Eric.”
