“He must have planned everything for months.”
“Six, at least. That’s when he stole the cyanide from Castleberry.” I squirted sunscreen on Bill’s bare chest. “He married Sophia only because he knew she was dying, hoping in a matter of a few years to have all her money and no ball and chain. A trained actor, he played the devoted husband and waited. Then Karen and Dr. Tillett appeared on the scene and restored Sophia to health. Frustrated the hell out of Morelli, who’d planned to claim his inheritance within a couple of years and run. Sophia could have lived a long life once she brought her weight and diabetes under control, so he was forced to take drastic action.”
“Then the old woman was right?”
“Sophia had confided to Anastasia that her marriage was on the rocks, but Morelli used the Gianakis family feud to his advantage, turning any accusations the aunt made against him back onto her. The aunt’s testimony helped convince the grand jury. She brought letters Sophia had written to cousins in Greece that arrived weeks after her funeral. They expressed her desire for a divorce, her intention to change her will, and her fear that Lester might harm her before she could leave the country.”
Anastasia had inherited Sophia’s estate. She had put the restaurant and resort on the market and planned to use the proceeds for a shelter for stray cats.
“We couldn’t have caught Morelli without your help,” I said. “I wonder if there’s any way to make Councilman Ulrich understand the importance of adequate manpower.”
“Don’t you mean personpower, O Liberated One?” Bill scooped a blob of lotion off his chest and flicked it at me.
I snorted in what my mother would have termed a very unladylike way. “I can’t worry about semantics. Liberated is as liberated does.”
He sat up and grabbed my hands, still slick with sunscreen. “How about liberating yourself from this job? If you insist on working, we can form our own private detective agency, call our own shots.”
“Skerritt and Malcolm?”
“Hmm, S & M. It has a certain ring to it. Even better, how about M & M, Malcolm and Malcolm. Marry me.”
I was convinced he was joking, as usual. I could solve murders, but had yet to learn to put together the pieces of my personal life. I shook my head and grinned. “I have just the ticket to cure you of any matrimonial ambitions toward me.”
“What?”
“Thanksgiving’s next week. The Queen Mother is having dinner catered at her house. Why not join us?”
“Ah, Margaret.” He put his arms around me. “Finally taking me home to meet the family. You may end up married to me yet.”
“Once you meet my mother, trust me, you’ll change your mind.”
“I’ve been after you for almost twenty years. What makes you think I’d give up now?”
Twenty years? Now I was sure he was teasing, and I couldn’t help myself. He’d set me up. “Old age?”
I jogged down to the breakers to wash off the sand he’d tossed on me.
Bill followed. “Be serious, Margaret. We’d make a great P.I. team.”
“And spend the rest of my life tracking down errant husbands and cheating wives? No, thanks.”
“Then at least promise you’ll retire from the department.”
“No promises, except one.” I put my arms around his neck and kissed him. “You’ll always be my best friend.”
He leaned back and grinned.
“What are you smiling at?” I asked.
“Best friends. You’ll find yourself married to me yet, Skerritt.”
“Don’t hold your breath, Malcolm. I’m an avowed spinster, set in my ways.”
His grin widened and his blue eyes twinkled. “I love a challenge.”
“You want a challenge? Last one in the water buys dinner tonight.”
I scrambled to my feet and ran through the soft sand toward the water’s edge. Bill caught up with me, grabbed me around the waist and kissed me.
“I’m not giving up, Maggie.”
Shaken by the determination in his voice, I cupped his face in my hands. “Good,” I said, and kissed him back.
Look for the next Maggie Skerritt mystery,
HOLIDAYS ARE MURDER,
coming in December 2005 only from
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