“No. But they still committed murder. They may not have been able to prove what Humphrey did to their cousin, but they could have brought the matter of the art to the authorities. It might have opened up some sort of investigation at least.”
Shirley dropped me off in front of my grandmother’s and I said good-bye and promised to call her for lunch soon.
Meme and Theresa and Francis stood on the front porch. A second later my sister and mother came out and stood next to them. I walked up the path and then we all went inside.
Chapter 75
I told them everything, about Astrid and Norbert and their family and cousin in London, while I warmed myself with a fluffy blanket and a cup of tea.
“What about Carl?” Meme asked.
“No. It was just Astrid and her brother. It was their vendetta. Carl has no idea what Astrid did.”
“That’s too bad about Norbert. He was a big hit with the ladies,” Meme said. “Maybe we can go up to the prison and take his picture in his jumpsuit and Sloth can Photoshop in some well-placed bulges.”
I rolled my eyes. How did my grandmother know about Photoshop, and I didn’t even want to guess what she meant by well-placed bulges.
“Maybe Cyril Mayfair can take over Norbert’s month,” I suggested and got my own eye roll from Meme.
“Damn Nazis,” my sister groaned. “What’s going to happen to all the stuff in the secret room?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It belonged to Humphrey, so I guess it now belongs to Sophie. Someone’s going to have a very difficult time sorting it all out.”
Meme’s phone rang, causing us all to jump. She went into the kitchen and a minute later handed me the phone.
“It’s John.”
I took the phone and listened to my husband. He was going to be late. He said Shirley had emailed him a copy of the voice recording she made and he was getting statements typed up. He would need one from me, and Shirley as well, but that could wait until morning.
It was a good night for him. He had Humphrey’s killers behind bars and he saved a family from becoming another casualty of a crazy man with a gun. The father, recently returned from the Middle East where he served in the military, had given himself up. My husband was a hero. I still didn’t know how he figured out Astrid and Norbert were the killers, but maybe he saw the tattoo and came to the same conclusion I had. We talked a bit longer, and then I put the phone down on the coffee table.
“Why are you smiling?” my mother asked.
“John got an email from Gerard and Annie Willix. The police detective we met in Belgium on our honeymoon,” I said to my mother’s blank stare. “They’re coming for a visit this summer.”
My grandmother clapped her hands together. “I can’t wait to meet them. They sound like a fun couple.”
“Then I guess you better get some rest in the next couple of months and clear your mind.”
I scrunched up my face and looked at my sister. “Why?”
“Because you remember what happened the last time we all got together. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be another murder.”
I glanced at my grandmother. She had a smile on her face, and then she gave me a wink.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elaine Macko is a transplanted New Englander living in California. From a very young age, she possessed an over-active imagination finding intrigue and mayhem in everyday situations, often with hilarious results.
In the 1980s bored with life in general, Elaine signed up for a six-day vacation to London and Brussels in the dead of winter, and found time to meet and fall in love with a local Belgian man and extended her trip to last 12 years. While living abroad Elaine became a board member of a charitable organization and taught Mexican cooking classes to the expatriate community. With a love of writing always lingering on the back burner, Elaine decided to try her hand writing a mystery and after several months, completed a draft of her first book, Armed, and moved on to three other books in the series.
Elaine never forgot her New England roots and centers her books in the fictional town of Indian Cove, Connecticut. Each book includes a European connection bringing together her love of both places.
An active member of Sisters in Crime, Elaine takes comfort in knowing that there are many others like her out there spending all their free time trying to come up with inventive ways to kill people.
Title page
Other Books in the Alex Harris series
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
ABOUT THE AUTHOR