Checked Out

  All of that was tied up in a neat bundle by the TPD. Echo and Weber were going to spend the rest of their lives behind bars, but there was some good news. The unborn baby boy Echo did not want had already found a family.

  Laurie stepped up to the mic again with a sweet rendition of an old R&B song, “The Boy I’m Gonna Marry.” It set the mood for the rest of the evening. The occasion for the gathering at Margie’s was unexpected, but it was one everyone wanted to celebrate. Laurie’s song ended, and after a rush of applause died away, Jared Quinn stepped up to the mic.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, most of you are aware that Tobias Fausset spent some time away from Timbergate recently.” He nodded to a table near the bandstand where Tobias was seated. All eyes turned toward Tobias and Phyllis Poole. There were whispers and some soft laughter, then Quinn went on speaking.

  “We know now that Dr. Fausset took time off to visit his mother and father in Rio de Janeiro and to accompany them back to Timbergate for an extended visit. Tonight, his parents are here to join the rest of us in celebrating as their son begins a new chapter in his life.” As Quinn took his place with the combo, the audience applauded and cheered.

  Code Blues played a soulful version of Richard Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus,” while Dr. Tobias Fausset and Dr. Phyllis Poole stood and walked arm in arm toward the bandstand.

  The room went quiet as the Timbergate Medical Center Chaplain, with Bible in hand, performed a wedding ceremony for the couple already making plans to adopt their first child.

  * * *

  Photo courtesy of Lowell Martinson

  Sharon St. George had the good fortune to spend an idyllic childhood in a small northern California town, riding horseback and camping with her family in the nearby mountains. One of her favorite pastimes was reading fiction, and a trip to the library was always an occasion of great joy. She’s traded horses for llamas, but she still treks to the high mountain lakes near her home—always with a mystery novel in her backpack.

  Sharon’s writing credits include three plays, several years writing advertising copy, a book on NASA’s space food project, and feature stories too numerous to count. She holds dual degrees in English and Theatre Arts, and occasionally acts in, or directs, one of her local community theater productions. Checked Out is her second novel and the second book in the Aimee Machado mystery series, which began with Due for Discard. Book 3, Breach of Ethics, will be released on May 1, 2016.

  Sharon is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and she serves as program director for Writers Forum, a nonprofit organization for writers in northern California.

  For more information, go to www.sharonstgeorge.com.