Alibis & Arranging Page 14

  ″I'm just confused about one thing,″ Aurora jumped in. ″Why did you just hand us the statue that day?″

  Rosa laughed. ″It was worth it just to see your faces. I planned to get rid of you two, as well, and I thought it was the perfect time to get rid of the statue. But the fire didn't spread well enough. That was the one part of my plan that failed.″

  ″And now? You plan to kill me and blame everything on Russell?″

  ″I'll come out looking like quite the heroine, I think.″ Rosa smiled dreamily. ″Hold still, will you? I'm a good shot. It won't take too long.″

  ″Sure,″ Aurora said. ″I'll hold still.″ But with a quick flip of her wrist, she threw the statue in her hand right at Rosa's face. Rosa gave a little shriek and there was a deafening blast as the gun went off. Aurora had already thrown herself onto the floor, and the bullet flew harmlessly above her.

  With no time to think, Aurora pulled open the door and scrambled down the stairs. Another gunshot rang from above, this time whizzing by only an inch away from her. Aurora's breath caught, panic beginning to overwhelm her.

  ″You can run if you like, darling. How fast do you think I'll catch up to you?″ Rosa's voice was a horrible sing-song above her.

  Eyes filling with tears of desperation, Aurora darted into the kitchen. Her phone…if she could just get her phone!

  But Rosa had already gotten it. The table was glaringly empty. Aurora choked down air as panic began to rise from her lungs to her throat.

  ″Here, kitty kitty.″ She heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. Rosa was after her. Aurora darted to the backdoor and found, to her horror, that Rosa had locked it and taken the key. From the other room, she heard a bunch of keys jangle.

  ″You can't get out, sweetie. I've locked it all. Gotta love these old locks!″ Rosa called out. ″Now come and take your medicine like a good little girl.″

  Grabbing a pot, Aurora smashed the kitchen window. She was about to climb out when conscience had her stopping. Instead, she hid in an empty cabinet. Watching through the crack, she saw Rosa come in, exclaim in anger upon seeing the broken window and then rush out through the backdoor.

  This was her chance. Aurora came out of the cabinet. She could have left and run away. But the thought of Russell lying alone, unconscious, had stopped her. She had been the one to hurt him, and his death would have been indirectly her fault if she'd run. Her best bet was to hope that Rosa had left her phone upstairs. Then she could barricade herself and Russell in the same room and call the police for help.

  As she stepped into the hallway, however, she heard bangs and shouting from the front door. ″Aurora! Aurora! It's me, Joy! Open up!″

  ″Joy! Call the police! Rosa's gone crazy!″ Aurora fumbled with the locks and gave a little scream of frustration. They wouldn't open without the key. ″I can't open the door. Get out of here!″

  She heard another voice say, ″Stand back.″

  Obediently, she stood back and the door nearly came flying off it's hinges as someone outside applied a powerful kick to it.

  Joy rushed in and hugged Aurora tight.

  ″It was Rosa. It was Rosa all along!″ They both said simultaneously.

  Behind Joy, Leo and Deputies Lundy and Samuels had their guns drawn.

  ″Wait…how did you find out?″ Joy and Aurora both asked each other simultaneously again.

  ″Ladies, if you wouldn't mind barricading yourselves upstairs,″ Leo suggested. ″It really is time for the police to take over now.″

  ″I'm happy to let you,″ Aurora said with a sigh. ″She's in the back somewhere. Go get her.″

  Epilogue

  2 Weeks Later

  It was a surprisingly warm day, and Aurora and Joy took the chance to lounge around in their backyard, dressed in shorts. Each had a frosted glass in her hand, and there was a plate of bruschetta between them. From the house came the sound of drills and construction men shouting at each other. The fire had only damaged the kitchen, luckily, and the contractor's estimate was that it would be ready again in a month. Meanwhile, Joy and Aurora could still sleep in their own rooms, as long as they ate out. Not that they needed to. Thanks to Joy's family, a steady stream of good food seemed to reach them.

  ″So, I hear Chief Brooks has a party planned this Saturday,″ Aurora said. ″Max invited me to go with him.″

  ″What's this, a date?″ Joy goggled at her.

  ″No, silly. As friends.″ Aurora blushed. ″Shut up.″

  ″Sure. Suuuure. As friends.″ Joy laughed.

  ″Well, I could do with a raucous party around now,″ Aurora said. ″I still think my blood pressure's up after all that ruckus with Rosa and Jonah.″

  ″I never did get to punch Jonah in the face,″ Joy mused. ″I'd promised myself I'd punch whoever hurt you.″

  ″You did?″ Aurora was touched in a weird way.

  ″Yeah, he didn't give you a big enough unicorn bump. It's already gone away,″ Joy teased.

  ″The whole business still doesn't make sense to me,″ Aurora said. ″So Jonah was the one stealing the statues. But Rosa was the one who killed everyone. And they never told each other what they'd done.″

  ″Yep. Lovesick. They didn't want the other to know.″ Joy shook her head. ″Jonah's going to jail, too, you know. Breaking and entering, and assault.″

  ″I feel a little bad for him,″ Aurora said. ″He was just trying to protect his family’s reputation. It wasn't his fault that his grandfather was who he was. I daresay it all just spiraled out of control.″

  ″Oh, don't you dare pity him. The man left you for dead in the rain. He should be going for attempted murder,″ Joy said. ″But he wasn't as bad as Rosa. I agree.″ She sighed and sipped her drink. ″Ahh. This is the life.″

  ″Hello? Is anyone there?″ a voice called from the gate.

  Aurora and Joy both yelled out, ″Back here!″

  They heard footsteps approaching them. Russell, dressed in short sleeves and chinos rounded the corner. Max and Leo were with him.

  ″Hey guys. What brings you here?″ Joy smiled.

  ″Well, I was just finishing up a few formalities. Now that Rosa is going to prison for killing Hilda, it looks like the house and all her assets will come to her next of kin…which is me,″ Russell said. ″So…I just wanted to officially apologize to Aurora. I shouldn't have pulled that gun on you.″

  ″We can press charges on him for it, you know,″ Leo said.

  ″Please don't.″ Aurora sighed. ″I already feel so guilty about clocking him on the head.″

  ″I also wanted to thank you both,″ Russell said. ″I'm going to spend the rest of my life in a house that I dearly love, and it's thanks to your efforts. Not to mention, Aunt Hilda's killer would never have been brought to justice if it hadn't been for you.″

  ″Ah...″ Joy waved it aside. ″It's Chief Brooks you want to thank. He's the one who got suspicious in the first place.″

  ″Yes…well…″ Russell coughed. ″I was mulling over how to thank you when Max here mentioned that Aurora had plans to start an estate cleaning company or something like it. I've got a lot of capital to invest now, and it seemed like a good idea.″

  Aurora stared at him. Joy clapped her hands. ″That's absolutely amazing!″

  ″Yes…well…″ Russell looked awkward, ″don't take it the wrong way, Aurora. It's not just because I'm thankful. I'm retired and I have nothing to do, and being a partner in a business like this seemed like a good idea. It's not a very large initial investment, and it can really go places, I think. You've done a wonderful job cleaning out my Aunt's house, after all.″

  ″I…I...″ Aurora was speechless. ″Thank you,″ she managed to blurt out, finally.

  ″As for you, Joy.″ Russell tapped his chin. ″You wanted to write Aunt Hilda's biography. Well, here's your chance. Now that her murder has hit the media, it should make the book an even bigger hit. I'm granting you the rights to write it.″

  Joy's face burst in
to a large smile. ″Thanks, Russell.″ Then, sobering a little, she said, ″You don't have to do any of this, you know. I mean, I know you feel you owe us, but—″

  ″I do owe you,″ Russell said. ″You, for working with the police like you did. Aurora, for not leaving me alone with that mad woman, despite the fact that I'd pulled a gun on her earlier. Please, let me thank you the best way I know how. It'll make me feel much better.″

  ″Sounds like it's settled then. This calls for a celebration, you know.″ Leo smiled.

  ″And what's this…a bottle of wine?″ Max grinned, bringing out a bottle from behind his back. ″Chilled and ready to drink!″

  ″What a coincidence.″ Leo laughed, ″I just found a bottle opener in my pocket.″

  ″Well, all we need are some wine glasses, then.″ Max looked over at Joy, who shook her head.

  ″Did you forget our kitchen burned down? Best I can do is paper cups. Hang on.″ She was back a few minutes later with the cups and soon they were all laughing and chatting as they sipped wine from them.

  Aurora felt a hint of a summer breeze in the air and it lifted her spirits. Catching Joy's eye, she slightly tipped her glass and downed the rest of the wine in one gulp. Joy grinned and followed suit. Their house was a mess again thanks to the fire, but life was back to being orderly and organized…or, as organized as it could be with Joy as a roommate. The future seemed really exciting all of a sudden. Aurora couldn't wait to see what was coming her way next.

  The End

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  Acknowledgments

  The amazing cover for this book was designed by DLR Cover Designs. Thank you, Diane!