A Killer Cake (24 page)

There was no doubt, no hesitation in the
sheriff’s voice, and after a moment, I turned to see Kelly do
exactly as she was told.

“How did you find me?” I asked the sheriff as
he handcuffed Kelly. Asher wasn’t going anywhere, at least not at
the moment, but the sheriff did kick both guns well away from the
man’s reach before he turned to take care of Kelly.

The sheriff explained, “Moose got back from
delivering Sylvia to her friend’s house, and Martha told him where
you’d gone. Your grandfather called Wayne at the garage, and that
triggered a manhunt. We had every cruiser we have out looking for
you, as well as every last member of your family with a driver’s
license. I had confidence that one of us would find you.”

“I’m just glad you did it in time,” I
said.

“I’ve got to give you credit, Victoria. You
figured it all out before I did.”

“I’m just sorry that I didn’t do it in time
to tell you before Asher got shot,” I said.

“Speaking of Asher, could you watch him for
me for a minute? I need to get Kelly into my squad car.”

I looked at the man, lying on the grass. “Is
he even still alive?”

There was a moan then, and he tried to sit
up.

“You shot me!” he said to Kelly, as though he
were accusing her of stealing his toy train.

“Not very accurately, apparently,” Kelly said
as she was led away.

I walked over and looked down at Asher. “Are
you going to give me any trouble, or am I going to have to shoot
you, too?”

Asher immediately laid back down where he
was, and after that, he made no more attempts to move until the
ambulance arrived.

I was glad for that.

I wasn’t sure that I would have had the heart
to kick him, let alone shoot the man.

Two hours later I was back at The Charming
Moose, surrounded by my family and friends, telling the whole story
again for the third time.

The sheriff walked in and joined our little
private party, and as he approached, he asked, “Victoria, do you
have a second?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know that Asher’s
going to be okay. He just got out of surgery, but before he’d let
them put him under, he insisted that he tell me about what he’d
done to your fire pit. It’s a good thing Kelly was using such a
small-caliber handgun. It could have been a lot worse.”

“Has he confessed to what they did?” I
asked.

“They both have,” the sheriff said with a
grin. “It’s going to be up to the district attorney which one to
charge with the harshest penalty, but I have full confidence that
they’re both going down.”

“I’m glad. To think that it all came about
because of greed. What’s going to happen to Roy Thompson’s estate
now?”

“I just spoke with someone in Charlotte named
Paul Gray, and he assured me that it will all go to the named
secondary beneficiary, which also happens to be the society Roy was
going to change his will to when this whole mess started.”

“Does Kelly know that yet?” I asked with a
wicked grin.

“Actually, I was just about to go tell her,
unless you’d like the honors yourself.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. Honestly, I don’t
want to see her again until I’m testifying against her at her
trial.”

“I understand that completely. Now, I’ll
leave you to your little party.”

“Why don’t you stay?” Greg asked as he
approached us. “We’ve got a lot to celebrate.”

“I appreciate the offer, but there’s still a
great deal of work to be done.”

After the sheriff was gone, Greg hugged me
tightly. “I can’t believe how close I came to losing you again.
You’re making too much of a habit of this, Victoria.”

“Hey, it’s not by choice, believe me.”

Moose came over and tapped my husband on the
shoulder. “Don’t go hogging her, Greg. Give somebody else a turn.”
As my grandfather embraced me, I could almost feel my ribs
cracking, but I didn’t mind in the least.

I was right back where I belonged, surrounded
by the people I loved most in the world.

As far as I was concerned, he could crack
away.

It was good to be right where I belonged, and
to appreciate every moment of it.