Murder in the Marigolds by Dale Mayer (best young adult book series .txt) 📕

thing,” he said, with a big smile. “Not everybody is a do-gooder though. We knew it would help us stay out of jail and on the right side of the law, while we figured out how to play it on the criminal side,” he said. “It was one of the smartest decisions we ever made.”

“So you didn’t go to law school out of a sense of justice?” she asked. “You went to law school so you could understand how the system worked?”

“Exactly,” he said, with a nod. “And it worked just fine.”

“My God. And then what happened?”

“We both wanted to move on. To other people, I mean. But you can’t really separate from someone once you’ve committed a crime like that together. You must always keep them close. She just kept playing and playing, bringing me more and more blackmail deals. That was perfect, but then she decided she just didn’t want to do it anymore. I couldn’t let that happen, could I? And now that I know that you know about the rest of it,” he said, “I can’t let you go either. I was hoping that I could let you and the driver beside you go, since he really didn’t do anything, thinking you didn’t really know anything either. Just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

She looked over at the terrified ambulance driver, then shrugged and said, “Told you.”

“I didn’t do anything,” he said in horror. “I don’t even know this woman.”

“He really doesn’t,” she said apologetically to the gunman.

James shrugged. “I don’t really care,” he said. “I have to clean up the mess that Robin left behind, and, if this is the way it has to go down, so be it.”

“But you don’t have to do it,” Doreen said. “You don’t have to sully her memory with this.”

He laughed. “God, you’re such a romantic. I kept her close because that’s what you do when you commit felony crimes with others, since you can’t ever trust them not to turn on you,” he said, with a smile.

“Ah,” she said, “so you didn’t care about her.”

“Nope, not any more than she cared about me. We had a shared purpose, but that was it.”

“That’s so sad,” she said. “I really liked her.”

“Until she screwed you over.”

She winced. “Yes, until she did that.”

“That’s what she did though. Everybody would really like her, and then she’d find a way to take advantage,” he said. “She was really good at it.”

“Yeah, she was, but I know Mathew, my ex, was after her too.”

“Yeah, what an idiot he is. That man is just a fool,” James said, “and I’ve got tons of blackmail material to use on him now. And just me, so I don’t have to share.”

“I think you’re making a big mistake there.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said, raising the handgun. “You won’t be around to see the consequences.”

At that, Mugs started to bark incessantly. James immediately lowered the gun and said, “You shut that thing up, or I will take a great deal of delight in popping all of them while you watch.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said, staring straight at him, because coming up behind him ever-so-quietly was Mack, and he had his handgun out in front of him.

Once she’d seen him, Mack called out, “Police! Hands in the air!”

The gunman stiffened and glared at her. “Now what kind of shenanigans are you up to?”

She shrugged. “I’m getting a little tired of having guns pointed at me,” she said, with a smile, walking slightly closer.

Immediately the handgun came up. “Don’t you move,” he said.

“Well, either way,” she said, “you’re about to get shot. So what do you want to do?”

“What do you mean?” James asked.

Then Mack called out again, “I mean it. Drop the weapon, and put up your hands.”

James glared at her, and she said, “Hey, there’s always another day. There’s always a guard you can call or another judge you can con. You’re the lawyer, remember?”

He groaned and slowly raised his hands.

“Put the weapon down!” Mack said.

She waited tensely to see what James would do, and, sure enough, he slowly bent down, dropped the weapon on the ground, and then straightened up, his hands in the air.

James looked at Doreen and said, “Robin always said that there was something about you that she didn’t quite understand.”

“Yeah, there’s always something about me,” she said, “and I get it. Nobody understands me.”

“What she really didn’t get was how you always seem to come out on top. I don’t even know how you managed it.”

“Nobody does,” she said, “but I’d like to think it has to do with doing the right thing.”

He frowned.

“You know? Doing good, being kind to others?”

He shook his head. “And that’s just crap.”

With that, Mack came up from behind and immediately handcuffed the angry man. Then looking over at her, Mack smiled. “Are you okay?”

Doreen nodded. “Yes, but you’ll have to take a moment to reassure Mugs.” At that moment, Mugs was circling the two of them, barking in confusion, his tail wagging like crazy. With two other cops grabbing James, apologizing for him getting away from them, and another checking on the shaky ambulance driver, Mack stepped away, so that Mugs could get the greeting he deserved, then spent several moments cuddling him. Goliath came over and rubbed against Mack’s legs, and even Thaddeus hopped up on his shoulder and cooed against his neck. Finally Mack straightened and looked at her. “This menagerie is nuts.” She smiled and walked a little bit closer. He looked at her, narrowed his gaze, and again asked, “Are you okay?”

She sighed and said, “Yes, but I do have a request.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

She walked up, opened her arms, and said, “Can I have a hug, please? It’s been a very long day.”

With a gentle smile, he reached out, pulled her into his arms, and closed them securely around her. “Absolutely.”

“Good. I just want to go home and rest.” Looking up at him with a glare,