A Perilous Plot (Booktown Mysteries, 19, Band 19) - Hardcover

Barrett, Lorna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593819217 ISBN 13: 9780593819210

Verlag: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S., 2025

Inhaltsangabe

Family reunions are killer—literally—in the newest mystery in Lorna Barrett's New York Times bestselling Booktown series.

Everything was going great for Tricia Miles, right up until her estranged mother, Sheila, arrives on her front step with an urn she says contains the remains of Tricia's father.

Shocked and saddened, Tricia and her sister, Angelica, attempt to get to the bottom of what happened. But their efforts for clarity are dashed when Shelia disappears the very next day, leaving without a word.

Naturally, the sisters are upset—especially after they take the remains to the local funeral parlor and discover that not only is the urn filled with kitty litter, but hidden inside is a valuable (and stolen) Rolex watch. Digging deeper, the sisters find their parents are in dire financial trouble and seem to be lurking around Booktown.

Tricia and Angelica can’t help but wonder how many more secrets their mother was keeping...and whether that includes murder.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lorna Barrett is the New York Times bestselling author of the Booktown Mysteries, including A Controversial Cover and A Questionable Character.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

ONE

"I hate this place."

Tricia Miles glanced at her older-by-five-years sister, Angelica, who sat beside her in the Baker Funeral Home's comfortable family room. Luckily, Mr. Baker-the home's owner and head mortician-had left them, taking with him the urn containing the earthly remains of their father, John.

The sisters decided to commemorate the anniversary of their father's birth by celebrating his life with mourning jewelry. It wasn't Tricia's idea, but she didn't find it morbid. Well, at least, not too morbid. Angelica had chosen a hummingbird charm, while Tricia had selected a dragonfly-both creatures that flew free.

Six months had passed quicker than Tricia could have imagined. Back in October-and out of the blue-their mother had shown up with the urn. They still weren't clear what malady had taken their father's life. Sheila Miles had been pretty vague about the details. And then she'd checked out of Stoneham's Brookview Inn early the next morning, leaving the quaint New Hampshire village without a word.

Tricia's relationship with her mother had always been rocky. Three years before, it seemed that Sheila had a change of heart. She even spoke about the four of them attending family therapy, but that never happened. Months went by. Angelica tried to keep in touch, but Sheila and John went back to traveling to their various homes-and in different countries-and their usual communications blackouts. Also, as in the past, they resumed their previous roles. Sheila wearing the pants, John being browbeaten, Angelica the favored child, and Tricia persona non grata.

She was used to that.

Upon Sheila's disappearance, Angelica hadn't had any luck tracking her down, either. With all the business deals and projects she juggled, it wasn't at the top of her list of things to do. Dealing with their parents was just one task too many.

Finding their mother wasn't on any of Tricia's lists. For most of Tricia's life, she and her mother had been at odds-not Tricia's fault. Tricia's twin brother was a SIDS baby. Sheila had never forgiven Tricia for the sin of surviving infancy when Patrick hadn't. Three years before, they'd come to a sort of understanding, but it hadn't lasted long. They hadn't spoken in over a year before Sheila's abrupt arrival and equally fast departure. They'd barely spoken the evening Sheila dropped in on one of the weekly dinners with Tricia's chosen family. Those people included Angelica's son, Antonio Barbero; his wife (and Tricia's former employee), Ginny; and their two children, Sofia and baby Will; as well as Tricia's current employee, Mr. Everett, an older gentleman; and his wife, Grace. Last but not least, Tricia's current beau, David Price. She'd introduced the young man-twenty years younger than Tricia-as her friend. David could have taken offense at the apparent slight, but she'd previously filled him in on the complicated relationship she and Sheila shared. No doubt he wasn't keen to be a victim of Sheila's acid tongue. David was about to graduate with a master's degree in library science and currently worked at the Stoneham Library as its children's librarian, a job he loved. He also had a love for antiques and fine china, and he and Angelica had bonded over that.

"How are you going to wear your charm?" Angelica asked.

Tricia shrugged. "I bought a chain, but then I thought I might add it to the bracelet I've had since junior high."

"I bought a silver chain. I'm going to wear it twenty-four/seven."

Good for you, Tricia thought. She intended to add the charm to her bracelet and place it in the back of her jewelry box. She might wear it once or twice a year.

Maybe.

The sound of someone clearing his throat caused the sisters to look up. Mr. Baker stood at the doorway, looking even more somber than usual.

Tricia stood, but Mr. Baker waved to her to retake her seat and entered the room, placing the urn on the coffee table before taking a seat on the couch opposite the sisters.

Angelica gave her sister a side-eye. No other form of communication was necessary to convey what she was thinking: something about the urn wasn't on the up-and-up.

Sheila Miles had always kept her husband on a short leash, and it became apparent why three years before when the sisters learned (through bitter experience) that their beloved father was an experienced con artist. They'd grown up in privilege, but it was their mother's inherited money that paid the bills, not what their father earned. In fact, Tricia never really knew what kind of job her father worked-or if he worked at all.

"Is something wrong?" Tricia asked innocently, dreading the answer.

"Well, yes." Mr. Baker seemed reluctant to explain.

"And?" Angelica queried.

Mr. Baker chewed his lip, apparently choosing his words carefully before speaking.

"Some kind of fraud appears to have been perpetrated."

"Oh, God, now what?" Angelica grumbled.

"It pains me to be the purveyor of unwelcome news, but the urn did not contain human remains," the old gent said solemnly.

"What kind of remains does it hold?" Angelica asked sourly, glaring at the offending piece of porcelain.

"Not remains but . . . kitty litter."

"Kitty litter?" Tricia asked, shocked.

"Uh, yes, of the clay variety."

"I have a cat. I know what kitty litter is," Tricia said. And then she remembered hearing that unscrupulous funeral directors had sometimes passed off cat litter as cremains while leaving the bodies left in their care to decompose in sheds and other inappropriate places.

"We don't know who . . . who did the work," Angelica said in a tone Tricia knew well. Do. Not. Cross.

"Yes, containers usually have some kind of documentation to certify the cremation. Do you have such paperwork?"

"No," Angelica said, her voice almost a growl. "Our mother gave us the urn-telling us our father had passed. She didn't share much more about the circumstances of his passing."

"That's quite unfortunate," Mr. Baker said gravely. "However, that isn't the only anomaly."

Tricia raised an eyebrow. Angelica's expression seemed to convey two messages: Now what?-and-Of course!

"There was something else in the urn," Mr. Baker said.

The sisters waited expectantly as Mr. Baker reached into his suit coat pocket and withdrew a dusty plastic object. As though reluctant to place it in their hands, he set it on the table, beside the urn.

Again, the sisters exchanged glances. It was apparent that Angelica had no intention of touching the item, even though it hadn't been covered with cremains. It was up to Tricia to do so.

And she did.

The item was sealed in several layers of plastic, as well as a layer of Bubble Wrap. Tricia could have extricated it a lot faster if she'd had more than just the nail file she'd retrieved from her purse.

With every second that passed, Angelica seemed to get more and more frustrated. Finally, Tricia extracted the item.

"A watch?" Angelica grumbled.

"Not just any watch," Tricia said. "It's a Rolex."

Angelica shook her head. "It's probably fake-or stolen," she grated.

Mr. Baker raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"Well," Tricia said, standing, "I guess we won't be needing your services today, Mr. Baker. What do we owe you?"

"No charge. I'm only sorry I couldn't fulfill your wish to add cremains to the charms." He reached into his other pocket and withdrew a folded envelope, presumably containing the sterling silver trinkets. "Please let me know if I can be of service in the future."

"We'll do that," Angelica said, and stood. "I just hope it won't be too soon."

"As do I," Baker said gravely. Tricia idly wondered if his voice had atrophied from speaking softly for so many years.

The sisters left the home...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2025
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593819217
• ISBN 13: 9780593819210
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 336
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland