Part 34 (2/2)
”Why didn't you call me?” Reilly asked. ”I would've come to pick it up.”
”I-” Didn't have a good reason.
”My fault,” Dad said. ”I asked her to keep me company.” > I smiled Dad my thanks, then glanced over at Kana, who was greedily drinking the water. ”Reilly, the knife your guys found in his coat is probably the murder weapon used on Hudge. Kana admitted he slipped into the jail and killed Hudge.”
”Wait a minute,” Reilly said. ”No one can just walk into the county jail.”
”Then you might want to have Mr. Kana tell you how to fix that security glitch, because he got in. And check with the cops in Maui, too. I'm guessing his knife might have been used to kill the young man who s.h.i.+pped that brooch here.”
”You won't be able to prove a thing,” Kana said in a hoa.r.s.e whisper.
”There are people who can help us with that,” Marco said. ”Like Tom Harding.”
”Who, as it happens,” Reilly said, ”came out of his coma today.”
Kana's gaze darted from Marco to Reilly, as though seeking verification, so Reilly added, ”Two hours ago. Brain swelling went down. He'll be singing like a bird by tomorrow.”
Kana didn't look quite as sure of himself as two officers marched him out to the cruiser.
”Is it true?” I asked Reilly. ”Is Harding going to be okay?”
”We still don't know. I just wanted to give the guy something to worry about.”
I went to give my dad a big hug. ”Diabetic shock. That was an amazing idea.”
”Don't sound so surprised,” Dad said, but I could tell he was proud of himself.
”You should have seen him in action, Marco.” I hugged my father again and whispered in his ear, ”I think I have a new hero.”
”Abby!” Dad said, giving me a warning look.
”Just kidding.”
”So your mom's candy saved the day?” Marco asked, putting the lid on the jar.
I glanced at my dad and we both opened our eyes wide at the enormity of it.
”You can't tell her,” I said to Dad.
”Tell her what? That the candy I've been saying nearly wiped out her family ended up saving our lives? Believe me, Ab, she won't hear it from me.”
I handed the brooch to Reilly; then we stayed at the house long enough to give statements to the police. Afterward, Marco walked me to the minivan, where I leaned against the side of the van and let him kiss me.
”I'm so glad you're okay,” I said. ”And I'm very glad you came here with Reilly.”
”I had no choice. You gave me an order. 'Pick up the brooch now.' ”
I laughed. ”You heard only the last part of that message. I had just figured out that Kana was listening in on my conversations, so I was trying to make him think the cops were on their way to my parents' house. Not that it worked.”
”After the Cadillac tried to broadside me, I called Bloomers to let you know what happened, and Lottie said you and the minivan were gone. I phoned Reilly and he met me here.”
”As Tara would say, you arrived just in the nick of time, like in the movies. Did you ever find out how those anemone petals got smashed into the treads of Charlotte's shoes? Or why Attorney Knowles fired her?”
”Yes to both. When I went back to Tom's Green Thumb to talk to Robin, she reported finding a mess on the stockroom floor after the anemones were delivered. Most of the flowers were destroyed and petals were all over the place. She said it looked like someone had a tantrum. Anyone walking through the stockroom before they'd been cleaned up would have gotten petals stuck on the bottom of their shoes, and deep treads would've held them there.
”Then Harding must have met with Hudge and Bebe before the flowers were cleaned up. He probably threw a fit when they botched the second kidnapping.
”And as for Knowles, he fired Charlotte for stealing office supplies.”
”That's it?”
”That's it.” He kissed me. ”Satisfied?”
”Yes.” I gave Marco a hug. ”I'm so relieved you're not hurt.”
”How do you think I feel about you and your dad? If you had waited for me to take you to your parents' house, none of this would have happened.”
Not true. Kana would have showed up before we got there. But it was over and everything had worked out, so why bring it up? ”I'm sorry, Marco. I'll try to make sure it never happens again.”
He gave me a skeptical look. ”You're not going to list your reasons for not waiting?”
”Nope. I'm done with lists. I'd rather contemplate your positive qualities.”
”I'm not even going to ask you to explain.”
”Okay, you can kiss me again instead.”
His mouth curved up at the corner. ”We can do a lot more than that.”
”Tonight?”
”Later tonight.”
Things were looking up.
”And tomorrow,” he said, his lips against my ear, ”my place for dinner?”
”Perfect. Just the two of us-” I pushed away from him. ”Your mother invited me to dinner, didn't she?”
”Yep.”
Things were no longer looking up.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.
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