Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Except, Conrad possessed the keys. He helped Jane into the passenger seat, ever the gentleman, and climbed behind the wheel, with Fiona and Beau in back. Everything smelled brand new. Looked it, too.
“Whose car is this?” she asked.
“Mine,” Conrad told her. “I sold Stella and picked up Jel this morning. Wanted more space to haul…things.”
What! He’d sold his precious? To haul things? What things? But, but. Why? He’d loved that car. “What kind of name is Jel, anyway?”
Fiona tapped the back of her seat, and Jane twisted around to look at her.
Your initials, the other woman mouthed.
Oh.
Oh.
Butterflies took flight in her stomach. “It’s, um, lovely.”
As they maneuvered along the roads, Beau and Fiona whispered together, and Conrad explained the vehicle’s every safety feature with the pride of a father to Jane, giving her a reprieve from the world-rocking realization. And honestly, crash prevention had never been so alluring. Or confusing. Seriously, what was he expecting to haul? Fine china?
“Who knew you’d geek out over automatic braking?” she said with a little laugh. “Now tell me about my surprise right this second or feel my wrath!”
His soft chuckle resounded between them. “I’m feeling daring today. I’m gonna risk it.”
She winced at him. “Oh, Conrad. That mistake is gonna cost you dearly.”
“Will you show me mercy if I give you a hint?”
“I’ll consider the possibility of thinking about it.”
“Fair enough.” He stopped at the front gate of the Palisades, the wealthiest neighborhood in town. Where the mansions resided. A place Jane had visited often during each of her murder investigations. For the first time, the gate was manned by a guard.
As soon as Conrad flashed his badge, the guard pressed a button to the entrance. Tiffany Hotchkins lived one street over. Were they headed there? Had she returned?
Hmm. Conrad didn’t turn onto her street. Instead, he kept advancing forward. “We’re all about to witness something on each of our bucket lists.”
Ohhhh. How intriguing. What did she want that Conrad, Fiona and Beau also wanted? “A top-of-the-line shelter for abandoned and stray pets, where animals live in bedrooms of their own instead of cages? A restaurant where Fiona serves blueberry pancakes upon request, and she can never ever say no? A hat museum with the option to rent the displays if you purchase a frequent visitor pass?”
“Better,” Conrad vowed. He parked in front of a large, sprawling Mediterranean estate with arched stonework windows and three balconies. A delightful umber-tiled roof completed, a towering rotunda.
Jane had a direct view of the one-of-a-kind wooden front door. Unable to contain her excitement, she shifted in her seat. Better than the shelter? Impossible!
“That,” her ex said, pointing to the brownstone, “is Devin Hagger’s home.”
Oookay. “Go on.”
“They’re coming, they’re coming,” Fiona cried.
A vehicle pulled into the driveway. Then another and another. A dark sedan and two cop cars with their lights flashing. No sirens blared, though. Because the drivers didn’t want to offend the residents of the expensive neighborhood?
Her eyes widened as a woman she’d met on numerous occasions emerged from the sedan. Special Agent Karen Hightower. Uniformed police officers hastened to flank her sides. The group approached the front door and knocked with firm persistence. When Hagger opened, one of the uniformed officers stepped forward. While Jane couldn’t hear them, she imagined the imposing lawyer demanded a warrant before anyone entered his home.
Only, they didn’t enter. What in heaven’s name—Panic wiped away the man’s usual haughty expression as he wrenched back. The officer caught him by one shoulder and spun him around, then cuffed his wrists together.
“He’s being arrested?” Jane gasped out.
“He is. The charge is attempted murder. Among other things.” Conrad smiled with cold satisfaction, and it was as chilling as it was beautiful. “He paid the mechanic to rig your hearse. We found proof of a money transfer between the mechanic and one of Hagger’s former clients. Hagger used evidence he’d uncovered during a former investigation to blackmail the client into doing it. That client kept records of everything.”
Hagger was the one who’d wanted Jane dead? Wow, wow, wow. They’d had their spats during the last investigation, when she’d accused him of murdering his partner, but ending her life had been his solution?
No doubt he’d be out on bail before he was tossed into a cell and the key melted, trapping him forever. Or something like that. But whatever went down, he had no reason to come after Jane again. The Hearse Gone Wild case was officially over. So why wasn’t she bouncing with joy?
“He must really hate me,” she said softly.
Her amazing ex reached over to take her hand, offering comfort. His warmth supplied just that. “He was afraid of you. At the time, you were digging into Tony’s activities, which would have led you to Hagger’s activities. He had a lot to hide. Blackmails. Briberies. Pyramid schemes. I only wish I could have been the one to take him in.”