Кэти Дэйли - The Mystery Before Christmas [calibre]

“And you were just driving by?” Mike asked.

I glanced at the ground and nodded. I could see that Mike didn’t believe me, and I knew he wasn’t going to let this go, but Frank pulled up just then, so Mike walked Tilly and me back across the street to my Jeep. He opened the door and Tilly jumped up. I slid in after her.

“I’ll be by when I can. In the meantime, I want you to write down everything you can remember,” Mike instructed through the open driver’s side window as I adjusted my seat belt.

“Okay.”

“And Tess—”

I took a chance and looked him in the eye. “Yeah?”

“When I come by, I’m going to want the rest of the story.”

I swallowed and nodded. He kissed me on the cheek, then stepped away. He closed the door, and I started the ignition and pulled away.

Mike knew that Dad was still alive. I’d finally broken down and told him a year ago. But he didn’t know the rest. The part I’d been keeping from him. I wasn’t exactly sure how he’d react, but I knew him well enough to be sure he wasn’t going to be happy about any of it. I supposed I knew that one day I’d have to confess everything; I just hadn’t realized when I’d left work for the weekend that that day was today.

As I drove toward the cabin where Tony, his dog Titan, and my cats Tang and Tinder were waiting, I felt my stress level increase dramatically. I supposed it might be the result of delayed reaction from the shooting, but I supposed it could also have been heightened by my impending conversation with Mike. I knew it was going to be unpleasant. The truth of the matter was that I’d known our dad was alive a full year before I’d even brought Mike in on the secret. Mike was a good guy and I trusted him implicitly, but he was also pretty intense. He tended to act before thinking when it came to protecting the people he loved, so I rightfully feared he’d only make things worse if he knew our father was still alive and kicking in the world.

Of course, even after I’d shared with Mike the proof Tony and I had found of the existence of the man we both thought had died years before, I hadn’t continued to fill him in on every little detail of our investigation, as I’d promised I would. I hadn’t told him that Dad had shown up at the hospital when Mike was shot and had almost died, and I hadn’t told him about Star or the suspicion I’d had that she was our half sister. Though my suspicion had turned out to be wrong, our dad had been involved with her mother in some way. I was sure he’d been the one to drop her off at the church, so whether he was her father or not, he’d been connected to her from the beginning.

Deep in my heart, I was sure that it was this connection that had led to her death. Maybe I should have done more to warn her that digging around in the past of Grant Thomas, or Grant Tucker as it might be, could only lead to trouble for everyone involved. Maybe instead of watching her from afar, I should have confronted her about the envelope I’d delivered to her when we first met. An envelope she’d told me contained a copy of the file Sam Denton had built on the man I was certain was my father. Denton must have known his life was in danger, because he’d given a copy of his file to a friend for safekeeping. The friend knew about Star’s situation and had decided to send it to her after Denton’s death.

I turned onto the narrow road leading out to my cabin. The file had concerned me from the beginning, but Star had assured me that she’d locked it away in her safety deposit box. She’d told me she hadn’t read it after she’d opened it in my presence on the day I delivered it, and had no idea what was in it. I didn’t know what sort of evidence Denton had managed to dig up, but apparently, it was damaging enough to cause someone to decide to end the life of both the PI who’d built the file and the woman who’d currently been in possession of it.

Books by Kathi Daley

Come for the murder, stay for the romance

The Inn at Holiday Bay:

Boxes in the Basement

Letters in the Library

Message in the Mantel

Answers in the Attic

Haunting in the Hallway

Pilgrim in the Parlor

Note in the Nutcracker – December 2019

A Cat in the Attic Mystery:

The Curse of Hollister House

The Mystery Before Christmas

The Secret of Logan Pond – January 2020

Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:

Halloween Hijinks

The Trouble With Turkeys

Christmas Crazy

Cupid’s Curse

Big Bunny Bump-off

Beach Blanket Barbie

Maui Madness

Derby Divas

Haunted Hamlet

Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies

Christmas Cozy

Alaskan Alliance

Matrimony Meltdown

Soul Surrender

Heavenly Honeymoon

Hopscotch Homicide

Ghostly Graveyard

Santa Sleuth

Shamrock Shenanigans

Kitten Kaboodle

Costume Catastrophe

Candy Cane Caper

Holiday Hangover

Easter Escapade

Camp Carter

Trick or Treason

Reindeer Roundup

Hippity Hoppity Homicide

Firework Fiasco

Henderson House

Holiday Hostage

Lunacy Lake

Celtic Christmas – December 2019

Zimmerman Academy The New Normal

Zimmerman Academy New Beginnings

Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook

Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:

Romeow and Juliet

The Mad Catter

Grimm’s Furry Tail

Much Ado About Felines

Legend of Tabby Hollow

Cat of Christmas Past

A Tale of Two Tabbies

The Great Catsby

Count Catula

The Cat of Christmas Present

A Winter’s Tail

The Taming of the Tabby

Frankencat

The Cat of Christmas Future

Farewell to Felines

A Whisker in Time

The Catsgiving Feast

A Whale of a Tail

The Catnap Before Christmas

A Mew Beginning – March 2020

A Tess and Tilly Mystery:

The Christmas Letter

The Valentine Mystery

The Mother’s Day Mishap

The Halloween House

The Thanksgiving Trip

The Saint Paddy’s Promise

The Halloween Haunting

The Christmas Clause

The Firework Folly – June 2020

Rescue Alaska Mystery:

Finding Justice

Finding Answers

Finding Courage

Finding Christmas

Finding Shelter – January 2020

The Hathaway Sisters:

Harper

Harlow

Hayden – February 2020

Writers’ Retreat Mystery:

First Case

Second Look

Third Strike

Fourth Victim

Fifth Night

Sixth Cabin

Seventh Chapter

Eighth Witness

Ninth Grave

Haunting by the Sea:

Homecoming by the Sea

Secrets by the Sea

Missing by the Sea

Betrayal by the Sea

Thanksgiving by the Sea

Christmas by the Sea

Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery:

Pumpkins in Paradise

Snowmen in Paradise

Bikinis in Paradise

Christmas in Paradise

Puppies in Paradise

Halloween in Paradise

Treasure in Paradise

Fireworks in Paradise

Beaches in Paradise

Thanksgiving in Paradise

Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery:

Murder at Dolphin Bay

Murder at Sunrise Beach

Murder at the Witching Hour

Murder at Christmas

Murder at Turtle Cove

Murder at Water’s Edge

Murder at Midnight

Murder at Pope Investigations

Seacliff High Mystery:

The Secret

The Curse

The Relic

The Conspiracy

The Grudge

The Shadow

The Haunting

Road to Christmas Romance:

Road to Christmas Past

USA Today best-selling author Kathi Daley lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband Ken. When she isn’t writing, she likes spending time hiking the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home. She has authored more than a hundred books in twelve series. Find out more about her books at www.kathidaley.com