Whipped Wedding Woes: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 8) by Constance Barker Page A
Authors: Constance Barker
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cremation ashes and send them to Doreen in an urn. Only problem was, Howie didn’t count on his family being concerned and trying to locate him.
Howie wasn’t close to his family, never had been. So he didn’t think anyone would care when he ended up dead. What Howie didn’t realize was that even though he didn’t care about his family’s wellbeing, they did care about his. He just never let them in to find out.
So his elaborate scheme was to fake his death, and then go search for Papaw Jeb’s millions. That way he wouldn’t be considered a suspect.
“What if Papaw Jeb had found you?” Stormi asked accusingly. “What would you have done to him?”
“I don’t know,” Howie said looking down at the floor. I didn’t have a good feeling on what might have befallen Papaw Jeb if Howie’s plan had succeeded in going through. But I wasn’t all that confident that Howie was the mastermind either. Sure Howie was a genius, but that was with inventions. I had a feeling Luella was the mastermind behind the staged death.
She sat like a statue during Howie’s explanation, not offering a word of affirmation or denial. I had a feeling Luella knew not to open her mouth and say anything that could be incriminating.
Stormi called Greg and he came up to the university to arrest both Howie and Luella for fraud. We followed Greg’s police car back to Caesars Creek.
“I don’t think this was all Howie’s idea,” Paige claimed. “Luella’s in as deep as he is if not more.”
“I agree,” I said. “What do you think Stormi?”
Stormi sighed. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Luella’s up to her eyeballs in it, but Howie will take the fall for her, I’m sure.”
I turned around to look at Stormi in the back seat. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Stormi said with a wave of her hand. “Just tired. I didn’t know how stressed out this whole predicament had me until Greg got there and I could finally relax.”
“Let Greg take it from here then,” Paige said as she turned into a parking space in front of the ice cream shoppe. “I think we’re all due a double dip of frosty pleasure. Bruce said he’d meet us here when I called him before we left.”
Sammi and her friends were holding down the fort when we arrived. It meant a lot to me that she and her friends helped out and I planned to pay them a good wage for all their hard work.
Brandon and Bruce were already there, enjoying their ice cream shakes while us girls grabbed a couple of scoops of peanut butter cup, Mississippi mud, and caramel nut. We were giving them the lowdown on what transpired that day and enjoying our ice cream concoctions when Greg entered the shoppe. Sammi whipped him up a chocolate shake and he joined us at the table.
“I left Howie and Luella with booking,” Greg said taking a sip of his shake. “Not much else I could do at that point.”
“How was Howie taking it?” Paige asked.
“He didn’t say much and Luella kept asking for her lawyer.”
“What do you think will happen to them?” Stormi asked.
“Howie might see a bit of jail time for fraud,” Greg answered.
“Even though it’s his first crime?”
Greg nodded. “The court doesn’t like it when you try to fake your death for financial gain…or anything for that matter.”
“What about Luella?” I asked. “What happens to her?”
“She’ll likely get off with a slap on the wrist. She’ll claim that he made her go along with it, just to minimize her role.”
Paige took a bite of her peanut butter cup ice cream. “I think she was the mastermind of the entire event, but Howie will never admit it.”
“You’re right, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” Stormi replied. “I let Momma and Doreen know that Howie‘s alive and well, and they’re ready to send him right back to the hospital. Actually, he’s safer in the jail right now. “
She
Howie wasn’t close to his family, never had been. So he didn’t think anyone would care when he ended up dead. What Howie didn’t realize was that even though he didn’t care about his family’s wellbeing, they did care about his. He just never let them in to find out.
So his elaborate scheme was to fake his death, and then go search for Papaw Jeb’s millions. That way he wouldn’t be considered a suspect.
“What if Papaw Jeb had found you?” Stormi asked accusingly. “What would you have done to him?”
“I don’t know,” Howie said looking down at the floor. I didn’t have a good feeling on what might have befallen Papaw Jeb if Howie’s plan had succeeded in going through. But I wasn’t all that confident that Howie was the mastermind either. Sure Howie was a genius, but that was with inventions. I had a feeling Luella was the mastermind behind the staged death.
She sat like a statue during Howie’s explanation, not offering a word of affirmation or denial. I had a feeling Luella knew not to open her mouth and say anything that could be incriminating.
Stormi called Greg and he came up to the university to arrest both Howie and Luella for fraud. We followed Greg’s police car back to Caesars Creek.
“I don’t think this was all Howie’s idea,” Paige claimed. “Luella’s in as deep as he is if not more.”
“I agree,” I said. “What do you think Stormi?”
Stormi sighed. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Luella’s up to her eyeballs in it, but Howie will take the fall for her, I’m sure.”
I turned around to look at Stormi in the back seat. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Stormi said with a wave of her hand. “Just tired. I didn’t know how stressed out this whole predicament had me until Greg got there and I could finally relax.”
“Let Greg take it from here then,” Paige said as she turned into a parking space in front of the ice cream shoppe. “I think we’re all due a double dip of frosty pleasure. Bruce said he’d meet us here when I called him before we left.”
Sammi and her friends were holding down the fort when we arrived. It meant a lot to me that she and her friends helped out and I planned to pay them a good wage for all their hard work.
Brandon and Bruce were already there, enjoying their ice cream shakes while us girls grabbed a couple of scoops of peanut butter cup, Mississippi mud, and caramel nut. We were giving them the lowdown on what transpired that day and enjoying our ice cream concoctions when Greg entered the shoppe. Sammi whipped him up a chocolate shake and he joined us at the table.
“I left Howie and Luella with booking,” Greg said taking a sip of his shake. “Not much else I could do at that point.”
“How was Howie taking it?” Paige asked.
“He didn’t say much and Luella kept asking for her lawyer.”
“What do you think will happen to them?” Stormi asked.
“Howie might see a bit of jail time for fraud,” Greg answered.
“Even though it’s his first crime?”
Greg nodded. “The court doesn’t like it when you try to fake your death for financial gain…or anything for that matter.”
“What about Luella?” I asked. “What happens to her?”
“She’ll likely get off with a slap on the wrist. She’ll claim that he made her go along with it, just to minimize her role.”
Paige took a bite of her peanut butter cup ice cream. “I think she was the mastermind of the entire event, but Howie will never admit it.”
“You’re right, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” Stormi replied. “I let Momma and Doreen know that Howie‘s alive and well, and they’re ready to send him right back to the hospital. Actually, he’s safer in the jail right now. “
She
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