about next time?” Then she handed him the gun. “We have here a classic case of Heidi’s mother having killed her brother, Reginald Abelman, and Heidi was only helping out Aretha to find the missing jewels herself.”
“The jewels that my mother found?” Mack asked for clarity.
Doreen nodded. “Absolutely. Those jewels. And we already have a buyer, if we can ever figure out who the heck is the rightful owner.” She looked at Aretha, who sat there, her hand clasped over her mouth, with tears in her eyes as she stared at her niece.
“I suspect it might be Aretha,” Doreen muttered to Mack, “but I’m not sure.”
He looked from one to the other, then shook his head. “It’s not your problem now,” he said.
She turned to see Chester and Arnold and grinned. “Hi, guys.”
“What kind of trouble are you in now?” Chester muttered.
“I just solved the burglary from a long time ago and a murder too,” she said. “But unfortunately nobody’s left to prosecute.”
“Why is that?” Chester asked, narrowing his gaze.
“Because Heidi’s mother killed her brother, which is currently an accidental overdose on your books,” she said. “And the two of them were involved in the burglary and the insurance fraud attempt by the jewelry store.”
“And my uncle also burned the business to the ground,” Heidi spat from her position on the ground.
“Interesting,” Doreen said. “Did they have anything to do with the death of Aretha’s parents?”
“My mother said she cut the brake lines,” Heidi said, as the men pulled her to her feet.
Aretha gasped, her hands dropping from her face to her heart.
“Wow,” Chester said. “All from so long ago.”
“Yep,” Doreen said. “But just think, guys. No bodies this time. Just paperwork.”
At that, Chester groaned. “Paperwork? More paperwork?”
“More paperwork,” she said with a big chuckle. “But that’s all right. You guys are up for it.”
“If you say so,” Arnold snapped. “Any chance you could just stay out of trouble for once?”
Doreen made a dusting off motion with her hands and said, “Absolutely. You take this lovely lady out of my life, and I’ll be more than happy to.”
“But do we have anything to charge her with?”
“Aside from trying to shoot me just now? That bullet hole she put in my wall is proof. Also I highly suggest you look into her husband’s death,” Doreen said. “She’s a little too happy he’s gone.”
Heidi glared at her. “You don’t know anything about it.”
“No, I don’t,” she said, “but I’m sure the police will get to the bottom of it.”
Mack just smiled, and, before Doreen knew it, Heidi was handcuffed and stood on her feet. She looked back at Doreen. “You’re just nothing but an interfering busybody.”
“And you’re selfish and greedy and conniving. You only moved here to find all those jewels, and you manipulated your aunt into your house, just so you could keep an eye on her, in case more jewels were found.”
“She needed a place to live.”
“She still needs a place to live,” Doreen said with a smile. “You’ll let her live there while you’re in jail?”
“I’m not going to jail for anything more than a misdemeanor. I’ll be out in no time,” Heidi said.
“Until they dig up your husband’s body and take another look at that. How did he die?”
Heidi glared at her. “None of your business.”
But Doreen answered for her. “He committed suicide, right?” she said. “He ingested a whole pile of antibiotics and other medications.”
“Oh, my God. How did you get him to take them?” Aretha asked.
Heidi didn’t answer.
Yet Doreen looked at her and knew. “The same way her mom got your uncle to take his medication,” she said. “She pointed a gun at him and insisted.” She glared at Heidi. “Right?”
Heidi stiffened her back. “None of your business.”
But everybody nodded.
“Exactly,” Chester said. “Wow. You could have just shot him. It would have been easier.”
“Not necessarily. It would have left a lot more forensic evidence,” Heidi snapped.
“So,” Doreen said, “now that you’ll be in prison for murdering your husband, does Aretha get to stay at the house?”
Heidi’s shoulders sagged. “I’ll think about it.”
Doreen turned to Aretha, who stared at her niece with a hopeful expression. “You might as well put her out of her misery now. She needs a place to live.”
“She’s already there, isn’t she?” Heidi said. “At least for the moment she can stay.”
Aretha’s face burst into a big smile. “I’ll look after it,” she promised.
“Somebody needs to. We’ll figure it out,” Heidi grumped.
Aretha reached out to grasp Doreen’s hands and whispered, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.