Thanks for all the kind words about the story!  I really appreciate hearing from everyone, and I'm having a bit of character withdrawal myself.  Let's see how the first few weeks of school go. Maybe I can squeeze in an occasional post.  Fr. Kevin, Cassie, and the rest of the gang, keep banging around in my head.  If you become a "follower" of this post, I think you will be notified when I post something new.  Also, don't forget...you can friend Fr. Kevin on Facebook at "Kevin O'Kenney"...and get updates.

The photos, postings and characters in this blog are the sole property of the author, and may not be reproduced in any capacity.

Thanks to all of you who have followed this little mystery all summer long.  Now that the new school year is about to begin, Madame Mystery will probably need to take a hiatus.  Is there more coming?  You betcha!  I'm sure you're wondering...what exactly happened in NewOrleans that has left Elizabeth so angry and bitter?  What will Fr. Kevin do with all that  stolen money?  And if Cassie now knows that Father has it, will she attempt to steal it back?  Will the Sheriff figure out what his fiance is really like, and will it matter?  Will Tessa Peppers actually go to prison?  And who is the father of Elizabeth's baby?

I actually do know the answers to these questions, and more.  I'm not sure when the next full post will be.  Once I'm in "school mode" my entire focus is usually there.  But who can tell?  Maybe I will get itchy to continue the story earlier than next summer.  In the mean time, Fr. Kevin now has his own Facebook account, and has promised to update his status and let us know what's going on in Dollyville.  And once he figures out his ipad, he might even post some photos on his wall.  You can friend him and have access to all his updates.  Look for him on Facebook as "Kevin O'Kenney"...send a request, and he will add you as a friend.  He also can be reached at frkevinokenny@aol.com.  ( There is no "e" between the 'n' and the 'y' in the email address...long story about why that came about)

So...until we meet at this spot again, I wish all of you the very best.  I have truly appreciated all your support.  It has been a thrill to have readers in six different continents, and I hope I was able to at least bring a smile to your hectic days.

Madame Mystery  (aka Vicki)

       It felt good, finally, to have something work as planned. Vindicated.  Satisfied.  Elizabeth McKreedy hit the button on the remote, and clicked the TV off.  She had checked three different news shows, and they had all concurred.   The old woman was in custody, and it looked like no one was the wiser.  It was a shame that she was leaving without seeing the real bitch six feet under.  That would have been icing on the cake.  But this would have to do for now.

      She was rather surprised that she didn't feel the stab of guilt.  The good girl inside usually did.  But there was no doubt that  Peppers would get exactly what she deserved.  It was righteous that she should go to prison for murdering that poor man, and if she had to pay for Liz's little sins too, what did it matter?  Even if they found that cell phone, there was no way it could be traced back to her.  The old hag would probably end up in a loony bin somewhere anyway.  She was as crazy as they come, and no one would take a word she said seriously.

      From under the motel mattress, the woman removed an old news paper clipping cut from the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Though the hair was a different color, and the woman in the photo wore thick glasses, there was no mistaking the perfect teeth and dimples.  That job had been a disaster from the very beginning.  She had warned Cassie that it was a mistake.  But as always, Cassie went ahead and did what she wanted, leaving a trail of shit behind her.  A trail Liz was forced to wade through. A dirty, humiliating trail that had cost her everything.

       No more.  She had to think about the two of them now.  It was unfortunate that the priest had to be involved.  He seemed a nice enough person.  But his role was essential to the rest of Plan C, and she couldn't afford to get sentimental now. She took out her iphone, snapped a photo of the clipping, and sent it to her laptop.  Liz knew the first thing Cassie would seek out would be a new computer.  The hacking was part of who she was, and it wouldn't be long before she checked her email account. She quickly typed a bitter note, explaining where the rest of the money had gone, and attached a file with the photo of the news clipping.  She could picture the fit Cassie would throw when she got this message, but by then, they both would be long gone and out of her reach.

         She placed the last few belongings in the suitcase, and called for a ride.  Checking that the room was void of anything personal, she closed the door behind her, and headed towards the motel's large dumpster.  Confident she was truly alone, she lifted the lid and threw in the black hooded sweatshirt, and the pipe wrench, grimacing at the loud banging sound it made against the sides of the container.
That finished, she dragged her luggage to the main road to wait for the taxi.  A wave of nausea hit her, and she felt the need to sit down on the bench.  Patting her still flat stomach she whispered, "It's going to be alright little one, I promise.  Just the two of us."

                                 

                                                                  THE END

Copyright 2012 Victoria Rocus

     

     

         

         For the second time in 24 hours, Fr. O'Kenney returned home from the hospital in the wee hours of the morning.  Although his left arm hurt like a sonofabitch,  he was grateful that he was still alive, and not the lead story of last night's evening news.

       Despite the problems of the ongoing investigation, the Sheriff had graciously offered to drive him home, and see that he got settled in.  Kevin felt a little silly having Ted Beckett fuss over him like he was some kind of invalid, but the fact was, he really felt awful.  He helped him off with his suit jacket, careful not to rearrange the bandages covering the upper part of his left arm.

       "Been shot myself, Father.  I sympathize.  Sometimes the wounds in the fleshy parts hurt more than the serious ones."

        Kevin hoped he'd never have the opportunity to compare, and took the Sheriff's word on it.  He had seen a passing glance of himself in the hall mirror downstairs, and had shuddered.  Eyes black and blue, swollen nose, his left arm all bandaged up, and dried blood decorating the front of his jacket.  More like prize fighter than a pastor.  Wonderful.  The Bishop was sure to hear about this.

       "I called Father Wilton over at St. Luke's.  He's going to come and take care of your morning services for you.  I hope that was okay?  I figured you guys covered for one another."

        "That's very thoughtful of you, Sheriff.  I'm not sure I'm going to feel up to saying two Masses in a couple of hours."

        "I thought not.  Once those pain killers kick in, it's going to be lights out for several hours. Good thing too, 'cause when the initial shock wears off, that arm's gonna hurt like hell."

         He couldn't imagine the thing hurting anymore than it all ready did, but felt it rude to contradict the Sheriff on an issue he had far more experience with.  The man helped him into bed, fixing the blankets, and fluffing up the pillows for him, as if he were a kid with the flu.  "So, Sheriff... what happens to Tessa Peppers now?"

        "She's still at Jefferson Memorial, waiting on a psych eval and under 24 hour guard.  You know, she did confess to stabbing Marco Rivera, and setting the fire at Su Casa."

        "Really?  Did she say why she did it?'

       "Claims the Riveras had photos of her "little hobby"and were trying to blackmail her.  They wanted her to change her Town Council vote regarding their liquor license application, and of course, a tidy sum of cash.  Mrs. Peppers, on the other hand, wanted to purchase the land the restaurant sat on, and was hoping to force them out of business.  Neither side was willing to negotiate, and it escalated from there.  We found the matching glove to the red one you found, and empty gasoline cans tucked in a corner of her garage.

        "But what about the gas explosion?  And why come after me?"

        "Peppers claims she had nothing to do with the explosion, but there was a large pipe wrench in her basement.  And as far as her run in with you, she said she got a text yesterday afternoon from a number she didn't recognize.  It said you were in on the "scam", and that you had her $80,000."  The Sheriff narrowed his eyes, and bluntly asked the priest, "You wouldn't know anything about that, now would you Father O'Kenney?"

       Kevin tried to keep his face as impassive as possible, and answered, "No Sheriff, of course not.  I'm a little offended that you asked that."

        "No offense meant, Father.  Just doing my job.  Tessa says she lost the cell phone over at the explosion site, so I'm going to see if I can find it and trace the number.   Maybe shed some light on why she came at you."

         "Sorry, Sheriff.  It's been a long night."

         "I understand, Father.  And if you don't need anything else, I'm going to get going.  I have to get down to the Court House to see about Tessa's arraignment, and Cassie is supposed to come home this afternoon.  I have a full day in front of me."

          "No, you go ahead, Sheriff.  I'll be fine.  And...ah...thanks for everything.  I appreciate you seeing that I got home okay."

           "Your welcome, Father.  I'll probably swing around much later and check on you."  With a nod to Kevin, the Sheriff made his way down the stairs and out the front door.

            Kevin laid his head back on the pillows, and was almost asleep before he could finish the first decade of the rosary.  He thought he heard the bedroom window open, but couldn't force his eyes lids to move, and drifted into relative unconsciousness. Brian saw that the lad was already asleep, and tip toed quietly over to the bed.

           "Ya did good lad.  Margaret is surely proud of ya today."  The little man tucked  the covers around the young priest, and softly patted his arm.  Then, he placed the gold proof coin on the nightstand, and slid out the window the same way he'd come in.

Copyright 2012 Victoria Rocus
         






     

      After his long morning visit with Cassie McKreedy, Fr. Kevin O'Kenney was not unhappy that he was both single and celibate.
   Although he wished the best for the newly engaged couple, Kevin didn't envy Ted Beckett one little bit.  She was beautiful.  There was no denying that.  And inherently charming when she wanted to be.  But her good looks, and sunny disposition, seemed to be a secret weapon for obtaining her needs.  Every toss of her hair, every twinkle in her eye, every dimpled smile was orchestrated to get a specific response.  She had the ability to manipulate each situation to her benefit, using whatever was at her disposal to reach her goal.  He was no stranger to that technique.  He had watched his younger sister, Maureen, the last of eight siblings, use the same strategy to grab the upper hand when there was something in her way.  Yup.  The Sheriff would definately have his share of challenges.

          He had decided not to spend the $12 for a cab back to Holy Family, so as he walked the three blocks from the bus stop, he kept an eye out for the missing Tessa Peppers.  He would admit to the fact that the woman freaked him out.  Yes, she was a seventy year old woman.  But she was in no way frail or harmless.  His swollen nose could attest to that.   It was true that had found her annoying, rude and self serving, but capable of attempted murder was a whole different ballgame.  He'd feel a lot better when the Sheriff had her in custody...again.

            Today was the second Thursday of the month, which meant the Rosary Society would meet for their usual evening prayer service and social.  He noticed that the air conditioning during the morning Masses seemed a bit hit or miss, so he'd probably need to tinker around with that before they gathered.  Hopefully, that wouldn't take all afternoon, because after last night's excitement, he could really desired an afternoon nap.  As he approached the church's garden, he was sure he heard some movement from behind the evergreens.  Praying it wasn't Brian, he poked around and called out, "Hello?  Who's over there?"  For a second, he worried that it might be Tessa Peppers, ready to pounce out on him, but sheepishly realized that with her sheer size, the tree wouldn't hide her very well.

             Finally, a young voice responded to his queary. "It's me, Father.  Irwin."

            "Irwin?  What are you doing in there?  You're going to get all chewed up by mosquitos."  Realizing he sounded like his mother, he straightened his back and lowered his voice.  "Like seriously, dude.  That's not a good place to be playing."

            "I'm not playing, Father.  I'm hiding."

            "Hiding from who?" And where's Patches?"  Kevin knew the dog was never far from the boy, and from the way the pup reacted to him lately, he wanted advance notice of the canine's whereabouts.

             "I'm hiding from Ole' Lady Peepers.  And I'm not sure where Patches went.  She threw a rock at him, he let out a yelp, and then he ran off somewhere.  I'm real worried about him, Father"

              "You saw Mrs. Peepers...I mean Mrs. Peppers?  Where?"

             "She was over by the house that blew up, poking around in the piles with a stick.  She was all crazy like.  Talking to herself and swearing. She's even wearing her pajamas and a robe! I asked her what she was looking for, and she threw that rock at Patches.  I told her to leave my dog alone, and then she started chasing after me with the big stick.  I ditched her on Quinn Street, and then I came here to hide."

            "I'll let the Sheriff know what happened, Irwin.  In the meantime, it would probably be a good idea if you just went back home.  Maybe that's where Patches went.  If he's not there, I'll help you look for him in a little while, okay?  I just have a couple of things I need to do, and then we can track him down."

             "Okay, Father O'Kenney.  Thanks for helping me.  But we gotta stay clear of Peepers.  That lady's get a screw loose!"

             He watched the boy scramble out of the greenery, and head down the street at a lively pace. Once he was sure the boy was safely on his way, he turned and entered the church, dialing the Sheriff's cell as he did so.  The call went directly to voice mail, and Kevin left a message detailing what Irwin had told him  That taken care of, he went to fuss with the church's thermostat, to see if he could get the thing working on a more consistent basis.  Holy Family's air conditioning unit was well over twenty years old, and was definately in need of replacing.  He thought about the money in the safe and wondered if he shouldn't maybe use it to replace the old machine.  It wasn't like he was using it for himself, but he still felt uncomfortable even thinking about it.

          The door in the back of the church opened and closed, and busy with his work on the thermostat, Father Kevin didn't pay much attention until it was too late.

          "I need to talk to you, Father O'Kenney."

           Kevin looked up to find Tessa Peppers standing two feet in front of him, pointing a hand gun at his chest.  His heart caught in his throat, and in his head, he prayed for divine intervention.  "Mrs. Peppers, let's just talk about how I can help you.  You really don't need to use violence in the Lord's House.  I'm more than happy to assisst you in any way I can."

            "Cut the crap, you idiot.  We both know why I'm here."

             He was pretty sure he had no clue as to what she was talking about.  Up until now, he hadn't had a whole lot of experience dealing with crazy people, but from what he saw on television, it was best not to get them all riled up. Trying to remain as calm as possible, a feeling he wished he could share with his bladder and his stomach, he put his hands up to show her he would not offer resistence.  "Honestly, Mrs. Peppers.  I...I don't understand what you want."

           "You must think I'm some kind of senile, old fool, don't you.  You and the rest of this stinkn' town.  Well, I'm not putting up with that shit, do you hear me?  I've come for my money!"

          From his position at the front of the church, Kevin could see the main door open a crack, and Irwin Teller crawl around the last few pews.  That young boy involved in this crisis was the very last thing he needed.  The woman was unstable, and there was no telling what she would do.  He wanted to  yell to Irwin to get the hell out of there.  Tell him to run like crazy, and get help.  But he worried that calling attention to the hidden boy would be a big mistake.  He turned his focus back to the woman with the gun on him.

     "Mrs. Peppers, I have no idea what money you're talking about?  Sunday's collection has already gone to the bank"  For a second, he wondered if she meant the suit case in the church safe.  But how could she possibly know about that?  He had little time to ponder the question, because instantly he was shocked to see Irwin silently climb on the back of the pew, a large shovel in his hand.  The one he had left inside the church vestibule earlier this morning.

      "Listen you red headed fruit cake...if I don't get my $80,000 right now, the next funeral in this church is going to be yours." She raised her arm, pointing the gun towards his head.

        It was then that Irwin reached up and hit her in the head with the back of the shovel.  "That's for throwing rocks at my dog, Peepers!"  The woman let out a grunt and fell face first onto the tiled floor.  But not before the gun went off with a loud bang that echoed in the empty church.

Copyright 2012 Victoria Rocus

         

       

     

        What the hell!?  That priest was like a bad penny, always turning up at the wrong times and in the wrong places.  She wanted to respect the man's position, but damn, he was getting to be a royal pain in the ass. The explosion should have been a sure thing.  A fail safe plan to get rid of the bitch, and all the problems that seemed to cling to her like moss. And because of him, and that asshole Sheriff, she had to rethink her options.  Now it looked like Plan B would also be a no-go.

      She could understand the whole Beckett thing. Figures he'd be like all the rest, and fall for that slut. She attracted men simply by breathing.  But what was the priest's deal?  He couldn't possibly be hot for her too, could he?  Had she read him all wrong?  She hoped the hell not.  Too much depended on him being exactly what his title said he was.

         She watched the number lights on the elevator reach the sixth floor, and silently groaned.  It was no use.  Father O'Kenney had surely gone back to woman's room.  Had he recognized her in the few fleeting seconds before the door closed?  She couldn't be sure, and for the sake of both of them, she wouldn't take the risk.  Prison was simply not an option.  She'd need to regroup and start on Plan C.

         Taking the pint of juice off the cart, she dumped it in the closest trash can, pushing it deeply towards the bottom.  It wouldn't do to have someone notice it before it hit the dumpster.  Satisfied that the container was hidden, she dragged the food cart into a storage closet, and pulled off the stiff pink uniform smock.  Checking that the hallway was clear of people, she slipped out the rear exit, and never looked back.

                              **********************************************

       Cassie heard the ting of the elevator reaching the 6th floor, and listened for the footsteps as they moved toward her room.  She propped herself up in bed, fluffing her hair, and wetting her lips.  It was about time.  They had been gone almost an hour, and she was crawling out of her skin waiting to hear what was going on.  She'd seen the look on Teddy's face when he came back into the room after his little visit with the nurse, and she knew him well enough to know he wasn't a happy camper.  When he and the priest immediately disappeared for a sudden "breakfast", she knew something had to be up.  Being left out of the loop made one vulnerable, and no way was she leaving herself in that position.

        When only Fr. O'Kenney walked into the room, she was initially disappointed.  But realizing an opportunity when she saw one, she decided on a change of plans. She laid her head back on the pillow, and gave a soft moan.

        "Have a nice breakfast, Father?"  Her voice came out as a soft whimper.

         "I did.  Thanks for asking, Ms. McKreedy.  How are you feeling?  Shall I call for a nurse?"

         "Now, Father.  I already told you. We're like family now, so I really want you to call me Cassie, okay?"  She reached over and patted Kevin on the arm.  "I'll be fine.  Nothing to worry about.  Just a little dizzy spell."  She moved in the bed, and grimaced.  "So Father, where's my wonderful fiance?"

          "He asked me to apologize, Ms. McKr...I mean Cassie.  He got a call from the...uh...secretary at the County Office, and he needed to check on something.  Said he'd be back later this afternoon, and that you should get some rest"

          "Poor Teddy.  He's the one that needs some rest!  Being a hero can be so exhausting. Don't worry about little ole' me, Fr. O'Kenney. I'll be just fine...alone here in my big ole' hospital bed.  I'd better get use to his commitment to duty if I'm going to be the wife of Dollyville's only law man."  She sighed loudly, tucked the blankets around her middle.  "Besides, it gives the two of us a chance to have a nice little chat." Pointing to the chair nearest the bed, she gave him a dimpled smile and said, "Have a seat, Father, and make yourself comfortable."

Copyright 2012 Victoria Rocus