Grave New World: A Jane Ladling Mystery

For the good of the case, Jane obeyed the doctor’s orders and took it easy for the rest of the evening. Probably the most difficult thing she’d ever done, as well as the easiest. One, Conrad insisted. Two, Cheddar cuddled at her side, drooling in his sleep. Three, her head still throbbed. And four, she couldn’t stop thinking about the cat-and-mouse game and how someone hated her and/or Conrad and/or Hannah and/or the former sheriff enough to write a book detailing a murder, print and mail fake invitations, then hang around a crime scene to deliver the final blows.

Had the killer used Jane and Conrad’s romance as a distraction tactic to ensure they overlooked a motive to off Hannah? Was Abigail Waynes-Kirkland involved or not?

Okay, so, Jane buckled under pressure and spent a little time scouring social media. Thankfully, her sleuthing paid off, and she unearthed a tidbit about Hannah’s adult children. They lived out of state, had been cut out of her will, and none had visited either of their parents for years. Something Mason had lamented in several posts, as well as the reason Jane deleted the three offspring from her list of suspects.

Through it all, Conrad refused to leave her side. He worked from the couch, going over photographs and footage from the crime scene, rereading statements he’d obtained from select individuals, sending emails, making calls, issuing orders to his deputies, seeking advice from the former sheriff, and checking on Jane every half hour on the dot. She was snuggled up at his side, and yes, okay, she did go over those photographs, videos, statements and emails of his, too, while simultaneously attending a Team Truth meeting via a texting group chat on her phone. A professional’s work was never done.