1
Ronan
August, present day…
Ronan O’Mara stood at the stove flipping pancakes onto a plate. He added bacon and grapes and set it in front of Ezra, who wore a frown.
“Me no want gapes, Dada!” Ezzie reached for the maple syrup and dumped some onto his pancakes.
Ronan reached for the bacon on his son’s plate. Ezra howled with outrage. “No grapes, no bacon. You know the rules.”
Ezra growled and grabbed a grape. He popped it into his mouth and chewed, all the while shooting Ronan a dirty look. “Bacon!”
“You’ve got two grapes to go, buddy.” Ronan almost burst out laughing at the mutinous look on his son’s face.
“Breakfast smells delish!” Everly said, walking into the kitchen. Tennyson was right behind her.
Ronan fixed them both a plate before making his own. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“Uncle Cope’s taking us to the library for story time and to get new books. I’ve got a whole list. I made a list for Ezzie too. We’ll get more pirate books!”
“Joe! Joe! Joe! And bottle of bum!” Ezzie sang.
Ronan was about to correct his son, but decided singing about bum was far better than rum. At least that way there wouldn’t be another note home from daycare reminding him and Ten to watch their language in front of their impressionable son.
“What about you?” Ten asked. “What’s going on with you and the detectives today?”
“We’re gonna go through some old cases and reach out to witnesses to see what we can shake loose. Don’t forget, Aurora is staying with us for a few days while Jace and Fitz get out of town for their anniversary.” Ronan was looking forward to having giggly girls take over the house.
“Don’t forget to pick up our favorite snacks.” Everly offered a sweet smile.
“Right, red hot Cheetos and chocolate-covered grasshoppers. Got it!”
“Ewwww!” Everly shrieked.
“Me wuv asshoppers!” Ezzie laughed. “Crunchy!”
Ronan’s mouth dropped open. “Is he eating grasshoppers?”
Ten grimaced and nodded. “I told him they were good for the garden. He must have thought they were good for him too.”
Everly giggled. “Let’s go wash up, Ezzie. We don’t want to get the books all sticky.” Both kids hopped out of their seats and headed toward the bathroom.
“Remind me again, what are the girls favorite snacks?” Everly and Aurora changed their minds about things constantly. It was hard for Ronan to keep up.
“Sour Cream and Onion Pringles. One can for each of them, and fun-sized Snickers. We’ll make cookies this afternoon.”
“And order supper from Greek Life!” Everly called. “Sausage pizza and Greek salad, extra feta!”
Ronan chuckled. “What kind of pizza do you want, Grasshopper boy?”
“Bacon! No salad!” Ezzie ran back into the kitchen. “Me ate gapes. No more green.”
Ronan sighed. It wasn’t worth arguing with Ezra. At least, not at the moment. “What movie snack do you want me to get for you?”
“Popcorn and gummy fogs.”
“Fogs?”
“Ribbit! Ribbit!” Ezra hopped around the kitchen floor.
“Oh, frogs!” Ronan opened his phone and started a shopping list. He added what the kids wanted and some Flaming Hot Cheetos for himself and Ten, along with his usual bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
While he was at it he, Ronan added ice cream, hot fudge, and cone bowls.
He loved Everly’s sleepovers as much as she did, mostly for the snacks, but it was a lot of fun having Aurora over.
“Okay, kids. We’re off to Cope’s house. Get your shoes on.” Ten wrapped his arms around Ronan. “Do you have any cash? Cope’s taking them to lunch after the library. I’ll swing by the bank on my way home.”
Ronan dug out his wallet and handed Ten forty dollars. “Thank him for taking the kids. I’ll see you at the office.” Ronan kissed Ten and walked his family to the door. He watched them cross the street and heard Wolf shout his greeting when he flung open the door.
Walking into the kitchen. Ronan went back to his own breakfast. The house wasn’t the same without the kids and Tennyson, but it was much quieter, giving him a chance to think and read before he started his day.
Munching on his pancakes, Ronan opened his phone to his favorite news app and saw a headline that caught his attention.
Salem Man Found Dead on Doorstep. He quickly scanned the story and found that the man, Roderick Crews, 65, had been found at his home several blocks away from Ronan’s.
The house he died in belonged to him and there were no outward signs of foul play. An autopsy was pending.
What the hell could have happened to the man at his own front door? Ronan supposed the usual suspects, heart attack, stroke, aneurism. At sixty-five, he was relatively young, but a sudden health crisis could come out of the blue at any age.
A knock on the door caught Ronan’s attention. “Hey, it’s just me!” Jude called out.
“Everything okay?” He and Jude planned on meeting at the office.
“I’ve gotta drop the T-Bird at the mechanic. She’s making this grinding noise when I shift. I probably need a new clutch, which is gonna cost a fortune. Can you come with me and bring me to the office with you?”
“Sure thing.” Ronan didn’t mind helping Jude at all. “Aurora is coming to stay with us for the next few nights so that Fitz and Jace can go celebrate their anniversary. We’re getting dinner from Greek Life. Why don’t you all come over too?”
“Sounds good. We can go shopping for snacks when we’re done at the office.” Jude grinned. “We’re out after Fitz drives away.”
Ronan shook his head. “No way. We did that last time and nearly got caught. We’ve gotta use Fitz’s computer to check his Ring camera.
When we see him leave on camera and actually drive away, then we split!
” He knew Fitz didn’t care when the detectives left the office, but Ronan and Jude liked to feel like they were pulling one over on their boss.
“You see that article in the paper this morning?” Jude asked, as Ronan got up to put his plate into the dishwasher. “The one about some guy dying on his doorstep.”
“I was just reading about that when you walked in. Sounds like he laid there for hours before a nighttime delivery driver saw him and called 911.” Ronan shook his head.
He loved living near his best friends and knew if anything like that happened to him, Carson or Cope would be on the phone calling for help before he hit the floor.
“It’s crazy none of his neighbors saw him fall.”
“Maybe the guy was a drunk and they were used to seeing him passed out on the front stoop?” Just one more reason Ronan was glad to have put his drinking days behind him. “Or maybe his neighbors hated him or aren’t nosy fucks like ours are.”
Jude snorted. “Isn’t that the truth? I can’t sneeze in this neighborhood without five people blessing me through text messages.”
“Let’s get to work.” Ronan headed for the front door. “The sooner we clock in, the sooner we can clock out.”
“Cope got a funny feeling about it,” Jude said, said as he walked down the front steps.
“Funny feeling about what?” Ronan’s mind had already turned toward the five cases he was going to follow up with that morning. “One of the cases we’re following up on?”
“The dead guy on his front steps.” Jude paused. “Did Ten say anything about it?”
Ronan shook his head. “No. I didn’t mention it to him.”
“Milton’s Auto Repair on Grosvenor Street.
I’ll see you there in a few.” Jude waved and jogged across the street to the Thunderbird.
He listened as Jude shifted the car into drive and heard the screech he’d mentioned.
That repair was going to cost a pretty penny, not to mention how hard it would be finding parts for a sixty year old car.
Ronan started the Mustang and listened to the horses purr under the hood. His mind turned back to the dead guy. Ronan wished he’d asked Jude what kind of funny feeling Cope had that morning. Like Ten, Cope’s hunches were always dead on.
He made a mental note to ask Jude about it later.