Epilogue
“Kback in school?” Philly asked, joining Monk in front of the fire in the lodge room.
He nodded. The February ski-week break had passed and, along with Helia, the three of them had spent five days in the Caribbean soaking up the sun, swimming, and eating too much.
They’d also spread Cindy’s ashes in a current that would take her around the world.
“How’s it going?” North asked, trailing Philly into the room.
“It’s an adjustment,” he replied. “She’s smarter than most of the teachers, but she’s not really there for the academics, so she does her work, aces all of her assignments and tests, and tries to catch up on the social stuff. Some days are easier than others.”
“Juliana said she has her first sleepover this weekend, though,” Stone said, lifting his head from the laptop he was working on nearby.
Juliana and Kendall had grown close over the past several weeks, the contents of the presidential library bonding the two in a way that didn’t make sense to the rest of them but didn’t need to.
Monk smiled. “She does. Eloise is new to Mystery Lake, too, though her mom grew up here. They’re going to start ski lessons Saturday morning.
” Charley and Joey had tried getting Kendall out on the slopes, but she’d been putting them off.
She surprised him a few days ago when she said she and Eloise wanted to take lessons together.
He’d readily agreed. Whether she ended up liking it or not was yet to be seen, but he thought sharing the learning experience with a friend her age was a good thing.
“Is Helia coming up this weekend?” Philly asked.
Monk nodded. “She’s signing on the dotted line with the lodge on Friday,” he said.
The whoops of celebration made him smile.
In a stroke of luck, the event planner at the big resort in town, owned by the Warwick family, had tendered her resignation after the New Year.
A surprise event since she’d only been on the job for less than a year.
But being away from her elderly parents was more of a strain than she’d anticipated, and she wanted to get back to the East Coast where she could help them out.
Joey and Charley had quickly proposed Helia to their cousin, Brad, who ran the place, then put the two in touch.
By the time they shook hands they’d clicked, but Helia hadn’t been ready to leave Sundaram so soon after Greg’s arrest and the DEA’s operation.
In a complicated series of negotiations, the pieces slowly fell into place.
The current event director agreed to stay through June, which would give her time to onboard Helia while also giving Helia time to manage the transition at Sundaram and turn her responsibilities over to her brother.
Kaden and Patrick had always planned on moving back north in a few years.
When the opportunity arose, they simply sped up their timeline.
Patrick worked remotely and would keep his job.
Kaden, who managed a successful art gallery, was happy to step away after nearly twenty years and fill Helia’s role.
“She’ll be up here a few days a week starting March, then full-time in June,” he said. Smiling, he added, “I guess that means we need to find a house.”
“I heard a rumor that the Italianate Victorian across the street and four doors up from Mantis and Charley is going on the market soon,” North said.
“The one that looks haunted?” Philly asked.
North inclined his head. “It needs some work.”
“That close to town, it will still go for a pretty penny,” Stone said.
“He can afford it,” Philly pointed out. He could.
Kendall could, too. As soon as the holidays were over, he’d taken his sister to the lawyer who managed Roger’s estate and made sure she was granted her fair share.
He also asked HICC to see if Roger was listed as a father to any other children, but so far, they’d found nothing.
Once the ink dried on the paperwork, he’d proposed his idea for Bacco to her—turn it into a restaurant and inn that could be a training ground for the people the Falcons helped.
Alessio, Miguel, and Gretchen had all been on board with the plan before he’d known about his relationship with Kendall.
He’d been nervous bringing it up to her, but she hadn’t hesitated to agree, and they’d both set aside a chunk of their estate to support the program.
It would eventually become self-sustaining, but it needed start-up capital.
Other than the training program and Kendall’s college, neither really had any wish to touch the money left to them, but when North mentioned the house, a glimpse of the future flashed through his mind.
Kendall would love the gothic structure, and together, the three of them could make it a home.
They’d have a table to share meals at, a porch to retire to on warm summer evenings, their own Christmas tree in the big front window.
He could almost hear the pounding of feet running up and down the stairs.
He made a mental note to ask Charley who the listing agent would be. Very little happened in Mystery Lake that the Warwicks didn’t know or couldn’t find out. If Helia and Kendall were on board, they could have it fixed up and ready by the time Helia moved in June.
Lovell entered the room, scanned the area, then rested his attention on Monk. “You ready?” he asked. They had a vintage motorcycle in need of restoration in Sacramento that they’d agreed to pick up for a new client that afternoon.
Monk nodded and rose as Lovell’s phone dinged with a text. He held up a finger asking for a minute, an unsettling stillness cloaking his body as he read the message.
“Lovell?” he prompted.
His brother slipped his phone back into his pocket, crossed his arms, and stared at the far end of the room. Knowing he’d speak when he was ready, no one said a word.
Whatever mental puzzle Lovell was working out must have resolved, and his gaze grew sharp as he turned back to the group.
“Houston, do we have a problem?” Philly asked, riffing on the astronaut who said the famous words, Jim Lovell. He was paraphrasing Jack Swigert at the time, but their Lovell was as apt to understate a problem as the original Lovell, so the name stuck.
“They let her out yesterday,” he said. No need to tell them who.
“Fuck,” Philly said.
“How?” Stone said in shock.
“Why are they only telling you now?” Monk asked. Only North remained silent.
Lovell inhaled, then exhaled with a shake of his head. “I agree,” he said to Philly. “Probably her bevy of high-powered lawyers,” he said to Stone. “And same answer as the last,” he said to him.
Then running a hand over his bald head, he sighed and looked at Monk. “Can you grab the bike on your own? I need to let Mantis know someone might be heading our way to kill me.”