Epilogue

Monday Morning, October 31st

“Happy Halloween!” Kayla yelled, walking through the Keevers’ front door without knocking. “Aww, you look adorable, Marlowe!”

The way-too-chipper brunette knelt to hug the large costumed dog, who wagged his tail at one of his favorite people. Eating his cereal, Elliot barely glanced up from the bowl when the cheerful brunette roared at his dog.

“Are you ready to give out candy, Mr. Marlowe?” Kayla cooed as Evelyn Keever entered the kitchen while putting on an earring.

“We had to check to make sure the costume fit,” Elliot’s mother explained. “And I have a big morning and evening ahead.”

“Now, why wouldn’t it fit, buddy?” the caramel-haired eighteen-year-old teased.

“I suggested we go with a moose this year.”

“Elliot, that’s not nice,” Evie scolded before patting Marlowe’s head.

“It fits him better than that, and we’d only need antlers. That costume is already tight,” Elliot pointed out.

“Marlowe works splendidly as a brontosaurus,” Kayla proclaimed, sticking her tongue out at her party-popper neighbor.

“He’s a stegosaurus. That’s why he has the costume with those fins on his back,” the sandy-brown-haired eighteen-year-old corrected.

“Whatever, Mr. Know-It-All. The kids are going to love this terrifying dinosaur tonight,” Kayla declared before snarling at the dog, who promptly licked her face.

"Okay, I need to take it off for now," Evie revealed.

"Aww!"

“Feel free to stop over tonight for trick-or-treat. Actually, if you’re not busy, can you be a doll and help Ellie hand out candy until I get home? I have to show a home or two tonight,” the popular realtor explained.

“Absolutely! I planned to help my mom, but I can fly over here. Get it, Ellie? You need to dress up, so I’m not alone,” Kayla pointed out, grinning.

“I’m not wearing that ridiculous Invisible Man costume ever again. I swear those bandages are making me itch,” Elliot moaned. He also didn’t know if he wanted to be up close to her skimpy Tinker Bell costume. Things already felt weird since she found him tied to the bed.

“You can wear that smoking jacket,” Kayla suggested.

“That’s a fantastic idea. That jacket certainly looks too expensive to wear just once. You can answer the door as Hugh Hefner,” Evie teased, taking off Marlowe’s headpiece. When she finished, she noticed her son’s sour expression. “A non-sleazy Hefner, okay?”

“I don’t care about the cost. Mercedes is supposed to pay for it,” Elliot explained.

“Ooh! Is your new girlfriend going to start dressing you now?”

“Mother!”

Kayla descended into a giggle fit at the idea of Elliot and her co-best friend dating.

“I would never date that spoiled rotten–”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Keever. Ellie likes girls, or should I make that young women? You’d better keep Callie’s friends away from him,” Kayla teased.

Elliot attempted to shut his neighbor up by motioning his hand in front of his neck, but his mother caught the gesture. Immediately, Evie realized that her son had kept something from her about the party. With an almost evil grin, she turned to ask her friend’s daughter.

“You didn’t tell her?” Kayla responded with a question for her classmate.

“Why would I tell my mom about what happened?” Elliot shot back with a glare.

“Be nice,” Evie directed her son. “So, it wasn’t just chasing thieves at the party, was it? What’s her name?”

“I probably shouldn’t say,” Kayla admitted. Feeling guilty, her face scrunched up at her mistake.

“Dear, if your mother knows, I’ll know soon enough,” Evie stated.

“Look at that. Time to go!” her son announced, rushing to rinse his bowl in the sink.

“Wait, you’re not wearing that. You can’t,” Kayla declared, frowning at the hooded sweatshirt with a nearby college’s logo on the front.

“Why not?”

“Because today is a huge day!” the peppy brunette squealed. “You need to dress up.”

“How? We can’t wear costumes to school. That ended when we left grade school,” Elliot reminded his suddenly upset friend.

“Aargh!” Kayla screamed. Then, she surprised both Keevers and Marlowe by running up the stairs to the second floor.

“What’s her name?” Evie asked, trying again.

“None of your business.” Elliot watched as his traitorous dog walked over to wait for the meddling brunette at the bottom of the stairs.

Within a minute, Kayla barreled down the stairs, pausing only to pet Marlowe. Finished with that quick piece of affection, she tossed a button-up shirt at Elliot with an order to wear it.

“Why?”

“Because you’re the man of the hour,” Evie guessed.

“Exactly!” Kayla squealed. “You can’t show up today in a hoodie.”

“You know, we’ve had several reporters call,” Evie informed their neighbor. “Elliot passed on interviews for now.”

“I’m merely doing what Mr. Raddatz asked me to do. They don’t want too much info out there with Holland still on the loose,” Elliot responded, failing to miss Kayla’s nod when Evie shot her a questioning look about the name Holland.

“Well, we can discuss your ability to conduct a limited interview when we go to the Raddatzes for dinner next Saturday. You should get some public credit for helping their daughter.”

“Do we have to? I don’t want to go back there,” Elliot told his mother.

“Nonsense. It would be rude to cancel such a gracious invitation. And I don’t need to remind you to behave yourself. With your father not being able to attend, at least Callie is coming,” Evie revealed.

“Callie’s coming home?” Kayla asked excitedly.

“Yes. She wants to see her younger hero brother. I’m surprised that you didn’t hear. She’s planning to drive down with your cousin,” Evie disclosed.

“Wait, Dad’s not attending this dinner at their mansion?” Elliot asked, feeling uneasy.

“He has to go out of town for work. I don’t see how it’s a problem,” Evelyn replied, noticing her son’s strange expression. “There will be plenty of people there. I assume Alyse will be joining the Deams.”

“You know it!” Kayla squealed about her beloved cousin.

“Other people are invited?”

“Yes, I thought I mentioned this. The Raddatzes invited most of your friends who helped stop their rogue guard,” Evie explained.

“Okay, that’s better,” Elliot mumbled. Sighing with relief, he still told himself to keep an eye on Malachi around his mother. Based on the man’s comment about her and his reputation, he wouldn’t rule out a seduction attempt by Mr. Raddatz.

“Alright, let’s go,” Kayla clapped. “I get the honor of showing you off, since Cede still can’t talk.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Elliot said, smiling as he grabbed his backpack. “See ya later, Marlowe!”

“Don’t forget to stop and see Laurel as soon as you can! She has plenty of questions. You might even want to eat lunch with her,” Evie called after her son about Miss Mifflin, the school librarian and their family friend.

“I will!”

“Not funny,” Kayla shot back, slightly elbowing him for grinning about Mercedes’s condition once they got into the car. “Although Bree thinks it’s hilarious.”

“Anything new? I assume her fingers still work,” Elliot asked, starting up his car. “Nothing about the Gatecrasher?”

“The Gatecrasher, huh? What happened to calling her Holland?” the devious brunette teased.

“It’s not her real name, so I'd better get used to not using it. Well?”

“Nothing. It sounds like she vanished without a trace. Fleeman thinks she’ll be someone else’s problem soon, but Mercedes’s dad is worried about the list of past clients she now has,” Kayla divulged. “Oh! A few of the extra guards they hired after the letter arrived are threatening to sue.”

“What? Why?”

“I guess about being attacked by crazy, drunk high school guests,” Kayla said, wincing at the memory.

“What about that girlfriend or mistress that Nellie caught breaking into the car?”

“Mr. Eike’s woman? Oh, that’s nothing new. That stuff gets brushed under the rug,” Kayla said, shrugging before she grinned at him. “Now, put on a big smile today. You’re the fucking man…until people forget.”

"I shouldn't be. I didn't actually do anything," Elliot said, reverting to his self-opinion of the last six months. “I failed at everything.”

“What are you talking about? You single-handedly stopped Mullen. And you even guessed that he hid the jewelry bag in that old pond.”

“It’s pure luck. Mullen walked right up to us. And his pants were wet,” the mystery lover pointed out. “Besides, Mercedes asked me to help stop the Seeper. Hell, we still don’t know who that is, or if they even stole anything. And to make things worse, the Gatecrasher got away with a priceless necklace, and I got played by her.”

"No, don't even start with that line of thinking," Kayla scolded. "Every valuable in the house and that other guests brought with them are accounted for. Even Mrs. Horne is pleased that you helped recover Cede's jewels. As she pointed out, the Frost necklace is much harder to fence compared to the stuff you found."

“I guess you’re right.”

“I absolutely am!”

“Maybe all of Mercedes’s recovered jewels add up to the Frost Diamond Necklace,” Elliot speculated, until he saw his passenger’s grimace. “It doesn’t?”

“Not even close,” the cheerful brunette revealed, patting his knee. “But you’re still the hero, along with Graham and the rest. I haven’t forgotten one detail about your brilliance, and plan to repeat them to everyone.”

Elliot drove a few more minutes before he realized Kayla’s hand had never left his knee. Even stranger, it slid up his upper thigh somewhat while she checked her messages with her right hand.

“Um, about what you remember. We should talk about…Well, you know…How you and Mercedes found me…in that bed,” Elliot stammered.

“What do you mean?” Kayla asked far too loudly. Practically squeaking, she realized where her hand was and yanked it away.

“It’s just that reaction. I know you saw me naked—”

“I did not! Did I? I can’t remember! Ask Bree; I was super drunk. Did I tell you we caught Haylee blowing Corbin, and boy, you do not…Forget about that!”

Monday Evening

“Evening, Bruno,” the slightly rotund man greeted him, then nervously entered the back room of the butcher shop in River Ripple.

“Ah, we wondered if you’d show up,” a heavily bearded man said, standing up from behind a cluttered desk.

Walking over, the man sized up his guest, which concerned the rotund fellow.

“Wh-Why wouldn’t I come, Izzard?”

“So you have more jewels?” the bearded man inquired.

“You know I don’t. I think enough has been on the news for you to be in the loop.”

“And the word is out on the streets. Shame about Mullen; he owed me a decent amount of money. Nowhere near your territory, but enough to make this a crappy day,” the bookie admitted.

“Uh, I’m sorry to hear that, Iz-Izzard,” the rotund man stammered.

“So you have the vig?”

“You know I don’t. That’s why we made the other deal,” the degenerate gambler protested.

“And it sounds like our deal is over, Stithers.”

“Why?! I can still get more jewels. I know who Raddatz & Padfield sold them to,” the R&P accountant insisted. “I’ll just need to travel more. I can’t risk anything nearby after–”

“Damn right you can’t risk anything. Raddatz and his people will be on the lookout from now on. It might take them a year or two to drop their guard again. And where will you get my money from?” Izzard demanded, nodding to a person behind Stithers.

Bruno reached around to grab Stithers from behind while he pulled a hand over to a cutting board.

“Wait…Wait!” the pale, sweaty man pleaded, his eyes bugging out when Izzard picked up a cleaver. “It’s not my fault. I did everything you asked. I wore that superhero costume and planned to rob Francesca, but that cursed letter arrived. How was I to know that Holland was also a thief?”

“You’re blaming this on a letter?” Izzard challenged.

“Yes! I don’t know who wrote it, or how I got labeled this Seeper. I never called myself that! I don’t know who did.”

“A group of college-bound young women gave you that name after your job in Noble Knob,” a new voice said from behind Stithers.

“What? Who?” the accountant asked, unable to see the man because of Bruno’s grip.

“I wouldn’t worry yourself about the Gotcha Gems. They’re off at college, leaving their hometown open for business again. However, that depends on your tale from Saturday night,” the newcomer declared ominously. “You never suspected Malachi’s assistant?”

“Never! I thought she was another one of his pieces of eye candy, who he’d probably seduce soon,” Stithers replied. “I never imagined that she could be the Gatecrasher. I swear!”

“It’s your lack of imagination that keeps you alive, Smith. It’s how I know you’re too simple to doublecross me.” Izzard nodded in reply to the unseen man’s gesture. “You will no longer hand over your stolen wares to Mr. Izzard. I’ve decided to cut out the middleman for the time being. That’s why I sent the letter to Malachi.”

“You sent…Why?” Stithers asked, while watching Izzard put down the cleaver to pick up a meat mallet.

"Why, to test you, Smith. Despite failing, I still have use for you. However, our arrangement must shift as well. No longer will you be in the dark."

“How?” Stithers asked, eyeing the mallet with fear.

“Partially as a thief, partially for your knowledge. I, for one, know that you’re a far more knowledgeable man than people believe,” the hidden man stated, moving around to come into the light. “Hello, Smith, it’s been ages. I have returned to River Ripple. Oh, yes, I'd better step back for a moment. Izzard insisted on this part.”

“No, wait!” Smith Stithers screamed before the mallet slammed into the top of his hand