Too much to do...

Have you ever heard the saying, “So many books, so little time?”

That’s how I feel about writing. I have so many book ideas in my brain, but so little time to get them down on paper. As author Randy Ingermanson said, “It’s a lot easier to read a book than it is to write one!”

So true.

In that spirit, I’m changing Sunny Day Romance to a one-day-a-week blog. Every Friday, I will share a short story, or a devotional, or photos of my grandkids, or just some thoughts about…something. That will free up my time to write books that might actually be published in book form someday!

Thank you so much for your patronage, dear reader! I appreciate each of you. Please make a note to come back every Friday and visit with me at Sunny Day Romance.

Until Friday, God bless!

In Review...

We have just finished Dead as a Girdle, also known as DAAG. This is the second book we’ve read on Sunny Day Romance. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

You can always re-read the stories by scrolling back to the beginning (going through “older posts”), or you can go into the Archives on the sidebar and click on each chapter (from bottom to top).

The first story, Romance by Design (about Goldie and Ryan), began on Monday, September 3, 2012, and the second one, Dead as a Girdle (about Janelle and Ben), began on Monday, November 5, 2012.

So we’ve had a romance story and a mystery story. What type of fiction do you like to read? Even if you’ve never commented on this blog (which is most of you!), leave a comment today. Some of the categories are romance, mystery, literary, women’s fiction, science fiction, fantasy, classic, Amish, Biblical… There’s a lot of genres in fiction! So tell me what you enjoy reading.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about future plans for Sunny Day Romance. Until then, God bless!

A Good Ending

Epilogue

Two months later, Janelle opened the Greenvale Gazette, skimming the paper for the article her dad had told her about.

         Life was good.

         Ben and his uncle Elliot had decided to turn Thorne’s Bra and Girdle Company into a women’s sports clothing line, eventually adding some sports equipment. Aunt Ida was behind bars, and would be for a long time. The house Ben inherited, Rosewood Manor, had sold. Uncle Elliot was attending church with Ben every Sunday.

         And Janelle’s left hand displayed a large diamond ring.

         Yes, life was good. And God was good.

Taking a scissors, she smiled as she clipped the newspaper article from the paper to add to her scrapbook: 

Miss Janelle Weaver will join her father in his private firm, Weaver Investigation Services, as a junior partner. Miss Weaver is engaged to Mr. Ebenezer Jedadiah Thorne III, president of Thorne’s Sporting Goods Company. An April wedding is planned.

THE END

 * * *

I hope you enjoyed reading Dead as a Girdle. Until tomorrow, may the Lord bless your day!

Dodging a Bullet

Chapter Fifty-seven

Janelle screamed.

         She ducked behind a stack of boxes. With a loud crack, a bullet pierced the floor beside her. She screamed again. God, help me!

         In the next second, the passage lights came on.

         “Now, Aunt Ida.” Ben strode through the passageway, passing Janelle. “Give me that gun.” He held out his palm.

         “This is none of your concern, Ben.” Ida pointed the gun at him. “I’ll kill you if you come any closer.”

         Janelle gasped. “No!”

         Her protest distracted Ida, and Ben grabbed the gun. Then he took Ida’s arm firmly. “No more killing. You’ve caused enough problems.”

         “That’s right.” Sheriff Horton strode in from the other end of the passageway. “You’re under arrest, Ida Thorne, for the murder of your brother-in-law, Jed Thorne.” He pulled her arms behind her and snapped a pair of handcuffs in place.

         Janelle breathed out her relief. Thank You, Lord!

         “Huh! What do you mean, I’m under arrest?” Ida stared at the sheriff. “I didn’t kill anyone. Uh, Mr. Thorne died in his bed.” Her shoulders drooped and she suddenly looked feeble. “But he was old. My nephew found him. Found him in bed—”

         “Sorry, Aunt Ida.” Ben handed the gun to the sheriff. “That dementia’s not going to work anymore. Dr. Prescott says your brain is good. Sharp, in fact.” With a sigh, he shook his head. “To think I’ve been living with a calculating murderer.”

         “That’s not true!” Ida’s eyes widened, and she looked at Janelle. “It’s Nellie’s word against mine. You can’t prove anything.”

         “Yes, we can.” Howard walked in from the other end of the passageway. “I recorded your entire conversation, Ida.”

         “What?” She gaped at him.

         “Sure did.” Howard pulled a tape from his pocket and gave it to the sheriff. “Since I missed my bus, I was in my office.” He pointed up at the wall beside them. “See that vent up there? I heard voices, loud voices, and started recording the conversation. Good thing, too. There’s no doubt that Ida Thorne is Jed’s murderer.” He pinned her with a look.

         Sheriff Horton pulled on her arm. “Let’s go, Ms. Thorne.”

         Her shoulders drooping once more, Ida shuffled with the sheriff to the other end of the passageway.

         Howard looked at Janelle. “Are you okay?”

         With a nod, she smiled at him. “Thanks, Howard.” And to think she thought Howard was the murderer!

         He took a step back. “I’m going down to the police station. I want to make sure old Ida Thorne gets locked up.” He walked out of the passageway.

         Janelle turned to Ben. “Thanks for coming into the passageway. I’m sure your claustrophobia was bothering you, but—”

         “Janelle!” He pulled her into his arms. “Aunt Ida could have killed you!”

         “I know.” She laid her head against his shoulder. “And she could have killed you. You were so brave, Ben! But I have a question.” She looked up at him. “How did the sheriff know to come?”

         “I called him. I heard the entire conversation.” He shook his head. “Just can’t believe Aunt Ida was so…so evil.”

         “Dad always says that once a person kills the first time, it gets easier every time.”

         “Your dad’s going to be proud of you, Janelle. In fact, I’m proud of you. In fact…” His arms tightened around her. “I love you.”

         “You do?” Tears crept to Janelle’s eyes. “Oh Ben, I love you, too.”

         “Really?” He grinned, then his eyes dipped down to her lips, and he kissed her.

         Janelle kissed him back with everything in her. She knew without a doubt that Ben was the one for her.

         He lifted his head and looked her in the eye. “You’re so pretty… Uh, can we get out of this tight passageway and continue our conversation somewhere else?”

         Janelle laughed. “Yes! Let’s celebrate.”

         “How about dinner?”

         “At Hillaker’s. That’s what—oh!” She turned around and spied the open briefcase on the floor. “Ben, look!” She knelt by the case. “Your uncle Frank embezzled all this money from the company. I guess it belongs to you now.”

         “Wow.” Ben knelt beside her. “Thank God! Do you realize we can turn the company around with these funds?” He closed the briefcase and picked it up. “I’ll count it later. Right now, let’s get out of here!”

* * *

        

The story’s not quite over. Come back on Monday as we tie up some loose ends. Until then, may God bless you with a wonderful weekend.

Trapped!

Chapter Fifty-six

Janelle drew in a sharp breath.

In the darkness she couldn’t see a thing, but she recognized that voice!

         “Aunt Ida?”

         What was Ida doing here? Wasn’t she going senile?

         “Yes, it’s me, Nellie. And you found my money.”

         “Your money?” Janelle had to get the woman talking. “Why is your money hidden back here? And why didn’t you know where it was?”

         Ida huffed out a breath. “It was that conniving Jed Thorne’s fault. When he became CEO of the company, he cut my husband’s bookkeeper salary in half. Frank deserved more than he was making, so he began taking what was rightfully his.”

         Helga’s words came back. Frank never got his numbers right. The money yust seemed to disappear. “So Frank was embezzling money from the company accounts?”

         “Embezzling?” Ida’s voice grew louder. “That money was his! He hid it in this passageway, and we lived on that money. After he died, I searched this place for years and finally found it, just a few months ago.”

         “But then you lost it?”

         “No! That awful Jed Thorne discovered me in the passageway and took it! He didn’t know about Frank’s embezzlement, but he took the money, claiming it belonged to him. Well, it didn’t!”

         Janelle’s palms began to sweat. She had finally discovered the murderer, but now she was shut up in the passageway with this unstable woman. If only Janelle could call out to Ben, but he was on the phone. How could she let him know? Why hadn’t she called the sheriff this morning, when she had a chance? What if Ida whipped out a bra to strangle her?

         Better to keep the woman talking.

         “So, you really aren’t losing your mind, are you, Ida?”

         “Ha! It was just an act. Who would think an old senile woman capable of murder? I knew Jed had hidden the money somewhere in this passageway, and after I killed him, I began searching. Now you’ve found it for me, Nellie.” Ida’s voice came closer. “You and I are the only ones who know, and I have a gun.”

         Janelle gasped. “But…but it’s dark! You can’t shoot in the dark.”

         “Do you think I’m stupid?” Something clicked, and a pinpoint of light shown in Janelle’s eyes. “I always have my flashlight. I can see you just fine.”

        

* * *

Things look bad for our heroine! Until tomorrow… 

The Deciding Clue

Chapter Fifty-five

Janelle heard Ben’s cell phone ring.

         Good. That gave her a few more minutes. She would check a couple boxes while he was on the phone.

         Moving the next group away from the wall, she gasped. Level with the floor board was a black ring. She tugged on it. The board moved up.

         Janelle’s eyes widened. Beneath the floor was a space, shrouded in darkness.

If only she had a flashlight.

Well, if she couldn’t use her eyes, she’d use her hands. She plunged her right hand into the darkness, only to jerk it back.

“Yuck!” Her hand was covered with cobwebs.

Taking an old girdle from another box, she wiped the cobwebs off her hand, then used the girdle to wipe the inside of the hole.

Gingerly this time, she put her hand down through the space. She felt something hard, something plastic.

Using both hands, she reached down and pulled up a briefcase.

Was this what the killer was looking for?

Janelle sat back and put it on the floor. She pushed in the two latches and the lid popped open. She caught her breath.

In neat bundles, thousands of dollars filled the briefcase.

“Ben, come here! You’ll never believe what I found.”

“Just a minute.” His voice sounded far away. “I’m on the phone.”

The passageway lights went out.

With a gasp, Janelle sat up straight.

Why hadn’t she been more careful? She had just announced to the entire building that she found something—something the killer had obviously been looking for. 

From the other end of the passageway she heard footsteps. Someone walked slowly toward her.

Her heartbeat took off. “Who’s there?”

The footsteps stopped. A voice came out of the darkness.

“That money is mine!”

* * *

          To be continued!  

Searching for a Motive

Chapter Fifty-four

An hour later Ben still sat in his dad’s office chair. His stomach rumbled.

         Okay, that did it! Janelle’s time was up.

         Taking a few steps to the wall, he crouched down by the panel and stuck his head in the passageway.

About midway down, Janelle leaned over a box.

He squinted against the bare light bulbs hanging along the ceiling. “Find anything?”

         “No, just old merchandise.” She sat back on her heels. “There has to be something here, Ben. Something the killer wanted.”

         “Why do you think that?”

         “Because some of these boxes have been moved recently, and because Helga says there are ghosts in the wall.”

         “Ghosts?” Ben raised his eyebrows. “Really, Janelle. Do you believe—”

         “Someone comes in here at night, so they’re still looking for it. Whatever it is.”

         He shook his head. “I think you’ve searched enough today. Let’s go out to eat.”

         “Okay.” She shoved the box against the wall with the others.

         Back in the office, Ben’s cell phone rang where he had set it on the desk. He grabbed it, then dropped into his dad’s chair. “Hello?”

         “Hello, is this Ben Thorne?”

         “Yes.”

         “Dr. Prescott from St. Louis. I’m calling about your aunt, Ida Thorne. She had some testing done in our office this morning.”

         Ben sat forward. “What did you find out?”

         “Ida doesn’t have Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia. In fact, her mind is very sharp.”

         “It is? But she forgets things all the time, and she repeats herself constantly.”

         “I’m afraid she’s just pretending.” The doctor cleared his throat. “Sometimes older people try to get attention that way, to make others feel sorry for them and spend time with them.”

“She does seem lonely. I told her I was moving out as soon as my dad’s house sells.”

“Hmm… that would leave Ida living by herself. Maybe that’s why she’s pretending to be senile.”

         Another liar in the Thorne family.

         Ben sighed. “So what can we do, Doctor?”

* * *

         Tomorrow we’ll see what Janelle discovers. Until then, God bless!

Getting Closer

Welcome back to DAAG! We’re closing in on the murderer. Let’s see what happens in…

Chapter Fifty-three

Taking a deep breath, Ben got up from his desk and opened the door. In the outer office, Janelle sat at her desk, studying the green notebook. The one with her notes about the murder.

         Ben rolled his eyes. She would pursue this case until she solved it. Hopefully she would forget all about the murder during a romantic dinner.

         “Janelle?”

         She looked up, her pretty eyes wide.

         “It’s after five o’clock. How would you like to go to Hillaker’s Restaurant tonight? Just you and me?”

         He thought she would smile and agree. Or maybe jump up and say, “Let’s go!”

Instead, she frowned and looked down at the notebook. “I have to get back into the passageway, Ben. The sheriff will need to dust the place for fingerprints, but my fingerprints are already there. I might as well keep searching.” She looked up at him. “I believe the murderer didn’t just kill your father because he hated him. He wanted something—something your father had.”

Ben huffed out a breath. “Why do you have to do that tonight?”

“Because my dad’s coming back home tomorrow. He’ll ask me about the case, and I can’t lie to him.”

Unlike my family. Ben rubbed a hand across his forehead. At least Janelle was not a liar.

“Will you wait for me?” Her smile came then. “Just an hour, okay? I’ll see what I can find, and then we’ll go out to eat.”

The outer door opened, and Howard walked in. “I missed my bus! And I saw it pulling away. Can you believe that?”

Ben glanced at Janelle, then did a double take. She gaped at Howard, her face a chalky white.

Ben walked toward her. “Janelle? Are you okay?”

“Huh?” She tore her eyes from Howard to focus on him. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” She looked back at Howard. “When does the next bus come?”

“Not until eight o’clock.” Howard opened the door to his office. “I might as well do some work while I’m waiting.” The door closed.
         Janelle bit her lower lip. “Uh, Ben, would you come into the passageway with me?”

“What?” Didn’t she remember he was claustrophobic?

“I would feel safer if you were there.”

“Janelle, I…”

She motioned toward Howard’s office. “You never know who you can trust.”

“You think Howard—”

“Sh-h!” Janelle grabbed his arm and propelled him to the door. Together they walked to Jed’s office and went inside.

Janelle closed the door. “Remember how Howard and your dad had that argument?”

“Right.” Ben frowned. “But Howard recorded the whole thing, even the deadbolt locking in place.”

“Yep. Good evidence for him.” Janelle lowered her voice. “But what if Howard came back through the passageway later—without his tape recorder?”

The hairs on the back of Ben’s neck stood up. “You think he killed my dad?”

“It’s possible. My dad thinks Howard’s the murderer. Dad doesn’t put any stock in the recording, and I just realized Howard could be using that as a ruse.”

Ben shook his head. “I just don’t know.” He’d known Howard for a long time. Wouldn’t the man act guilty if he was a murderer?

“That’s why I want you to stay with me in the passageway, Ben. What if Howard comes in from the other way and finds me snooping around?” Janelle walked to the chair rail and pressed the panel open.

Ben glanced at the small hole in the wall and took a deep breath. “How about if I stay here in my dad’s office? Call out if you find anything suspicious.”

“Or any one.” Janelle bent down and squeezed into the passageway.

Ben dropped into his dad’s office chair. All he wanted was a quiet, romantic dinner with a pretty girl.

Unfortunately, she was a Nancy Drew wanna-be. 

* * *

         Until tomorrow, God bless!

In the Passageway

Isn’t this a cute picture? Janelle is thinking about cats today, so I thought I’d share this photo with you. And now, to continue our story with…

Chapter Fifty-two

Janelle sneezed. This passageway was certainly dusty.

         She pulled another box into the middle of the floor and opened it. More old girdles—so old they even had garters on the ends. Had these boxes been setting back here for fifty years?

         Walking down the passageway, she passed box after box lined up against the wall. Four to five boxes in every stack. Why was all this old merchandise back here? Maybe Janelle should go through these boxes when she had nothing to do—which was too often—and clean this place up.

         A door at the end closed off the passageway. Where did it lead?

         But just as Janelle made her way to the door, she noticed a break in the boxes. She knelt beside them. The dust had been disturbed here. And what was that against the baseboard?

         She gathered some dust between her fingers. Cat fur stuck out from the dust.

Cat fur? She sat back. That was odd in an office building. Someone must have been here recently. Someone perhaps who owned a cat?

“Janelle, you might disturb the evidence.” That’s what Ben had told her, and he was right. These boxes should be dusted for fingerprints. That meant the sheriff would have to get involved.

Janelle sighed. Her sleuthing for this case might be at an end.

After lunch, as Janelle sat at her desk sorting the mail, Helga walked in with a cardboard animal carrier.

“I brought my Spiffy to show you, Yanelle.” She set the carrier on Janelle’s desk. 

         “The Sphynx?”

         “Ja. She is shy, but sweet kitty.” Helga opened the box and picked up a hairless cat.

Janelle’s eyes widened. That was the ugliest cat she’d ever seen. “So, she…doesn’t have any fur?”

“No.” Helga laughed. “That is why I wanted Sphynx. No shedding.”

“I see.”

It didn’t look like Helga was a suspect in the murder case. At the very least, Spiffy wasn’t a culprit in the secret passageway cat fur situation.

Janelle opened her mouth, ready to tell Helga about the passageway. That would put Helga’s mind at ease about ghosts in the walls. But if the bookkeeper wanted to see the passageway for herself, she might also disturb the evidence.

Janelle would inform Helga later.

But the cat fur bothered Janelle. Who could have been back there and left cat fur behind? Surely the murderer didn’t bring a pet cat to the scene of the crime. Could it be Howard or… Aunt Ida?

No, not Ida. It must be Howard. Dad thought so. Maybe Howard knew about the secret passageway, and that’s the way he left the room.

Janelle sighed. She still wasn’t sure about the murderer’s identity.

* * *

Until Monday, may the Lord bless your weekend!

More News

Chapter Fifty-one

Ben shuffled some papers on his desk. At least he was making progress on these orders. Strange how their company was not doing well financially, yet he was swamped with work.

         A green button lit up the company phone. A call from the outside, which Ben ignored. Janelle would answer it. The green light keep blinking, then finally stopped.

         Oh yeah… Janelle was in the passageway, trying to solve a murder.

         Ben shook his head, and a smile tipped his lips. She was so cute when she was serious, telling him this was her case.  

         But he didn’t like her in that passageway by herself. What if she got hurt?

         He had come so close to kissing her in his dad’s office. But that was not the right time or place. He should take her out to dinner tonight. Then afterwards…

         Hopefully it would make her forget about the murder.

         Ben’s cell phone rang. He dug it from his pocket. “Hello?”

         “Ben!” Uncle Elliot sounded agitated. “I tried calling you on the company phone. Is Janelle sick today?”

         “No…uh.” He didn’t want to mention the secret passageway. What if Elliot was the murderer?

         “Well, no matter.” Elliot paused. “I took Ida to that brain specialist this morning. We just got back from St. Louis.”

         “Really? She didn’t tell me she was going out today.”

         “She didn’t know!” His uncle brayed out a laugh. “I tricked her into taking a leisurely drive with me. You know how she always loved to travel. While we were in St. Louis we just happened to stop by Dr. Prescott’s office. I told him about Ida’s symptoms, and he offered to test her right then.” Elliot chuckled again. “She could hardly refuse.”

         Ben rolled his eyes. That “offer” had been a set up. He almost felt sorry for Aunt Ida, although he was glad she was tested. “So when will we find out the results?”

         “I gave Dr. Prescott your cell number, Ben. He’ll probably call you this evening some time.”

         “Why is he calling me instead of you?”

         “Oh, well, uh…” Elliot almost sounded embarrassed. “I have a heavy date tonight, and I’ll be tied up.”

         Ben might have a date himself, if Janelle agreed to go out with him. But Ben wanted to know what was wrong with Aunt Ida. “Okay, I’ll talk to him. Uh, thanks, Uncle Elliot. I appreciate what you’re doing for Aunt Ida.”

         “Someone has to help the old girl.” Elliot laughed. “See you later.”

         Ben ended the call. What if Aunt Ida had Alzheimer’s? What if he needed to put her in a nursing home? Hopefully the nursing home where she worked for twelve years would give them a discount. What was the name of that home? North Park? North Peak?

         Whatever. Ida would remember.

         Maybe.

* * *

         Until tomorrow, God bless!