Page 1

Chapter One

Alan stood in line at the fast-food eatery near our gate at the O’Hare airport while I saved his seat and watched our carry-on luggage. We had another hour to wait to board our flight to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and thought we should get some food to tide us over until we arrived home in Aspen Notch, Pennsylvania.

I watched as he wove his way through the horde of passengers disembarking from an arriving flight at the next gate. Now in his mid-sixties, my husband has remained strong, yet lean. We’re close in age, but he’s lucky to have a metabolism that allows him to eat anything without gaining weight.

Once he bypassed the crowd, I noticed him walking with a slight limp. His leg sometimes ached due to his being hit with a bullet in the line of duty several years ago, and I assumed that our lengthy flights didn’t help matters.

“Thanks,” I said when he handed me a soda and wrapped hamburger. “Is your leg bothering you?”

“A little, probably from sitting so long.” He took a sip of his Coke and munched on a French fry from the sack. “Traveling to Japan was an adventure, but getting to and from… Let’s just say I’ll be happy to get home.”

“Me, too.” I recalled hesitating before we made our travel arrangements a month ago for that reason, though I would never have missed my son’s wedding. Michael, who worked for a tech company in Silicon Valley, often traveled to Japan for work and, while there, he happened to fall in love with Suki. “Still,” I added, “I’m glad we went.”

He nodded his agreement. “I doubt I’d have ever seen Japan were it not for marrying you. You sure do make my life interesting.”

“I could say the same about you,” I teased. “I never thought about solving crimes until I met you.”

We both laughed before unwrapping our burgers and taking our first bites. I couldn’t help thinking about my good luck in finding someone to share my life during our golden years. I met Alan almost four years ago at the Alpine Holiday Lodge where we each had booked a reservation: he to spend the two weeks before Christmas skiing, and me to envelop myself in the cozy warmth of a festive environment.

Unfortunately, I ended up in a blizzard on the way to the lodge, then someone accused me of theft. I needed help to clear my name, so the fact that Alan had police credentials convinced me to work with him despite my initial reservations.

Luckily, we resolved our differences and, together, solved a few police cases—including mine. In the process, we fell in love.

Our spouses had died years before and, although neither of us expected to marry again, we decided to tie the knot and spend our remaining years together. Except for a few rough patches as we adapted to each other’s quirks, we definitely made the right decision.

We sold our own homes and bought a new one in Aspen Notch, Pennsylvania—a small town in the Pocono mountains. Initially, Alan served as the interim chief of police, and I started a garden shop in the old log cabin on our property. He has since retired and dusted off his licensure to open the SAJ Detective Agency, using the acronym for our names, Sue and Alan Jaworski.

Since I enjoyed sleuthing, I could finally work with him on a case.

I had just reached my hand into the sack with the container of French fries when the airline agent announced a slight delay for our flight. After an audible sigh, I said, “I suppose we should have taken Alexa up on her invitation to stay with her and Jack when we landed in Denver.”

“We’ll be glad we didn’t when we sleep in our own bed tonight.” Alan looked as though he wanted to convince himself or, maybe, assure me that my daughter and her husband were just as happy to have reached their final destination. “You might want to let Jessica know our flight is delayed.”

“I’m supposed to text her when we start to board the plane. It probably doesn’t matter because they’re bringing Sean, and you know he’ll want to watch the jets on the tarmac.”

Alan chuckled. “I have to admit that I’ve missed that kid.”

“Me, too.” I crumpled my sandwich wrapper while thinking how much I enjoyed having my granddaughter, Jessica, living next door to Alan and me. She had married Ryan Hoffman the previous fall and became stepmother to his young son, Sean. In two months, if all went well, she’d give birth to her first child.

My daughter, Alexa, and I could hardly wait.

A woman, perhaps in her late fifties, took the seat next to me and interrupted my thoughts. “Is this the gate for the flight to Scranton?”

I nodded. “Yes, although the plane is delayed.”

“How long?” she asked.

“We don’t know. I guess they’ll keep us posted.”

“Do you think I have enough time to go to the restroom?”

“I suppose so,” I replied, trying to be helpful. Although the flight placard hadn’t been updated and the representative was no longer in sight, the woman didn’t have far to walk to the ladies’ room.

“Thanks. I’ll leave my carry-on bag here if you don’t mind keeping an eye on it for a few minutes.”

She scurried off before I could suggest that she take it with her. After all, numerous posted signs warned passengers to keep all personal belongings in sight. Alan merely pursed his lips, shook his head, and gathered our trash for the receptacle.

^^^

It was my luck that the bathroom lady had the assigned seat next to mine on our flight from Chicago to Scranton, and she liked to talk. Since she had the window seat, I hoped she’d want to watch the clouds, but she seemed to prefer gabbing with me. Alan, however, pushed back in his aisle seat and promptly fell asleep .

“I should introduce myself,” she commented after the flight attendant demonstrated the emergency features of the plane. “I’m Clare Dolan from Chicago and I’m on my way to visit my sister. She lost her husband last month, God rest his soul, so she’s feeling rather lonely.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I replied. “I’m Sue Jaworski from Aspen Notch, Pennsylvania.”

“What a small world! That’s exactly where I’m headed. Do you happen to know Elizabeth Sterling? That’s my sister, although we call her Lizzie.” She gave a slight titter of laughter and leaned over to add, “She’s always involved in some charity or another, so I call her ‘busy Lizzie.’”

I didn’t know what to say, so I smiled my acknowledgement and reached for the magazine in the seat pocket in front of me.

“What brought you to Chicago?” she asked.

“It’s the hub for our connecting flight from Los Angeles, then Denver.” I thought about telling her my daughter and her husband lived there, but that would only encourage Clare to keep gabbing. Instead, I kept my eyes on the magazine.

She didn’t get the hint. “Oh, my goodness! You went all the way from Pennsylvania to California. Do you also have family out there?”

“We do. My son works in Silicon Valley, but he just got married in Tokyo. We attended the wedding.”

“You went to Japan?” she exclaimed. “That’s fascinating! How long did you stay?”

“We were there for a week, but it took two days going and another two days returning. It was a wonderful experience, yet my husband and I will be happy to get home.”

“That’s always the way, isn’t it? Excited to go and happy to leave. There’s a saying about visitors stinking like fish after three days. I can’t remember who said that, but it’s true.”

I put the magazine on my lap and turned to her. “I have to admit that I already miss my son, Michael. He married a sweet Japanese girl and, though they plan to live in California, I doubt we’ll see them very often.”

“I know what you mean. Well, not exactly because I never had any children, but I haven’t seen my sister in twenty-five years. Of course, we occasionally talk on the phone, yet we’re not getting any younger. One of us had to make the first move, so I booked this flight.”

“She doesn’t know you’re coming?” I asked.

“Yes, she does, although I couldn’t reach her this week to remind her.”

“How are you getting from Scranton to Aspen Notch?”

“If she’s not there to pick me up, I’ll rent a car,” she replied without hesitation. “It looks as if it might be an hour’s drive.”

“That’s about right,” I nodded. “Do you need directions?”

She patted the handbag on her lap and smiled. “No, I’ll use the map app on my phone, but thank you.” After nibbling her bottom lip for a moment, she asked, “Is the route complicated?”

Clare conveyed a dichotomy to me. She radiated an aura of confidence, as if she’d held a position of prominence at one time, then it disappeared behind a shadow of anxiety. It made me want to take her under my wing.

“I find the convergence of the interstate highways a little confusing,” I said, “although it’s easy driving after you get beyond those. If you’d like, you can follow us.”

“Are you renting a car as well?” she queried .

“No, my granddaughter and her husband will pick us up.”

“You’re very lucky.” She smiled nervously. “Would there be room in your car for one more? Just in case.”

Taken by surprise, I paused as I mentally calculated seating arrangements. “I’m sure we could work it out,” I stammered.

“You’re such a dear.” This time, her smile looked ecstatic.