Page 3 of Toni and Addie Go Viral

I have concluded my investigation, and I regret to inform you that your late father convinced Mrs. Darbyshire to sign the documents.

Upon his death, payments halted. There now exists a lien on the house.

Should you sell the property, the appraised value will be enough to pay off all but the $200,000 lien Mr. Darbyshire incurred; however, the lien on the house prohibits the sale of asset; it must be paid before you can close any sale on the house.

Toni put her hand on the top page for a second. “The letter goes on. Short version: I hate my dad.”

“Longer version?”

Toni took a long drink before answering.

“I told you that Mom’s memory slips are getting worse.

I found a decent memory care residence near me, and I was going to sell her house to offset the cost not covered by her insurance, but selling her house to pay for it no longer works because of him.

And because in her situation, she was not aware that she had bills to pay.

The house sale is on hold, but I cannot move there without quitting my job and losing my town house.

Oh, and he downgraded their insurance, so it only covers part of a stay at a decent place.

His gambling and whatever get-rich-scheme he was in at the end has left her in a pile of debt that I need to sort out—all while figuring out how to afford a safe place for her. ”

Emily took a fortifying sip before prompting, “So… what’s the plan?”

“Fuck if I know.” Toni let her gaze dart around the bar.

This should have been a good night. This should have been a good trip.

Instead, she was drowning in email from the new facility where she was moving her mother, emptying her emergency account for a down payment for that, and parsing legal letters.

The conference where Toni had been presenting the last of the papers from her dissertation no longer felt as exciting as it had when she’d boarded her flight to Edinburgh.

“We’ll sort it out,” Emily said yet again. “You have a tenure track position and—”

“Two hundred thousand, Em. Plus the cost of the care facility. Not exactly junior faculty salary. Between student loan payments, mortgage, repairs to the car, food, and utilities… I am at almost enough to pay for memory care if I still live like a grad student. How do I pay her debt, too?” Toni looked at her best friend and exhaled loudly.

“Sorry to ruin our weekend. This is my crisis, not yours.”

“ Psh. We’re sisters in all but blood,” Emily said, echoing a mantra they’d taken turns uttering over the years.

The timing of the gap between Bologna Book Fair and the London Book Fair had matched up with Toni’s event, and they’d decided to make a celebratory girls’ trip and head to London after Edinburgh, but that plan was about to be nixed.

“I have no more savings, Em. I used everything on the down payment to get my new place in DC and to pay the first few months for Mom’s stay in her new care facility.

It’s not even an ideal place. It’s good, but nowhere near me, and I can’t even afford it now.

I have two months. Two fucking months, so what am I going to do?

How do I pay for the rest of her care? I can try to get a second job… and…” She shook her head.

“I have an idea… but you might hate it.” Emily swirled the last of her drink.

“More than I hate being broke? Or Mom moving to some sketchier place or living with me before the year’s end?”

“Maybe…” Emily stalled.

Emily Haide had been Toni’s dearest friend since they were ten and attending the same summer camp.

This weekend, they were to be celebrating both Emily’s position at an excellent Manhattan literary agency and Toni’s tenure track position.

They had done it, achieved their goals, managed their dreams.

And my dad still fucked it up, even from beyond the grave.

“Hit me.”

“Victorian murder mystery. I was talking to an editor at one of the Big Four Houses, and the word is that they are all hungry after that Regency that hit. ‘Fresh’ in publishing is really only two steps to the left, so Victorian instead of Regency would have them salivating. If you want to be the be to answer my prayers, write me a book. You have the history chops—”

“I teach, Em.”

“Which means you write academic papers all the time. You finished a PhD dissertation. Those are as long as a novel, just add more murder and sex.”

Toni laughed. Her dissertation wasn’t short on either murder or sex, and Emily knew it. Admittedly, Toni had tried her hand at writing books during the ramen days of grad school. She’d started a half dozen that ultimately were shelved—and one that wasn’t.

Toni started, “So here’s the thing—”

“What was your major in uni?” Emily interrupted, cutting her confession off with a tap of a finger on her cherry-red lips. “That’s right. Double major. History and…”

“English.” Toni flipped off her best friend.

“Look. I just spent the week in Bologna seeing what’s selling, hearing what people are seeking, and I think you could pull this off.”

Toni took a deep breath before adding, “I maybe already have… something. It’s not what I would usually… I mean, I didn’t bring it up because of your job, and it’s embarrassing for faculty who ought to be focused and—”

“Hold on.” Emily stared at her until Toni started to squirm. “You wrote something, and you didn’t tell me?”

“Sort of,” Toni hedged.

Emily made a “go on” gesture.

“I was drowning when Mom got sick, and I just couldn’t focus on another academic thing.

It’s just something I wrote for myself.” Toni gulped her drink like an awkward college kid discovering booze.

She was a grown-ass woman, and Emily was her dearest friend, so squirming was silly.

“It’s a book about a Victorian detective.

Lesbian. Avoiding marriage and solving crimes. ”

“Yummy.”

Toni laughed. “She’s a bit more my taste than yours, Em.”

Emily pouted exaggeratedly. “So she looks like your dream lady?”

“More or less. Not quite as curvy as my taste. More statuesque Boudica than naked, clever Lady Godiva. And in Victorian widow’s dress.”

Emily paused, nodded. “Okay, visual acquired. I have the character, the setting, and… where are the pages, Toni?”

Toni took a deep breath. “Fiction is more intimidating than academia. If I send a paper out, they critique my research or my methodology, and I can revise. It’s—”

“Agent, dear,” Emily interrupted. “I know how intimidating it can be.” She reached out and squeezed Toni’s wrist. “If it’s good, though, it’s a start to filling that hole that the debt is creating. Let me see it.”

Toni was sure of her teaching and sure of her academic papers. She was sure she was a trustworthy friend and a loyal daughter. Hell, she was sure of her prowess in bed. She wasn’t sure of her fiction writing skills, though.

“It was just a thing I did to recharge when I was sick of classes and worried, so if it sucks, you’ll tell me… right?” Toni looked at her best friend and hated herself just a little for feeling like a coward.

Emily tossed back her wine. “Email it to me tonight.”

“But if it’s awful, you’ll—”

“Toni, I love you like the sister I wished I had, but we both know I won’t burn my career pitching a book that’s not going to build my reputation.

” Emily smiled with her professional smile, one that made sensible people flinch and made Toni relax.

Emily added, “If your book is terrible, I’ll tell you. ”

Toni sighed. “If it isn’t, though…”

“If it isn’t, I’ll sell it, and you’ll have something to put a dent in that debt of yours. At the least we can get a five- to fifteen-thousand-dollar deal to cover some more time at the facility for your mom. Even an average deal would help, right?”

Toni nodded, feeling more unsure than she was used to around Emily. “I want brutal honesty, though. Don’t be nice because you like me.”

“Ob-viously,” Emily said in an exaggerated drawl before laughing.

They had few secrets and even less judgment, but Toni had heard the stories of people doing ridiculous things to get the attention of an agent.

One man had followed Emily into the ladies’ room at the airport, and it was best not to even think about the panic that they’d been through when some enterprising fool sent a vial of what looked like blood along with her pitch for a vampire book.

“I don’t want to take advantage of you,” Toni said.

Emily laughed louder. “You might be one of the few women here thinking that.”

Toni sent a wide-spanning glare around the pub. She didn’t often play the stereotypically overprotective sibling, but she relished it when she could. Unlike her, Em was a relationship person, and while Toni didn’t understand it, she would defend Emily’s virtue at the hint of a frown.

She also felt awkward as hell right now. Mixing business and friendship was a terrible idea. She grabbed Emily’s arm. “Nothing will change if you hate it, you know?”

“Dumbass.” Emily gave her a doting smile. “Of course I know.… are we still on for breakfast? Or I can grab a train to London if you’re sure you’re headed home…?”

“I need to go back. I hate to abandon you, and it would be amazing if my scribbles made money, but what are the odds of that?” Toni scoffed. “Unlike my dear departed deadbeat of a dad, I live in the real world. So I need to talk to the department chair. Try to get something in motion.”

Emily sighed. “I’m extra sorry I missed our dinner now. I’ll come down to DC to see you when we’re both back.”

“You could stay now and have another drink,” Toni suggested.

“Nope. I’m clearing my desk so when you send me the book tonight, I can read it and sell—”

“Maybe sell,” Toni interjected.

Emily laughed. “Sweetie, you can write, and you know the era. I am already optimistic, so I’m going into it thinking positive enough for both of us.” She leaned in and brushed a kiss on Toni’s head. “Trust Auntie Em.”

“We’re the same age,” Toni pointed out.

“Technically… now, go play. I expect to hear about whatever you’re going to do once I leave to ease that… mood.” Emily gave her an exaggerated brow wiggle that made Toni laugh despite everything. “Then I expect a book in my inbox, Ms. Darbyshire, or I’ll be pounding on your hotel door.”

“Yes, dear,” Toni agreed.

Then Emily left, and Toni realized that she no longer had any intention of rushing back to her hotel room. Hope was a powerful drug.