Late Morning

Rosehill Church



Vanessa Sterling paused at the doors of the church, hoping for a moment to catch her breath. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to go through with it. It seemed like only yesterday that she’d walked through these very same doors to say her final good-byes to her beloved husband Bruce. Now, she was forced to again say “good-bye” – this time to her sister Meg.



“Aunt Van,” Betsy Harper’s voice came from behind her as she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “It’s going to be all right. We’re almost all here and Ben should be here before too long with the girls.”

“I know, Betsy. I know.”

Van took Betsy’s arm, took a long deep breath, and slowly stepped through the doors into the church. Despite the solemness of the occasion, she couldn’t help but smile when she saw Lynn and Stacy. Although they weren’t her daughters by blood, they were definitely her daughters in spirit.



“Oh, Van, I’m so sorry,” Lynn Jennings sobbed as she put her arms around the only real mother she’d ever known. “This has just been so much of a shock.”

“Van, do they know anything more?” Stacy Donnelley asked. After the deaths of her own parents, Bruce and Vanessa Sterling had taken her into their home and their hearts just as they had Lynn. “Do the police have any idea who might have done this?”

“No, dear,” Van shook her head.

It was all simply too much to comprehend. Her sister Meg had been murdered – shot to death – in her own home. Yes, it was true that Meg Hart Marriott had her fair share of enemies, but surely no one could have hated her so much that they’d want her dead.



“Don’t worry, Gran,” A.J. Sterling spoke up, taking her other hand. “The police will find out who did this. They’ll find out who killed Meg.”

Bruce and Vanessa Sterling had taken A.J. and his baby sister Galen in when he was just a boy after the deaths of their parents, Bruce’s son Alan Sterling and his wife Olivia, in a plane crash and had raised the children as their own. Like both Stacy and Lynn, Van had been like a mother to him.

“Why must it take a tragedy to bring a family back together,” Van muttered, fighting back her tears. “Why?”





Rosehill Inn, Joy’s Room



“I wonder if Rosehill welcomes all its visitors like this?” Joy Donovan purred as she rolled over in bed to snuggle up against her roadside savior. “If they do, I think I better send a thank you note.”

“You do know that I didn’t pick you up just to get you into bed, don’t you?” Chaz wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him.

“Of course, you didn’t.” She let out a soft laugh.

“And if I were you, I’d definite call up that rental agency and chew them out for renting you that piece of junk they tried to pass off as a car. Hell, if I hadn’t come along, you might still be stuck out on the highway all by yourself.”

“Don’t remind me,” she groaned. “I would’ve completely screwed up my assignment if it weren’t for you.” She turned and looked at the bedside clock, making note of the time. “Which I still might do if I don’t get moving.”

“So, tell me, how does one of Europe’s premiere party girls get a gig writing for a tabloid?”

“Not much to tell, really.” Joy reluctantly untangled herself from Chaz’s arms, slid out of bed, and reached for her robe. “I just got tired of all the parties and wanted something else to do. The World Star needed a gossip columnist and since I knew everybody who was anybody in the European social scene, it seemed like an ideal job.”

“But now you’re a reporter?”

“Yeah. Who was doing what and what they were wearing while doing it got old after a while,” she explained as she hurriedly dressed. “I wanted to do more and I convinced them to let me be a reporter. This is going to be my first big story.”

“Here in Rosehill?” Chaz furrowed his brow, trying to make the connection. “This is a long way from the French Riviera.”

“I know,” Joy sighed. “But my editor seems to think there’s some big story about some old society matron getting shot to death that’ll make for good copy. Apparently, she was married at one time to some big European shipping magnet who deals in a lot of art, so they think it’s relevant.” She paused and turned to Chaz and smiled before sauntering back over to the bed and sliding in next to him. “So, what about you, Mr. Chaz? What’s your story? Why are you in Rosehill?”

He inhaled deeply, trying to figure out just where to begin. “I’m here to see my mother.”

“Oh? Is she expecting you?”

“No,” he muttered, turning away from her. “She’s dead.” He paused and took a long breath. “I killed her.”





Rosehill Airport



“I don’t understand why Daddy had to drag us back to Rosehill. We were having such a blast in Switzerland.” Megan Harper pulled her suitcase behind her as she walked with her twin sister Vanessa through the airport. “And that Jean Luc was such a hottie!”

“Megan, our grandmother died,” Vanessa Harper reminded pointedly. “Our place is here with our family right now. Switzerland can wait.”

“But it’s not like anyone even liked her.” Megan scowled. “Maggie was a mean, cranky old woman. Hell, someone didn’t like her enough to shoot her. That should tell you something. I just don’t understand why we had to ruin a completely good vacation to come back to this dinky little town and listen a bunch of people who could barely stand her suddenly start gushing over how wonderful and beloved she was when we both know that was never the case.”

“You really astound me sometimes, you know?” Vanessa had stopped dead in her tracks, unable to believe the callousness her sister exuded. “You’re talking about our grandmother. Dad is just beside himself and I can only imagine how Aunt Van is dealing with all of this. Even if you didn’t like her, I’d at least think you’d want to be here for them.”

“Whatever.” Megan couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Vanessa seemed to always be too pristine to be believed. However, once she’d spotted their father across the airport, her tone suddenly and completely changed. “Oh, it’s Daddy!” she cried out, tears quickly filling her eyes as she dropped her suitcase and ran to him. “Oh, Daddy, I’m so sorry about Grandmother. How could this have happened? Who could’ve wanted to do something like this?” Megan threw her arms around her father and hugged him tightly while Vanessa stood back in stunned silence. Megan could really turn it on when she wanted to.



“I don’t know, honey,” Ben Harper sighed, extending his arm for Vanessa to join him in a hug. “The police are doing everything they can. I know we’ll find out who did this.”

“I’m sure we will, Dad,” Vanessa tried to be comforting.

As Ben led his daughters through the terminal and towards the doors, Vanessa’s head was filled with thoughts of how her grandmother’s death was going to affect the family and wonderings of who might have committed such a horrible act. Megan, on the other hand, could only think about how fast she could get the funeral over with and when the first plane back to Switzerland took off.