The No-Tell Motel: Miss Fortune World: The Mary-Alice Files, #7

By Frankie Bow

When a young woman vanishes from a roadside motel, Mary-Alice and the gang leave Sinful and head across the border to find her. They soon find that the unprepossessing McCully Inn holds some Texas-sized secrets, which the influential McCully family would prefer to keep hidden. 

But with the missing woman's life at stake, the ladies decide to keep poking around the McCully family closet and let the skeletons fall where they may. And with their technical know-how, decades of experience, and relaxed attitude about rules and procedures, they might just get to the truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J&R Fan Fiction
• Release date: Aug 18, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386234401

Frankie Bow

Frankie Bow teaches at a public university and writes two mystery series: The Professor Molly Mysteries, and licensed works in the Miss Fortune World. Unlike Professor Molly, Frankie is blessed with delightful students, sane colleagues, and a perfectly nice office chair. She thinks if life can’t be fair, at least it can be entertaining. From the author: Thank you for taking the time to read this book. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends and posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated. Sign up for Island Confidential, Frankie's mystery newsletter, at subscribepage.com/ProfessorMolly

Book preview

Chapter One

INSIDE THE NAVY-BLUE Victorian house two blocks off Main Street, four women sat around a sturdy kitchen table.

As you watched them chatting and sipping sweet tea, you might assume you were observing a church committee or a quilting circle.

You would be wrong.

The young blonde pouring tea was living under the identity of Fortune Sandy-Sue Morrow, children’s librarian and retired beauty queen.  Fortune was in fact in the employ of the CIA, who had placed her under cover until they could catch the arms dealer who’d put a price on her head. 

The white-haired ladies cheerfully bickering with each other were longtime Sinful residents Gertie and Ida Belle. They were retired now, pillars of the community who filled their time leading the Sinful Ladies’ Society.  Half a century ago they had spent time in Vietnam, Gertie as a secretary, Ida Belle as a nurse’s aide. They had used their positions as cover for counterintelligence work, a fact not widely known.

Like Gertie and Ida Belle, Mary-Alice Arceneaux was on the sweet side of seventy. Unlike them, she had not gone gracefully gray. Instead, she colored her hair a vivid red that did not imitate Nature as much as surpass it.

Mary-Alice had only recently moved to Sinful. She was not aware of Fortune’s CIA career, nor of Ida Belle and Gertie’s spy background.  She only knew she enjoyed the company of her new friends. She found them far more interesting than her old crowd back in Mudbug, and a sight more agreeable than her sole relative in town, her cranky cousin Celia.

The women were discussing what they might do with fifty thousand dollars apiece. What had spurred this conversation was a story on the local news about a two hundred thousand dollar reward for a pair of escaped convicts. 

It’s one thing to poke around and get to the bottom of a local murder, Ida Belle was saying. But I wouldn’t mess with that. They say Ma Woodham killed two guards on the way out.

You don’t have to be so practical all the time, Ida Belle, Gertie chided. Sure, I’m not gonna run out and try to catch them, but there’s no reason I can’t daydream about the reward. With that kind of payout, I could get an airboat like Fortune’s. Then no one could stop me from driving it whenever I wanted.

Well sure, Ida Belle came back, as long as we’re blue-skying, maybe I’ll get another motorcycle. You know those big fat fancy Harleys they sell to middle-aged doctors? I mean, I’m not getting any younger. I deserve a little luxury in my old age.

What about you, Mary-Alice? Gertie asked.

Oh, well, I’ve been so blessed I can’t think of a single thing. Well, maybe I’d use a little bit to redo my dining room. I’m not so terribly fond of that shag carpet. With the humidity coming off the bayou, it’s always a little damp, you see. And then I suppose I’d use the rest of it to help out folks who needed it more than I did.

Aw, come on, Mary-Alice, Ida Belle complained. What are you trying to do, make the rest of us feel guilty about how we spend our money? You don’t have to be such a goody-two-shoes all the time.

I’m with the goody-two-shoes faction on this, Fortune said. I’m pretty happy with my life right now. I feel like I have everything I need.

Of course you do, Gertie retorted. You inherited all Marge’s stuff plus you have an awesome airboat.

Not that it wouldn’t feel great to catch two fugitives, Fortune conceded. But that’s kind of a big job for Fortune Morrow, P.I.

Why Fortune, are you going to quit your librarian job after all, and stay in Sinful when the school year begins? Mary-Alice clasped her tiny hands with joy. I mean to say, it’s wonderful news. I know we’d all miss you terribly if you had to leave.

Fortune took a thoughtful sip of sweet tea.

I do want to stay in Sinful. I’m starting to think I’ve done what good I can in my ‘librarian’ capacity. But it’s not like there are a lot of jobs here that can use my particular skills. Private investigator seems to be the obvious choice.

What does Carter think? Gertie asked.

Why should she let Carter decide what she’s going to do with her life? Ida Belle demanded. I don’t see him asking Fortune what he should do about his career.

Why, working as a private investigator sounds perfect, Mary-Alice exclaimed. A private investigator and a deputy sheriff. Why darlin’, y’all could solve crimes together like Nick and Nora Charles!

That’s exactly what Carter doesn’t want, Fortune sighed. He hates the idea of my being in danger, and you know how he feels about our getting involved in his investigations. I keep telling him being a P.I. is safe and boring. Mostly doing tedious stuff like background checks.

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation, and Fortune stood up.

Were you expecting your young man? Mary-Alice asked.

No, but he has a way of knowing when we’ve been talking about him, doesn’t he? Good thing I didn’t give him my key.

You were going to give him your key? Ida Belle demanded as Fortune sailed out in the direction of the living room.

Should we leave? Mary-Alice asked the others.

Leave? Of course not. Ida Belle stood up. If Carter wants us to go, he’ll let us know. Come on, let’s go see what’s going on.

Chapter Two

THE WOMEN EMERGED FROM the kitchen to find Fortune seated on the couch, talking to someone who most definitely was not Carter LeBlanc.

The young woman appeared to be in her late twenties, and unconcerned with matters of hair and makeup. She wore jeans and a clean t-shirt in an unflattering shade of yellow. Her straight brown hair was pulled back in a serviceable ponytail.

Oh, hello. I don’t know if you remember me. The young lady stood and offered a firm handshake to Ida Belle, Gertie, and Mary-Alice in turn. "I’m Ainslee MacEntire. I