Fixing the Books: Jax of All Trade, #3

By Fallon Brown

Lou Carsley is done investigating.

 

Sticking their nose into others' business has brought them nothing but trouble. And as the heat of summer chills toward autumn, they have enough to keep them busy. A new employee to train, their brother's new baby, and their queer book club.

 

And whatever is going on with their friendship with local police officer, Matthias Lindert.

 

So, they are done investigating, at least until they get a phone call from Jody O'Dell. There's a dead body in the library, and Jody looks like the prime suspect. But, Lou believes their friend is innocent. And they are going to prove it.

 

And hopefully it won't throw a wrench in everything they're building. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fallon Brown
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223495789

Fallon Brown

Fallon Brown was born and raised in a tiny town in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania. At one time, she dreamed of having a cabin in the woods or mountains where she could be left alone to write. Instead she spent three years studying psychology before realizing that wasn't for her. She now lives outside of a slightly larger small town in the same corner of her home state with her husband, two children, dog, and cat. She spends her days interfering in the lives of fictional characters while trying to keep a semblance of a clean house. Often the clean house bit fails

Book preview

Fixing the Books

Fallon Brown

Copyright © 2023 Fallon Brown

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Cover design by: Marianne Nowicki

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Acknowledgement

About The Author

Books In This Series

To libraries, and all the books I found myself in. And to those fighting to make sure those books will continue to be available to everyone who needs them.

Chapter 1

Be careful with their neck.

I ignored my mother since my hand already cradled Jordan's head the way Ross had showed me the first time I held them, as if I'd been new to the whole baby thing. Our family certainly had enough of them.

You know, Lou, my mother said, you do look good with a baby. Maybe you should be thinking about one of your own.

I looked up sharply. Please, Mom. It's not even Halloween. Don’t give me nightmares yet.

I'd say that's a little overdramatic, Mom said, letting out a little laugh. That's usually Linnea's part to play.

It's not. Overdramatic, I mean. I've told you before, I have no interest in having kids. Why should I when my siblings have provided so many? These ones I could hand back when I'd had enough of them.

What if whoever you marry--

Who said I was marrying anyone? I asked, before she could finish that question. Usually, my dad was the one trying to convince me I needed a relationship, or at least I'd be happier if I was in one. I was plenty happy on my own. Since Jordan had been born, Dad seemed content to shower his attention on them. Maybe he'd given up on me.

If only I could be that lucky.

My parents, the whole family really, had always been good about not assuming who any of us would end up with. It helped that Ross, the oldest of the five of us, came out as gay at seventeen, when I was ten years old. It made it easier a few years later when I told my family I wasn't a girl, or a boy. That was all the words I had for the way I felt at the time. I learned the term genderqueer a few years later and found the label fit like a glove.

Jordan would never have to worry about that. Ross, and his husband, Eli, were raising them as gender neutrally as possible. Even in the couple months since they'd been born, my brother had realized how difficult identifying as nonbinary, including the various identities under that umbrella, could be in this world when people put you in one box or the other. 

Speaking of my brother, he walked into the room just then. He looked tired. I hoped it was adjusting to living with a newborn, and not that he still suffered from what had happened shortly after Jordan was born.

He'd almost gotten killed because he came to my rescue. I hadn't thought I was taking unnecessary risks. I was just asking questions. Still, both of us could have died that day.

I was going to focus on my work instead of taking that chance. I'd just hired a new employee for my fix-it business, someone to take on some of the jobs so I didn't have to turn clients away. For the moment, he was still in training. The rest of my focus would be on my family and friends. We had a couple new members in our queer book club and besides that, Linnea was due with her third child before the end of the year. That should be plenty to keep me busy without solving some mystery.

Are you two planning to keep my baby from me the rest of the day? Ross asked.

It's been all of ten minutes, my mother argued. Your other siblings aren't here yet, so we figured we'd take our chance while we had it.

Sure, he said, his lips curving up. I'll buy that excuse.

Don't you already spend all day with them? I asked. "When are you going back to work? Eli didn't take that much time off."

Eli was still trying to get the firm out from the mess Wallwork left it in. He didn't think the firm could afford him being away from work that long. And I've been consulting with some clients. I just haven't been going to the office. That changes Monday. I'm going in for half a day while we see how Jordan handles being at daycare. If it’s not a good fit, I can mostly work remotely. The cut to my paycheck hasn’t caused us to struggle. Even if I leave, we'll be fine.

I couldn't understand how my brother could be so willing to leave everything he'd worked for. He'd consulted with small businesses, helping them find ways to thrive, since he'd graduated college. Picturing him in any other role was nearly impossible. Except he took to the position of daddy easily.

I could see that even as he took Jordan from my arms, and they smacked their lips together. I realized he'd grabbed them with one arm because he had a bottle in the other. Had they actually been able to smell the milk? I watched as he slipped the bottle into their mouth, but something squirmed in my stomach, and I had to turn away.

I didn't want any of that, so what was this feeling? I'd never been comfortable with babies. Once they were older, could run around, and I didn't fear dropping them, it was different.

Lou, Lou.

I turned toward the door as my nephew came running inside. Hey, Spence, I said. What's on your mind today?

Off he went describing a documentary he'd been watching that morning about... something to do with robotics? I wasn't completely sure. At least he'd moved on from the human development he'd been fixated on during the summer. My little brother was likely relieved. This seemed a more normal interest for a six-year-old. 

Not that many of Spence's interests had ever been normal for his age. It made spending time with him an unpredictable joy. You never knew what would come out of his mouth.

And I wouldn't change one thing.

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I'm going to head out, I told the family when dinner had been eaten and the dishes taken to the kitchen. Gabriel, Eli, and Linnea's husband, Sander, were doing the dishes. Since Dad and my older sister's husband had done the cooking, a few of the others always stepped up to do clean-up. I was glad it hadn't fallen to me.

Got a big date? Dad sounded a little too hopeful. Has Matthias called you again?

Dad had been trying to set me up with Matthias Lindert, a local cop, and yeah, a decent guy, since the beginning of the summer. He didn't seem to realize it wasn't going to happen. No, Dad. I went on a trip with him, that's all. Nothing happened while we were there, and I told you, he prefers Matt.

If nothing happened, I don't see why you care what he prefers. His mother calls him by his full name.

I knew what it was like to have people disregard your own wishes about what you were called. My family had never done that, but it wasn't the case with everyone in this town. That's his mother, I said. Some parents never get the hint no matter how many times you tell them.

My mom snickered, but my father was oblivious. I took out my keys and headed for the door. I'll see you on Tuesday, if not before. We had these family dinners at least a few times a week, though not everyone showed up every single time. Our family was close, but our parents did realize we had lives of our own and didn't hold that against us.

Except when they thought I needed to have mine managed for me. That probably wasn't fair. It's not like they tried to control my decisions. They just made suggestions. They didn't hold it against me when I didn't take them. Just made even more.

I stepped outside, instead of dwelling on those thoughts, calling for Zio. My dog came trotting out from the backyard, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I laughed at the sight.

Sometimes people gave him a wide berth when we walked down the street, the muscular body and blocky head seemed to give them the idea he was dangerous. Only if you didn't want slobber all over your face. He thought everyone should be his friend, and never seemed to understand why anyone wouldn't want to be.

All right, you doofus, get in the truck. We're going home.

He gave one sharp bark then leaped into the passenger seat as soon as I opened the door for him. He had his front paws planted on the center console when I climbed behind the steering wheel. You know the rules, I told him. Sit in the seat the right way, or I'll get the harness.

He whimpered and dropped his head even as he settled in the seat. Sometimes I would swear he understood every word I said to him. 

When I got to the bottom of the hill in town, I turned the opposite way from my house. Zio let out a low woof and looked over at me. I know I said we were going home. We're just taking a little detour.

A few minutes later I'd pulled up in front of a small house, one story with what could barely count as a yard to one side. Red and orange leaves had blown against the side of the house, and the light green siding could use a good session with a pressure washer. A dark green shutter hung a little loose. I would need to talk to Cord about fixing that.

And making sure those leaves were cleaned out of the gutters soon.

Zio put his front paws on the window and barked excitedly when he saw where we were. Calm down or I'll leave you in here.

He gave me the saddest look possible while still wagging his tail. Fine, you can come inside with me. If she was even home. Her car sat out front, but that didn't mean much. Maybe she was on a date or had walked to the fire station, even if she wasn't on duty. 

The door swung open, and Zio bounded the last few steps and into Cord's arms. I hadn't seen a lot of my best friend recently, not since Jen May had taken time off from doing my books and schedule to settle her mom's affairs. I figured Cord had been with her since they had been dating the last I knew. From Cord's ragged appearance, I suddenly doubted that.

I'd seen her look like this before. Every time she allowed herself to get close to what some would call a relationship, only to have it fall apart. What happened? I asked her even as she kept her face buried in Zio's neck. 

Nothing. Cord didn't look up. Nothing at all. I should have known.

Do you want me to fire her?

Cord barked out a rough laugh and straightened. You wouldn't do that. It’s not a big deal. She didn't want anything serious. Neither did I. I never do. It's not a big deal.

Then why did she look so wrecked? If I asked her that, she'd just deny it. But she was letting us inside. How was dinner with the fam?

I let her change the subject. If she wanted to tell me what was going on, she would. Until then, I wouldn't get anything from her. So, I let it go and followed her into the house. 

Chapter 2

Braden, can you grab that new cabinet door from the back of my truck? 

My new employee, nineteen and eager to please, jumped to his feet and hurried out of the client's house. I wiped off the front of the cabinet I'd finished putting in the kitchen and moved the tools I no longer needed out of the way. The doors weren't heavy, so I didn't doubt Braden could handle them on his own. I was giving him the simpler jobs until he'd gotten his certifications and could help with the more complex ones. 

He came back, breathing heavier than he had been when he left. Thought I could grab both at once, but not so much. They're a bit awkward to carry.

We can only install one at a time. Help me get this one lined up correctly, so the client doesn't insist we return and redo the whole thing.

Do they actually do that?

I laughed and lined up the first hinge to the cabinet. Oh yeah. Not all of them, but some are particular about how things are done. I liked tasks to be done right, but sometimes that wasn’t enough for a customer.

We worked fairly quickly and soon had both doors finished. Clean this up and make sure the tools are picked up. I'll settle things with the client.

She wanted to look over the work before she cut the check. We'd done good work, so I wasn't too worried.

After examining the cabinet for a good ten minutes, the client let out a huff. I suppose it will do. How much do I owe you?

Thus began our battle of wills. It wasn't the first job I'd done for her, so I knew how it went. I stuck to my original quote. I hadn't taken any more time than I'd originally figured on, hadn't needed to make changes to the plans or buy more supplies. Nothing had changed, including the fact she never wanted to pay me my full price.

Fine, she said, ripping out a check. Next time I'm shopping around more. Find someone who's easier to work with.

You do that, I said pleasantly. If you find them, let me know.

I double-checked that Braden took care of the clean-up then went to the truck. Once I was behind the wheel, I let my head fall back against the seat. Thank goodness that job is over with.

Braden laughed even though he didn't take his gaze off his phone. Was it really that bad?

Just aggravating, but nothing new. We have time before the next job. Want to grab lunch?

What kind of question is that?

I smiled as I pulled away from the client's house and drove toward the middle of town and the diner. He did have a point.

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Carly seemed flustered when we stepped into the diner. For once, it didn't seem to be me or my friends who put her back up. She'd gone to school with my older sister, Cailyn, and had never liked me. Or probably anyone else in my family, though I'd never asked why. Enough people took issue with me in town that I'd gotten good at brushing it off. 

She barely even sneered at me. Your friends are back there. She pointed to our usual table. Then she scurried toward the kitchen. 

Was she weirder than usual? Braden asked. I mean, she didn't even give me the stink eye.

I couldn't help but laugh. He had a good grasp on the situation here. Give her time, I said. I'm sure she'll get around to it.

I headed to the table where Quin, Deke, and Jody were sitting. No Cord today. She usually didn't make it when she was on duty. She wasn’t the only one missing. No Lucie? I asked Jody of zir girlfriend.

Greenhouse is busy today, so she wasn't able to get away. I'm going to take her something before I head back to the library. In fact, I should be doing that.

Zi was up and moving toward the counter. I glanced at Quin. He held his hands up. "Eli's in court and has Amery digging into something, apparently. They were here for about five minutes getting lunch for the