In the Absence of Truth

IN THE ABSENCE OF TRUTH AN EASTERN SHORE MYSTERY CHERIL THOMAS ALSO BY CHERIL THOMAS Squatter’s Rights A Commission on Murder Bad Intent A Little Christmas War (A Grace Reagan short story) The Eastern Shore Mysteries Box Set, Books 1-3 Death and Consequences The Nineteenth Gift (An Ellender York short story) Twisted Karma The Correction Agency (A Grace Reagan and Ellender York Novella) In the Absence of Truth In the Absence of Truth Copyright © 2023 Cheril Thomas All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system without express written, dated, and signed permission from the author. This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and dialogue are a product of the author’s imagination and are not real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is fictionalized or coincidental. Thomas, Cheril, In the Absence of Truth, (An Eastern Shore Mystery) 2023. ISBN: 979-8-9864910-0-4 (Paperback version). TRED AVON PRESS Easton, Maryland, USA Book cover created by MiblArt. A poem is found in a dead man’s pocket. Is it a promise or a warning? Don’t look back on my life, you won’t like what you see. I’ve left parting gifts for you and soon I will be free. When I leave this world, I’ll take what you want with me. Grace Reagan’s uncle may be dead, but his plans for revenge are just getting started. Stark Delaney still has one last con to run, and soon the disastrous consequences of his bequests to his family start to unfold. As one mystery unravels, another takes its place and they all come back to Stark’s final days. Did he die alone in a run-down apartment, or was he murdered? Is the poem found in his pocket a final insult to his family, or the opening move in his last act of revenge? The search for answers reopens old wounds and the truth Grace finds will change her life. IN THE ABSENCE OF TRUTH An Eastern Shore Mystery For my sister, Clara Seckinger Ellingson Life can only be understood backwards . . . Soren Kierkegaard CONTENTS 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 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 And the Winners Are . . . Thank You Acknowledgments About the Author CHAPTER ONE “I’m living in an apartment that’s smaller than my shoe closet at home. I want my house and I want it now.” Grace Reagan rechecked the calendar app on her phone, but it hadn’t changed. There were still three weeks to go before the Fourth of July and a beachfront condo in Ocean City. It would be her first wedding anniversary, too, but she pushed that thought away. Mixing her personal happiness with a divorce case was just asking for trouble. Reluctantly, she made herself focus on the woman sitting in front of her and said, “You are ridiculous.” Connie Delaney leaned across the desk between them. “Really? How about this–there’s also a degenerate in the neighborhood and he’s stalking me.” “A stalker. And you’re just now mentioning this?” As she usually did when faced with an unwinnable argument, Connie exploded. “I am your aunt! Don’t you dare treat me this way! I’m in danger and it’s all your fault. Yours and Niki’s. You have to give me my house.” Handling couples going through a breakup could be tricky in the best of times. Although her law firm handled divorce actions, Grace tried to avoid them. Especially the messy ones like Delaney vs Delaney. She said, “You were married to my uncle, and Stark is my client. You have your own representation.” “But the apartment you and Niki stuck me in is a dangerous place! The neighbors are nasty and the stalker—” Grace, who could do some fine exploding herself when provoked, had heard enough. “I didn’t stick you anywhere. I suggested the condo unit to you because it’s in a lovely area and it has a short-term lease. Move if you want to. Do whatever you want, but leave me out of it. And don’t blame your circumstances on Niki, understand?” It seemed important to reestablish their boundaries. Connie, Stark and their children, Niki and Winston, were the last members of Grace’s mother’s family. As far as Grace was concerned, that was three people too many. Her cousin Niki was the only one she willingly claimed. “Do you think I’d be in here wasting my time if I had any other choice?” Connie whined. “Cyrus said he’d take care of everything and it would be a fair settlement, but he gave our divorce to you to handle! How can he do that? Just throw me off as if I don’t matter? He knows how desperate I am. I’m dead broke, and I know Stark has money.” Grace was furious at herself for being in this position. Cyrus Mosley had been the Delaney family’s attorney since before any of the current generations had been born, but this action, the severing of Connie’s and Stark’s marriage, had been too much for him. As his partner, Grace had taken over, but Stark would only deal with Cyrus, which left her doing all the work from the sidelines of an unfolding disaster. Her mother’s brother was a bitter and sometimes violent man, and for years he and Connie had been a perfectly meshed toxic duo. Separating them would benefit everyone,