Mischief 24/7. Kasey Michaels
Dear Reader,
Sometimes a story unfolds in real time; a man and woman meet, fall in love, overcome obstacles both interior and exterior, and we have our happy ending. But sometimes things don’t work out that way; sometimes the obstacles are too great, the desire bringing them together not as strong as the problems tearing them apart.
This was the case with Jade Sunshine and Court Becket, who met, succumbed to their strong mutual desire—and then realised that desire wasn’t enough to hold their union together in the face of life in a world not designed for lovers.
But had theirs been simply physical attraction, the proverbial fire too hot not to cool down? Or had there been more? With their divorce about to become final, that question lingers for both of them.
When Jade’s father is buried after an assumed suicide, Court races to Jade’s side, whether she wants him there or not. Jade and her sisters believe Teddy Sunshine has been murdered and are out to prove his innocence by capturing the real murderer. But the Sunshine sisters didn’t know Teddy the way Court did, the way all the men in the Sunshine sisters’ lives knew the enigmatic man who had been part loving father, part manipulator.
Mischief 24/7 is a story told in real time, but also a story told within that story—memories of a hasty courtship, an impulsive elopement and the clash of two strong personalities all unfolding as both Jade and Court look to the past to find their future, together.
Join me as we retrace the steps that led Jade and Court to where they are now, looking for love amid tragedy and danger, even as we race through a nonstop twenty-four hours of dangerous mischief.
All the best,
Kasey Michaels
Praise for USA TODAY bestselling author KASEY MICHAELS
“Kasey Michaels aims for the heart and never misses.”
—New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts
“Known for developing likeable characters and humorous situations, Michaels adds an element of danger and suspense to this sexy romp.”
—RT Book Reviews on Dial M for Mischief
Also available by Kasey Michaels
THE SUNSHINE GIRLS Dial M for Mischief Mischief Becomes Her Mischief 24/7
THE BECKETS OF ROMNEY MARSH A Gentleman by Any Other Name The Dangerous Debutante Beware of Virtuous Women A Most Unsuitable Groom A Reckless Beauty The Return of the Prodigal Becket’s Last Stand
Mischief 24/7
Kasey
Michaels
To John Edward Groller.
Welcome to the world, Johnny!
THE TIME IS NOW, the place, the City of Brotherly Love. And the crime is murder.
Murders, actually. Murders old, murders new.
Retired Philadelphia homicide detective Teddy Sunshine had been working four cold cases whenever business was slow at the Sunshine Detective Agency. He’d been conducting a routine semiannual updating of his files on those cases when he was found dead in his home office, an apparent suicide.
But Teddy hadn’t eaten his old service revolver, the police said, until after he had strangled the woman he’d been stalking for three weeks—Melodie Brainard, the wife of the leading mayoral candidate.
His three daughters aren’t buying that story. They can’t. They loved Teddy Sunshine.
One by one, Jolie, Jessica and the oldest, Jade, who had been partnered with Teddy in the
Sunshine Detective Agency, took on the cold cases and worked them the way their father had worked them, sure one of the cases was connected with their father’s death. One by one, the old cases were solved, leaving only two: the surely un-solvable tragedy of a high-school scholar athlete gunned down in a drive-by shooting, and the sad haunting case dubbed the Baby in the Dumpster.
But every answer the Sunshine sisters found seemed to raise new questions, and while the girls have felt cheered by their progress with the cold cases, they still can’t prove Teddy’s innocence.
Jade, even more than her sisters, feels a responsibility to clear Teddy’s name. But will her obsession with the old cases, old hurts, past mistakes, risk her future with the man she had always loved, the man she’d thought gone from her life after their short, troubled time together as Mr. and Mrs. Court Becket?
The clock is ticking….
SUNDAY, 11:06 P.M.
THERE WAS A SUMMER thunderstorm making it a noisy night outside the suburban Philadelphia mansion belonging to antiques importer Samuel Becket. Sam wasn’t there, however, having traveled to California with his on-again-off-again and now on-again fiancée, movie star Jolie Sunshine.
He’d invited the three Sunshine sisters—Jolie, Jessica and Jade—to stay at the mansion as long as they liked, since their family home had been damaged by a suspicious fire shortly after the death of their father. Sam’s sprawling, securely fenced-in estate, complete with a gatehouse manned by intrepid former professional wrestler Carroll “Bear Man” Yablonski, was now Operations Central for the Sunshine Detective Agency, or what was left of it.
And what was left, now that Jolie had been forced to return to California, were TV cable news journalist Jessica and Philadelphia homicide detective Matt Denby, Jade, and Sam’s cousin from Virginia, Courtland Becket. Court, owner of an almost embarrassing empire of five-star hotels, among his other assets, had flown immediately to Philadelphia when he’d heard about the alleged suicide of Teddy Sunshine. He wasn’t going anywhere as long as Jade needed him. Even if she said she didn’t.
Jade closed her cell phone with a snap and looked blankly at her ex-husband as he entered the living room. “I don’t believe it.”
Court, casually elegant in belted, pleated tan slacks and a form-fitting navy pullover too expensive to sport a label, tipped his head to one side inquiringly, and then headed for the bar in the far corner of the large room. “For the sake of harmony, neither do I. Ginger ale for you, right? Considering the tone of your voice, however, I think I’ll have a beer. Oh, and what don’t I believe?”
“Jessica, of course,” Jade said, thinking about her baby sister, who had left the house not four hours ago on what she had called a mission. “Poor Matt.”
“Poor Matt? That doesn’t sound good.” Court returned to the conversation area with their drinks and sat himself down on the facing couch. “When we discussed this earlier, I thought the idea was that your sister was going to give him some space. What was it she was going on about? If you love someone, let him go, et cetera, et cetera? In which case, might I point out, you obviously adore me.”
“Not now, Court, please,” Jade said, getting to her feet and smoothing down the wrinkled skirt of her simple shirtwaist cotton dress. She was bone-weary and definitely rumpled. Only Court could still look fresh, and heart-crushingly handsome, this late in the day. Or maybe it was a gift bestowed only upon those who were born to generations of money.
Not that she wanted to think about that right now, either. She needed to pace, to work off some of the tense energy that had driven her these past weeks. Not even two weeks, in fact, since she’d come home to find Teddy’s body in his office, the back of his head blown off and his service revolver on the floor beside his desk. And yet sometimes it felt like