The Blind Split (A Rosedale Investigations Mystery) by Lyn Farrell
About The Blind Split
A new client, Lexie Lovell, brings Rosedale Investigations a compelling mystery. Her father died and left his estate to be split between her and her brother, Teddy. Lexie never knew she had a brother until the will was read and nobody has a clue where the boy and his mother are. Lexie can’t get her money until the boy is found and Rosedale Investigations keeps coming up empty.
When Wayne finally finds little Teddy in an abandoned farmhouse, his mother isn’t there. What could make a mother leave a toddler alone to starve to death? They find no evidence of drug use or mental illness. Has she been kidnapped? The trail goes cold until she is found comatose in a rural hospital. The doctors say she’s unlikely to regain consciousness.
Lovell’s attorney is stalling on giving Lexie her inheritance, (or paying Rosedale Investigations’ fee) and was the only person in the hospital room when Lexie’s father died. Did he commit murder to get his hands on Lovell’s money? And how did Lovell, an accountant in solo practice, assemble a multi-million dollar estate? This one’s a real page-turner that will keep you guessing right to the end.
EXCERPT:
It was the day Billy Jo called, “The Mother and Child Reunion,” an old song by Paul Simon, even though they all knew that Teddy would never see his mother again. He would have his aunt Poppy, though, and being his mother’s identical twin would help him enormously. In time, given that he was so young, the two could even blend to become one in his heart. And he would have a grandmother, as Gramma Lovell was already living in the Delaney farmhouse.
The day had dawned clear and blessedly cool, with a light wind blowing from the north. They reached the turn-off to the lane and drove in.
“Look at the blackberry bushes, you guys. They were covered with white flowers just a couple of weeks ago. Now the blossoms are completely gone and there are already berries on the canes,” Billy Jo said.
“They turn from red to a shiny patent leather black before they are ripe. I remember my mother making blackberry syrup for me and Pansy when we were little,” Poppy said in a nostalgic voice.
They parked the car in front of the garage and the three principals from Rosedale Investigations got out and stood by the garage. Half an hour later, they heard the sound of a car coming down the laneway.
“It’s them,” Dory said and clutched Billy Jo’s hand tightly. “All I want today is for Teddy to say something, anything. Even if he just laughs, it will be perfect.”
They watched in excited silence as the car pulled in. Dr. Juanita Marsh got out and lifted Teddy Lovell from his car seat. She set him down on the far end of the stone walkway. He was dressed in dungaree overalls and a blue shirt. He wore blue socks and sneakers.
“I got him that outfit,” Dory whispered.
Poppy, Lexie, and Gramma Lovell stepped off the porch and waited. Standing at the other end of the walkway, Teddy looked all around until he spotted Poppy. The sun lighted her red hair and Teddy began to walk, faster and faster until he was running flat out, his arms fully extended like an angel’s wings. She stepped forward and reached out her arms. And at that moment Teddy Lovell, who hadn’t said a single word in weeks, gave a happy shriek. “Mommy!” he cried. Then, only moments later, he looked at her more carefully and said, “Aunty Poppy,” and smiled.
Lexie walked over to stand beside Poppy. “I’m your big sister, Teddy. My name is Lexie,” she said, handing him her teddy bear from when she was a baby.
“Sissy,” Teddy said happily.
Billy Jo hummed, “The Mother and Child Reunion.”
Dory, Hayley, and Juanita jumped up and down in jubilant screaming.
Wayne took a deep life-saving breath, as if he had been trapped too long underwater, and managed, at last, to burst through to air. Seeing Teddy smile contentedly in Poppy’s arms even brought the old Detective to tears. There wasn’t a dry eye in the bunch.
About Lyn Farrell
Writing as both Lia Farrell and Lyn Farrell, I’ve been publishing books since 2013. I decided to become a writer in the seventh grade. My home life was chaotic and I found peace spending summers at my grandmother’s dairy farm. With little supervision, I wandered the hundred and twenty-acre farm and discovered the beauty and healing power of nature. Today, when I need inspiration for my stories, I take long walks. My memories of the time I spent at the farm resulted in a novel “The Cottonwoods” released 8/21.
My first marriage had ended in divorce, leaving me with two young children. Five years later, I fell in love with a divorced professor with six children. Raising that many kids required working full-time. When I retired from Michigan State University, I returned to my original dream of becoming a writer. My daughter, Lisa, and I wrote the “Mae December mysteries” using the penname of Lia Farrell. They are amusing, mental puzzles called cozies, with an element of romance. Cozies are the gentlest subset of the broad genre of crime writing. It's a comfort read that leaves you satisfied and at one with the world.
Now writing solo as Lyn Farrell, I recently published "The Blind Switch" (January 2021). It's the first in a series about a private detective agency, Rosedale Investigations. Two of my readers’ favorite characters from the Mae December mysteries, Dory and Wayne Nichols, have starring roles in these books. “The Blind Split” (released 1/11) is the second in the series.
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Thank you so much June McCrary for your Spot Light on "The Blind Split," by Lyn Farrell. I'm impressed with your website. Very nice work. Lyn
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