Miracle At Stonecroft Manor

by Michael Allan Mallory

About the Author: Michael Allan Mallory is the co-author of two novels featuring mystery’s first zoologist sleuth. Lavender “Snake” Jones first appeared in DEATH ROLL and returned in KILLER INSTINCT. Michael’s short fiction has appeared in numerous publications. He was an editor for Minnesota Not So Nice: Eighteen Tales of Bad Behavior, which was a finalist for the 2021 Silver Falchion Award.

Excerpt

Stonecroft Manor came into view as Grant Ranko made the turn onto the driveway. The big yellow house sat like a proud lion under a clouded moon. Seeing it again after so many years brought back a flood of memories. Most of them good. His ten-year-old self had always felt a twinge of excitement whenever he visited his rich cousins in their fancy house, a far cry from his cramped inner-city upbringing. Tonight, though, that twinge had to do with being summoned by Winston Stonecroft, the old man himself, a man who did not like to be kept waiting and Grant was already fifteen minutes late.

He parked the car and mounted the bluestone porch steps, stamping from his shoes the light dusting of snow which had just begun to coat the grounds minutes earlier. Feeling he was now presentable, he pressed the doorbell and breathed in a calming breath. Twenty-seven years old with a successful career, he still felt like that young kid from the other side of town come calling.

The door swung open and he found himself in the presence of a red-headed angel.

“Grant!” Alexis Stonecroft waved him in. Twenty-five and pleasantly shaped, the latter enhanced by her clingy sweatshirt and black leggings, she favored him with the most sumptuous green eyes he’d ever known. “Let me hang up your coat.”

He obediently shed his trusty Navy peacoat and watched her hang it up in the hall closet. “Sorry I’m late,” he said. Although he’d called to say he’d be tardy, Grant still felt guilty. “I hope your father isn’t too upset.”

Story Comments