Mystery Woman: Oh Baby

The story opens with the discovery of a homicide at the Sunset Country Club, where Stan Ferrone has been killed and the groundskeeper Johnny Nelson quickly becomes the prime suspect. Samantha Kinsey is already on the fringes of the case through her work at Mystery Woman bookstore and her connection to the local police, but the investigation becomes personal when she receives an unexpected visit from Suzi Charleston, a frightened young mother holding her baby, Josh. Suzi asks Samantha for a safe place to stay and, after sharing that her husband is in trouble, leaves the child with her. Samantha reluctantly takes in Suzi and Josh and finds herself immediately attached to the baby. While trying to keep up with bottles, diapers, and sleepless nights, she learns more about Suzi’s past and discovers that Suzi knew Samantha’s late uncle Bob and once considered him a father figure. Suzi remains evasive about her husband Johnny’s whereabouts, but her fear makes Samantha suspect there is more going on than a simple missing-person problem. As Samantha investigates, she learns that Johnny Nelson is the police’s only real suspect in Ferrone’s death. Chief Connors reports that Johnny disappeared after being seen over the body, and the evidence suggests robbery, yet Samantha notices the case does not quite add up. Philby returns to town and helps her piece together the clues, while Samantha reaches out to Suzi’s old acquaintances, including Ethel Marris, to learn more about Suzi’s married name, her husband, and the family’s history. She also discovers that Ferrone had ties to Chandler Enterprises, the powerful company run by Jackson Chandler and his son Evan. The investigation escalates when Samantha meets FBI Special Agent Javier Ortiz, who is secretly probing Chandler Enterprises for insider trading and stock manipulation. Ortiz and Chief Connors clash, and Samantha is briefly threatened with arrest for harboring information, but Philby’s quiet intervention keeps the situation from exploding. Meanwhile, Johnny and Suzi are hiding in motels and borrowed spaces, and Johnny eventually admits that he saw a man in bright yellow golf shoes murder Ferrone and then tried to blackmail the killer by stealing the golf club used in the attack. Samantha realizes the murdered executive was trying to expose wrongdoing inside Chandler Enterprises and that Jackson Chandler has been covering for his son Evan, the actual killer. She sets up a trap, using a wire and a staged meeting to force Jackson and Evan into incriminating themselves. When the police arrive, the Chandlers are exposed, Ortiz gets the evidence he needs, and the murder cover-up collapses. Johnny is cleared of the murder charge, Suzi and Josh are safe, and Samantha helps reunite the family before Johnny begins rebuilding his life with a legitimate landscaping job.