Character Post for Lexie Lovell
“The Blind Split” by Lyn Farrell
Character Lexie Lovell
Lexie Lovell, age 21, comes to Rosedale Investigations with a problem. Her father, Ed Lovell, died recently and left a large estate. As Lexie was his only child (or so she believed) she expected to inherit the lot. But when the will was read, she learns she had a younger brother, leaving her both furious and disappointed. She assumes that her father got hooked up with a gold digger who wanted his money and became pregnant to ensure her financial future. Her father’s lawyer says the brother must be found before any of the money can be paid out. So Rosedale Investigations is tasked to find the boy and his mother. Lexie contracts with the Rosedale Investigations Team to find her brother. This is a scene when Lexie meets with the team that includes Detectives Wayne Nichols & PD Pascoe, Investigator Dory Clarkson and their young associate Billy Jo Bradley.
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“How can we help you, Miss Lovell?” PD Pascoe asked in a cool tone.
“I hired your firm some time ago to find a boy my father told his Executor was his son. I didn’t believe it was true and neither did my mother. It’s probably some clever ploy by the kid’s mother to get dad’s money,” Lexie said.
“Have you been able to find a marriage license? Or your parents’ divorce decree?” Wayne asked
“Neither one. My mom says she and my dad are still married, despite being separated forever, so he couldn’t have married this Delaney woman. Mom is going to talk to her lawyer and assert her rights to my dad’s estate and stop you from searching further for this boy,” Lexie said.
“We are aware you don’t believe the boy is your brother, but the only way to prove that would be to do a DNA test,” Billy Jo said.
“Well I’m not happy about it, but it seems you will have to find him,” Lexie said.
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When the birth certificate of little Teddy Lovell, age 2 ½, comes to light, his mother is listed as Pansy Jane Delaney. Billy Jo Bradley, the computer guru for Rosedale Investigations, thinks finding her will be a snap and puts the picture of Pansy Jane into their facial recognition software. She turns up—but as Poppy Anne Delaney—not Pansy Jane. And she has a record for solicitation and assault. Pansy and Poppy are identical twins. Poppy is in jail, but Pansy seems to have vanished into thin air.
Lexie’s mother insists she and Lexie’s father were never divorced, and she wants part of the estate. That turns out to be a lie. At the time of the divorce, the mother got the lion’s share of her husband’s business. Her claim is dismissed and the first crack in Lexie’s armor appears. Lexie is engaged to be married and her fiancé thinks she might want to meet this little brother. She disagrees. Lexie has seen a photograph of “her” teddy bear in the arms of a baby, presumably the brother, and her anger flares anew. How could her father give an identical teddy bear to a new child?
Finding Teddy, however, is not quite a straightforward as the Rosedale Investigations team hoped. When the boy is discovered in an abandoned farmhouse by Detective Wayne Nichols, he is alone. Wayne continues the hunt for his mother. Teddy is taken to the hospital where he quickly recovers physically but is not talking. When Billy Jo tells Lexie that the little boy can’t talk, and that he faints when given shots, Lexie begins to soften toward her brother. She too, has problems with needles. A DNA test is ordered and there is no doubt; Teddy and Lexie are brother and sister. Still, Lexie won’t see Teddy in person.
Dory turns her hand to finding any other relatives for little Teddy and discovers that Ed Lovell’s mother is living. When contacted, she reveals that she and Ed weren’t in touch. She didn’t know she had two grandchildren and desperately wants to meet them. Ultimately, she agrees to come to Rosedale and help raise Teddy. Dory manages to get Poppy Anne out of jail. There’s an old home that belonged to Delaney twins’ parents and she fixes it up to Gramma Lovell, Poppy and Teddy to live in.
In a final scene, Lexie meets Teddy when he’s brought to the home where he will be living. On the drive out to the place, Billy Jo asks her how she’s feeling about the situation now.
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Lexie says, “…a funny thing has happened. I was so focused on getting all dad’s estate at the beginning. Looking back, I guess I wanted dad’s money as proof that he loved me more than Teddy, but the money doesn’t seem as important now. I’m happy to share it with my brother.”
When Detective Nichols says Lexie’s father is the real hero of the story, she disagrees.
“I don’t think so,” Lexie said firmly. “The last few days I’ve been thinking about all of you and what you have done for me. I was a real brat at the beginning, but Billy Jo kept nudging me toward Teddy and because of her efforts, I now have a cherished little brother. Detective Nichols, you saved Teddy’s life. And because of your work, Dory, I got a grandmother in the bargain. You three are the real heroes of the story in my book.
If this book is ever made into a tv show or movie, the actress I’d like to have play Lexie Lovell is Crystal Reed.
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.
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.
I loved your review of my book, "The Blind Split," by Lyn Farrell. You absolutely got it, you were "spot on." Loved that you said it was a fabulously fun read. You also mentioned that the reader got to follow the 4 main characters in the private eye firm. Lovely review, thank you so much.
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