by Sheila Lowe
Jovanic ordered a glass of pinot noir for each of them and the server left behind an awkward pause. Claudia had no idea what to say, so she just waited. He seemed unsure, too.
“Do you remember the first time we came here?” Jovanic asked at length, as if reading her mind.
“Of course I do.”
“A lot has happened since then.”
“Yes.”
He cleared his throat. “Like I said, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
“And sleeping,” she echoed his earlier comment.
“I was pretty out of it. It’s amazing how sleep—and the lack of it—can affect one’s perspective.”
“No doubt,” she agreed, managing a wry smile. “How has it affected yours?”
“I need to apologize for yelling at you the other day, and for the things I said. I’m not going to make excuses. I’m just sorry.”
Claudia shook her head. “You don’t have to—it’s me who owes the apology. I put you in an unfair position. I’ve talked to Ann Cunningham, my lawyer friend, and she’s willing to take Annabelle’s case if she ends up having to go to court.”
His perceptive slate grey eyes caught hers and held them. She tried to fathom what emotion they held, but he could be as impassive as a sphinx. Not wanting him to read her pain, she dropped her gaze to the menu in front of her, but she left it closed.
“You’re an enigma, Claudia.”
She glanced up and was still unable to read him. “How so?”
“We’ve been together for over two years. You say you love me; you’ve shared your most intimate secrets with me. We’ve had some disagreements, but usually we’ve ended up on the same page.”
She thought she knew what was coming, and she shrank from it.
“I thought we were getting closer,” Jovanic went on. “But this thing with Annabelle. We weren’t on the same side. All of a sudden, we weren’t a team anymore. Instead of ‘us.’ It was you versus me.”
“I know. I got scared.”
“Scared of what?”
Claudia paused, gathering her thoughts. “It felt like—stepping off a cliff. I know Annabelle needs me, but…” she broke off.
“But you’re not sure of me? You think I won’t be there to catch you?”
“It’s foolish, I know. You’ve always been there. Even when I acted against your advice.”
“Acted against advice—you?” His familiar grin broke her heart. “When could that have been?”
“Hmm, let me think. There was that time when you came to Las Vegas when Annabelle got kidnapped…”
“Uh huh. And I do seem to remember a certain trip to New York.”
“Yep, that too.” She refrained from reminding him of last spring at the cult compound. At least that one had not required air travel. Claudia felt herself blush as she realized how many times he had come, if not to her rescue, to be there for her in the aftermath of the dangerous situations in which she had placed herself. She had come to count on him always being there. Now, though, looking into the face she cherished and seeing his expression as serious as she had ever known it, she began to absorb the possibility that he would not be.
Jovanic stuck his hand into his inside pocket and took out an envelope. “I have something I need you to look at.”
Claudia’s mouth went dry. “What is it?”
“Some handwriting.”
She stared at him, baffled by his timing. “You want me to look at some handwriting right now?”
“M’hm. It’s a tough case, and it’s driving me crazy.” He handed the envelope across the table. “This is really important, so give it your best shot.”
The envelope was unsealed, the flap tucked in. Inside was a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, Claudia saw right away that the handwriting was Jovanic’s own block printing and signature. He’s breaking up with me in a note, she thought bitterly. At least he hadn’t done it by text message.
Then she read what he had written:
Dearest GraphoLady, will you marry me?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Like Claudia Rose, Sheila Lowe is a court-qualified handwriting expert who testifies in forensic cases. She has more than thirty years experience in the field of handwriting analysis and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. The author of “Handwriting of the Famous & Infamous,” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis,” her analyses of celebrity handwritings have appeared in Time, Teen People, and Mademoiselle. Her articles on Personality Profiling and Handwriting Analysis for the Attorney have been published in several bar association magazines.
Sheila’s clientele includes a wide spectrum of corporate clients, mental health professionals, attorneys, private investigators and staffing agencies, among others. Her award-winning Handwriting Analyzer software is used around the world and her profiles help uncover important information in background checks and pre-employment screening. She enjoys analyzing handwriting for individuals, too, helping them understand themselves and others better.
For more information on Sheila, please visit her personal website
www.sheilalowe.com .
POISON PEN
Book 1: A Forensic Handwriting Mystery
Sheila Lowe “wins readers over with her well-developed heroine and the wealth of fascinating detail” (Booklist) in this captivating mystery set in Hollywood, where forensic handwriting expert Claudia Rose knows that despite the words it forms, a pen will always write the truth.
Before her body is found floating in her Jacuzzi, publicist to the stars Lindsey Alexander had few friends, but plenty of lovers. To her ex-friend Claudia, she was a ruthless, backstabbing manipulator. But even Claudia is shocked by Lindsey’s startling final note: It was fun while it lasted.
It would be easier on the police—and Claudia—to write off Lindsey’s death as suicide, but Claudia’s instincts push her to investigate further, and she quickly finds herself entangled in a far darker scenario than she had anticipated. Racing to identify the killer, Claudia soon has a price on her head. Unless she can read the handwriting on the wall, she will become the next victim.
“The well—paced plot develops from uneasy suspicions to tightly wound action.”
—Front Street
WRITTEN IN BLOOD
Book 2: A Forensic Handwriting Mystery
(10 ten pick of Independent Booksellers)
Sheila Lowe’s Poison Pen was hailed as a “fast-paced, crisp…novel that penetrates the world of celebrity.” [Armchair Interviews] And Hollywood forensic handwriting expert Claudia Rose is about to prove once more that no matter what words it forms, a pen will always write the truth.
Claudia Rose’s latest client is a dime-a-dozen type. The widow of a rich older man, Paige Sorensen is younger than—and hated by—her stepchildren. And they’re dead set on proving that Paige forged their father’s signature on his will, which left his entire estate, including the Sorensen Academy, to her.
Intrigued by this real-life soap opera, Claudia soon breaks one of the cardinal rules of business: Never get personally involved. But Claudia has grown attached to a troubled Sorensen student, and when disaster strikes, she’ll realize that reading between the lines can mean the difference between life and death.
“[Claudia’s] sharper, tougher, and more tenacious than ever.”
—American Chronicle
DEAD WRITE
Book 3: A Forensic Handwriting Mystery
Sheila Lowe’s mysteries “just keep getting better,” [American Chronicle] thanks to feisty forensic handwriting expert Claudia Rose, who knows that when it comes to solving a murder, sometimes the pen can be mightier than the sword.
Claudia heads to the Big Apple at the behest of Grusha Olinetsky, the notorious founder of an eli
te dating service whose members are mysteriously dying. The assignment puts Claudia at odds with her boyfriend, LAPD detective Joel Jovanic, who suspects Grusha herself is trouble.
Drawn into the feckless lives of the rich and single, Claudia finds herself enmeshed in a twisted world of love and lies fueled by desperation. But desperate enough to kill? Clues in the suspects’ handwriting might help Claudia save Grusha’s already dubious reputation before the names of more victims are scribbled into someone’s little black book.
“Sheila Lowe is the Kathy Reichs of forensic handwriting—a rip-roaring read.”
—Deborah Crombie, National Bestselling Author of “Necessary as Blood”
LAST WRITES
Book 4: A Forensic Handwriting Mystery
Claudia’s friend Kelly learns that she’s an aunt when her estranged half-sister, Erin, shows up at her home in desperate need of help. Erin and her husband have been living quiet lives as members of the Temple of Brighter Light in an isolated compound. But now her husband and young child have disappeared, leaving behind a cryptic note with a terrifying message.
Seizing an opportunity to use her special skills as a forensic handwriting expert, Claudia becomes one of the few outsiders ever to be invited inside the temple’s compound. She has only a few days to uncover the truth about Kelly’s missing niece before the prophecy of a secret ancient parchment can be fulfilled and a child’s life is written off for good…
“A fascinating view into the world of handwriting analysis…captivating.”
—Robin Burcell, Author of “The Bone Chamber”
WHAT SHE SAW
A Standalone Novel of Suspense
Imagine waking up on a train and having no recollection of how you got there. The more you think, the more you realize that you don’t have any idea who you are…no name, no memories, no life.
This is the situation you’re drawn into in “What She Saw.”
A woman…no name, no memory, no life…only fear.
By chance or fate, she runs into someone who knows her and gives her a ride home.
At her home she finds two IDs, two sets of keys, one face…hers, but two separate lives!
