A Neighbor's Lie
Page 20
She glanced at her phone, assuming it would be Garcia to tell her there was one last thing she had forgotten to do in wrapping the case. But it was another name, a name she had not been expecting at all.
Danielle.
As she also looked at the time with blurry eyes, she saw that it was 6:15 in the morning. She sat up in bed and took the call, assuming that any call from Danielle at such an hour could only bring bad news.
“Hello?” she said.
“You said we needed to talk?” Danielle asked.
“Yeah. Look…I had to do it, Danielle. I had to talk to her. To at least see.”
“What? You mean you visited Ruthanne?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re pathetic, Chloe.”
Chloe let the comment ride for a moment. She had to remind herself that as far as they knew, their father had attempted to work with Ruthanne Carwile to frame her for murder less than six months ago.
“I had to know, Danielle.”
“Was there anything to the story? Was he for real?”
“Yeah. She told me the whole thing. And she had no idea, but I was recording it all on my phone. It’s probably enough to get him out right away. To clear his name, maybe.”
“Congratulations,” Danielle said sarcastically. “What will you do with it?”
“I don’t know,” Chloe said. “It’s too much…too much responsibility. Too much control. I think I have to turn it in.”
“Don’t you dare. That asshole deserves to be where he is. He’s just as twisted and screwed up as Ruthanne Carwile is even if he didn’t kill Mom.”
“Maybe. But…Danielle…he’s our dad.”
“Chloe…I go back to what I told you at the bar. You dig any deeper into this and you and I are done. I mean that.”
“Please don’t be like that.”
“I’m sorry. The fact you went and spoke to the woman that killed our mother is bad enough. But if you use it to free Dad—playing the part of his little puppet…”
She didn’t bother finishing her statement.
“Danielle…”
“Do what you want,” Danielle said. “But I have to go. Maybe I’ll talk to you soon.”
With that, Danielle hung up. Chloe looked at the phone as if it were a snake that had just bitten her and then threw it across the room. She sat in bed for several minutes, staring at the phone and, though it pained her to even think it, starting to really resent her sister’s intense hatred of their father.
Ten minutes later, she walked to her phone and picked it up from the floor. She placed a call and waited for the person on the other end to pick up.
“Good morning, Director Johnson,” she said, each word feeling very heavy coming out of her mouth. “I have a question about what I might need to do in order to submit new evidence regarding my father’s old murder case.”
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
CUL DE SAC
(A Chloe Fine Psychological Suspense Mystery—Book 3)
“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)
CUL DE SAC (A Chloe Fine Mystery) is book #3 in a new psychological suspense series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has over 1,000 five-star reviews.
FBI VICAP Special Agent Chloe Fine, 27, must immerse herself in a suburban world of cliques, gossip and lies, as she races to solve the murder of a seemingly picture-perfect wife and mother on the night of her 20th high school reunion.
Old high school friends, now in their late 30s, have returned back to the same suburban town to raise their kids, and have resurrected the same cliques that sustained and divided them 20 years ago. As their 20th high school reunion brings back old memories, resentment, betrayals and secrets, it causes fresh pain a generation later. On the same night, their former queen bee is found murdered in her home.
In this seemingly perfect, manicured town, the past haunts the present—and anyone and everyone is a suspect.
Can Chloe Fine solve the murder—while wrestling with the demons of her own past, and the potential release from jail of her own father?
An emotionally wrought psychological suspense with layered characters, small-town ambiance and heart-pounding suspense, CUL DE SAC is book #3 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
Book #4 in the CHLOE FINE series will be available soon.
CUL DE SAC
(A Chloe Fine Psychological Suspense Mystery—Book 3)
Did you know that I've written multiple novels in the mystery genre? If you haven't read all my series, click the image below to download a series starter!
Blake Pierce
Blake Pierce is author of the bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes thirteen books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising two books (and counting); of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising three books (and counting); and of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books (and counting).
ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery—Book 1), and WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige—Book 1) are each available as a free download on Kobo!
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE
A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)
THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)
THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)
CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
NEXT DOOR (Book #1)
A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)
CUL DE SAC (Book #3)
KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES
IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)
IF SHE SAW (Book #2)
THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES
WATCHING (Book #1)
WAITING (Book #2)
LURING (Book #3)
RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES
ONCE GONE (Book #1)
ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)
ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)
ONCE LURED (Book #4)
ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)
ONCE PINED (Book #6)
ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)
ONCE COLD (Book #8)
ONCE STALKED (Book #9)
ONCE LOST (Book #10)
ONCE BURIED (Book #11)
ONCE BOUND (Book #12)
ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)
ONCE DORMANT (book #14)
MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES
BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)
BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)
BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)
BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)
BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)
BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)
BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)
BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)
BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)
BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)
BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)
AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES
CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)
CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)
CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)
CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)
CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)
CAUSE TO DREAD (Book
#6)
KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES
A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)
A TRACE OF MUDER (Book #2)
A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)
A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)
A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)