by Lauren Carr
Barth flipped on the wall switch to bathe the room in light.
The stereo was set to repeat the album Stairway to Heaven.
Ava was in bed. Her last customer lay next to her. Both of their hands were tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged with bandanas tied behind their heads. The strap used to strangle them was still tied around Ava’s pretty little neck.
Chapter One
June 13, 1996
Allison’s Diner, Carolina Avenue, Chester, WV
“Dad, why does Murphy always get the last fry?” seven-year-old J.J. Thornton objected when he saw his identical twin brother going after the last fry on the plate set between them at the booth. “I never get the last bite.”
“You do so,” Murphy said.
“When?”
“Last night,” Murphy said. “You finished the popcorn.”
“Did not,” J.J. argued, “Tracy got that.”
“Point is I didn’t.”
Murphy reached for the fry only to discover that his sister, two- year-old Sarah, had snagged it while they were arguing, smashed it in her little hands, and shoved it into her mouth to create a nasty mess on her face and everything she touched.
“Dad!” the two of them called out in unison.
“What?” Joshua Thornton found it difficult to keep the irritation out of his voice when he looked up from the reports in the file he was reading. Even though he had been sitting at the table during the ordeal, he had managed to block out their squabbling.
It was a talent he had developed while working his way up in this Navy career as a Navy Officer and lawyer with a growing and rambunctious family.
Not so great for marriage, especially when your wife is trying to organize a move halfway across the world while keeping four children, all under the age of seven, in line. Joshua tried to help his wife as best he could, but that was difficult when he got his first assignment, an investigation of an officer accused of raping a fellow officer, for when they arrived in Naples and he was expected to lead the investigation as soon as he arrived.
How do you prepare for a major investigation while moving a family of six half-way across the world? Carefully.
Joshua had agreed to take the kids out for lunch at the downtown diner on the main drag of Chester while his wife, Valerie, and his grandmother finished the last of the packing.
“Sarah ate the last fry,” J.J. pointed a finger of accusation at her. “It was supposed to be mine.”
“It was mine,” Murphy said.
“Why don’t I ever get the last fry?” Five-year-old Tracy refused to be left out.
“Because you never call dibs,” J.J. answered.
Murphy told his father, “You said I could have the fry.”
“No, I didn’t,” Joshua replied.
“You did so say so!” This irritated Murphy more than losing it to his sister. He went on to recount in detail that while they were eating the fries that he had asked if father if he could have it to which his father replied, “Uh-huh.”
Joshua hated to admit that Murphy’s statement could be true, considering that he was in the midst of reading a witness account and not necessarily paying attention.
“Josh?”
With a smile of relief, Joshua looked up to see a young man dressed in the uniform of a Hancock County sheriff deputy making his way from the door to their booth.
“That is you!” He grinned widely at Joshua. “How have you been?”
“Mike … Gardner?” Joshua stood up and greeted the muscular deputy with a warm handshake that turned into a hug. “Mike, how are you?” When he pulled back, he looked the muscle bound man up and down and let out a whistle. “Look at you.”
Mike gestured at the booth filled with children. “Look at you. Are these all yours?”
“Yeah,” Joshua replied.
“Is that a real gun?” Tracy pointed at the gun on the deputy’s belt.
“Yes, it is.” Mike grasped the weapon to protect her from reaching for it. “And what is your name, pretty lady?”
“Tracy,” she replied. “And this is my baby sister Sarah. She’s two years old. I’m five.” She held up her hand to show him all of her fingers.
“Well, Tracy, my son is five years old, too,” Mike said.
“What’s his name?” she asked.
“Andrew.”
“Does he have any brothers or sisters?”
“Not right now,” Mike said. “But we keep hoping to give him a little sister.”
“He’s lucky, “ Tracy said.
“I’m Joshua Thornton Junior,” J.J. said. “I was born first. This is my brother Murphy. I’m seven minutes older than him.”
“What’s your name?” Murphy pointed at the deputy to demand the information.
“Deputy Mike Gardner,” the deputy replied. “I grew up with your father. We lived one block apart and went all through school together.” He turned to Joshua. “I had no idea you were back in town.”
“We’re on one month’s home leave,” Joshua said. “Tomorrow morning we’re on our way to Naples.”
“Italy?” Mike’s eyes grew big.
“For three years,” Joshua said.
“Well, you always wanted to see the world.”
“And that I’m doing.” Not wanting to brag, Joshua steer the conversation back to his friend. “What about you? I see you made it through the police academy.”
“After college and doing my time with the Marines,” Mike said. “I’ve only been with the sheriff’s department for about six months.” He looked around before lowering his voice. “Working on my first murder case.”
“Really?” Joshua asked. “Interesting?”
“I’m going to meet my CI out at the park.”
“What’s a CI?” Murphy asked in a loud voice.
Mike shushed the boy while Joshua answered in a low tone. “Confidential informant.”
“Man,” Mike told Joshua with a shake of his head. “I wish you weren’t going tomorrow. I could really use your help in this case.”
“What type of case is it?”
“A murdered prostitute.” Mike’s eyes got a far-away look in them. “No one seems to care about finding out who killed her … but I care.”
“That’s what matters,” Joshua said.
When the server interrupted their conversation to give the deputy his lunch in a take-out bag, Mike refused to give Joshua a chance to get away without finishing his thought. His eyes were bright when he suggested, “Hey, Josh, maybe you can come with me to meet my CI. You’d know what to ask him. You could help me to tell if what they’re telling me is the truth or not. You always had a good sense—trusting your gut, you used to say—“
“I can’t, Mike.” Joshua said with a shake of his head.
Saying nothing, Mike stared at his childhood friend.
Guilt washed over him. “I can’t.”
“I could really use your help, Josh. This case is important to me. It would only take a few hours.”
“I’m leaving for Naples at six o’clock in the morning,” Joshua held up his watch to show him. “That’s in less than twenty-four hours.”
“I understand.” Mike flashed him a smile. “I guess I’m just a little nervous.” With a hasty good-bye, he hurried out the exit.
Joshua slapped the folder down on top of his other papers. “Anyone want dessert?”
Four hands went up.
That was when Joshua noticed the mashed fried potatoes on Sarah’s hand and face. He was wiping it off when J.J. declared his intention was for a hot fudge sundae with nuts and cherries. Murphy put in his vote for a hot fudge brownie delight with extra whipped cream and chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.
The server arrived at the table with extra napkins. “Everyone save room for dessert?”
In a voice one decibel over the children’s, Joshua ordered, “Two single scoop of vanilla ice cream. Two single scoops of chocolate, and one hot fudge brownie delight with whipped cream, nu
ts and cherries for me.”
J.J. and Murphy’s faces fell as the server walked away. “No fair!” J.J. cried out.
“It’s very fair.” Joshua looked out the window to the passing traffic on Carolina Avenue. He saw Mike climbing into his sheriff deputy cruiser and pull out into traffic. Behind him, a black Bonneville pulled out to fall in behind him. Joshua couldn’t make out the driver through the smoky window. His stomach tightened up.
“Mike,” Joshua heard the name climb up out of his throat while his breath quickened.
Suddenly, he was out of his seat and running for the exit. He burst out the door onto the street to see the police cruiser and the black Bonneville disappear into traffic.
That was the last time anyone saw Sheriff Deputy Mike Gardner.
Chapter Two
Eighteen Years Later – Tomlinson Run Park, New Manchester, WV
“Want another piece of chicken, Tad?”
Dr. Tad MacMillan studied the last two bites of white meat on the chicken breast before answering the robust woman standing over him with a foil pan in one hand and a pair of tongs clutching a fried thigh in the other.
“Come on, Tad,” His wife, Jan, urged him from across the picnic table. Her attention was divide between her husband and their three month old son who was fussing in the baby carrier on top of the table. “You know you want it.” He was already on his third piece. All that he had left of the potato salad was dressing smudge on his plate. “That’s what church picnics are for. Eating until you bust.”
Before Tad could respond, the woman dropped the thigh onto his paper plate and moved on to the next table to foist the remaining chicken on other hungry picnickers.
“I’m trying to save room for Cameron’s chocolate cake,” Tad said while looking toward the picnic grounds parking lot for his cousin and his wife, “if she ever comes.”
“Not to mention the ice cream that Josh is supposed to bring,” Jan said.
“Where are they anyway?”
“Cameron got a lead on a murder case she was working and took off to follow it up this morning,” Jan replied while unhooking and taking Tad Junior out of the carrier. “Joshua decided to work on an opening argument that he’s giving tomorrow. He didn’t want to come without her.”
“Just like newlyweds.” Tad dove into the next piece of chicken. “I remember when you refused to go anywhere without me at your side.
“I never thought we would get this old and settled.”
“Can you really picture me being settled?” Tad let out a laugh before peeling the crispy skin off the thigh on his plate.
“I just hope TJ takes after me instead of you in that regard,” Jan said.
“You’re not the only one.”
While the older members of the church congregation were helping themselves to seconds and thirds, the younger members were racing in paddle boats across the lake. Joshua Thornton’s sixteen year old son, Donny, the only remaining child at home, was included in the group. The boys were racing the girls. “Can’t you pedal any faster?” Donny yelled at his friend Russ.
“I’m pedaling as fast as I can!” The chubby teenager who rarely exercised anything except his fingers while playing computer games was put out with being coerced into this activity in the first place. Being partners with Donny, a linebacker on Oak Glen High School’s football team, he stood a chance of winning in the race.
“Beat you!” The girls squealed from the shore where they turned their craft around.
With a curse, Donny kicked at the pedals and sat back to let the sun shine on his face. He could feel the paddle boat rock while Russ leaned over the side to peer into the water.
“Hey, what’s that?” Russ asked.
“What?” Donny replied without opening his eyes.
“Down there.”
“Down where?”
Russ nudged him in the arm. “In the water. It looks like a car.”
Opening his eyes, Donny sat up. “So someone tossed their old car into the lake. Happens all the time.”
“Do the police dump their old cruisers in the lake, too?”
END OF EXCERPT
LAUREN CARR
About the Author
Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award.
Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. It’s Murder, My Son, Old Loves Die Hard, and Shades of Murder, Blast from the Past, and The Murders at Astaire Castle have all made the best-sellers ranks on Amazon in cozies and police procedural mysteries, as well as receiving rave reviews from readers and reviewers.
Dead on Ice introduced a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, in which Joshua Thornton will join forces with homicide detective Cameron Gates. The second installment, Real Murder, will be released January 2014.
The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.
She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: http://acornbookservices.com/
http://mysterylady.net/
Blog: Literary Wealth: http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991
Gnarly’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/GnarlyofMacFaradayMysteries
Lovers in Crime Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/LoversInCrimeMysteries?ref=ts&fref=ts
Twitter: @TheMysteryLadie
OTHER LAUREN CARR MYSTERIES!
Check Out These Other Highly-Acclaimed Mysteries
THE MAC FARADAY MYSTERIES
Click here to view book trailer.
The story takes hold immediately and the reader quickly identifies with Mac. The plot is well done without being overplotted. There are just enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The climatic confrontation with the killer is good and the wrap up leaves you laughing and feeling good. The writing style is easy and draws the reader in effortlessly. I am looking forward to the next installment!
Reviewer: Ariel Heart, Mystery and My Musings Review
What started out as the worst day of Mac Faraday’s life, would end up being a completely new beginning. After a messy divorce hearing, the last person that Mac wanted to see is another lawyer. Yet, this lawyer looked very unlawyer-like, wearing the expression of a child about to reveal a guarded secret. This secret would reveal Mac as heir to undreamed of fortunes and lead him to Spencer, Maryland, the birthplace of America’s Queen of Mystery, with her millions and an investigation that unfolds like one of her famous mystery novels.
It’s Murder, My Son is Author Lauren Carr’s third mystery novel. Carr’s first novel A Small Case of Murder was named finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards. She resides in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where she lives with her husband and son on a mountaintop. “I love a good mystery,” said Author Lauren Carr. “Growing up in a small community an argument at the corner store can become a murder by dinner. Making the story a reality on paper is a real thrill.”
Behind the gated community in Spencer, Maryland, multi-millionaire Katrina Singleton learns that life in an exclusive community is not all good. She thought her good looks and charm made her untouchable; but, for reasons unknown, a strange man calling himself “Pay Back” begins ter
rorizing her and her home. When Katrina was found strangled in her lake house, all evidence points to her terrorist, who is nowhere to be found. Three months later the file on Katrina’s murder was still open with only vague speculations from the local police department.
In walks Mac Faraday, sole heir to his unknown birth mother’s home and fortune. Little does he know as he drives his new Dodge Viper up to Spencer Manor that he is driving into a closed gate community that is hiding more suspicious deaths than his DC workload as a homicide detective. With the help of his late mother’s journals and two newfound companions, this recently retired cop puts all his detective skills to work to pick up where the local police have left off to following clues to Katrina’s killer.
Click here to download It’s Murder, My Son, the first installment in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, today!
The fast-paced complex plot brings surprising twists into a storyline that leads Mac and his friends into grave danger. Readers are drawn into Mac’s past, meet his children, and experience the troubling relationships of his former in-laws. New fans will surely look forward to the next installment in this great new series.
Reviewer: Edie Dykeman
Bellaonline Mystery Books Editor
Old Loves Die Hard…and in the worst places.
Retired homicide detective Mac Faraday, heir of the late mystery writer Robin Spencer, is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up—and she wants him back! Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac’s private penthouse suite at the Spencer Inn, the five-star resort built by his ancestors.
The investigation leads to the discovery of cases files for some of Mac’s murder cases in the room of the man responsible for destroying his marriage. Why would his ex-wife’s lover come to Spencer to dig into Mac’s old cases?
With the help of his new friends on Deep Creek Lake, Mac must use all of his detective skills to clear his name and the Spencer Inn’s reputation, before its five-stars—and more bodies—start dropping!
