Death Displacement: A time travel romantic thriller

by Holly Copella

  “What happened to this?”

  “Oh--” Casper smiled timidly. “I kind of sort of ran over it with the truck, you know, kind of accidentally. Whatever--it was junk anyway.”

  Kane tossed it down on the desk with little interest and returned to his swatches. “We certainly don’t need more trinket boxes anyway.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Casper replied with a sly grin. “You, uh, tell Riley about the trip to Hawaii yet?”

  “I tried to this morning,” he announced then grinned and raised his brows lustfully, “but she distracted me.”

  “Well, she is rather distracting,” Casper announced with a cheap grin.

  “I already cleared her time off at the museum with Hayes. His girlfriend thinks Riley’s going through the whole nesting faze a little early,” Kane announced. “I think she’s just stressed with everything at work.”

  “Is Selena being a bitch to her again?”

  “Selena specializes in bitchiness. She’s always been jealous of Riley,” Kane remarked then shook his head. “You know, I never liked that girl.”

  “Yeah, me either. She keeps insisting that we’d met at some fundraiser at the museum and spent three days at Bessie’s bed and breakfast. I think I’d remember something like that,” Casper informed him.

  Kane gave him a bewildered look. “She used to tell me that all the time too.”

  Casper appeared humored and chuckled softly. “No kidding? What a nut job.”

  “I’ll tell you what her problem is,” Kane remarked boldly. “It’s that on again off again relationship with that security guard, Tucker. He’s brings out the worst in her.”

  “Hayes should fire his ass,” Casper remarked.

  “His hands are tied,” Kane announced. “He has no grounds for dismissal.”

  †

  Jillian hung out with Chrissie at the front desk in the museum lobby. They appeared to be softly gossiping and immediately silenced when Selena approached. Selena gave each woman a stern, irritated look.

  “Did I interrupt something?” Selena suddenly asked.

  “No, not at all,” Chrissie reported and appeared to be hiding something from her friend.

  Selena stared at both women and didn’t seem convinced. “You guys are supposed to be my friends. What’s going on? If you heard some good gossip, I want to know.”

  “Well,” Jillian began and immediately silenced.

  “We just learned from Hayes that Riley is only taking a few weeks maternity leave after the baby is born,” Chrissie announced. “Apparently, Hayes worked something out to provide daycare here in the museum.”

  Selena took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’m not surprised,” she remarked with a soft groan. “He can’t live three days without her. I thought his girlfriend would have cured him of that little crush.”

  “His girlfriend adores Riley,” Jillian announced.

  “I can’t believe Hayes has been dating Dr. Melbourne’s sister nearly a year now,” Chrissie remarked. “I wonder when Melbourne’s coming for another visit.” She appeared dreamy. “He smiled at me the last time he stopped by.”

  Selena rolled her eyes and groaned. “Personally, I’d rather not run into him again.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” Chrissie announced with a soft gasp. “I’m so sorry, Selena. I forgot about that incident with you and Dr. Melbourne five years ago.”

  “What incident?” Jillian asked with surprise. “Did I miss something?”

  “You remember when Dr. Melbourne attended his first fundraiser here,” Chrissie reminded Jillian. “Selena and Melbourne hooked up afterwards and he never called her.”

  “Oh, that,” Jillian said and waved it off.

  “Please, let’s stop reliving the past!” Selena looked at her watch and then the clock. “Well, I’m out of here early tonight. Tucker and I have plans.”

  As if on cue, Tucker quickly approached the desk while grinning. “Save the gossip for another time,” he announced. “We have plans tonight.”

  She flashed a lustful smile at both women while clinging to Tucker. “The spa won’t hold our reservations forever,” Selena teased then joined Tucker.

  Both women watched them leave the museum.

  Chrissie shook her head with disgust. “She could do so much better.”

  “I can’t believe they’re actually still together,” Jillian announced with a groan then eyed Chrissie. “What’s the story about her romp with Melbourne? She’s slept with plenty of men who’ve never called her back.”

  Chrissie leaned in closer and grinned. “She tried to hook him with a false pregnancy, but, apparently, Dr. Melbourne got snipped years ago.”

  “Oh, my God!” Jillian gasped. “I didn’t hear that.”

  “Of course you didn’t,” Chrissie replied. “She was totally embarrassed by it. Tucker still believes she didn’t sleep with Melbourne until after he dumped her at that bed and breakfast. He’s so dense.”

  “What’s going on in that girl’s head lately?” Jillian suddenly asked.

  “Why? Did you hear something?”

  Jillian grinned, lustfully raised her brows, and leaned on the desk. “I heard she recently made several pretty serious sexual advances at Hayes.”

  “You mean more than usual?” Chrissie asked and giggled at her friend’s expense. “She’s been throwing herself at him for years.”

  “He should fire her,” Jillian said. “I’d be an excellent candidate for Selena’s position.”

  “The line forms behind me,” Chrissie snorted while glaring at her friend.

  Jillian gave her a look of surprise then appeared irritated. “Says who?”

  †

  It was after closing time, and the museum lobby was dimly lit. Just about everyone had gone home for the night, and the place seemed eerily quiet. Howard, the security guard, opened the door and allowed Kane to enter.

  “Evening, Kane,” Howard greeted him cheerfully.

  “Hey, Howard.”

  Kane looked around the creepy, quiet lobby and shook his head. The museum after hours always gave Kane the creeps. He remembered reading about the murder of that security guard and the attack on Riley and Hayes. That was just two days before he met and fell in love with Riley. He had to give credit to Howard. He didn’t know how he could work there alone at night after what had happened. The place was creepy enough without the brutal attack.

  “Aren’t you worried one of the dinosaurs will come back to life and eat you?” Kane asked the security guard while grimacing.

  “Be serious, Kane,” Howard announced then grinned. “I’d have a heart attack long before one of those walking skeletons could ever eat me.”

  Kane chuckled. “Is Riley ready?”

  “I don’t know, but she’s the last one here. You need to take that girl home,” Howard informed him with a serious look. “She works too late for someone in her condition.”

  Kane appeared to hesitate and eyed Howard. Something suddenly seemed off. He uncertainly shook his head and managed a smile. “Yeah, I hear you.”

  “Is something wrong?” Howard asked.

  “It’s strange,” Kane said while tilting his head. “I’m having this weird feeling of Deja vu.”

  “I know what you mean,” Howard replied then grinned. “Of course, all my days are exactly the same.”

  Kane remained tense and attempted to shake the feeling. “Where is she?”

  “In the Egyptian exhibit, I believe.”

  Kane stared at Howard and suddenly appeared alarmed. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but he had a terrible feeling. Kane ran across the lobby and through the dinosaur exhibit. He didn’t slow through the dinosaurs and headed straight for the Egyptian exhibit. As Kane ran into the room, the sound of a gunshot rang out and echoed across the room. Kane gasped, ran toward the back, and skidded to a stop. Selena lie on the floor with blood soaking her shirt. A gun lie near her outstretched hand. Hayes stood over Selena’s body with his own gun and stared blankly
at her. Kane looked across the room at Riley. She clung to her baby bump and stared at Selena’s lifeless body with the horror evident on her face. Kane ran to Riley. A man dressed in black wearing a mask suddenly darted past them and for the exhibit entrance.

  “Kane,” Riley cried out.

  Without hesitation, Kane spun into a high, roundhouse kick and struck the man in the chest, sending him roughly to the floor. He writhed in agony. For once, Kane was glad he’d spent all those weekends with Riley’s crazy uncle. Hayes, Riley, and Kane approached the groaning man. Kane grabbed Riley and prevented her from getting too close to the man on the floor. Hayes knelt alongside the man and removed his mask to reveal Tucker. Neither Hayes nor Riley seemed too surprised. Kane was stunned while clinging to Riley.

  “I don’t understand. What happened?” Kane asked and felt as if he was the only one who didn’t know what was going on.

  Riley uncertainly shook her head and again looked at the dead woman several feet away. “I thought she’d gone home, but she showed up with a gun. She wanted to kill me,” Riley announced then looked at Hayes. “It was her, wasn’t it? Five years ago when Collin tried to kill you, she was the one in the lobby who slashed me. They were in on it together. She wanted me out-of-the-way, so she could have my position. That’s what Collin meant. He didn’t know Selena intended to kill me all along.”

  “I suspect she was behind everything,” Hayes remarked. “I think you were always the intended target. Collin and Tucker were just her unwitting pawns. They did her bidding without ever seeing her hidden agenda. She wanted your position and my money.” Hayes shook his head and stared at Tucker, who remained on the floor staring up at him. “Unfortunately for them, some of us are better equipped to predict the future than others.”

  Hayes’ cell phone rang. The caller ID read ‘Casper’. Hayes looked at Kane, who held Riley, and flashed a tiny smile. “And there’s my crystal ball now.”

  Hayes handed Kane his gun then answered the phone as he walked away. Kane clung to Riley while keeping the gun trained on Tucker as Howard ran into the exhibit while removing his own gun. He was slow to the party as usual.

  Riley finally looked at Kane as he held her and forced a tiny, nervous smile. “I think I’d like to take you up on that romantic getaway now.”

  Fade Out

  Other books by Holly Copella!

  Reviews left on Amazon are appreciated!

  “The Battle for Andrea Maria”

  A cruise ship attack turns six survivors into overnight celebrities after they take credit for the heroic act of a stowaway who died saving them.

  The cruise is just what Jess needed--a bit of harmless fun far from her daily grind. But what begins as a relaxing vacation turns into a desperate fight for her life when terrorists take over the ship and start piling up bodies. Teaming up with a mysterious stowaway, Jess attempts to send out a distress call but knows they cannot wait for help to come. If she or the few remaining passengers have any hope for survival, Jess must act now. The papers dub it “The Battle for Andrea Maria,” but to Jess it is the moment she fought side-by-side with her enigmatic Romeo, saving the ship--and losing him. She thinks the story ends there, but really, the nightmare is just beginning…

  “Insanely Deadly”

  When the dead return to life, it’s up to an admiral’s daughter and a mildly insane, former war hero to save their small town.

  Jetta Cross, a Navy Admiral’s daughter, is tasked with keeping her father’s comrade, a former war hero turned town crazy, grounded in the real world. Capt. John Hunter is still fighting the war in his head, where imaginary dead people are part of his world. When a viral outbreak brings about a zombie uprising, Hunter is left to his own devices. He must resume his role as a one-man commando unit in order to destroy the ravenous undead. With Hunter still fighting his own inner demons as well as the undead, the townspeople fear their zombie neighbors may not be the only threat. Stranded at the island’s luxurious resort with a handful of workers, Jetta is forced to live up to her father’s reputation and take charge of the deteriorating situation at the hotel. She must wage her own war against the infected before the government declares her hometown a total loss.

  “Deadly Institution”

  A town recluse suspected of killing his wife teams up with a young woman in order to stop a killer.

  After being accused of murdering his wife, Konrad Asher turns his back on the town that once adored him. Ten years later, he still holds his grudge and the title of the most feared man in town. With the reopening of the burned mental institution, where his wife had died, former employees are now murdered one-by-one, throwing suspicion back on Asher. A young local reporter, Jacey, is forced to reveal her long-time friendship with the infamous recluse in order to clear his name not only in the recent murders but to exonerate him in the death of his wife as well. Will Jacey’s relationship with Asher invite the killer closer to her? Or is the killer already in her life?

  “Town Darling”

  After surviving a brutal attack that claims the lives of those she loves, a young woman seeks revenge on a corrupt town.

  Going back home is never easy, but for Casey, it means returning to her corrupt hometown where she barely survived a brutal attack. Accompanied by two family friends, she seeks justice for the night that destroyed her life. Her physical scars are nothing compared to her emotional ones, forcing the local sheriff to believe that the town darling is back for revenge. As the conspiracy for her revenge appears to be leading up to the coveted town fair, the sheriff is determined to stop her from fulfilling her vengeful scheme...but guilt over his role on that fateful night continues to haunt him. His desperate need for Casey’s forgiveness could be his undoing.

  “Screenplays: The Island Collection”

  “Jungle Princess”, “A.L.F. Resort”, “Brighton Island”

  Discover how romance and fun in the sun can be downright chilling!

  “Jungle Princess” is a romantic/thriller that leaves a teenage girl stranded on an island with two male shipmates and a creature of “unknown” origin. She soon discovers the island is home to an abandoned prison with several prisoners roaming free. What really killed over one hundred prisoners? And is it still out there--?

  “A.L.F. Resort” is a romantic/thriller set on an island resort with Artificial Life Forms as the main draw. At this resort, all your fantasies come true…until a malfunction removes safety inhibitors on the A.L.F.’s. Zombies, biker gangs, and mobsters run amuck, turning fantasies into nightmares. A young reporter gets more of a story than she anticipates, but will she survive long enough to write the story?

  “Brighton Island” is a romantic/thriller set on a private island. When the owner’s niece brings her psychic friend to the mansion, his presence awakens the spirits’ tortured souls. As the psychic attempts to solve the old murders, the niece is confronted with the possibility that she’s next to join the mansion ghosts. Stranded on the island with a crazed killer, he uncle wages his own war to save them. Will his “shock and awe” tactics actually save them or get them killed?

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Holly Copella has been writing since the age of twelve when her frustration at a book’s poor plot drove her to author her own story. Over the last decade, she’s written a number of screenplays, some of which she’s now adapting into novels. Her fascination with zombies and other darker material lends an edge to her writing, which tends to lean toward horror. As a fan of Agatha Christie, she appreciates the craft of a good plot and the importance of creating significant characters.

  Hailing from Pennsylvania, Copella lives in the Endless Mountains on a farm with her rescue horses and other animals. In addition to writing and reading fiction, she enjoys riding horses and traveling to Las Vegas and Disney World.

 

 

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