*** Special Preview ***
The day after Agnes’s funeral, I started feeling sad and upset. I wanted to talk to someone, but I had no one. Samuel was finally heartbroken, or so it seemed. Dad was also heartbroken. They stayed locked up in their rooms all weekend, so I didn’t want to disturb them.
I went to my room and tried to sleep, but after rolling on my bed for hours, I decided to take a walk to my church and say a little prayer for Agnes, and one for Mom. I hoped she was safe, wherever she was hiding. As I walked down the street, I smiled to myself, because everyone involved in the closed-door mystery was behind bars. It didn’t bring Agnes back, but at least we got our closure.
I pushed the doors of the church open, walked to the front pew, and sat down to say a prayer. I started praying, but stopped when I heard some noise coming from one of the confession boxes. I was embarrassed because I had been praying aloud, thinking it was just me in the church. Father Paul was probably getting ready to receive someone for confession.
“Father Paul?” I called out, as I walked toward the boxes. There was no answer.
“Father Paul?” I called out again. “Are you in there?” There was still no answer.
I stood on my toes and looked into one of the boxes, but I didn’t see anyone there. I looked into the other box, and the door opened from behind and something ran out of it. It must have been a cat or maybe a rat, but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t care, anyway, I turned around to leave. I hadn’t finished saying my prayers yet, but I decided to go home and force myself to sleep.
Before leaving, I thought of seeing Father Paul first and talking with him briefly. So I went to his office at the back of the church, knocked on the door, opened it and entered. As I was walking past the waiting area, the door closed with a bang, startling me. I peeped into Father Paul’s main office and he wasn’t on his seat.
When I went back to the front door to leave, I couldn’t. The door was jammed! I tugged on it, trying to force it open, but the handle fell off. I quickly pulled my phone out to make a call, but there was poor signal in a second, then no signal the next second. It was normal, because Father Paul’s office was at the back of the church, underground and secluded by heavy, stony brick walls.
I dashed to his desk to use the office line, because I was sure that it would work. He had installed it, as he could never get phone signal down there. So I called Dad’s phone: no answer. I didn’t bother calling Samuel. I knew he wasn’t going to answer. I called Detective Slaughter. He had given me his business card the first day he met me, so I saved his number.
“This is Detective Jacob Slaughter,” he said as soon as he picked up.
“Hi, Detective Slaughter, this is Angela,” I said. “Angela Hunter.”
“How are you Angela?” he asked. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m sorry to bug you, but everything isn’t okay. I’m a little stuck.”
“Stuck?” he asked. “How? Where are you?”
“I’m at St. Andrew’s.”
“Why are you there? Did something happen?”
“No, not the hospital. I’m at the church and the door is jammed. I can’t get out.”
“Seriously?” Detective Slaughter asked, sarcastically.
“Yes, Detective,” I replied. “Please, I’m really stuck, and the priest isn’t here to help.”
“What about your father and brother? Why didn’t you call any of them?”
“I tried to call my dad, but he didn’t answer. And I’m not sure about Sam.”
“Hmm, okay. I guess I’ll be right there,” he replied. “Where’s the church located again?”
“Umm, it’s not too far from my house. Let me get the address.”
I went around the desk, still holding the phone to my ear, and sat down. As I was searching the desk for the address, my foot hit something under the table. I bent down and got on all fours to check out what it was. I screamed as loud as I could when I realized what I was staring at, then I passed out.
*****
Acknowledgments
My profound gratitude goes to my family for their support, and thanks to all the pre-release reviewers for their great feedback and input.
Many thanks to editors Jynnah Michelle, Tina L. Carter and Jason Schneider for the editing and for their patience.
Cover image by Stockfreeimages.
About the author
C. M. Okonkwo is a Nigerian author who grew up in Lagos and moved to France to study, where she obtained a B.Sc. in Business Administration and Management, an M.Sc. in Personnel and Employment Management, and an advanced M.Sc. in International HR Management and Development. A lover of travel and tourism, her writing ideas and style are inspired by experiences gained in different countries she has lived in and visited.
Author’s Note
If you wish to keep in touch with me or give me some feedback on my book, please use any of the links below. I’ll be happy to hear from you.
For more information about my book and my ongoing projects, visit my Website.
Follow me on Twitter.
Like me on Facebook.
Send me an Email.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!
Novels:
The XIth Hour, Thriller/Suspense, 2013
Thirteen Suspects, Erotic/Suspense, 2014
Desperate Women Series: Literary/Suspense
Dim Noo Abroad #1, 2014
Yankee Based Wives #2, 2016
Twenty-One Days, Literary/Suspense, 2015
Novellas:
The Angela Hunter Series: Mystery/Suspense
Closed Door #1, 2013
Jammed Door #2, 2014
Locked Door #3, 2015
Blocked Door, #4, 2016
Short Stories:
Ziora’s Surprise, Thriller/Suspense, 2013
Finding Love, Romance/Suspense, 2015
Black Box, Mystery/Suspense, 2015
Closed Door Page 8
