Witness to Murder

by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

  Breath sawed in and out of Hallie’s lungs. “You…are…pure…evil.”

  James grinned. “Don’t you know the bad boy always gets the girl?” A sharp click sounded, his gun cocking. “Now get up!”

  As if moving through water, she reached for her crutches and struggled to her feet. She took one step toward Drayton then another. An audible growl came from Brody.

  “Easy, Mr. Jordan.” The gun swiveled toward the easy chair.

  Hallie took another step, coming down with her full weight on her injured ankle. Hot pain speared up her leg, but she flung both crutches with all her might toward James Drayton. The man’s arms lifted reflexively to protect his face, and the gun blasted. Bits of ceiling tile rained down on Hallie’s back as she fell forward. Umph! She hit the carpet, palms first.

  A large figure shot past her and tackled Drayton. The men went down in a snarling heap. The gun roared again, and Jenna’s TV screen shattered. A wild yell sounded from a different direction and a boat-sized, sneaker-clad foot mashed down on James Drayton’s wrist. Drayton shrieked and lost his hold on the gun. Brody’s arm hauled back then swung. Hallie heard rather than saw the fist connect, and Drayton’s thrashing form went still.

  “Oh, thank you, Jesus.” Hallie put her face into the carpet and sobbed.

  “Hey, hey. It’s all right now, sweetheart.” Strong arms lifted her and wrapped her tight.

  She buried her nose in Brody’s shoulder, inhaling his scent of spicy cologne mixed with sweat. The pain hammering in her head competed for attention with the throb of her ankle, but nothing else mattered than their hearts beating as one, proof they were alive.

  “Open up. Police!” The bellow sounded from outside the door. Hallie gasped and jerked her head up as a crash announced forced entry.

  Moments later, the room filled with police officers. A pair of them took custody of a groaning Drayton, who already had his hands bound in front of him with a lamp cord. Damon stood nearby, grinning, the cordless lamp in his hand.

  Detective Millette strode in, and her sharp gaze swept the room. “Looks like we caught a killer.” She narrowed her eyes at a scowling James Drayton. “Just not the one we expected.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  That evening, Brody cuddled Hallie close on the love seat in the living room of his house. Jenna’s place was off-limits until the crime scene people were through gathering evidence. Damon sprawled on a nearby overstuffed chair, and Jenna, Sam and Ryan filled the couch.

  Brody finished telling his audience what happened. “So James Drayton killed his adopted daughter to keep his wife from finding out he was responsible for her first husband’s death.”

  Damon sat forward and planted his elbows on his knees. “As far as I’m concerned, Wyatt Rosenbaum was just as guilty of Alicia’s murder.”

  “I agree,” Hallie said. “I apologize for thinking you killed the woman you loved.”

  The young man shrugged. “If I’d walked in on a scene like you did, I would’ve thought the same thing.”

  Brody chuckled. “Now you’re talking sense, little bro.”

  “Took me a while, eh?” Damon grimaced. “All those hours around a stone killer and coming that close to biting it myself woke me up to what an idiot I’ve been, walking around with some kind of stupid chip on my shoulder, figuring folks should put up with my tantrums. I’m on board for some changes, man.”

  Brody stuck out his fist, and Damon bumped it with his own.

  Ryan leaned back against the couch and put his arm around his fiancé. “What I don’t understand is how the cops got to the scene seconds after the gunshots.”

  “I asked Detective Millette the same thing,” Hallie said. “She fibbed when she told me the police were withdrawing surveillance. They were setting a trap for Rosenbaum. When James and Damon showed up instead, they weren’t sure at first that a threat was involved. But, boy, when the first shot was fired, they went into action.”

  Jenna folded her hands around her knees. “What a miracle you all came out of this alive. I still shake every time I think about it.” She gave a demonstrative shudder.

  “We’re so sorry about your house,” Hallie said.

  Jenna waved. “Don’t give it a second thought. Oh!” She smacked her forehead. “I forgot I picked up your mail like you asked.” She rummaged in her oversized handbag, brought out a small stack of envelopes and handed them to Hallie.

  Brody patted her arm and got up. “I’m going to call for a truckload of pizza and round up some beverages.”

  “I’ll help.” Damon followed him into the kitchen.

  “I’m proud of you and those big basketball feet of yours.” Brody socked the young man in the shoulder. “Quick thinking.”

  “Hey, that was no slouch of a tackle, and maybe you should’ve been a prize fighter, too.”

  “I hear all that male bonding out there!” Hallie’s voice teased from the living room.

  “Don’t worry,” Brody called back. “We’re not forgetting the heroine of the hour and her kamikaze crutches.”

  General laughter floated into the kitchen. Chuckling with his houseguests, he got on the phone for the pizza, while Damon filled a tray with an assortment of bottled soft drinks and water from the fridge. As Brody hung up, a soft shriek prickled the hairs at the base of his neck.

  “What’s up?” He strode out of the kitchen with Damon on his heels.

  Hallie waved a piece of paper. “This was in an envelope with no return address. From Wyatt Rosenbaum, I’ll bet. It’s Alicia’s birth certificate.”

  Brody bent over the back of the love seat to read over Hallie’s shoulder. “There it is in black and white. Parents: Cheryl Anne Gerris O’Halloran and Patrick Rogan O’Halloran from Rainy River, Ontario. Just a second and I’ll go get a map so we can look up the location.”

  Pulse rushing in his ears, Brody loped into his office and retrieved his atlas. A few minutes later they located Rainy River across a river by that name from the small Minnesota town of Baudette. Brody met Hallie’s steady gaze. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “We generally are. Love triangle. North of the border and south of the border boys obsessed with the same beautiful woman. O’Halloran won out until James Drayton murdered him, as well as my innocent parents, to get what he wanted.” Tears sheened her eyes. “At last I know all the truth.”

  “Not quite all.”

  She blinked up at him. He leaned in and brushed her lips with his. Their audience clapped and cheered. Under the noise, he whispered to Hallie, “I love you, and that’s the complete truth.”

  “I love you, too,” she mouthed back, and Brody’s heart expanded to fill his whole body.

  A month later, Hallie’s heart sang as she stood at the front of the church listening to Samantha and Ryan exchange their vows. She glanced a few pews back and spotted Brody, looking distinguished in his suit, with Stan perched beside him, not in a suit or tie, but presenting very nicely in a button-down dress shirt and khaki slacks. Brody winked at her. Stan paid her no attention. His blue gaze zeroed in on Jenna. Hallie didn’t blame him. Her friend looked sensational in the emerald-green gown.

  She scarcely knew where to start thanking God for His goodness.

  Mere days after their deadly brush with James, Hallie received a phone call from the church organization that had sponsored her parents’ orphanage in Nigeria. No, they hadn’t found the old paper records about Patrick O’Halloran, but they’d found something way better.

  After her parents’ deaths and the torching of the buildings, the organization had shut down the outreach. However, her inquiries had stirred their curiosity, and they’d checked into what had become of the property.

  Iver and Yewande Berglund had planted seeds of the Kingdom of God too well for the harvest to be destroyed by the worst that men could do. A thriving church and orphanage had sprung up on the very spot, completely indigenous to the country. It was run by grown-up orphans who had been raised by Hallie’s parents,
people Hallie remembered well and fondly. She’d called them, and they were about jumping out of their skins for the daughter of Iver and Yewande to pay them a visit this fall.

  Hallie hadn’t wasted a moment, and Brody hadn’t needed to be asked along twice. A thrill shot through her. If she was picking up on Brody’s hints properly, she’d receive a glittering rock for her finger one romantic evening beneath the star-spangled African sky.

  Dear Reader,

  I so enjoyed telling Hallie’s story because I had the chance to mix intriguing tidbits from another culture into a suspenseful adventure, starring an exotic heroine. And Brody wasn’t hard on the pen either! Let me know what you thought by visiting my Web site, www.jillelizabethnelson.com.

  The neighorhood in St. Paul where Hallie lives and works is based on a real area I visit regularly for my own day job. However, I have taken the fictional license of placing a television studio where none exists. Part of the fun of writing novels.

  My personal experience as a short-term missionary in various parts of the world made this story particularly dear to my heart. A slideshow of inspiring photos from my mission trip to Thailand can be found at: www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=6c8f9eb0bc8c416f217a. Those who serve on foreign soil deserve all the support we can give them. That’s our part in the priceless work they do for the Lord.

  Your support, dear readers, of faith-filled fiction is a vital part you play in another important endeavor—insuring that clean, fun and uplifting books continue to be found on store shelves. Thank you for purchasing this book and for telling others about the fine reads that Christian fiction imprints like Steeple Hill Books have to offer.

  Excellent blessings to you and yours,

  Jill

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  How often have any of us been caught in a predicament because we made assumptions based on appearances—assumptions that turned out not to be correct? Most of the time such situations are humorous or even benign, but they can be hurtful, harmful…or if you’re Hallie Berglund, downright deadly. Name a time you jumped to a conclusion. What were the consequences?

  If you walked into a scene like Hallie did with Damon and the murdered Alicia, would you conclude that you were looking at a killer? Why or why not?

  Is it reasonable for Brody to insist on Damon’s innocence based on his knowledge of the young man’s character? What does Brody’s unswerving faith in his protégé say about the importance of developing the type of character that others respect?

  Brody and Hallie have strong opinions about one another at the beginning of the story. What are they, and on what are they based? How do their opinions change over the course of the story, and why do they change? Have you ever changed your mind about someone as you got to know them?

  Hallie is doing a story about up-and-coming Minnesota models, an industry based on physical appearance. During her investigation into Alicia’s possession of her mother’s bracelet, she meets a man obsessed with his physical prowess. She discusses the disturbing encounters with Brody. Do you agree with his conclusion that excessive emphasis on the outward is a cover-up for deep insecurities? How can we sometimes fall into the same trap?

  During a conversation with her two best friends, Hallie mentions that Damon is being ripped apart by the media. Her friend Jenna questions Hallie about fairness in the media. Is the media biased, and if you believe so, do you think the bias is usually deliberate or a natural by-product of the reporters’ humanity? Explain.

  When Hallie came to the United States as a young child, she threw herself into becoming an American girl and lost a vital part of her heritage. What compelled her to leave her past in oblivion?

  Discuss times you might have left something good behind because of something bad associated with it. How might you overcome the bad in order to reclaim the good?

  What is Hallie really seeking in her quest for answers about the bracelet her mother made? How might finding the answers affect her ability to commit to a serious relationship with someone she could marry one day?

  Despite her many character flaws, do you feel compassion for the murdered woman, Alicia? What do you think Damon saw in her that made him love her so much?

  The real murderer is seriously disturbed and despicable; yet circumstances kept pointing away from him as the killer. Did his guilt take you by surprise? Why or why not?

  There is a surviving victim in this story. Who is that person, and for what reason was the person victimized, starting well before this story opens? How does that reason relate to one of the themes of the book—obsession with outward appearance?

  If you were to insert another scene at the end of the story that told about what became of this person after James is out of the picture, what would you like that scene to contain?

  Office romances can be challenging. Do you think it’s difficult to work with someone you love? How can people make it work?

  Do you think Damon will be able to get over the loss of Alicia? Does time heal all wounds? Have you lost someone important to you? How did you come to grips with the loss?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-3632-9

  WITNESS TO MURDER

  Copyright © 2009 by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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