The Season of Sin (Peace In The Storm Publishing Presents)

by Stacy-Deanne

  The Season of Sin

  BY STACY-DEANNE

  Electronics Edition

  THE SEASON OF SIN © 2012 by Stacy-Deanne

  Published by

  Peace In The Storm Publishing, LLC

  P.O. Box 1152

  Pocono Summit, PA 18346

  www.PeaceInTheStormPublishing.com

  THE SEASON OF SIN © 2012 by Stacy-Deanne. All rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages to be included in a review.

  All characters, names, descriptions and traits are products of the author’s imagination. Similarities to actual people – living or dead – are purely coincidental.

  Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein.

  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to my dad John for being so supportive of me. If not for you I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dream of writing.

  I’d like to thank my beautiful mother Elva who is resting in heaven. I think about you with every step I take and every move I make. It’s like you’re still here with me. I hope I’ve made you proud and I will continue to try to.

  I’d like to thank Elissa Gabrielle and the Peace in the Storm family for showing unbelievable support. You guys have reminded me over and over what I love so much about this business. It’s been an honor knowing all of you and I wish you all success in everything you do. We do it big at PITS!!!

  Thanks to my favorite writing pals Ruth Ann Nordin and Sheila M. Goss for being that “shoulder” I lean on when I need to vent and rant about this crazy business. It’s been wonderful knowing you both. It’s hard to find people in this business that really cares about you and I cherish you both. We need more people in the world like you!

  Thanks to all my fans, readers and supporters. I do this for you and I always will. I hope you enjoy The Season of Sin and keep a lookout for my future books!

  Best Wishes!

  Stacy-Deanne

  Praise for The Season of Sin

  “A white knuckled hard hitting thriller. Stacy-Deanne could be dubbed the Princess of Plot. Twists and turns that keep you guessing…Witty and intelligently written. Incredibly moving and engaging story that draws you in from the start. The characters demand your attention. Be prepared to be affected by this story!”

  ~ Treasure Books N’ More

  The Season of Sin is a psychological fast-paced thriller. Readers will be enthralled within the pages at the cleverly done plot filled with multiple layers, twists and turns. While reading Stacy-Deanne's The Season of Sin, I felt like I got an inside view of a Lifetime suspense movie. I can't get enough of Detectives Brianna "Bree" Morris" and Steven Kemp. The chemistry between the two oozes off the pages. If you're looking for a captivating suspense novel, then you don't want to pass up adding The Season of Sin to your shelf.

  ~ Shelia M Goss, National Best-selling author of Delilah, My Invisible Husband and Savannah's Curse

  "Stacy-Deanne is at her best! The Season of Sin is such a riveting page-turner of secrets, lies, sex, and yes sin. This best-selling crime novelist has done it again!"

  ~ Serenity King

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Ahh.” Brianna awoke on Nadia Hollister’s couch not remembering how she got there. Cops walked in and out of the front door. Someone barked orders among overlapping voices. Cameras snapped in the distance. People trudged through the halls.

  An ice pack slid from underneath her when she lifted her head. A spasm traveled through her neck. Goosebumps covered her brown skin.

  “Detective Morris?” A female officer bent over her. “You okay? Don’t move too fast okay?”

  The lady’s high-pitched tone multiplied the agony in Brianna’s head.

  “Mmm. What the?”

  “You’re at Nadia Hollister’s. Don’t you remember? Are you in a lot of pain?”

  “No.” She touched her head. “Just, just dizzy.”

  “We’ll get you to the hospital. We were gonna take you there when we first got here but Detective Kemp said it was best not to move you yet.”

  “Steve?” Brianna sat up. “Steve’s here?” She focused on Nadia’s computer desk.

  “Yeah he’s with Detective Matthews.”

  “Jayce is here?”

  If Jayce is here something terrible has…

  “Detective Kemp said you were supposed to meet him earlier after you left here and when you didn’t show up he came looking for you. And that’s when he saw what happened.”

  “What happened? Is something wrong?” Brianna grabbed the lady’s shirt. “Where’s Nadia?”

  “Uh…”

  “What happened?” Brianna shook her. “Where’s Nadia? Where is she?”

  “Let me get Detective Kemp.” The lady pulled Brianna’s fingers from her shirt. “I think it’s best if he explains it to you.” She ran out.

  Officers drifted in to check on Brianna. She fanned them away, lying that she felt okay.

  “Bree?”

  Detective Steven Kemp squeezed between the forensics officers at the doorway. Humidity forced his short blond hair into small spikes. His turquoise-blue pupils zeroed in on Brianna as if he expected answers she couldn’t give.

  “Oh, Bree.” He adjusted his gun belt and sat beside her.

  “I’m fine.” She massaged her temples. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’m just so glad you’re all right, baby.” He kissed her forehead.

  “I feel like someone ran over my head then came back, saw that wasn’t good enough and decided to pound it with a brick.”

  “The medic checked it. There’s no lump or anything.” He combed his hands through her hair. “Just need to get you to the hospital for tests to make sure everything is okay.”

  Someone had taken down her ponytail. Her neat curls had dissolved into kinky ringlets.

  “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

  “I don’t care what you say you need. You got hit in the head with that thing.” He pointed to the canister on the floor.

  “I’m fine, Steven.”

  “Get up without wobbling then.”

  She got up. “Oh! Oooh.” She fell back down.

  “See, you’re going to the hospital.”

  “What happened? Why is Jayce here?”

  He lowered his head. “I’m so sorry, Bree.”

  “What?” She put the ice pack on her head. “Steve spit it out.”

  “Nadia was murdered.”

  “What?” She dropped the ice pack. “You…that’s impossible.”

  “Bree.”

  “No wait a minute! We were just together tonight, here. We were gonna watch a movie.” She felt her head. “This can’t be true. It just can’t be.”

  “It is. We believe whoever attacked you killed her.”

  “Just tell me how it happened please.”

  “She was stabbed.” He lowered his voice. “Multiple times.”

  “Oh.” She covered her mouth. “I don’t believe this. Nadia’s dead?”

  Officers stacked boxes in the den.

  Steven held her. “I’m so sorry, Bree.”

  “I don’t believe this. Who would hurt Nadia? And I was here? I was right here and I didn’t stop it!”

  “It’s not y
our fault.”

  “Oh god.” She cried into her hands. “Steven this makes no sense. Who would want to kill Nadia?”

  Homicide Detective Jayce Matthews sauntered in. The muscular, light-skinned black man passed a small plastic sack to an officer then approached the couch. He sunk his hands in the pockets of his coat. His hard face softened with sincerity and concern.

  “Bree honey you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Jayce.”

  “She’s lying.” Steven rested his foot on the coffee table. “She’s in a lot of pain.”

  Jayce took her arm. “We need to get you to the hospital. You look good but we need to be cautious. Come on.”

  She snatched away. “I’m not going anywhere until I find out what exactly happened.”

  “Your health is more important right now,” Steve said.

  “Jayce?” Brianna rubbed her head. “You’re on this case?”

  “Yes.”

  “I want all the details.”

  “It was one of the most vicious murders I’ve seen since I started Homicide.” Jayce scrunched his face. “She was stabbed everywhere. She had wounds on her arms, her legs and under her neck. I suspect the slice under the neck killed her instantly.”

  “I don’t believe this.”

  Steven kissed Brianna’s cheek. “It’s okay.”

  She sobbed. “It’s not okay. She was probably crying out for help and I couldn’t help her. Oh god. I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “Shh.” Steven caressed her hair.

  “But I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t he kill me too?”

  “Maybe he thought he had,” Steven said. “Either that or he didn’t find you a threat. He obviously came up from behind you so he knew you couldn’t identify him.”

  “Or maybe he didn’t wanna kill Bree.” Jayce dug in his pocket. “Maybe knocking her out was enough as long as she didn’t see him. He was after Nadia and I think he knew her personally. A murder this brutal is rarely random.” He knelt beside Brianna. “I know this is a lot for you to take.”

  “You got that right. Someone bopped me over the head then killed Nadia right under my nose and I couldn’t stop it.”

  “How could you when you were knocked out?” Steven scoffed. “When are you gonna realize you’re not superwoman?”

  “I just don’t believe this.”

  “I know it’s hard but try to think.” Jayce held her hand. “Did you get a look at the person who hit you?”

  “No. I was down here waiting for Nadia to take her bath. She’d invited me over and we were gonna watch movies. She put on some tea and she was gonna be down in a little while. I got up to go…shit I can’t even remember where I was going. I might have been going to the kitchen to check on the tea. I remember being hit and falling on the floor. After that I can’t tell you anything.”

  “So you didn’t see anything?”

  “The only thing I remember was a smell.”

  “A smell?” He bounced on his knees.

  “It was some kind of fragrance, cologne.” She sniffed. “If I smelled it again, I’d know right off. I wanna see Nadia.”

  “They already took the body away. Besides I wouldn’t have let you go in there anyway.”

  “Let me, Jayce? What about her daughter Dylan? Has anyone told her yet?”

  “Were gonna notify her and the rest of her family. You and Nadia were close huh?”

  “We’d become good friends. It started out as therapy for me but we had so much in common we started hanging out. Nadia was very lonely. She’d been depressed lately. She and Dylan had some kind of falling out and it really bothered her. She always seemed to need my opinion about something. I started feeling like I was the shrink you know?”

  “How old is Dylan?” Jayce scratched over his thin mustache.

  “Twenty-seven. Nadia adopted her.”

  “Hmm.” Jayce nodded.

  “She’s an artist. She’s really talented. Her work has been in the museum under the local artists section and she’s even been profiled in the Albany paper.”

  “Guess I missed that.” Jayce scratched his ear. “You said they had a falling out? Was this recently or…”

  Brianna held onto the couch. “Don’t go there, Jayce.”

  “What?”

  “I know those gears are grinding in your brain but you’re wrong. Dylan’s a sweet girl and she loves her mother. She wouldn’t have done anything like this. Back off.”

  “Well there weren’t signs of forced entry.” Steven bobbed his foot. “The person came in through the back patio door.”

  “So? Nadia probably forgot to lock it. Anyone could’ve walked through there right?”

  “So you know Dylan well enough that you’re certain she couldn’t have done this?”

  “Jayce if I thought Dylan was capable of murder I’d be the first one going to get her. Sure she and Nadia had friction but she adored her mother. Their relationship has been strained for a while. It started because of Dylan’s ex-boyfriend, Bruce.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Know a last name?” Jayce readied his pencil to write.

  “McNamara.”

  “Ever met him?”

  “No.”

  “What did Bruce have to do with Nadia and Dylan’s friction?”

  “Nadia couldn’t stand Bruce.”

  “Why?” Steven asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well wonder if he disliked her too?”

  Jayce tapped his notepad. “Bruce McNamara huh?”

  “I’ve heard that name before.” Steven scooted to the edge of the couch. “McNamara. Isn’t he in the system?”

  Jayce shrugged. “He could have a record. I’ll check it out.”

  “If he does then that’s a reason Nadia wouldn’t like him,” Steven said. “Not too many people want their daughters with jailbirds.”

  “I don’t know anything about all that.” Brianna raised her hand. “I just know she didn’t like him.”

  “Wonder if it went both ways,” Jayce said. “Either way it’s a little something to go on. I’m gonna check to see if McNamara has a record when I get back to the station.”

  “I wanna see the bathroom.”

  “Oh no, Bree.” Jayce held her to the couch. “I couldn’t forgive myself if I let you do that.”

  “I wanna see it.” She stood. “I want to see what happened.”

  He put his hand on her shoulder. “What you need to do is go to the hospital, get checked out and rest.”

  “I don’t need to go to the damn hospital! I can take care of myself! I only care about finding out who killed Nadia.” She fixed the bottom of her turtleneck. “We at least know where to start looking.”

  “We?” Jayce shook his head.

  Another officer laid boxes in the room.

  “This is my case, Bree. You and Steven stay out of it. Besides this is homicide, my turf.”

  “What’s with these boxes?” She looked through one filled with books, files and CD’s.

  “I told them to gather up some of Nadia’s things and we’re gonna look through them to see if we can get any answers. She had all these files and things.”

  “Course she was a psychiatrist, Jayce. Part of her job is research.”

  “Or maybe she’s some collector,” Steven said. “Look at all these old newspapers and clippings of famous events. Like decades of history before our eyes.”

  Brianna read a clipping. “Nadia loved newspapers. She said they captured memories. She liked to smell the paper you know? She said it signaled nostalgia.”

  Jayce stood behind her. “We found some fascinating things in her bedroom too. She has these chests full of stuff but some of them need a key to get into.”

  “Let’s see what this is.” Steven thumbed through a thick, college-ruled notebook.

  Brianna peeked over his shoulder. “What’s that?”

  “A journal or something she wrote in.”

  “Jesus.” Brianna leaned in the b
ox. “Look at all these notebooks. Just stacks and stacks of ‘em.”

  “They’ll come in handy.” Jayce took the journals from them. “If Nadia wrote in these regularly there might be clues.” He put them back in the box. “At least we’ll know more about her.”

  “She was hurting but you wouldn’t know it by being with her.” Brianna smiled. “She kept a smile on her face even when she was suffering.”

  “Wonder why she trusted you so much?” Steven pushed a box out of his way. “You haven’t known each other that long.”

  “I don’t know. Sometimes you bond with people over things that only they can understand I guess. She always said she was comfortable with me. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t apart of her family.” Brianna looked through another box. “I don’t know.”

  “What about Nadia’s family?” Jayce dug through a box.

  “Her parents are dead. She has three sisters and two brothers. The brothers don’t live in Albany but the sisters do. She’s very close to Jasmine, her older sister. She hasn’t spoken to her brothers in some years.”

  “Do they all get along?” Jayce watched her out of the corner of his eye.

  “She didn’t tell me all her business.”

  Steven read clippings. “For someone who didn’t tell you “all her business”, she sure told you enough didn’t she?”

  “We talked about normal things okay? You act like I’m hiding something that Nadia might have told me.”

  “I didn’t say that I just think she might have told you something important, that at the time you didn’t think was important. Get it?”

  “No.” She wobbled. “Ooh. Oh, my head’s pounding.”

  “That’s it.” Steven put his arms around her. “You’re going to the hospital.”

  “I don’t need a damn hospital.”

  “No, Steve’s right. We’ll talk more about this when you’re feeling better.”

  “Jayce I want in on this.”