“Yes,” the professor said patiently, waiting for Elizabeth’s question.
“But there was more to that passage.” Elizabeth returned her eyes to the page and continued reading. “Though there has been no constitutional amendment or act of Congress, the Supreme Court can exercise their naked judicial power and substitute their personal political and social ideals for the established law of the land. We decry the Supreme Court’s encroachments on rights reserved to the states and to the people, contrary to established law and to the Constitution.”
“So, what is your question?” The professor was no longer smiling.
What was my question? “I guess my question is whether Danny ever really had a choice?”
Professor Dixon jolted backward, as though she was physically assaulted. As with Danny, the professor’s sudden interest and appearance in Elizabeth’s life was not by chance. “Those words you used in class were part of the larger passage from the Southern Manifesto. That passage, in its entirety, appeared in the preamble of the bill, as a preemptive argument as to why the courts didn’t have jurisdiction under the Tenth Amendment to review the constructs of the bill.” Elizabeth held up the paper that was the first page of the bill. “And, Professor, next time, cite the work that you quote.”
Elizabeth only recognized the passage because she remembered Danny reading it in Webb’s library at the plantation. It wasn’t a coincidence that he pulled out the Southern Manifesto from the bookshelf. It was a document he knew well.
She pulled out Danny’s rainbow colored bracelet and twisted it in her fingers. Danny’s true identity couldn’t be ascertained, despite Grace’s diligent efforts. All unidentified calls on his phone were to a throwaway cell phone, and there was nothing personal in his apartment to shed any clues. “You put your doctrine in front of your son,” Elizabeth said as she laid the bracelet across the papers that Professor Dixon neatly stacked, with the metal key that Danny managed to weave into it facing up. Although they couldn’t ascertain Danny’s identity, they did learn that Professor Dixon had a son, her only child.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Professor Dixon said, her warm and open demeanor replaced with cool aloofness.
Elizabeth rubbed her thumb across the inside of her wrist where the key cut into her. “That was Danny’s bracelet.” She probably wouldn’t have noticed the design on the head of the key, as it had been worn down with age, except that its imprint was cut into her skin and it still showed, a checkered pattern with a triangle in the middle—the symbol of the suffragist movement. Elizabeth tapped the bracelet before standing and moving to the bookshelf behind her. She turned the music box to its side to expose the small hole, where the turnkey was missing. “Your missing key.”
His mother essentially set him up to die, yet Danny carried a memento of her with him. She guessed all he ever really wanted was her acceptance.
“My son,” she nearly snarled. “He was a disappointment. He never did anything right. He even thought he was gay,” she spat. Danny didn’t lie to Elizabeth about that part.
No remorse, even in his death. He never stood a chance. “He was your son, not just one of your soldiers, Captain.” Elizabeth emphasized the last word.
Professor Dixon smirked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Grace stepped into the room with two officers. She guessed Grace had heard enough. “Elena Dixon, you have the right to remain silent…”
“I know my rights. I teach them every day,” she said as one of the officers resumed administering the Miranda rights, while escorting her out of the room.
Once alone, Grace pulled Elizabeth close and removed the microphone hidden in the breast pocket of her jacket. “Nice work.”
“There isn’t enough there to hold her accountable for any of it.”
“Probably not, but she’s been exposed.”
“It won’t stop them. We don’t know who or how many there really are. There will be another to take her place, and then another.”
“One fight at a time.”
Elizabeth leaned in and kissed her, savoring the woman she was going to marry. For once, they had nowhere to be, and she was going to relish the moment…until the phone in her pocket vibrated.
Grace pulled back, and Elizabeth yanked out the phone. “A text from my mom.”
“She texts too?”
“Uh-huh, and look, she sent a picture of a wedding dress.” She handed the phone to Grace.
Grace turned it around in different directions, trying to gain a new, and hopefully better, perspective of the picture. She looked distressed. “Well, um, I’m sure it will look fine on you, honey.”
“Oh no, it’s not for me,” Elizabeth said, making no attempt to hide her smirk. “It’s for you.”
“Oh hell no! We’re eloping.”
About the Author
A. Rose Mathieu has been a practicing attorney in California for more than twenty years and finds her most rewarding work to be working with underserved populations. By challenging laws and bringing suits for those with too small of a voice, she has changed legislation for the better. She has always enjoyed writing as an outlet, particularly crafting mysteries with comic relief. Her first try at writing began in fifth grade with a short story that won her the top award in the state. To fulfill her mother’s dream of seeing her write, A. Rose picked up the pen again and began to write novels incorporating her expertise in the field of law.
A. Rose Mathieu is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/arose.mathieu and Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65518293-a-rose-mathieu
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Captive by Donna K. Ford. To escape a human trafficking ring, Greyson Cooper and Olivia Danner become players in a game of deceit and violence. Will their love stand a chance? (978-1-63555-215-7)
Crossing the Line by CF Frizzell. The Mob discovers a nemesis within its ranks, and in the ultimate retaliation, draws Stick McLaughlin from anonymity by threatening everything she holds dear. (978-1-63555-161-7)
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Secrets of the Last Castle by A. Rose Mathieu. When Elizabeth Campbell represents a young man accused of murdering an elderly woman, her investigation leads to an abandoned plantation that reveals many dark Southern secrets. (978-1-63555-240-9)
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Force of Fire: Toujours a Vous by Ali Vali. Immortals Kendal and Piper welcome their new child and celebrate the defeat of an old enemy, but another ancient evil is about to awaken deep in the jungles of Costa Rica. (978-1-63555-047-4)
Holding Their Place by Kelly A. Wacker.
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Pleasure Cruise by Yolanda Wallace. Spencer Collins and Amy Donovan have few things in common, but a Caribbean cruise offers both women an unexpected chance to face one of their greatest fears: falling in love. (978-1-63555-219-5)
Running Off Radar by MB Austin. Maji’s plans to win Rose back are interrupted when work intrudes and duty calls her to help a SEAL team stop a Russian mobster from harvesting gold from the bottom of Sitka Sound. (978-1-63555-152-5)
Shadow of the Phoenix by Rebecca Harwell. In the final battle for the fate of Storm’s Quarry, even Nadya’s and Shay’s powers may not be enough. (978-1-63555-181-5)
Take a Chance by D. Jackson Leigh. There’s hardly a woman within fifty miles of Pine Cone that veterinarian Trip Beaumont can’t charm, except for the irritating new cop, Jamie Grant, who keeps leaving parking tickets on her truck. (978-1-63555-118-1)
The Outcasts by Alexa Black. Spacebus driver Sue Jones is running from her past. When she crash-lands on a faraway world, the Outcast Kara might be her chance for redemption. (978-1-63555-242-3)
Alias by Cari Hunter. A car crash leaves a woman with no memory and no identity. Together with Detective Bronwen Pryce, she fights to uncover a truth that might just kill them both. (978-1-63555-221-8)
Death in Time by Robyn Nyx. Working in the past is hell on your future. (978-1-63555-053-5)
Hers to Protect by Nicole Disney. High school sweethearts Kaia and Adrienne will have to see past their differences and survive the vengeance of a brutal gang if they want to be together. (978-1-63555-229-4)
Of Echoes Born by ’Nathan Burgoine. A collection of queer fantasy short stories set in Canada from Lambda Literary Award finalist ’Nathan Burgoine. (978-1-63555-096-2)
Perfect Little Worlds by Clifford Mae Henderson. Lucy can’t hold the secret any longer. Twenty-six years ago, her sister did the unthinkable. (978-1-63555-164-8)
Room Service by Fiona Riley. Interior designer Olivia likes stability, but when work brings footloose Savannah into her world and into a new city every month, Olivia must decide if what makes her comfortable is what makes her happy. (978-1-63555-120-4)
Sparks Like Ours by Melissa Brayden. Professional surfers Gia Malone and Elle Britton can’t deny their chemistry on and off the beach. But only one can win… (978-1-63555-016-0)
Take My Hand by Missouri Vaun. River Hemsworth arrives in Georgia intent on escaping quickly, but when she crashes her Mercedes into the Clip ’n Curl, sexy Clay Cahill ends up rescuing more than her car. (978-1-63555-104-4)
The Last Time I Saw Her by Kathleen Knowles. Lane Hudson only has twelve days to win back Alison’s heart. That is if she can gather the courage to try. (978-1-63555-067-2)
Wayworn Lovers by Gun Brooke. Will agoraphobic composer Giselle Bonnaire and Tierney Edwards, a wandering soul who can’t remain in one place for long, trust in the passionate love destiny hands them? (978-1-62639-995-2)
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Certain Requirements by Elinor Zimmerman. Phoenix has always kept her love of kinky submission strictly behind the bedroom door and inside the bounds of romantic relationships, until she meets Kris Andersen. (978-1-63555-195-2)
Dark Euphoria by Ronica Black. When a high-profile case drops in Detective Maria Diaz’s lap, she forges ahead only to discover this case, and her main suspect, aren’t like any other. (978-1-63555-141-9)
Fore Play by Julie Cannon. Executive Leigh Marshall falls hard for Peyton Broader, her golf pro…and an ex-con. Will she risk sabotaging her career for love? (978-1-63555-102-0)
Love Came Calling by CA Popovich. Can a romantic looking for a long-term, committed relationship and a jaded cynic too busy for love conquer life’s struggles and find their way to what matters most? (978-1-63555-205-8)
Outside the Law by Carsen Taite. Former sweethearts Tanner Cohen and Sydney Braswell must work together on a federal task force to see justice served, but will they choose to embrace their second chance at love? (978-1-63555-039-9)
The Princess Deception by Nell Stark. When journalist Missy Duke realizes Prince Sebastian is really his twin sister Viola in disguise, she plays along, but when sparks flare between them, will the double deception doom their fairy-tale romance? (978-1-62639-979-2)
The Smell of Rain by Cameron MacElvee. Reyha Arslan, a wise and elegant woman with a tragic past, shows Chrys that there’s still beauty to embrace and reason to hope despite the world’s cruelty. (978-1-63555-166-2)
The Talebearer by Sheri Lewis Wohl. Liz’s visions show her the faces of the lost and the killers who took their lives. As one by one, the murdered are found, a stranger works to stop Liz before the serial killer is brought to justice. (978-1-635550-126-6)
White Wings Weeping by Lesley Davis. The world is full of discord and hatred, but how much of it is just human nature when an evil with sinister intent is invading people’s hearts? (978-1-63555-191-4)
A Call Away by KC Richardson. Can a businesswoman from a big city find the answers she’s looking for, and possibly love, on a small-town farm? (978-1-63555-025-2)
Berlin Hungers by Justine Saracen. Can the love between an RAF woman and the wife of a Luftwaffe pilot, former enemies, survive in besieged Berlin during the aftermath of World War II? (978-1-63555-116-7)
Blend by Georgia Beers. Lindsay and Piper are like night and day. Working together won’t be easy, but not falling in love might prove the hardest job of all. (978-1-63555-189-1)
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Pride and Porters by Charlotte Greene. Will pride and prejudice prevent these modern-day lovers from living happily ever after? (978-1-63555-158-7)
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The Boss of Her: Office Romance Novellas by Julie Cannon, Aurora Rey, and M. Ullrich. Going to work never felt so good. Three office romance novellas from talented writers Julie Cannon, Aurora Rey, and M. Ullrich. (978-1-63555-145-7)
The Deep End by Ellie Hart. When family ties become entangled in murder and deception, it’s time to find a way out… (978-1-63555-288-1)
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