Deadly Readings
Page 18
Fortunately for Pete though, Joshie Boy loved to argue almost as much as he loved attention. And until he stopped arguing with the compass, first place would continue to elude the guy in all similar competitions—skiing or otherwise.
Drew uncapped his thermos and took a sip of coffee. “He says he needs the money big-time. That he can’t lose.”
“Why?”
“You know how the guy rambles. But from what I could decipher between curse words, his wife caught him cheating on her.” Drew wiped his mouth with the back of his gloved hand. “She’s retaliating via the court system.”
Pete nodded slowly, pondered Drew’s words. “Well, Joshie Boy’s gonna have to find another way to pay for his screwups. ’Cause this prize is all mine.”
“I have no doubt about that one.” Drew thumped Pete’s back. “Hey, I’m gonna go top off my coffee before we start. Knock ’em dead, buddy.”
“Oh, I intend to.” Pete glanced in Josh’s direction one last time, his gaze coming to rest on the younger man’s aggressive stance and determined jaw.
“Ah, hell,” he muttered under his breath, pulling the topographical map from his pocket. It never hurt to double-check his route, although he’d stored most of the trek in his mind already. Knowing the course ahead of time was what helped shave precious seconds off his game. So many of the other guys waited until the shotgun start to figure out where to go, stopping repeatedly to compare coordinates to their map and compass. But that thinking never made sense to Pete. Studying the lay of the land and familiarizing yourself with direction was what it was all about. If you could visualize where you were headed, it made getting there a lot easier.
He had to admit that his initial reluctance over a winter game was for naught. The rules hadn’t changed. It was just the act of getting to the designated coordinates that would be different, thanks to the deep snow.
Pete unfolded the map. Much of the day’s course wound through thick forest—the kind of terrain that would be tough to maneuver for mediocre skiers. Throw in the potential to get disoriented in a heavily wooded area and this competition was sure to be tough. For all of them.
“When you find a point, mark your card with the stamp that’s there,” Dan said, his voice cutting through Pete’s thoughts. “First person back to this spot with all ten points will walk away with four thousand dollars.”
He raised the pistol into the air and paused. “Oh, yeah, may someone other than Pete win.”
1:00 p.m.
Pete could almost feel the one-hundred-dollar bills that would be in his hand in less than thirty minutes. Forty of them, crisp and new. The final money he needed to take his wife on the second honeymoon he’d been promising her for years.
He glanced down at the Arrow 30 competition compass Eileen had given him for his birthday in November. He’d been eyeing it for months, preaching its many attributes to anyone who’d listen. Eileen didn’t understand a thing about two-second dampening and how the needle-steadying feature could shave crucial seconds off his competitive time, yet she listened with the eagerness of someone who did. If she thought the technological upgrade was silly, she never let it show. It was important to him, so that made it important to her.
With a burst of speed, he skied through a wide field and into the next outcropping of trees. His desire to do something for Eileen was all the motivation he needed to find the last two points and claim the prize money.
Squinting between the lush branches of a mammoth evergreen tree, Pete could see he was right on target thanks to his new compass. In fact, if he was right, the ninth point should be just over that hill.
He leaned his pole against a tree and pulled the map from his sleeve.
“Okay, let’s see. I should be right—here.” He forced his index finger to move forward along the line he’d drawn, felt its clumsiness inside his glove. The temperature was dropping. Fast.
He glanced up. The angle he’d chosen to approach the gulley had worked. It was narrow enough in this area that he’d be able to step across it easily. Then he’d just fly over the next hill and get number nine.
Pete smiled down at the map then tucked it back into his sleeve. He was so confident of his impending win that he took a moment to admire the beautiful snow-laden landscape. There was no doubt about it, Dan had outdone himself with this competition. Mackinac Island was beautiful.
Pete pushed off with his poles and skied across the sun-dappled snow, headed into the next section of trees that would bring him one step closer to surprising Eileen. The tall spruce trees created a slalom course that would have impressed many an Olympic skier, and each snowy hill seemed steeper than the next, an impression he knew was caused by fatigue. The clip he was running the course at was bound to take its toll. But he refused to let that happen. Not when he was this close.
He pushed over the last hill that stood between him and the ninth point, his eyes riveted on the stamp pad that hung from the branches a few feet away. Stopping, he pulled out his card and marked it with the green-colored stamp that would serve as proof of his find.
“I’m not too sure that fancy compass of yours is helping a whole lot.”
He turned quickly, came face-to-face with the new guy, Mark.
“What was that?” Pete asked, sizing up the bulky redhead. Mark was taller than he was by a good two or three inches, which put the man at about six-feet-three. His shoulders were broad, the size of his biceps evident by the tight fit of his parka sleeves.
“It’s only been two hours and I’ve already got eight points,” the man bragged. “There’s no way you’re beating that.”
Pete could feel the corners of his mouth spreading upward, the laugh that begged to be released.
“You’d be right, if I hadn’t just found number nine!”
With a hard shove, Pete skied off in the direction of his tenth and final point. He hadn’t thought it was possible, but his upcoming win just got even sweeter.
• • •
He took the cap off the purple stamp and marked his card. His wife was going to be thrilled. She deserved this trip. She had devoted twenty-plus years to their children, putting her life on hold to give them the best possible advantages in life. She had been supportive of his constant career hopping, even when it required some serious belt tightening to get by. But now it was her turn. Her turn to know just how much he loved and respected her.
Pete slid the completed point card into the front right pocket of his parka and looked around. The increasing cloud cover had brought a darkened chill to the air, the snow-encrusted tree branches creating an almost weblike feel to his surroundings. The thick forest that had seemed so beautiful only thirty minutes before was suddenly different. Menacing. He shivered.
Feeling suddenly foolish, Pete stuck his poles into the ground. It was time to turn in his card, collect his prize money.
He smiled as he envisioned Eileen’s reaction when he called. Prayed that his plans for a romantic cruise to the Caribbean would show her just how much he valued her and their marriage.
The extra money from the contest would help supplement the cash he’d been setting aside from his paychecks. With any luck, there’d be enough for her to go on a shopping spree before the trip. To pick up some new vacation clothes. She deserved that. And so much more.
A twig snapped behind him and he turned.
“Hey. What the h—?”
Before he could finish his sentence, waves of pain crashed over him as the sharp knife bore into his chest again and again.
A Churn for the Worse
Be sure to look for
A Churn for the Worse,
book 5 in the Amish Mystery Series,
coming March 1, 2016!
The national bestselling author of Suspendered Sentence returns to Heavenly, Pennsylvania, where shop owner Claire Weatherly and Detective Jakob Fisher must put on their thinking kapps to solve a string of robberies and a murder in the Amish community . . .
When an Amish farmer is f
ound dead in his barn, his family accepts his death as God’s will. But Detective Jakob Fisher knows the farmer didn’t hit himself in the head with the shovel lying beside his body. And when it comes to light that a stranger appeared at the farmer’s home and now money is missing from their milk can, Fisher suspects robbery as the motive—especially when another Amish family is victimized.
Getting to the truth proves difficult, however, since Fisher has two strikes against him in the eyes of the Amish—his chosen career, and the Amish roots he left behind. Desperate to stop a murderous thief, Fisher turns to Heavenly Treasures shop owner Claire Weatherly for help. The trust she’s earned from the Amish community enables her to go where the detective cannot—straight into the path of a killer . . .
Available for pre-order now from Kobo!
Books by Laura Bradford
The Jenkins & Burns Mysteries
Deadly Readings
Deadly Getaway
Deadly Expressions
Deadly Ambition (a novella)
The Amish Mysteries
Hearse and Buggy
Assaulted Pretzel
Shunned and Dangerous
Suspendered Sentence
A Churn for the Worse (coming March 1, 2016)
The Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries
Éclair and Present Danger (coming June 7, 2016)
The Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries
(written as Elizabeth Lynn Casey)
Sew Deadly
Death Threads
Pinned for Murder
Deadly Notions
Dangerous Alterations
Reap What You Sew
Let It Sew
Remnants of Murder
Taken In
Wedding Duress
Needle and Dread (coming April 5, 2016)
Romances
Kayla’s Daddy
A Mom for Callie
Miracle Baby
Storybook Dad
About the Author
Laura Bradford is the bestselling author of the Jenkins & Burns Mysteries, the Amish Mysteries, and the Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries (under her pen name, Elizabeth Lynn Casey). She is also an award-winning romance author for Harlequin American. Kayla’s Daddy—her first romance—was nominated for RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Harlequin American and has gone on to be translated in both Spain and Germany. Her third romance, Miracle Baby, won that same award in 2010. She has also published the romances A Mom for Callie and Storybook Dad.
A graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, Laura lives in New York with her family.
For more information, please contact laura@laurabradford.com, or visit her website at www.laurabradford.com for all the latest book news.