“I hear you were in to see Allison this afternoon,” Rose said.
Zoe watched a couple of local residents wander in from the parking lot. “Yeah. She looks great.”
“Like her old self. Almost. Her hair is back to auburn. But there’s a lot of stuff going on behind her eyes. Don’t you think?”
Zoe hooked her arm through Rose’s and bumped shoulders with her. “Give her time. She’s been through hell. Matt had her completely under his spell. She’s got to learn to reclaim her power.”
Rose looked at Zoe askance. “I talked to her on the phone before I headed over here. She told me what all you said to her. Thanks.”
Zoe stared into the distance, but instead of Dillard’s boxy houses, she was seeing Allison seated in that place. They called it a treatment facility. The brightness of the room had surprised Zoe at first. She’d expected dull and gray, but that description seemed to be reserved for the patients.
They’d talked about Matt, their mutual mistake. Zoe had shared her Jerry McBirney experience with Allison. “Even though it happened all those years ago, I was still afraid of him. I believed he could still hurt me. I gave him that power over me.”
Allison had bobbed her head in understanding. “That’s how I feel. I let Matt do things. Helped him get away with…” Her eyes glistened, still not quite able to speak about the night her dad died in front of her eyes. Zoe took her hand. Allison squeezed it and went on. “I let Matt and his pills take something from me. I let Matt take me from me.”
Zoe cupped the girl’s face in her hand. “But you can still take you back. He doesn’t own you. He can’t hurt or control you anymore.”
Of course, the fact that Jerry McBirney was dead while Matt Doaks was only locked up awaiting trial didn’t help. But Allison had seemed comforted by the words.
“Good evening, ladies.” Pete’s approach interrupted Zoe’s reverie. He’d been reinstated within days of the incident in the barn, and the sight of him in his uniform stirred all Zoe’s muddled emotions. At least some things remained the same.
“Hi, Chief,” Rose said. “Come for the show?”
“What show?”
“I was just telling Zoe I wished she’d run against Mendez and stay on the board.” Rose nudged Pete with her elbow. “Don’t you think she and Sylvia would spice up the meetings again?”
Pete chuckled. “I don’t think the township could handle them both.”
“See? That’s what I told her,” Zoe said, enjoying the easy banter. “Besides, I kind of like dull supervisors’ meetings. I think the hottest topic on tonight’s agenda is Joe’s push to finally get the signage on the new highway changed.”
As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t. Memories of that bitter January night silenced all three of them.
“Here comes Sylvia,” Rose said, breaking the strained hush. “Talk to you two later.”
Zoe watched her friend jog down the sidewalk toward Ted’s mother.
“How are you doing?” Pete’s voice was low enough that no one else could hear. Even though there wasn’t anyone else around.
“I’m…okay. How about you?”
He gave a noncommittal shrug. “We’ve missed you at poker.”
Zoe studied the cracked sidewalk. A bug, testing the viability of spring, explored the pebbled concrete surface.
She’d been avoiding Pete while sorting through her boatload of emotional baggage. Was she an awful person for being glad she hadn’t managed to save McBirney? Was it horrible that she felt the world benefited from his absence in it? And then there was Matt. How could she have ever been attracted to that murderous cad? Why hadn’t she seen him for what he was—both years ago when he’d poisoned her mare and more recently when he’d poisoned the soul of her best friend’s young daughter?
Plus, Zoe had heard rumors of a reconciliation between Pete and his ex-wife and been too afraid to find out what truth there was to them. She hadn’t intended to ask, even now, but heard the question come from her lips anyway. “How’s Marcy?”
Pete turned to stand shoulder-to-shoulder next to Zoe, and gazed at the same Dillard houses she’d just been looking at. His arm brushed hers. “You know she put the farm up for sale?”
“I heard.” She’d also heard Marcy had escaped litigation for stealing township funds. Something about statute of limitations.
“She’s moving.”
Did Zoe want to know? Not really. “Where?”
“Can you believe it? Back to Pittsburgh.”
Zoe choked on her surprise. Those gossip mongers at the station lied. “Wasn’t it Marcy who…”
“Wanted to move away from the city. Yeah.” He shot a quick glance at her, and she caught a glimpse of a grin. “Ironic, huh?”
But that was only half the question. “So, are you moving back, too?”
He threw his head back and laughed. A wonderful, full-bellied laugh. “No,” he said. “I’m not moving back to the city. I admit I thought about it for a while when County was having all the fun with my evidence. But I’m sorry to tell you. Vance Township is stuck with me for a police chief.”
Howard Rankin poked his head out of the VFW door. “Hey, Zoe. Are you coming? I want to get this meeting started.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Howard ducked back in. Pete caught her arm. “I’m not staying for the meeting. Somehow, I don’t think a police presence is needed here tonight.”
“Oh.” She covered the flicker of disappointment that threatened to add a whine to her voice. “Okay.”
He stepped away. Then turned back and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Poker Saturday night?”
For the first time in a very long while, Zoe managed a smile untainted by fear or doubt. “Count on it,” she said.
About Annette Dashofy
Annette Dashofy, a Pennsylvania farm gal born and bred, grew up with horses, cattle, and, yes, chickens. After high school, she spent five years as an EMT for the local ambulance service. Since then, she’s worked a variety of jobs, giving her plenty of fodder for her lifelong passion for writing. She, her husband, and their two spoiled cats live on property that was once part of her grandfather’s dairy. Her short fiction, including a 2007 Derringer nominee, has appeared in Spinetingler, Mysterical-e, and Fish Tales: the Guppy Anthology. Her newest short story appears in the Lucky Charms Anthology.
Don’t Miss the 2nd Book in the Series
LOST LEGACY
Annette Dashofy
A Zoe Chambers Mystery (#2)
On a sultry summer afternoon, Paramedic Zoe Chambers responds to a call and finds a farmer’s body hanging from the rafters of his hay barn. What first appears to be a suicide quickly becomes something sinister when Zoe links the victim to a pair of deaths forty-five years earlier. Her attempts to wheedle information from her mother and stepfather hit a brick wall of deception, one that brings into question everything Zoe knows about her late father, who died in a car crash when she was eight. Or did he?
Police Chief Pete Adams fears Zoe’s inquiries are setting her up for deeper heartbreak and putting her in danger. As Zoe and Pete inch closer to the truth, they discover that a missing gun links the crimes which span more than four decades. But the killer isn’t done. Two more Vance Township residents fall victim to the same gun, and when tragedy strikes too close to home, Zoe realizes her family is in the crosshairs.
Available September 2014
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And finally, before you go...
Here are a few other mysteries
you might enjoy:
LOWCOUNTRY BOIL
Susan M. Boyer
A Liz Talbot Mystery (#1)
Private Investigator Liz Talbot is a modern Southern belle: she blesses hearts and takes names. She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape. When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer.
She’s fit to be tied when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the investigation, so she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops in and things really get complicated. When more folks start turning up dead in this small seaside town, Liz must use more than just her wits and charm to keep her family safe, chase down clues from the hereafter, and catch a psychopath before he catches her.
Read all about it and/or grab the book from Amazon
CLICK FOR LOWCOUNTRY BOIL
DOUBLE WHAMMY
Gretchen Archer
A Davis Way Crime Caper (#1)
Davis Way thinks she’s hit the jackpot when she lands a job as the fifth wheel on an elite security team at the fabulous Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies. Davis learns the truth and it does not set her free—in fact, it lands her in the pokey.
Buried under a mistaken identity, unable to seek help from her family, her hot streak runs cold until her landlord Bradley Cole steps in. Make that her landlord, lawyer, and love interest. With his help, Davis must win this high stakes game before her luck runs out.
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BOARD STIFF
Kendel Lynn
An Elliott Lisbon Mystery (#1)
As director of the Ballantyne Foundation on Sea Pine Island, SC, Elliott Lisbon scratches her detective itch by performing discreet inquiries for Foundation donors. Usually nothing more serious than retrieving a pilfered Pomeranian. Until Jane Hatting, Ballantyne board chair, is accused of murder. The Ballantyne’s reputation tanks, Jane’s headed to a jail cell, and Elliott’s sexy ex is the new lieutenant in town.
Armed with moxie and her Mini Coop, Elliott uncovers a trail of blackmail schemes, gambling debts, illicit affairs, and investment scams. But the deeper she digs to clear Jane’s name, the guiltier Jane looks. The closer she gets to the truth, the more treacherous her investigation becomes. With victims piling up faster than shells at a clambake, Elliott realizes she’s next on the killer’s list.
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DINERS, DIVES & DEAD ENDS
Terri L. Austin
A Rose Strickland Mystery (#1)
As a struggling waitress and part-time college student, Rose Strickland’s life is stalled in the slow lane. But when her close friend, Axton, disappears, Rose suddenly finds herself serving up more than hot coffee and flapjacks. Now she’s hashing it out with sexy bad guys and scrambling to find clues in a race to save Axton before his time runs out.
With her anime-loving bestie, her septuagenarian boss, and a pair of IT wise men along for the ride, Rose discovers political corruption, illegal gambling, and shady corporations. She’s gone from zero to sixty and quickly learns when you’re speeding down the fast lane, it’s easy to crash and burn.
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PILLOW STALK
Diane Vallere
A Mad for Mod Mystery (#1)
Interior Decorator Madison Night has modeled her life after a character in a Doris Day movie, but when a killer targets women dressed like the bubbly actress, Madison’s signature sixties style places her in the middle of a homicide investigation.
The local detective connects the new crimes to a twenty-year old cold case, and Madison’s long-trusted contractor emerges as the leading suspect. As the body count piles up like a stack of plush pillows, Madison uncovers a Soviet spy, a campaign to destroy all Doris Day movies, and six minutes of film that will change her life forever.
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ARTIFACT
Gigi Pandian
A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery (#1)
Historian Jaya Jones discovers the secrets of a lost Indian treasure may be hidden in a Scottish legend from the days of the British Raj. But she’s not the only one on the trail…
From San Francisco to London to the Highlands of Scotland, Jaya must evade a shadowy stalker as she follows hints from the hastily scrawled note of her dead lover to a remote archaeological dig. Helping her decipher the cryptic clues are her magician best friend, a devastatingly handsome art historian with something to hide, and a charming archaeologist running for his life.
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THE AMBITIOUS CARD
John Gaspard
An Eli Marks Mystery (#1)
The life of a magician isn’t all kiddie shows and card tricks. Some-times it’s murder. Especially when magician Eli Marks very publicly debunks a famed psychic, and said psychic ends up dead. The evidence, including a bloody King of Diamonds playing card (one from Eli’s own Ambitious Card routine), directs the police right to Eli.
As more psychics are slain, and more King cards rise to the top, Eli can’t escape suspicion. Things get really complicated when romance blooms with a beautiful psychic, and Eli discovers she’s the next target for murder, and he’s scheduled to die with her. Now Eli must use every trick he knows to keep them both alive and reveal the true killer.
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PORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY
Larissa Reinhart
A Cherry Tucker Mystery (#1)
In Halo, Georgia, folks know Cherry Tucker as big in mouth, small in stature, and able to sketch a portrait faster than buck-shot rips from a ten gauge -- but commissions are scarce. So when the well-heeled Branson family wants to memorialize their murdered son in a coffin portrait, Cherry scrambles to win their patronage from her small town rival.
As the clock ticks toward the deadline, Cherry faces more trouble than just a controversial subject. Between ex-boyfriends, her flaky family, an illegal gambling ring, and outwitting a killer on a spree, Cherry finds herself painted into a corner she’ll be lucky to survive.
Read all about it and/or grab the book from Amazon
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FRONT PAGE FATALITY
LynDee Walker
A Headlines in High Heels Mystery (#1)
Crime reporter Nichelle Clarke’s days can flip from macabre to comical with a beep of her police scanner. Then an ordinary accident story turns extraordinary when evidence goes missing, a prosecutor vanishes, and a sexy Mafia boss shows up with the headline tip of a lifetime.
As Nichelle gets closer to the truth, her story gets more dangerous. Armed with a notebook, a hunch, and her favorite stilettos, Nichelle races to splash these shady dealings across the front page before this deadline becomes her last.
Read all about it and/or grab the book from Amazon
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CROPPED TO DEATH
Christina Freeburn
A Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery (#1)
Former US
Army JAG specialist, Faith Hunter, returns to her West Virginia home to work in her grandmothers’ scrapbooking store determined to lead an unassuming life after her adventure abroad turned disaster. But her quiet life unravels when her friend is charged with murder – and Faith inadvertently supplied the evidence. So Faith decides to cut through the scrap and piece together what really happened.
Circle of Influence (A Zoe Chambers Mystery) Page 32
