All Roads Lead To Murder

by Lynn Bohart

  “Welcome everyone to Wrigley Field and Chicago’s annual Children First Game between our first responders. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your afternoon.”

  As the players entered the field, my cell phone pinged. I had an incoming text. I pulled out the phone and thumbed open the screen to read it.

  “Be careful. Danger is coming your way. Fast.”

  The light on the phone went out, leaving me flabbergasted. It was my mother again. But what the heck did that mean? What was coming at me fast?

  The pitcher wound up and threw the ball wide. The batter didn’t even swing.

  “By the way, Julia, I think we need to talk,” David said, leaning into me again. “I have a problem with your proclivity to get embroiled in murder investigations.”

  My mind was focused on what my mother had just said. “What?”

  “You keep almost getting killed.”

  I pulled away from him with my heart in my throat. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I can’t protect you, and it bothers me.”

  “You don’t need to protect me,” I said in a huff.

  The pitcher threw another ball. The batter swung, but missed.

  “Well, someone needs to. And because of that, I’m not sure I can continue with this relationship the way it is. I have to weigh risk and reward. And the risk is just too great compared to the time I get to see you.”

  My eyes began to burn, and my heart was exploding in my chest. Is this what my mother meant? Was David breaking up with me? I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Instead, I turned away so he couldn’t see the tears threatening to flow.

  “Julia?”

  “I guess you’ll have to do what you have to do.”

  “What? No, Julia,” he said, reaching for my hand.

  Crack! The batter finally connected with the ball, sending it over the fence in our direction. I looked up in time to see it coming at me—fast.

  My eyes opened wide. I heard David say, “Julia, I think we should move in togeth…”

  Smack!

  The ball grazed my forehead and my world went to black.

  Damn!

  The End

  Let’s Prevent Bullying

  It just so happens that October is National Bullying Prevention month; the same month I’m launching All Roads Lead to Murder. When I began the Old Maids of Mercer Island mystery series I didn’t plan on exploring a variety of social ills, but since I spend most of my everyday life doing just that, it has become a natural extension of who I am.

  In that light, I wrote an article a few years ago for the Renton Reporter on bullying. In that article, I quoted stopbullying.gov that defines bullying as, “…unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated over time.” My article was directed towards the type of bullying kids experience in school, but you can see by this definition that it almost perfectly defines my character, Senator Owens. Hence, this note about bullying.

  Unfortunately, bullying begets more bullying. It’s only natural; it’s a learned behavior. If no one challenges the young bully, he/she is allowed to grow up into a bullying adult. If that adult also happens to be financially or politically successful, then the bullying may change in nature, but its effects are no less harmful. Just take a look at our current political climate.

  The effects of bullying can take a toll on our entire society. Children who were bullied, or were themselves the bully, are at a higher risk of suffering from depression, anxiety, panic disorders and antisocial personality disorders as they get older. In the most extreme cases, it has the potential to lead to acts of violence or even suicide. We’ve heard of too many such incidents as the result of cyber-bullying. (Don’t get me started.)

  Bullying is all about power, and bullies get away with bullying because we let them. I once worked with a psychologist who told me, “People teach other people how to treat them.” I didn’t quite understand what he meant until a couple of close friends began to relentlessly tease and laugh at me one night in my apartment. I hate being teased. It makes me feel helpless, little and inconsequential. Even though I kept asking them to stop, they didn’t. I decided that if I let it continue, I would be telling them that it was okay. I would be teaching them how to treat me. So I asked them to leave. They were stunned, but they never teased me again.

  So what can we do to help stop bullying?

  I quote from my article here: Tell your child that if he/she sees someone being bullied, don’t encourage it by watching. Tell them to eliminate the audience by leaving the scene and then telling a trustworthy adult. If it feels safe, encourage your child to disrupt the situation, perhaps by saying something like, “Your mom’s here, you have to go.” Children can set a good example by not bullying others. They can reach out to someone who has been bullied to let them know they are not alone. And always encourage them to participate in school anti-bullying projects.

  October is Halloween and the month for ghouls and goblins. How appropriate that it is also the month to talk about what each one of us can do to stop bullying.

  Again from my article: Have a conversation with your children. We can all help to stop bullying if we talk about it, keep our eyes and ears open, and report it when we see it. There are real-life consequences if we don’t – and they can be worse than any horror movie shown on a Halloween night.

  Or worse than any book I could write.

  Reviews

  If you enjoyed All Roads Lead To Murder, I would be truly honored if you would take a few minutes to go back to Amazon and leave a review. Self-published authors live and die on the number of positive reviews our books receive. Thank you for reading All Roads Lead To Murder.

  About the Author

  Ms. Bohart currently runs the Renton Community Foundation, helping to facilitate millions of dollars in grants to address areas of need, such as the arts, healthcare, homelessness, kids-at-risk, and even pet care. She holds a master’s degree in theater, has published in Woman’s World, and has a story in Dead on Demand, an anthology of ghost stories that remained on the Library Journals best seller list for six months. As a thirty-year nonprofit professional, she has spent a lifetime writing brochures, newsletters, business letters, website copy, and more. She did a short stint writing for Patch.com, teaches writing through the Continuing Education Program at Green River Community College, and has written for the Renton Reporter.

  All Roads Lead to Murder is her seventh full-length novel and the fourth in the Old Maids of Mercer Island mysteries. You can check out her other books, including the Detective Giorgio Salvatori mysteries, on Amazon.com. She is hard at work on the third book in that series. The Essence of Murder will take Giorgio and Grosvenor, his faithful Basset hound, into the dark worlds of vampirism and dog-fighting rings.

  If you would like more information, please visit Ms. Bohart’s website at: www.bohartink.com, where you can let the author know you’d like to be added to her email list to be notified of upcoming publications or events. You may also join her author page on Facebook.

  Follow Ms. Bohart

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