by S. J. Coles
“We don’t get much murder here,” Coyle murmured. “Winton’s a peaceful town. We get some drugs, some drunk and disorderlies, a bit of fraud. But stuff like this?” She shook her head.
“A big company shoe-horned into a small community,” James ventured, watching both the officers’ faces, “can cause friction.”
Coyle raised her eyebrows. “Big companies are fine. But BI’s too big—and only likely to get bigger.”
“Oh yes?” Gibson prompted, pulling on some gloves and pushing open the door.
“That’s what they’re saying that presentation was about,” Coyle said, hanging back near the door as Gibson bent over the body. “They’re striking a deal with an international distributer for their newest antiviral.”
“Do you know which distributer?” James asked, examining the photographs hanging on the interior wall. Black-and-white shots of the local harbor, mostly, plus a few of the hills west of the town.
Coyle frowned at her notepad, ruffling the pages. “It’s in here somewhere. I’m sure it went in the report.”
“It did,” Gibson replied, giving James a hard look. “Loadstone Inc.”
Coyle smiled a relieved smile, and Gibson went back to scrutinizing the crumpled form of Derek Benson. His chin was on his chest. A rope of blood-speckled saliva hung from a corner of his lined mouth. His skin was yellow-gray and his limbs stiff with the rigor of someone dead nearly twelve hours. His hands, hairless and manicured, rested in his lap. His eyebrows were heavy and dark. His thinning hair was iron gray, though still almost black at the nape. He wore an expensive suit and a dark, conservative tie. Blood soaked his shirtfront and pooled under the chair. The gun was on the floor by the desk. A desk drawer stood wide open.
“All three shots went right into his heart,” Gibson said, leaning close to the wounds. “The killer knew how to shoot.”
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About the Author
S. J. Coles is a Romance writer originally from Shropshire, UK. She has been writing stories for as long as she has been able to read them. Her biggest passion is exploring narratives through character relationships.
She finds writing LGBT/paranormal romance provides many unique and fulfilling opportunities to explore many (often neglected or under-represented) aspects of human experience, expectation, emotion and sexuality.
Among her biggest influences are LGBT Romance authors K J Charles and Josh Lanyon and Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice.
S. J. Coles loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website details and author profile page at https://www.pride-publishing.com
