DEAD OR ALIVE a totally addictive thriller with a breathtaking twist

by T. J. Brearton

  “Your last job is simple — you need to get the information on Balfour. We went to Ronald Parker and he doesn’t have it. Guttridge stuck it somewhere else.”

  Tom thought of the preacher, the pawnshop, the used thumb drives in the jewelry case. He thought of the kid at Aardvark Wrecking who said a man had been through there ahead of Tom, a man with an angry bull on his belt buckle.

  “Tom, maybe you don’t realize — there’s a big target on your back and you know it. That’s the point of this whole drama here tonight — you think because you quit that you’re safe. That’s not how Valentina Vasquez operates. She once had a guy double-cross her and had Lupton and some other guys bring him to her. She took a knife and cut him open while he hung upside down in a refrigerator.”

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  Skokie sniffed and shook his head, smiling. “She’ll be just as effective from prison. That’s how it works. You think you hurt these people and you just end up making them stronger. The game goes on. We all like to scamper around in our little illusion, but I’m looking at you with reality beaming from my eyes.”

  Tom lowered the shotgun at last.

  “Get out, Ed. Get out of my home, get out of my life.”

  Skokie finished the beer and set the bottle on the countertop. Then he jerked his head and Arsenio started backing toward the top of the stairs. Skokie followed, limping a little because of his hip. He stopped and turned before descending.

  “I’ll wait for your call. Think about it. I think you’d look good in a suit, Lange. Domestic security could use a guy with your instincts.”

  “You have a terrible way of making a job offer.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of Skokie’s mouth and for a moment he appeared wistful. “I grew up watching Sergio Leone. You know? Spaghetti westerns. The stranger comes into town, all that sort of thing. That’s how we’d like to see the world. Simple. But then, like I said, I grew up.”

  * * *

  “Did you have any way to record it?” Blythe asked.

  Tom was sitting on his couch. “Skokie caught me off guard — it was two o’clock in the morning. He had his pit bull come in first, I guess maybe to check me out. I was standing in my jeans, with bare feet. I guess they figured they didn’t have to worry.”

  Blythe looked around the condo. She had her hair down today, unusual for Blythe, a face-framing blowout that resembled the First Lady’s style. “I don’t know, Lange. This whole thing . . . I don’t know. This is going to be tough.” Her gaze slid back to him. “But I’m with you.”

  Tom smiled. He glanced away from her, toward where Skokie had been sitting. He didn’t want to leave Blythe hanging, but he’d just needed to be sure.

  “Alexa,” he said, “play back last night’s recording. From 2:11 a.m.”

  The computerized female voice emanated from the small black box near the jar of pencils on the kitchen counter. “Playing back recording from 2:11 a.m.,” she announced.

  The recording played. Blythe moved slowly toward the electronic device, and Tom got to his feet. For about a minute they stood side by side, listening.

  Skokie’s voice said, “. . . because of my interest in preserving the deserved reputation of an A1 statewide prosecutor? So maybe her husband fucked up. Maybe he got greedy with a little insider trading. Maybe he was sloppy, left things for a Vasquez private investigator to pick up on. What he did was before he ever met her. This world we live in today — Jesus. You do something a hundred years ago and it comes back to bite you.”

  Blythe turned her head and looked at Tom as they listened through to the end.

  “Hey,” Tom asked. “How is Guttridge’s family? They okay?”

  “Being moved today. We’re keeping watch on them. I heard the daughter is a little upset about having to leave her classmates, but she’ll adapt.”

  “Yeah,” Tom said. “She’ll adapt.”

  Blythe slapped him on the butt and strode toward the stairs. “Sit tight, Lange. I’ll be in touch. Looks like Ed Skokie has a lot to answer for.”

  “Old people forget about technology,” Tom said.

  She called from halfway down the stairs. “I’m not old.”

  “I didn’t mean you.”

  The door opened and when it didn’t close, he moved to the top of the stairs and looked down.

  Blythe stood in the doorway. “What’s this mean now?”

  “What’s it mean?”

  “You gonna make a girl ask? Tom, there’s got to be something you can do with us. Don’t make me . . . This isn’t my style.”

  “I know. You’re one of a kind.”

  She waited, looking up at him, eyebrows raised.

  “I’ll tell you what,” he said, “I’ll think about it.”

  Blythe, as ever, didn’t betray any feeling with her face. Just watched him another second and then closed the door.

  Tom moved back into the condo, speaking to no one. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

  THE END

  ALSO BY T.J. BREARTON

  Titan Series - HABIT, SURVIVORS, DAYBREAK, BLACK SOUL

  Tom Lange - DEAD GONE, TRUTH OR DEAD, DEAD OR ALIVE

  Kelly Roth - THE HUSBANDS

  North Country Books - DARK WEB, DARK KILLS, GONE, WHEN HE VANISHED

  Join the Joffe Books mailing list for updates on T.J.’s next books

  http://www.joffebooks.com/contact/

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  This book wouldn’t have happened without Sergeant Andrew Smith at the Collier County Vice Narcotics Bureau, or Lee Clark, who introduced us. Lee provides a loving home to foster children who flourish under her care. She continues to inspire me every day.

  There would be no southwest Florida stories at all if it weren’t for my father, James Brearton, or the encouragement of Jasper Joffe to write more stuff with swamps and alligators. Thanks to Ed Handyside for asking the right questions, Laura Coulman for his copyedits, and thanks to all you wonderful readers who read the first two Lange books and asked for more.

  Now, sometimes you hand a friend a manuscript and they know it’s a troubled mess — that’s why you’re asking. But they read it anyway and basically save your butt. For me, that person is Geoff Pierce. Thank you, old pal, for putting the holes in the Swiss cheese.

  I started and stopped writing this thing half a dozen times. You never know where something is going to go. So, lastly, thank you to my family for loving me while it gets there.

  Thank you for reading this book. If you enjoyed it please leave feedback on Amazon, and if there is anything we missed or you have a question about then please get in touch. The author and publishing team appreciate your feedback and time reading this book.

  Please join our mailing list for free kindle crime thriller, detective, mystery, and romance books and new releases.

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  find out more about T.J. Brearton

  http://tjbrearton.net/

  We hate typos but sometimes they slip through. Please send any errors you find to corrections@joffebooks.com

  We’ll get them fixed ASAP. We’re very grateful to eagle-eyed readers who take the time to contact us.

  AVAILABLE NOW: TOM LANGE BOOK 1

  www.amazon.co.uk/DEAD-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01MY2FQSB/

  www.amazon.com/DEAD-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01MY2FQSB/

  A GRIPPING THRILLER WITH AN EXPLOSIVE ENDING BY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR T.J. BREARTON.

  A woman’s body is found floating in a sultry Florida mangrove. She has no ID and there is no indication of cause of death.

  Rookie detective Tom Lange couldn’t have landed a more difficult first case. The only thing he has to go on is the woman’s butterfly tattoo. His boss, Lauren Blythe, piles the pressure on, and the medical examiner won’t tell him what he needs to know.

  Meanwhile Tom’s neighbour Alicia has an a
busive boyfriend who Tom clashes with in a way that will have far-reaching consequences.

  The body leads Tom on a trail of seedy clubs, narcotics, and danger which is close to home. The book builds up detail by detail, mirroring the painstaking work of a real police murder investigation. In a tumultuous ending, Tom’s world is turned upside down.

  GONE

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/GONE-gripping-crime-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01FDZK4IE/

  https://www.amazon.com/GONE-gripping-crime-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01FDZK4IE/

  How can an entire family disappear into thin air?

  An empty house on the edge of a small town . . . a teddy bear abandoned . . . a half drunk glass of wine . . . the TV left on and all the computer equipment missing. Where have Hutchinson Kemp and his wife and two children gone?

  Detective Rondeau doesn't think they left by choice. However he is on the verge of cracking up as he pursues the trail of the film-maker and his family who have disappeared without a trace. Rondeau discovers disturbing evidence that big money and government might have something to do with the chilling crime, but no one seems to believe him anymore. Ignoring his sceptical police colleagues, he puts his life at risk as he races to find the family in this twisting-turning crime thriller. Are the family even still alive, and what are their abductors trying to hide?

  DARK KILLS

  Who is murdering female college students and can they be stopped?

  The only link between the victims is their participation in an unusual psychology experiment. Leading the investigation is Detective Dana Gates. She has a past no one talks about and a husband and daughters she hardly ever sees. She’s a dedicated, by-the-book investigator. And now a serial killer is ripping through the local college campus, and everything she knows is going to change.

  Robert Hamill, her police partner, is a wild card. Unmarried, no kids, Hamill is Dana’s polar opposite. But as the case progresses their differing methods threaten to tear them apart. Hamill breaks with procedure to uncover a list naming potential victims, but the two detectives must work together to stop any more girls from turning up dead.

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0168W4RHK/

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0168W4RHK/

  A SELECTION OF OUR OTHER TITLES YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/SECRET-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B00XYMC5GI/

  http://www.amazon.com/SECRET-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B00XYMC5GI/

  Shocking family secrets come to light when a young woman is murdered

  Amy Hill, a nineteen-year-old student, is strangled and her body dumped on open ground in the city. New police partners, D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate this brutal crime. The last person to see Amy alive was Simon, the son of a family friend, but before he can be properly questioned he disappears.

  Detectives Neal and Merry are led on a trail of shocking family secrets and crimes. Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies? Stopping this tragic cycle of violence will put D.S. Merry’s life at risk in a thrilling and heart-stopping finale.

  If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer.

  DEAD SECRET is the first in a new series of detective thrillers featuring D.S. Ava Merry and D.I. Jim Neal. Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is a fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. Jim Neal is a single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son.

  Set in the fictional Northern city of Stromford, this detective mystery will have you gripped from start to shocking conclusion.

  THE LADY VANISHED

  http://www.amazon.com/LADY-VANISHED-gripping-detective-mystery-ebook/dp/B0170HJAMY/

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/LADY-VANISHED-gripping-detective-mystery-ebook/dp/B0170HJAMY/

  How can someone vanish without a trace?

  Carmen Langborne is a woman who no one seems to like very much, and now she's gone missing. But there is no body, no leads and no real suspects. And the police have stopped investigating her disappearance.

  Carmen's stepdaughter Florence hires private detective Tyrone Swift to find the missing woman. If the body is found, Florence will inherit half of a very valuable house. As Swift delves deeper into the family’s affairs, he discovers dark family secrets that threaten the reputations of powerful people. Will Swift get to the truth before those with much to hide stop him?

  A bag of severed fingers is found in a playground. . .

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/WRONG-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B010Y7641M/

  http://www.amazon.com/WRONG-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B010Y7641M/

  First a shooting, then a grisly discovery on the common . . .

  Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss race against time to track down a killer before the whole area erupts in violence. Their boss thinks it’s all down to drug lord Ray Fallon, but Calladine’s instincts say something far nastier is happening on the Hobfield housing estate.

  If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Mel Sherratt, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer.

  Glossary of Police Departments

  Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), also called the “state bureau”

  - Investigation and Forensic Sciences (IFS)

  - Governor Protection (GP)

  Everglades County Sheriff’s Department

  - Criminal Investigation Division (CID)

  - Crime Scene Bureau (CSB)

  - Vice Narcotics Bureau (VNB), also just called “vice narcotics”

  Other law enforcement bodies referenced:

  - Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

  - U.S. Marshal Service