Killer Nashville Noir

by Clay Stafford

  “You couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Marjorie asked Jack. “You had to come out and see me finished.” It was as though Marjorie could not keep silent any longer.

  Jack turned to run, but slipped and fell onto the icy rocks. At 379 pounds, he looked like some sort of walrus or puffer fish flopping around on the ice. As he struggled, bleeding, back to his feet, his hairpiece askew, he shouted, “They’ll find you, they’ll catch you, help, help, help!” He felt for his phone, saw it had fallen out of his coat pocket along with a glove. Heather kicked both off the side of the ledge.

  “Jack, you know there’s no one around to hear. You and I made sure of that.”

  “They’ll catch you.” He was crying now.

  “How?” Marjorie asked. “By checking your SUV that we’ve never ridden in? That you rented to hide from your classmates that your car had been repossessed? Our footprints coming up? The one’s you ran over with your SUV tires? By checking around here on these rocks for footprints? How are they going to catch us, Jack?”

  “If you hadn’t had an affair, Marjorie…”

  “What? We’d live happily ever after? I’d stay home alone. You’d be out pushing your latest get-rich scheme? You thought I was stupid, Jack! I never left you. You left me. A long time ago. Your heart. You threw me out!” There were tears in Marjorie’s eyes. “I loved you. But right after we got married, you forgot that. And I’ve only had Heather.”

  “What?” He was able to get to his feet, but with Heather holding the gun on him, he didn’t dare step forward.

  “We couldn’t have any type of normal life,” Marjorie said, “but every few months, when you would go out of town with Sean, we would get together. She’d drive over from Murfreesboro. We would hang out at the lake, sleep in our bed. You nearly caught her that last time in bed with me.”

  “That was you?” Jack asked. “A woman?”

  “Assuming makes an ass-of-u-and-me,” Heather said.

  “You were the only man for me, Jack,” Marjorie said. “And then you let yourself go. I tolerated your indiscretions when you would go away with Sean. Did you think I didn’t know? I tolerated your schemes. You didn’t want me anymore, but I stayed because I still loved you even though you no longer loved me. You married me because your Mother liked me, Jack. And then you threw me out. I can’t believe you wanted to kill me.”

  “No,” Jack said. “It was Heather’s idea.” He took a step towards Marjorie, pleading with her. Heather stepped back from them.

  “No, Jack,” Marjorie said. “She told me all about it. You planned to do it. She played me the recordings.”

  “The recordings? You recorded me? No. Heather said…”

  “No.”

  Jack was so surprised at this turn of events that he did not notice Heather move to the side and then walk up behind him. Through his shock, he barely felt the cold barrel against his temple. He never heard the shot.

  Jack fell onto the rocks.

  “He killed himself,” Heather said. She put the gun into Jack’s hand, making sure his fingerprints were all over it. Then, holding his hand on the gun, she helped him fire another shot into the air to expose his hand to the powder residue. She took his two gold cufflinks off and put them in her pocket. From another pocket, she took out a single cufflink, one of the two she had stolen from Jack’s bedroom along with the gun. She put this single cufflink on the right arm of Jack’s shirtsleeve to match the one the police would find in Sean’s car. She thought about the plane tickets in Jack’s coat pocket, but left them. It was a nice touch that Jack had put them in Sean’s name.

  “You got a spot of blood on you,” Marjorie said lovingly as Heather came over to her.

  “It’ll wash off,” Heather said. “Don’t touch.” She pulled off the gloves she had worn all night, careful to turn them inside out as she did, and then put the gloves into her pocket along with the pieces of panty hose she picked up off the ground. “I’ll get rid of these somewhere between here and home.” She would stop at a burger dumpster in Manchester. The plan was for Heather to drive back to Murfreesboro after dropping Marjorie off at her house in Shad. There would be no contact made between them, not until they saw each other unexpectedly for the first time after many years at Jack’s unfortunate funeral. That, of course, would happen only after someone discovered his body here in Savage Gulf.

  The two women walked over the rocks, away from the scene of the crime. The only thing Heather had left to do after dropping Marjorie off was to replace the license tag she had stolen from a car in Tracy City with her real one; she had put the stolen tag on her car in the unlikely event that anyone should have noted it parked in front of Heather’s house or parked down at the foot of the access road.

  As Heather and Marjorie walked along, the snow picked up and fell steadily and heavily. The forest grew whiter and blindingly bright, almost magical, almost like day. Heather reached across the cold and took Marjorie’s hand. In Heather’s car, Marjorie’s coat was waiting.

  Author Biographies

  DONALD BAIN

  Donald Bain is the author/ghostwriter of over 120 books, including the bestselling “Murder, She Wrote” series of 45 murder mysteries, 28 novels in Margaret Truman’s “Capital Crime” series, and Coffee, Tea or Me?, which sold more than 5-million copies worldwide. His autobiography, Murder HE Wrote: A Successful Writer’s Life, was published in 2006. A Purdue graduate, he was named a Distinguished Alumni. Other writing includes westerns, investigative journalism, biographies, historical romance, crime novels, and comedies. The 2014 recipient of the Killer Nashville John Seigenthaler Legends Award, he lives and works in Connecticut where he collaborates with his wife Renée.

  JEFFERSON BASS

  New York Times bestselling author Jefferson Bass is the duo of Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass. Bass, a renowned forensic anthropologist, is the creator of the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility: the “Body Farm”. Author or co-author of more than 200 scientific publications, he is also co-author (with Jefferson) of an acclaimed memoir, Death’s Acre; the nonfiction book Beyond the Body Farm; and nine “Body Farm” novels, including the Killer Nashville Crime/Thriller Silver Falchion Award Finalists The Inquisitor’s Key and Cut to the Bone. Jefferson, the “writer” half of Jefferson Bass, is a veteran author and documentary writer/producer, whose Body Farm documentary, Biography of a Corpse, has been seen by millions worldwide.

  PAULA GAIL BENSON

  A legislative attorney and former law librarian, Paula Gail Benson’s short stories have appeared in Kings River Life, the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, Mystery Times Ten 2013 (Buddhapuss Ink), A Tall Ship, a Star, and Plunder (Dark Oak Press and Media), A Shaker of Margaritas: That Mysterious Woman (Mozark Press), and Fish or Cut Bait: a Guppy Anthology (Wildside Press). She regularly blogs with others about writing mysteries at the Stiletto Gang and Writers Who Kill. Her personal blog is Little Sources of Joy.

  BARON R. BIRTCHER

  Baron R. Birtcher spent a number of years as a professional musician, and founded an independent record label and artist management company. Critics have hailed Baron’s writing as “the real deal” (Publisher’s Weekly) and his plots as “taut, gritty, and powerfully controlled” (Kirkus Reviews). His critically acclaimed “Mike Travis” series (Roadhouse Blues, Ruby Tuesday, and Angels Fall) have been LA Times and IMBA bestsellers. Angels Fall was nominated for the “Lefty” Award by Left Coast Crime, and his stand-alone, Rain Dogs, was a finalist for both the Killer Nashville Claymore and Silver Falchion Awards.

  MARY BURTON

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling suspense author Mary Burton’s latest romantic suspense novels include Cover Your Eyes and Be Afraid, which feature the Morgans, a preeminent law enforcement family in Nashville. The third in the series is I’ll Never Let You Go and the fourth Vulnerable. The author of twenty-six published novels and five novellas including the Killer Nashville Romantic Suspense Silver Falchion Award Finalist, No Escape, Mary i
s a member of International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. A Richmond, Virginia native, Mary has made her home there for most of her life.

  DANA CHAMBLEE CARPENTER

  Dana Chamblee Carpenter’s debut novel, Bohemian Gospel, won Killer Nashville’s 2014 Claymore Award and is available from Pegasus Books. She teaches creative writing and American Literature at a university in Nashville, TN, where she lives with her husband and two children.

  C. HOPE CLARK

  C. Hope Clark pens Southern crime fiction with two series under her belt, “The Carolina Slade Mysteries” and “The Edisto Island Mysteries”, published with Bell Bridge Books. She has been a Killer Nashville Cozy/Traditional Silver Falchion Award Winner (Lowcountry Bribe) and Finalist (Tidewater Murder). She is also editor of FundsforWriters.com, a resource for writers honored by Writer’s Digest for its “101 Best Websites for Writers” for over a decade. Hope speaks across the country about writing and mysteries, and is known for her motivational voice. She lives on Lake Murray in central South Carolina when she isn’t at Edisto Beach.

  DACO

  Daco is a writer and attorney in Huntsville, Alabama. Her international-spy thriller, The Libra Affair, was an Amazon #1 Bestseller (Suspense, Romantic Suspense). According to Publishers Weekly, The Libra Affair “intrigues with fast-paced, high-stakes action that forces the take-charge heroine to balance her clandestine mission with obligations to her heart.” Her short story The Pisces Affair, also featuring Jordan Jakes, is a 2015 Semi-Finalist, Florida Writers Royal Palm Literary Awards. Publishers Weekly says of The Pisces Affair, “Jakes is a lively and witty narrator with the wits and skills of James Bond, and readers will savor her fresh perspective on being a woman in the male-dominated spy world.” Daco is a member of International Thriller Writers, Killer Nashville, and the Florida Writers.

  JEFFERY DEAVER

  A former journalist, folksinger, and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the New York Times, the Times of London, Italy’s Corriere della Sera, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. The author of 37 novels, 3 collections of short stories, and a nonfiction law book, and a lyricist of the country-western album XO (with author / filmmaker / songwriter Clay Stafford), he has received or been shortlisted for dozens of awards. His The Kill Room won the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window and a stand-alone, Edge, were also nominated for that prize.

  ROBERT DUGONI

  Robert Dugoni is the #1 Amazon and New York Times bestselling author of eight novels. His latest, My Sister’s Grave, was nominated for the Harper Lee Award for legal fiction, the International Thriller Writers Thriller of the Year, and the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction. My Sister’s Grave was the #1 Amazon bestseller for two months and Amazon, Library Journal and Suspense Magazine also chose it as a “2014 Best Book of the Year”. Dugoni is also the author of the bestselling David Sloane series, The Jury Master, Wrongful Death, Bodily Harm, Murder One, and The Conviction, as well as the stand-alone novel Damage Control. His books have twice been recognized by the Los Angeles Times as a “Top Five Thriller of the Year.” Murder One was a finalist for the prestigious Harper Lee Award for literary excellence. Dugoni’s first book, the nonfiction expose, The Cyanide Canary, was a Washington Post “2004 Best Book of the Year”.

  BLAKE FONTENAY

  Blake Fontenay spent more than twenty-five years as a reporter, columnist, and editorial writer for metropolitan daily newspapers—including the Sacramento Bee, Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville), Orlando Sentinel, and Commercial Appeal (Memphis). Since leaving the newspaper business, he has worked as the communications director for Tennessee’s Comptroller, Treasurer, and Secretary of State. He is currently the coordinator for the Tri-Star Chronicles project at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. He has two published novels: The Politics of Barbecue, which won an Independent Publishers Book Awards gold medal for fiction in the South region, and Scouts’ Honor.

  HEYWOOD GOULD

  Heywood Gould is the author of eight novels, among them Cocktail, Fort Apache the Bronx, and Double Bang, which he adapted and directed for the screen. He was a Hammett Award finalist for Leading Lady and Greenlight for Murder, and his novel Serial Killer’s Daughter has been optioned for television. He has written nine movies, including Boys From Brazil and One Good Cop, which he also directed. He also rewrote the cult classic Rolling Thunder.

  STEVEN JAMES

  Steven James is the critically acclaimed author of more than three dozen books, including the Patrick Bowers and Jevin Banks thriller series, and he has recently released the first book of his teen suspense trilogy, Blur. Steven’s other works span a variety of genres including non-fiction, fantasy, and drama. His novel Singularity was a Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalist. He has a master’s degree in storytelling and has taught writing and creative communication around the world. When he’s not writing or speaking, you’ll find him trail running, rock climbing, or drinking a dark roast coffee near his home in eastern Tennessee.

  JON JEFFERSON

  Jon Jefferson—the “writer” half of the bestselling crime-fiction duo “Jefferson Bass”—is a prolific author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. Collaborating with forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass (founder of the University of Tennessee’s “Body Farm”), Jefferson has written two nonfiction memoirs and nine crime novels, seven of them New York Times bestsellers. Jefferson has also written and produced more than two-dozen documentaries for the History Channel, the Arts & Entertainment Network, the Oxygen Network, and the National Geographic Channel. His two National Geographic documentaries about the Body Farm were broadcast worldwide, to an audience of millions.

  CATRIONA MCPHERSON

  Catriona McPherson writes the Agatha, Macavity, and Bruce-Alexander winning “Dandy Gilver” detective series, set in her native Scotland in the 1920s. In 2013 she started a strand of darker (that’s not difficult) standalones. The first, As She Left It, won an Anthony award and the IndieFab Gold for Mystery. The Day She Died was shortlisted for an Edgar. Catriona immigrated to America in 2010 and lives in northern California with a black cat and a scientist. She is proud to have served as the 2015 president of Sisters in Crime.

  ANNE PERRY

  Anne Perry is an international bestselling author. The Times selected her as one of the 20th Century’s “100 Masters of Crime” and her books appear regularly on the New York Times bestseller list. Her novel, Blind Justice, was a Killer Nashville Historical Silver Falchion Award Winner. Anne writes two series of Victorian crime novels, one featuring Thomas Pitt, a Commander in the British security forces, and his wife Charlotte Pitt. The other features William Monk, who’s in the River Police, and his wife Hester, who’s a nurse. Anne’s other novels include a five-book series set during the First World War, her French Revolution novel The One Thing More, and Sheen on the Silk, set in the dangerous and exotic city of Byzantium.

  EYRE PRICE

  Eyre Price is the author of the award-winning, international chart topping Blues Highway Blues (a Killer Nashville Claymore Award and Silver Falchion Award Finalist), as well as other entries in his “Crossroads Thrillers” series, including Rock Island Rock and Star Killer Star. Price is an attorney and single dad. He and his son, Dylan, live in South Carolina's Lowcountry with a collection of dogs and cats in a little house not far from the sea.

  CLAY STAFFORD

  Clay Stafford is an award-winning author, screenwriter, filmmaker, and music composer. He has sold over 1.5 million hardcover copies of his children’s adaptations and has seen his film work distributed in over fourteen languages. Publishers Weekly named Stafford one of the Top 10 Nashville literary lea
ders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture”. He is the founder of Killer Nashville and publisher/editor-in-chief of Killer Nashville Magazine. Previously associated with Universal Studios and PBS, he is currently CEO of American Blackguard, Inc., near Nashville, Tennessee.

  JONATHAN STONE

  Jonathan Stone does most of his writing on the commuter train between the Connecticut suburbs and Manhattan, where he is the creative director of a midtown advertising agency. His six published novels have all been optioned for film, including the Killer Nashville Claymore Award-winning Moving Day. Two of his short stories are anthologized in the Mystery Writers of America annual collections. “Hedge” appears in The Mystery Box, edited by Brad Meltzer, and “East Meets West” can be found in Ice Cold - Tales of Intrigue from the Cold War, edited by Jeffrey Deaver. A graduate of Yale, Jon is married with a son and daughter in college. His latest novel is The Teller.

  JADEN TERRELL

  Jaden Terrell (Beth Terrell) is a Shamus Award finalist, a contributor to “Now Write! Mysteries” (a collection of writing exercises by Tarcher/Penguin), and the author of the Jared McKean private detective novels: Racing The Devil, A Cup Full of Midnight, and River of Glass. Terrell is the special programs coordinator for the Killer Nashville conference and the winner of the 2009 Magnolia Award for service to the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America (SEMWA). A former special education teacher, Terrell is now a writing coach and developmental editor whose leisure activities include ballroom dancing and equine massage therapy.