The Nora Abbott Mystery series Box Set
Page 1
The Nora Abbott Mystery Series Books 1-3
Height of Deception, Skies of Fire, Canyon of Lies
Shannon Baker
Contents
Height of Deception
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Epilogue
Skies of Fire
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Epilogue
Canyon of Lies
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Also by Shannon Baker
Thanks for Reading
New from Shannon Baker
THE DESERT BEHIND ME: Prologue
THE DESERT BEHIND ME: Chapter 1
THE DESERT BEHIND ME: Chapter 2
THE DESERT BEHIND ME: Chapter 3
Read The Desert Behind Me
About the Author
Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015 by Shannon Baker.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Published by Severn River Publishing.
Height of Deception
A Nora Abbott Mystery
To Dave, may the adventures keep coming.
1
Frigid air ripped down her throat, searing both lungs as her heart threatened to burst through her rib cage. Heavy panting announced the pursuer, one step from overtaking her. A final leap put her safely on the ledge.
He blew past her, not seeing the sheer drop-off beyond the ledge.
“Abbey!”
Skidding on his butt, two legs dangled over a 300-foot drop to rocky ground. Nails scrabbled on the cold stone.
Fear and adrenaline shot through Nora Abbott’s body. She dove toward the edge, her fingers frantic to find purchase. Using all the weight in her lithe frame, Nora flung herself backward to jerk him to safety. Then she closed her eyes.
“Stupid dog,” she whispered, as she released his collar and hugged the aging golden retriever. Why couldn’t he stay home, snuggled into his warm bed, as Scott had?
Holding his panting body close in the muted light, Nora turned to the east. She’d nearly missed it. Fearing that failure to be here on time would jinx the day, she half ran the entire three mile uphill hike, something she wasn’t really in shape to do. With just minutes to spare, she knelt on the rough volcanic stone, recovering her pulse and breathing.
Wait for it. Wait for it.
Bam!
Sunrays burst over the silhouetted ridge of Kachina Mountain, warm and welcoming, like a mother greeting her child.
Joy filled Nora’s mind and heart. This was the mountain’s gift to her. “Thank you.” Her whispered words drifted over the tree tops and the ski lodge below. The sun and the mountain took care of her spirit, and she’d do her best to take care of them.
Maybe the run up the trail hadn’t brought her as close to death as she felt at the moment, but her heart and lungs still complained, so she decided to sit a bit longer. Abbey, however, stood and shook, moving away from her to sniff and pee.
Nora rolled her eyes, “Sacred moment terminated.” But the gratitude lingered, throwing a soft blanket over her anxiety.
She drew in a deep breath and tilted up her face, letting the sun soak in as fortification for today’s battle. How could she not triumph? She was right, and right always won.
Didn’t it?
Nora blew out a last breath, then stepped back from the ledge and along the precarious footing that would lead her back to the main path. If she slipped, she’d crash six feet onto the trail. Probably not enough to kill her, but with her luck, she’d strike her head. They’d find her broken and in a coma, and her mother and Scott would fight over her brain-dead body for the next twenty years. Or until Scott gave up.
Sheesh, Nora. Over-dramatize much? She steadied herself against a chilly rock.
Woft, woft, woft. Above her head, wings beat the air. Nora looked up and spied an enormous raven sailing over her. Despite the natural glory of her mountain, ravens always seemed sinister. Circling in a wide arc, the black bird came at her like an alpine kamikaze.
Nora scrambled down to the trail, heart racing once again. Halfway there, her foot slipped and s
he smashed her tailbone against a rock, sending a shower of knives up her spine, then she slid the rest of the way to the dirt trail, back scraping on a stone.
Nora groaned in pain. Abbey meanwhile barked like a terrier on meth. His outburst added to her jitters and she started to quiet him. But he wasn’t looking at the vanishing raven. Abbey focused on a point farther into the pine trees and closer to ground level. His hackles rose as he bared teeth,
Nora turned her head, her hackle-less neck raising hairs of its own. A man stood in distant flittering light. Even from far away the bright blue that accented the stranger’s clothes flared in the forest.
Nora jumped to her feet, ready to bolt down the trail for the safety of home. She blinked. The figure was gone.
Nora squinted and drew in her brows. “How in the . . .?” Abbey had stopped barking and serenely picked his way down the steep ledge to the trail. He trotted past her, tongue lolling and tail wagging.
Nora shook her head. That wasn’t a person, couldn’t be. She glanced around again. Her heart rampaged, even though she told herself her imagination and the spotty light had turned a really big blue jay into a threatening predator.
A cloud covered the newly risen sun, blotting out the warmth, just as the stupid raven and huge jay had blotted out the peace of her spirit. Didn’t the Navajo believe ravens were a bad omen? Maybe that’s why she didn’t like the things.
She let out a disgusted breath. Prophecy, bad luck from a broken mirror, and omens existed only in people’s imaginations. She really needed to be more practical than that, especially today.
But if she didn’t believe in omens, why did she race to within an inch of her life this morning just to greet the sunrise?
2
The judge, in his polyester robe, slammed the gavel onto the podium. “Court dismissed.” Wordless prattle erupted in the back half of the room.
Nora’s attorney, Raymond, jumped from his chair and slapped her back hard enough to knock her into next week. “Congratulations!” His arm reared back for another celebratory smack, but Nora sidestepped out of his reach.
Not sure she trusted the verdict, she asked, “No more appeals?”
Raymond’s guffaw drowned out the excited chatter of the people exiting the room. “Next stop is the Supreme Court, and that’s as unlikely as snow in July.” A cheesy grin spread across his face as he looked sideways at her. “No pun intended!” He burst into exhilarated laughter.
Snow in July… The future opened before her, ripe with possibilities, rotten with pitfalls. Focus on the possibilities, Nora. Snow. Wet, life-giving. Not only to her ski business but to the drought-stricken mountain.
“That’s a good one,” Raymond said. “Now that we won, you can have snow in July, if that’s what you want.” He stepped close again, and his heavy paw landed so hard on her back that her children—if she ever had any—would be born dizzy. “It’s okay to whoop a bit. You just won a landmark case, missy.”
Raymond had worked tirelessly for almost four years, through appeals and setbacks and the same threats and harassments she’d borne from activists and hell-bent enviros on a mission. This landmark win would skyrocket his career. That made her smile. She raised onto tip toes and kissed his cheek. “You’re brilliant. Thank you.”
Raymond beamed at her. “Coming from a sweet young thing like you, that makes it all worthwhile.”
So why didn’t she feel the victory with as much enthusiasm?
Because Scott wasn’t here to share it with her. Being too tired to catch the sunrise with her hadn’t stopped him from leaving the apartment before she and Abbey returned from the mountaintop.
He said he’d be here. She glanced at her watch. He was late. Surely that was all.
Raymond directed her toward the courtroom doors. “The press is gonna set up outside. We gotta get you out there for a sound bite. This will make it all the way to the Today Show, I guarantee it.” He whisked her through a jumble of bodies clustered in the hallway, muttering, “Excuse me, excuse me.”
More thumps on the back—thankfully less heartfelt than Raymond’s—and congratulatory exclamations followed her. Not watching where he walked, Raymond pulled her directly into the path of a man striding down the hallway.
Her shoulder accordioned into him.
Raymond released her arm and continued toward the media frenzy, not noticing the lost contact.
A tall, athletic man with sandy blond hair and a serious face reached out to steady her. Her eyes rolled down his plaid shirt, fitted jeans, and worn hiking boots. Not normal dress for the courthouse. Great. An enviro, here to berate me for unnatural acts against the world. She tensed, ready for a fight. People like him didn’t understand that conservation and business didn’t have to be mutually exclusive. She’d prove it to them.
“Sorry, ma’am.” He hurried past her and down the hall.
Nora grimaced and glanced over her shoulder at his receding back. She didn’t believe the contact was an accident.
Still, she’d endured worse than an ignorant shove. Others of his ilk no doubt waited to hurl insults, and hopefully not sharp objects, at her. Tire-slashers, window-smashers, activists who protested each court appearance and sent her death threats lay in wait somewhere outside the courthouse. She scanned the faces in the lobby. Mostly white, well-dressed. Flagstaff’s mayor and business leaders clustered together.
The court decision to allow manmade snow on Kachina Mountain outside of town ensured the success of Nora’s skiing business, but it would bolster all of Flagstaff’s winter income, too. To some, Nora was a hero.
Knots of supporters dotted the courthouse lobby. Raymond waved and shouted comments to several. He leaned close to Nora. “Why don’t you slip into the powder room there? The cameras wash you out and you’ll want to put on lipstick and spruce up a bit.”
Cameras? Sound bites? Slick sweat appeared on her upper lip. She was a business person, not one of FOX’s foxes. “Can’t you do the talking?”
“I could, but you’re much prettier.” He nodded and grinned at a rotund man crossing the tiled floor. “Get going. You don’t want Big Elk to get all the attention.”
She lost her breath as an anvil dropped from the sky and pounded her into a nervous mush. Of course Big Elk, the Al Sharpton of Native Americans, would be around for the decision. He’d be rousing the rabble outside, wooing the media, and working someone into a froth so fiery they might not stop at threats this time.
Raymond gave her a shove. “Off you go.”
Nora pushed open the bathroom door and let it bump shut behind her. She peered under the cream painted doors, making sure the space was her own. For added privacy, she stepped into a stall and slid the lock closed.
If I spontaneously combust I won’t have to do any of this. No speaking to news crews. No facing Big Elk. No fighting to come up with money to fund an expensive snow making operation. And no finding out why Scott didn’t show up today.
She braced her arm against the door and dropped her chin to her chest, letting coppery hair curtain her face. The court’s decision was a victory. She deserved to relish the achievement, damn it. Go ahead. Relish.
A hand shot under the stall door, driving at her ankle. A glint of metal flashed. Nora leapt back instinctively, slammed her calf into the stool, lost her footing, and fell against the toilet seat. Good God, was that a knife?
Rage fueled her scream. “Hey! Stop!” She heard the door thump closed. She fumbled with the stupid metal lock on the stall. This weapon-wielding psychopath was getting away and her fingers acted like water balloons. Finally released, she lunged toward the bathroom door and burst into the lobby panting.
People in the lobby closest to her stared at her abrupt entrance. Raymond boomed midway across the space. “And here she is.”
Her eyes darted to dark corners and the busy hallway. He couldn’t disappear, not in this crowd. Blank expressions met her glance.
A hand rested on her arm. “Miss.”
Nor
a launched to the ceiling.
“Missus.”
Ready to waylay her attacker, she turned to find a withered slip of a Native American gazing up at her with the darkest eyes she’d ever seen. Come to think of it, his soft voice sounded more tentative than deadly. Deep wrinkles lined his face like wadded parchment and skin sagged around his eyes. He must be a hundred years old.