by C. J. Lyons
“But then I woke up. And I realized that way back in Boston, those men two hundred years ago had a dream, and Dr. King he had a dream, and my mommy and daddy, long dead and forgotten except in my nightmares, they had a dream. A dream that starts with: We the people…in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty…
“Over two hundred years and all that killing and rioting and shooting and burning and hate and fear and lack of justice, tranquility, or liberty, and we’re still dreaming. But it’s time to wake up.”
Maybelle’s voice grew louder once more, her Southern accent sharper, no longer soothing or intimate, but rather a call to arms.
“We the people need to wake up to the fact that killing each other is not the answer. Wake up to the fact that we are all the people and ain’t none of us going anywhere, so we’d best step up into this marriage, this perfect union of domestic tranquility. Like any sacred union, ours is based on love, honesty, respect, and caring for each other more than we care for our own lives.
“The blessings of liberty. That was my father’s dream. That was my mother’s dream. That was Officer Thomson’s dream. That was the Rawlings’ dream for their son, Henry. That was Winifred Neal’s dream before Philip Greer murdered her before my very eyes. A dream they died for, them and so many others.
“But you and I, we aren’t dreaming. We the people, we’re awake now. We see that violence hasn’t worked, no matter how many bodies you try to hide.
“We know we need to stop the killing and the fear and the hate. We’re awake to the fact that the only way out of this nightmare is by holding on tight to each other—and you can’t tell the color of anyone’s skin in the dark, can you? We have to lead each other by the hand out of this chaos, this screaming, bloody mad hate and fear.
“There will be people trapped in the nightmare, too afraid to join our more perfect union. We can’t ignore them. We must gently, oh, so gently, nudge them awake, offer a hand, help them to see the light of day. Because we’re awake now. And we know it’s going to take all of us, listening, helping, learning, to find that courage to make things right.
“Because if all courage comes from love, then all that anger and hate comes from fear. The stuff of nightmares.
“But we’re not dreaming those dreams of hate anymore; we’re not running scared in those night terrors like I had when I was a little girl, seeing my daddy’s blood run out on the steps of this very courthouse, beneath the flag he fought for in two wars. I’m not dreaming anymore about that brave white police officer who put his own body between an innocent boy and an angry mob. Instead, I remember him. Every day. And I honor his courage and sacrifice.
“We no longer have the luxury of dreams. Not anymore. Because we’re awake now. And things are going to change. They have to change. Starting today. Starting with me. Starting with you.” She pointed to the crowd. “Yes, you. Put away the hate. Wake up. It’s a new day. Time to wake up, America.”
As the crowd roared and applauded, TK turned to Grayson. “There’s your answer. Building a community together instead of apart. Wouldn’t that be a better legacy for your family than the hate they’ve left behind?”
He blinked, his expression grave, but finally nodded. Then he swallowed hard, the motion revealing a glimpse of the eagle’s wings tattooed on his chest and neck. “I’m not sure I know how. What if I’m just like them, like my grandfather and great-grandfather and father?”
She shrugged. “We can’t choose our families. But we can choose how we live our lives.”
Together they stood side by side, looking out at the crowd. Maybelle leaned against the podium, exhausted, tears glistening in her eyes. David’s hand squeezed TK’s—he’d heard what she’d told Grayson, understood that she was speaking for herself as much as to the boy beside her.
Grayson drew in a deep breath, swiped his eyes with a knuckle. “Do you think she’d help? Dr. Rawlings? If I asked her? After everything that’s happened, everything we’ve done?”
As if in answer, Maybelle turned away from the podium and gave him a soft smile filled with hope. More than hope. A promise for tomorrow.
Letter to Readers
* * *
Even though many of the events of OPEN GRAVE reflect current events, I’ve been busy researching this story for years.
Most recently, by participating in the same “shoot-don’t-shoot” firearm training simulations that federal agents, SWAT officers, and other police officers train with. But long before I knew I wanted to use an officer-involved-shooting scenario (which, because of recent real-life events actually became a subplot rather than the central plot of the story) in a book, I’d had this idea nagging at me, this conundrum of a paradox that I couldn’t wrap my mind around.
What did I do? Same thing I always do when I need to make sense of the chaos that is our world. I wrote about it in a story. This story.
You see, that photo of TK’s grandfather? It’s real. I have no idea who the veterans were who appeared in it, but I first saw the photo almost three decades ago in an old magazine. Veterans dressed in uniform, with their ribbons and medals, men who had shed blood to protect our country and keep all of us safe, holding a sign at a protest (I can’t even remember what they were protesting—it was a black and white photo, so maybe abortion, maybe gay rights, maybe something else).
And the sign read: Freedom is the Right to Hate.
What do we do with that? Of course we defend any American’s right to free speech—it’s the foundation of our democracy.
But speech that preaches hate? That turns neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother, that threatens to divide rather than unite? Speech that by its definition allows for no chance at rebuttal much less debate or civil discourse?
How do we reconcile these two diametrically opposing facts?
When I began OPEN GRAVE, I had no idea how timely these questions that had nagged at me for decades would become. I wish I had answers. But, just like democracy, answers to questions this complex do not come easy. They take work. Hard work. And thought.
My hope is that by exploring each of our stories we can find the answers. Because we’re all in this together.
Thanks for reading!
CJ
PS: Lucy will be back later in 2017 in GONE DARK. She’ll be on the hunt for a fugitive who leads her into the path of a raging wildfire. Catching her quarry becomes more than a question of serving justice, but a matter of survival.
Want to be the first to have a chance to read the new books? Sign up for my Thrillers with Heart newsletter HERE—and you’ll also get a free copy of the first Lucy adventure, SNAKE SKIN!
(Already read SNAKE SKIN? Feel free to share this offer with your thriller-loving friends!)
Be sure to open the Thrillers with Heart emails; they’ll arrive every few weeks with info on contests, new books, and exclusive offers for my readers!
Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers
Everything a great thriller should be—action packed, authentic, and intense.” ~Lee Child
SNAKE SKIN, a USA Today Bestseller
BLOOD STAINED, a USA Today Bestseller
KILL ZONE, a Suspense Magazine Book of the Year
AFTER SHOCK, a novella
HARD FALL, Winner of the 2015 Thriller Award
BAD BREAK, a novella
Beacon Falls Mysteries, Featuring Lucy Guardino
If you enjoy captivating suspense and intelligent storytelling, with strong and vulnerable characters and a freight-train pace, then you'll love the rush of this heart-pounding thriller.” ~Fantastic Fiction
LAST LIGHT
DEVIL SMOKE
OPEN GRAVE
GONE DARK, Winter 2017
Renegade Justice Thrillers, featuring Morgan Ames: Meet Everyone’s Favorite Teenage Psychopath…
FIGHT DIRTY, Renegade Justice #1
RAW EDGES, Renegade Justice #2
ANGELS WEEP, Renegade Ju
stice #3 (coming 2017)
Compelling…I love how the characters come alive on every page.” ~Jeffery Deaver
Fatal Insomnia Medical Thrillers: What Keeps You Awake at Night?
FAREWELL TO DREAMS, Fatal Insomnia Book #1
A RAGING DAWN, Fatal Insomnia Book #2
THE SLEEPLESS STARS, Fatal Insomnia Book #3
CJ Lyons scores a major triumph. Totally absorbing and impossible to put down.” ~Douglas Preston
HART and DRAKE Medical Suspense
A pulse pounding adrenaline rush.” ~Lisa Gardner
NERVES OF STEEL, Hart & Drake Book #1
SLEIGHT OF HAND, Hart & Drake Book #2
FACE TO FACE, Hart and Drake Book #3
EYE OF THE STORM, Hart and Drake Book #4
Shadow Ops, Romantic Thrillers
CHASING SHADOWS, Shadow Ops Book #1
LOST IN SHADOWS, Shadow Ops Book #2
EDGE OF SHADOWS, Shadow Ops Book #3
A high-stakes adventure with dire consequences.” ~Steve Berry
About CJ:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels, former pediatric ER doctor CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart.
CJ has been called a “master within the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as “breathtakingly fast-paced” and “riveting” (Publishers Weekly) with “characters with beating hearts and three dimensions” (Newsday).
Her novels have twice won the International Thriller Writers’ prestigious Thriller Award, the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Readers’ Choice Award, the RT Seal of Excellence, and the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense.
Learn more about CJ’s Thrillers with Heart at www.CJLyons.net
Want more of CJ Lyons’ Thrillers with Heart? Download the complete booklist at CJLyons.net
LUCY GUARDINO THRILLERS:
SNAKE SKIN
BLOOD STAINED
KILL ZONE
AFTER SHOCK
HARD FALL
BAD BREAK
LAST LIGHT
DEVIL SMOKE
OPEN GRAVE
GONE DARK (coming 2017)
RENEGADE JUSTICE THRILLERS, featuring Morgan Ames:
FIGHT DIRTY
RAW EDGES
ANGELS WEEP (coming 2017)
FATAL INSOMNIA MEDICAL THRILLERS:
FAREWELL TO DREAMS
A RAGING DAWN
THE SLEEPLESS STARS
HART AND DRAKE MEDICAL SUSPENSE:
NERVES OF STEEL
SLEIGHT OF HAND
FACE TO FACE
EYE OF THE STORM
SHADOW OPS, ROMANTIC THRILLERS:
CHASING SHADOWS
LOST IN SHADOWS
EDGE OF SHADOWS
CAITLYN TIERNEY FBI THRILLERS:
BLIND FAITH
BLACK SHEEP
HOLLOW BONES
ANGELS OF MERCY MEDICAL SUSPENSE:
LIFELINES
WARNING SIGNS
URGENT CARE
CRITICAL CONDITION
YOUNG ADULT THRILLERS:
BROKEN
WATCHED
CO-WRITTEN WITH ERIN BROCKOVICH:
ROCK BOTTOM
HOT WATER
SINGLE TITLE STANDALONES:
LUCIDITY, a Ghost of a Love Story
BORROWED TIME
Copyright CJ Lyons, LLC, “CJ Lyons” and “Thrillers with Heart” Trademarked by CJ Lyons, LLC
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-except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews-without permission in writing from its publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Keywords: fatal insomnia, serial killer, fatal disease insomnia restless medical mortality incurable mutation genetic paranormal psychic telepathy, police detective female protagonist woman sleuth, dark disturbing edgy moody noir hard-boiled mystery thriller suspense, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Lisa Gardner, Sandra Brown, Allison Brennan, Susan Wiggs, Tami Hoag, James Patterson, Heather Graham, David Morrell, Tess Gerritsen, Alex Kava, Catherine Coulter, romance, romantic suspense, romantic thriller, thriller, thriller with heart, FBI, FBI thriller, Pittsburgh, police procedural, mystery, suspense, hard boiled, women sleuths, serial killer, kidnapping, special ops, special forces, terrorists, espionage, action adventure, Lucy Guardino, Cassandra Hart, Drake, Shadow Ops, Hart and Drake, action-adventure, CJ Lyons, bestseller, female FBI agent, medical thriller, medical suspense, medical romance, vigilante, sociopath, psychopath, homicide detective, detective, murder, ER, emergency room, emergency, emergency doctor, emergency physician, genetic lethal serial killer paranormal psychic telepathy police detective female protagonist woman sleuth dark disturbing edgy moody noir hard-boiled mystery thriller suspense medical sociopath psychopath lethal dying death romance romantic love story disease supernatural homicide murder ER emergency room doctor physician conspiracy bestseller thrillers with heart, female Pittsburgh FBI government agent police procedural thriller, cold case serial killer, dark disturbing edgy moody noir, homicide cold case detective mystery suspense psychological thriller, hard boiled women sleuths, kidnapping terrorists espionage amnesia action adventure, Lucy Guardino action-adventure CJ Lyons bestseller, vigilante sociopath psychopath homicide detective murder