by Ace Collins
“I have the contacts to locate Renfeld! “ Hillman shouted. “He’s the one really responsible for your wife’s death. You need to get him for Kaitlyn. She won’t rest until you do.”
Lije didn’t look back. He just kept walking down the steps and onto the driveway, stopping only when he got to Smith’s side. The big man was starting to come to.
“You going to take care of him?” Lije shouted toward the house.
“You want me to kill him?” Hillman asked.
Shaking his head, Lije replied, “No, arrest him. Put him away. Get him off the streets.”
The ABI director nodded. “I can hang him for several things, including murder, but it would be easier just to kill him now.”
“I’m not after revenge. Only justice. So give me your word on this.”
“What about the formula?”
“It’s mine. I paid dearly for it.”
Taking a final look at Smith, Lije turned and started the solitary walk away from the mystery that had haunted him for months. He kept moving down the driveway and stepped purposefully onto the street to retrieve his car. Sliding in, he started the motor and made a U-turn. By the time he passed Hillman’s property, the director had Smith in handcuffs and was pushing him into the house.
Two miles down the road, Lije eased to the shoulder and switched on the dome light. Pulling out his billfold, he opened it to a photo of Kaitlyn. She was gone and it was because of words written on a piece of paper. The seconds became minutes as he absorbed the hollowness created by that knowledge. Only the vibration of his phone finally brought him out of a trance.
“Lije! “ Janie’s voice betrayed her concern. “Are you all right?”
“Smith’s in custody.”
“And the formula?”
Lije pulled it from his pocket. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he retrieved something from the glove box, opened the driver’s side door, and stepped out in the night. His father had always told him to keep a flashlight, a small jar of peanut butter, a pair of pliers, a universal wrench, a screwdriver, and some matches in every car he owned. For years, he had stored these things, and now he finally had use for one of them. Opening the matchbox, Lije took out a match and struck it against the box. As the fire illuminated his face, he lifted the piece of onionskin paper to the flame. As it began to burn, he dropped it onto the road. When all that was left were ashes, he slid back into the car and put the phone to his ear.
“Everything’s taken care of. It’s gone for good. See you later at the office.”
Hitting the gas, he spun the wheel and headed home. Time to rebuild, to regroup, to get on with life. Time to see what tomorrow brings.
Stories behind Christmas Boxed Set
Ace Collins, Bestselling Author
Since angels sang when Jesus was born, music has been as much a part of Christmas as candy canes, Christmas trees, and other beloved traditions of the season. Now you and your family can deepen your celebration of Christ’s birth as you learn the stories and spiritual significance of our most cherished holiday songs and traditions.
Do you understand the meaning of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”? Why do we use red and green at Christmas? What is the origin of the Christmas tree? Do you know the unusual history behind “O Holy Night”?
Written by popular music historian and bestselling author Ace Collins, the three books in this beautiful boxed set unlock the origins and meanings of best-loved carols, hymns, and songs. They also explain traditions as familiar yet little understood as mistletoe, ornaments, stockings, and holly. From the cloisters of fifth-century monks, to the frontlines of World War II, to Hollywood sets and Nashville recording studios, Collins takes you on a journey that will warm your heart and enrich your experience of this brightest of holiday seasons.
Softcover Set: 978-0-310-28112-2
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
25 Days, 26 Ways to Make This Your Best Christmas Ever
Ace Collins, Bestselling Author
Christmas should be the most anticipated day of the year. But many people dread the shopping, financial strain, and extra activities they have to sandwich between the layers of their already too-busy lives.
Bestselling author Ace Collins is the perfect guide to help you navigate the stress of the holidays. As he shares twenty-six easy ways to revamp Christmas expectations, you will relax, refuel, and readjust your attitude toward the season. Each upbeat chapter contains easy to apply ideas for taking a fresh look at a holiday tradition or task and making it positive and meaningful. Through a blend of historical stories, scriptural truths, and contemporary anecdotes, Collins creates a recipe for holiday happiness. He adeptly shows how to keep the joy of the season from derailing and helps you rediscover Christmas as it was meant to be—holy, peaceful, and purposeful.
A glorious Christmas is attainable with Collins’ timely wisdom and advice. Partly devotional, partly practical, and always thoughtful, Collins’ book will help you make this your best Christmas ever!
Hardcover, Jacketed: 978-0-310-29314-9
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
Stories behind the Traditions and Songs of Easter
Ace Collins, Bestselling Author
The treasured traditions of Easter—little bunnies, parades, new Easter outfits, sunrise services, passion plays, and more—infuse our celebration of the season with meaning and glowing memories. And in ways you may not realize, they point us to the resurrection of Christ and our hope of life beyond the grave. Stories behind the Traditions and Songs of Easter reveals the events and backgrounds that shaped the best-loved customs and songs of Easter, introducing you to stories you’ve never heard and a deeper appreciation for the holiday’s familiar hallmarks.
Hardcover: 978-0-310-26315-9
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
LIJE EVANS MYSTERIES
Farraday Road
Ace Collins, Bestselling Author
A quiet evening ends in murder on a muddy mountain road.
Local attorney Lije Evans and his beautiful wife, Kaitlyn, are gunned down. But the killers don’t expect one of their victims to live. After burying Kaitlyn, Lije is on a mission to find her killer—and solve a mystery that has more twists and turns than an Ozarkmountain back road.
When the trail of evidence goes cold, complicated by the disappearance of the deputy who found Kaitlyn’s body at the scene of the crime, Lije is driven to find out why he and his wife were hunted down and left for dead along Farraday Road. He begins his dangerous investigation with no clues and little help from the police. As he struggles to uncover evidence, will he learn the truth before the killers strike again?
Softcover: 978-0-310-27952-5
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
Sticks and Stones
Using Your Words as a Positive Force
Ace Collins, Bestselling Author
Of the roughly thirty-thousand words you will speak today, imagine if just a handful of them could save a life…or heal a broken heart…or inspire a vision that would shape the course of history.
Today is your opportunity to speak—or write—words of incalculable potential for good. With simple action points and colorful stories, this inspiring book will help you weed out sticksand-stones negativism and unleash the surpassing, life-giving, destiny-shaping power of positive words.
What does it take for your words to make a difference? Perhaps a simple thank-you letter. Maybe an encouraging email. Or a simple hello, a thoughtful phone call, a note written on the back of a family photograph…the possibilities are endless. Sticks and Stones shows you the power and importance of your words, and how to use the right words to have a positive impact beyond anything you can imagine.
Hardcover, Jacketed: 978-0-310-28253-2
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
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Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan, a division of Ha
rperCollinsPublishers, is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best-selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products and award-winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan (www.zondervan.com) holds exclusive publishing rights to the New International Version of the Bible and has distributed more than 150 million copies worldwide. It is also one of the top Christian publishers in the world, selling its award-winning books through Christian retailers, general market bookstores, mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, and the Internet. Zondervan has received a total of 68 Gold Medallion awards for its books, more than any other publisher.
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