“Go on,” the officer said.
“I was horrified at the blood. He ran out of the kitchen, down the hall, and I dropped the knife. I couldn’t believe that I had actually done that, but I had blood on my hands, blood on the floor, the cabinets. When he ran out, I thought maybe he would be okay, that it wasn’t that bad, that I hadn’t hurt him that badly, but I followed him down the hall into the office.”
The officer waited, but she just cried silently. “And…?”
“He was there in the corner. Blood everywhere. He’d been trying to get into the closet, but… was too weak, I guess. He was just lying there, glaring at me. I could see the hatred on his face. I knew he’d been trying to get his gun. He would have killed me, then. He was just enraged. It scared the hell out of me, and I was… glad, then, that he couldn’t get to me. I mean, I was sorry I’d hurt him so badly, but he… he deserved it. But I didn’t want him to die. I didn’t want him to die.” She lifted her face to the officer. “I loved him.”
The video cut once again, this time to a news byte. A stone-faced female journalist sat at a news desk and read from a teleprompter.
“Anacortes police announced today that they have taken a woman into custody for the brutal murder of her husband three years ago. Marsha Addison has been charged with one count of second degree murder in the stabbing death of her husband, Douglas Addison, in June of 2013 in San Clemente, California. The woman made a full confession, even detailing how she staged a boating accident and her husband’s disappearance in order to cover up the murder. She is now cooperating with police and has given details about where her husband’s body was buried. Recovery crews are searching an area in the Angeles National Forest in Southern California and expect to locate the body shortly. In other news…”
Shaw flicked off the TV and tossed the remote onto his desk.
Lacey stared at the blank screen, still in awe. Finally she turned to face the captain, and she caught Sam’s surprised look as well.
“Wow,” she said softly.
“Yeah,” Shaw said. He smiled grimly. “You two did it. It all happened exactly as you said.” He inclined his head toward Sam. “As you saw it.”
Sam nodded. He looked over at Lacey. She saw no trace of a smile on his lips, but his eyes glittered at her. It felt not quite right to be ecstatic about this, but she couldn’t deny a palpable satisfaction. Vindication.
“And,” Shaw continued, “they found the body. She’d wrapped it in a sail and buried it out in the forest.”
Lacey blinked. “A sail?”
Shaw shrugged. “I guess that’s all she had on hand that was big enough to cover the body.” He leaned back in his chair, ignoring the creaking as he laced his hands behind his head. “So, case closed. Thanks to you two.”
Lacey couldn’t smother a grin. “Well, thanks to you, too, sir, for believing in us and running with what we had. You could have shelved the whole thing.”
“And I have to admit, that crossed my mind,” Shaw said. “But I know you, Lacey. You’re honest and you’re conscientious. You were a damn fine officer.” He turned to Sam. “And since you two have been working together, you’re doing good things. Keep it up.”
“Yes, sir,” Lacey said with a smile.
Sam nodded. “Thank you, Captain.” The pair rose and shook the captain’s hand again, then filed out of his office.
Outside, Lacey didn’t go far. She walked to a half wall that contained a bit of green space and settled on the concrete surface. Sam sat beside her.
“Wow,” she said again, shaking her head slowly. “I really didn’t quite think this would ever happen. After the way Captain Shaw was when I brought him all my evidence, I didn’t have much hope. Then, with the shooting and Daniel being hurt and all, I didn’t even think about it much.” She looked over at Sam. “This is pretty cool.”
He nodded. “Yes, it is.” He stared down at the ground, nudging a fallen leaf with the toe of his work boot. “I didn’t think much about it, either, not with everything else, but I can see, now, how satisfying it is to tie up something like this. Bring it full circle.” He looked at Lacey. “I think I understand why you like doing this.”
“I think it’s very nearly like you doing what you do,” she said. “It’s bringing balance, bringing harmony.” She looked out over the busy street that fronted the police station. “You know what? I think Marci was glad. Did you notice her face? I think she was relieved. I’ll bet it’s been hard for her to carry that these three years. And what she said… She was obviously horrified that she’d killed him.” She shook her head. “She really did love him, God knows why.”
“People do strange things,” Sam agreed.
“Yes, they do.” She paused, reluctant to bring up another issue, but needing to. “There’s something else I need to tell you. That day that Daniel was shot, when I was waiting for you in Captain Shaw’s office and you didn’t come. I was… pretty angry at you. I thought you’d punked out on me. Blown me off. At least until I heard what happened.” She turned and peeked at Sam.
“Yeah, I can understand that,” he said. “I’m sorry.” He met her eyes, his expression serious. “I would never leave you hanging like that, you know.”
She studied his face, the dark eyes, the slightly creased brow.
“I know,” she said. She managed a wan smile.
“Partners don’t do that to each other,” he said. “And we are partners, right?”
Her smile widened into a grin. “Yeah,” she said. “We are partners.”
~~~
Look for
Skin Walk
Book 2 of the
Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud mystery series.
Thank You for Reading
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, I would greatly appreciate a short review on Amazon or your favorite book website. Reviews are crucial for any author, and even just a line or two can make a huge difference.
--MJB
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: contemporary, western, action, romance, fantasy and spiritual, satire and biography. She lives in a small community in Northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier.
For more information, visit
http://www.newmoonrising.net
or
http://www.melissabowersock.com
Find Me Online on Twitter and Facebook or visit my blog at:
http://mjb-wordlovers.blogspot.com
BOOKS BY MELISSA BOWERSOCK
The Appaloosa Connection (Western Adventure)
When Ross Garvey's prized Appaloosa is stolen from his Colorado ranch, he fully intends to hunt down the thieves in their New Mexico hideout and regain his best broodmare. What he doesn't count on is bull-headed, fifteen year old Jaimie Callahan, whose horse was also stolen by the same thieves. And he certainly does not anticipate the beautiful Mexican girl who's dealing with the thieves, nor the fact that an entire company of Mexican troops is in on the deal!
The Blue Crystal (Fantasy)
In the realm of Zor, the tyrant Mal-Zor is maniacal in his quest for the mythical Blue Crystal of power sends generations of innocents to their deaths in the crystal mines. Jared, a young farmer from a small isolated village, has paid scant attention to the distant troubles until his younger siblings are taken as slaves. Jared vows to free them and his quest soon becomes enmeshed in the most magical power struggle imaginable. Accompanied by a recalcitrant halfling, mounted on a huge black lion and supported by an aging wizard and his daughter, Jared prepares to challenge the king and claim his hidden destiny.
Burning Through (Paranormal Suspense/Romance)
When Jennifer and Robert Stinson buy a beautifully restored Victorian house, the last thing they expect is to share their home with a ghost―especially one with a penchant for setting fires. Unfortunately the ghostly arson only creat
es more tension in their already strained marriage. Jen launches her own investigation into the history of her house and discovers a surprising ally in a sympathetic fire captain. But can she unravel the mystery of the fires before they consume her home, her marriage … and her life?
Finding Travis (Time Travel)
No Time for Travis: Book 1
Travis Merrill’s life isn’t going according to plan. He’s quit several career paths, his wife has left him, and his only solace is volunteering to portray a cavalry surgeon at historic Fort Verde in Arizona, a place where time seems to stand still. When a weird trick of time actually sends him back to the year 1877, he’s boxed into impersonating the post surgeon for real. Unfortunately, he finds his medical knowledge is no match for the primitive practices of the day, and he’s forced to make life or death decisions, not always successfully. He wonders if he will ever be able to return to his own time, or if he might find a life—and a love—140 years in the past.
Being Travis (Time Travel)
No Time for Travis: Book 2
Two years ago, a weird trick of time sent Travis Merrill spiraling from 2016 to the year 1877. Committed now to his life in frontier Arizona, Travis is married with a child on the way and is homesteading a ranch. His knowledge of the future, however, keeps him at odds with his neighbors, his friends… and his wife. He finds it more and more difficult to protect his home without alienating his family, yet he can’t ignore what he knows is – and will be – true.
Fleischerhaus (Paranormal Suspense/Romance)
Julia Martin, newly-divorced but still reeling from her husband’s infidelity, takes a much needed vacation to visit old college friends in Germany. While touring a little-known concentration camp and museum, she spontaneously experiences a violent past life memory of being murdered in this very camp during the Holocaust. Efforts to understand her memories only lead to more questions, the largest being: is her killer still alive? Supported by her friends and comforted in the arms of a handsome doctor, Julia strives to uncover the mysteries of her past life and find justice for the person she used to be.
Ghost Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Book 1
Lacey Fitzpatrick is an ex-LAPD detective with an axe to grind. Tainted by the betrayal of her drug-dealing cop boyfriend, she’s on a quest to prove to herself—and the world—that she’s still a competent crime-fighter. In order to do that, she teams up with Sam Firecloud, a half-Navajo man who communicates with ghosts. With his talent and her research, they tackle troubling unsolved crimes, but their latest case is the toughest. They have to solve a murder—where no record of a murder even exists. Can Sam glean enough information from the victim’s ghost to unravel the mystery, and can Lacey convince the authorities that the murder actually happened?
Skin Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Book 2
Lacey and Sam are on the job again. This time, the ex-cop and the Navajo medium have been called out to the Navajo reservation to investigate the suspicious death of Sam’s cousin. What they uncover leads them into a realm of the supernatural beyond anything Lacey ever imagined; her years on the LAPD did nothing to prepare her for dealing with witches and shapeshifters. With clues few and far between, can they determine who the murderer is before they themselves become the target of deadly curses and feral shapeshifter beasts?
Star Walk (Paranormal Mystery)
A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Book 3
Ex-cop Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are working a new investigation into paranormal activity. This time they’re called to clear an old Hollywood mansion of the multiple ghostly tenants that are threatening the home owner’s livelihood. At the same time, however, Lacey gets a call from her ex-boyfriend, now prison inmate, for help in a more earthly manner. He fears his sister is siphoning money from his elderly mother, and only Lacey can find out the truth. Between saving her ex’s mother from bankruptcy and researching deep into the families of the tortured souls haunting the mansion, Lacey finds the revelations of family dynamics to be both fatally flawed and heartbreakingly inspired.
Dream Walk (Paranormal Mystery
A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series Book 4
Private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are usually called to clear haunted locations of their lingering ghosts using Sam’s unusual talent for communicating with the dead. This time, however, the dead—Sam’s ex-brother-in-law—comes to him… in a dream. Now Sam and Lacey have to figure out how to find the body and uncover a murder plot before the murderers bury them—forever.
Goddess Rising (Spiritual Fantasy)
It is the future, and a global geologic holocaust has destroyed civilization, leaving only a tiny fraction of people to rebuild scattered colonies. Reduced to a primitive state, they live close to the earth and cultivate a Goddess worship, and chosen ones dream a prophecy that Greer, a female savior, will return them to greatness. An epic and magical story of one woman’s exceptional destiny during exceptional times, Goddess Rising follows Greer’s journey from simple obscurity to prophesied reign. Acknowledged as the face of the Goddess on earth, Greer discovers the rewards of power—and its price—as she struggles through her own labyrinth of fear and desire, sexuality and sacrifice, love and death.
Lightning Strikes (Contemporary Romance)
Jessie Evans is a free-lance journalist, emphasis on the "free," with no plans to tie herself down. While researching a story in Flagstaff about Indian influences in Arizona, however, she encounters Lucas Shay, a smoldering paradox who is part Indian, part architect and all man. Whether igniting her temper with his arrogance or challenging her beliefs with his laser-like insight, Jessie can't deny that Lucas sets fire to her soul as well.
Love’s Savage Armpit by Amber Flame (Satire)
(Originally published as The Pits of Passion)
Sealed to the man in an arranged marriage, Elizabeth rides the surging tide of shock and denial, lust and love, as she is swept from the manicured gardens of England to the savage shores of Africa and the wilds of the New World, never quite sure which Captain Elliott is the man she loves. Warning! This satiric romp is NOT your mother's romance novel!
The Man in the Black Hat (Time Travel)
Clay Bauer, at the age of 38, is a second-rate actor in Hollywood. He’s too mean-looking to get leading man roles in movies, so he’s resigned himself to playing only villains. While filming a low-budget Western in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, he hears about the vortices there — places of power where people claim to have strange experiences, even traveling to other dimensions. He doesn't believe any of it — until he accidentally passes through a vortex and is transported more than 100 years into the past. Suddenly he’s faced with playing the most important role of his life. Only this time, it’s for real.
Marcia Gates: Angel of Bataan (Biography)
Marcia L. Gates was an Army nurse and prisoner of war during WWII. As an “Angel of Bataan,” she spent three years in a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines. This is her award-winning story, told through her letters and the newspaper clippings, photos and letters collected by her mother. The book was awarded a medal for biography by both the Military Writers Society of America and Stars and Flags.com and won honorable mentions at the Hollywood Book Festival and the Great Midwest Book Festival. It was featured in the documentary Our Wisconsin: The Military History of America's Dairyland produced by WKOW-TV in Madison.
The Rare Breed (Historical Romance)
The daughter of a white woman and an Indian brave, Catherine Boudry had spent the first thirteen years of her life among the Cheyenne. Restored at last to her mother’s wealthy parents, Cathy blossomed into womanhood surrounded by all the “civilized” comforts of the white man’s world. But at the age of twenty, the lure of her Indian heritage drew her back to the western plains. It was a journey that would awaken
her to the joy and agony of passion in the arms of two very different men—Jory, the virile young trapper, and Barred Owl, the Cheyenne brave to whom she had been pledged in marriage long ago.
Remember Me (Contemporary Romance)
Elly Cole wakes up bruised and battered in a hospital-and has no idea who she is or how she got there. Her brooding giant of a husband informs her that she had been fleeing with her lover who was killed in the car accident that left her injured, that she is pregnant with that lover's child and that she has nowhere else to go but home-with him. Struggling against the threat of her husband's dangerous rage and jealousy, Elly strives to regain her memory and reconstruct the life she left behind, wondering how she could ever have loved this man who hates her.
Queen’s Gold (Action/Adventure)
Hal Thompson is a pretty ordinary guy. A widower who owns his own small business, he's doing his best to raise his two nearly adult children alone. When they convince him to undergo a hypnotic past-life regression, he is unimpressed that his "memories" reveal the hiding place of ancient Aztec gold. Other people, however, take it very seriously and when his family is threatened, he is forced to plunge into the jungles of Mexico, battling treacherous terrain, lethal wildlife and the haunting feeling of a love that spans centuries. Can he find the gold before it claims more lives? Or will he lose the love of his life ... again?
Sonnets for Heidi (Contemporary Women’s Fiction)
Trish Munroe never planned to be a caregiver, but circumstances have conspired to make her responsible for her elderly Aunt Heidi. Trish does her best to balance the demands of her job, her love life and Heidi’s advancing Alzheimer’s, but the pressure is taking its toll. When Heidi passes away, there’s a bittersweet reprieve until Trish uncovers a family secret of forbidden love that takes her on a tragic yet triumphant journey of the heart.
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