Death beneath the covers, p.20
Death Beneath the Covers, page 20
He clicked the mouse pad and opened the menu bar labelled team on the new website ‘I thought you’d like it.’ She smiled at Max’s grin.
‘It’s great. Are you sure about this?’
‘Of course I am. You’re an excellent investigator. You’ve proven that. Even Jack thought it was a great idea. Although more for you than for me, but I think the idea of me not taking on any new clients might have convinced him to my line of thinking.’
‘He likes you. But you already knew that.’ Max clicked back to the home page and admired the front banner. ‘Fox Investigations. I like it but will anyone make the connection?’
‘Madam Foxy Escort Agency and Fox Private Investigation? I doubt it. Two very different lines of work and totally different styles of website.’
‘You aren’t on the team page?’
‘Of course not! Madam Foxy can hardly be on the site and I’ve always maintained my anonymity outside my work. I don’t want anyone knowing I’m working as a private investigator when I’m mixing with the rich and famous as Lilian Fox.’
‘Good point. What’s our first case?’
‘A missing girl. Parents think she’s been mixed up with some sort of cult, but I think she might have been a working girl who ran into the wrong client or pimp.’
‘Let’s get digging then?’ Liz smiled at Max’s enthusiasm.
‘Tomorrow we’ll get straight onto it. How did it go getting a warrant to pursue Bruce?’
‘As expected, not enough evidence. Shit we can hardly work out why he would have killed the construction worker, except maybe to cover up Tom’s mess.’
‘Maybe, but we wouldn’t have made the connection between Becca’s murder and the construction site if she hadn’t left me the photos of the steel. She must have been working with her boyfriend on exposing it. When Tom killed her, Bruce’s clean up team must have found the brochure at her apartment.’
‘The brochure went missing so that makes sense, but we still haven’t been able to get to the bottom of Tom’s motive for killing Becca! He had a mental health evaluation and they indicated he had an obsessive disorder, but I’m not buying it. Maybe he was part of the clean-up team all along?’
‘He’s not talking anytime soon. His uncle Bruce has paid for his lawyer no doubt but why the hell would he protect the guy who tried to have him killed?’ Liz opened a file on her desktop as Max took another swig of his beer.
‘Jack thinks Bruce might have given him back his father’s money. They are working on a plea to get him out early with psychiatric treatment. I’ll be keeping an eye on him. I’m still not convinced.’
‘Max.’ Liz’s tone was strange and Max turned to study her expression. ‘I have to tell you something else. Nothing to do with the case, either of them. The girl in the photo.’ Max focussed on the screen as Liz turned it toward him. ‘This is Jackie.’
Max put his beer down and studied the photo. The woman was in her late twenties, early thirties and he scratched his head as he took in her features. She was petite, slightly ginger haired with a fine bone structure. ‘She’s your daughter.’
Liz smiled. ‘She’s our daughter.’ Max looked from the screen to Liz and his eyes grew wide.
‘You never told me...’ She thought he might be angry but he seemed more surprised than annoyed. His voice barely a whisper.
‘I gave her up for adoption Max. She found me a few years ago.’
‘I get why you didn’t tell me but I wish I’d known. Things might have been different if I’d known.’
‘I wish I hadn’t given her up, but it was the right thing to do at the time.’
‘Can I meet her?’
‘She’ll be here for dinner in about half an hour.’
What Now?
I hope you enjoyed Death Beneath the Covers—my first crime fiction novel. I’ve already starting writing book 2 – Presumed Missing, so you’ll soon be able to read more stories about Liz and her private investigations. While you wait, I’d love to know what you thought of this first book. Why not leave your review with your favourite e-book retailer. You’ll find the links here.
If you’d like to know when Presumed Missing is released and keep up to date as I share my writing progress, then join my Crime Fiction mailing list. In my fortnightly newsletter, I’ll share excerpts, cover reveals and ARC opportunities along with book offers from other crime fiction authors. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Books by Fiona Tarr
Foxy Mysteries
Book 1 – Death Beneath the Covers
Book 2 – Presumed Missing – Coming September 2021
Covenant of Grace Series
Book 1 – Destiny of Kings
Book 2 – Seed of Hope
Book 3 – Legacy of Power
Book 4 – Heir of Vengeance
Prequel – The Ehud Dagger Novella
The Eternal Realm
Book 1 – The Jericho Prophecy
Book 2 – Delilah and the Dark God
Book 3 – Reign of Retribution
The Priestess Chronicles
Book 1 – Call of the Druids
Book 2 – Relic Seeker
Book 3 – Shiloh Rising
Book 4 – Coming 2021
Fiona Tarr, Death Beneath the Covers
