Straight for the kill, p.26
Straight for the Kill, page 26
“Marnie, you do realize what you three did was illegal?”
“In a way, maybe, but what the girls did is on them. Ellie, we never told the girls to have sex with the bastard. Knowing Randall, he probably forced himself on them and then manipulated them into believing it was what they deserved. He used that same tact on all the others.”
“So why kill Kerri?”
“Because he figured out what she was doing. Or she got mad and let it slip. It’s what happened with Denise. He was so furious with her because she finally had enough of his bullshit and cut him off. He chased her through those woods and in front of that truck after attacking her.”
“And Bre?”
“Blamed her for what he did. But I think it was because she witnessed the whole thing and he had to get rid of the eyewitness. All these years, I suspected he was really behind it, but I didn’t have the proof. Had I known about Freya … Ellie, believe me, I would have never put another girl in his line of fire. I should have realized that with Hillary being one of his conquests, he went right after her daughter.”
“And turned Hillary into a murdering avenger.” Elizabeth sighed. “Marnie, there’ll be repercussions from this.”
Her sister studied her. “How much are you willing to bargain with your position as sheriff to prevent a sister charged with a crime?”
“That’s not …” What Marnie was referring to struck Elizabeth. “No one would believe me. Will they?” She rubbed her eyes with her free hand. “I’m so over this.”
“It’s over now. For good.”
“Is it?”
Marnie yawned again, this time triggering Elizabeth’s response. They smiled at each other but didn’t speak another word. As she stared at her sister, Elizabeth’s vision began to grow dark at the edges.
“Ellie?” Marnie’s voice sounded like it was in a tin can.
Elizabeth felt herself sliding but couldn’t gather up the gumption to stop it. She welcomed the embrace of the dark warmth.
“Sheriff? Sheriff, open your eyes.”
She peeled one eyelid open. A blurry figure loomed over her.
“Oh, Elizabeth, you should have listened to me.”
“Doc, I listen to no one.”
From somewhere off in the distance, she heard, “Let her sleep. She’ll be back at it here in a week.”
Elizabeth tried to smile at Lila’s declaration. Her deputy detective was right.
Her county was in dire need of her after the fallout. She would sleep off this setback. Start fresh again next week.
The End
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Acknowledgments
First, foremost, and always, honor goes to the One who gave me this talent and drive.
There are days I can’t believe I get to be an author and with such a fantastic crew like Tule. It’s such a privilege to be an author for Tule. Thank you Jane, Meghan, Cyndi, and Nikki, and to all of the unnamed people behind the scenes that do such a wonderful job. Hats off to Lee Hyat for a scary, freaky cover! Lee, it’s like you crawled inside my head and pulled it out. Magnifico!
I will scream it to the ends of the earth: I have one of the best editors in the biz. When things in my family took a scary turn into the unbelievable, I knew I could go to Julie for support. The mark of a great editor/author relationship comes in the fact that the editor can read her author as well as Julie reads me. I’m so glad we continued working together at this level. Julie, you’re da best! We need a weekend to just gab.
My beta readers, Rachel and Jenn, are the sounding board all authors should have. I can’t do any of this without either one of them. Rachel takes the role of rah, rah, I’ll haunt you if you don’t write faster. And Jenn is my first round of Julie. She knows how to delve into the mystery, suspense side and make sure I see first what Julie will catch later. Both are my closest friends and brutally honest readers. If it won’t work, or I went too far off the deep end, they get me back on track. Love ya both!
Ha! I don’t know if they’ll see it, but many thanks to my coworkers for letting me escape work early for a few extra hours at home to write so I could make this deadline. I truly do enjoy working where I do, even if we have a few kooky characters call in with some of the weirdest questions or requests.
My family has grown up, yet they’re still here. When I started this journey, they were babies. Now I have young adults out there making me proud to be their mom. I love you all.
Then there is my partner in this crazy thing we call life. My husband was more than willing to run off with me to some Iowa State football and basketball games this past year, all the while doing the driving so I could write or work. We’ve been through hell and back again, and here we still stand as husband and wife. Love you, Shawn.
If you enjoyed Straight for the Kill, you’ll love the other books in the…
Benoit and Dayne Mystery series
Book 1: The Killer in Me
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Book 2: Hush, My Darling
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Book 3: Straight for the Kill
View the series here!
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About the Author
Winter Austin perpetually answers the question: “were you born in the winter?” with a flat “nope,” but believe her, there is a story behind her name.
A lifelong Mid-West gal with strong ties to the agriculture world, Winter grew up listening to the captivating stories told by relatives around a table or a campfire. As a published author, she learned her glass half-empty personality makes for a perfect suspense/thriller writer. Taking her ability to verbally spin a vivid and detailed story, Winter translated that into writing deadly romantic suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.
When she’s not slaving away at the computer, you can find Winter supporting her daughter in cattle shows, seeing her three sons off into the wide-wide world, loving on her fur babies, prodding her teacher husband, and nagging at her flock of hens to stay in the coop or the dogs will get them.
She is the author of multiple novels.
Visit her website at winteraustin.com
Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @WinterAustin_
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Winter Austin, Straight for the Kill
