How about another excerpt from my brand new mystery, Railroad Ties: the Marmion
Grove Murders?
The hero of Railroad Ties: the
Marmion Grove Murders, Noah Pennyman, is into extreme
sports—scuba diving, cliff scaling, sky diving, mountain climbing among them.
He thinks it stands him in good stead in defending against the several attempts
on his life. Our heroine Sophie isn’t so sure.
Another Attempt
“Someone tried to kill you again?”
“You needn’t sound so skeptical. The perpetrator obviously hasn’t finished the job, so it makes sense he would take another stab at it.” Noah massaged his back. “I hope he’s not being paid for this. So far he’s proven to be pretty incompetent.”
“And you’d prefer he succeed?”
“Well, no, of course not. Still, his
attempts have hardly shown the level of professionalism one would expect from
an assassin.”
“Assassin! Who do you think you are,
the petty despot of a banana republic?”
He perked up. “Cool. Do I get a
throne? A personal army? Maybe a gem-encrusted crown?”
“How about a tinfoil cap?”
“Huh.” He looked at the refrigerator.
“Could you get me a beer?”
“It’s four o’clock in the morning!”
He shifted on the hard seat. “Least
you could do.”
“Tough.” Ignoring his grousing, Sophie
said firmly, “Out with it.”
“I was in the street and suddenly this
big black car tried to run me over.”
“Oh, really. Was that part of your
army training too? Standing in the middle of the street daring motorists to ram
you?” As her anxiety eased, the pique took over.
He shut his mouth.
“Well?”
“If you’re just going to make fun, I
won’t tell you.”
She sat, her attentive expression as
manifestly fake as she could make it.
“I heard noises outside.”
“Aha. That’s extraordinary right
there. A wild beast? Aliens? Ghosts? Or perhaps—gasp—nosey neighbors?”
Noah soldiered on. “I looked out the
window. There was a light moving down the driveway. It bobbled.”
“A UFO! Good show!”
“Someone was casing the joint.”
“Casing the joint? Sounds more like a
burglar than a murderer. Or maybe a man looking for a lost dog.” Sophie was
enjoying not helping him immensely.
He huffed. “With recent events in
mind, I thought it best to follow up.”
She nodded wisely. “You went to
investigate. Smart.”
“Yes. Well. By the time I got
downstairs, the light had reached the end of the driveway. It proceeded into
the street, but flicked out just as I reached the center of the lane. I stopped
and looked around for it, but everything was pitch black. Then all of a sudden
an engine started up, and before I could react, this car came out of nowhere.”
“Did it have its headlights on?”
“No.”
“So how did you know it was going to
hit you?”
“When it hit me. Duh.”
“All right, then how did you end up in
the bush instead of flattened like a pancake on the asphalt?” These
“accidents” are getting more and more outlandish. Could he be doing them to
himself? She regarded Noah. Could he be sleepwalking? “Noah, are you
sure—”
“If you’ll let me finish. I know you
disapprove of the exploits of my youth, but they stood me in good stead this
time. I rolled over the hood and launched myself into the yard.”
That got her attention. “That is
impressive. Did the car keep going? Did it circle back?”
“I’ve no idea. I decided to sit it out
for a while, hoping he hadn’t seen where I landed. After five minutes of
unrelenting discomfort, I felt reasonably sure he’d given up. I was trying to
break free of the bush when you arrived.” He plucked a leaf from his sleeve.
“Put pruning hedge on the To Do list, will you?”
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