The Super Secret Sacred Words and our Fearless Leader
This is the last post in my author branding series:
People ask me all the time how old my children are and I reply with a proud smile, “I have a 91, a 93 and 97.” Everyone reading this post who has a child who has played or does play hockey is rolling on the floor laughing hysterically because they get it. They also understand that my nearly new SUV has more miles than the average 1966 Chevy owner. Seriously. Of course there is the advice I give my boys every time they leave for the big game, “make mama proud and hit someone.” Yes. I really say that. $20 bucks goes to the first Talty who “drops” someone. For those of you who have hockey players or follow the sport, this all makes perfect sense, for the rest of you it’s a foreign language.
Manic Monday Welcomes Jen Talty!
Recently did an interview over at Stacy Green’s Blog! What fun. Check it out
Free eBook for Kindle 17-21 April: Rekindled by Jen Talty
Click on Cover to download FREE copy from Amazon
FREE eBook! Tuesday, April 17 through Saturday, April 21 my book Rekindled is FREE on Kindle! Woot Woot!
Here is an excerpt:
Chapter One
“Could you repeat, please?” Assistant Police Chief Blaine Walker asked. He stared out into the cold Minnesota night sky. The moonlight glowed through a thin layer of gray clouds.
“Gunshots reported at twenty-two-fifty Route Nine. The Mead residence.”
“Who reported it?” Blaine asked, tossing his bacon cheeseburger to the passenger seat.
“A neighbor.”
“Five minutes from location.” Blaine slammed the microphone into the cradle. He flipped a switch and the police siren screeched once, then red lights flashed across the sky. He peeled the car out into the deserted street. Not much happened in Thief Lake, but leave it to his ex-father-in-law to stir things up.
As he pulled into the drive and an uneasy feeling washed over him. He stepped from his patrol car and adjusted his holster wishing he’d worn his uniform.
A warm front had moved in and melted most of the snow, but there was still a chill in the air indicating that Jack Frost hadn’t caved to the warmth of spring.
It appeared the Mead mansion had every light on, sending an eerie cast of colors across the lake. A little blue SUV was parked in the driveway, door open. He walked across the gravel path and then placed a hand on the hood. Still warm.
He planted his hand on the butt of his pistol and headed toward the main house just as a blood-curdling scream echoed from inside. Reaching for his weapon, he sidestepped onto the porch. Faint sobs echoed in the stillness of the night.
“Daddy,” a woman’s voice cried.
Blaine carefully pushed back the main door. He kept his back against the wood frame as he peered into the foyer. A woman with long blonde hair knelt on the floor, rocking back and forth, whimpering words he couldn’t understand. Holding his pistol steady, he stepped in.
Rutherford Mead’s body lay sprawled out on the floor. His arms stretched wide, legs slightly bent to the right. His eyes were open, but glossed over. Blood trickled out of his neck onto the wood floor.
Blaine swallowed and then focused his attention to the familiar woman hovering over the body. “Police ma’am, back away.”
The woman gasped and scooted backward. Her hands covered her face, but Blaine knew exactly whom he was dealing with. Why had she returned? His muscles tensed as he adjusted his aim toward the floor beside her. “What are you doing here?”
“I…I…” She brushed her long blonde hair from her angel-like face. Her hair looked longer than Blaine remembered. She glanced toward him. “Oh. Blaine, I…”
His breath hitched at the mere sight of his ex-wife. The blueness of her eyes was still prettier than any summer sky he’d ever seen. The porcelain shine of her skin glittered in the bright light.
“Kaylee,” he said, and then cleared his throat. “Put your hands in the air.”
She held her arms out to the side, dropping something to the floor. “Call for help,” she whispered. Her eyes shimmered with shock. “I was about to call for help.”
He now recognized the object that had fallen from her trembling hands as a portable phone. He reached with his free hand for his cell and called the dispatcher, resting the phone on his ear. With his eyes on Kaylee, he bent forward and felt Rutherford’s neck for a pulse. “Possible homicide. Get the medical examiner and Chief Whitcomb out here.” He snapped his phone shut.
“You’re scaring me.”
Blaine did his best to control his ragging pulse and focus on the situation and not the frightened creature sitting before him. He knew all to well where Kaylee was concerned, things were never what they appeared to be. It had been years since he’d last seen his ex-wife. Years since anyone, including her father had seen or heard from her. “What happened here?”
She stared at him for a moment. “I found him like this.”
“How long have you been here?” He forced his trembling muscles to hold his aim steady, but not directly on her.
“Fifteen minutes?” Her voice trembled.
“How did you get in the house?”
“The kitchen door.”
“Did he know you were coming?” Not that Blaine spoke much to his father-in-law, but last he heard Rutherford had very little contact with his daughter. He’d even cut her from the will a few years after she’d left. But now rumors had been circulating that he’d changed his will again and left everything to her, making this a very difficult situation.
“You don’t think…” Her jaw dropped open as her eyes widened. “Oh God, you do.”
“Let’s step outside.” Blaine holstered his gun and nodded toward the porch.
He laced his fingers around her arm, and she twitched, jerking away. Her eyes met his with a combination of fear and confusion. Blackness smudged her pale, stricken face.
“To my car.” He took her elbow, just like he would any other suspect or witness. “Sit down, Kaylee.” He pulled open the door and helped her in. He stood with his back to her, trying to collect his thoughts. Living in a small town made every case he worked on harder, because he knew everyone on a personal level.
Investigating the death of his ex-wife’s father was about as personal as things could get.
Rarely at a loss for words, he let out a breath and focused on the gray, smoke-like puff that formed in the air. The last time he had been unable to utter a single word was the last time he saw her. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, Kaylee.”
He took a blanket out of his trunk and covered her shaking body.
“He left the kitchen door open for me.” The blanket curled under her fingers. “Dad never left doors open or lights on unless he knew someone was coming.”
“You entered via the kitchen? Then did what?” he questioned knowing he shouldn’t. Their past relationship really put a damper on him being able to control this case.
“I called for him, but got no answer. I was nervous so I helped myself to a drink of water.”
“Did you go anywhere else in the house? Touch anything else?” he asked. He was just doing his job. He was the first on the scene. Everyone would understand he was just trying to get a handle on things until back-up came.
A slow burn churned from his stomach to his throat. He turned and looked at the big white house with dark-green shutters. With every light on, the house gleamed like a scene straight from The Exorcist.
“I went from the kitchen to the stairs and found him on the floor. Then you showed up a minute later.”
“Did you any hear gunshots?”
“No.”
The sound of gravel crunching under large tires caught his attention. His boss’s pickup, followed by an ambulance and the medical examiner’s car, pulled in. Blaine knelt beside Kaylee, placing his hand on her knee. The moment he touched her, a single spark ignited in his veins spreading warmth through his body. He yanked his hand away. He had a job to do and lingering in the past had nothing to do with the present situation, no matter how pretty the past looked.
“I need you to stay right here.” A soft scent of strawberries and vanilla filled his nostrils. He leaned across her to grab his keys. The familiar smell reeled in his head like a song you couldn’t stop humming. “Dave and I need to examine the scene. Promise me you won’t move from this spot.”
Pressure on his bicep stilled him. “Someone killed my father.”
“We don’t know what happened, but I’ll find out.” A sudden sharp pain ripped through Blaine’s heart. A murder had occurred on his watch. To make matters worse, he had one possible witness and one possible suspect?”his ex-wife. All in all, not a good night.
He nodded to Police Chief Dave Whitcomb as they made their way up to the house. While the door didn’t appear damaged, his instincts told him foul play had been involved. However, with her so close and the gut-wrenching emotions she sparked, his instincts couldn’t be trusted.
When he entered the foyer, he had to step around Rutherford’s body. At first glance, it looked like he might have fallen down the curved staircase. Blood pooled under his head, which could be consistent with a fall, but something didn’t feel right.
“Why is it you always have to get me out of bed when you’ve got the night shift?” Dave rubbed his unshaven face, looking around the foyer. “I won’t even mention the uniform issue.”
“I never wear it, and you don’t have a problem with it.” Blaine removed the lens cap from the police-issue camera, flipped on the flash, and photographed the body while Dave made some measurements and scribbled them on a pad. “Besides, have I even seen you in one?”
“Keep taking pictures,” Dave said.
“Something’s off here.” Blaine looked from the staircase to the body. He pointed to the base of the neck, before snapping a picture of an open wound oozing blood.
“That looks like a bullet graze,” Dave said.
“I know what it looks like,” Blaine muttered. Ten years ago, his life had changed forever when Kaylee had run off to Europe, cutting all ties to Thief Lake, including those to her father. “Someone reported gunshots, which is what brought me here in the first place.”
“You see that?” Dave asked the medical examiner who was already assessing the scene.
The medical examiner gently pushed up Rutherford’s shirt. “A bullet hole.”
Blaine swallowed and then took a few more pictures. “Didn’t search her,” he mumbled. Anyone who might benefit from a death usually looked guilty in the eyes of the public. If Rutherford changed his will, then Kaylee Mead stood to inherit one hefty sum.
“Let’s take a look around,” Dave said.
Blaine followed him down the hall and into the kitchen. Other than all the lights were on, everything looked normal. “She says she came in through the kitchen, got a drink, and then went looking for him.”
“How long?”
“Said fifteen minutes. I heard her scream as I came to the door.” Blaine snapped on his gloves and started looking for anything that could take the blame off Kaylee. She was a lot of things, but not a cold-blooded murderer. “Damn.”
“What is it?” Dave asked.
“A bullet.” Blaine knelt down next to the kitchen table. “Give me a bag.” First, he took a Polaroid while Dave sketched the dimensions on his pad. Then, using a pocketknife, Blaine dug the bullet out of the table and shoved it in the evidence bag.
“Doesn’t look like there was much of a struggle,” Dave commented.
“That’s puzzling, isn’t it?” Blaine said.
“Maybe he was having a conversation with someone he thought he could trust, like his daughter?”
Blaine froze and gripped the chair. The overwhelming desire to protect and defend Kaylee bubbled in his bloodstream. Regardless of the rift between father and daughter, and Kaylee’s inability to think beyond herself, she couldn’t kill someone. Could she? “Or, whoever it was cleaned up before they left.”
“I hope for her sake, you’re right,” Dave said.
Blaine circled the kitchen table. There had to be a clue. Something that would tell him Kaylee had just stumbled into a bad situation. Anything that could tell him who and why.
No scuff marks on the floor. Nothing out of place. Everything seemed as it should be. Not even a dirty dish in the sink.
“Jonsey and Mac will be here shortly to take over,” Dave commented. “You can’t question her.”
“I know.” Blaine stuffed the camera in the bag as they made their way back to the foyer. “I’ll take her to the station and get someone else to take the official statement.”
“We have to treat her as a suspect.” Dave raised his brow.
“I was first on the scene. Nothing we can do about that. You need to take over here. Call ahead and have someone waiting for us. I won’t say five words on the way there.” Blaine didn’t like not being able to question her.
“Don’t screw up.”
Dave shook his head. “So, what do you make of your ex-wife’s timely return?”
Blaine cringed. “I’d say it’s untimely.”
Dave stopped at the front door and turned. “I’m going to search her car.” He lowered his chin. “If I find a gun, or anything that gives me cause, I’m going to arrest her.”
“I get it.” Blaine ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. No way would he be letting her out of his sight. If she didn’t kill her father, someone else did, and that someone might have seen her.
And since he was probably going to be forced to stay in the background on this one, he’d make sure he’d stay up-close and personal with her.
Untimely didn’t begin to describe his ex-wife’s return.
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The Write It Forward Author Branding Plan: The Creed
Continuing with my series on Author branding….
The Write It Forward Author Branding Plan: The Creed.
Like this:
Excerpt from latest release: In Two Weeks
In Two Weeks is the very first book I ever wrote and it is set in one of my most favorite childhood places…Lake George, NY. Enjoy.
This excerpt is taken from chapter 3…just to give you a little flavor…
Available at WDWPUB
Hours later, Ryan took a step back and glanced around the banquet hall with a satisfied smile. The sun sparkled through the clear windows, casting a beautiful shine across the grand room. She’d taken part in the design of all the hotel’s renovations right down to the bold red carpet throughout the main dining room and she couldn’t be prouder. The manager had complimented her taste many times, saying she’d helped raise the hotel’s status as one of the best resorts in the state. Maybe even the country. Her job had been the one thing she could count on. Well, besides Penny’s friendship and Jared’s overprotecting ways. She sighed. Too many things were changing.
She checked her watch. The ladies’ club would be arriving any moment, and she couldn’t have been more pleased with how everyone on her team had managed to save a near disaster.
“You outdid yourself,” Rick Weston said.
Unable to contain her joy, she smiled wider. “Thanks. I’m happy with the way things turned out, considering the problems.” Impressing Rick, the general manager, was important. Too many things had gone wrong leading up to this day and it was up to Ryan to fix them. Hell, it was her responsibility to take the brunt of blame. If Ryan didn’t know better, she might think someone was out to get her. Her smile faded. Someone might be. That thought chilled her bones.
“The ladies’ club has been wonderful about the mix-up with the hors d’oeuvres. The chef has managed to pull a few strings, and we’ll be all set with the correct entrees.” Ryan ran her fingers across the deep pink tablecloth. Mistakes had been made before, but this did seem over the top.
“Any idea what happened to the requests?”
Forcing her gaze to the centerpiece, a small bowl with a single gardenia floating in a sea of pink water, she swallowed. “I have a copy of everything in a folder on my desk. What I submitted and what Leo has are two completely different things.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
She turned to her boss and kept her chin up. “Tom received the same papers that the kitchen did. I must have screwed up somewhere. I’m sorry.” One thing Ryan had learned along the way, take full responsibility. The buck had to stop somewhere and today it stopped with her. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Rick cast an appreciative look around the room. “You’ve always been very efficient. You’ve done a fabulous job here. I don’t believe all this could’ve been your fault.”
“Well, it is my job to make sure parties like this go off without a hitch.”
“And you did.” Rick smiled. “Don’t forget about the changes in the golf tournament this weekend.”
“I’ll take care of everything personally.” She pushed back the large double doors to the main lobby that glistened with sunlight. It had been her idea to add windows to bring in as much sunlight as possible. Also, the view of the lake against the backdrop of the tall mountains would only add to the ambiance and she’d been right.
There was a freshness in the air, like walking into a flower shop. She made sure arrays of freshly cut flowers were strategically placed on every floor so the hotel always smelled like spring. A large chandelier hung proudly in the cathedral ceiling.
“I know you will.”
She headed toward her office with a spring in her step. Not only did she do her job well, but also she knew without a doubt she was good at it and she’d continue to make sure that no major screw-ups happened again. She would hand deliver all her requests and she’d confirm them and check on them herself. No way would she rely on anyone else and have to scramble like this again.
Dodging a few young patrons who ran down the hall, she tried to figure out how so many mishaps could happen on one project. The ladies’ club had always held their banquets in the village and she’d worked hard to land this account. She couldn’t afford to have something like this happen again with any of the other major accounts she had roped into changing venues.
In the comfort of her small, cozy office, she adjusted the fresh daisies she’d received from her brother, then seated herself behind the oak desk. Penny had always accused her of being anal when it came to neatness. Ryan wanted to laugh out loud over how well Penny knew her as she ran her hands across the clutter free desk top. She wouldn’t describe herself as anal, but more of a go-getter of sorts. Maybe she was more like Jared than she cared to admit. The man did have a tendency to like things done his way and so did she.
Her to-do list caught her attention, reminding her she’d have to stop at the store on the way home. Hopefully, Jared would forget to fix the door. Not that she didn’t want him around, but she needed to feel as though she could take care of herself. Or maybe it had more to do with proving to him once and for all she was a full-fledged adult and didn’t need him. Well, she wanted him in her bed, but wanted him more to see her as a woman. Her heart pounded in uneven bursts as she thought about the possibility of getting Jared alone for the night. This time she wouldn’t screw it up. No way.
Inspecting the paperwork for the golf tournament, she opened her file drawer. “Oh my God!” A bloody, dead rat sprawled across her files, dripping red liquid across her hanging folders. Pounding her feet on the floor, she rolled her chair back and let out a piercing scream.
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