Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
“Back to the accidents. If I look into deaths during that first time period, two months ago, only three were recorded. There was a car crash, the vehicle forced off the road, and the two men in it died. Drugs were found in the car. By that I mean they were transporting a ton of powder. It’s likely they were chased, as there were bullet holes in the car, but before anyone could retrieve the drugs, if that was why they were forced off the road, the sheriff showed up.”
Stella shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like a serial killer, although I suppose it could be. It sounds more like a drug deal gone wrong.”
“The third death, and we all know her, was Giselle Gentry. She owned half the real estate in Knightly and was on every board she could sit on. But she was seventy-six and had a live-in caretaker. She fell and hit her head. It didn’t appear to be foul play.”
“That doesn’t fit either,” Stella said, “although it appeared to be an accident.”
“The only thing of note in the ME’s report was that a possible explanation was that she was bitten by something she was allergic to and went into anaphylactic shock and fell. It was the fall that killed her.”
Harlow frowned. “Lawyer was bitten by something, but we couldn’t identify what it was.”
“That doesn’t sound like a serial killer,” Stella said. She shrugged. “I honestly have no idea.”
There was nothing more to discuss on the subject; they simply didn’t have enough information, so the talk turned to other, more pleasant things—their pets.
Instead of easing the tension in her, Harlow felt more than ever that a huge storm was brewing and she and her friends were going to be caught right in the middle of it.
Chapter Two
The persistent ringing of her phone woke Harlow. Glancing at her clock, she saw it was three a.m. It was clear from the ringtone that it was her mother calling. Again. Seriously, she wasn’t going to stop. Harlow hesitated for a moment and then, with resignation, picked up her cell from the nightstand and answered.
“What’s up, Mom?” She really didn’t need to ask, she already knew the answer.
“Harlow, we’ve been trying to get ahold of you for days. Why didn’t you pick up? You know what’s been happening. Your father and I would like to come there to get away from all the vicious reporters who are not your father’s friends. We’re being hounded relentlessly and need to regroup and come up with a strategy to spin this.”
Harlow sighed loudly. “It’s not happening, Mom. How many times do I have to tell you? The senator is not welcome here, and he never will be. We’ve talked about this multiple times. I’m not changing my mind.”
“Your father’s life is in danger, and his career could be completely shot just when he’s in position to make the run for the White House. This is a conspiracy his enemies have cooked up. He’s a US senator, your father, and deserving of your respect.”
Harlow sat up, shoved back her flaming red hair and hung on to her temper as best she could. “He doesn’t deserve my respect, and he doesn’t have it. He’s a liar and a cheat. He’s guilty of every single thing he’s been charged with. As for the allegations that he raped—”
“Had sex with,” her mother interrupted. “Consensual sex.”
Harlow couldn’t sit in bed one moment longer. She leapt up and started to pace. “Consensual, my ass. How many times did you pay off women? What about the poor girl who was pregnant, and you sent her away long before I was born? You didn’t even try to find her, and neither did he. This behavior has been going on for that long.”
“I offered to keep the baby and raise it. We would have adopted it. You know I wanted children. It was a little boy. She refused and insisted on returning home.”
“How? She was fifteen…”
“Sixteen,” her mother corrected. “Old enough to know better than to have unprotected sex with a married man. I gave her money and got her across the border. All those girls…women came on to him. They seduced him. He’s a powerful man, and they wanted to be with someone powerful.”
Harlow had to press her lips together to keep from swearing at her mother. Instead, she lowered her voice as if someone might overhear. “What about Zahra? I brought her home with me because she’d gone through hell. You saw the state she was in. She didn’t want to be around any man, let alone have sex. Seriously, Mom, I promised her safety, and she got dear old perverted lecher Dad. And don’t ever let me hear you say she tried to seduce him. Don’t you dare put what he did on her.”