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LIES OF HOPE Ep2
My first stop was the house neighboring that of the governor. Of course, “neighbor” might not have been the correct term, since there was a good mile between the Welling mansion and the smaller, but equally lavish, home to the east. I knew it was a long shot, but it was a rather out-of-the-way location without much traffic. The person who lived here may have noticed a car driving by early this morning. And there was the possibility that he or she had travelled in some of the same social circles as the governor. Being an ex-con had removed him from a few select groups, but he was far from a pariah. I found it rather odd that notoriety could make one popular among certain crowds. Just look at the Kardashians.I drove up to the wrought-iron gates and pushed the call-box button.“Who’s there?” a female voice boomed over the speaker.“Jessie Wells,” I answered.“What? I’
LIES OF HOPE Ep3
Jason shook his head as he walked up three steps to the screened-in porch of the Craftsman he had purchased four years ago. He had just caught what was going to be the biggest case of his career and what was he thinking about? A chestnut-haired reporter who was destined to make his life hell for the foreseeable future. He could still feel the tingle where her hand had touched his and see the pain in those hazel-brown eyes. Pain he was sure she thought was well-hidden. Was that what had gotten to him? That vulnerability behind the tough protective shell? Or maybe he had imagined the whole thing. Maybe Jess was every bit the hard-as-nails journalist who really didn’t give a damn that her father was dead. In any case, he knew without a doubt they would cross paths again sooner rather than later.“Dalia! Tess!” Jason called as he shut the door behind him. A willowy blonde in yoga pants and a slim-fitting baby-blue tee hurried into the foyer wiping h
LIES OF HOPE Ep4
Dammit!” Jason exclaimed as he stomped out Cara Montgomery’s front door. He had made a point of warning Jessie to keep out of the investigation, and she’d gone ahead and poked her nose into it anyway. God, he hated reporters! What kind of woman used her own father’s murder for a story?“It could’ve been worse,” said Dillon, interrupting his inner tirade. Intelligent and wiry as a coat-hanger, he had been Jason’s partner from the time he joined the VSP four years ago.Jason glared at the smaller man. “How?” he demanded.“Well, she is a school teacher. She could’ve sent you to the principal’s office.”Jason ignored his partner’s lame attempt at humor, his brain throbbing with questions. How the hell had Jessie learned about her father’s girlfriend? She had probably lied about searching the house before the police arrived &ndas
LIES OF HOPE Ep4
Dammit!” Jason exclaimed as he stomped out Cara Montgomery’s front door. He had made a point of warning Jessie to keep out of the investigation, and she’d gone ahead and poked her nose into it anyway. God, he hated reporters! What kind of woman used her own father’s murder for a story?“It could’ve been worse,” said Dillon, interrupting his inner tirade. Intelligent and wiry as a coat-hanger, he had been Jason’s partner from the time he joined the VSP four years ago.Jason glared at the smaller man. “How?” he demanded.“Well, she is a school teacher. She could’ve sent you to the principal’s office.”Jason ignored his partner’s lame attempt at humor, his brain throbbing with questions. How the hell had Jessie learned about her father’s girlfriend? She had probably lied about searching the house before the police arrived &ndas
LIES OF HOPE Ep5
I really did have research to do. In examining the governor’s history, I realized he would have gotten away with his crimes if it hadn’t been for a man named Bronson Elroy. Elroy, strangely enough, was the current favorite in the upcoming election for lieutenant governor. Fourteen years ago, he had been working for Virginia Aeronautics, one of the companies with whom the governor had been making illegal deals. He had discovered the corruption and gone to the authorities. Thus, the whole web of lies was swept out from the corners and into the light. He was hailed as a hero and had parlayed his brief time in the spotlight into a political career of his own.I wanted to spend some time studying both the company and Elroy’s life in the years immediately following his departure before I paid him a visit. Sick of staring at my own four walls, I decided to spend some time at the park, where I was always able to “borrow” someone’s Wi-F
LIES OF HOPE Ep6
Hey,” Dillon said, twisting his body so that he could look out the back glass, “I think that was her.”“Shit!” Jason slammed on the brakes, throwing his partner against the seat and filling their noses with the smell of burning rubber.“Jesus, Jase!”Ignoring Dillon’s outcry, Jason wrenched the wheel to the right, forcing the large vehicle into a one-eighty in the narrow street. He flicked the switch to activate the sirens and jammed his foot on the gas pedal.“What the hell is wrong with you?” Dillon demanded, gripping the dash as they bounced over a large pothole. “She’s a journalist, not a serial killer!”“Are you sure about that?” Jason asked as they shot after the disappearing Taurus.“C’mon. You don’t really believe she had anything to do with . . .,” he had to stop momen
LIES OF HOPE Ep7
Jason stopped in front of the glass door proclaiming the building to be the “Office of the Chief Medical Examiner”. He always needed a moment to prepare before entering this house of the dead. He thought about Jessie and how she had hesitated just a moment before walking past the parlor where her murdered father lay. Had she needed to prepare herself to face death in general, just as he did now, or had it been something more? Had she been preparing herself to face the lifeless shell of the man who had given her life?Dillon reached around him and pushed open the door, apparently not as affected by what went on behind it. Grimacing, Jason stepped inside. The smells hit him immediately – formalin, bleach, antiseptic – smells he associated with death.“You coming?” Dillon called over his shoulder.“Yeah, I’m coming,” he said, following his partner down the long empty hallway. Thankfu
LIES OF HOPE Ep8
Once I was in my apartment, curled up on my old but comfy sofa, I began to work in earnest. However, my internet search netted me only a brief company history, a list of famous clients (the governor wasn’t among them), and booking information for the band “Bowlers and Pins”. So, if I wanted to speak with Mr. Estes – and I did – I had four options: send an e-mail to a generic account and hope someone would hook me up with Estes; spend tomorrow driving over to Norfolk and coerce a meeting with the man; forget the whole thing and hire Bowlers and Pins for a “screw it” party; or call Gail and ask her to finesse a number from the World Wide Web.As tempting as the party sounded, I was going to have to beg another favor. I was really racking up those favors, and the corresponding payback. That was the thing about asking for help – no one did anything for free, and said help always ended up costing far more than it was wor
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LIES OF HOPE Epilogue
One year later . . .“I look ridiculous,” I said as I stared at my reflection in the full-length mirror. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”“Hush up!” Gail commanded as she fussed with the silky white fabric that flowed like a waterfall over my hips and down my legs in a shimmering cascade. “I didn’t talk you into anything. You look beautiful, and you know it.”I did look beautiful, thanks to my trio of fairy godmothers – Gail, Agnes, and Tess – who had devoted the entire morning to my hair and make-up. I stared at my reflection; I didn’t look anything like myself. My normally stick-straight hair fell about my shoulders in glorious, shiny ringlets, and framed a face that belonged to me, but boasted eyes that appeared huge, luminescent, and more gold than brown. My cheeks were faintly pink, as were my lips.The dress was magnificent. Beautiful c
LIES OF HOPE Ep21
My head was pounding as I swam through the soup of sleep and dreams and into consciousness. The night had been long, and I had spent most of it either crying or shouting into my pillow. God, how I wanted this nightmare to be over! I forced myself to struggle to a sitting position, and it was only then that I realized my head wasn’t the only thing that was pounding. Someone was knocking on my door. Crap! I really wanted to wallow in self-pity right now. I didn’t have the time or the inclination to deal with whoever was out there.I flopped back down onto my bed and burrowed under the covers. The knocking stopped, thank heaven, but then my phone started buzzing. Damn, but someone was persistent! I groped on my side table, swearing as I knocked both the cell and the lamp onto the floor. I scrambled out of bed and snatched up the phone, hitting the answer button without bothering to check to see who was calling.“What?” I barked
LIES OF HOPE Ep20
Jason felt his skin crawl, looking at this horrid creature with stringy blond hair and Jessie’s hazel eyes.“So, if you wanted to hang on to Welling, why did you do it? Why the faked death? Why come back and kill so many people?”Gloria gave an inelegant grunt. “Adam was going down hard and I wasn’t going to go down with him. Who was going to associate with the wife of someone like him? I had to reinvent myself. I got a new face, a new name, courtesy of a few Swiss bank accounts he knew nothing about.Voila! A whole new me.”“But you didn’t change everything, did you?” Jason asked, his eyes raking over her golden pantsuit. Your signature color suits you. Bet you didn’t know you left a little of it behind with the governor’s body.”“The ME declared you legally dead,” I said. “He had proof that you died in that fire.”
LIES OF HOPE Ep19
Everything disappeared: The house, the cops outside, her nerves. All that existed were Jason and the delicious icy fire racing through my blood. He pulled back, leaving me panting and feeling quite bereft. I raised my arms and almost wrapped them around his neck, wanting to be closer to him, wanting even more. But then I remembered my heartache and let them fall. That would only lead to more pain.“I’m sorry,” he rasped, still catching his breath. “I’m sorry.”“Don’t worry about it,” I managed to whisper and turned away so he wouldn’t be able to read the doubt on my face. How was I going to stand this? How could I spend three hours teetering on the very edge of insanity? It would take so little to push me right over. I had to find a way to keep my mind busy.“Tell me about your family,” I said, not really sure why I was asking, but knowing anything was better tha
LIES OF HOPE Ep18
I was nervous, anxious to have the whole thing over and done with. I wanted to look my father’s killer in the eye. And I was ready to cut Jason Anders out of my life once and for all. After tonight, we could go our separate ways.I’m not sure why I was so angry, he had just proven to me what I had known all along. You can’t trust anyone but yourself. But I had trusted him. I had let down my walls enough to give him a peek inside. I had thought he was the one who would have my back. My mistake had been disastrous and humiliating, but I had learned my lesson.I stuffed my hurt deep down and looked at my watch, a scratched Timex that I had been meaning to replace for over a year, but had never gotten around to doing. It was only one o’clock. The day was crawling along at a maddening pace.I heard the thunk of my front door, accompanied by the clomp of heavy, booted feet. My back stiffened. Jason had returned, car
LIES OF HOPE Ep17
I snuggled my backside against warm, hard male and sighed in contentment. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so sated, both physically and emotionally. Emotion had never been a part of my love life. It was nice. I was surprised to discover I liked it. I wanted more. I didn’t know much about Jason, really. I knew he was handsome, smart, exasperating, and very sexy. I knew he was a hero from Louisiana who had a young daughter. I didn’t know his favorite food or what his mama called him. I wanted to know those things, which shocked me. Did I also want him to know all of my secrets? It shocked me even more to realize I did. After so many years of avoiding intimacy like a root canal, I now found myself craving it.What did I most want to know about this complicated man? His little girl. The answer came easily. I wanted to know about the most important thing in his life. A sharp stab of guilt pierced my heart. How could I want to make this little girl i
LIES OF HOPE Ep17
I snuggled my backside against warm, hard male and sighed in contentment. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so sated, both physically and emotionally. Emotion had never been a part of my love life. It was nice. I was surprised to discover I liked it. I wanted more. I didn’t know much about Jason, really. I knew he was handsome, smart, exasperating, and very sexy. I knew he was a hero from Louisiana who had a young daughter. I didn’t know his favorite food or what his mama called him. I wanted to know those things, which shocked me. Did I also want him to know all of my secrets? It shocked me even more to realize I did. After so many years of avoiding intimacy like a root canal, I now found myself craving it.What did I most want to know about this complicated man? His little girl. The answer came easily. I wanted to know about the most important thing in his life. A sharp stab of guilt pierced my heart. How could I want to make this little girl i
LIES OF HOPE Ep16
“Okay,” he said. “So, let’s hear your plan.”Shit! “I don’t have a plan, exactly,” I said. “It’s more of an outline.”“I’m shocked,” he deadpanned.“Look, smartass, we have too many villains and no way of knowing which one committed which crime. We do know that one of them wants me dead.” Jason flinched when I said this, but didn’t interrupt. “If we figure out a way to make him or her think they’ve got an easy shot at me, we’ll have ’em.”“And how do you propose we do that, seeing as how we don’t know who they are?”That was a good question, and I didn’t have an answer – at least not a good one. I did have an idea, but it was mediocre at best.“We make sure all of them know that I’m breaking into Cara’s house to
LIES OF HOPE Ep15
What?” he asked, confused by the quick change in tone and subject.“My head is too muddled right now to deal with more than one thing at a time,” I answered. “So, let’s get to work on solving my father’s murder. All cards on the table.”“Fine,” he said, heaving a sigh and sinking back into the hard hospital chair. “So talk.”“Uh-uh. I’ve already shared a couple of things. Now it’s your turn.”“I don’t think . . .”“All cards on the table,” I repeated. “I give you my word nothing will appear in print without your permission.”He raised one of his expressive brows.“Do you want a blood oath, or what?”A smile lit his beautiful face. “I don’t think we need to do anything that drastic. Besides, I hate the sight
