Baited (10 page)
“Take me home. But first I need to stop someplace and get a pack of cigarettes. I’m dying for a smoke.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a brand new pack of Marlboros and a book of matches. “Got ya covered.”
That nearly set off the waterworks. “God, I love you.”
“I know.” Martinez’ mouth connected with mine in a soft kiss. Then he stared into my eyes. “You’ll talk to me about this when we get home? Or do you want Kevin and Jimmer there, too?”
I had a tendency to close down when shit like this went down. Tony wasn’t going to let that happen again. “Maybe you’d better invite them over.”
“Stay here while I talk to them,” he warned, “and suck down a couple of cigarettes because no matter how much trauma and drama you’ve been through today baby, you’re still not ever smoking in my car.”
Epilogue ~
or rather, the tail end
Cindy Jo lived.
After recovery from her internal injuries, she was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of JC Bettleyoun and Rich Barber. She pled not guilty by reason of insanity.
She lost the trial. Last I heard she’d fired her lawyer.
Currently, Cindy Jo is trading manicures for cigarettes in the state penitentiary while waiting appeal. For once, I hoped the judicial process would take years.
I don’t know what happened to her dogs. Frankly, I don’t care. JC did some reprehensible things, but he hadn’t deserved to be gutted, filleted and used as fish food.
In a strange twist, animal activists flocked to Cindy Jo’s defense. It’s a sad world when a dead pampered pooch warrants more sympathy than two dead men.
Once the Rapid City PD released Rich Barber’s knife, I returned it to his family, along with the three hundred dollar retainer. They made a token protest, but I insisted. I did come away with Rich’s favorite fishing t-shirt, so all was not lost.
Although Rich had inherited the boat, when questions arose about JC’s finances regarding the purchase of said boat, Rich’s family wisely let the county declare it unclaimed property.
And what happened to the red fishing boat that had wreaked havoc on so many lives? Auctioned by the county. The winning bid? Fifteen thousand dollars. Hopefully, the man who’d purchased it discussed with his wife beforehand.
As the star witness and the hotshot female PI responsible for cracking the case, I suggested the proceeds from the auction of the boat be split between the Boy’s and Girl’s Club’s, to be used for anything
except
a “Teach a Kid to Fish” program.
Of course, they didn’t listen to me.
They donated the money to the animal shelter.
Go figure.
Baited–Lori Armstrong–books available on
Barnes & Noble/ Nook
Julie Collins mystery series:
Mercy Gunderson mystery series
:
*free short story
Books written under Lori’s pen name erotic romance author Lorelei James:
About the Author:
Lori Armstrong left the firearms industry in 2000. The first book in her Julie Collins series,
BLOOD TIES
was nominated for a 2005 Shamus Award for Best First Novel.
HALLOWED GROUND
received a 2006 Shamus Award nomination, a Daphne du Maurier nomination, and won the 2007 WILLA Cather Literary Award.
SHALLOW GRAVE
was nominated for a 2008 High Plains Book Award and finalled for the 2008 WILLA Cather Literary Award.
SNOW BLIND
won the 2008 Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original. The first book in the Mercy Gunderson series,
NO MERCY
won the 2010 Shamus Award for Best Hardcover Novel and was a finalist for the WILLA Cather Literary Award.
MERCY KILL
released in Jan. 2011. The free short story,
SILENT MERCY
released in Dec. 2012.
MERCILESS
released in Jan. 2013.
Lori also writes under the pen name
Lorelei James
, and is the
NY Times
and
USA Today
Bestselling author of contemporary erotic romances. Lori lives in western South Dakota.