Shallow Grave-J Collins 3
Read Shallow Grave-J Collins 3 Online
Authors: Lori G. Armstrong
Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Mystery & Detective, #Women Sleuths, #Suspense, #Brothers and sisters, #Women private investigators
| Shallow Grave-J Collins 3 | |
| J Collins 3 [3] | |
| Lori G. Armstrong | |
| Medallion Press, Inc. (2007) | |
| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Tags: | Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, Suspense, Brothers and sisters, Women private investigators |
"Lori G. Armstrong lives up to the last syllable of her surname with this superb whodunit." —Harriet Klaussner, Gotta Write Network
"Complex characters, snappy dialogue and interesting plots. The author also ties up a whodunit with a surprising twist. This one's a winner." —Barb Anderson
Surveillance on an insurance fraud case in Bear Butte County unfolds tragically for PI Julie Collins when the reappearance of a mysterious hole—the cause of a fatal accident—brings about the landowner’s unsettling confession. Bones were recently uncovered on the remote ridge but, fearing repercussions from their illegal off-season hunting, the hunters reburied the remains and kept quiet. Now the hole is back, but the bones have vanished. Julie is left to wonder
Were the bones part of an ancient Indian burial ground or perhaps connected to the unsolved disappearance of a Native American woman?
The overworked, understaffed sheriff asks for Julie’s help, but the case opens old wounds and she soon finds herself at odds with the Native American community. On the wrong side of tribal politics, family disputes, and employee rivalries, Julie continues to dig for answers, while the personal stakes climb ever higher.
Medallion Press, Inc.
Printed in USA
Previous accolades for Lori G. Armstrong:
“. . . a fascinating tale of intrigue that will sweep you into a world of horror and suspense.”
–NY Times Best selling author, Clive Cussler
5 BLUE RIBBONS!
“Lori Armstrong has done it again! HALLOWED
GROUND is the sequel to BLOOD TIES released in 2005
from Medallion Press, and takes up right where BLOOD
TIES left off . Th
e furious pace and twists and turns will
keep you glued to your seat long after you should be in bed, and the hot, hot, hot love scenes will make sure you enjoy your stay. Julie is a complicated, intense character who will have you rooting for her from the start, even as your heart bleeds for her past. Tony isn’t your typical bad boy, he has layers that add complexity to his character. And you’ll love him more as every layer is revealed. I loved BLOOD TIES
enormously, and HALLOWED GROUND is just as intense and exciting. Make sure you have a day to spend when you open this book, because once you start it, you won’t want to put it down. I know I didn’t.”
–Cat Cody, Romance Junkies Reviewer
“If you’re looking for one of those heroines who refrains from any and all vices and who shrieks at the sound of gunfi re, you may want to pass on this one. But if you prefer your heroine to be a little on the dark side, especially one who likes to smoke, drink, engage in the occasional sexcapade, and knows how to kick some ass with little fear, this highly engaging and fearless PI fi ts the bill. Armstrong has created in Julie one of the more captivating and emotionally charged female characters to come along in awhile, with her simmer-ing attraction to the wild and disreputable Martinez being especially of note. Th
ere’s plenty of suspense here, as well, to
challenge and interest, with the whole package being one glorious adventure, leaving us eagerly anticipating what’s next for this uniquely drawn crew of misfi ts and miscreants.”
–Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader
4 1/2 STARS!
“Hard-drinking, chain-smoking P.I. Julie Collins has a fascinating, multidimensional personality, as do all the characters in this story. Armstrong’s writing continues to be fresh and exciting in the second book of this series.”
–RT BookClub
“Lori Armstrong provides a fabulous mystery starring an intriguing protagonist with a climax that will stun the audience.”
–Midwest Book Review
“Hard as nails, a barroom brawler – and a chick! Lori Armstrong’s creation is born of the Black Hills. Tough, sensitive and smart, Julie Collins is a welcome addition to the private eye genre. In BLOOD TIES she breaks all the rules.”
–Stephanie Kane, Author of SEEDS OF DOUBT.
“BLOOD TIES by Lori G. Armstrong is a thrilling roller of a mystery that taunts you to try and solve the riddle. Th e
suspense was superb, keeping you glued to the page. Your subconscious urging you to read just one more page, get one more piece of the puzzle.”
–In Th
e Library Reviews
Published 2007 by Medallion Press, Inc.
Th
e MEDALLION PRESS LOGO
is a registered tradmark of Medallion Press, Inc.
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment from this “stripped book.”
Copyright © 2007 by Lori G. Armstrong
Cover Illustration by Adam Mock
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fi ctionally. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro
Printed in the United States of America
10-digit ISBN: 1-9338361-8-0
13-digit ISBN: 978-1-933836-18-8
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
A round of high fi ves to Helen and Adam at Medallion Press for everything, from kick-ass artwork to their kick-ass support of this book.
Pilamaya ye
(thank you) to my
kola
(friend) Craig Howe—for helping me with the snippets of Lakota language, and for not laughing at my mispronunciations or misspellings—any errors in translation are solely mine.
Huge thanks to Dr. Doug Lyle for sharing his vast knowledge on the density of bones.
My critique partner, Mary LaHood, thanks for sticking with me all these years on this journey, and for keeping me (and Julie) heading in the right direction.
To my fabulous kiddos—Lauren, Haley, Tessa—
you guys are my life. Special thanks to my husband Erin for willingly subjecting himself to all sorts of
“research” ideas I come up with.
My First Off enders blog partners and good friends, Alison Gaylin, Karen Olson and Jeff Shelby, my life is so much better for having you all in it.
A special thanks to every person who has contacted me online or connected with me in person and told me how much they love the books. I appreciate the support more than you’ll ever know.
Table of Contents
My ass was asleep.
My thighs were as hard and cold as Popsicles.
My nose and Rudolph’s? Too close a resemblance for my taste.
And I was so damn hungry I could gnaw off my own arm.
Oh, yeah. Th
e glamorous world of private investigators.
I bounced my feet on the fl oorboards. A hundred hot needles jabbed my fl esh, but didn’t drive the numb-ness from my butt.
“You need a bathroom break?” Kevin asked snidely, without moving the binoculars trained on the ramshackle farmhouse.
“No.” My breath puff ed out in a little white cloud.
Reminded me I hadn’t had a cigarette in hours either.
1
“Th
is sucks. Th
ese seats suck.”
“Quit complaining.”
“Can we at least shut the damn window?”
“Your whining will fog it up in about two seconds.”
“Jerk.”
“Wuss.”
He sighed and rolled it up anyway.
My hero.
Th
ree hours of surveillance hadn’t netted us one shred of evidence on this case. We were both a little cold and a lot cranky.
Kevin and I were parked in the midst of rusty cars and ancient farm equipment, in a cow pasture smack dab in the middle of Bear Butte County.
Technically we shouldn’t be on the owner’s property without permission, to say nothing of inside the fence and a 100 feet from the residence. But unlike law enforcement, as investigators we could toe the line without breaking fi fty procedural laws and it wouldn’t adversely aff ect our client’s case.
I stared out the window. Milky gray clouds cast murky shadows across the grass, fl attened and dead, courtesy of the fi rst frost. With amber and scarlet leaves a distant memory, the stripped branches of cottonwood and elm trees in the distance added depth to the endless horizon.
“You see anything yet?”
2
“Nah. Same old, same old.”
“Let me look.”
“Have at it.” Kevin passed me the binoculars.
I leaned forward and readjusted the focus.
Th
e house was in sad shape; white paint aged to a cheerless yellow, the once red trim faded to pumpkin orange. Windows were coated with a fi lm of dirt. Draperies of an indiscernible color blocked any view of the inside.
On the porch a mangy mutt slept beneath a three-legged resin lawn chair. Several scruff y cats strutted across the bowed porch railings, then dropped out of sight.
Spent oilcans, empty Busch Light bottles, warped 2X4’s and a crumpled blue plastic tarp were scattered on the left side of the sagging foundation. Two black garbage bags sat forgotten by the torn aluminum screen door, ripped from the hinges.
And I thought the houses in my neighborhood were bad. “We know this guy isn’t violating his worker’s comp limitations by cleaning up his damn yard.”
“Th
at’d entail him bending over. Wouldn’t want him to further injure himself and require additional therapy.”
Wow. Th
at was almost snarky, coming from Kevin,
Mr. innocent-until-proven-guilty.
Th
e man we were surveilling, Langston “Lang”
Everett, was out of commission due to a work related injury he’d received at a local sawmill. Nothing as serious 3
as an industrial-sized saw slicing off his thumb, or a limb getting pinched between run-away logs. Lang had injured his back sweeping. With a plain old broom and dustpan while bending over to clean up piles of sawdust.