The Art of Death
Authors: Margarite St. John
THE ART OF DEATH
MARGARITE ST. JOHN
THE ART OF DEATH
published and distributed by
Bauer Communications
Fort Wayne, IN
www.reviveworldmedia.com
Copyright 2013 by Margarite St. John, LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced without the express written consent of the publisher except appropriate use of excerpts for purposes of review. All inquiries should be made to Revive World Media at
[email protected].
ISBN
First Edition
Printed in the United States of America
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places, incidents, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover design by Angie Underwood, BookCoverPro.com.
Coding and page layout by Sara Norwood, norwoodarts.com
Bible quotations (except for King James quotation) from
Zondervan New International Version Study Bible
(Fully Revised), copyright 1985, 1995, 2002, all rights reserved.
The full text of the Doctor Fell rhyme, attributed to the English poet Tom Brown as an impromptu translation of an epigram by Martial, is:
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why -- I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell.
BOOKS BY MARGARITE ST. JOHN
The Florida Murder Mysteries
Face Off
Monuments to Murder
The Fort Wayne Murder Mysteries
Murder for Old Times' Sake
The Girl with a Curl
Hot as a Firecracker
Agenda for Murder
The Art of Death
The Christmas Novel
Postcards from a Tuscan Christmas
Non-Fiction
Finding Mrs. Hyde: Writing Your First Popular Novel
Table of Contents
Part One
Prologue - Riptide - July 4, 1990
Chapter 1 - Derby Day - Saturday, May 4, 2013
Chapter 2 - The Best Revenge - Saturday, May 4, 2013
Chapter 3 - Scaffold - Saturday, May 4, 2013
Chapter 4 - Nose Candy - Saturday, May 4, 2013
Chapter 5 - Taking a Flyer - Saturday, May 4, 2013
Chapter 6 - Ghosts - Saturday, May 4, 2013
Chapter 7 - Tricky Dick - Sunday, May 5, 2013
Chapter 8 - Standoff - Sunday, May 5, 2013
Chapter 9 - Walk-Around - Friday, May 10, 2013
Chapter 10 - Appledorn Exploratorium - Friday, May 10, 2013
Chapter 11 - Les Trésors de Babette - Friday, May 10, 2013
Chapter 12 - How Strange - Friday, May 10, 2013
Chapter 13 - Our Little Secret - Saturday, May 11, 2013
Chapter 14 - Thousand Points of Light - Saturday, May 11, 2013
Chapter 15 - Jane Doe - Saturday, May 11, 2013
Chapter 16 - Shooting at the King - Saturday, May 11, 2013
Chapter 17 - Goddess of Abundance - Saturday, May 11, 2013
Chapter 18 - Secrets - Sunday, May 19, 2013
Part Two
Chapter 21 - Short, Unhappy Life - Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Chapter 22 - Misfortune - Friday, May 31, 2013
Chapter 23 - Few Clues - Friday, May 31, 2013
Chapter 24 - Lipstick - Friday, May 31, 2013
Chapter 25 - Translation - Monday, June 3, 2013
Chapter 26 - Lock the Doors - Saturday, June 8, 2013
Chapter 27 - Nut Bar - Monday, June 10, 2013
Chapter 28 - Volcano - Monday, June 10, 2013
Chapter 29 - Ghost? - Monday, June 10, 2013
Chapter 30 - Mrs. Ruiter - Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Chapter 31 - Three Things - Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Chapter 32 - Pig’s Ear - Friday, June 14, 2013
Chapter 33 - Grace - Friday, June 14, 2013
Chapter 34 - Hungry Pythons - Friday, June 14, 2013
Chapter 35 - Convertibles and Goats - Friday, June 14, 2013
Chapter 36 - Double My Handicap - Friday, June 14, 2013
Chapter 37 - Zombie - Saturday, June 15, 2013
Chapter 38 - A Spy - Saturday, June 15, 2013
Chapter 39 - Death in Absentia - Monday, June 17, 2013
Chapter 40 - Much Too Easy - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Chapter 41 - The Work of the Wicked - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Chapter 42 - Tuscan Alley - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Chapter 43 - Two Legs or Four? - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Chapter 44 - The Drive South - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Chapter 45 - Birthday Gift - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Part Three
Chapter 48 - Tormented Imagination - Thursday, June 20, 2013
Chapter 49 - Did He Have Enemies? - Thursday, June 20, 2013
Chapter 50 - Burn Pit - Thursday, June 20, 2013
Chapter 51 - Too Cruel - Thursday, June 20, 2013
Chapter 52 - Chador - Friday, June 21, 2013
Chapter 53 - Bones - Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Chapter 54 - Missing Piece - Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Chapter 55 - Passages Malibu - Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Chapter 56 - Hiding Places - Monday, July 8, 2013
Chapter 57 - Roller Coaster - Monday, July 8, 2013
Chapter 58 - Safari - Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Chapter 59 - Seduction - Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Chapter 60 - While the Iron Is Hot - Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Chapter 61 - Wacko Bird - Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Chapter 62 - Cold and Remote - Thursday, July 11, 2013
Chapter 63 - Don’t Be Shy - Thursday, July 11, 2013
Chapter 64 - Star Wars Bar - Thursday, July 11, 2013
Chapter 65 - Set Up - Thursday, July 11, 2013
Chapter 66 - Dead Ringer - Thursday, July 11, 2013
Chapter 67 - Panic - Thursday, June 11, 2013
Chapter 68 - Reunion - Thursday, July 11, 2013
Chapter 69 - Shotgun - Thursday, July 11, 2013
Chapter 70 - Tantrum - Thursday, July 11, 2013
Cast of Characters
*
Madeleine “Mattie” Appledorn Belden Wright Harrod
, a forensic artist, the owner of Appledorn Exploratorium, a scientific toy company, and an oil painter; Steve Wright’s ex-wife
*
Chester Appledorn
, Madeleine’s’s father
*
Dorothy Appledorn
, Madeleine’s mother
*
Tricky Dick, Maisie, and Joe
, the Appledorns’ pet animals
*
Sterling Steven “Steve” Wright
, Madeleine’s second husband, a Fort Wayne developer, owner of the Gretna Green Golf and Tennis Club
*
Alexandra “Lexie” Royce Wright
, Steve’s second wife
*
Lacey
, Steve and Lexie’s daughter
*
Sadie Blosser
, the Wrights’ nanny
*
Todd Fingerhutt
, the Wrights’ steward
*
Phyllis Whitlow Fingerhutt
, the Wrights’ housekeeper and cook
*
Henry
, the Wrights’ German Shepherd
*
Dan Belden
, Madeleine’s first husband
*
Ned Harrod
, Madeleine’s third husband
*
Kimberly Swartz
, Madeleine’s best friend from childhood, an esthetician at Spa-La-La
*
Nicole Whitehead
, Madeleine’s childhood friend
*
Amber Wilkins
, Kimmie’s friend from Spa-La-La
*
Dennis
, the bartender at Baker Street in whom Kimmie confides
*
Dieter and Shelley
, two of Madeleine’s employees at the toy company
*
Dr. Anthony Beltrami
, Madeleine’s psychiatrist
*
Babette Fouré
, the owner of the Indianapolis art gallery selling Madeleine’s paintings
*
Arnaud Valois
, Babette’s gallery assistant
*
Haru
, Babette’s technical assistant
*
Dr. Beatrice Eagleton
, art critic
*
Bettina Lazare
, a literary agent in New York City
*
Brie Dumas
, an actress who befriends Madeleine
*
Dougie Trubrook
, the Appledorns’ caretaker
*
Archie Trubrook
, Dougie’s father
*
Ashley and Jeremy Massart
, Madeleine’s rural neighbors
*
Nettie Steenhardt
, the Appledorns’ neighbor and Chester’s caretaker
*
Lieutenant David “Dave” Powers
, a Fort Wayne police detective and Steve’s old friend
*
Sheila Powers
, Dave’s wife, president of Summit Academy
*
Chief Warrant Officer Burgo Powers
, Dave’s father
*
Captain Schmoll
, Dave’s superior officer
*
Lieutenant Ken Robins
, Indianapolis homicide detective
*
Andrea Waters
, Coroner’s assistant
*
Walter Richardson
, ex-CIA investigator, Dave Powers’ unofficial mentor
*
Debra Richardson
, Walter’s wife
*
Mrs. Alice Ruiter
, a witness at the cemetery
*
Titus Wilton
,
a carpenter friend of the Appledorns’
*
Pedro “Gomba” Escobar
, drug courier
*
Trent Senser
, Lexie’s stylist
*
Cricket Grinderman Senser
, Trent’s wife and Lucy Bott’s employee
*
Kate Deel,
Lexie’s junior assistant
*
Bridget Deel
, Kate’s younger sister
*
Dover Pitt
, Steve’s golf pro at Gretna Green Golf and Tennis Club
*
Jean Pitt
, Lexie’s executive assistant
*
Ed Singer
, an Indianapolis pediatrician and old friend of the Wrights’
*
Jessica Singer
, the designer who decorated Steve and Lexie’s house
Part One
I saw the angel in the marble
and carved until I set him free.
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, 1475 - 1564
So God created man in his own image...
Genesis 1:27