Authors: Eric Matheny
Tags: #Murder, #law fiction, #lawyer, #Mystery, #revenge, #troubled past, #Courtroom Drama, #Crime Fiction
The Victim
THE VICTIM
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, places, incidents, and dialogue are the product of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real, or if real, are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, either living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Eric Matheny
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The Victim
Eric Matheny
Seattle | Las Vegas | San Diego | Los Angeles | Spokane
Table of Contents
Part One
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire…
Matthew 13:42
CHAPTER 1
March 16, 2003
Payson, Arizona
He thought he was dead.
Steam hissed from the crumpled front end of the RV that had folded accordion-style against the guardrail. His face stung from the punch of the airbag. His lungs burned from that awful talcum powder that drifted through the cabin as the bag deflated. The chemical dust, suspended in the air, seemed to be frozen in time.
His nose was numb and swollen. He tasted blood trickling down the back of his throat like a cocaine drip. He peered through the cracked windshield, his eyes adjusting to the reddish glow of a desert sunrise. The crushed-in hood had jarred upward. The chassis was off balance. The whole vehicle wobbled as he shifted his weight in his seat.