Her
Final Watch
A
Detective Blanchett Mystery Book 2
by
Marguerite Ashton
Genre:
Mystery, Thriller
Speaking
second-hand truths can be deadly …
Detective
Lily Blanchette will stop at nothing to solve a murder. Her current
case involves the killing of an undercover cop working to bring down
the mob for prostitution and drugs.
But
Lily's usual laser-like focus on the case has been disrupted.
Two
weeks earlier, she learned she was pregnant by her murderous husband
whom she'd killed in self-defense. Unsure whether to keep her baby or
place the child of this cruel man up for adoption, Lily keeps the
pregnancy a secret from her colleagues.
Under
mounting pressure to solve the case, Lily arranges a sit-down with a
local mob boss only to find out her suspect is also wanted by them.
But before Lily can warn her team, she and her new partner, Jeremiah,
are shot at, and another body is found.
When
she discovers Jeremiah has a connection with the underworld, she is
pulled into a conflict that swirls around the boss's son who's
hell-bent on revenge.
To
add to the complexity of the situation, Lily learns that her victim
might still be alive if it wasn't for opportunistic Assistant
District Attorney, Ibee Walters, who has a twisted vision of
justice.
As
Lily gets closer to finding the killer, she unravels ugly secrets
that point to Ibee and Jeremiah - placing Lily's life and her unborn
child in danger.
**On
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Chapter 1
December 10, 2015 4:13 p.m.
Detective Ariel
Weeks stabbed at the small block of ice until it split into several pieces across
the counter. She tossed the jagged cubes into the glass and made her client a drink.
In less than twenty-four hours, Ariel would
no longer have to use the name Jasmine and keep men company to protect her cover.
All she needed to do was make it through this last night, and she’d be allowed to
be who she was; a mom just doing her job.
After gathering evidence and recording
all the data she had, it would be hard to detach. Towards the end, she’d learned
things she’d wished weren’t true, leaving her stomach in tattered knots.
Back at home, there were two reasons Ariel
would never take on another undercover assignment.
Click.
Ariel ground her teeth as the door to Cabin
D opened and closed. She could feel Mikey Surace, the mob boss’s son, staring at
the backless white dress she wore at his request.
The man who smiled at the sight of blood
was standing behind her, breathing heavily.
She turned and handed Mikey his drink.
“Your gin and grapefruit.”
Mikey took the drink and pulled Ariel down
on the bed next to him. His hand, smooth like velvet, traced over her dark brown
skin, along the length of her arm and rested on her thigh. “I had a shitty day.”
He loosened his tie, removed his gun and put it on the ottoman.
Ariel stole a glance at the weapon, thinking
of ways to grab it before he did. Just in case. “Wanna talk about it?”
“I had my talk with Pop. He wants me to
get married and have kids so I can take over as head of the family soon. He wants
our family to be seen as more law-abiding than the other three families.”
“Nowadays, no one gets married to have
a family. Would he accept a long engagement?”
“No way. My old man still believes in marrying
now, ask questions later.” Mikey took a sip of his drink and sat it down on the
nightstand table. “My father asked my mother to marry him on her seventeenth birthday.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a woman who’ll accept
you for who you are, who won’t care about the lifestyle you lead, and who knows
when not to ask questions about your business.”
“You always say the right things. Why won’t
you let me take care of you?” he asked, planting a kiss on Ariel’s full lips. “This
is my third time asking you to be with me.”
Ariel wanted to wipe off the lingering
citrus taste from her mouth but didn’t out of fear. She had already been spotted
by one of Surace’s men and couldn’t believe that she was still alive. Probably because
Ariel, at any moment, could tell the boss things that the other person was doing,
clearing herself from any suspicion and allowing her to keep her cover. Even that
wasn’t a guarantee.
Drops of rain peppered the window facing
out at the bare branches of a willow tree. Wind hissed against the cabin.
Ariel stared into Mikey’s almond-shaped
eyes. The olive tint of his skin masked his fiery temper. Things were getting heavy
and out of control for a first time U.C. like herself.
She undid the strap on her stilettos and
let them drop to the floor. “Because your ex-girlfriend is in charge of my money
and I need every penny. I wanna make my money and maybe one day get out. It’s a
dream of mine to stop escorting and waiting tables at the club.”
“If you get with me, you won’t need money.”
Mikey cupped Ariel’s chin and squeezed. “Why do you keep turning me down?”
“I’m not turning you down.” She pulled
out of his grip and rubbed her chin. “I don’t want to ruin my friendship with your
ex. She’s my bestie and the only one I can trust in this business.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“You’re a dangerous man.”
“I’m only dangerous to those who cross
me.”
Ariel wanted to ask Mikey if he’d kill
her but decided against it. It was best to redirect the conversation and talk about
what he enjoyed the most. Him. “What’s it like to kill someone?”
Mikey pulled Ariel back on the bed and
laid on top of her. “When I put my finger on the trigger, it’s like foreplay. With
each pull of the trigger, that’s the build-up. Once my target is dead, I’m satisfied.
For me, it’s a lot like sex.”
“Has anyone told you you’re crazy?”
“Yeah. They never lived to say it again.”
It’s been a few months since the death of Detective Lily
Blanchette’s father and husband. Lily’s husband died at her own hands in self-defense.
Lily has discovered that she is pregnant with her late husband’s baby and is
undecided if she is going to keep it or put it up for adoption.
After spending time in the hospital from her husband trying
to kill her Lily has new case. She has just pulled a couple of bodies out of
the lake that have connections with the mob. The girl worked at a bar that is
owned by the mob.
Lily has new partner, Jeremiah and he is hiding something.
Lily knows this but can’t get him to talk. What is Jeremiah hiding? When Lily
and Jeremiah are shot at she is determined that she is going to find out what
he is not telling her. Lily is very good cop and usually gets her man. She
learned it from the best Detective Colin Blanchette her father.
Lily and her ex-fiancé are now on the road to patching up
their relationship after the death of her husband. Lily and Evan never stopped
loving each other. Lily only married her husband on the rebound.
Lily’s mother, Deena is stilling hiding secrets from her as
well but one thing her mother is learning it that Lily is just as good a
detective as her father. You can try to keep secrets from her but not for long.
Who is killing all these people? Will Lily keep her baby?
What secrets is her mother keeping now? What is Jeremiah hiding? To find the answers
to all these questions pick up your copy of Her Final Watch now.
Her Final Watch is filled with so much mystery that it will
keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what is going to happen next.
It will have your emotions going up and down. When I was reading Her Final
Watch I kept trying to figure out who killed those people. I would think I had
it all figured out but then I would turn the next page and I would be like well
I guess not. It kept me guessing the whole way through. I would very much like
to read more about Detective Lily Blanchette’s Mysteries.
I would like to recommend Her Final Watch to anyone who
loves a good mystery, suspenseful or thriller books. Find out more about Lily
and her team pick up a copy of Promised Lies the first book in the Detective
Blanchette Mystery novels.
Promised
Lies
A
Detective Blanchett Mystery Book 1
Detective
Lily Blanchette has a lot on her plate…
Her
sister Celine has recently been murdered and her parents are on the
brink of divorce. Now she’s lead on a multiple murder
investigation.
Six
months after Lily’s sister’s death, the bodies of two young women
are discovered. One look at the way the bodies have been posed and
Lily knows her sister’s killer is back.
And
she’s determined to get him.
When
Lily visits the family of victim Tanya O’Neal, she learns the woman
had arranged to meet a man going by the handle CtryGeek23 on the
social networking site Scatter.
Lily
thinks finding the man behind the account is key to solving the
case.
But
CtryGeek23 is very clever, and Lily has her work cut out for her. As
she digs around, clues point her to a local brewery where she
discovers the body of another young woman.
The
more Lily digs, the more she thinks there is more than one murderer
at work, and CtryGeek23 is the mastermind.
But
who is he?
And
how will they catch him?
As
the investigation comes to life, death hits closer to home, and Lily
discovers she may not be who she thinks she is at all.
Filled
with plot turns, suspense and mystery, Promised Lies will leave you
wondering how well anybody knows anyone…
**On
sale for .99 cents!**
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Lily leaned on the steering wheel and
squinted at the tall figure in her headlights. She eased her foot off the gas pedal
and watched as the figure dragged something off the road. “Did you see that?”
“It could’ve been road kill,” Morgan said.
Lily slowed down. She pulled the truck
off to the side where she peered at an object lying on the pavement. “It’s a cellphone.”
Throwing the gear into park, she hopped out.
“Wait a second. Let me call it in.”
Lily squatted down next to the cellphone.
Morgan came up next to her. “They’re sending
out a car.”
Lily put her hand up. “Backlight’s going
out. Phone was just used.” She stood and scanned the cornfield. “Someone’s out there
and most likely in trouble.”
Lily’s heart raced as she ran back to
her truck, collecting her gun and badge from underneath the seat. She placed her
gun in her hip holster and clipped her badge on the opposite side onto her belt.
“That wasn’t an animal.”
“You’re not going out there,” Morgan said.
Lily grabbed the flashlight from the side
pocket on the door and sprinted over to spot where the figure had disappeared.
She turned on the flashlight and drew
a circle using the light rays near her feet. “It looks like drag marks.”
“Back-up is coming. It’s dark. No way
we’re going hunting in some damn cornfield.”
Lily sighed. Morgan was right, but whoever
had been hauled off was in trouble and running out of time.
A piercing scream erupted in the distance.
Lily took off toward the sound, using her flashlight and the dull glow from the
city lights to guide her.
In a matter of seconds, her feet pounded
the soft soil leading away from the safety of her truck.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw
her partner running parallel with her, but staying closer to the road.
On the other side of the fence row, footsteps
matched hers in beat as they trampled the pile of fallen leaves scattered among
the field. Lily picked up her pace, running hard and fast, tussling with buck thorn
branches as they swatted her face and throat.
Strings of hanging barb wire nipped at
her clothes as she dodged several leaning fence posts. The chilling wind penetrated
her torn clothing and lapped at the slits in the fabric on her thigh and calf.
A few seconds later, a prickly burn in
her leg forced Lily to stop. It felt like thin shards of glass sliced into her raw
flesh, imbedding themselves into the jagged gashes. She hiked up her pants leg and
shined the light on the wounds. Those
damn branches.
Lily’s chest heaved with exertion as disappointment
overwhelmed her. The footsteps tapered off into the darkness. He was
getting away. She fell to her knees and clutched her injured leg in agony.
Lily glanced over at the road. It was
silent. And she was alone. Where did Morgan go? The terror that lay beneath her
bold judgment to rescue someone had surfaced.
Then, several yards away, Lily saw an
outline walking towards her. Instinctively, she reached back, gripping her nine
millimeter, giving her the reassurance she still had control. “Stop! Police!”
The outline continued toward her.
Lily unfastened the holster and the person
stopped, sheltered by the trees. She could tell by the masculine build it wasn’t
Morgan.
“Get down on the ground and put your hands
behind your head,” Lily demanded.
“Lily?” Morgan shouted, coming up from
the rear.
Relieved to hear the voice of her best
friend, Lily exhaled, but kept her eyes front, ready to pull her firearm and shoot
if he dared to make one move in her direction.
As Morgan approached, the unidentified
man turned and fled in the other direction.
“Are you all right?” Morgan offered her
hand.
“Terrified.”
As Lily and Morgan made their way out
to the road, they heard movement near the fence. Lily stopped, aimed her light and
followed the beams over a pile of clothing, then upon a woman’s face.
The victim moaned and threw up her arm
to shield her eyes from the light.
Morgan jogged over to the young lady
and stooped next to her to ask a few questions.
Exhausted, Lily limped to a grassy patch
and sat down. She could still see Morgan. For the moment, that was all that mattered.
Lily looked at the stretch of road she’d
traveled on several occasions; one of those occasions jabbed at her memory like
nails being pounded into hard recycled wood.
Celine’s funeral.
A snapping sound brought Lily out of her
thoughts. She looked toward the hazard lights flashing on her truck and saw a yellow
strip flapping in the wind a few feet away from her.
She rose, took a couple more steps, and squinted at the bold black lettering printed on the tape, which
kickstarted her heart.
County Road K.
She was near the crime scene.
The bodies of two young women have been discovered and
Detective Lily Blanchette knows that her sister’s killer is back in action with
just one look at the bodies. Lily is a very determined lady who will stop at
nothing to find the killer and put him or her behind bars.
Lilly has just discovered that her mom and dad’s marriage is
on the rocks and that her mother has been seen around town spending time with a
man that is not her father. Is her mother having an affair? What is Deena up to
now? Why is her mother spending time with the police department’s psychiatrist?
When tragedy strikes again and nearly rips Lily’s heart out
with someone very close to her dies she realizes that the man she married may
not be the person she thought he was.
One connection between all the young women who were murder
is that they probably met their killer online. Lilly gets a lead that all the
women had talked to the same person CtryGreek23. Who is CtryGreek23? And is he
their killer?
Promised Lies is filled with lots of twist and turns that
will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what is going to happen
next. But let me warn you, you may need to box of tissue at times. Promised
Lies will also tug on the ole’ heart strings.
If you love a good suspenseful murder mystery then you are
going to love Promised Lies.
When
Marguerite Ashton was in her twenties, she took up acting but
realized she preferred to work behind the camera, writing crime
fiction. A few years later, she married an IT Geek and settled down
with her role as wife, mom, and writer. Five kids later, she founded
the Crime Writer’s Panel and began working with former law
enforcement investigators to create; Criminal Lines Blog, an online
library for crime writers who need help with their book
research.
She’s
a workaholic who hides in her writer’s attic, plotting out her next
book and stalking Pinterest for the next avocado recipe.
A
member of Sisters in Crime, Marguerite grew up in Colorado, but is
now happily living in Wisconsin and playing as much golf as possible.
She can be found on Twitter and Facebook.
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1 comments:
Thank you, Nancy, for hosting me on your blog!
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