They fell into a routine easily enough. They started therapy, they shared the duties when it came to cooking meals, they went for walks in the cold, and they did indeed talk about the loved ones they had lost. When they were comfortable enough with their living arrangement, they “re-plugged” (a term Rose used to gear enthusiasm) and started watching TV together. It eerily was like she had a roommate. But every now and then they’d come to a tough topic in conversation or one of them would have a bad dream and they’d end up uncovering the mother-daughter relationship they had kept buried for so long.
Avery was thinking about this turn in their relationship on one of her runs around Walden Pond. It was the only time of the day she allowed herself to be alone. Sometimes her mind would wander toward work, but that was okay. She did miss it, but not with the same urgency as she had months before. She and Rose had been living together for six weeks now and Rose still held sway over work. Even though Rose had told her that it was okay for her to go back to work, Avery hesitated. She had to make sure she was fully prepared, fully invested.
The Barry Kechner case had caused quite a few nightmares and she still wondered if there might have been some way to keep Kellaway from nearly plummeting into the Mystic River—or even if there might have been some way to prevent putting a bullet between Kechner’s eyes.
She saw him falling down into the river at least three times a day. That was an improvement, though; in the first week after the incident on the bridge, she’d replayed that moment at least a hundred times a day.
It was Kechner’s falling body that was on her mind as she wrapped up her run. Her cabin came into view, her signal to slow her pace to a mild sprint. She dimly thought of Kellaway, thinking of calling her up to ask her if she’d like to come over for dinner with her and Rose one night. Maybe they could get to know one another better outside of work and—
Avery stopped as she reached her porch steps. There was a piece of paper sticking out from beneath the welcome mat at the front door. She walked up the stairs and approached it cautiously, as if it were one of Stefon Scott’s spiders rather than a sheet of paper.
She plucked it out from beneath the mat and unfolded it. There were a few words written on it, words she read at least ten times before moving again.
what are you afraid of, avery?
-HR
She finally folded the paper up and looked out toward the woods that surrounded her house. The quiet bore down on her as she stood on the porch, breathing hard from her run as a mild panic started to flare within her blood.
The other letters had unnerved her, sure. But this letter was different.
This letter had not been mailed.
This one was hand delivered.
Howard Randall had been to her house.
NOW AVAILABLE!
A TRACE OF DEATH
(A Keri Locke Mystery--Book #1)
“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”
--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)
From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.
Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, remains haunted by the abduction of her own daughter, years before, never found. Still obsessed with finding her, Keri buries her grief the only way she knows how: by throwing herself into the cases of missing persons in Los Angeles.
A routine phone call from a worried mother of a high-schooler, only two hours missing, should be ignored. Yet something about the mother’s voice strikes a chord, and Keri decides to investigate.
What she finds shocks her. The missing daughter—of a prominent senator—was hiding secrets no one knew. When all evidence points to a runaway, Keri is ordered off the case. And yet, despite pressure from her superiors, from the media, despite all trails going cold, the brilliant and obsessed Keri refuses to let it go. She knows she has but 48 hours if she has any chance of bringing this girl back alive.
A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF DEATH marks the debut of a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)
Book #2 in the Keri Locke series is also now available!