EDGE OF SUSPENSE: Thrilling Tales of Mystery & Murder

By R. Barri Flowers

EDGE OF SUSPENSE: Thrilling Tales of Mystery & Murder is a collection of mystery, suspense, and thriller short stories from bestselling crime writer R. Barri Flowers. Tales include "Dinner Crashers," where FBI and Secret Service agents try to stop an attempted political assassination; a noir mystery, "The Wrong End of a Gun Barrel," where a beautiful blonde turns out to be more than a man bargained for; "Vandals," where two teenagers find themselves running for their lives after vandalizing a car; "The Ripper's Rage," where a serial killer of prostitutes in 1888 NYC has been captured only to escape; and "The Phone Call," in which a woman must confront her fears when she receives an unlikely phone call; along with five other page-turning mystery shorts.

PRAISE FOR R. BARRI FLOWERS:

"Gripping, tightly woven tale you won't want to put down. Author neatly contrasts natural beauty of tropical paradise with ugliness of murder and aftermath. " -- John Lutz, Edgar winner and bestselling author of Mister X on MURDER IN MAUI

"A police procedural of the highest order, mixing equal parts Sue Grafton and Jeffrey Deaver with a sprinkling of Patricia Cornwell." -- Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong Justice on MURDER IN MAUI

"Flowers once again has written a page-turner legal thriller that begins with a bang and rapidly moves along to its final page. He has filled the novel with believable characters and situations." -- Midwest Book Review on STATE'S EVIDENCE

"A model of crime fiction... Flowers may be a new voice in modern mystery writing, but he is already one of its best voices." -- Statesman Journal on JUSTICE SERVED

"An excellent look at the jurisprudence system...will appeal to fans of John Grisham and Linda Fairstein." -- Harriet Klausner on PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE

"An interesting blend of classic film noir and rough, modern cinema... Quick action and tight dialogue make it a jolting thriller, but it's also got the psychological tightness of a good mystery puzzle." -- Robert A. Sloan, author of Raven Dance on DEAD IN THE ROSE CITY

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. Barri Flowers
• Release date: Dec 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465952530

R. Barri Flowers

R. Barri Flowers is the award winning author of romantic suspense, mystery, thriller and crime fiction with thirteen Harlequin titles published to date. Chemistry and conflict between the hero and heroine, attention to detail, and incorporating the very latest advances in criminal investigations, are the cornerstones of his crime and thriller fiction. He enjoys travelling around the country and abroad to scope out intriguing settings for future storylines, books, and miniseries.

Book preview

EDGE OF SUSPENSE

Thrilling Tales of Mystery & Murder

By R. Barri Flowers

Copyright 2011 by R. Barri Flowers at Smashwords. All rights reserved.

Cover Image Copyright 2011 by Mark Cinotti

Used under license from http://www.shutterstock.com

EDGE OF SUSPENSE: Thrilling Tales of Mystery & Murder is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ALSO BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

NOVELS

State's Evidence (A Beverly Mendoza Legal Thriller)

Persuasive Evidence (A Jordan La Fontaine Legal Thriller)

Justice Served (A Barkley and Parker Mystery)

Murder in Maui (A Leila Kahana Mystery)

Dark Streets of Whitechapel (A Jack the Ripper Mystery)

Dead in the Rose City (A Dean Drake Mystery)

Killer in The Woods (A Psychological Thriller)

Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay (A Young Adult Haunted House Mystery)

Danger in Time (A Young Adult Time Travel Mystery)

TRUE CRIME

The Sex Slave Murders: The True Story of Serial Killers Gerald & Charlene Gallego

Serial Killer Couples: Bonded by Sexual Depravity, Abduction, & Murder

Mass Murder in the Sky: The Bombing of Flight 629 (historical short)

PRAISE FOR R. BARRI FLOWERS

Gripping, tightly woven tale you won't want to put down. Author neatly contrasts natural beauty of tropical paradise with ugliness of murder and aftermath. — John Lutz, Edgar winner and bestselling author of Mister X on MURDER IN MAUI

A police procedural of the highest order, mixing equal parts Sue Grafton and Jeffrey Deaver with a sprinkling of Patricia Cornwell. — Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong Justice on MURDER IN MAUI

Flowers once again has written a page-turner legal thriller that begins with a bang and rapidly moves along to its final page. He has filled the novel with believable characters and situations. — Midwest Book Review on STATE'S EVIDENCE

A model of crime fiction... Flowers may be a new voice in modern mystery writing, but he is already one of its best voices. — Statesman Journal on JUSTICE SERVED

An excellent look at the jurisprudence system...will appeal to fans of John Grisham and Linda Fairstein. — Harriet Klausner on PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE

An interesting blend of classic film noir and rough, modern cinema... Quick action and tight dialogue make it a jolting thriller, but it's also got the psychological tightness of a good mystery puzzle. — Robert A. Sloan, author of Raven Dance on DEAD IN THE ROSE CITY

* * *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

No Going Back

Targeted

Vandals

Gone But Never Forgotten

The Ripper's Rage

The Wrong End of A Gun Barrel

Dinner Crashers

The Phone Call

Death By Trial and Error

The Jury Has Spoken

Killer in the Woods - Bonus Excerpt

Murder in Maui - Bonus Excerpt

Dead in the Rose City - Bonus Excerpt

About the Author

NO GOING BACK

Did he dare touch her? Or would she recoil as she often did lately, treating him like the devil incarnate instead of like a husband who loved and wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anyone.

He hated that some bastard had raped her six months ago and that he couldn't prevent it from happening. He certainly did not blame her for being in the wrong place at the worst possible time. Nor would he turn his back on their marriage and normal relations between a husband and wife. The asshole who did it would not forever deprive them of a healthy sex life like they'd had before the violation.

Yet the rapist had managed to do just that. They hadn't been intimate since the night of the attack. Whenever he tried to initiate something, his attempts were rejected.

But maybe tonight would be different. Maybe, just maybe, she would let him be with her the way a husband should.

Dean contemplated the notion as he lay beside the woman he'd fallen in love with and married ten years ago. The marriage had been everything he could have asked for, and then some. Until the vicious attack had left his wife a shell of her former self. Rarely did he see her smile. Or have a good laugh at one of his bad jokes. Or want to go out by herself. Or watch anything on TV that was violent or over the top sexually.

Karyn used to be the picture of beauty, grace, style, and fitness, but these things no longer seemed to matter to her. It was as if she had turned her back on everything she once held dear. Including him.

He too had been forever changed. He didn't trust men anymore, fearful that a rapist might be hiding beneath their friendly façades and harmless half grins.

He just wanted to protect his wife from further harm. And have her want him the way he wanted her.

Dean sucked in a deep breath. Karyn lay in a fetal position with her back to him, as though he was the enemy. She was covered in a full-length nightgown, as had been the case every night since the attack. He reached out and rested his fingers on her soft neck. He braced himself, expecting her to jump.

There was no reaction, which emboldened him to see how far he could get.

He ran his fingers down to her shoulder, enjoying the touch of her warm skin. He became aroused when he fondled her breast through the nightgown. She stirred a bit and he wondered if tonight might be the night they would become man and wife again.

Barely able to control himself, he gently put his hand between her legs.

Karyn immediately grabbed his hand, tightening her fingers around his like a vise.

Don't, she said.

I need you, he said softly.

I'm not ready yet.

But it's been six months, he complained.

"Exactly—it's only been six months since it happened!"

How much longer do I have to wait till you let me make love to you? Dean asked as his arousal diminished, along with his self-worth.

Karyn released his hand and started to cry. I don't know if I'll ever be ready, she said quietly. I'm sorry...

Dean kissed the top of her head and held her close. Don't be, he said. It's not your fault.

He cried with her, knowing their relationship had pretty much come to a standstill. As long as the bastard who raped Karyn was still out there, nothing would ever change.

That thought occupied Dean's mind until he fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Dean made breakfast, trying his best to appear unaffected by last night. When Karyn came down, the food and coffee were already on the table. She looked at him blankly, but said nothing.

He looked back at her and was also speechless. Her once long hair, which had been cut very short, was disheveled. She had put on an old sweatshirt and baggy jeans, as if to hide her femininity even from him.

She sat in her normal spot and he sat across from her. They both sipped coffee and moved the food around their plates, but ate little. The silence between them remained thick as the maple syrup on their waffles, as though afraid of what might be said.

It was Karyn who spoke first. About last night...

Dean shrugged, not wanting to put undue pressure on her. Let's just forget it.

Let's not, she said.

I shouldn't have asked you to do something you obviously aren't ready for yet.

I want to, she said.

He cocked a brow. You do?

Of course. You're my husband. She put her fork down. And I love you.

You don't have to do—

It's not you, she broke in. "It's never been about you. It's him. He's like a shadow that's always with me; haunting my dreams, making me feel like his victim whenever I'm awake."

Dean cursed the rotten bastard who had done this to her. You have to fight this, Karyn. Otherwise he wins and we lose.

She sneered. Yeah, that's what my shrink keeps saying. But you know what? It's not that easy.

I know.

I'm not sure you do, Karyn said. The man who raped me won—at least it feels like it. As long as he's free, I'll never feel human...or like a woman.

Don't worry, honey. They will get him sooner or later. I promise.

He suspected his words had fallen on deaf ears. And why shouldn't they? As a crime writer for the Melrose Hills Journal, he had seen very little progress with the police investigation into his wife's brutal assault. The rapist, who'd wielded a knife during the attack, wore a ski mask, was over six feet tall, solid in build, and had a raspy voice. He matched the description of the man wanted in a number of other local rapes over the last three years.

They had his DNA. His M.O. Even a description of the car he drove. Yet the rapist still had not been caught, and it frustrated the hell out of Dean.

The newspaper had rules about covering a crime that was too close to home. Then there was the reality that new crimes were always surfacing, bumping old crimes off the front page and out of the minds of the police and public.

But Dean refused to let this case die. He was working his ass off to try to find his wife's rapist.

And maybe save their marriage at the same time.

* * *

Someone has to know something, Dean muttered to fellow reporter, Phil Livingston. Phil was behind the wheel as they made their way from one end of town to the other.

Yeah, but they're not talking. And that means there's no one to point a finger at.

I can point fingers at a lot of people, Dean said. For one, they should have had better security at Karyn's office building. Damn them for allowing someone to come in off the street into the parking garage and force himself on her.

It could've happened anywhere, Phil suggested.

Yeah, well it happened there and someone's going to pay! A vein bulged near Dean's temple.

What are you saying? Phil asked.

You heard me. Dean had no intention of backing off the statement, though not quite sure what he meant by it.

Phil turned from the wheel. Hey, don't do anything stupid, man. Let the system work.

The system doesn't seem to give a damn about my wife and what she went through.

You know that isn't true, Phil said. Everyone from the newspaper staff to the police department feels for you and Karyn. Give it some time and we'll find a way to bring the rapist to justice.

Dean stiffened. Wish I could believe that. But from where I sit, the system has failed us. Karyn's a basket case and won't let me anywhere near her. And I'm being kept in the dark on an investigation that's growing colder by the day.

Cold doesn't mean frozen. With a serial rapist still out there, it's only a matter of time till he's apprehended.

You think? Dean gave him a sarcastic glance. And how many more women will become victims before that happens?

From what I understand, the cops are following new leads.

Yeah? What new leads? Dean asked.

Phil paused. Well, there was another rape a few days ago. Same M.O. There's strong reason to believe your wife's rapist has struck again. They're testing DNA for a match and they have a possible witness. My sources tell me it could be a breakthrough in the case.

Dean considered the news. The truth was, he had been so consumed lately with his own inadequacies and failing marriage that he hadn't even heard about this. Could they really be on the verge of getting this guy? Or would it just turn out to be another dead end?

Who's the witness?