Teacher's Pet

By Patti Larsen

Death hits close to home when a fellow professor and bestselling author is murdered at Silver City College. With orders from her boss to uncover the truth, Kinsey teams up with Gerri and Ray to uncover who killed the womanizing Dr. Malcolm MacIntosh.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patti Larsen
• Release date: Oct 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781927464786

Patti Larsen

About me, huh? Well, my official bio reads like this: Patti Larsen is a multiple award-winning author with a passion for the voices in her head. But that sounds so freaking formal, doesn’t it? I’m a storyteller who hears character's demands so loudly I have to write them down. I love the idea of sports even though sports hate me. I’ve dabbled in everything from improv theater to film making and writing TV shows, singing in an all girl band to running my own hair salon.But always, always, writing books calls me home.I’ve had my sights set on world literary domination for a while now. Which means getting my books out there, to you, my darling readers. It’s the coolest thing ever, this job of mine, being able to tell stories I love, only to see them all shiny and happy in your hands... thank you for reading.As for the rest of it, I’m short (permanent), slightly round (changeable) and blonde (for ever and ever). I love to talk one on one about the deepest topics and can’t seem to stop seeing the big picture. I happily live on Prince Edward Island, Canada, home to Anne of Green Gables and the most beautiful red beaches in the world, with my pug overlord and overlady, six lazy cats and Gypsy Vanner gelding, Fynn.

Book preview

Teacher’s Pet

The Nightshade Cases: Book Ten

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 by Patti Larsen

Find out more about Patti Larsen at http://www.pattilarsen.com/home

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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 person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Edited by Annetta Ribken www.wordwebbing.com

Proofed by Jessica Bufkin

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Chapter One

He had a love/hate relationship with parties. Naturally, he was the focus of attention, as it should be. After all, he was the rich, famous star of the show, was he not? Women lusted after him, everyone wanted to be him. He caught his reflection in the long, tall mirror next to the piano, admired his dashing figure. Sucked in his protruding gut a moment before saying fuck it and taking another long pull from his glass of scotch.

I’ve never met a famous writer before.

She was just like all the others, hanging off his arm, tall and skinny wearing too much makeup and refusing to eat anything. She drank enough for both of them, though. Which meant he’d probably end up on his office couch with her at some point. But first things first.

Time to drain the dragon before slaying fair maidens.

Professor! Damn it, who the hell made her his keeper? He’d just stepped away from tall and scrawny, downing the last of his drink, as the meddling blonde invaded his space. The dean would like a word.

I’ll be along, he said, turning his back on her. He’d tried several times to entice her to his office couch to no avail. Women like her—all work and no sugar—gave him hives. Arrogant little snot, she’d had the nerve to report him to the dean when he’d suggested they get to know each other better.

Dr. DanAllart was on his shit list.

He stumbled out of the ballroom, not giving a damn the dean was looking for him. Let him wait. He’d accepted this shit teaching position at Silver City College to escape some uncomfortable accusations in New York. Fucking women and their sense of entitlement. Whatever. He liked the West coast better, anyway.

He must have made a wrong turn, because instead of pushing his way into the bathroom as he intended, the first-floor men’s an insult to someone of his importance, he found himself in the courtyard on the other side of the ballroom. God damn it all to Jesus H, Mary and Joseph.

Grinning to himself, he crossed to the fountain, smiled up at the figure of the angel whose body wept water into the receptacle. And happily unzipped his fly, letting his golden stream join the flow.

Perfect.

In a moment he’d go back inside, maybe piss off his ex-wife with a lewd remark or two. The bitch followed him here, joined the fundraising board, just to infuriate him. Well, he’d see who pulled whose chain. Then, he’d tap a bit of tall and scrawny before taking his girlfriend home.

A belch escaped him as he shook the lizard dry and zipped up. Tasted like bad hors, d’oeuvres and scotch. He’d just have to drown the former in the latter. With a grunt, he turned.

Into the barrel of a silencer.

Sobriety wasn’t his favorite state of being, but the rush of adrenaline gave him no choice. His gasp of indrawn breath was so overly dramatic he would have rolled his eyes at himself had he the presence of mind. Instead, he gaped at the face behind the gun, eyes clouding with tears.

Why?

His assailant didn’t answer. At least, not with words. Instead, the gloved finger squeezed, the silencer shuddering as the muzzle flashed and the single bullet sang out of the barrel, slicing through his forehead and back out again, slicing off the index finger of the angel.

His body fell backward in slow motion, graceful in death as he hadn’t been in life, crashing with a mighty splash into the icy water of the fountain.

Epilogue complete.

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Chapter Two

Gerri spotted Kinsey almost immediately, though she hardly recognized her small, blonde friend. The anthropologist stood out amid the crowd of fuddy-duddy professors in their black-tie attempt at attractiveness and the aging women or young, overdone girls hanging on the arms of their men like eye candy. Kinsey’s floor-length, red dress was tasteful, halter tied neatly behind her slender neck with a thin, gold cord, silk sheath hugging her slim body perfectly.

Kinsey waved to her, a look of relief on her face as she hurried forward, toes of her heels peeking out from under her hem as she approached. Gerri grinned, despite the circumstances.

Nice dress. She waggled her eyebrows and laughed.

Kinsey rolled her blue eyes, nose wrinkling as her hands nervously ran down her stomach over the slippery fabric.

Stupid fundraisers, she muttered. I hate this crap.

Gerri glanced around, noting despite the fact she’d been called in on a suspected homicide, the air of barely veiled excitement in the room said otherwise.

Doesn’t seem like someone dying did much to kill the party. She followed Kinsey out of the ballroom, into the main hall. Gerri spotted Officer Mills at the end of the corridor, beside a glass door, her booted feet slowing to give Kinsey time to keep up. There were enough well-dressed people hovering around Mills, despite her attempts otherwise, Gerri had to stop and clear her throat. Loudly.

The ten or so observers broke off their chatter and turned to face her, if reluctantly. Gerri flashed her badge with a big smile.

Anyone I catch standing here in the next five seconds will be assumed a suspect and taken downtown and interrogated. She winked at one young woman who looked no older than eighteen, hanging off a skinny old guy. Ew. Full cavity search free of charge.

That cleared the path, though the tall, angry looking man with the gray, caterpillar eyebrows didn’t look amused.

Detective Geraldine Meyers, Kinsey said,