A Sacrificial Matter

By Ilona Fridl

A naked man in a graveyard… Detectives Amos and Sarah Darcy have dealt with quite a few unusual mysteries, but who cut down the naked man in the graveyard with a broadsword at midnight? When Sheriff Sam Lindsey calls on them to help solve the murder, Sarah risks her life to go undercover into a world of spiritualism and crime to find the murderer and the motive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: May 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781509206919

Book preview

Inc.

Amos pored over the book on pagan rites and rituals until he started nodding off. Nat was happily drooling over a hard biscuit in his playpen. Suddenly, something he was reading caught Amos’ eye. It was about the rite of midsummer on the solstice. He checked the calendar on the wall. That was the night of the murder. He had just started reading more of that information when Sarah came back.

I found something. He rose and gave her a kiss. How did you do?

Sarah picked up Nat, then seated herself in an office chair and started feeding him. She told Amos about Hiram Bates and his invitation to the Institute. What did you find?

This is about the pagan rite of midsummer that takes place on the solstice. There is a ritual that sacrifices the oak god to make way for the holly god that will rule until the winter solstice. It says here that in ancient times, a member was chosen for the actual sacrifice which now has become symbolic. He snorted. Symbolic, in a pig’s eye.

Sarah thought for a moment. There was an oak wreath near the body. She paused. Would that make the whole group guilty of murder, or just the one who struck him down?

Praise for Ilona Fridl’s Dangerous Times Series

SILVER SCREEN HEROES:

"Silver Screen Heroes has it all. Suspense, romance, mystery, history.…I found myself drawn into the story on several levels."

~Night Owl Romance Reviews Top Pick (4.75 Stars)

"Wow! What a story. It starts off with a bang, or should I say fire, that kept my attention and made me want to read more.…Read Silver Screen Heroes and join the magic of an era long past and feel the miracle of true love. Excellent read!"

~Marianne Gibson, Between the Lines (4 Stars)

GOLDEN NORTH:

"Ilona Fridl’s Golden North is truly an adventure worth joining. Take an armchair travel opportunity to go to Alaska. This wild state is a wonderful backdrop for such a great novel."

~Night Owl Reviews Top Pick (4.75 Stars)

BRONZE SKIES:

A quick and enjoyable read that drew me in from the first page to the last even without reading the first two books….There was romance, some laughter, lots of angst, and a few tears. There was family, friends, history, battles, casualties, injuries, a stalker, mystery, and suspense. I look forward to reading more books by Fridl in the future.

~Romancing the Book (4 Roses)

A

Sacrificial Matter

by

Ilona Fridl

Dangerous Times

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

A Sacrificial Matter

COPYRIGHT © 2016 by Ilona Fridl

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Rae Monet, Inc. Design

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Mainstream Historical Rose Edition, 2016

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-0691-9

Dangerous Times

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

To my family, who believe in me.

Other Books by Ilona Fridl

Silver Screen Heroes

Golden North

Bronze Skies

Prime Catch

Iris Rainbow

That Monroe Girl

The first three books are also available as a boxed set titled Dangerous Times.

Prime Catch and A Sacrificial Matter are spinoffs

from that series.

Chapter 1

Juneau, Alaskan Territory

1925

As Amos and Sarah Darcy followed Sheriff Sam Lindsey up the path to the graveyard, Sam apologized the whole time. I’m sorry to pull you away from your detective cases, but I’ve never seen anything like this. He glanced at Sarah. Maybe you should stay back here.

Sarah quirked an eyebrow. Why? I’ve seen dead bodies before.

Not like this. Sam paused. He’s naked.

She pursed her lips. And I’ve certainly seen naked males before. If you remember, I’m raising one.

Amos gave her an amused snort, then said to Sam, Lead on. Sarah isn’t shocked by anything anymore, believe me.

Sam shrugged as they went through the spiked iron gate. Suit yourself.

Two deputies and Coroner Elmer Stanton stood a few feet away, looking at the ground as if mesmerized. They glanced up as Sam, Amos, and Sarah joined them. The seventh member of this tableau lay crumpled on the ground in a pool of blood that covered two headstones. The body lay on its side with its arms extended and the knees bent. An oak wreath lay a few feet away.

Elmer carefully turned the body over, and Sarah sucked in a breath. There were different colors of paint spots on various parts of it and a large bloody gash over the heart.

Amos knelt for a closer look and pointed to the wound. It seems like he was stabbed with a knife.

Sam shook his head. Not a knife. Look.

They turned the body over, and there was a puckered outward wound that was a mate to the one on the front. Amos sat back on his heels. It looks like he was killed with a broadsword. Why in all hell would someone be fighting with swords, naked, in a graveyard?

Sarah searched around the site. There doesn’t seem to be a sword around here. He may not have had one.

Or, Sam put in, "the other person might have taken it