Murder for the Books: Ben and Mark Detective Investigator Mystery Series

By Melinda Parker

This story is about Chief Inspector Mark Bullard and his junior partner, Detective Sargent Ben Keyes. They are investigating a murder with no evidence to point them in any direction. Soon after, they begin an investigation on a second murder, this time with more leads and clues. Both men instinctively feel the murders are somehow connected but find only subtle similarities that may or may not mean they are related. When a third murder occurs, the two detectives are finally able to connect the dots and but will they find a killer?.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Guava Books
• Release date: Mar 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386477914

Book preview

Murder for the Books

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter One

Mark set his fork down and sighed. He gave Ben a narrow look and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

Hello? Ben only stopped eating for a moment before quickly eating several bites and putting more in his mouth. It looked like an important call, especially after Mark said, When? and then Where?. Ben knew the next words out of his mouth would be We’re on our way so he wanted to eat as much as he could as fast as he could. Important calls often seemed to come when they were trying to eat a decent lunch.

Mark pushed the end call button on his phone and gave Ben a half-smile. Get the waitress and bring your food if you like but you might not want to have too much on your stomach where we’re going.

Ben raised his eyebrows. Has someone died, sir?

Mark nodded. Yep. And we’ve got to get there right now. It’s on 24th and Crane rd. you know where that is?

Ben nodded.

Good. You drive.

They both got out at the same time and walked together to the front door of the house, passing several police officers, medical personnel and people from the forensics team. Several officers were taking fingerprints and two young people were walking around taking photographs. Mark stopped and spoke to the officer standing guard at the door. John Barnaby in there? He mumbled. The officer nodded and reached back to open the door for the Inspector and Sargent Keyes.

Thank you, officer. Mark patted the man on his shoulder as he passed and the officer nodded at him in return.

They went through the foyer of the house and toward the action. It was all taking place in the living room, just to the right of the front door and through a set of double glass doors that were standing open. John Barnaby, the Clements Valley coroner, was kneeling next to a body of a dead man on the floor. One gloved finger was poking at a bloody bullet hole in the side of the man’s head. He looked up when Mark greeted him.

Hello, Mark. He nodded.

What do we have? Mark asked.

John pointed at the bullet hole. "Shot once by a small caliber bullet