The Murder Files

By Terry Keys, Michael Maxwell, Craig A. Hart and 5 more

8 powerful, bone-chilling, speed-of-light thrillers that will leave you begging for more. 

Fans of James Patterson, Harlan Coben, John Grisham, David Baldacci, Lydia Davis and Stephen King will love this collection of exclusive short stories that will be sure to leave you breathless. 

The short story is back with a vengeance! Murder, mystery, suspense, chills, thrills and kills this collection has it all! 

About the Stories 

What Money Can't Buy – by Paul Casselle Are you a bad person trying to be good or a good person that sometimes does bad? It's a difficult question to answer, but that doesn't stop life asking regularly!

The Butcher – by Will Patching Not all of us are 'normal'. Some of us are stone cold killers… 

Collin O'Connor by Ernest Dempsey In a world where terrorist attacks seem to cover the front page of every news outlet, the people of Earth need a new kind of hero. The planet needs someone who isn't afraid to do whatever it takes to bring justice to those who would harm the innocent. We need Collin O'Connor. 

A Love Affair by Leah Monroe Have you ever asked yourself, "What am I here for?" Is it wealth? To leave a legacy? Or perhaps you're playing with the cards life deals you. One man comes face-to-face with this age old question and his decision will leave you speechless. 

Downside Up by Jane Thornley She climbs roofs at night but how could she know how far she'll have to fall to find the truth?

The Son-in-Law by Craig Hart Can you go straight by committing murder? One man is about to find out-if he lives long enough.

Linking Arms with the Devil by Michael Maxwell They tell us, "You can't take it with you". Maybe you can if you link arms with the devil.

Red Eyes – by Terry Keys A small town middle-school teacher suddenly vanishes and returns six months, six days, and six hours after he disappeared. But now he is hiding a terrible secret, and only the next victim can see the . . . Red Eyes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Terry Keys
• Release date: Jul 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386726333

Book preview

THE MURDER FILES

By

Terry Keys

Micheal Maxwell

Craig Hart

Jane Thornley

Leah Monroe

Ernest Dempsey

Will Patching

Paul Casselle

Copyright © 2017 Terry Keys, Micheal Maxwell, Craig Hart, Jane Thornley, Leah Monroe, Ernest Dempsey, Will Patching, Paul Casselle

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the author is unlawful piracy and is theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes) written permission must be obtained by the author [e-mail].

ASIN: B06XCFDC7V

ISBN-13: 9781386726333

All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, places and events are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, is merely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form without written permission from the contributing authors.

For thriller fans

Foreword by Terry Keys-About this book

Diversity is the spice of life. We’ve all heard it said a million times’ but it still rings true. The brilliant authors in this anthology all took different paths to get here. We all have different life experiences but we also all have one thing in common – our love for the written word. Everyone has stories to tell. A good story will captivate you, motivate you or even educate you. A great story however will leave an indelible mark on your soul. We all can think back to a story we’ve heard that still makes us smile every time we think about it. Stories are powerful.

Our collective goal with this anthology is simple: Introduce a new award-winning or best-selling author for you to fall in love with by giving readers a memorable story. One that can be read, re-read, loved and enjoyed over and over for a lifetime.

One of the unique things you will quickly learn about this anthology is that all of the stories are new. You won’t find any of these stories anywhere else. They were all written with the distinct understanding that the work would end up here for you. So without further ado . . .

Terry Keys

Editor and compiler

About the stories

What Money Can’t Buy – by Paul Casselle Are you a bad person trying to be good or a good person that sometimes does bad? It’s a difficult question to answer, but that doesn’t stop life asking regularly!

The Butcher – by Will Patching Not all of us are ‘normal’. Some of us are stone cold killers...

Collin O’Connor by Ernest Dempsey In a world where terrorist attacks seem to cover the front page of every news outlet, the people of Earth need a new kind of hero. The planet needs someone who isn’t afraid to do whatever it takes to bring justice to those who would harm the innocent. We need Collin O’Connor.

A Love Affair by Leah Monroe Have you ever asked yourself, What am I here for? Is it wealth? To leave a legacy? Or perhaps you're playing with the cards life deals you. One man comes face-to-face with this age old question and his decision will leave you speechless. 

Downside Up by Jane Thornley She climbs roofs at night but how could she know how far she’ll have to fall to find the truth?

The Son-in-Law by Craig Hart Can you go straight by committing murder? One man is about to find out-if he lives long enough.

Linking Arms with the Devil by Micheal Maxwell  They tell us, You can’t take it with you. Maybe you can if you link arms with the devil.

Red Eyes – by Terry Keys A small town middle-school teacher suddenly vanishes and returns six months, six days, and six hours after he disappeared. But now he is hiding a terrible secret, and only the next victim can see the . . . Red Eyes.

Table of Contents

What Money Can't Buy

The Butcher

Collin O’Connor

A Love Affair

Downside Up

The Son-in-Law

Linking Arms with the Devil

Red Eyes

What Money Can't Buy

By Paul Casselle

As I walked through the ancient red-brick archway, frigid fingers wrapped themselves around my speeding heart. I paused and fought back tears. I leant against the high brick wall and looked at the impeccably manicured grass quad that lay in front of me. Its impressive proportions left me in no doubt that this was a place of great importance. All around the periphery of the lawn were doorways leading to wig and gowned barristers that for hundreds of years had both set people free and argued to have them hanged by the neck until dead.

I found the correct entrance, and breathlessly climbed the uneven stone stairway. I knocked on a heavy oak door.

Come in, called a voice that sounded cheerful, but busy.

I pushed the door open and was confronted by a young man wearing a somber dark blue suit. He looked up from a pile of papers; each was secured with a red ribbon.

How can I help you, Sir?

I gave him my name, and through a painfully restricted throat told him of my appointment. I was led down a dimly lit corridor and shown into an office. A late middle-aged man smiled at me from behind a solid ancient desk.

Come on in, Mr. Ashby, he said waving a wrinkled hand towards a chair. Take a pew.

He pulled gently at the red ribbon that bound a small sheaf of papers, then studiously scanned them. He looked up.

So, tomorrow's the big day, then? He said. I nodded, feeling too frightened to speak.

Tomorrow I return to court for the verdict. What had I done? It's simple really. Each time we engage in self-delusion, Life grows a single, sharp tooth. Do this enough times and she will rear up and bite you - big time!

I'm not a criminal; at least I'm not corrupt, and I don't make my living through the wages of sin. But I have profited from incremental indiscretions that have accumulated into something else; something dark, something that haunts me every time I close my eyes.

My business had been doing badly. I had a small software company. We produced bespoke financial programmes that were innovative by virtue of being intuitive. Other complicated, off-the-shelf offerings needed expensive training before you could even fill in your name on the opening screen.

When the recession hit in two thousand and eight, customers started allocating less money to peripheral projects and concentrated on core consolidation. Making the most of what they had. They stopped moving forward and focused on standing still and not falling over. The first casualty of austerity is innovation. The second casualties are small companies like mine. I decided I could continue no longer. In late two thousand and nine I filed for bankruptcy.

I knew that I would be left high and dry by the welfare system, and so conspired to squirrel away as much cash as possible. I took funds out on credit cards and from bank accounts, and I remember laughing when I lifted a loose floorboard in my bedroom and hid the money under it. It was such a cliché. No innovation, just falling back into the stark, uninspired banality of primal fear. I siphoned away as much money as I could, and the space under my bedroom floor became the richer for it.

It was, of course, illegal to hide assets from the Official Receiver, but I needed to live. I justified my actions by ignoring reality and creating an alternative set of commandments that suited me better. Thou shalt not steal, unless stealing becomes a moral right. And what could be more morally right than avoiding starvation? Robin Hood stole, but he was in the

Reviews for The Murder Files

[apoirie · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Lousy and conventional. Ill written and boring. Try your luck elsewhere.