The Bestseller

By Eva Fischer-Dixon

Upon spending a passion-filled night with a stranger she met in Munich during the Oktoberfest, Sabrina Bauch, a German nurse working at the US Army Hospital, unexpectedly meets the man she is unable to forget. Army Captain Justin Hollander is just as happy to see her again and after a brief courtship he proposes marriage which Sabrina happily accepts. A month before their scheduled wedding, Sabrinas long-time friend and roommate, Uschi Braun is brutally raped and murdered in their apartment.
When Justin is cleared to move on to his new assignment in Arizona, Sabrina joins him and once again becomes a nurse at a local hospital. She accidentally meet one of Justins subordinates, Lieutenant Fuller, who begin to stalk her and--Sabrina feels--threaten her. When an assaulted woman is brought in while she is on duty at the hospital, Sabrina realizes right away that the method of the rape and torture of the woman is the same as that which was used on her friend, Uschi. She consults with a local police detective, but withholds some information that she knows about bloody clothes she saw her husband washing in their house.
To Sabrinas surprise, Justin unexpectedly retires from the Army; and they move to California, where Justin encourages Sabrina to follow up on her dream to become a writer. After a few years of struggle and non-recognition, Sabrina eventually gets a break and becomes a very popular bestselling author.
Her suspicions about Justin begin to grow when during her research for her suspense novel, she discovers four murders that are in all ways identical to Uschis murder. Sabrina loses her trust in her husband upon discovering the he lied and was unfaithful to her on more than one occasion.
A new neighbor, Sean ODonohue, introduces himself to Sabrina as a fellow writer and private investigator, but Sabrina soon finds out that Sean was not what he claims to be. The situation becomes more complicated for Sabrina as she finds herself falling in love with Sean. He forewarns Sabrina that dark forces are waiting to hurt her--a warning that Sabrina knows that she cannot ignore. She must make the right decision: whom can she trust and believe in even as she faces imminent danger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781469135830

Eva Fischer-Dixon

I came into this troubled world during the early morning hours of June 17, 1950, in the city of Budapest, Hungary. I was the first and last child of my 41-year-old mother and my father who was 45 years old at the time of my birth. As I did not know any better, I could not possibly understand that we were living in poverty, as I was growing up with loving parents and there was always a bite to eat. My childhood was poor and saddened with tragedies. As a six-year-old child I witnessed the bloody 1956 revolution and received the first taste of true prejudice by those of whom I thought liked us, yet turned against my family. That tragedy did not match the untimely death of my beloved father when I was not yet seven years old, on February 14, 1957. My mother remarried in 1959 and our financial situation was upgraded from poverty to poor. After finishing elementary school I made a decision to earn money as soon as possible to ease our financial situation and I enrolled in a two-year business college (high school diploma was not required). I received my Associate Degree in 1966 and I began to work as a 16-year-old certified secretary/bookkeeper. During the same period I began my high-school education, which I completed while working full-time and attending night school. I discovered my love for writing when I was 11 years old after a movie that my childhood friend and I saw in the movie theater. We were not pleased with the ending and Steven suggested that I should write a different ending that we both liked. Voila, a writer was born. With my family’s encouragement, I entered a writing contest given by a youth oriented magazine and to my genuine surprise, I won second price. My desire to live in a free country and to improve my life was so great, that in 1972, leaving everything, including my aging parents behind, I managed to escape from Hungary during a tour to Austria, (then) Yugoslavia and Italy. I spent almost nine long months in a rat infested refugee camp, located Capua, Italy, while I waited for official permission to immigrate to the country of my dreams, to the USA. In 1975 I met and married a wonderful man, my husband Guy. Thanks to his everlasting patience, he assisted me in my task of learning the English language. He is truly my partner for life and I remain forever grateful to him for standing by me in some tough times. It is difficult for me to describe my love for writing. I cannot think of a bigger emotional joy for an author than to see a published novel in somebody’s hand and to see a story come alive on the screen. I yearn to experience that joy.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

San Diego, California

May 2007

Sabrina was not entirely certain what was happening. As always, the more she thought about it, the more she became convinced that her instincts were giving her a warning. What made her a widely successful writer was the fact that she had always done her research thoroughly in person, not trusting anyone with gathering information about her current or next project.

The research for her new book was more than just that, more than just work, this time it was personal as well. Sitting in her car drinking her second cup of strong Starbucks coffee, she thought, and secretly hoped, that perhaps for the first time her instincts were giving her the wrong signals. Seconds later those doubtful thoughts were forgotten. They walked out of the hotel room, arm in arm, kissing every other step or so.

Lovely, she thought, so much for second guessing my own natural warning system. She looked at the couple as the man playfully bent the woman over the hood of her car, kissing her on the neck. The woman was laughing as she playfully protested. Sabrina used her cell phone to take several pictures. Oh well, Sabrina thought again. If I write the story right, it may just become my next bestseller.

CHAPTER ONE

Los Angeles, California

June 2007, Part 1

I am home, she heard Justin’s voice, and then she saw him on the security monitor. She pushed the yellow button and spoke.

I am in the Quiet Room, she said and she watched as her husband waived into the camera. She returned her attention to the computer monitor where the cursor was hungrily flashing, waiting for the next words to be spelled out. She loved that room, the Quiet Room; it was her absolute favorite room in the entire house. It was her very own sanctuary with its long glass wall that gave her the panorama of the valley below. When the first of her several books were not selling, she seriously considered giving up writing, but something inside her urged her to continue, to tell her stories that varied from romance novels to murder mysteries. Her philosophy was, and she often mentioned this to Justin, her husband of almost fifteen years, that God would not have given her talent to write stories if he didn’t have bigger plans for her.

There was always that one book she hoped would get the attention of someone, who would bring it to someone else’s attention, and then she would be discovered. She smiled when she thought of it, that phone call, that certain phone call that came out of nowhere. At first, she thought perhaps a friend of hers was playing a trick on her, but the man asked her to call him back if she wanted to confirm who he really was. She called back, and to her surprise the man was indeed a producer and partner in a major motion picture company. He inquired about the purchase rights to one of her books to turn it into a movie. She kept her composure and asked the producer what numbers they were talking about. When the tentative six figures were mentioned, she calmly told the man that she would have to think about it.

Justin thought, and he said so, that she was probably out of her mind by not saying yes immediately. She told him that if the producers really wanted to have her book turned into a movie, they would increase their offer. A few nerve wrecking days later she received a phone call, and Andrew Foster, the producer who called her the first time, requested a meeting with her and her agent. When Sabrina informed him that she didn’t have an agent, there was a pause, and then Foster told her that he would have to check with his company’s legal department if it was okay to deal with her directly. He would call her back.

Sabrina did not reply right away, Foster had to ask her if she was still on the line. She replied that she was just talking to her husband, although she was not, but the thing was, she said to him, that there was another tentative offer, and that other company wanted her response by close of business the following day. Foster promised her that he would be in touch on the same day, and he did indeed. The tentative offer was increased to a million and half, and they agreed to a meeting two days later to look over the official contract.

Justin almost had a heart failure listening to her talking to just about one of the best known producers in Hollywood, and he was on pins and needles until he saw her smiling at him. It’s in the bag, she said and laughed. Justin hugged her and thanked her for being so smart.

The movie, The Forbidden was a huge success, number one at the box office for four consecutive weeks and second for ten weeks straight, only to beaten out of first place by an animated Disney movie. The books that nobody wanted to buy earlier, and the novels she wrote later were flying off the bookshelves. Some of them went into third printing.

Sudden fame and the fortune that followed abruptly ended their financial difficulties. It was Justin who brought up the subject that they should move out of their crowded two bedroom apartment located near Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles. There were no options, they both wanted a house. It was then that it occurred to Sabrina that she wanted a room that was sound proof. Ever since childhood, she was unable to study, or write when she heard the sound of music playing on the radio, or having the television on.

Although in the beginning Justin complained that she stayed up much too late, she loved to write when the surroundings of their apartment became quiet. Luckily their apartment was located in the backside of the complex; the noise of the traffic was bearable in the late evening hours. The problem was that she was still working twelve hour shifts, and then she had a day off and twelve on again at one of the local hospitals. In those days, Justin was working for the US Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District office. Those brief free times they shared together never seemed to be enough. Justin’s new job required frequent temporary duties, called TDY to other parts of the State of California to work on various projects.

Sabrina loved her profession, she was a well loved and appreciated registered nurse, but her real passion since childhood was writing. She wanted to tell stories, real or imagined, any stories that her fantasy rich mind would dictate to her. Of course, after she moved to the United States, reality check knocked on her door and Sabrina finally came to terms with the fact that just speaking the English language was not enough to write a book. She needed to learn more literary words, not just the conversational English words that she was so accustomed of using in her everyday life.

Her thoughts returned to the time when she signed her name, Sabrina Bauch-Hollander on her first big contract. She clearly remembered how her hands were shaking, but after the second and third, and even the fourth time, signing a contract only took seconds. She quit her job at the hospital, and Justin quit his to devote his time to be her full time editor and manager, which was fine with her. Sabrina liked to have her husband around and she didn’t mind when he took up surfing and playing golf, after joining an exclusive Country Club where he would spend two days a week, from morning to late afternoon.

It all happened almost nine years ago. Sabrina looked out the window of her beautiful and spacious Laurel Canyon home, and as always, she enjoyed the colorful sunset over the sparsely built homes in the area. Earlier in the day while she was getting their mail, she noticed that there was a moving van in front of the house next door.

They had enough property between the two homes that they didn’t have to say gesundheit when the neighbors sneezed, and that was good. She didn’t mind having neighbors despite the fact she was not a neighborly person who would often drop by for whatever reason just to be nosey, or to chit-chat. Sabrina didn’t have that kind of time, especially in the beginning after they moved. Of course, the house next door was up for sale on and off since they moved in, and up for sale and vacant again for the past year or so.

Looking for a house that they both wanted was another issue. Sabrina told her husband that she only wanted to move once, and she wanted to move into a place that they both wanted and not what they could just afford. She was borderline giving up on finding their ideal home when they made one more stop at a house in Laurel Canyon’s Ridpath Drive. She knew immediately that it was the house she wanted. The realtor, although she was efficient, neither of them liked, showed them the Quiet Room. She explained that the house had belonged to a musician who wanted peace and quiet from his children. He remodeled the place in such a way, that when he wanted to reach anyone, or vise versa, he could be reached through an electronic monitoring and sound system. Lucky for Sabrina, Justin also liked the house as much as she did, so they bought the house on the spot, they didn’t need any time to think about it, or sleep on it.

It was interesting for Sabrina that after becoming successful and wealthy, Justin never asked for anything special to purchase. He always seemed content being her husband and manager, and when he wanted to buy something, having a joint bank account that would have raised some eyebrows in the entertainment community, he would always ask her if it was okay with her if he bought this, or that. She never said no, why should she? He was a faithful husband, always there for her when she needed him, and when times were financially tough, he took a part time job so they could make ends meet. Sabrina knew that she would have done the same thing for him. After they moved, she asked him if he wanted another car. To her surprise, he said no, he was happy with his truck that he got some time ago. On the other hand, Sabrina wanted to splurge on a silver Jaguar, her dream car, the only luxury item she wanted from her earnings. Justin joked with her.

Why would you want such a high performance car when you cannot drive it at its full capacity? Besides, he said with concern. The roads to this place have way too many curves, it could be dangerous. They bought the car anyway and Justin enjoyed driving it as much as Sabrina did.

Nine years passed since her first major success and Sabrina couldn’t be happier. Most of her books were turned into major motion pictures, or became a TV series on HBO. Their life together was comfortable and harmonious until one particular day, when the phone rang and a young woman asked for Justin. Sabrina told her that he was not at home, and that she would be glad to take a message. The woman was hesitant and Sabrina could tell from the woman’s voice that she was upset. Just tell him that Ginny called, said the woman. He knows what this call is about.

Okay, said Sabrina as the woman ended the phone call and turned her attention back to the latest novel she was working on. She barely began to type when she heard the door bell. She angrily looked at the monitor. What now? She pressed a few numbers into the system and the camera at the front entry showed a man about Justin’s age smiling into the device. I’ll be right there, she said into the intercom. Sabrina saved what she typed so far and went downstairs. Can I help you? she asked the strange but handsome man with incredible green eyes in a jogging outfit. He was holding a plastic measuring cup in his hand.

I was wondering if I could borrow a cup of sugar? he said with a serious face.

Are you for real? asked Sabrina and laughed.

Sorry, it was a bad joke, said the man and stretched out his hand for a shake. I am Sean O’Donohue and just moved in next door. I saw your Jaguar out front, it is not too late in the day, and I thought, hey, why don’t I stop by and introduce myself. They shook hands and Sabrina let him in. Nice place, remarked Sean.

Care for some coffee? asked Sabrina showing him a chair.

By all means, I am a coffee addict, he replied. Need help?