Find Pace: Pace Morrow Mysteries, #0

By D.K. Greene

Nine-year-old Pace Morrow dreaded the day when her mother married the county sheriff. But it was only the start of the crushing nightmare about to unfold.

 

Pace's mother, Temperance, is a masterful con artist who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She's not just happy to use deceit and betrayal to her advantage, she has made a career out of using her charming children to tempt her victims.

 

But when one of her elaborate schemes goes wrong, Pace is left behind in the worst possible way. With her flesh and blood under the watchful eye of the town sheriff, Temperance must get her daughter back before it's too late.

 

With heart wrenching twists at every turn, Find Pace is a must-read for fans of suspenseful stories filled with drama, intriguing antiheroes, and dangerous family ties that will leave you guessing until the very end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: D.K. Greene
• Release date: Jan 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201506261

D.K. Greene

D.K. Greene writes at a small folding table below a tiny window overlooking a narrow street. While her work area is small, she has an overwhelmingly large imagination. It all comes out in strings of stories about family, fraud, and fatal events. Readers can get an insider's look at her upcoming projects, promotions and free stories by going to https://www.subscribepage.com/dkgreene

Book preview

Acknowledgments

As I probably say in every book I write, Find Pace would not have come to the page without the support of an ever-growing network of people.

I can never thank my wife and son enough for not only living through an actual con-artist scheme with me, but also putting up with me talking incessantly about how one day I'd write something about it. My wonderful editor, Cora Corrigall, knows exactly how to catch my attention for the things that matter, and makes it look like I know how to write. I am blessed to have the support of too many friends to list, and a network of Super Star readers who keep me busy thinking up new stories.

Dedication

This bit of fiction is dedicated to Little T, who deceived me, and my extended family, for several months.

Thanks for the stories.

One: Pace

The young dog snapped a mouthful of needlelike teeth at her chin. Not ready to let her fluffy captive free, Pace squeezed him tighter. She closed her eyes and memorized the soft fur writhing against her skin. She absorbed his warmth in her chest and inhaled the musky stink of his sour dog breath. Her concentration broke into a fit of giggles when his tongue slithered across her neck.

She opened her eyes. Her mom, Temperance, stood with a leg propped on the edge of Pace’s bed. She lifted her skirt and ran a pair of safety-scissors along the inside of her stockings. Her practiced hands peeled the nylon apart in a jagged ripple, exposing her inner thigh. Temperance’s flesh was bright as moonlight breaking through the run of charcoal nylon and she hummed a pleasant tune while she worked, switching legs, and running another snare from ankle to knee.

Patience ignored them both, focusing on her own puppy. Just like Pace and Patience, he was the polar opposite of his twin. He sat unmoving at Patience’s feet, like a stuffed animal waiting to be carried to the toy chest. His unblinking eyes swam with excitement while Patience balanced a bone shaped biscuit across the bridge of his nose.

Temperance picked up Pace’s favorite t-shirt. It was crisp white with ruffled pink sleeves; She-Ra and Swift Wind printed on the front. She sawed at it with the scissors until the fabric stretched and tore and tossed the ruined shirt at Pace’s feet. Temperance pointed the scissors at the puppy writhing in her arms. We aren’t keeping those stupid, flea-bitten dogs. If you even think of asking, Bill can take you to the pound right along with them.

They’re not stupid, Pace mumbled. Her puppy grabbed a loose strand of her auburn hair between his teeth. Pace tried to pull her head away, and he took the motion as an invitation for tug-of-war. She winced when he yanked her hair, but still refused to set him down.

This was her last chance to love him. She’d never see him again after today.

Beaumont will remember me forever, Patience announced.

Two weeks earlier, Bill surprised the twins with the young golden retrievers for their ninth birthdays. It had been hard for Pace to act excited, this being the fourth birthday they’d had this year. She never liked the revolving calendar of make-believe birthdays, but she hated the silent truth that she didn’t know when her real one was. While Pace had pretended to smile and laugh, Patience had acted ecstatic with effortless flair. And maybe she really had been happy. After all, she’d spent every waking moment since then teaching Beaumont tricks from videos Bill found on the internet.

Pace hadn’t bothered to name her puppy.

Temperance poured a half-empty bottle of congealed chocolate milk over a pair of pants and tossed them at Patience. Don’t be an idiot. The second somebody else starts feeding him, you’ll be old news. After a few pats on the head, that mutt won’t remember you exist.

If we stay, nobody will have to forget us, Pace said. Forgetting the puppy in her arms, she slapped her hands over her mouth and her puppy hit the floor with a yelp. Temperance’s eyes flashed like lightning. The young dog scrambled to his feet and skittered under the bed when Temperance stepped forward. She swung her hand through the air and hit Pace across the ear. Pace whimpered through the fingers trembling at her lips. I’m sorry.

Damn right, you’re sorry. It’s your fault we have to leave. Bill’s already sick of you. He doesn’t want to see either of you ever again. Temperance pointed from one twin daughter to the other, then grabbed the edge of their dresser and yanked until it tipped on its feet and crashed to the floor.

The collapse of the bureau’s drawers and press-board frame startled Beaumont out of his trance. He dropped his treat and hurried to join his brother under the bed. Temperance turned over the girls’ pretty pink toy box and the dolls and games Bill had filled it with tumbled to the ground in an avalanche of disappointment. Pace felt her sister touch her arm. She clasped hands with Patience and pressed her eyes closed again.

Pace was sure what her mother said about Bill being sick of her was a lie, but the words still hurt. She didn’t know what Patience thought while Temperance ripped across their room like a hurricane, but Pace prayed God would send Bill home to stop her.

It felt like a lifetime before the air stilled. A puppy cried, and Pace pressed her eyes tighter. With her eyes shut, she could imagine the room was still clean and whole. She changed her prayer, asking God to make her blind so she wouldn’t have to look at what her mother had done.

Change your clothes. We’re leaving.

The floorboards shuddered beneath Pace’s bare feet when the door slammed shut.

Are you ready to look? Patience whispered.

No. Are you?

I don’t know where my clothes are, Patience said. I have to open my eyes.

Okay.

Together, they counted. When they got to three, Pace squeezed her sister’s hand, and both girls opened their eyes.

Their