A Grave Matrimony: A Jake Wyler Mystery, #6

By Bob Moats

Jake Wyle finally asks his girlfriend Becky to marry him. After much getting ready they decide to get married in the old house on the cemetery They invite Jim and Penny from Las Vegas to attend along with anyone else to come. Jim offers a week in Vegas as a wedding gift and they take Jake and Becky back with them for an all expences paid honeymoon. While out there a body is dumped by Jim's office and they have to find the killer. This is the sixth book in the Jake Wyler mysteries, and is a novella, shorter than a novel but longer than a short story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bob Moats
• Release date: Feb 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201263928

Bob Moats

Detroit area resident, Bob Moats, has been writing short stories and plays for as long as he can remember. He has lost most of his original stories, typed or handwritten, in the numerous moves he has made from his hometown of Fraser, Michigan to Northern Michigan, to Las Vegas and back to Fraser, where he now lives. Moats became one of the causalities of unemployment a year ago, and had time on his hands to finally pursue a life long dream of writing a full blown crime novel. Thus was born the first book, "Classmate Murders".What followed was a series of seven books starting with "The Classmate Murders" which introduces the main character, Jim Richards, who has to admit he has become a senior citizen, reluctantly. Richards, one day, receives an email from a childhood sweetheart asking for his help, but by the time he reaches her, she has been murdered. His life turns around and he is pulled into numerous murders of women from his high school who he hasn't seen in forty years. Along with a friend of his, Buck, a big, mustached biker, they go off to track down the killer before he can get to one former classmate, Penny Wickens, a TV talk show host who Jim has just fallen for while protecting her. The killer is also murdering the women right out from under police protection, driving homicide detective Will Trapper crazy, and he slowly depends on Jim to help. There's humor, suspense, wild chases across suburban Detroit with cops, classic cars and motorcycle clubs; murder, mayhem, a good amount of romance and a twist ending.Jim and his crime fighters, continue in the other books, traveling to Las Vegas twice, back to Detroit and out to New York to solve murders involving dominatrix; mistresses; Bridezillas; magic and strip clubs.Book titles: Classmate Murders; Vegas Showgirl Murders; Dominatrix Murders; Mistress Murders; Bridezilla Murders; Magic Murders; Strip Club Murders and Made-for-TV Murders.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Isat back in my desk chair thinking about Las Vegas and all the good times we had out there. It was great to meet Jim and Penny and all the other people who worked for Jim at his investigating firm. I regret not seeing more shows but we could go out again and make up for it.

Becky came into the office and sat at her desk. Sheila was busy working on paperwork for the burials that were coming up. Seems more people die in the winter, probably from heart failure from shoveling snow.

I looked at Becky and it suddenly struck me how beautiful she was. I always kept my distance from being romantically involved with her that my mind just blanked her out. I was so messed up from my own experience with my father and mother that I didn’t want a repeat of the bad things I went through.

After being in Vegas I now looked at her in a different light. Vegas was a unique experience and showed me there was more to life. I spent so much time in Washington working for the National Archive that I was becoming stuffy. Being back in Michigan and buying a cemetery didn’t brighten my mood. But seeing the happy people like Jim and Penny and all the others it made me realize that my life was empty.

Why was I making my life miserable because of a father who was a bastard? I’m not like him and never would be, so why was I holding bac?. Becky was a desirable woman who could make me happy if I just let her into my life.

I stood and asked her to follow me. I went out to the ballroom and turned as she came up behind me. I reached out and pulled her to me and gently kissed her on the lips. She looked surprised and said, What brought that on?

What would you say to getting married? I asked.

I wouldn’t fight it, she replied.

About time, came a voice from the stairs going up to the second floor. It was Paul, Becky’s son. I wondered who would break first, he said.

I laughed and turned back to Becky. I’ve grown since I’ve known you and my past is just that, my past and not my future. My future wants to include you to be more than just friends. Besides, with all the murders and death around us, I didn’t want to be buried out there and not know the happiness I missed.

Aren’t you supposed to get down on your knee and show me a really nice, big engagement ring? she