Acoustic Shadows (30 page)

Authors: Patrick Kendrick

BOOK: Acoustic Shadows

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‘But, they didn’t,’ Dunham reminded her. ‘I have to say that was one of the most satisfying shots I ever made, and I did it with this hand!’ He held up the peace sign again. ‘The fastest two fingers in the south!’

They laughed and chit-chatted. Dunham’s wife brought out snacks. After a while, Thiery and Millie excused themselves. It had been good to see the Chief, but Thiery wanted to get home, and Millie just wanted to feel the breeze blowing in the side vent window of the old Apache truck, feel free and finally, safe. Everyone promised to stay in touch, as people do when they’ve shared a common disaster.

Sometimes they do.

They took their time on the drive north to Tallahassee, choosing the small roads, catching Highway 19 that would take them up the west coast of Florida where they could watch the sun as it slowly dipped into the Gulf of Mexico.

‘My son is getting married in San Francisco in a couple months,’ said Thiery. ‘You wanna go?’

Millie felt the warmth of the sun on the side of her face and smelled the healing salt air wafting in from the sea.

‘We’ll see,’ she said, reaching over and taking his hand, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles, noticing the bruises fading from purple to yellow. She picked up his hand and kissed it, feeling the coarse hair on the back of it brush her cheek, like a loofah sponge.

She smiled at Thiery and nodded. ‘We’ll see.’

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my beta readers: Lisa MacMillan (x 2!) especially for the advice on school teachers and how they relate. Varsha Chandra, for her in-depth review and advice on my antagonists – good call. Louis Lara, for your perspectives. A special thanks to James O. Born, author and advisor, for your information on firearms, law enforcement, and support over the years.

Thanks to all the editors who worked on this book: Ramona DeFellice Long, Dawn Scovill – a special thanks for kicking me with those pointed cowgirl boots in the you-know-where. The editorial staff at HarperCollinsUK: Kate Stephenson, for your developmental advice and for taking a chance on me. Janette Curry for your work on copyediting and schooling me on how you do it in the UK.

And thanks to my readers whose allegiance keeps me working. Without you, I would not be.

~PK

About the Author

Patrick Kendrick worked an entire career in the fire service before retiring to write full time. He also worked as a freelance writer, publishing articles and short stories in newspapers and magazines. One assignment brought him into contact with a serial killer that he corresponded with for several years… until the killer began to threaten him and launched a series of lawsuits against him. The killer was eventually murdered in prison but his frightening and graphic ‘diaries’ describing his crimes became the basis of
Extended Family
.

Kendrick was knighted by the Fraternal Order of Police for his articles on crime. He’s won honourable mentions from the Mystery Writers of America and the Beverly Hills Film Festival, the Opus Magnum Discovery Award from the Hollywood Film Festival and the Florida Book Award for his first novel,
Papa’s Problem
.

He lives in South Florida and when he is not writing, spends as much time as possible in, on, or under the ocean.

Also by By Patrick Kendrick

Papa’s Problem

Extended Family