Dark Places

Book 2: Claire Morgan Thriller Series

by Linda Ladd

Genres: Police Procedurals; Crime Fiction; Suspense

Synopsis

A Killer's Tracks. . . Missouri detective Claire Morgan is eager to get back to work after recuperating from injuries sustained on her last job. But the missing persons case that welcomes her home in the dead of winter soon turns more twisted and treacherous than Lake of the Ozarks' icy mountain roads. . . Can Only Lead. . . The woman's body is found suspended from a tree overlooking a local school. She is bleeding from the head, still alive--but not for long. Someone wanted Professor Simone Classon to suffer as much as possible before she died, making sure the victim had a perfect view of her colleagues and students on the campus below as she succumbed to the slow-working poison in her veins. . . To Dark Places. . . Frigid temperatures and punishing snows only make the investigation more difficult. And then the death threats begin--unnerving incidents orchestrated to send Claire a deadly message. Now, as she edges closer to the truth, Claire risks becoming entangled in a maniac's web--and the stuff of her own worst nightmares. . .

Release date: April 4, 2013

Publisher: Pinnacle Books

Print pages: 352

Sample

The little boy trapped inside the grave stopped crying as his tormenters ran away. Eyes wide and frightened, he squinted up into the sun until a figure blocked out the bright glare, dropping a cool, dark shadow across his face. He could see the person above him had golden hair the sun turned into a shining halo. The angels had finally come for his family, and he was terrified. Then he saw an arm reach down to him and a deep voice said, “Grab hold, and I’ll pull you outta there.”

Grasping the proffered hand with both his own, he held on tightly as his savior lifted him upward as if he weighed nothing. When he was out in the sun again, he scrambled to his knees and stared up at the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. The angel’s hair was pure gold, silky, and long enough to brush his shoulders. He wore all white, and his eyes were blue and clear and smiling. It was an angel, he thought, thunderstruck, come to earth to escort his family to heaven. Maybe if he begged, the angel would take him, too.

“Are you really the Angel Gabriel, the one from my Sunday school lessons?” he asked, too scared to speak above a whisper.

Then the Angel Gabriel laughed like a regular person. He knelt down on one knee and wiped the dirt off the boy’s cheeks with his white tunic. “Hell, no, those brats just call me that ’cause I’m the preacher’s son and have all this blond hair. You can call me Gabriel, though, if you want to.”

“But you’re wearing all white like the angels do, and you look just like the pictures of angels.”

“Thanks, kid, but I’m no angel, believe me. And these ain’t angel robes, either. You’re that orphan kid, aren’t you? I just got back from my karate class in town or I would’ve been here for your mom and dad’s funeral. I saw what those guys did to you. Now don’t you worry about them no more, you hear? They’re a bunch of punks.”

He hadn’t thought about being an orphan, but that’s what he was. He wondered if the angel thought he was ugly. “You don’t think I’m ugly, not even with this?” He pointed to his head injury.

“Nope. You think I am?”

“No. You look like an angel.”

“Don’t worry about those kids anymore. I’m gonna be your best friend from now on. And if you stick close to me, we’ll show those jerks what they get if they mess with us. Deal?”

The boy stared up at his bright savior and wondered how old he was. Fifteen, sixteen, maybe, about the same age as Betsy, his babysitter back in Pittsburgh. “You sure do look like the angels in my Bible. You sure you’re not the one coming to get daddy and momma and Katie?”

“Nah, they already came for them anyways. Probably when they were out on the highway when they got killed. Whisked them up to heaven in the blink of an eye. That’s what the Bible says happens. And I heard the angels always snatch their souls out of their bodies right before the crash so they don’t have to suffer much pain.”

“Really? I don’t remember much about the crash. I remember waking up in the hospital, though.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t need to be worrying about it no more. The Bible’s a cool book to read. My dad made me study it since I was littler than you. I’ll teach you lots of things, now that you’re my special friend. Want to come out in the woods and see my secret hideout? Nobody else’s ever been out there but me, but I’ll show it to you, if you promise to God you’ll never, ever tell another soul about it. I bet your grandma’ll let me show you around and take you back home later, before it gets dark. Yeah, let’s do that. But you gotta promise you’ll be my friend and never tell my secrets, not even to my dad or your grandma. You promise?”

“I promise. I’ll never tell anybody anything about you. You’ll be my special friend, too.”

“Good deal. C’mon, let’s tell your grandma where we’re going, then I’ll show you some really cool things.”

Looking up at the beautiful, blond-haired boy, he felt certain this being was divine, really the Angel Gabriel who just wasn’t allowed to tell anyone who he was. He’d saved him from the bullies, and from being buried in the grave, hadn’t he? He had to be the Angel Gabriel, and the angel wanted him as his special friend. For the first time since his f. . .