Sarah Spillman Police Procedurals: Books 4-6

Sample Chapter from Deadly Revenge, Book Four

CHAPTER ONE

“We have to kill them, you know.”

He turned in the seat and looked at her. Her eyebrows pinched, her lips pressed into a thin, harsh line. She was beautiful when she was angry, and dangerous. He smiled to himself. That didn’t mean he was attracted to her. He held up his hands and stared out the windshield.

“Who first?” he asked. He couldn’t believe it had come to this, that this was what he was contemplating.

“You know who we have to start with,” she replied.

“You’ve been thinking about this.”

“Of course. And don’t play innocent. So have you.”

He had been thinking about it. But he’d been thinking how he could talk her out of it. Ultimately, though, he knew she was right. They had to do something. “So,” he sighed. “How are we going to do it?”

She tapped her lips for a moment. He could smell her perfume, not one he cared for. She grabbed a can of Coke from the console between the seats and took a sip.

He could smell alcohol from the can. “Have you been drinking?” he asked.

“Just enough to calm my nerves.”

She held up the can and stared into it. He’d known her long enough to know that this was her way to give herself time to think.

“Can’t we wait another week or so?” he asked. “Maybe she’ll come around.”

She swirled the can, then finally spoke.

“Could we? She goes to the gym like clockwork, every morning before work. She could be taken out there.”

He was relieved that she might be willing to wait, but her suggestion was not good. He shook his head. “No, too many people around, and there could be security cameras near the gym. Count on that.”

She swore. “Then we need to do it now. Tonight.”

He grimaced. He should’ve kept his mouth shut about the gym. He ran both hands over his face as he stared out the windshield, his foot wiggling. It was his way of thinking. She was right, of course.

“You know I’m right,” she said as if she’d heard his thoughts. “We can’t let them interfere in this. If we don’t act now, all our work will go down the drain.” She took another sip of Coke. “Do you know how much money we’re talking about?”

“Of course I do.”

He stared at her, then his gaze drifted again. The street was quiet, no one around. He liked this time of night, no one to disturb him. Like death, in a way. Ironic, given what they were talking about. He looked back at her. Her eyes were slits as she watched him.

“I know everything about the money,” he said. “I’m the one who got us this all set up. Don’t ever forget that.”

Her muscles tensed, like a feral cat waiting to pounce.

“You may have set this up,” she said, “but I’m the one who got us to this point. Don’t ever forget that.”

He nodded slowly. “I know exactly how this has gone down; you don’t need to tell me. We’re both in this deep, and if anything happens, we’ll both pay. Which is why we need to be very careful in how we handle this.”

The cloud of anger around her suddenly dispersed. She sighed and finished the soda. Her face filled with a cool determination. “People are killed every day, for a lot less than what we’re talking about. We can do this.”

He leaned forward and put his hands on the dashboard. “You don’t see any other way?”

She shook her head. “I’ve laid awake several nights trying to see if I’ve missed something. They’re not going to go along with this anymore, and –”

“They know how much money we’re talking about,” he interrupted.

She shrugged. “I’ve tried that route. I talked to them about that until I’m blue in the face. They don’t care, no matter how much it is. You know, some people just don’t care.”

He smirked at her. Again, she seemed to miss the irony of her comment. They were all supposed to care, right? But the money was just too good.

“I’m worried they might say something, ruin it for all of us,” she said.

He’d had that thought, too. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. He didn’t see any other choice.

“How do we do this?” he asked.

“I have a gun in my purse.”

He was taken aback. She was more prepared than he figured. “Where did you get it?”

She shook her head. “The less you know, the better. Don’t worry. It’s untraceable. We’ll go to her house now. She won’t do anything with a gun on her. I’ll force her into her car, and we’ll drive someplace, then take care of her.” She stared at him, daring him to protest.

He swallowed hard and tried to think of an alternative, but he couldn’t.

“Let’s do this,” he said.

 

NOTE TO READERS:
While the books in the series may include dark and potentially disturbing crimes, the reads are clean. There is no explicit language or descriptions of the violent acts. And all bedroom scenes fade to black.

The entire series is worth reading. I enjoy the strong characters and the manner in which Pawlish wraps her stories around her plot. ~Reader review