Sandra Robbins - Trail of Secrets

“CALL SETH.”

After a brutal attack, that’s all that Callie Lattimer’s uncle Dan, a former police officer, can say. Callie knows that Memphis cop Seth Dawtry will help, even if it means working with the woman who rejected him. The attack seems tied to a decades-old unsolved murder Dan could never let go. New evidence must have gotten him uncomfortably close to the truth. Now it’s up to Seth and Callie to follow the clues. But as they uncover answers, they discover the real threat is closer than they ever thought possible….

The Cold Case Files: Uncovering secrets of the past

“You!” the thug yelled, and pointed the gun at Callie.

“Callie!” She heard the panic in Seth’s voice. Then a force like being tackled by a linebacker slammed into her, and she landed in the seat of the booth with Seth shielding her body. A bullet whizzed over the top of the booth and struck the far wall.

She waited for the second shot, but all she heard was the banging of the front door. In the next moment she could hear Seth speaking into his lapel mic.

“Suspect armed and on his way out the front door.” He ran toward the door. He’d just reached out to open it when gunfire from outside split the air. He jerked the door open and ducked as a bullet shattered the door frame above his head.

Guilt welled up in her and sucked the breath from her body. What had happened outside? Had her presence tonight compromised Seth’s stakeout, and was he lying on the sidewalk injured, or even worse, dead?

She had to find out.

SANDRA ROBBINS,

former teacher and principal in the Tennessee public schools, is an award-winning multipublished author of Christian fiction who lives in the small college town where she grew up. Without the help of her wonderful husband, four children and five grandchildren who’ve supported her dreams for many years, it would be impossible to write. As a child, Sandra accepted Jesus as her Savior and has depended on Him to guide her throughout her life. Her writing ministry grew out of the need for hope she saw in the lives of those around her.

It is her prayer that God will use her words to plant seeds of hope in the lives of her readers so they may come to know the peace she draws from her life verse, Isaiah 40:31—“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Trail of Secrets

Sandra Robbins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

—Matthew 10:29–31

Dedicated to the memory of Gloria Faye Stringer, whose body was found in the Brazos River in Texas on June 7, 1975.

And to Investigator Dennis King, who worked for 37 years to identify the young woman he helped pull from the muddy river waters. Through his efforts, Gloria’s remains were returned to her Tennessee family in June 2012 for burial.

Her murder remains a cold case.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

DEAR READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

EXCERPT

ONE

From the first moment Callie Lattimer spotted her uncle, U.S. Federal Judge Dan Lattimer, waiting for her outside the security area at Memphis International Airport, she knew something was wrong. He barely kissed her cheek before he hurried her toward baggage claim and then to his car. As they sped through the night along Interstate 55 toward his home in midtown Memphis, the light posts on the side of the road appeared to fly by the car windows.

His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and the muscle in his jaw flexed. When he glanced in the rearview mirror again as he’d been doing ever since they left the airport, Callie could hold her tongue no longer. “Uncle Dan, what’s the matter?”

His body tensed further, and he cast a surprised look in her direction. “What do you mean?”

“I can tell you’re upset. Has something happened I need to know about?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m just a little preoccupied over a case.”

Callie reached over and squeezed his arm. “You’re not supposed to be worrying about a case, not with your retirement a week away.”

“I know, but old habits are hard to break.” He glanced in the rearview mirror again.

“You’re going to have to break those old habits. I’m here to spend the summer with you, and I want us to enjoy our time together, especially our trip to Hawaii.”

His forehead wrinkled. “We will, darling. I just have to get some things worked out before we can go. In the meantime, I’ve booked you a room at the Peabody. I think it would be better for you to stay there for a few days until I get this case cleared up.”

Callie sat up straight and swiveled in her seat to face him. “What? I don’t want to stay at the Peabody. I want to stay at home.”

“You will. Like I said, just give me a few days, then we’ll get started on our summer plans.”

“But Uncle Dan...”

“Oh, no!” her uncle exclaimed, his wide-eyed stare locked on the rearview mirror.

Behind them Callie heard the roar of a car engine as it pulled into the passing lane. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, but her uncle’s big hand gripped the back of her neck and pushed her face down to her lap as their car surged forward in a new burst of speed. Callie tried to wriggle free of the tight grip, but it was no use.

The crack of gunfire split the air, and the glass on the driver’s-side window shattered. Uncle Dan’s hand loosened then fell off her neck completely, and the car swerved toward the road’s shoulder. Callie glanced up to see her uncle slumped over the steering wheel, his hand now hanging limply beside him. Before she could reach out to him, the car hit the highway guard rail, which folded like an accordion. Her air bag released and pushed her back into her seat as the car flipped on its side and plunged down a small embankment.

The vehicle’s jarring stop knocked the breath from Callie’s chest, and she closed her eyes as dizziness engulfed her. After a moment she swallowed, opened her eyes and took a deep breath.

Somehow the car had righted itself before it came to a stop, and she struggled to sit up in her seat. She turned her head to the side and gasped at the sight of her unconscious uncle behind the driver’s-side air bag. Blood poured down the side of his face. She pushed her air bag out of the way and fumbled to release the seat belt, but it wouldn’t open. “Uncle Dan!”

She touched his neck, found his weak pulse and groaned. He needed immediate medical attention. Her purse with her cell phone inside had been next to her feet before the crash, but it could be anywhere in the car now. She swept the floor with her hand but couldn’t find it. She glanced back at her uncle, but he still hadn’t moved. Blood from his head wound covered the now-deflating driver’s-side air bag and dripped to the floor.