Sandra Robbins - Yuletide Jeopardy

“LEAVE THE PAST ALONE…I’M WARNING YOU.”

No threats will deter TV anchorwoman Grace Kincaid from the promise she made to investigate her high school classmate’s suspicious death. She’ll unravel the secrets from the past—even if she has to join forces with her former fiancé, cold-case detective Alex Crowne. Working closely together rekindles old feelings, and getting close to Alex puts Grace’s heart at risk. But it’s her life that’s in the most danger when she gets too close to exposing a killer-in-hiding who has made her his next target.

The Cold Case Files: Uncovering secrets of the past

“He’s taunting you, Grace. You need to stop this right now.”

She shook her head. “This guy knows something, Alex. He has to be the killer.”

“This is getting out of hand. First he gives you an anonymous call, then he sends you a puzzle to find his hidden message, and when you do, there’s another clue that threatens you. This guy is setting you up for something bad, and I don’t like it. This is a matter for the police.”

She glared at him. “I’ve been trained to follow a story wherever it goes. I’ll keep working on this whether you help me or not.”

“Grace, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I’m not going to get hurt. And I’m not giving up,” she said and then stormed off.

She was determined to follow through on this, and Alex knew he’d do what he’d done ever since they were children. He’d be right there with her, looking out for her. How could she still have a hold on him after all these years and after all they’d gone through? Maybe if he helped her with this case he could finally close the chapter on Grace Kincaid and put her out of his life permanently.

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.”

Yuletide Jeopardy

Sandra Robbins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

—Ephesians 4:31–32

To Kathy

A Great Friend and Critique Partner

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

DEAR READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

EXCERPT

ONE

The WKIZ-TV van skidded to a stop near the police cars blocking the entrance to the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, and Grace Kincaid jumped from the vehicle before her cameraman had time to turn off the engine. The blue lights on the cruisers flashed in the cold December morning fog that drifted up from the Mississippi River below.

She held up her identification badge, which hung from a lanyard around her neck as she ran toward the officers who stood beside the cars. “Grace Kincaid, WKIZ. I had an urgent message that a man who’s threatening to jump from the bridge wants to talk to me.”

Captain Wilson, who she had interviewed once, pointed toward the middle of the bridge. “His name is Timothy Mitchell. Do you know him?”

Grace’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “His son was a friend of mine in high school. He committed suicide on this bridge when we were seniors.”

“We found that out,” he said.

Grace’s mind raced at the possibilities of this story. The father of her high school boyfriend was threatening suicide on the same bridge where his son had died, and he’d asked for her. Stories like this came along maybe once in a career. If she handled this right, the video would make a good addition to her application when she decided to apply to the networks again. She had to handle this carefully if she was to have a happy ending to this story by getting Mr. Mitchell safely off the bridge.

She turned to Captain Wilson. “Has he asked for anything else?”

“Mr. Mitchell asked for you and Detective Alex Crowne, but he’s not here yet. You can wait here until he arrives,” Captain Wilson said.

Grace groaned inwardly. Just what she needed. This story had just gotten a lot more complicated. She hadn’t seen Alex since the wedding of their best friends Laura Webber and Brad Austin six months ago, and he’d ignored her then. He would probably do the same thing when he arrived at the bridge because he still couldn’t stand to be near her. Instead of accepting his part in their failed romance, he had chosen to blame her, and she supposed he always would.

Grace shook her head. No way was he going to ignore her today and let this story slip through her fingers. She didn’t need Alex Crowne to help her with a man she’d known well once upon a time. With any luck she could have Mr. Mitchell down and be gone before Alex arrived.

“No, thanks. He can join me when he gets here.” A cold gust of wind whipped her coat around her knees, and she shivered at the early-morning chill. She pulled her gloves from her coat pocket, tugged them on and nodded to her cameraman Derek. “Let’s go. Be sure you keep that camera on. This will be our lead-in story on the noon and six o’clock news.”

Derek nodded. “Gotcha.”

Grace hurried toward the two officers who stood up ahead in the roadway next to the knee-high concrete barrier that separated it from the pedestrian walkway. As she came closer, her heart sank at the sight of the man who straddled the walkway railing on the river side of the bridge. His eyes were closed, and he swayed back and forth on the handrail as his long, white hair blew about his face.

The years had taken a toll on the once-handsome man. She’d heard that after his son’s death he had spiraled into a deep depression and had spent time in and out of mental institutions. Tears filled Grace’s eyes. The man balancing on the railing just feet away from her looked nothing like the wealthy businessman she’d once known.

One of the officers glanced from her to Mr. Mitchell as she approached. “Just let him talk and tell you what’s on his mind. Maybe you can distract him long enough for us to get him off that railing.”

Grace glanced around to make sure Derek had the camera rolling and nodded. “I’ll try.”