Delayed
Justice
by Constance Bretes
Can two former lovers set aside
their differences and work together to bring a criminal to justice?
Five years ago, Sami Parker's life
was changed forever when she was injured in a bombing incident which left
another young woman dead—a woman who happened to be the fiancée of Sheriff
Makeeta Robertson, Sami's former lover. Initially, Sami was a suspect in the
crime, but the sheriff was forced to release her due to a lack of evidence. The
town, convinced that she got away with murder, turned against her.
At last an arrest has been made and
the sheriff needs Sami's help to get a conviction, but can she trust him?
Although wary and cautious, she wants to see this man brought to justice and
wants to clear her own name once and for all. But the awakening feelings she
has for Makeeta bring yet another problem. Then there's the secret she's kept
for the last five years—one she may not be able to keep any longer, and one
that may change the outcome of the trial.
**Content Warning: contains some
sexual content**
*******
Excerpt:
Sami got in her truck at about ten
in the evening to head to Milne City to get her mail. She pulled up in front of
the post office, parking parallel to the building, and walked inside to her
mailbox. When she returned to her truck, a sheriff cruiser pulled up beside
her. She walked between the cruiser and her truck and Makeeta got out of the
cruiser.
"Sami, what are you doing out
here this late at night?" he asked.
"What does it look like I'm
doing?" she uttered sarcastically.
"Why do you get your mail so
late?"
"To avoid people like
you," she retorted curtly and continued to her truck and opened the door.
She fumbled with her mail and some dropped to the ground. Makeeta bent over to
pick it up at the same time she did. He grabbed the mail first and handed it to
her.
"I was going to call you next
week. I need you to come down to the sheriff's office and see if you can pick
out the perpetrator in a lineup," Makeeta said. She climbed into her truck
and he leaned slightly on her truck door, preventing her from closing it.
"I already picked him out at
the district attorney's office. You know that—you were there."
"Yes, but for added security,
if you can identify him in a lineup, that would leave the jury with absolutely
no doubt about the identity. We want to seal the case up and close any gaps or
loopholes that the defense might grab on to."
Sami let out a sigh. "I don't
know if I'm comfortable coming down to the sheriff's office to do this. How do
I know you won't arrest me?"
Makeeta looked at her questioningly.
"Why would I do that?"
"Gee, I don't know, maybe
because you think I helped create the damn bomb that went off?"
"I thought we were past this,
Sami. I cleared you of any suspicion of involvement in the case."
"Yeah, well, what I don't
understand is why if you didn't believe me five years ago, you would believe me
now," Sami said, holding her raw emotion in check.
"I don't recall ever saying I
didn't believe you, but I had an investigation going on and I needed to rule
everyone out." Makeeta's voice hardened.
"You didn't rule me out…you
brought me into the station the minute I was released from the hospital. I had
intense pain, needed my medication, and you kept me there for hours. Did you
conveniently forget about that?" Sami asked, looking him up and down from
her side vision. He still had a beautifully proportioned body. He wore a blue
jean shirt, with his badge pinned to his pocket, and tight-fitting jeans. His
face was ruggedly handsome, with shoulder-length black hair. "You should
have sent one of your deputies out to talk to me two weeks ago, you should have
known that I wouldn't be interested in talking to you about anything." She
wanted to get this conversation over with so she could leave.
"I thought it would be easier
for you if it was just you and me," he said quietly.
"After what you put me through,
you thought it would be easier for me? What planet did you come from?" she
asked incredulously. "Besides, you weren't alone, you brought the district
attorney and another deputy with you."
"Okay, maybe I made a bad
judgment call there," he confessed. "But I'm here now to ask you to
come to the station and see if you can identify the perpetrator."
"When do you want me to come
down?"
"As soon as you can," he
answered crisply.
"All right, may as well get it
over with. I'll be there tomorrow at ten, is that okay with you?" she
asked sharply.
"Tomorrow at ten would be just
fine." Makeeta smiled thinly at her.
"Okay, now if you'll excuse me,
I want to get out of here."
*******
*******
About
the Author:
Constance Bretes is an author of
contemporary romance and suspense. Her romance books are often set in different
parts of the country, but her favorite site is Montana. She's married to her
best friend and resides in Michigan with him and a houseful of cats. When she's
not at her regular 8-to-5 job, she can be found writing, researching, and
spending time with her husband.
No comments:
Post a Comment