If
you’re just joining us, you should know that Not Your Usual Suspect authors are
treating our fans to an eight-part mystery round robin, Her Fatal Valentine. It
started on February 4, so it’s easy to get caught up!
We continue our Valentine mystery round robin with Part 7 of Her Fatal Valentine by Julie Moffett
Lauren looked up and saw two policemen crouched in the doorway, guns drawn, both of them pointing at her.
The one on the
left jerked his gun at Kyle’s lifeless body. “What the hell is going on,
Carter? Did she off him?”
Carter exhaled a
deep sigh. “Put your guns away. She didn’t kill him.”
The two men
paused, confusion in their eyes. Carter nodded and the men shrugged and
straightened, holstering their weapons.
Lauren glanced at
Carter in surprise. “You… you believe me?”
Carter ran his
fingers through his hair, a familiar gesture she remembered well. “As much as I
wanted to pin this murder on you, to make you pay for Caroline’s death, I don’t
think you killed him.”
"I didn’t kill
Kyle, I swear.”
“You were going
to marry him.”
“No.” Lauren
shook her head vigorously. “I was going to break up actually.”
Carter held up a
small box and popped it open. A glittery diamond nestled on soft blue velvet
sparkled at her.
Lauren stared at
it aghast. “I… I didn’t know.”
Carter leaned
forward, his eyes darkening. “I believe you. I also don’t think you killed
Caroline. You don’t have it in you, no matter how despicably your sister
behaved. You were right about her, Lauren. She was insanely jealous of you. I
didn’t see it until it was too late. I made the biggest mistake of my life by
marrying her. Especially since you were the one I’d always loved.”
Lauren felt tears
prick her eyes. How many nights had she dreamed of hearing him say those very
words? Now that he’d said them, she had to know. “Then why did you leave me?”
He snapped the
box shut and set it on the coffee table. “I should have never suspected you of
carrying on with Mike. It’s just that he was always around, trailing after you,
lusting for you. I could see it, even if you couldn’t. I should have realized
it wasn’t reciprocal.”
Lauren pressed
her hand to her chest, willing herself to stay composed. “We were only friends,
Carter. I told you the truth. It’s only after
you dumped me that things changed between us.”
Lauren’s throat
tightened. “If that’s true, then why did you marry her?”
Carter closed his
eyes. “Because of the baby.”
His words sliced
a knife through her heart. She couldn’t breathe. “Oh, my God. Caroline was
pregnant?”
Carter opened his
mouth to answer when two shots rang out. Before Lauren could move, he vaulted
out of his chair, slammed into her and pushed her to the floor with a hard
thud. Screams and more shots filled the air as he rolled them over twice until
they were hidden behind the couch. An eerie silence filled the room. Carter
drew his weapon as he inched off her and into a crouch.
“Stay down,” he
mouthed and motioned at her with his hand.
From her vantage
point, Lauren could see nothing other than Kyle’s dead body lying not far from
her. The bile rose in her throat and her body trembled.
Then came the
sound of footsteps and a voice. A voice she knew very well.
“At last the
guests are all here. I see the Valentine’s party is well underway.”
Who shot at them? What happened to the two policemen? Are Lauren and Carter going to die? Join us Wednesday, February 20th, for the conclusion to Her Fatal Valentine by Wendy Soliman.
8 comments:
Fabulous intrique, Julie, and being #7 on the list wasn't an easy gig. Good show!
Oh, this is wonderful! Love how the love story is coming together...and it sounds like the true "bad guy" is finally on the scene?? Can't wait for the next installment (and sorry it's the last!).
Oh my golly! Who is the bad guy? Did he kill tghe two officers?
Do we really have to wait until Wednesday?
Wednesday! Wednesday!
Awesome! We're finally, finally going to find out whodunit!!!
Cannot wait until Wednesday. This has been a total blast.
I agree with Kathy! It's been a lot of fun! :) And I'm as curious as the rest of you as to how Wendy wraps it all up!
You ladies haven't made it easy for me. Thanks, I think!
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