Vote for Murder (eBook)

Doris Lafrenz (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017 | 1. Auflage
200 Seiten
Yorkshire Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-947825-96-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Doris masterly weaves a tale of suspense and intrigue in her novel Vote for Murder! Travel with her down a path of betrayal and madness. However, don't forget to leave the lights on, or you might just hear the sound of bees buzzing.

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Senator Kyle Withers is a man destined for great things, but Kyle has one roblem hindering his destiny--Julia. Locked in his own personal torment, Michael Thornton devises a plan to rid Kyle of his "e;Julia problem"e; once and for all. In one afternoon Julia Withers loses her identity, her marriage and her baby. In this fast paced political thriller, Julia flees her captors, keeping just one heart-stopping step ahead of a killer. When an unexpected ally steps out of the shadows, they team up with Rancho Valley stay at home mom, Sandra Eversol. The unlikely trio devises a plan of their own to expose a killer even if it costs Kyle the White House.

Textauszug

Chapter 1

Empty nest

Life is full of change. That’s what my mother always said. “Life is full of change, Sandra, and change is what keeps us in the game. We are born, we grow up, we work, one day we marry, we have children, we grow old and then we die and those we leave behind take over. That’s the cycle of the generations. Life is full of change and there is nothing we can do about it.” That’s what Mother always said and Mother was always right.

I sighed. We are born, we grow up, we work, we have children and then we die. With that happy thought I poured milk into Darla’s cereal.

“Don’t dawdle, Darla, Grandma and Grandpa want to leave soon. Don’t forget to pack your toothbrush after you brush your teeth.”

“I won’t forget Mamma. Are you going to be lonely all by yourself while I’m gone? Do you want me to stay home with you? I can stay home if you want me to, Mamma. I don’t mind.”

I looked into Darla’s little upturned face. I touched her little button nose with the tip of my finger, “I’ll be fine, Sweetie. I don’t want you to stay home and miss all the fun! I want you and your brothers to have a good time on vacation with Grandma and Grandpa. Won’t you like being with Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Yeah, Grandpa told me all the places we will see. I like the motor home too, Mamma. It’s like a whole house! Grandpa showed me my bed already, but I can’t sleep in it when Grandpa’s driving.”

“You can’t?”

“No, on account of my bed doesn’t have any seat belts. Grandpa told me I always have to wear my seat belt when the motor home is moving.”

“Good idea,” I said. “Now finish your breakfast.”

Darla is kid number three for my husband, Lawrence and me. We were both born and raised in Iowa. After our marriage we moved to California leaving Lawrence’s parents behind. With the distance between us Grandma and Grandpa had not been able to see their grandchildren as much as they wanted to and last year they retired and decided to remedy that situation. They moved to California to be closer to their only son and his children.

They bought a house only a few blocks from us. They did something else when they retired; they surprised us and bought a motor home to travel in and a cell phone to keep in touch with. This summer Grandma and Grandpa packed up the motor home and invited our three offspring, fourteen year old Junior, as in Lawrence Eversol Jr., eleven year old Bobby and nine year old Darla to join them on a two week motor trip. Their itinerary includes stops at the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park.

I am Sandra Eversol, stay at home mom and general caretaker for our three offspring while Lawrence Eversol Sr. works for our living. Lawrence is a sales manager for a pharmaceutical company and is embarking on a particularly grueling but important two-week business trip himself this morning.

This trip is one that someone in the sales department of his company has to make every year and every year it is difficult to find a salesman to volunteer for the trip. Since there is so little interest in making this particular yearly trip, the company decided to make it an appointment of sorts, on a rotation basis. This year it was Lawrence who drew the short straw, so to speak, so he would be the one taking the two week trip to some of the largest hospitals and clinics on the East coast.

When Lawrence came home and told me that it was his turn this year, I had anticipated going with him. That was the original reason for sending the kids off with Grandma and Grandpa for two weeks.

Every other year the company had allowed spouses to accompany the salesperson assigned to this trip. I had taken this trip with Lawrence before and I loved the fact that I could browse the shops and all the touristy places of the particular city we were in while Lawrence sweated it out meeting clients and working for our living, but this year the company had said no to spouses coming along.

It seems that last year the salesman and his wife taking the trip had taken one of the company’s biggest clients to a posh restaurant and had used particularly bad judgment by embarking on personal argument in the presence of said client, embarrassing each other, the client and the company. The next day the client canceled the order.

It took a lot of groveling and general buttering up the client to win back his business. Flattery, it seems, deserved or not, still makes good business sense. The order was reinstated.

The offending salesman had not fared as well.

Hearing me sigh again, Darla looked up at me. “Are you sure you’re okay, Mamma?”

I smiled at my little munchkin. “I’m fine, sweet stuff. Are you finished with breakfast?”

Darla picked up her bowl and spoon and put it in the kitchen sink. “I’m done, Mamma.”

“Alright then, brush your teeth and don’t forget to pack your toothbrush,” I said to her back as she was skipping away from me. Didn’t I already say that? I was repeating myself, a bad habit I’m trying to break. It’s not going very well, but then there’s always tomorrow. I comforted myself with that thought; the sun will still come up tomorrow and I get another chance.

Tomorrow, I’ll try harder.

I rinsed Darla’s dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

My in-law’s had arrived on our doorstep early this morning, just as the sky was streaking the colors of the impending dawn. Their motor home stood majestically in our driveway, gleaming in the sunlight at the ready to carry three eager children and two stalwart grandparents on a vacation adventure.

Those two brave souls were now sitting at my kitchen table drinking their morning coffee. I picked up the coffee pot and carried it over to the table.

“Would you like another cup of coffee, Leonard?”

“Don’t mind if I do, Sandra.” He lifted his cup so I could fill it with the steaming hot brew. “So what will you do for two weeks while everybody is out of your hair and you are here rattling around this house alone?”

“I thought I would...” I didn’t have time to finish my sentence before Lawrence, as in Lawrence Eversol Sr., husband to me and father of our brood, walked into the kitchen with, of course, a problem.

“Sandra, did you pick up my gray suit from the cleaners yesterday?”

“Yes, I hung it in the closet. Didn’t you see it there?”

“I’ll look again.” He turned and left the room.

“So, you were saying?” My father-in-law prompted me.

“I’ll keep busy, I’m sure. I thought I’d stop by the bookstore and buy that book I’ve been meaning to pick up. There’s a movie I want to see too. And, of course, I have my work at the homeless shelter to keep me busy.”

“You’re still doing that? I worry about you down there in that part of town mingling with all those people. Who knows who you might run into down there? You could be mugged just going back and forth from your car.”

“It’s really quite safe, Leonard. There is a volunteer security staff that patrols the shelter premises. Most of the people who come to us are just a little down on their luck and need a hot meal. They mean no harm.”

“I suppose so, but please promise me you will be careful.”

“I will.” I poured coffee into my own cup and placed the coffee pot back in the coffee maker. I knew that Leonard was concerned about my work at the shelter, but I felt it was important work and I wanted to be a part of it. Our church had joined with other local churches to set up a community center and shelter to help people down on their luck with no place else to turn. The shelter was almost always full to capacity.

The shelter not only serves three hot meals a day, but also provides an outreach to help people find jobs and even provides beds for those who need a place to sleep. Lately, with the economy so depressed, people were losing their jobs and their homes. Some families were living in their cars and coming to the shelter to feed their children. It’s heartbreaking to see young children coming through the

food lines. That’s why I and so many others volunteer to help.

“Mamma, are you listening?”

Darla stood in front of me, her suitcase dangling in one hand while hugging her pillow with the other. I had been so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn’t even noticed her come into the room. I looked down at her. “What is it sweetie?”

“Can I take my pillow with me?”

“Of course you can,” Leonard answered her question. “Put your suitcase and pillow by the door and I’ll take them out to the motor home.”

The boys joined Darla and stood in front of me. I looked at all three of them standing in a row so straight and strong. How Lawrence and I could produce such beautiful children is amazing to me. God took the best of Lawrence and the best of me and put them together with stunning results in our...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 17.11.2017
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• ISBN-10: 1-947825-96-8 / 1947825968
• ISBN-13: 978-1-947825-96-3 / 9781947825963