Deadly Betrayal by Jude Pittman

Deadly Betrayal by Jude Pittman

Author:Jude Pittman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, murder, mystery, texas, pregnant, sex, nashville, baby, lover, star, cheater, liar, country singer, country music star, books we love, married lover
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.


* * *

When Kelly rang the doorbell promptly at seven, Lorena, relaxed and comfortably dressed in black tights and a snug red shirt, met him at the door.

“Hi!” She flashed a brilliant smile and motioned him inside. “Would you care for a drink?” she asked as she led him into the lounge.

“Thanks. I’ll take a beer if you’ve got one handy.” Lorena nodded.

“Have a seat while I get us fixed up.”

Kelly cautiously lowered himself into a rather decorative armchair and watched as Lorena refilled her own glass and then poured beer into a tall silver stein.

“I suppose you’re wondering why I asked you here?” She handed over the beer and settled into the matching chair.

“Hoping would be more accurate. I assumed you’ve done some thinking about my request.”

She nodded her head. “That’s part of it but I’ll be honest with you. I believe your client did kill my husband. Still, if she’s innocent, I certainly wouldn’t want to see her convicted.”

“I appreciate that,” Kelly said. “And the other part?”

Lorena reached in her pocket and pulled out an envelope. “I’d like you to read something,” she said, handing over the letter.

Kelly read, “As agreed, I enclose the photographs. I have, of course, kept the negatives. One further payment of fifty thousand dollars will secure them for you. Now that your husband is dead, I’m sure you wouldn’t want your father to know the truth about your marriage. This will be the last payment, on my honor. Instructions will follow as before.”

Kelly raised his eyebrow and met Lorena’s eyes. “You’ve already paid this joker something?”

Lorena nodded. “Twenty thousand. At the time it seemed like the only thing to do.”

Kelly shook his head. “It never works, you know. These guys are bloodsuckers and once they get hold of you, they don’t let go until they’ve drained you dry.”

“I know.” Lorena’s reply was barely above a whisper. “There were extenuating circumstances to this. At least I thought there were, at the time.”

“How’s that?”

“I thought the blackmailer was my husband.”

Kelly leaned back in his chair and watched the conflicting emotions flutter across her thin, white face. “I’m a bit confused. Are you saying your husband knew about your—shall we say dual life—and you thought he was threatening to go to your father?”

“Exactly!” Lorena’s tone was matter-of-fact. “My husband and I had an understanding. My husband liked to live extremely well and he was chronically short of money. I assumed, based on what I knew of him, that he’d gotten himself into some kind of a jam and had chosen to extract the money rather than admit his weakness and ask me to give it to him.”

“Is it worth this kind of money to keep your father in the dark?”

“Yes!” She snapped the word, her emotions evident in the rigid set to her chin. “Were the photographs that incriminating?”

“Yes. That’s why I suspected my husband. He’s the only one who could possibly have taken them and I don’t know how even he managed that.”

“Could your husband have had an accomplice?”

Lorena pursed her lips.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.