Death in the Woods by Maria Mankin & Maren C. Tirabassi

Author:Maria Mankin & Maren C. Tirabassi
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781948559812
Publisher: Brain Mill Press
Published: 2023-07-11T05:00:00+00:00

Rye slept late. Saturday and Sunday mornings were delicious, but this time she woke knowing that she had been dreaming something unpleasant. It was gone in the daylight, and she pasted on a big smile for Hardy’s pancake breakfast. It was only after she pushed away from the table fuller than was comfortable that she remembered her meeting with Marc, which had been overshadowed by everything that followed.

She had been playing phone tag with Wanda. It was infuriating that her friend would barely text, instead choosing to call and leave a voicemail in response to a text Rye had sent her. Rye had gotten the first message after she’d texted about the unpleasant encounter with Marc DuBois-Thorne, knowing that Wanda would have to deal with him at the wake, and maybe before. Wanda had left a message that she had a meeting with him today, but when Rye had called her back, there had been no answer.

It wasn’t like Wanda not to answer. She hated to miss a call, knowing it could be from a parishioner having an emergency.

“Maybe I’ll just stop by the church,” Rye told her father, who was headed out to the yard to check on the chickens.

“Maybe I’ll call the sheriff,” Hardy said. Rye started to protest, but he raised a hand. “Just as a precaution. To give him a heads up.”

“I’ll just tell her to make plans with Marc Dubois-Thorne by phone.” She glanced out the window at the freezing rain that had already demolished the pretty snow. “She can use the weather as an excuse.”

She waved, slid into her car, and headed for the church slowly. The roads were icy, and the last thing she needed was a fender bender—or worse. Rye took a deep breath. She was probably blowing this out of proportion. Marc had been rude. That wasn’t a crime.

Rye had zero proof that Marc was anything other than what he seemed—an uptight exec who had just lost his husband—but she used hands-free to call Wanda again. Still no answer.

She took the turn into the Trinity parking lot too quickly and slid on a patch of ice. Rye eased her foot off the brake and tried to gently correct, but she hadn’t bothered to get snow tires yet, and her 1996 Camry didn’t have four-wheel drive. She kept sliding, her heart in her throat, completely at the whim of her vehicle.

All of sudden, she realized she was on a collision course for a man striding across the parking lot. She spun her wheel desperately while pumping the brakes. He began to stumble backward, suddenly aware that she wasn’t in control of the vehicle, and as her car came to hard stop against the curb, he was only a foot or so away from it.

Sheriff Ryan Phennen stared at Rye through her windshield.

Shakily, she unbuckled her seatbelt and eased out of the car. Her hands were shaking as she stumbled toward him. His mouth was open, but before he could speak, Rye threw herself into his arms and wrapped him tightly in a hug.

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