Parnell Hall Presents Malice Domestic by Verena Rose & Shawn Reilly Simmons & Rita Owen & Parnell Hall

Author:Verena Rose & Shawn Reilly Simmons & Rita Owen & Parnell Hall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2019-05-19T00:00:00+00:00

KILLER CHOCOLATE CHIPS, by Ruth McCarty

The chief knows repeated domestic abuse can’t be resolved easily, even when accompanied by a chocolate chip cookie.

Chief of Police Erin Donnelly stared at the box of walnut chocolate chip cookies Abby Jones had dropped off at the station. Third box of homemade cookies that week. All because Erin had responded to a domestic call at Abby’s bed and breakfast, the Rose Trellis Inn, and arrested Abby’s husband for allegedly choking her, even though Abby’s neck wasn’t even bruised.

A classic he said/she said case and Erin wasn’t sure it would hold up in court. Several of the guests had heard Abby and her husband arguing and they said she gave as good as she got. Erin had gone to high school with both of them, so she knew about the on-again/off-again relationship they’d always had.

Erin didn’t need another cookie, even though they smelled and looked delicious. She reached into the box. “Just one more. That’s it,” she said aloud, but she knew better. If the guys at the station didn’t gobble them up soon, she would eat each and every one.

Reggie Jones had been released on bail that morning, and Abby had come bearing gifts and asking for extra protection. “He’s going to kill me next time. I just know it,” she’d said, swiping a balled-up tissue at her eyes. “He’s burning mad that I filed the protective order against him. Thinks because he’s half owner of the inn that he can come and go as he pleases.”

Erin had explained once again how the Maine Protective Order worked. “You know Reggie’s excluded from the home, school, or work of the protected person, and since you live and work in the same place, he won’t be allowed anywhere near the inn. He hasn’t contacted you, has he?”

“Nope. But I know the minute he has a few whiskeys he’ll be right there in my face. And you know he has a gun.”

“We took his gun when we served the order. He’s prohibited from possessing a gun.”

“And you of all people know that his hunting buddies have more guns than a Remington factory.”

It was true, Erin knew. She’d bet most everybody in Prosperity had multiple guns. Some registered, some not. They had confiscated the only gun registered to Reggie, but her gut told her he had more stashed somewhere besides the inn. The thought had haunted her all day. Would their domestic spat escalate into murder?

It had been a long day at the station and she was exhausted. Two of her officers were on light duty due to injuries and one more had taken a bereavement leave to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral in Connecticut, so Erin had helped out on several of the calls.

She’d responded to a 9-1-1 overdose call because she was closer to the location than the paramedics. She’d arrived right before them, and administered a shot of Narcan to the victim’s thigh. As chief, she had made sure each cruiser was equipped with a Narcan kit.

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