I wondered whether anything they could come up with would be enough to derail Quinto’s political career now that he’d graduated to Washington.
Rory seemed to have read my thoughts. “One day we may have sufficient evidence, but until then I need to keep a low profile.”
“So, you’ll go back to Maine?”
“Not saying that. I have to keep my options open. I need to be able to vanish again.” He stuck a hand out his window, reached across the space between us, and took my hand. “Thank you, Charlie.”
“Did your dad know about the abuse—near the end?”
Rory withdrew his hand and gave the tiniest shake of his head. It was some consolation to me, knowing the old man had never learned the worst of the secrets.
The first time, it had been Fergus’s idea to help his son disappear. He’d told me as much. Now, Rory was in charge and I had no doubt he could do anything he was determined to do. At my slightest hint of stepping forward to tell what had happened, he’d already said he would evaporate. I had no doubt of this.
We parted, and as I drove away I pondered all that had happened. We’d spent the last half-hour only a couple of freeway exits away from the airport. Rory could get a last-minute ticket to anywhere and be on a plane, almost by the time I reached home. It wasn’t the first time a client of mine had a dodgy story, and it certainly wasn’t the first time a politician had sidestepped responsibility for his actions, I thought as I headed westbound toward a lowering sun.
Justice. It’s a concept everyone wants to believe in, and here in America we like to think we have a good system for it. But I’m learning that things are not always black and white. There are gray areas everywhere, and how can any of us ever really know the truth?
I felt hopeful that eventually Rory, with Damian’s support and Helen Bannerly’s help, would be cleared of the allegations that had ruined his career. Perhaps Herman Quinto’s dirty tricks would come to light in the process and come back to take him down politically.
I wondered where Rory would be in the next twenty-four hours, where he would be in a year, and how many discarded cell phones there were at the bottom of that lake in Maine.
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Thank you for taking the time to read Escapes Can Be Murder. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and is much appreciated.
Thank you,
Connie Shelton
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Author’s Note
As always, I have a huge amount of gratitude for everyone who helped shape this book into its final version. Dan Shelton, my husband, helpmate, and expert on all things helicopter—I couldn’t do it without you. And thank you Stephanie, my lovely daughter and business partner, for your part in keeping our business strong!
Editors Susan Slater, Stephanie Dewey and Shirley Shaw spot the plot and character flaws and help smooth the rough bits in the prose. And topping off the effort are my beta readers, who drop everything in their own lives to read and find the typos that inevitably sneak past me. Thank you for your help with this book: Christine Johnson, Marcia Koopman, Lisa Train, Sandra Anderson and Judi Shaw. You guys are the best!
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Books by Connie Shelton
The Charlie Parker Series
Deadly Gamble
Partnerships Can Be Murder
Small Towns Can Be Murder
Memories Can Be Murder
Honeymoons Can Be Murder
Reunions Can Be Murder
Competition Can Be Murder
Balloons Can Be Murder
Obsessions Can Be Murder
Gossip Can Be Murder
Stardom Can Be Murder
Phantoms Can Be Murder
Buried Secrets Can Be Murder
Legends Can Be Murder
Weddings Can Be Murder
Alibis Can Be Murder
Escapes Can Be Murder
Holidays Can Be Murder - a Christmas novella
The Samantha Sweet Series
Sweet Masterpiece
Sweet’s Sweets
Sweet Holidays
Sweet Hearts
Bitter Sweet
Sweets, Begorra
Sweet Payback
Sweet Somethings
Sweets Forgotten
Spooky Sweet
Sticky Sweet
The Woodcarver’s Secret
Spellbound Sweets – a Halloween novella
The Heist Ladies Series
Diamonds Aren’t Forever
The Trophy Wife Exchange
Movie Mogul Mama
Children’s Books
Daisy and Maisie and the Great Lizard Hunt
Daisy and Maisie and the Lost Kitten
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Escapes Can Be Murder
Published by Secret Staircase Books, an imprint of
Columbine Publishing Group, LLC
PO Box 416, Angel Fire, NM 87710
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information contained in this book we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein. Any slights of people, places or organizations are unintentional.
Book layout and design by Secret Staircase Books
Cover images © Jana Jurkova, Michael Shake, Peter Wollinga, Ayutaka
First trade paperback edition: June, 2019
First e-book edition: June, 2019
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Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shelton, Connie
Escapes Can Be Murder / by Connie Shelton.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1945422713 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1945422720 (e-book)
1. Charlie Parker (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. New Mexico—Fiction. 3. Maine—Fiction. 4. American politics—Fiction. 5. Women sleuths—Fiction. I. Title
Charlie Parker Mystery Series : Book 18.
Shelton, Connie, Charlie Parker mysteries.
BISAC : FICTION / Mystery & Detective.
813/.54