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Marilyn Says: I know there are some people who like to read a series in order, but let me reassure you that every book is complete. Though the characters grow through each book, the crime is always solved. Here is the order of the books for anyone who wants to know: Deadly Trail, Deadly Omen, Unequally Yoked, Intervention, Wing Beat, Calling the Dead, Judgment Fire, Kindred Spirits, Dispel the Mist, Invisible Path, Bears With Us, Raging Water.
EXCERPT from Raging Water by Marilyn Meredith
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Miqui
Sherwood woke from a sound sleep. A floor board creaked. She raised her head
and listened. No, she wasn’t imagining things. There it was again. Someone was
in her house. Neither Cleopatra nor Blondie stirred from their comfy spot
tucked beside the bend in her knees. No wonder, her two darling pets were both
old and hard of hearing.
Maybe
it was that raccoon again who had sneaked in through the doggie door. No. It
took more weight than that to make a floor-board creak.
Someone
was in the house. She’d heard from several of her friends, that they’d been
burglarized but didn’t know when it happened. Well, she knew, because it was
happening to her right now. Crap.
She
eased out of bed as quietly as possible. What should she do? She didn’t own a
gun, didn’t know how to use one, and wasn’t sure she would if she did have one.
She scooped up her dogs and plucked her cell phone off the nightstand.
With
her heart thumping madly, she tiptoed across to the other side of her large
master bedroom and opened the door to the walk-in closet. Besides her clothes,
this was one of the places she stored many of her holiday decorations, and
since she still had her Christmas decorations out, the back was fairly empty.
Her
Christmas decorations. She prayed the intruder didn’t share a fondness for any
of her collectibles handed down to her from her mother and grandmother,
priceless and irreplaceable. She adored each and every one.
Cleopatra
and Blondie squirmed in her arms, letting her know they wanted down.
Miqui
yanked a blanket off a shelf and put it on the floor. Carefully, she set the
dogs down. Within minutes they both emitted soft snores, already back to sleep.
So much for being any kind of protection.
Her
bedroom was at the end of a long hall. She thought she heard the door to one of
the spare bedrooms open. Good heavens, why was she waiting to make a phone
call? She punched in the home phone number for Deputy Crabtree, the resident
deputy of the mountain community of Bear Creek. Calling 9-1-1 would take
longer, and someone else might be sent. She knew the deputy lived close by. It
seemed as though it took forever for the phone to start ringing.
Two
rings later, a sleepy sounding female voice answered. “Crabtree.”
“This
is Miqui Sherwood,” she whispered. “I think there’s someone in my house.”
“Where
are you now?”
“My
dogs and I are hiding in my bedroom closet.”
“Give
me your address. I’m sure I know where you live, but just in case.”
She
rattled off the number. “Hurry.”
“I’m
coming right now.”
It
couldn’t be soon enough to suit Miqui. Since she’d awakened the deputy, she’d
have to dress first and then it was at least eight to ten minutes driving time
from the deputy’s place to Miqui’s home tucked into the mountainside
overlooking the town of Bear
She’d
never been so scared in her life. Maybe she should find something to hit
whoever it was if he came into her bedroom and opened the closet door.
To
do that, she’d have to leave the safety of the closet and she might go back in
the room the same time the burglar came in. No, she’d just stay right where she
was and hope Deputy Crabtree arrived at her house before the intruder made his
way into the bedroom.
Though
she’d given up watching scary movies a long time ago, deciding that wasn’t a
good idea since she lived alone, this was far worse than any scary movie could
possibly be. It wasn’t often she wished she had a man in her life. She’d given
up on that scenario though she still had a spark of hope the right guy might
come along. Now was the time a strong, muscular man would’ve come in handy.
There’d been a few fellows she’d dated and even considered marrying, but for
one reason or another, it had never happened. In most cases, she knew her love
of independence got in the way. She’d yet to meet the man who could accept her level
of self-sufficiency.
She’d
worked long and hard as a partner in a medical insurance group that gave her an
excellent retirement, and she’d made wise investments over the years, so she
didn’t need a man to support her. Nor did she want one to support. Yes, she was
lonely at times, but she belonged to many local organizations, did volunteer
work associated with each of them, and had many female and male friends.
Right
now, cowering in the closet, she wished she’d not been quite so choosy about
the males in her life.
Oh,
dear God, the hinges on her bedroom door squeaked open. Whoever was there would
see she wasn’t in bed.
Cleo,
the black-and-white mixed terrier lifted her head. Her ears stood straight up.
Blondie, a long-haired Doxie mix, stood, emitting a low growl.
Before
Miqui could shush them, the closet door creaked open and gloved fingers
appeared on the edge. She screamed. The two small dogs raced past her, barking.
The
intruder turned and darted off, the little dogs barking and nipping at his ankles.
“Ow. Stop that. Quit it.” His protests faded as he ran through the house.
Whoever
it was wore black from head to toe except for white spots on his running shoes.
He quickly disappeared from view.
Now
afraid for her pets, neither of them young, Miqui ran after the man and the
dogs. “Cleo, Blondie, come back.”
All
she could see of the burglar was his back and those white spots moving quickly
as he dashed through the living room and past the kitchen. He disappeared into
the laundry room. Her dogs galloped right behind him.
Contest: The person who leaves comments on the most blogs will have his/her name used for a character in my next book—can choose if you want it in a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery or a Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel.
Visit Marilyn at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/
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