Twisted: A Tracy Turner Murder Mystery Novel:
CHAPTER ONE
“Oh, Pierre, just do without the truffles!” I said. My high heels clanged across the poolside’s black and white checkered tiles as I hurried to the Ethereal Room, where tonight’s banquet was being held.
CHAPTER TWO
Making my way back to the café, I couldn't believe how fast everything had changed. My head throbbed with unanswered questions and my mind felt like a pressure cooker ready to explode. I knew only one thing, and of it I was certain: Ryan was innocent. I couldn't bear the thought of him being stuck in that awful place. It would break him; they would break him. I shuddered at the thought.
CHAPTER THREE
Wisps of information that I had gathered floated about in my head. As they did, I tried to hold on to the nuggets that would help make sense of it all. It felt like I was unraveling a ball of twine; the more I unwound, the more knots I found. It had been three short hours since Ryan was arrested. In that time I had discovered at least three people who could have wanted him dead.
CHAPTER FOUR
I made myself comfortable in my favorite hideout, an old meeting room tucked away behind the reception area that was unused by anyone in the building. I came upon it by chance, and it was the place that I went to when I needed alone time to think and get away from Amanda and the hustle and bustle of the Administrative Department who shared our workspace.
CHAPTER FIVE
I followed the smell of burning camphor and jasmine wafting down the corridor leading to Gina Fey’s room. A quick Google search had confirmed the details on her business card. Gina was the proprietor of an exclusive Tantric yoga studio based in a shopping enclave downtown. Google Street view featured it as a dim-lit venture tucked between The Witches Lair that peddled love potions and good luck charms and Armoires, Antiques & Things, a local store that sold near-new antiques.
CHAPTER SIX
Back in my hidey-hole, I began to piece the puzzle together. It seemed that in the last few hours since Ryan’s arrest there were more and more people coming out of the woodwork who could have killed Frank or at least who would have wanted him dead. The more I thought about it, the more baffling it became.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I hated blood. I hated everything about it: the sight of it, the stench, the pain that came with it. Pushing past the people gathered around, I broke free of the crowd and ran outside. I clung to one of the white pillars on the outside verandah and couldn’t hold back the hot tears running down my face.
CHAPTER EIGHT
It was a restless night, and I had slept in short bursts. All kinds of scenarios played out in my semiconscious state. There was Bruno Burns who raced into the courtroom and shot the Walters, each of them in turn.
CHAPTER NINE
The sleeves of Doug’s white shirt had been rolled up to his elbows. His back was turned away from the bar and he was hunched over a stainless steel wash basin. His ungloved hands indicated that this daily regimen had conditioned him to withstand the heat from the steamy, bubbling, frothy water.
CHAPTER TEN
Once I was outside Brett’s door, I heaved a long sigh of relief. I was safe and found what I was looking for. Doug couldn’t have killed Frank. According to the footage, he was at the bar at the time, so Frank must have been killed by someone else. What about Katherine? The same gun had killed them both. It was safe to assume that it was the same killer.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A heavy metal drummer blasted a beat inside my head and I couldn’t make it stop. The odor of gas, rubber, and mud made my stomach churn. Waves of nausea rose up into my throat and I swallowed it back.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The gun was plastered against my temple. I felt the sweat rippling down from my hairline onto my face. I shut my eyes and had to think fast. Why did I agitate him? I really needed to learn to keep my mouth shut. Think, I told myself. This is no time for regret. Reason with him. “There is no rationalizing with a mad man. Make your peace, Tracy,” said the voice. Get out of my head.
A NOTE FROM KEYLA
Thank you for picking up Twisted, the first book in the Tracy Turner Mystery series. I hope you enjoyed reading it, if you did it will be wonderful if you'd share your thoughts with other readers who may be interested in this story, by leaving a review on Amazon.