Monday, November 16, 2015

Addicted to Writing Presents Mystery Monday: Blood Memories by K. J. Dahlen


Blood Memories
K. J. Dahlen
kjdahlen1@yahoo.com

Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 1


When an accident turns out to be not an accident but murder Savannah must solve a double murder that happened over twenty years ago to find the truth. She was the only witness to her parent’s murder and now their killer is after her. She puts her trust into a man her aunt has known and all these years but evidence soon points to him being involved with the man she thinks killed her parents. Will she prove him innocent or fall prey to his intent? Her life and over two million dollars in diamonds is at stake.



EXCERPT


As the dirt hit the casket, the sound it made echoed through the cemetery and caused Savannah to flinch. The sound was so final but then so was death. Savannah's heart was breaking as she listened to the thud of the earth hitting the wood of her aunt's final resting place. She glanced at the temporary headstone marker. Tears rolled down her cheeks when she read the name on the marker, Donna Marie Kelley.

A voice inside her head screamed at her that the name on the headstone was wrong. It should have read Donna Marie Weston, not Kelley. Donna had been the one person in her young life who protected her after her parents died. She was the one who held Savannah when she was sick or the nightmares got the best of her. Donna had been there to make her laugh and kept her safe all these years. It made Savannah sad that when her aunt needed her the most, she wasn't there for her.

Donna had died four days ago in a car accident. Her car plunged off the road and down into a ravine. The paramedics said she might have lived if help had arrived right after the accident, but Donna wasn't found until the next day. She had been all alone and in pain when death came to call.

Tears slid down her cheeks as she thought of how long Donna had suffered. The medical examiner's report told her that Donna suffered two broken legs and a fractured rib. The rib punctured her lung and eventually her abdomen filled with blood. The coroner had determined she bled to death internally. The police were looking into the accident, but she knew there was nothing they could do. There wasn't anything anyone could do. Donna was gone and now she was alone in the world.

Savannah thought back on her life. They had lived in twelve different cities over the years, but when they moved to Seattle, Savannah put her foot down and refused to move again. She had been sick of not staying in one place long enough to make friends. She remembered the look on Donna's face when she refused to move again. Donna seemed scared about something, but she would never tell Savannah what frightened her. It had taken Donna a few days to come to terms with not moving again but she had. Savannah was old enough to know they had been running for a long time, but when she asked Donna who or what they had been running from, Donna wouldn't tell her. She had made Savannah promise to keep their secret and Savannah would have been willing to promise her the moon at the time.

Savannah glanced at the temporary marker again. She knew Donna wouldn't want her real name on her final resting place but she was tempted to put it there. Savannah George wasn't her real name either. She had been born Georgia Michelle Corbin, but she hadn't been called Georgia for a long, long time, almost a life time, her lifetime.

Savannah looked around the cemetery. Green Haven cemetery was located on a slope overlooking Puget Sound, in Seattle, Washington. Donna had brought her here to Seattle seven years ago. Back then Seattle had been just another town. Savannah's eyes looked past the town to the edge of the water and the gentle lapping sound she could almost hear calmed her. It was one of the things about Seattle she loved. Whenever Savannah got scared or lonely, she would go down to the edge of the Sound and gaze out over the sea. The smell of the water and the soothing sounds of the ocean were Savannah's escape. All of her fears melted away by the sound of the sea.

Glancing toward the sky, Savannah could see the dark gray clouds. It looked as dreary outside as she felt inside. Donna's death had been the result of a car accident, and Savannah hadn't had time to think about her future yet.







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