Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
Switching to crime fiction, I bring you the opening of Batter Down, the third in The Laurel Highlands Mysteries series. Batter Down, written as Liz Milliron, is available in the Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales anthology from the Mary Roberts Rinehart chapter of Sisters in Crime. And the ebook is on sale for 99 cents until Christmas (on all platforms). It’s packed with great stories, so if you’re buying a tablet-ereader for someone this holiday, you might want to pre-load some reading material!
Anyway, here’s the teaser.
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“Big day tomorrow, Johnny.”
Third baseman Johnny Pierce looked up. “Big day indeed.”
“You nervous?” Assistant trainer Mike Collins picked up some towels.
“Nah.” Pierce stood up and twirled his car keys. “As long as I have my lucky socks, what can go wrong?”
***
Collins showed up at the ballpark before warm-ups. He unlocked the door, noting the lights were on in the locker room. This was not unusual. Pierce liked to get some solitary batting practice before a game. He had probably turned them on.
“Hey, Johnny, you in here?” There was no answer. Maybe he was already on the field. Collins entered the locker room and stopped.
Pierce lay on the floor, eyes open and glazed. Even from a few feet away, Collins could see a shiny wetness in Pierce’s dark blond hair. Collins bent to check for a pulse. Finding none, he ran to call 9-1-1.
***
Corporal Gary Sheffield of the Pennsylvania State Police surveyed the crime scene. Tom Burns, deputy coroner, worked over the body. Off in the corner, a shaken Collins awaited questioning. Sheffield strode over. “You found the body?”
“I did.” Collins’ voice was hoarse, but steady. “I usually come in before the team. When I got here, the lights were on. I figured Johnny was here for early batting practice. I called to him. When he didn’t answer, I thought he was on the field. Then I saw him and called 9-1-1.”
Sheffield took notes. “Was that usual, his coming early?”
“Yes.” Collins looked at the body. “Johnny liked to get dedicated batting practice time before games. Everybody knew it.”
“So anyone would have known to find him here?”
“Yes. Game time is 4 o’clock. Team is supposed to be here by noon. Johnny would have come an hour before that. It’s common knowledge.”
Sheffield looked around. “Who has access to the locker room?”
“Keys are only given to team personnel,” Collins said. “Players, manager, coaches, and staff.”
“Well, that limits our suspect pool,” Sheffield said. “Thank you for your time.” He turned away.
“Officer Sheffield, wait,” Collins said.
“That’s Corporal Sheffield.”
“There’s something wrong,” Collins continued, too upset to notice Sheffield’s tone. “His socks –”
“Yes, we’ll look. Thank you, Mr. Collins. I’ll be in touch.” Sheffield walked out before Collins could say more.
Well, the trooper wasn’t going to listen. But someone had to know. Who else could he call? Collins remembered a name from his law school days.
Want to read more? Pick up your copy of Lucky Charms today, while the price is right! (Also available in print from Amazon.)