Murder Among Friends

By Janet Collett Stebbins

How far would you go to protect your dearest friends and family? Murder Among Friends tells the story of the deep love and friendship of three women and the lengths to which each will go to protect the others. Holly, Carol, and Dorothy have known each other for years, and are true, solid friends. Holly lives with one of her three grown sons and her beautiful blond, four-legged boyfriend.

When Holly begins working as a police officer in the homicide division, the womens working lives become entwined along with their personal lives. There is an explosion near Hollys home, a small girl is rescued, and the threat of terrorist activity invades her life. As Holly and her friends investigate further, she discovers risks to them allincluding a personal risk to Dorothy, who is hit out of the blue by sniper fire.

As all hell breaks loose, Holly and her friends band together to protect Dorothy. Holly and her partner Johnnie race to find the killer before he strikes again, but their investigation turns up shocking results. Holly may have to kill someone she loves in order to protect the others. Can she accept the consequences?

Holly thinks she is happy with her life, and doesnt need another male in it until Jay Mallard of the FBI arrives. Will she be able to trust him? Her head says no, but the sparks fly between them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 22, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450234092

Janet Collett Stebbins

Janet Colllett Stebbins Mallard grew up in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Since then, she’s lived in many different states and now lives in Houston, Texas. She has three handsome sons and a beautiful step-daughter. She’s been interested in reading and writing stories since the age of five. Due to her mother’s influence, she obtained her first library card at age five and her love of books began in earnest. She graduated from nursing school in 1977, and received a Master’s degree in 2003. She is a member of Writer’s Ink, a critique group based in Houston.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The gun warm in her hand, her arm still tingling from the kick, Holly looked down at the beloved friend she had just killed. She stood there, immobile. She was a mother, a nurse, a cop and now a murderer… Two weeks earlier, she had killed a paid assassin, and for that, she was remorseless. This, however, shattered her heart and hurt so much more. Tears ran down her face, mirrored by the blood running down her shoulder. Life had inescapably changed.

One Year Earlier:

Thursday evening, in the garden, with her hands in the soil and a breeze blowing the scent of spring to her, Holly was happier than she would be anywhere else on Earth. You can have the French Riviera, she thought. Give me my garden any day of the week. Holly listened as her friend Carol crunched up the driveway in her new red VW Bug decorated with Nebraska Huskers memorabilia. It was one of their very few differences. Holly didn’t follow sports at all, but enjoyed Carol’s undying love for the Huskers.

Hey, Winter, I’m starving. Get your butt in gear and let’s go, Carol Turner yelled around the corner. Her short dark hair blew around her face. Smiling, Holly got up and headed her way, dropping a big branch next to the driveway. Normally, she would be ready to go, but Carol, alas, was just a little erratic in her timing. Holly had learned over the years that Carol would be there when she got there and not a moment sooner.

Holly called out, I need to wash my hands, and I’ll be ready in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. She ran into the house and washed up, changing into a pair of slacks and stepping into her favorite and much-worn pair of loafers. She took the pins out of her hair, briefly brushed and rapidly braided it. No muss, no fuss. As she saw her reflection, she thought, Well, I am not exactly a glamour girl. Holly figured clean clothes and person were good enough. Her friend Dorothy despaired of her lack of style at times. She grabbed her bulky leather bag that carried everything from wallet to her ever-present Rolaids, went out the door and ran down the porch steps.

Later, she and Carol sat with Dorothy over the best soul food in town, Miss Glory’s, their favorite place to eat and congregate. The place sat on old Route 66, alongside pawnshops and junk stores. It had mismatched tables and chairs. The floors were scuffed linoleum waxed to a high shine; nothing adorned the walls, and the tables were decorated with serviceable salt, pepper, and sugar containers. The aroma of comfort food and the tantalizing smell of fresh-baked bread filled the air. Nothing fancy, but the best eating in town. They sat and talked with a cacophony of silverware accompanying them in the background.

So, Carol said to Holly and Dorothy as they passed around the cornbread and butter, a doctor is making rounds and takes a rectal thermometer from his pocket. He looks at it in surprise and says, great, some asshole has my pen. They all laughed at this old chestnut, at least, it was old in medical circles.

Holly paused and looked around the table at her two dearest friends; her heart stopped for a moment, filled with love. They had been there for her through thick and thin, and as Forest Gump would say, Even I know that wasn’t something you could find on every corner. Yes, here we are, the Glory Girls.

Carol turned her piercing green eyes towards Holly. Hey Winter, ya know what I miss most since you left the hospital?

Let me guess, my cheerful disposition?

Carol rolled her eyes. Gimme a break!

Oh, I know. My gourmet instant coffee?

Bleech! Nah, I miss your suspicious nature. Do you realize it’s been three years since we’ve had a good murder at the hospital?

Holly grinned when she thought back to the year she first met Carol. Holly was working in critical care and the emergency department, and Carol was the hard-working assistant pathologist at the VA hospital. Since both critical care and the ER had a high mortality rate, Holly was forever sending tissue samples, not to mention corpses, to pathology.

She and Carol had become acquainted. She remembered how Carol’s gruff demeanor turned to concern when Holly first suggested that a death in the ICU had actually been murder. Holly had expected that Carol would verbally slap her down, tell her to mind her own business and say that a mere nurse had no business alleging murder in the ICU. Instead, Carol had followed up on Holly’s concerns, and eventually, they both became involved in the investigation.

It had turned out that one of the thoracic surgeons was having a fling on the side. He had become obsessed with one woman, and as a result, he’d surreptitiously administered a fatal dose of staph aureus bacteria to her husband. The doctor was the picture of geniality and according to all his documentation, was giving the man antibiotics. Unfortunately, they turned out to be placebos laced with more staph.

The investigation had led to Holly going to work for the PD as a police officer and medical consultant in the homicide department. She was one of those people who loved putting together puzzles. She found police work to be exactly like that. Another side benefit was the enforced physical training. She loved her food and wasn’t much on exercising in general. So it was good for her in a lot of ways, not the least of which was a newfound purpose in life.

As Holly got ready for bed that night, she thought about how God brings you what you need, and that most certainly included friends. She realized that, in many ways, her friends had become her family. Holly’s sister and father were both dead, and her mother lived six-hundred miles away. She had four children who were grown and mostly gone. So, yes, her friends were her family. She only hoped that she lived up in some degree to returning what was given in her relationships with them. That was her last thought of the night as she drifted off to sleep.

Two days later, Saturday, Holly slept late as she always did whenever possible. After all, what was more decadent than having coffee at 10 am on the porch still in her jammies? She saw a red VW with a Nebraska Huskers pennant waving from the antenna turn into her driveway. She went in to pour her friend a cup of coffee, knowing that, like herself, Carol’s brain did not fully engage until after two cups. Holly brought the coffee out to the porch table with an assortment of flavored creamers.

Carol bounced up the steps, fluffed her spiky black hair and sat down, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Her hair had gotten progressively shorter over the years. She called the current do her scary hair.

Carol Turner was definitely the strong character of the group. She did not suffer fools gladly. She was someone you wanted on your side. Carol teased Holly relentlessly about her name, Holly Noel. But in fairness to her parents, what else do you name a baby girl who arrives on a snowy Christmas morning?

All right, what are you grinning about? Holly asked as she put the coffee cups down.

"Word on the street is that you had a date last night," Carol said, raising her eyebrows.

Years after her divorce, Holly had finally answered a couple of personal ads. Getting into dating again was a whole new trip, to say the least. Carol, more recently divorced, had also answered a couple, and it was an endless source of amusement for all of them.

Holly grimaced. Calling it a date is like saying Nevada has great surfing beaches.

That bad, huh? Well, you know, Dorothy’s living vicariously through this dating thing with us, Carol said as she stirred her coffee.

Holly groaned. Yeah, I know, but this was so bad that we have to wait for her to get here. I don’t think I can tell it twice.

You’re actually going to make me wait, aren’t you?

Yes, I am, Miss Instant Gratification, but if you’re nice, I’ll get the muffins I just took out of the oven. They’re still warm.

They both reached for their coffee cups. After a couple of reviving sips, Holly went into the house to bring out the thermal pot of coffee, muffins, butter, and homemade jam. As she set the tray down, Dorothy pulled up in her pimpmobile. They gave her endless grief about the huge white Lincoln Town Car with white leather interior that Dean has insisted upon purchasing. Of course, they loved to go to the newly reopened drive-in theater in it. But that didn’t negate the pleasure of giving her grief.

Dorothy walked up the steps to the porch and said, All right, my dear, let’s hear it!

Yeah, yeah, Holly said as she picked up a muffin. She waited for Dorothy to sit down. No coffee for Dorothy. She brought her own giant concoction of half Coke and half Diet Coke. Well, okay. You know I said I would meet him at the Olive Garden? So, I get there, and he told me he was tall and would be waiting by the front door outside. I arrived to find a giant. He’s 6’8 to my 5’0 and weighs probably 350lbs.

Wow! He wasn’t kidding about being tall, was he? Carol elbowed Dorothy in the side. "Sounds like our friend here met a very big boy."

Don’t interrupt. Holly pinched a piece of Carol’s muffin. So, we go in and have a delightful dinner. He’s talkative and courteous, and we’re getting along famously. He even told me my nails looked nice, that he enjoyed a woman who took care of herself and got regular manicures and pedicures.

Woo-oo! Carol exclaimed. Think he’s gay?

Gay might have been better. So the mani-pedi talk surprised me a little. I had my hair in my usual braid and a minimum of make-up. Finally, over coffee, he asks if he can call again in a week when he gets back from a business trip. I say sure.

You didn’t! Dorothy shook an admonishing finger. Girl, some day soon you have got to learn how to play hard to get.

Then he says, let me run down my good points again. So he starts telling me all these things we have in common and ends with what he likes in bed. Momentarily, total silence reigned on the porch. But get this. He says he has a foot fetish. He’d love to pay for my pedicures. He wants to buy me toe and ankle jewelry.

You’re kidding! Carol put a hand to her mouth, laughter welling in her eyes.

He also wants to buy me designer shoes. Holly stretched out her pajama-ed leg and waggled her foot. These feet were made for a guy like that, doncha think? Plus, he says that when he makes love, he likes to suck his partner’s toes.

At this, they all burst into uncontrollable laughter, Holly bent over, slapping the table. Carol leaned back in her chair so far that she nearly fell over; Dorothy held a napkin to her cheeks because she had tears running down her face. Finally, when they subsided, Dorothy said, Hey, maybe he would buy you diamonds and rubies to wear on your feet. It could be worth a few more dates.

Actually, the worst part is...I had on open-toed sandals. I was afraid to go to the john for fear he would be leering at my toe cleavage. This started a fresh wave, but eventually everyone quieted.

Gradually, they started talking about other things. Carol and Holly described a case they were reviewing. They often picked Dorothy’s brain on such matters. She was the legal eagle of the group, and her keen mind often helped clarify a case.

Holly especially admired Dorothy’s poise; she was the epitome of a southern lady. Added to that was a razor sharp wit and striking beauty; it was an unstoppable combination. She and Holly had become as close as sisters and sometimes as quarrelsome. As such, Dorothy despaired over Holly’s lack of make-up, her hairstyle and clothing choices. Apparently, being neat and clean was not quite enough. Dorothy did approve of the fingernails. It was Holly’s one girly trait. She kept them done in a French-tip or American-manicure.

Holly had brought Carol in on a suicide pact case, but they had both begun to wonder if it was murder-suicide. Holly started by telling Dorothy about Mr. and Mrs. Doe, the name they always used to protect privacy. He’d been caring for his bedridden wife for the last eight years. She had advanced Alzheimer’s and needed total care, including incontinence care. She was getting increasingly worse and starting to show signs of violence. They were living on a fixed income, and the poor guy had to choose between medications and food.

Carol added, In the autopsy, I found cat food in both their stomachs. It’s so sad. It’s amazing how often I see that. It’s cheap, and people will buy the tuna and chicken flavor and use it for sandwiches. It makes you think how lucky we are. She gestured at a fresh-baked muffin loaded with butter and jam.

My God, Dorothy said, I am so lucky to have Dean. He is so careful about investing our income so we don’t have to worry about those issues. It’s a passion with him. Even though he wants nice things, he puts away a big chunk of our income for retirement investments.

The other two glanced at each other. They both thought he was an arrogant asshole. He was making himself financially secure. In deference to Dorothy, they said nothing.

After a lengthy discussion, they all came to the same conclusion. Dorothy recommended that, as it was an elderly couple with only a distant cousin still living, it would not be useful to make it public. After all, why clog up the courts with a case we couldn’t resolve anyway? There’s no family issue, and the perpetrator is dead.

They agreed with her and went on to a heated discussion of which actors they thought should win Oscars that year. Only a select few were invited to their annual Oscar-watching party, now in its tenth year. The primary idea was to eat themselves silly and make rude comments about the gowns and hairstyles. Holly was trying to write a book that would, of course, be a bestseller and then a movie. Periodically, she selected the gown she would wear to the Oscars. In addition, her youngest son Jeff wanted to make films, and he was planning to take her as his date the first time he was nominated; he would start taking young beautiful starlets after that, or so he said.

Later, after Carol left, Holly popped a Rolaid, and then she and Dorothy started out on their weekly walk. They had made a pact to start exercising more, and so decided to take Holly’s yellow Lab Max for walks around her neighborhood. As Dorothy had some problems with her feet, they didn’t go too far. Holly jogged in place off and on while Dorothy rested, Max wagging happily by her side.

I don’t know how you do it, Holly. You have all my bad habits, and you still have that energy, Dorothy said as she gasped.

Well, partly it comes from being a nurse. Ya know, all those hours on your feet. And of course, there’re genetics. My great grandmother started walking two miles a day when she was 70.

Wow, that’s amazing! She must be in great physical condition.

Holly grinned. Probably. Only problem is since she started walking two miles a day, we have no idea where she is now.

Dorothy slapped at her. Every time I start believing you, you get me!

That’s my mission in life, thank you very much. Holly boxed into the air, laughing.

When they got back to the house, Holly asked, Do you want to go garage saleing or to the Flea Market? About one Saturday a month, she would spend half a day out and hit a few. She liked to find inexpensive furniture so she could practice antiquing and crackle finishes; she’d found quite a few treasures over the years.

Dorothy grabbed her overnight bag. No, Dean will be getting in from Dallas, and I have to pick him up. He wants to see the new exhibit at the museum, and you know how he gets if I’m late. I’ll just change really quickly.

Holly shrugged. I’m going grab my backpack and walk down to the Flea Market. She pulled up her hair, pinned it in place, and tied a bandana over it. Holly turned around as Dorothy was pulling off her sweatpants. "Dorothy, what in the hell is that?" Peeking out from the edge of Dorothy’s panties was a couple of small bruises that looked like finger marks.

Oh, I hit my hip on the door jam. She quickly turned to the side to hide the bruises from view and avoided looking at Holly.

Holly nodded, but she didn’t like the answer or the look on her friend’s face when she gave it. Since she had started at the police department, she had become more cynical and suspicious. Before joining the force, Holly had always been a little too trusting, so the change was maybe not the worst thing in the world. Some would say she had become more realistic in her views. One thing was for sure; the rose-colored glasses were long gone.

Holly picked up her backpack and considered Dorothy in her peripheral vision. She knew Dorothy had been more and more stressed this past year. She didn’t exactly complain about Dean, but she no longer spoke of him in the same worshipful tone. This was