Judge Baaart struck the hammer on the gavel. His eyes zeroed in on Cole as if he’d love nothing more than to have him tarred and feathered. “There will be order in my court, Detective Rainwater. Do you understand that?”
By all means. Far be it from him to throw a wrench in the wheels of justice. Besides, the sooner they got this charade over with, the quicker he could get back to work.
The judge cleared his throat and motioned toward Cole. “You may approach the witness stand."
Cole’s attention cut a trail across the courtroom toward Barbara Cassidy’s smug countenance. She sat there comfortably behind the plaintiff’s table as if she owned the place. As he passed by her, he couldn’t help but imagine a nuclear bomb dropping straight on her head. He didn’t even care that he’d get blown away in the process. His fiancée’s best friend had been a thorn in his ass since high school.
After taking a seat in the witness box and being sworn in, Barbara approached to cross-examine him. “Did you or did you not tell the nurse to give me a sedative to knock me out the day Jenna was rescued?” She had the nerve to strut around the empty courtroom like Perry Mason.
“As much as I appreciated your help, you’d have had no business following me around on an active police investigation. Besides, you were out of control. You were throwing things at the hospital staff, remember?”
“That’s irrelevant,” she insisted. “You wanted them to render me unconscious out of spite. The fact I’m in Jenna’s life drives you crazy, doesn’t it?”
“That’s bullshit!” As the judge issued a warning to hold him in contempt of court for his outburst, the muscles in Cole’s neck tightened in anger. “You couldn’t have helped if you’d wanted to. You had just woken up from a coma. The hospital would have never released you.”
“They wouldn’t have had a choice if you hadn’t insisted they give me that needle to put me under.”
“Just answer the question, Detective,” Baaart instructed, appearing as if he’d rather round up monkeys running loose in the streets than to preside over this case with these idiots.
“Fine. I told them if they didn’t give her that sedative, they’d regret it. She’s impossible, your honor. Spend one week with her and you’ll want to slit your wrists.” he said, eyes boring into her.
“So, you admit it?” Barbara said, grinning smugly. “Great, then I rest my case.”
Cole threw up his hands to the judge. “You’ve got to be kidding. Why don’t you ask psycho lady here, what this is really about?”
Barbara frowned and shook her head. “He’s just jealous because Jenna and I are still best friends, and he wants her all to himself.”
For the first time, the judge’s expression opened with interest, and he swiveled toward Cole and said, “I take it you’re intimately involved with this Jenna I keep hearing about?”
“We’re engaged to be married, your honor. And apparently, Ms. Cassidy is insanely jealous of our relationship.”
An audible gasp belted from Barbara. “You’re crazy. I had no problem with her dating you back in high school.”
Cole snorted. “As if it would have mattered if you did. You don’t own us.”
“You see what I’m dealing with, your honor?” Barbara told the judge, exasperated. “He has no consideration for anyone who happens to be a close friend of Jenna’s. All I want is to be a part of her life, and a godmother to her daughter like we’ve planned since the 6th grade.”
Cole was floored. The woman obviously hadn’t gotten the memo they were no longer in middle school. “Emily is my daughter too, nitwit.”
“I think I see the problem here,” Baaart interrupted before Barbara could respond. His attention slid from one to the other. “Detective, I’m ordering you to be more considerate of Barbara and Jenna’s friendship. Are you willing to include her in your plans with your fiancée and your daughter from time to time?”
Cole frowned, his attention floating toward the Heavens. “It won’t be easy, but I imagine I can live with that if I have to.”
“And you, young lady,” he said turning to Barbara. “I’m ordering you to back off a little. Give Mr. Rainwater, his daughter, and his soon-to-be wife some family time together.”
Barbara reluctantly nodded. “All right, fine.”
The judge checked his watch. “This case is closed. Now get out of my courtroom and don’t ever come back…not even if one of you kills the other. I don’t want to know about it. You hear?”
by Donnette Smith
3/14/2022
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
ISBN: 978-1-5092-4082-1 Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-5092-4083-8 Digital
Number of pages: 250
Word Count: 65,142
Cover Artist: Kristian Norris
When your sixth sense speaks, believe it.
As a clairvoyant, Jenna Langley has foreseen her fair share of murder. But the night she is haunted by visions of a woman buried alive in a makeshift casket, nothing prepares her for the chilling reality that the victim she saw in her vision is herself.
Having survived a recent tragedy, and now tasked with the duty of planning her wedding, everyone attributes Jenna’s disturbing dreams to stress. Even her fiancé does his best to convince her she is perfectly safe.
But someone wants revenge and Jenna is the target of that obsession. Her only hope for survival is if her fiancé, Detective Cole Rainwater, can root out who wants her dead before time runs out.
Excerpt:
At the same time a sharp intake of breath filled her lungs, Jenna’s eyes snapped open. Blackness surrounded her; panic set in instantly as soft whimpers set off a series of echoes. It took a moment for it to sink in the sounds were her own.
Raising both hands, her palms struck a hard object not a foot above her head. She slid her palms over a rough surface, searching, feeling across the top and down the sides of what felt like a wooden crate.
That embodied her like a tomb.
She let go a shriek, crying out in agony, “No! no! please, no!” There was no doubt she was in the very place that stoked the deepest fear in her heart. Just the way her vision forewarned. She was buried alive.
Website-FB-TwitterAlthough not a native Texan, Donnette Smith has spent more than half her life living in the Lone Star State. She is an entrepreneur and former business owner of Tailor Maid Services LLC.
After spending a few years working as a journalist for the Blue Ridge Tribune, she realized her love for writing romantic detective novels. Her stories cover a wide range of genres, from horror, time travel, mystery, fantasy, paranormal, and thriller. But one theme stays the same, there is always a detective solving a crime, and a gorgeous victim he would lay down his life to protect.
Donnette’s biggest fascination is with forensic science and crime scene investigations. Her first mystery/suspense novel, Lady Gabriella, was published in 2008. Her second novel was a horror/mystery/suspense titled Cunja and debuted in 2012.
Her latest released novel, book 1 of the Spirit Walker Series, Killing Dreams is a fantasy/romance story and became available in September of 2021. Book 2 of the Spirit Walker Series, Buried Alive, is soon to be released on March 14, 2022.
Tweet:
In Jenna Langley’s latest psychic vision someone is buried alive. It just happens to be her. No one is taking her seriously, not even the love of her life.
Read more about Buried Alive and the other books in the Spirit Walker Series. https://www.donnettesmith.com/buriedalive.html
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1 autographed print copy of book 1 of the Spirit Walker Series, Killing Dreams.
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