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Category: Mystery/Crime/Romance
Description: Shannon and Dwayne have to track down a missing teacher when she is the leading person of interest in the murder of a local man. But this time, their cop buddy, Sal Ramirez, is too busy to bail them out of trouble, and the way it looks, school may be out for them all.
eBook Publisher: Red Rose Publishing, 2012
eBookwise Release Date: May 2012

Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [262 KB]
Words: 56060
Reading time: 160-224 min.

Bells rang in my head and my vision blurred. The last time I waltzed in through a partially opened door, my friend Joe ended up being on the floor, dead.

What if something were wrong with Thelma? What if she was sick? Jim said she was supposed to be here, all nice and tidy and ready to be visited. Her car was even in the garage!

Oh em gee.

I turned sharply and hurried back to get Dwayne. "Go to the car, get that folder, drop it over here and then get your ass back here pronto!" I said, voice full of fear and trepidation. He griped a lot, but he did as I asked. The gate climbing did nothing to improve his attitude, either.

When he landed in front of me with a grunt, the camera was also securely affixed around his neck by a strap.

"You think of everything!" I said.

He deposited it into my hands while I blubbered on and on about killers and dead bodies. For once he didn't say anything smart--alecky. I guess our history spoke for itself.

I tucked the folder under my arm and anchored myself tight onto his heels.

He eased open the screen door with the toe of his Nikes, and I think we both held our breath. He knocked twice, but Thelma didn't answer.

"Do you think it's unlocked, too?" I asked in a hushed whisper, pointing at the interior door.

Using the edge of his tee shirt to turn the knob of the door, he tried it. It opened.

"Damn it, girl!" he said, jumping backwards. The sudden reversal made me drop the folder and all of its contents.

"Watch out!" I scooped up the folder and put it back under my arm. "What now?" I asked, hot and scared. "She's not answering. The door's open. She's in there, Dee. I know it!"

"Shit, Shannon. Here we go again!"

"We can't leave her!"

"We can't go runnin' in there!"

"What if she's hurt?"

"What if she's dead?"

"What if she is? We have to do something!"

"Call Sal."

"No! What if she's not in there? What if we call him for nothing? He'll be all nasty--nice about it and I'll have to endure that. I can't. I won't. We have to go in to find out if she is or isn't in there. If she isn't, we could film the house's inside and still earn that two grand Jim promised us. Papers or not." I indicated the folder.

"Two grand? Two grand!" His eyes grew to the size of half--dollars.

"Yes, two grand. The check's in the mail, sort of."

"Well, shit. I guess we're goin' in."