Murderous Lies
Authors: Chantel Rhondeau
Tags: #Mystery, #love, #Romantic Suspense, #framed for murder, #lake, #romance
Murderous Lies
Chantel Rhondeau
Electronic Edition
Copyright 2014 Chantel Rhondeau
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Cover Design: EDH Graphics
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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to an ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, events, and places in this novel are used fictitiously or are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or to places, businesses, or events, is entirely coincidental.
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Dedication
T
o my Poppa Ray. Not only are you the best dad a girl could ask for, but you bought my first Mary Higgins Clark book, thus sparking my love of a great mystery. Love you lots and lots!
A
great many people help during the process of my writing. This is the first book I didn’t consult with any critique partners while writing, but I knew these people would have my back and help me out once the first draft was completed. I’d never finish my projects without the great group of beta readers and proof readers I have...my awesome friends. I can’t thank these wonderful people enough: Author Rachelle Ayala, Sara Kay, Michelle W., Nickie M., Elaine H. I couldn’t do this without your help.
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nce again, my awesome cover artist has outdone herself with her designing skills. Thank you, Erin at EDH Graphics. Your talent is endless and much appreciated.
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’d also like to thank you, the reader. When I first started this crazy journey, I wondered if I’d sell even one title. Yet you come back and support me on each new book, leaving reviews, talking to me on Facebook, and just letting me know I should continue on this path. You give me courage and strength to forge ahead. I am so appreciative of each and every one of you.
Romantic Suspense
Stand alone titles:
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Always & Forever
Crime & Passion
Murderous Lies
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Agents in Love Series:
Love & Deception – Book 1
Love & Redemption – Book 2
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Coming soon
Love & Compromise – Book 3
(October 2014)
Love & Murder – Book 4
(March 2015)
Love & Vengeance – Book 5
(September 2015)
Contemporary Romance
McCallister’s Paradise Coming early 2015
Happy Endings – Book 1
Diving Into Love – Book 2
For Love or Charity – Book 3
R
osemary Spelling tossed the pack of cigarettes on the counter, trying not to sneer at her customer. “That’ll be five thirty-seven. Smoking, huh? You must’ve picked up a new vice in prison?”
Max Kensington didn’t answer, glancing over his shoulder. Rose became acutely aware that they were alone in the convenience store. The appeals court may have found Max innocent on a technicality, but that didn’t change the truth. She was alone with a murderer.
He pushed his too-long, brown hair off his forehead as he turned back around. Those clear blue eyes—the ones that used to fill her dreams—stared at her unwaveringly. There was hardness in his gaze that never used to be a part of Max’s visage.
“I know you think I’m guilty, Rose, but I was acquitted.” His voice was still the mellow tenor she remembered from long nights spent on the phone—clandestine calls made between lovesick high school seniors.
Well, she’d been lovesick. He was just sick.
“Why’d you come back to this town?” she asked, stooping slightly to grip the baseball bat beneath the counter. “Even though your lawyer lied his way up the appeals court chain and bribed a judge to say you’re innocent, the people here in Clarkston know the truth. You murdered my sister and those other four girls, too.”
“Damn it, Rose! That’s not what happened.” Max slapped the counter, the loud sound echoing around the small store.
Rose did her best not to flinch. This anger was a side to Max she hadn’t witnessed eight years ago, though it was obviously there all along. It took a lot of rage to beat someone to death. Rose had found Sage in the old boathouse the day after she went missing. Rose saw her baby sister’s face and the bloody mess it had become.
No doubt Max held a lot of anger inside. He’d successfully hid it from Rose for years during their courtship, but that could have been because he killed the other girls to assuage his anger. She couldn’t believe she’d once planned to marry him.
“Get out of here,” she said, keeping her tone as level as she could, “or I’ll call the cops.”
The anger in Max’s eyes seemed to soften. “Please don’t be that way. I need to talk to you.”
Rose pulled the bat out where he could see it, putting on a brave face. “I’ve taken defense classes since you were arrested. Leave or I’ll put that training to use.”
“I’m just going for my wallet so I can pay for the smokes,” he said, reaching behind his back. “Don’t smash my face in.”
Rose couldn’t stop the strangled gasp from leaving her throat, seeing Sage’s bloody face in her mind all over again.
Max winced. “Sorry. Horrible choice of words.” He pulled the wallet out and extracted two fives, setting them on the counter. “I promise I’m innocent. The real killer is still here somewhere. I worried about you every day I was gone, scared he’d come after you. Why didn’t you answer my letters?”
She shook her head, trying not to be swayed by the hurt in his eyes. “I didn’t open them. What made you think I’d correspond with my sister’s killer?”
“I told you. I didn’t—”
The bell above the door jingled, cutting off Max’s further protests.
Officer Calvin Black sauntered into the store, looking as though he owned the place—the same way he acted everywhere in the small town. “You okay there, Rosie? That ass ain’t bothering you, is he?”
Calvin knew Max’s history inside and out. In fact, he’d been the arresting officer once they found Max’s DNA beneath Sage’s fingernails. He knew what Max was capable of, and Rose was glad to have him around for protection.
She grabbed the fives from the counter and forced a smile, deciding it would be best to get Max out of the store quickly with his merchandise, and not involve the officer if possible. “Things are fine, Cal. I started a fresh pot of coffee a few minutes ago. Help yourself.”
“Sounds great.” Calvin stared at the back of Max’s head as though trying to bore holes into it, but Max didn’t turn around. “I’ll stand over here while you finish up with that...” His upper lip curled into a grimace. “...customer.”
Rose quickly counted out Max’s change and set it on the counter, not wanting to risk accidentally touch his hand when handing it to him. “Stay away from me,” she said in a low voice. “We don’t have anything to talk about. You’re the only person who poses any danger to me. Don’t pretend you want to protect me.”
“That’s not true, Rosemary. You must know that. I never did anything wrong. I was set up.” He kept his voice just as low as hers, likely not wanting Calvin to overhear. “Meet me somewhere when you’re done working. I need to talk to you. I can explain why Sage scratched me. I was never at that boathouse with her.”
“I don’t have time for this.” She shoved the money and cigarettes closer to his side of the counter. “Even if I wanted to meet you later, thanks to you destroying my family, I don’t have time for anything. Just go away and leave me alone.”
“Destroying your family? What do you mean? What happened to your folks?” He obviously wasn’t leaving.
Rose puffed out an exasperated breath, deciding he deserved to know what he caused. He apparently felt no regret for the lives he took, but he seemed to think about her a lot. He should know what his actions did to ruin her life.
“Thanks to your killing spree, Mom went out of her mind and Dad couldn’t handle it. He left us for a new family and a new town. I haven’t heard from him in years. Mom lives at the Brentwood Asylum now, has for the past five years. I couldn’t handle her increasingly dangerous delusions. She set our house on fire and almost burned us to death while I slept one night.”
Rose tried to ignore the sorrow reflected in his eyes. Max couldn’t really care. He did this...didn’t he?
She hated the doubt that crept in, but a judge did find him innocent. What if she’d hated him all these years and he didn’t do it? In the beginning, she’d argued with her parents, knowing deep in her heart that her sweet Max couldn’t have done something like that. They forced her to stay away from him, and then his guilt was proven in court.
“I’m sorry to hear about your mom,” Max said. “Ginger was always good to me.”
No. It wasn’t possible. He was the one. After all, no matter what she wished the truth to be, the murders stopped after his arrest.
“You don’t get to be sorry.” She shook her head. “Sage’s death ruined my life. I never made it to college. I had to drop out to take care of Mom. Now I work two jobs so she can get the help she needs, and I barely have enough left over to pay for my crappy little rental house. Not to mention, Sage is
gone
.” Her voice broke and Rose took some calming breaths before continuing softly, “So, you see, I don’t have time for anything but work, sleep, and visiting my mother on my one day off a week. Get out, Max, and don’t come back. I don’t care what explanations you have.”
He finally dropped his eyes to the counter and toyed with the edge of the cigarette pack. “Even if you don’t want to hear it, I
am
sorry about your mom. I’m even sorrier about Sage. She was a nice kid.”
“Your fake regret won’t bring Sage back or heal my mother. You killed her baby.”
“I can see you won’t believe my innocence, no matter what I say.” Max put the change in his wallet and pocketed the cigarettes. “I guess it was too much to hope for.”
He headed for the doorway.
“Wait a sec,” she said. “I do have one question.”
Max turned back. “I’m not sure I want to answer.”
Rose smoothed dark hair against her head, self-conscious now that she drew his attention. Still, she had to know. Wondering if she was to blame for Sage’s murder had plagued her over the years. “Sage always said if I didn’t marry you, she was going to. You knew that.”
“Of course.” He nodded. “Whenever I talked to her, I always told her to find a boy her own age, because as soon as I got my diploma, I was putting a ring on your finger, like we agreed when you said you’d marry me.”
She tried to ignore that, knowing that she had betrayed Max as far as their plans to get married. “Why did you lure her into that boathouse? It’s where you and I always went to be alone together. It was special for us.” Rose blinked back tears. “Was this my fault?”
Max took a step toward her, deep wrinkles marking his forehead as he narrowed his eyebrows. “Your fault? I didn’t do this, but why would it be your fault?”
“I told Sage that morning I couldn’t marry you. I always wondered if she told you. Did you kill her because you were angry with me?”
“You really weren’t going to marry me?” Max stared at the cracked linoleum flooring and his shoulders slumped inward. “I thought she was lying, trying to get me to be with her, like usual.”
After a few moments of silence, Rose couldn’t take it anymore. “Sage said she’d tell you, since I was too chicken to do it myself. I had a full ride scholarship and wanted to become a music teacher. If we got married, I’d have been stuck here forever instead of going to college.” Rose clutched the bat tighter, fearing his reaction to this news. “You should have killed me, not her. Sage was a fool, but a good girl.”
