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Back Minutes to Kill Save as PDF
Chapters (45)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Acknowledgments
  45. About the Author

“Go on downstairs and take a break while I put this all together and make a few calls.”

Hannah went down to the kitchen for more water. She took a Tylenol from her purse and swallowed it. Needing a distraction to take her mind off the never-ending replay of Jewel’s abduction, she switched on the television, turned the volume on low, and sat on the couch. A blue scroll on the television caught her attention.

“Breaking news: Shooting in progress, Scarlet Falls, NY.”

She ran to the bottom of the stairs. “Chet!”

He appeared on the top landing. His face was drained of color.

“You heard about the shooting?” She glanced back at the TV. A commercial played. The blue banner was unchanged. No new information.

“What shooting?” He descended the stairs.

She pointed at the TV. The thought of Brody shot and killed took Hannah out at the knees. She wobbled. Chet grabbed her arm and eased her onto the couch. “I’ll find out what happened.” He reached for the phone.

Eyes locked on the TV, Hannah wrapped her arms around her body. Chet had been upset before she’d told him about the shooting. He ended his call. “He’ll call me back as soon as he has details.”

Who was shot?

He sat on the sofa next to her, eyes riveted on the TV.

“What happened before I called you?”

“I opened my e-mail. There are more than three hundred messages in there from the last six months.”

“Are you going to open them?”

“I don’t know,” Chet said.

A blond female reporter in a newsroom appeared on the TV. She read from a teleprompter. “A report just in. A shooting is in progress at a kennel in Scarlet Falls. At least one police officer has been shot.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Brody dove for the ground. A bullet whizzed past his head. Weapon in hand, he crawled to the steps and took cover behind the thick concrete. The suspect was firing through the windows from inside the house. At that angle, he couldn’t shoot Brody without coming outside.

But Brody was pinned. He couldn’t see the shooter from his position.

Where was Stella?

Had she retreated to the car? She couldn’t have left him and Lance. Disappointment swamped Brody as he scanned the area.

Wait. He saw her moving behind the unmarked car. Crouching, she ran to the trunk, opened it, and removed Brody’s AR-15. Holding the rifle across her body, she moved toward him.

She hadn’t run. She’d gone for a longer-range weapon. Smart girl. Relief flooded Brody.

Another shot came from inside the house, puffing the dirt in front of Stella. Brody looked up. Just the tip of the muzzle of a rifle protruded through a hole in the glass. Stella went flat, took aim, and fired a three-shot burst. The shooter went quiet.

Had she hit him? And was Lance still alive?