Deadly Deception (Danielle Ross Mystery Book #3)

Gilbert Morris

Description

A private investigator is faced with one of the greatest tests of her career when she agrees to take on the case of a vengeful, terminally ill crime boss.

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 mars 1992
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441239907
• Langue: English

Extrait

Follow the exciting adventures of Dani Ross and her partner against crime, Ben Savage, in two captivating novels that will have you on the edge of your seat!

Guilt by Association In the premiere Danielle Ross Mystery novel, Dani’s faith and Ben’s skillfulness are put to the ultimate test as the threat of death at the hands of a madman looms over them and eleven others held captive in a most unlikely prison. When tensions rise and the prisoners’ spirits fall, Dani and Ben must work quickly. Can they solve the mystery before another hostage is killed?

The Final Curtain The second Danielle Ross Mystery brings Dani and Ben to New York City to investigate bizarre death threats against a bombastic celebrity. Dani joins the company of his newest play under the guise of costume lady and is propelled into the lead role when the star is killed — right on stage! Death threats soon yield another murder, and Dani and Ben are baffled by the bevy of juicy . . .

© 1992 by Gilbert Morris
Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3990-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).
Some children are born of flesh and blood; others come to a man through the act of living—are created by earthly laws and conventions. But a godly daughter-in-law, such as you have been to me, is not a matter of form or of legality. No, for as I have often said, I have three daughters, not two only. And it cheers my heart to know that there are women in this perilous age who hold fast to virtue, who are loyal, and who cling to God no matter what the circumstances. With love and admiration, I dedicate this book to my third daughter:

Monique Morris
Contents

Cover
Other Exciting Adventures to Read
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication

1. The Stakeout
2. Family Honor
3. Shoot to Kill
4. The Family
5. Happy Birthday, Eddy!
6. Matthew
7. “London Bridge Is Falling Down . . . !”
8. Another Birthday Party
9. Vince
10. The Witness
11. The Hit
12. Rosemary
13. Savage Pays a Call
14. Rosemary’s Choice
15. A Trip to the Dentist
16. Waiting
17. The Message
18. Midnight Incident
19. A Little Therapy

Books by Gilbert Morris
Back Cover
1
The Stakeout

H ere comes another one,” Ben Savage warned suddenly, his voice breaking the quietness of the night. “Better close in.”
Danielle Ross had been watching the pale winter moon as it slid across the velvet sky over Lake Pontchartrain. She started slightly, then wheeled to glance at the headlights moving slowly down the narrow road that hugged the shore. “All right,” she murmured and turned to face Ben. Sliding out from under the wheel of the Marquis, he moved beside her and put his right arm around her shoulders. She placed her right arm around his neck and let her left hand fall on the .38 that rested in her lap. It was cold to her touch, and as always, when she thought of actually firing it at someone, a slight shiver ran through her.
As she sat there, rigid in his embrace, listening as the sound of the approaching car grew louder, she became conscious of the firmness of Savage’s neck under her hand and of his hand on her back. The faint scent of his shaving lotion floated to her nostrils, and the moonlight threw the scar over his left eyebrow into prominence. She found herself bracing her feet against the floor and was suddenly aware that she had clenched her teeth together so hard it made her jaws hurt. As the droning engine came closer, she noticed that Ben was relaxed. Somehow angered, she whispered, “Well—is he stopping or not?”
“Maybe.” The car was approaching from her side, and with her face pressed against Ben’s chest, she could not see it. Savage suddenly pulled her closer with his right hand and moved his body slightly forward. Dani felt his cheek press against her hair as he peered toward the approaching car. Suddenly the lights filled the inside of the car, and the engine slowed. At once Ben reached down with his left hand and pulled the .44 magnum from the holster on his right side. “Slowing down,” he murmured. “Could be our little friend.”
Dani’s grip on the .38 tightened, and the muscles in her back grew tense. She was not at all a nervous woman, but sitting in a car waiting for a homicidal maniac who had butchered ten people caused a thread of fear to run along her nerves. As she sat there, listening hard to the vehicle as it drew even with their car, she thought of her conversation the previous Wednesday with Luke Sixkiller.
“We need eighteen teams for a stakeout, Danielle,” the lieutenant of the homicide division of the New Orleans Police Department had said, his obsidian eyes studying her. “We’ve got his M.O. down. He always gets his victims the same way—always hits a couple parking near the lake, always sometime around midnight. And he always slices them up after he puts slugs in them both. So you and Ben be parked on Lakeshore Drive tomorrow night. And carry plenty of heat, you hear? If the Midnight Mangler comes calling, you don’t want to be bashful. Save the state the expense of a trial.”
Then Sixkiller had grinned, adding, “You and ol’ Ben can do some real serious necking while you’re waiting.”
Dani had argued hard against his plan—especially the necking part—but in the end Luke Sixkiller had shrugged, saying, “Well, Ross, if you want to cop out, that’s your business. But a private investigator needs to stay on good terms with the fuzz. And the way to do that, Doll, is to cooperate in little things like this.”
The car had stopped, just to the right of their own, engine faintly throbbing. Dani strained her ears, listening for the sound of a door being opened. A tremor ran through her, and she knew Savage felt it, for his right hand on her back gave a reassuring pressure.
From where she sat, her cheek against the nylon wind-breaker Ben wore, she could see only the twin cones of light that illuminated the road. A strong desire to turn and look at the car came over her, but she and Ben had agreed that they had to look like a couple engaged in heavy petting, so she forced herself to remain still. Time wound down slowly, and Dani was thinking, Why doesn’t he hurry up? when the engine revved, and suddenly the car appeared in her line of vision, ruby taillights glowing like tiny traffic lights. She automatically memorized the license number and pulled her head away from Ben’s chest.
“False alarm,” she noted, keeping her voice steady.
Ben put the .44 down on the seat, but kept his arm around her. “Better stay here awhile.” He nodded. “He might come back.”
Dani turned her head quickly and looked into Savage’s hazel eyes, regarding her carefully, only inches away.
“He’s gone,” she exclaimed sharply. “You can let me go and get back on your own side.”
He didn’t move. Indeed, the pressure of his arm on her back increased, and he moved his face closer. “Can’t ever tell about a guy like that,” he warned. “He might be parking down the road. Might come back on foot.” He was so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. “As a matter of fact, Boss, I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s up to. We’d better make this business look real good!”
“Never mind all that, Ben Savage!” Dani ordered sharply. She put her hand on his chest and tried to push him away. “You just get back where you belong.”
He gave her a grin, but moved back beneath the wheel. Returning the .44 to his holster, he shook his head regretfully. “Boss, you’re the most single-minded woman I ever saw. You just can’t do two things at once—which is a shame.”
“What two things?” she asked absently, putting the revolver back into her purse. Her mind was still on the killer the papers had dubbed the “Midnight Mangier,” but when she looked up and saw his grin, his statement registered, and she snapped, “Never mind! I can guess what two things you’ve got on your grubby little mind!”
“Sorry, Boss,” Ben offered. “Guess I’m just a weak person with no character at all.” She threw him a disgusted look, and he added, “Yep, put me in a parked car with a good-looking woman in my arms—and I revert to my primitive instincts.” She kept stubbornly quiet, and he asked curiously, “Boss—don’t you ever have any primitive instincts?”
“Oh, shut up!” Dani said abruptly. Bending forward, she looked at the face of the dash. “It’s nearly one o’clock. Let’s go home.”
“Sixkiller said stay till two.”
“He’ll never know, and we’re not getting paid for this stakeout.” She leaned back and after a moment said, “I wish we were! ”
Savage looked across at her, admiring the fine curve of her cheek and the firm line of her wide lips. Her mouth was too large, he realized, for true beauty, and her face a little too square. Lieutenant Sixkiller had ragged him about working for such a good-looking woman, but Ben had always shrugged, replying, “I never noticed.”
But he had noticed, of course, as any healthy male would. Not only her face, but the tall, curved figure was the target of most men’s eyes. She was small boned but full bodied and moved with a natural grace that was somehow sedate and sensuous at the same time. Her auburn hair fell forward, hiding her face as she glanced out the window. “Not enough business, is there?” Ben queried.
She looked at him, shrugged and answered, “It could be better.” She bit her lip. “I’m not doing so good with Ross Investigation Agency.”
“It’ll pick up,” he responded cheerful