2 Crushed (20 page)

“Manny?”

“Sí.” The small affirmative was
filled with raw anger. “He didn’t want her to go. Said she had to stay married
to that
chapete
,” he spit the word
like a curse, “because she had made a vow.”

Handel suddenly had a heroin addict
thrown into the mix of his trial. Not exactly someone above reproach, but that
wouldn’t stop the prosecution from using him to prove Kawasaki had motive for
killing his wife. Why hadn’t Manny mentioned this person before? Especially if
the man was seeing his sister romantically and he knew about it. He rubbed a
hand over his stubbly five o’clock shadow, thinking. “So you want me to believe
that Jimena, a beautiful woman married to a rich man, would leave all that for
you, a drug addict?”

“I quit eight months ago! I
promised Jimena I was done with the life.”

“And what were you doing at the
Kawasaki residence the night of the murder?”

“We were leaving for Mexico. She
finally decided it was time. I went to pick her up but he…”

A guy on a Harley flew by his door,
riding between lanes, and passing everyone with devil-may-care nonchalance in a
leather vest and red bandanna. The loud thumping of the exhaust pipes drowned
out the man’s words.

“… and when I woke up she was
dead,” he finished.

Red taillights flared on the pickup
in front of him as it suddenly came to a complete stop. Handel slammed on the
brakes. His dream of a getaway with Billie evaporated with a glance in the rearview
mirror. A truck was bearing down and there was no way it could stop in time to
avoid rolling right over him. He twisted the wheel hard to the right and pulled
into the next lane without knowing for sure if there was enough space between
vehicles. The screech of metal on metal as he slid past the edge of the
pickup’s bumper drowned out the last of the man’s words. Handel was flung
forward against the steering wheel when the truck slammed from behind. An
explosive sound reverberated in his head and glass exploded around him.

“Mr. Parker? Mr. Parker?” He
thought he heard a voice calling and then it faded away.

Other Novels by Barbara

The
Fredrickson Winery Novels:

Entangled

Crushed

Savor

~~~

Second
Chances Series:

Running Home

Alias Raven Black

~~~

Split Sense

~~~

The
Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy:

Chosen

Shunned

Reckoning

~~~

About the author

Barbara
Ellen Brink lives in the great state of Minnesota with her husband and their
two dogs, Rugby and Willow. Their two adult children wander in and out of their
household through the revolving door of economic necessity.

Barbara
spends much time writing, reading, motorcycling, running, and enjoying life
with the family and friends that God has given her.

~~~

Connect with me online

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/BarbaraEBrink

My
Blog:

http://www.barbarasthinline.blogspot.com

My
Webpage:

http://www.barbaraellenbrink.com

Facebook:

Barbara
Ellen Brink, Novelist