Clandestine Cover-Up

Clandestine Cover-Up
Pamela Tracy

YOU'RE NOT WANTED HERE The warning is painted bloodred on Tamara Jacoby's door. Who wants the newcomer out of the small Nebraska town? Is the vandal connected to the stalker who drove her away from her big-city life? Tamara reluctantly turns to handsome contractor Vince Frenci, her brother-in-law's best friend.His protective instincts ignited, Vince is ready to battle an unknown enemy and uncover the threat to Tamara's life. But as the truth emerges, it becomes clear that someone wants certain secrets to stay buried….

Tamara took one step and froze as she heard movement downstairs.

Vince tensed, too. “Wait here,” he ordered.

“Right,” she agreed, following him.

Because he’d rather have her within reach, he didn’t protest. He closed the front door and stopped, somewhat shielding her from seeing what was there.

She moved closer, squinting, needing the beam of his flashlight to see. It put her very close, too close. Standing up straight and trying to regain her composure, she shifted so she could see the words written on a piece of paper tacked to her door.

YOU BUY YOU DIE.

This time it looked like the sign maker had been in a hurry. The warning was in pencil, and whoever had made the sign had been more than angry. In five or six spots, the point of the pencil had gone right through the paper. Not only that, but the lines were in bold, dark letters.

“Another warning,” Tamara muttered.

“No,” Vince said. “This time, it’s a promise.”

PAMELA TRACY

lives in Arizona with a newly acquired husband (Yes, Pamela is somewhat a newlywed. You can be a newlywed for seven years. Next year, we’ll be oldlyweds.) and a pre-schooler (Newlymom is almost as fun as newlywed!). She was raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and started writing at age twelve (a very bad teen romance featuring David Cassidy from the Partridge Family). Later, she honed her writing skills while earning a B.A. in Journalism at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas (and wrote a very bad science fiction novel that didn’t feature David Cassidy).

Pamela Tracy

Clandestine Cover-Up

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

—Proverbs 22:1

To Sandra Lagesse, a friend extraordinaire.

Thank you for the shoulder to lean on,

the hand to hold, and the ear that listens.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

ONE

YOUR NOT WANTED HERE

The words were written in dripping bloodred paint on the front door of the building Tamara Jacoby had just signed the final sale papers on. She’d been the proud owner for only twenty minutes. Her lawyer’s mind, still sharp, still observant, wanted to change the your to you’re. Her single female mind, still somewhat wounded, wanted to run to the car, jump in, lock the door and drive as far away as possible.

Wait, she’d already done that. That was how she’d arrived here in Sherman, Nebraska—far, far away from Arizona.

“It’s not blood,” she assured herself.

And William Massey is in jail, for a long, long time.

Still, to make sure, she whipped out her cell phone, dialed the 602 area code and spoke with a guard she knew at Florence Penitentiary.

Yes, William Massey is still in jail.

Which left Tamara wondering who on earth was after her now.

YOUR NOT WANTED HERE

Her sister Lisa, who lived here, called Sherman a safe little town.

Yeah, real safe.