Saturday, September 6, 2014

Drive-Bye (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book Three) by Amy Saunders Excerpt

Drive-Bye (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book Three) by Amy Saunders
$3.99

Belinda's recent blunders have come back to bite her - and Bennett - in the monster cupcake. But they're not the only ones with problems.

A car crash uncovers the body of an unlikely murder victim. But the more they learn about her, the more the answer to her death seems to lie in issues that reach far beyond Portside.

As the truth comes out, and Belinda's personal life teeters on the breaking point, she takes life by the maraschino cherries, and finds help in unexpected places.

Also In This Series:
Cliffhanger (Book One)
Auf'd (Book Two)

Excerpt:

But she wasn't Belinda Kittridge tonight, and it was doubtful any of them would want to talk to her. She was Maya Gilchrist, an out-of-town cousin of Victoria's. Victoria had lots of cousins and cousins of cousins, most of whom nobody in Portside knew.

The clothes made her walk differently. The dress fanned out behind her like a train as she took longer strides than she meant to, holding her upper body like a runway model. Belinda gripped her oversized black clutch, the metallic flecks in her nail polish catching the light from car headlights. Her black heels clicked on the sidewalk.

She froze, gazing around at the clumps of attendees–so many people she knew. Belinda swallowed, feeling her mouth dry up, and told herself to walk with confidence. She could do this. The worst that could happen is someone did recognize her.

That thought wasn't helpful.

Gary Wolman stood in the forefront, talking to the TV crews and other journalists. Belinda sighed with relief that this wasn't all a big waste of time. Victoria's instincts had been right.

Belinda hung back to observe, and figure out her best move around the gauntlet, spying out particularly troublesome associates. Like Colleen, who was at the front of the line asking Wolman questions.
 
A limo pulled up near her. Belinda glanced over automatically, and nearly tripped on a crack in the sidewalk when Bennett crawled out.

He was in a black suit that shimmered in the lights–definitely designer. She could tell by the way the fabric hugged him. He had his hair combed conservatively to the side, and had grown more facial hair since she saw him at the hardware store–more than she'd ever seen. Then a woman stepped out after him. A platinum blonde woman in a black, sequined gown and red lipstick.

Belinda completely lost herself–or who she was supposed to be–for a solid minute and just stared blankly ahead of her.

Bennett was selling things he owned left and right. He couldn't afford a designer suit. Never mind one that had obviously been tailored to his physique. He didn't show up at black tie events in limos with wannabe Hollywood starlets. Who was this person? Where was her Bennett?

Well, technically, he was coming toward her with a movie star beard in a suit that could easily make her drool. But that was beside the point.

He was with another woman. A woman she didn't even recognize.
Belinda's blood burned, and she gripped her clutch to stop from doing something unladylike. Like stabbing that hussy through the temple with one of her stilettos.

She tried to concentrate on her task–and not gawking at Bennett. They weren't touching, which was the only thing that saved that woman's life that night.

Belinda drew her shoulders back to make her move into the crowd, when all Arkham Asylum broke out on that street.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...