After the Evil – A Jake Roberts Novel (Book 1) (30 page)

When Lori’s finally in custody, Mika will be a
heroine. She will be offered all sorts of rewards, maybe even a top
cop job. It would be difficult for anyone to turn the offers down.
I don’t know if she can truly walk away from it...just for me.

“How about you?”

“When this is over, I’m going to take some time off,
and do some real soul searching,” she says.

She looks deep into my eyes searching for some sort
of a sign, but I can’t give her one. She has to make the decision
on her own.

* * *

Inside the security of her hotel room, the hot water
cascaded over Lori and washed away her crime then she heard the
voice.

Lori Powers, you’re a bad girl. They will find
you.

“They will find you?”

She smiled as the water fell over her face.

“Maybe Jake will find me and we can run away
together.”

She was no longer intimidated by the voices. Lori
decided not to pack. There was nothing she had to take and no
looking back anymore. Even when they found Parker, it wouldn’t do
them any good she thought. In spite of what the voice had said,
they were never going to find her. It was time to go. Hurriedly,
she departed the hotel. The only light shining on the city street
came through the few shaded windows of the townhouses that lined
it, and the bright entrance lights to the hotel. A few cars were
parked along the avenue. Their owners had no plans to leave until
the early morning rush hour.

The only sound outside, besides those from a few
passing cars, were coming from her high heels. They made a clicking
sound that echoed between the buildings. She picked up the pace
down the sidewalk. Her breathing quickened from the brisk walk.
Lori scanned for a nearby taxi and waved one down.

“Logan, please.”

The driver, a recent Islamic immigrant obliged. As
she sat in the back, she removed a tissue from her purse and dabbed
at the corner of her eyes. The driver stole looks at her in the
rear view mirror at irregular intervals. He decided American women
were hot. It was worth it he thought to be an illegal
immigrant.

At the ticket counter, she bought a nonstop ticket.
The flight to Portugal would be lengthy, but it was the first
flight out of the country, and that fit her travel plans perfectly.
Lori Powers would disappear before they arrived, and––after the
evil she had exacted.

* * *

It is written in blood, his blood––a pilot named
Nicholas Parker. The three of us stand at the foot of the bed and
stare. Harmon doesn’t speak. Mika doesn’t say a word. Even if I
knew what to say, I can’t. Right up on the wall over Parker,
written in dried blood red letters is––
JAKE

The rest of the investigators present, mostly FBI
agents and locals, go about the gruesome task of collecting
evidence. The captain is going to be bagged, tagged and frozen in
the morgue at least until the autopsy is completed.

The rest of his flight crew has been rounded up, and
is currently sitting in the lobby in deep shock. They are providing
as much detail as they possibly can in between the trauma and the
crying. A young flight attendant, who can’t be more than twenty, is
shaking so severely they are going to sedate her.

There is one crewmember missing.

* * *

Lightning is direct current. A bolt can account for
twenty to forty thousand amperes, two hundred million volts. A
strike of lightning is calculated to be hotter than the surface of
the sun. When you are struck by lightening, it leaves feather burns
on your skin. They slowly fade after a few days, if you live. Death
can occur in milliseconds.

Sometimes, I hate to be right. Sometimes, I turn the
other cheek. Sometimes, I just want to run home and hide under the
covers. There are times when I wish I had never been born.

I would rather have been struck by lightning then to
live through this. At least it would have been over in
milliseconds. What a world we live in.

All flowers look beautiful but some are poisonous,
even deadly.

About the author

More
by Cary Allen
Stone:

AFTER
THE EVIL
––
A
Jake
Roberts Novel

MIND
OVER MURDER
––
A
Jake Roberts Novel

AFTER
THE GOODE
––
A Jake Roberts
Novel

AFTER
THE KILL
––
A Jake Roberts Novel

STEALING
ATLANTA
––
A Cybercrime Thriller

THROUGH
A MOTHER
’
S EYES
––
True
Crime

Cary Allen Stone was born in 1953, began flying in
1972, and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1976. He was hired by
his first airline in 1982 and has retired in 2014. Aviation has
given him a unique perspective of life, and led to his writing. In
1992, he flew for film director Sir Ridley Scott. It gave him an
opportunity to discuss his writing with Sir Scott who remains a
major influence for him. In addition to his career in aviation and
writing, he had a non-speaking character role in an AAA Club
advertisement, has been an extra in “The Dukes,” and Phoenix film
“Recession Road.” He has done voice-over radio commercials. He is a
member of the Phoenix Writer’s Club, the Author Social Media
Support Group and the International Thriller Writers.

Find Cary Allen Stone on:

Facebook/Twitter/Goodreads/LinkedIn

http://caryallenstone.com
[Website]

[email protected]
[Email]

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AFTER THE
EVIL
.

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