Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction

by Amy Metz

Iconic
Publishing, LLC

1050
E Piedmont Rd

Suite
E
-
119

Marietta,
GA 30062

Copyright © 2012 by Amy Metz

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address inquiries to:

Iconic Publishing Subsidiary Rights Department

1050
E Piedmont Rd, Suite E-119, Marietta, GA 30062

First Iconic U. S. trade paperback edition
- 2012

Iconic Publishing and colophon are registered trademarks of:

Iconic
Publishing, LLC.

Cover design by Karen Schmidt

Edited by Jano Donnachaidh

Dedicated
to
my
father
for
giving
me
the
love
of
a
good
southern
phrase.
And
to
my
great
aunt
and
grandfather,
whose
pain
and
loss
chronicled
in
this
book
I
do
not
take
lightly.

Acknowledgments

In
acknowledging
the
people
who
contributed
to
this
book,
I
must
first
honor
the
memory
of
the
people
who
actually
lived
the
tragedies
of
the
1930s
portion
of
this
book.
While
my
novel
is
intended
to
be
humorous,
I
in
no
way
mean
to
diminish
the
tragedy
of
their
lives. I
grew
up
hearing
the
stories
of
the
murders,
and
I
remember
thinking
long
ago
that
someone
should
write
a
book
about
them.
It
should
be
noted
that
while
the
story
is
based
on
real
events,
the
characters
in
this
book
are
figments
of
my
imagination,
the
real
murder
was
never
solved,
and
the
outcome
depicted
in
this
book
is
purely
fictional.

I
am
forever
grateful
to
my
friends
and
fellow
writers
who
offered critique,
advice,
and
encouragement,
and
who
supported
me
on
the
road
to
publishing.
Thank
you,
Robert
Hoffman,
Dennis
Hart,
Jeni
Decker,
Tim
Mallory,
J. D.
Ferrara,
R. M.
Keegan,
Cathy
Jones, Jennifer
Comeaux,
Nicholas
Anderson,
Ann
Everett,
Ashley
Wilde,
Joss
Landry,
Cate
Carpenter,
John
DeBoer,
Cristina
Jean,
and
Dags,
for
helping
me
iron
out
the
bugs
and
for
telling
me
what
worked . . . and
what
didn’t.
Each
of
these
people
improved
my
writing
and
kept
me
going.
I
wouldn't
trade
them
for
a
farm
in
Georgia.

Thanks
to
my
family
—
David,
Jake,
and
Michael
for
letting
me
spend
so
much
time
in
Goose
Pimple
Junction.

Thank
you
also
to
Karen
Mathison
Schmidt,
for
her
fantastic
work
on
the
cover
art.
I
am
in
awe
of
her
talent.

Last
but
not
least,
thank
you
to
my
publisher
and
editor,
Jano
Donnachaidh,
to
whom
I
am
truly
grateful
for
his
expertise
and
for
believing
in
this
book.

An
Old
Mystery

In
1932,
John
Hobb,
father
of
four,
is
a
witness
to
a
bank
robbery.
He
identifies
the
robbers
and
testifies
against
them.
They
are
later
pardoned
by
the
governor.

In
1935,
Hobb
is
found
in
his
idling
car
by
the
side
of
the
road,
dead
from
a
gunshot
wound
to
the
head.
The
circumstances
surrounding
his
death
are
a
mystery,
and
the
killer
is
unknown.

In
2010,
John
Hobb’s
murder
is
still
unsolved
when
Tess
Tremaine
moves
into
his
former
house.
She
finds
a
job
at
the
local
bookstore,
which
is
owned
by
Louetta
Stafford,
the
youngest
daughter
of
John
Hobb.
During
renovations
to
the
old
house,
Tess
finds
a
mysterious
old
key,
labeled
“trunk.”
Mayhem
ensues
when
she
attempts
to
find
the
owner
of
the
key:
Her
house
is
broken
into
twice,
but
nothing
is
taken;
she
finds
cigarette
butts
and
footprints
outside
a
bedroom
window;
she
gets
threatening
phone
calls
and
ominous
messages
in
the
mail;
she
and
a
friend
are
attacked
on
the
street.
All
of
this
has
the
opposite
reaction
than
was
intended
—
it
doesn’t
scare
her
away,
it
strengthens
her
resolve
to
find
John
Hobb’s
murderer.