Murder, She Wrote Domestic Malice
Read Murder, She Wrote Domestic Malice Online
Authors: Donald Bain
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Murder, She Wrote
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The Fine Art of Murder
Trouble at High Tide
Domestic
Malice
A
M
URDER
, S
HE
W
ROTE
M
YSTERY
A Novel by
Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain
Based on the Universal television series created by
Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson & William Link
AN OBSIDIAN MYSTERY
OBSIDIAN
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
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First published by Obsidian, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Universal City Studios Productions LLLP.
Murder, She Wrote
is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. Licensed by NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group 2012.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
OBSIDIAN and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:
Bain, Donald, 1935–
Domestic malice: a Murder, she wrote mystery: a novel/by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain.
p. cm.
“Based on the Universal television series created by Peter S. Fischer,
Richard Levinson & William Link.”
“An Obsidian mystery.”
ISBN 978-1-101-60667-4
1. Fletcher, Jessica (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women novelists—Fiction. I. Murder, she wrote (Television program) II. Title.
PS3552.A376D66 2012
813'.54—dc23 2012006726
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
For Maria Morey,
for her selfless dedication to helping people
who have suffered at the hands of those they loved or trusted.
Her assistance with this book was invaluable.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It has been our good fortune not to have had firsthand knowledge of domestic abuse, so we relied on input from experts who help those who’ve gone through that experience. Our thanks to Patricia A. Zachman, executive director; Alex Lopes Massa, director, Facilities and In-Kind Donation Program;
and the entire staff of the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury, who make the world a safer place for men, women, and children.
Thanks also to Lisa Marchese, assistant attorney general, state of Maine, for giving so generously of her time in explaining how abuse cases are handled in her state and what constitutes self-defense.
We hope that we have portrayed what we learned accurately. Any errors are ours alone.
Contents
Other books in the M
URDER
, S
HE
W
ROTE
Series
Part One
Chapter One
I
don’t know how much longer I can stand it—try so hard to make him happy, meals he likes, house spic-and-span, good mother to our children—nothing I do seems to please him.
Shouldn’t have confided in my mother. She never liked him from the day we started dating—when I announced we were getting married she went into a depression—lasted for months, maybe she’s still depressed—wants me to take the kids and leave him, but I can’t do that. Where would we go? How would we live? He wanted me to stay at home and be a full-time mom to the kids, and I’ve done that. How can I make a living after being a stay-at-home mom so many years—no training, no job experience—we’d have no money—can’t even type anymore. I wanted to work but it made him mad when I said that—always mad—acts like he hates me sometimes—names, the nasty curses and names—not true that names don’t hurt. Always threatening to hit me. Sometimes he does—he has no right to hit me. I have to stay in the house till the bruises fade. I’m so ashamed, don’t want someone I know to see—even hide them from the kids. —MW in Maine
MW in Maine—You sound at wit’s end. Don’t try to be a hero (or heroine). Don’t think it’s better for the kids to stay married to this guy. Get out while the getting is good. Take it from me. I know. My sister was murdered by her live-in boyfriend after an argument. I never knew what was going on. She never said a word. Please, please escape before something terrible happens to you. Take the kids and start a new life where you don’t have to be abused. —Janet