Shadows from the Grave
Read Shadows from the Grave Online
Authors: T. L. Haddix
T. L. Haddix
Shadows from the Grave
Streetlight Graphics Publishing
A division of Streetlight Graphics
Copyright 2011 by Tabatha L. Haddix
Dead Is the New Black excerpt Copyright 2011 Christine DeMaio
Manufactured in the United States of America
ISBN-13: 987-0-9845281-4-1
ISBN-10: 0-9845281-4-8
Editor: Lynn O'Dell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Streetlight Graphics Publishing, a division of Streetlight Graphics.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for them. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Second Kindle Edition released: October 2011
Excerpt from Dead Is the New Black by Christine DeMaio-Rice
Chase Hudson
—Attorney. Oldest child of Richard and Jackie Hudson. Brother to Jason, Beth, and Joely.
Annie Jameson Tucker
—Owns Annie’s Arbor, flower shop. Best friends with Beth and with Lauren Clark. Half-sister of Charlie Clark.
Kiely Turner
—Former girlfriend of Chase, murdered ten years ago while they were in college.
Beth Hudson Moore
—Intrepid reporter for the Olman County Journal, the newspaper owned by her grandfather, Sampson Olman. Younger sister of Chase and Jason Hudson. Married to Ethan.
Ethan Moore
—Detective with the Olman County Sheriff’s Department. Best friend of Chase and Jason Hudson.
Jason Hudson
—Deputy Sheriff.
Joely Hudson
—Student. Sister of Beth Hudson.
Richard and Jackie Hudson
—Dr. and Mrs. Hudson, parents of Chase, Jason, Beth, and Joely.
John Hudson, II
—Attorney. Older brother of Richard Hudson, uncle to Chase. Son of John “J.R.” Hudson and Ethel Chase Hudson.
Hannah Gray
—Single mother, manages local bed and breakfast.
Lauren Grant Clark
—Owns the Brown Bag Café. Married to Charlie Clark.
Charlie Clark
—Owns Clark Consulting, an internet-based security company.
Stacy Kirchner
—Detective with the Olman County Sheriff’s Department.
Galen Gordon
—FBI agent who went to law school with Chase Hudson. Widower.
Wyatt Dixon
—Sheriff, Olman County.
Amy Lynn and Neal Bledsoe
—Sister and brother-in-law of Kiely Turner.
Everyone has regrets. It's impossible not to. I have my share, and that's a fact. I've been gone for nearly ten years now, but I can't let go of the world I lived in. Not yet. Soon, maybe...
So, regrets. Mine are particularly shameful. See, the things I did, they hurt other people. Sometimes I meant to cause pain, the way they had hurt me. Other times, the pain was completely accidental, the remnant of a life led by a spoiled and self-absorbed child. After I died, my family fell apart. My mother drank herself to death within a couple of years, and my father followed soon afterward. My sister, Amy, has spent the time since my murder seeking vengeance in one quarter or another, and the love of my life has gone down a road so dark, he’ll probably never find his way back. And then, there’s Chase…
I’ve been keeping an eye on Chase for a long time now. There are ways those of us who aren’t in the physical realm can reach out, but I’ve resisted. For one thing, I didn’t feel like I had the right to make contact with the living, particularly with him, not after what I did to him. For another thing, we only get one chance to change things. I want to make sure I use my chance to make a difference.
I like the little town he calls home. Leroy, Indiana. It’s a quaint and charming town, situated on the banks of the Ohio River. Chase’s family is respected there, and so is Chase. He’s built up a growing practice, spending many more hours at work than a man his age should. Oh, he’s had some brief, shallow relationships through the years, and he’s had the support of his family and friends, but a man like Chase? He deserves more. He should have a family of his own, a wife, children, and the proverbial house with a white picket fence. At least, he’s been alone until recently. A few months back, his friendship with a certain woman started changing into something more. When I saw what was building, I cried, or as close as a being like me can come to crying.