A Murder Among Friends. Ramona Richards

      

      “Please,” Maggie whispered. “I didn’t kill him.”

      Reaching up, Fletcher let one finger stroke gently under the two stitches near her left eye. “The M.E. has released the body. There’s this memorial service planned. Do you want to go?”

      Maggie pressed his hand against her cheek. Fletcher’s gut tightened as she held it there briefly, then let go. “No. Not yet. I need to stay here.”

      They looked at each other for a moment, and Fletcher wanted to say something, anything to explain how he felt. And what he couldn’t let himself feel. Not until he cleared Maggie as a suspect.

      “Ramona Richards has ingeniously woven together two stories and given it to her readers as fiction inside fiction. A Murder Among Friends is filled with human emotion and woven with faith’s struggles. From the first chapter till the last, you won’t stop wondering and you won’t want to stop reading, even if you put the book down long enough to grab a fresh cup of coffee.”

      –Eva Marie Everson, CBA bestselling author

      of The Potluck Club series

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      RAMONA RICHARDS

       A writer and editor since 1975, Ramona Richards has worked on staff with a number of publishers. Ramona has also freelanced with more than twenty magazine and book publishers and has won awards for both her fiction and nonfiction. She’s written everything from sales training video scripts to book reviews, and her latest articles have appeared in Today’s Christian Woman, College Bound, and Special Ed Today. She sold a story about her daughter to Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul, and Secrets of Confidence, a book of devotionals, is available from Barbour Publishing.

      In 2004 the God Allows U-Turns Foundation, in conjunction with the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA), chose Ramona for their Strength of Choice award, and in 2003 AWSA nominated Ramona for Best Fiction Editor of the Year. The Evangelical Press Association presented her with an award for reporting in 2003, and in 1989 she won the Bronze Award for Best Original Dramatic Screenplay at the Houston International Film Festival. A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and the Romance Writers of America, she has five other novels complete or in development.

      Ramona and her daughter live in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee. She can be reached through her Web site at www.ramonarichards.com.

      A Murder Among Friends

      Ramona Richards

      I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.

      —John 15: 11–14

      Special thanks:

      To Nancy Zottos, who opened up New Hampshire to me.

      To all my friends who made it possible for me to go out on my own, especially Sunny, Phyllis, Jeff, Marcheta, Jamie, Teri, Marilee—and Pat, who introduced me to the real Ciotka Cookie.

      To Carol Lynn Stewart, Corbette Doyle and Terra Manasco, my fellow struggling writers and critique partners. Thanks for pushing me ever harder.

      To K, the one who—from the first “A” to the latest “Z”—has offered me the most hope-filled inspiration and encouragement.

      Finally, to my mom, Jimmie Lou Pope, who has read every word, amazed, thrilled and sometimes puzzled that her daughter could write like that.

      Special praise:

      To God and His astonishingly glorious Son. I took it to heart when someone once told me, “Your talent is your gift from God. What you do with it is your gift to Him.”

      I couldn’t do it without You.

      CONTENTS

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      CHAPTER NINE

      CHAPTER TEN

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      CHAPTER TWELVE

      CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      CHAPTER FOURTEEN

      CHAPTER FIFTEEN

      CHAPTER SIXTEEN

      CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

      CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

      CHAPTER NINETEEN

      CHAPTER TWENTY

      CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

      CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

      CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

      CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

      CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

      THE MAN WHO COUNTS

      QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

      ONE

      Autumn looks like death, sometimes, with the bloodred leaves fading to burgundy and finally to rust and brown. Maggie Weston thought about such death as she stared steadfastly out the window at the swirl of leaves, despite the rumble of a male voice that sounded behind her.

      “Maggie.”

      Go away. Maggie crossed her arms tightly as she continued to focus on the bright colors of the New Hampshire fall landscape. The back wall of the A-frame lodge house was almost entirely glass, spreading the scene before her in a cheery panorama. The trees were brilliantly dappled in the rich sunlight, but all Maggie could see was death. Death in the trees. In her heart. On her back steps. Help us, Lord, she prayed silently. Help me.

      “Maggie.” The voice tugged at her.

      It’s over and done with, she thought, anger and grief curling into a tight knot in her stomach. Just go away and leave us alone.

      The staccato clicks of feminine heels tapped into the room. “I’m very grateful you’ve decided to stay, Fletcher,” said a quivering voice. Without turning, Maggie knew that newly widowed Korie Taylor Jackson would be touching the tall man’s arm, stroking it and preening in a slight flirt, as if she couldn’t stop herself.

      Yeah, right. Maggie’s thoughts were cold. Just wait until he starts asking you questions.

      “Thank you, Korie.” The man’s voice was deep and as mellow as the darkest mahogany, and Maggie’s throat tightened as he spoke. “But I really don’t think I should be doing this—”

      “Nonsense!” Korie interrupted him. “You were