From award winning author Matt Cost comes a thriller that
Bruce Robert Coffin says is "a twisted and chilling tale of control and
manipulation. The ultimate 'what if' on steroids. What is the End Game?
It was as close to ecstasy as the woman had ever been in her
life. It was enlightenment. She was no longer Martha Abbott. She was a warrior
of Marduk engaged in a war of purity. "You say your daughter is
missing?" Clay Wolfe asked. The man in front of him was slightly
disheveled. Red eyes. Fear creased his features.
What is going to happen on Leap Day? "We have
allowed sin to fill our homes, and it is our divine labor to cleanse that filth
from our streets." Marduk's voice boomed through the cavernous temple.
Something evil is lurking in the streets of Port Essex. A
missing girl. Violent attacks. It is up to Private Investigator Clay Wolfe, his
partner Baylee Baker, and a colorful assortment of friends to get to the bottom
of these odious occurrences before it is too late. Mind Trap is a thrilling
ride set in a small Maine town with rich characters and shocking plot twists
that will keep the reader rapt within the pages.
Excerpt
Chapter 1:
Monday, February 17th
“You say your
daughter is missing?” Clay Wolfe asked. The man in front of him was slightly
disheveled. Red eyes. Fear creased his features.
“Yes. I haven’t
been able to get in touch with her for weeks. Came looking for her this
weekend, and she’s disappeared.” His voice was desperate and frustrated, but it
was also angry.
“Your daughter
lives with your ex-wife?”
“Yes, well no,
we aren’t divorced yet.”
“Tell me about
that, Mr. Abbott.”
“What’s that got
to do with anything?”
Clay leaned
back in his chair and waited. He hadn’t ever made a fool of himself by not
saying anything. Instead of speaking, he took stock of the man in front of him.
He had a 1970s shiny comb-over with full sideburns that made him look like an
Elvis caricature. His face was long and broad, his nostrils flared slightly,
and there was a bit of a quirk to his mouth.
Doug Abbott
sighed, rubbed his weary eyes, and leaned forward. “Sorry. I’m just a bit
frazzled. I left Martha last March. Ran away to Florida with my girlfriend.”
Clay nodded. He
was not the man’s priest. His own personal life certainly had enough holes in
it. “Fair to say your wife was pretty angry with you?”
“She told me to
f*** off when I left. Said she never wanted to see me again, and she hoped I
died by castration and bled out.”
“And then you
moved to Florida?”
“Yeah. Sick of
these Maine winters, you know?”
“Could have
moved south with your wife.”
“Pretty f****** sick of her, too.”
“So, that was
the last time you spoke with your wife?”
“I tried
calling her, you know, to talk about Jenna, school stuff, things like that, but
she wouldn’t answer my calls. Wouldn’t return my calls.”
“Jenna is your
daughter?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you stay
in contact with Jenna?”
“Yeah, she had
her own cell phone. She was pretty pissed at me, too, but I think I was making
some headway with her. Told her maybe she could come visit me in Florida. She
liked that idea.”
“When was the
last time you spoke with your daughter?”
“Couple of
months ago.”
Doug said this
so quietly that Clay leaned forward. It seemed a long time to go without
talking to your daughter, however estranged, Clay thought, but what did he
know? At thirty-five years of age, he had no kids, and had been an orphan
himself. What’s more, there were no women lining up to be the mother of his
future children. He’d gotten the most recent contender for that title arrested
and sent to federal prison for ten years. That seemed to be a deal breaker.
“How old is
your daughter?”
“She is almost fifteen.”
“Did she give
any hint that something was amiss?” Clay asked.
“She told me
back in November that Martha had put the house up for sale.”
Clay nodded.
“Did she say where they planned to move to?” He had to ask, even if he already
knew the answer. Obviously, if Jenna had told her father where they were
moving, there would be no need for Clay Wolfe.
“What do you
think?”
“Wasn’t your
name on the mortgage?” Clay steepled his fingers in front of him on the desk.
“It was her
house. Her parents left it to her when they died ten years ago.”
“Weren’t you
married to Martha then?”
“Yes, but they
never liked me very much. Thought Martha could have done better.”
The
conversation went on for another hour, with Clay slowly pulling pieces of the
puzzle out of Doug Abbott. How Martha Abbott had been left a house when her
parents died within two months of each other in random accidents. The Will
named Martha as the beneficiary of the house, explicitly excluding Doug from
ownership.
Martha had
gotten the house free and clear of debt but had lost her parents, a loss that
she never recovered from. She’d suffered from depression, ate anti-depressants
like candy, saw therapists more than friends, and slowly closed down, with one
exception. She poured all of her love into Jenna, smothering the girl with
maternal affection and blocking Doug out of both of their lives as effectively
as if he’d never existed.
About the Author
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This book sounds good.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Or is just a MIND TRAP?
DeleteSounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It will TRAP your MIND.
DeleteNice looking cover. This book sounds interesting.
ReplyDeletenice cover
ReplyDelete