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BLURB
Ties That Bind
When an
isolated incident turns into a hunt for a serial killer, Detective Madison
Knight is not going to back down—even if it pits her against her superiors
Book 1 in the
series.
The hunt for a serial
killer begins…
Detective Madison Knight concluded the case of a
strangled woman an isolated incident. But when another woman’s body is found in
a park killed with the same brand of neckties, she realizes they’re dealing
with something more serious.
Despite mounting pressure from the sergeant and the
chief to close the case even if it means putting an innocent man behind bars,
and a partner who is more interested in saving his marriage than stopping a
potential serial killer, Madison may have to go it alone if the murderer is
going to be stopped.
Excerpt
Chapter 1
SOMEONE DIED EVERY DAY. Detective Madison Knight was left to
make sense of it.
She ducked under the yellow tape and surveyed the scene. The
white, two-story house would be deemed average any other day, but today the
dead body inside made it a place of interest to the Stiles PD and the curious
onlookers who gathered in small clusters on the sidewalk.
She’d never before seen the officer who was securing the
perimeter, but she knew his type. The way he stood there—his back straight, one
hand resting on his holster, the other gripping a clipboard—he was an eager recruit.
He held up a hand as she approached. “This is a closed crime
scene.”
She unclipped her badge from the waist of her pants and held
it up in front of him. He studied it as if it were counterfeit. She usually
respected those who took their jobs seriously but not when she was functioning
on little sleep and the humidity level topped ninety-five percent at ten thirty
in the morning.
“Detective K-N-I—”
Her name died on her lips as Sergeant Winston stepped out of
the house. She would have groaned audibly if he weren’t closing the distance
between them so quickly. She preferred her boss behind his desk.
Winston gestured toward the young officer to let him know
she was permitted to be on the scene. The officer glared at her before leaving
his post. She envied the fact that he could walk away while she was left to
speak with the sarge.
“It’s about time you got here.” Winston fished a
handkerchief out of a pocket and wiped at his receding hairline. The extra few
inches of exposed forehead could have served as a solar panel. “I was just
about to assign the lead to Grant.”
Terry Grant was her on-the-job partner of five years and
three years younger than her thirty-four. She’d be damned if Terry was put in
charge of this case.
“Where have you been?” Winston asked.
She jacked a thumb in the rookie’s direction. “Who’s the new
guy?”
“Don’t change the subject, Knight.”
She needed to offer some sort of explanation for being late.
“Well, boss, you know me. Up all night slinging back shooters.”
“Don’t get smart with me.”
She flashed him a cocky smile and pulled out a Hershey’s bar
from one of her front pants pocket. The chocolate had already softened from the
heat. Not that it mattered. She took a bite.
Heaven.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” she asked with her mouth
partially full.
“The call came in, I was nearby, and thought someone should
respond.” His leg caught the tape as he tried to step over it to the sidewalk
and he hopped on the other leg to adjust his balance. He continued speaking as
if he hadn’t noticed. “The body’s upstairs, main bedroom. She was strangled.”
He pointed the tip of a key toward her. “Keep me updated.” He pressed a button
on his key fob and the department-issued SUV’s lights flashed. “I’ll be waiting
for your call.”
As if he needed to say that. Sometimes she wondered if he
valued talking more than taking action.
She took a deep breath. She could feel the young officer
watching her, and she flicked a glance at him, now that the sergeant was gone.
What was his problem? She took another bite of her candy bar.
“Too bad you showed. I think I was about to get the lead.”
Madison turned toward her partner’s voice. Terry was padding
across the lawn toward her.
“I’d have to be the one dead for that to happen.” She smiled
as she brushed past him.
“You look like crap.”
Her smile faded. She stopped walking and turned around.
Every one of his blond hairs were in place, making her self-conscious of her
short, wake-up-and-wear-it cut. His cheeks held a healthy glow, too, no doubt
from his two-mile morning run. She hated people who could do mornings.
“What did you get? Two hours of sleep?” Terry asked.
“Three, but who’s counting?” She took another large bite of
the chocolate. It was almost a slurp with how fast the bar was melting.
“You were up reviewing evidence from the last case again,
weren’t you?”
She wasn’t inclined to answer.
“You can’t change the past.”
She wasn’t hungry anymore and wrapped up what was left of
the chocolate. “Let’s focus on this case.”
“Fine, if that’s how it’s going be. Victim’s name is Laura
Saunders. She’s thirty-two. Single. Officer Higgins was the first on scene.”
Higgins? She hadn’t seen him since she arrived, but had been
her training officer. He still worked in that capacity for new recruits.
Advancing in the ranks wasn’t important to him. He was happy making a
difference where he was stationed.
Terry continued. “Call came in from the vic’s employer,
Southwest Welding Products, where she worked as the receptionist.”
“What would make the employer call?”
“She didn’t show for her shift at eight. They tried reaching
her first, but when they didn’t get an answer, they sent a security officer
over to her house. He found the door ajar and called downtown. Higgins was here
by eight forty-five.”
“Who was—”
“The security officer?”
“Yeah.” Apparently they finished each other’s sentences now.
“Terrence Owens. And don’t worry. We took a formal statement
and let him go. Background showed nothing, not even a speeding ticket. We can
function when you’re not here.”
She cocked her head to the side.
“He also testifies to the fact that he never stepped one
foot in the place.” Terry laughed. “He said he’s watched enough cop dramas to
know that it would contaminate the crime scene. You get all these people
watching those stupid TV shows, and they think they can solve a murder.”
“So is Owens the one who made the formal call downtown,
then?” Madison asked.
“Actually, procedure for them is to route everything through
the company administration. A Sandra Butler made the call. She’s the office
manager.”
“So an employee is even half an hour late for work and they
send someone to your house?”
“She said it’s part of their safety policy.”
“At least they’re a group of people inclined to think
positively.” She rolled her eyes. Sweat droplets ran down her back. Gross. She
moved toward the house.
The young officer scurried over. He shoved his clipboard
under his arm and tucked his pen behind his ear. He pointed toward the
chocolate bar still in her hand. “You can’t take that in there.”
She glanced down. Chocolate oozed from a corner of the
wrapper. He was right. She handed the package to him, and he took it with two
pinched fingers.
She patted his shoulder. “Good job.”
He walked away with the bar dangling from his hand, mumbling
something indiscernible.
“You can be so wicked sometimes,” Terry said.
“Why, thank you.” She was tempted to take a mini bow but
resisted the urge.
“It wasn’t a compliment. And since when do you eat chocolate
for breakfast?”
“Oh shut up.” She punched him in the shoulder. He smirked
and rubbed his arm. Same old sideshow. She headed into the house with him on
her heels.
“The stairs are to the right,” Terry said.
“Holy crap, it’s freezing in here.” The sweat on her skin
chilled her. It was a refreshing welcome.
“Yep, a hundred and one outside, sixty inside.”
When she was two steps from the top of the staircase, Terry
said, “And just a heads-up—this is not your typical strangulation.”
“Come on, Terry. You’ve seen one, you’ve—” She stopped
abruptly when she reached the bedroom doorway. Terry was right.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international best-selling and
award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor.
She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher
FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly
thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to
hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.
Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have
been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining,
leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending
time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her
roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she
tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her
books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She currently lives just west of Toronto with her
husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada.
Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:
Website - http://carolynarnold.net/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Arnold
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynArnold
And don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for
up-to-date information on release and special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.
This is the perfect book series for fans of Law & Order, CSI, Blue Bloods, Rizzoli
& Isles, Women’s
Murder Club, and Hawaii
Five-O.
Read in any order or follow the series from the
beginning: Ties That Bind,
Justified, Sacrifice, Found Innocent, Just Cause, Deadly Impulse, In the Line
of Duty, Life Sentence (Bonus Prequel).
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/McKinley-Mysteries-10-Book/dp/B0185RCLG0?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&ref=series_rw_dp_labf
Barnes &
Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Detective Madison Knight
Series%22;jsessionid=12D53804BD435A2F2E755B6E568E4590.prodny_store02-atgap06?Ntk=P_Series_Title&Ns=P_Series_Number&Ntx=mode+matchall
iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/ties-that-bind/id441096550?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Kobo
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You can also
visit the author’s McKinley Mysteries Series page:
http://carolynarnold.net/detective-madison-knight-series/
TIES THAT BIND
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