EDGE OF SUSPENSE: Thrilling Tales of Mystery & Murder Read Online Free PDF

edge of the
bed. "But her luck finally ran out at the same time yours picked up
steam."
    Lydia counted her blessings, which included
Devlin Carter, whom she'd become involved with following the close
call that had brought them closer.
    "Any word on the shooter?" she asked.
    "Still on the loose," Carter said. "We've
got a description of a man seen running from the building where we
believe the shot came from. The general feeling is that he was
hired to kill Martin because she either failed to complete a job in
a timely manner or as payback because she had earned her pay."
    Lydia met his eyes. "Could he be on
Escobero's payroll?"
    Carter shook his head. "Not likely. If he'd
wanted you dead, you would be. He could have taken a shot at you
through that window any time he'd wanted. Obviously he had one
thing in mind and, fortunately for us, he succeeded."
    Lydia took a breath. She was safe for now.
But there was still the matter of testifying against Antonio
Escobero, who would rather see her dead before she took the
stand.
    Other than Carter, who could she trust?
After Suzanne's monumental betrayal, Lydia was afraid to let her
guard down for fear of being stung again. She would need time to
come to grips with what had happened. Only then could she move
forward.
    In the meantime, she was happy that Carter
was there to help protect her and give her the confidence she would
need to get through this.
    But knowing that Escobero would not stop his
vendetta simply because his hired assassin was dead continued to
gnaw at Lydia. Even in custody, he still yielded power, and would
likely come after her again.
    Lydia felt helpless to do anything about
it.
    * * *
    The shooter positioned himself in the window
of an apartment across from the courthouse. He had a bird's eye
view of the entrance. There were people milling about as if this
was a spectator sport. He panned the gathering through the scope,
honing in on Lydia Muldaur and the DEA agent at her side.
    After studying them for a moment, he turned
his attention to the Mercedes that pulled up. A woman exited,
accompanied by bodyguards. She was in her early thirties,
attractive, and well dressed. She dodged questions and headed to
the courthouse.
    The shooter refocused on the witness, Lydia
Muldaur, who began to climb the steps alongside DEA Agent
Carter.
    It was time to finish what he'd started.
    The shooter turned the rifle back on the
other woman. Though flanked by burly bodyguards, he still had an
easy view of her.
    He took aim at the back of her head,
steadied himself, took a breath, and fired once, hitting the target
squarely.
    She went down and the chaos began.
    * * *
    Quentin Fleishman turned himself in,
confessing to the murders of Suzanne Pratt and Maria Escobero, the
wife of Antonio Escobero. The former Special Ops marksman avenged
the death of his beloved wife, Katherine, who had spurned
Escobero's advances and paid for it with her life after he'd
ordered a hit on her.
    It had taken Quentin half a year to track
down the assassin, firmly believing in an eye for an eye.
    Or a bullet for a bullet.
    Taking the life of Maria Escobero was meant
to hit Escobero where it really hurt, so he could also know the
pain of what it was like to lose the love of his life. Quentin
would gladly take his lumps, knowing that Antonio Escobero would
never have a day's rest while he rotted in prison before making his
way to hell.
    * * *
    Six months later, Lydia entered the
courtroom for her third and final day of testimony. She'd grown
stronger with each appearance, disregarding the glower of Antonio
Escobero that was meant to intimidate her.
    Instead she focused on the encouraging smile
of her boyfriend, Devlin Carter, who accompanied her to the trial
each day.
    After telling the truth and nothing but the
truth, Lydia left the courtroom with her head held high. She had
done her part to help put Escobero away and hoped that Javier
Whitman's death would not be in vain.
    "You did great," Carter told