Deadly Trance
"Oh, what tangled webs. . ." (in italics)
by
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HEIDI CARLSON COMMITS SUICIDE! The lifeless body of President-elect Heidi Carlson was discovered late last night in her luxurious Georgetown condominium. Preliminary cause of death: suicide. Carlson, former first lady and US Senator, Virginia, was to be sworn in as America’s first female president later this month. Shock waves tore across the nation as news of her untimely death became public. No details are being released, pending joint Secret Service, FBI and Metropolitan Police investigations. Former President, Laurence Carlson, in seclusion at the couple’s Virginia estate, was unavailable for comment. Angel sat slumped at her desk, feet propped on the credenza, gazing through hooded eyes at the wild Pacific. A copy of the front page lay on her lap. To the unknowing passerby, it might seem she were napping. She wasn’t. Her mind was fully engaged. Not with the untimely demise of Heidi Carlson, Angel had problems of her own. Damn! I’m running out of time. Damien only gave me six months and we’ve burned three without identifying a single lead. And now the infamous Heidi commits suicide? Right! In a pig’s eye! That’s all I needed! Was I wrong? Or did we just miss a critical element in the programming? "Wake up! I’ve got something you need to see." "Hey, Tai!" Angel lowered her feet and turned form the window in a single fluid motion. "I wasn’t sleeping, just trying to figure out where to go from here. What’ve you got?" Tai handed Angel a computer printout, stepped back and waited for the fireworks. Angel glanced at the printout, immediately recognizing its significance. "Yes! I knew I was right!" she grinned from ear to ear as she sprang from her chair and shot a victorious fist into the air. "I’ll be damned," she gleefully danced from behind the desk to engulf Tai in a great bear hug, "Heidi’s the key that finally opened the lock!" "I thought you might be pleased," Tai laughed as he freed himself from Angel’s crushing embrace. "Pleased? That’s a gross understatement. I’ve got to show this to Damien! You coming?" "Don’t you think we should wait until we’re sure?" Tai grinned, equally albeit more cautiously exuberant. "I am sure!" Angel declared as she raced from her office, dragging Tai in her wake. "We don’t have the luxury of time! Can’t you hear the clock ticking? I sure as hell can!" Tai made no further attempts to dissuade and followed quietly. Angel’s waited three long months for this break. She’s as unstoppable as a raging twister! "We have to see Damien!" Angel demanded as she literally exploded into the foyer of the Director’s office. "Good morning to you, too!" the sheer force of pent-up energy borne of months of frustrated disappointment, startled the unflappable Sarah, Damien’s girl Friday. "He’s on a conference call. You’ll have to wait." How can Sarah be so calm, so dismissive? This is important! "This can’t wait! We have to see Damien now!" "With you, nothing can wait!" Sarah teased. "Sorry to interrupt," she engaged the intercom. "I have a very adamant lady insisting she see you immediately." "Annie, right?" "And Tai. Who else?" "Tell her to cool off," the disembodied voice directed. "I’ll be with them in a few minutes." Sarah returned to her work and glancing up a few minutes later, shook her head in wonder. They’re quite the pair!
Tai sat patiently waiting. Angel impatiently paced. Hurry, Damien! I’ve finally got a lead. "Tell them they can come in." Angel charged into the inner sanctum with Tai still silently in tow. "Bloodhound finally got a hit!" she announced triumphantly. "Look at this!" What’s got Annie so tightly wound this morning? She looks like she’s about to explode!
"You know I can’t read those damned things!" Damien swallowed a chuckle, determined to hide his amusement. "Sum it up for me." "You want the short version?" Angel took the lead, her face glowing like an incandescent bulb, her voice taut as a rubber band stretched to its limits. What’s responsible for this nucleus of atypically restrained energy? "Please," Damien braced for an excited torrent. "Three internationally prominent women have allegedly committed suicide in less than six months," Angel’s calm, succinct even tone surprised everyone, including her. Is that what’s got this tiny female so wired?
"So?" "I smell a serial killer!" Damien’s sarcasm was impotent in the face of Angel’s unbridled enthusiasm. "You’re reaching, Annie!" Damien guffawed, unable to hold captive any longer the laughter bubbling in his throat. Angel placed both hands on Damien’s desk, leaned forward and pinned him with her eyes. "No! I’m not!" she hissed. "At least two of these women committed a crime just prior to their death." "What kind of crime?" Damien’s teasing smile was displaced by a perplexed frown. "What about the third one?" Tai quickly moved from Angel’s path, a faint smile capturing his lips, as Angel straightened her back and began pacing. "The first two stole priceless objects d’art." "And the third?" "I don’t know." Angel stopped pacing. "Yet!" Damien’s eyes followed as Angel recommenced pacing. Oh, what the hell! I might as well sample the bait. "Who are these women?" Got him! All I have to do now is reel him in. "Dame Beatrice Thornbury, former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Mai Ling Chung, granddaughter of the President of the Peoples Republic of China, wife of the Mayor of Shanghai and our very own President-elect, Heidi Carlson. Dame Beatrice died in September, Ms. Chung in November and President-elect Carlson was found dead last night."
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About the Book
PRESIDENT-ELECT HEIDI CARLSON COMMITS SUICIDE! screamed the headline. Carlson is the third internationally prominent woman to commit suicide in six months! Angel, the Centre's lead profiler, is convinced the deaths are fruits of the macabre labor of a very clever serial killer, but the Centre's founder and director, Angel’s godfather and mentor, Damien, isn't buying Angel's hypothesis. How can suicide be murder? As Angel and Tai, colleagues in the Centre's serial crime identification project, work Angel's prescient hunch, Damien is unexpectedly catapulted into the spotlight of the investigation. As the primary suspect! It would seem Damien is the sole individual on the planet having the skills, access and opportunity necessary to commit the crimes! Suddenly, Angel and Tai aren’t just frantically trying to identify and apprehend a serial killer before he strikes again. They’re trying to prove Damien's innocence, as well! And Damien isn't helping. The investigation is raising questions about Damien’s past he doesn’t want answered. Damien brought Angel and her adoptive family together, spinning a delightful tale of Angel’s discovery on his doorstep. Now, as a result of Heidi Carlson’s death and the Centre’s ensuing investigation, the mystery of Angel's birth is slowly unraveling. But Angel, totally focused on her crusade to prove her godfather's innocence and bring a serial killer to justice, is missing clues the size of Plymouth Rock. Oh, what tangled webs . . .
About the Author
Pat Cornelison, a self-proclaimed "arm-chair" psychologist, has been intrigued with the human psyche as long as she’s been capable of cognitive thought. Pat is a native Texan and healthcare executive. She splits her time between her career and "writing" weekends at "Backroads", a little bit of heaven located on a small lake in the woods of East Texas.