Three weeks to go until VULNERABLE, my new Morgan Family novel! So let’s hear it for the fifth of my Grab Bag Giveaways counting down the weeks until the March 29th pub date. For those of you who haven’t been introduced to the Morgans, they are Nashville’s preeminent law enforcement family, siblings Deke, Rick, Alex and Georgia. Georgia, a forensic specialist, takes the lead in this story of a cold case gone hot.
It seems the more I look forward to you all reading the book, the more I reflect on how writing it raised my awareness of those around us who are vulnerable in ways we can’t even imagine. And when we do see or suspect their vulnerability, how difficult it may be to help them. Here’s Georgia reaching out to a woman she’s certain is in danger both emotionally and physically.
The rattle of glasses had her turning to Carrie, who carried a tray completely filled with empty beer bottles. As the singer’s set concluded and she announced to the crowd she was going to take a break, Carrie approached Georgia.
“Hal told me he came to see you. He was pissed more than usual but I got him to calm down. I can take care of myself and the baby.”
She scanned the young waitress for more bruises. She spotted a dark purple ring around her right wrist. He’d grabbed her and wrenched her arm. “He’s still hurting you. Why stay?”
Carrie shook her head, dismissing Georgia’s logic. “He’s having a rough go of it. He lost his job and he’s worried about taking care of me and the baby. He doesn’t like it that I have to work.”
“Where’s the baby, Carrie?”
“She’s with my neighbor. She’s okay.”
“My offer still stands for a place to stay, Carrie. You don’t have to live this way. Think about the baby.”
A stick-thin man with a handlebar mustache held up an empty glass to get Carrie’s attention. She grinned broadly at him. “Be right there, sugar.” The spotlight overhead caught the bruise across her cheekbone, covered almost completely with makeup.
Georgia shoved back a mouthful of anger.
Carrie turned back to Georgia. “I got to get back to work, but thank you.”
“You can thank me by moving out.”
“I can’t leave Hal now.”
Georgia drew in a breath, realizing her message was not being received. Again, she worried how violent Hal would have to be for Carrie to take a stand. She watched the waitress hold her tray high as she angled her slim body through the crowd.
I hope you enjoyed the above sneak peek celebrating the fifth “romantic suspense weekend” in my Countdown to Vulnerable. Ready to read more? If you haven’t already, check out the excerpt on my site. And please don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a Grab Bag of my titles.
Dr. Heller, the pathologist you’ve met in my Morgan family novels books, most recently in I’LL NEVER LET YOU GO, plays a huge role in providing leads and evidence in the crimes the Morgan family have investigated. While in those novels Georgia, whose story I tell in VULNERABLE, holds sway in evaluating and gathering evidence on site, the pathologist holds the keys to what can’t be seen or proven at the crime scene. That means all things related to bodily fluids and tissue and requires exactitude and being able to check the accuracy of the many tests performed.
Pathologists oversee autopsies and make the determination of how a person died. They are the Maura Isles (Rizzoli and Isles) and “Cam” Saroyan (Bones) in the real world without the stylists and glamour shots. And their role doesn’t begin and end in the lab. They supervise crime scenes, work with investigators and lawyers, and end up in court explaining medical terms and procedures to juries.
Here’s a look at Dr. Heller at work in I’LL NEVER LET YOU GO.
Dr. Heller stood at the head of the stainless-steel table. She wore a gown, gloves, a cap and clear goggles . . . She kept Deirdre’s face and slashed throat covered and exposed the right arm, marred with five gashes, bloodless and gaping. “She sustained injuries on her right side, as you can see, and her palm has a slice down the center. That’s a defensive wound . . .”
Dr. Heller rolled back the sheet a little farther and then moved the body to its left side. A dep gash marred the flesh above the kidney. “This was the killing cut. It lacerated her kidney and the inferior vena cava, a major blood vein. She would have bled out in a matter of minutes.”
. . . She moved her magnifying glass closer to the body and, with tweezers, plucked several blond hairs from one of the wounds. She dropped the hair in a bag and handed it to Alex. He held it up to the light, examining the strands of hair. “Get these to Forensics.”
“Maybe you got lucky.”
“Maybe.”
Four weeks to go until VULNERABLE! Which means it’s time for a new Grab Bag Giveaway as the seven week countdown to on sale date continues.
Seems the more I look forward to you all reading the book, the more I reflect on how writing it raised my awareness of those around us who are vulnerable in ways we can’t even imagine. And when we do see or suspect their vulnerability, how difficult it may be to help them. Here’s Georgia reaching out to a woman she’s certain is in danger both emotionally and physically.
The rattle of glasses had her turning to Carrie, who carried a tray completely filled with empty beer bottles. As the singer’s set concluded and she announced to the crowd she was going to take a break, Carrie approached Georgia.
“Hal told me he came to see you. He was pissed more than usual but I got him to calm down. I can take care of myself and the baby.”
She scanned the young waitress for more bruises. She spotted a dark purple ring around her right wrist. He’d grabbed her and wrenched her arm. “He’s still hurting you. Why stay?”
Carrie shook her head, dismissing Georgia’s logic. “He’s having a rough go of it. He lost his job and he’s worried about taking care of me and the baby. He doesn’t like it that I have to work.”
“Where’s the baby, Carrie?”
“She’s with my neighbor. She’s okay.”
“My offer still stands for a place to stay, Carrie. You don’t have to live this way. Think about the baby.”
A stick-thin man with a handlebar mustache held up an empty glass to get Carrie’s attention. She grinned broadly at him. “Be right there, sugar.” The spotlight overhead caught the bruise across her cheekbone, covered almost completely with makeup.
Georgia shoved back a mouthful of anger.
Carrie turned back to Georgia. “I got to get back to work, but thank you.”
“You can thank me by moving out.”
“I can’t leave Hal now.”
Georgia drew in a breath, realizing her message was not being received. Again, she worried how violent Hal would have to be for Carrie to take a stand. She watched the waitress hold her tray high as she angled her slim body through the crowd.
I hope you enjoyed the above sneak peek celebrating the fourth “romantic suspense weekend” in my Countdown to VULNERABLE. Ready to read more? If you haven’t already, check out the excerpt on my site. And please don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a Grab Bag of my titles.
Hello, all! Thank you for joining me for the return of Forensic Fridays. I hope you’ll continue to check in at my blog weekly as I share tidbits from my Morgan Family novel, I‘LL NEVER LET YOU GO, as we head toward the March 29th publication date of Georgia’s story, VULNERABLE.
Morgan sibling and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent Alex is at center stage taking over what begins as a Nashville PD case when it becomes clear a member of the force may be involved. He’s facing a killer determined to destroy all the evidence, including the victim’s humanity, beginning with fingerprints. The victim’s extremities and head have been removed and clothing, shoes, wallet are nowhere to be found.
Evidence. When you have it, you want to keep it. With it a case can be made. Without it convictions lost. That’s why it’s kept under lock and key. Sometimes that’s not enough as seen in I’LL NEVER LET YOU GO.
Six weeks ago, he’d completely stepped over the line. He’d approached her while she was in the produce aisle of the grocery store. He’d come up to her as she filled a plastic bag with apples. He’d scared the shit out of her, and she’d dropped the apples, sending them rolling over the tile floor. When she’d told him to back off, he’d threatened to expose her secret. He had no reason to remain loyal if she didn’t. She’d know then what needed to be done. Tyler would bring her career tumbling down. The threats had to be nullified . . .
She signed the evidence bag and grinned at the officer. “Cold enough for you out there?” . . .
She made her way along the rows of file boxes until she found the one she needed. From her purse, she pulled out an envelope . . .
She closed the box, locked it, and walked toward the officer as if she didn’t have the sword of Damocles hanging over her head . . . He rose and nervously tugged on his belt, glancing around to make sure they were alone. “Someone was checking behind you last week.”
She tightened her grip on her keys. “That so?”
He cleared his throat. “I could get busted if anyone knew this came from me.” Deidre shook her head slowly, wondering why he placed trust so easily. “No one will ever know”
Five weeks to go until VULNERABLE! Which means it’s time for the third Grab Bag Giveaway in our seven week countdown to publication date. Here’s a share that brings us inside Forensic Specialist Georgia Morgan’s head as she works a crime scene.
Georgia did her best to consider dead bodies as evidence to be studied. But when the victim was young, as this girl had been, it was difficult to not look behind the ravages of death and see a sweet young girl brutally robbed of her life.
A heaviness settled in her chest and, for a moment, she didn’t move as she sat quietly by the girl, her gloved hand resting on the lifeless arm. As she sat, she glanced over at the three waxy puddles that had illuminated the cave. Why the candles? Had the killer used them to light up his little cave of horrors? Tears burned in the back of her throat. “I swear, I’ll find out who did this.”
“Talking to yourself?” Jake asked.
“I talk to dead people,” she said. “Didn’t you know that?”
I hope you enjoyed the above sneak peek celebrating the third “romantic suspense weekend” in my Countdown to VULNERABLE. Ready to read more? Here’s a longer excerpt. And please don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a Grab Bag of my titles.