Detective Brianna Rosetti is exiled from her big city police department in Missouri to a small, isolated out-of-state law enforcement unit in the woods.
She hopes it's only temporary until things cool down at home.
There's been no crime up in this pine forest community for four years, but on her first morning on the job, a body is discovered in the water.
This pine forest murder mystery will have you on the edge of your seat.
Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Waterfalls-Point-Carol-Ann-Kauffman-ebook/dp/B0CG3TYWQC
Excerpt:
1. Body in the Basket
Wind gusts battered the flimsy wire basket as it dangled from the helicopter. It offered little protection from the elements to the small woman inside clutching its sides.
The basket landed with a thud.
“Sam says he’s sorry,” shouted a man in the helicopter.”
Brianna gulped hard. She was determined not to break down. Brianna stood up and swung a high-heeled leg over the side of the basket and then the other. She managed to stand on the ground without wobbling. She smoothed down her hair and straightened her suit skirt, and, with briefcase in hand, proceeded to trudge along toward her destination, a lone, lodge-styled, three story, wooden structure nestled in the pines.
It may have been cold outside, but Brianna Rosetti was seething.
“Are you the new… guy? Something Rose?” asked a man standing by the bottom of the steps. Big male, white, about thirty-five years old, at least six feet tall. Roughly two hundred fifty pounds, deep voice. Rugged looking. Puffy parka. Ear-flaps hat. A tuft of blond curly hair sticking out. No distinguishing marks or tattoos. No smile. Beautiful aqua eyes.
“Yes. I’m Detective Brianna Rosetti.” Brianna tilted her head up and smiled.
“Good. Here.” He handed her a paper. “It saves me a trip up those steps.”
He turned, walked into the woods, and disappeared. Brianna read the paper in her hand as she climbed the two flights of wooden steps and entered the third floor of the building.
“So, what do we know, people?” asked Detective Brianna Rosetti as she rushed into the Squad Room, her high heels clicking across the wooden plank floor. She took the seat at the big desk in the front of the room. She smoothed down her navy-blue suit skirt and took her leather-bound notebook out of her briefcase and laid it on the desk top in front of her. She tapped her pen on the desk.
She held up a paper and read, “The body of a young woman was found at the bottom of Waterfalls Point this morning. Local police were called in after an early morning train engineer crossing the bridge reported seeing what appeared to be a body caught on the rocks in the water below. It is not known at this time whether the victim jumped off the bridge or was pushed. The victim, female, about thirty years old, was wearing gray jogging pants, running shoes, and a pink hoodie. She had dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was five feet seven inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds. No identification was found on the body. Anyone with information on the victim’s identity or knows anything about the incident is asked to contact Detective Brianna Rosetti of the Waterfalls Point, Thomas County Sheriff’s Department.
Brianna looked up at the officers assembled. “That’s me, by the way.” There was no reaction from the group.
“Well? Anybody? Anything?”
She looked from face to face at the Waterfalls Point, Thomas County Sheriff’s Department employees seated in front of her. Three rows of dull, lifeless, inanimate globs were slumped in chairs, staring at the floor, out the window, or maybe napping. They could be comatose for all she knew.
Everyone was silent.
Three rows of four. Twelve. Brianna knew of many departments that ran on one sheriff, one deputy, and one dispatcher. Large areas with hundreds of miles to protect with just three in the department. When money was tight, the deputy and the dispatcher were the same person. And yet, this fresh air forest camp had twelve officers. No crime. No structure. And no personality.
After no crime to speak of for four years, a body was discovered this morning, Brianna’s first day on the job.
She covered her face with her hands and suppressed a groan of misery and defeat. Newly transferred against her will from the bustling state capital Jefferson City, Missouri, she was dumped by helicopter on this isolated, little police station in a pine forest. It had few people and no crime.
Brianna felt the profound loss. Loss of friends at work. Loss of competent co-workers. Loss of a well-oiled police unit that got results. Officers who took pride in their work, the job, their city, and their uniform. Loss of identity.
She missed her beautiful, comfortable, spacious apartment downtown in the big city with events and attractions, music and art, book clubs and zoos. Restaurants. Bright lights. The museum. Nightlife. Excitement.
“Welcome to Waterfalls Point, ma’am,” said a brave soul in the back of the room. A murmur whispered through the room.
“Thank you,” Brianna mumbled.
“That was quite an entrance,” smiled a pleasant-looking, young man in the front row.
“Yes, well, it couldn’t be avoided. Back to this press release, the media will be all over this dead body in the water,” Brianna snapped back to business. “We have to have a statement ready to issue.”
“The media, you mean like the news people?” someone asked.
“Yes.”
“We don’t have any of them up here. No newspaper. No TV station. We do have a radio station. They play uninterrupted music all day long. Country and western. A little Les Paul and Mary Ford. Some polkas.”
“Then where did this press release come from?” Brianna held the paper up and tapped it with her pen.
“The train engineer is from Wyoming. When he got back to Cheyenne he reported it to the Laramie County Sheriff’s office. Then they faxed a copy to the Mayor’s office.”
“Faxed?” Brianna rubbed her face.
“Yes, and the mayor said he’d send it over this morning with Mitch Givens. He’s the guy who met you at the bottom of the steps. He’s Molly’s father. He has coffee with the Mayor over at the Chat and Chew nearly every morning.”
“My dad has bad knees,” explained Deputy Molly Givens with a wave and a smile. She had her daddy’s big aqua eyes.
“Well, thank your father for me, Molly.”
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