TWO TO DIE FOR Read online

  Table of Contents

  SPIRAL Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  RETIRED Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Shattered Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Biography

  Booklist

  TWO TO DIE FOR

  Allison Brennan

  Two to Die For Copyright © 2017 ALLISON BRENNAN

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Allisonbrennan.com

  Cover design by The Killion Group

  Interior formatting by Amy Huntley, The Eyes for Editing

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  You may not use, reproduce or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Dear Reader:

  When I first started writing the Maxine Revere investigative reporter mysteries, I never planned on bringing Lucy Kincaid into the new series. As far as I was concerned, I’d created two separate worlds.

  But Max investigates cold cases, and I didn’t know what happened to Lucy’s nephew Justin Stanton. Justin’s death impacted the entire Kincaid family, even young Lucy. I started to think about what really happened the night Justin was murdered. The nugget of an idea grew ... and the rest is history.

  Some of my Lucy Kincaid readers have never met Max; some of my Maxine Revere readers have never met Lucy. To introduce you to these characters (or simplyprovide a good mystery while you wait for SHATTERED to arrive in August) I wrote two original novellas.

  In “Spiral” Sean and Lucy are on their honeymoon ... but of course, trouble finds the newlyweds! Their elderly neighbor goes missing, and as they retrace his steps, they stumble upon a crime.

  I take Max back to one of her old cases in “Retired.” Four years ago, before her television show, Max went undercover in a retirement community to solve the murder of an eighty-year-old woman—a murder no one else believes happened.

  I hope you enjoy these two stories, as well as the three chapter preview of SHATTERED at the end of the book.

  Thank you for being a loyal reader.

  Warmly,

  Allison Brennan

  SPIRAL

  A Lucy Kincaid/Sean Rogan Novella

  Chapter One

  Lucy Kincaid—Lucy Kincaid Rogan, she’d often reminded herself over the last six days—ran up the stairs to the deck of the beautiful second home her husband had bought her for a wedding present. He’d called it a cabin when he first told her about it, but the nearly three-thousand-square-foot house was hardly what she considered a cabin, other than the fact it was in the mountains. Not only was it nearly as big as their house in San Antonio, it had every amenity she could hope for. It was the gift that would keep on giving, because Lucy couldn’t imagine spending her rare time off anywhere but here, outside Vail, Colorado. She might even advance beyond the bunny slopes, though there was no snow this early in the season.

  Lucy knew Sean had money, primarily earned from selling a software gaming program he’d written years ago as well as his partnership in a lucrative security consulting business. But Lucy didn’t care how much money Sean had or how wisely he’d invested it—this house was too much.

  Yet, she loved it.

  “Don’t worry about the money, Princess,” he’d told her when she first saw the place and nearly hyperventilated. “I hired a property management company to rent it out when we’re not using it, which will cover the bulk of the mortgage. And wouldn’t you like to offer the place to your brothers and sisters? Or maybe your parents for their fiftieth wedding anniversary next year? And sometimes, I like to remind Duke that I don’t need him to earn a living—it would be nice to treat him and Nora to a weekend away by giving him a key.” Sean and his brother Duke had often butted heads. “I showed pictures to Siobhan, and she’s going to drag Kane up here. Not that she’ll need to do much dragging, he loves Colorado.” Sean’s other brother Kane had only recently settled in Texas, due in large part to the love of his life, Siobhan Walsh.

  In the end, Lucy showed Sean how much she loved the house as often as possible. They were, after all, on their honeymoon.

  She breathed in the cool, autumn air and stretched, her late morning run invigorating not only because of the temperature but the terrain—she was used to running on straight, flat roads in San Antonio, or on the treadmill at home, not the mountains. Today was the first day she’d run a full three miles. She needed to stay in shape, or she’d be the slowest FBI agent on her squad. Between the last case she worked, her wedding, and the first six glorious days of her honeymoon, exercise had been the last thing on her mind.

  Her muscles would be complaining enough tomorrow.

  A yelp followed by the clamoring of paws on the stairs made her laugh. The young golden retriever bounded over to her, panting and excited. Bandit spent nearly as much time with them as he did with his owner, their neighbor who lived a brisk five-minute walk up the mountain.

  “Bandit, what are you doing here?”

  She squatted and petted the joyful animal around the neck. He responded with his tongue and she laughed.

  Sean opened the sliding glass door behind her. He wore a dark gray apron over his black T-shirt and jeans, and carried a water bottle in one hand and a cup of steaming coffee in the other. She eyed all three things in front of her greedily: the water, the coffee, and Sean. Then Bandit knocked her on her ass as he demanded more affection.

  Sean laughed, placed the drinks on the table, and extended his hand to help her up. He pulled her into a kiss while simultaneously petting the dog. “I see you brought a friend home for breakfast.”

  “I told him to go home, but he didn’t listen.”

  “I just took the frittata out of the oven. It needs to sit a few minutes. I’ll take him back to Hank while you shower.”

  “You made a frittata?” Nothing surprised her about Sean anymore. “You’ve cooked for me every morning and night since we arrived.”

  “I like cooking for you. And to think, when we first met, the only thing I knew how to make was spaghetti.”

  “And it’s the best spaghetti in the world.” She tilted her head up and kissed him again, then grabbed the water bottle and drank half of it. She poured the rest in a bowl they’d brought out
for Bandit the last time he came to visit.

  They’d met Bandit and his owner, Hank Henderson, the second day they were here. Hank, a reclusive but friendly retired Forest Ranger, lived on the adjacent property, though they couldn’t see his place through the trees. Hank had walked over with the dog and introduced himself, realized pretty quick that Sean and Lucy were on their honeymoon, and left. Bandit had come over every morning since, whether because Sean spoiled the dog with leftovers or because he was just a friendly, poorly trained retriever, they weren’t sure.

  Sean gently steered Lucy toward the sliding glass doors. “The champagne is chilling.”

  “You’ve been feeding me mimosas every morning. It’s decadent.”

  “I’m making bellinis.”

  “I love bellinis.”

  He kissed her nose. “I know.” He handed her the coffee mug. He’d added cream and sugar just how she liked it. “Come, Bandit,” Sean said and immediately the friendly dog was at his side. Bandit obeyed Sean better than he did his owner.

  Sean took off his apron and tossed it on the table. “I’ll be back in ten, fifteen minutes, Luce—no eating without me.”

  “Then don’t be late. I’m starving.” She watched Sean jog down the steps with the dog. She stretched for a minute, then leaned against the railing and looked out across the valley.

  The deck faced east, so sunrises were particularly glorious. She loved watching the sun break over the lake in the distance. For five minutes, all the colors vibrantly popped, and Lucy wished she were creative so she could capture that perfect moment in time with a camera or painting. She’d been waking early simply to enjoy this. Though they were only twenty minutes outside Vail proper, she felt like they were in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but the roll of the hills, the tall spikes of the redwoods, the call of birds, and the man she loved.

  The last week had been bliss. Her wedding, while wonderful, had been more than a little stressful with all the family and friends who invaded their lives for the week. Not to mention the two weeks before when they weren’t certain they would even be alive to say I do.

  As soon as they reached their honeymoon destination late Sunday afternoon, Lucy relaxed. Sean had everything planned—he’d wanted a trip where they wouldn’t have to see people if they didn’t want to, where they could enjoy nature and magical views and each other. Vail was a tourist town, but everything surrounding it was peaceful. They’d talked about going to the art fair this weekend, but felt no urge to do much of anything but enjoy each other.

  She had finished her coffee and realized nearly ten minutes had passed, so she ran inside to take a quick shower. The light coming into the master bedroom had her pause again, take a deep breath, and smile.

  Yes, definitely bliss.

  #

  Hank Henderson opened the door before Sean knocked. Bandit bounded into the cabin and immediately went to his water bowl.

  “Did he wander off and bother you and your bride again?” Hank asked, shooting his pup a disapproving look. Bandit looked up from his bowl with what Sean could only think of as a grin.

  “He’s no bother,” Sean said.

  “Come in, come in,” Hank said and looked over his shoulder. “Where’s Lucy?”

  “Showering after her morning run.”

  “Bandit loves to run,” Hank said. “He’ll mellow out in a year or two—he’s not even two yet. Keeps me active that’s for sure, but mornings I’m slow.”

  “He can visit whenever he wants,” Sean said. Bandit came back to Sean and he scratched him again, then Bandit laid down in his dog bed near the door. “I’ll miss him when we go home.”

  “Coffee?”

  “No, sir, Lucy drinks enough coffee for the two of us.”

  Hank chuckled, refilled his cup, and sat on a stool at the counter. “I won’t keep you.”

  “I have a minute—Lucy takes long showers.”

  “Help yourself to water.” He gestured to the refrigerator. “It’s cold and filtered, right there on the door. I remember growing up we never had those kinds of luxuries. In fact, I didn’t until a couple years back when the old fridge just went belly up. Got this new one, don’t know why I didn’t do it before.”

  Sean retrieved a glass and filled it from the front of the fridge, then leaned against the counter. This was the second time he’d been here. It was a comfortable, if cluttered, home. Half the size of Sean and Lucy’s new place, but Hank said his father built it more than sixty years ago, before Vail was incorporated. It had been a hunting cabin, Hank had told him the first time he and Lucy came over, but after Hank’s mom died, his dad moved in permanently and added on a second, larger bedroom.

  The walls were decorated with objects more than pictures—artifacts from the area, old knives, military memorabilia, two shelves of antique guns. One wall was a huge sturgeon mounted under lights. A stuffed bear head over the stone fireplace. “You take down that black bear yourself?” Sean asked.

  Hank grinned. “Yes, I did, nearly twenty years ago. I used to be a pretty good hunter, though Bear there was a kill or die. A couple of young lovers got lost in the woods, storm coming in, my partner and I tasked to find them. We did, and we also found that bear. He definitely wanted our hides. Had to return for his carcass. We couldn’t let it just rot out there. I’m not much into bear meat, though there are some who love it, so he fed a lot of people. Me? I love a good venison steak.”

  He poured himself more coffee from a pot, then sat back down on his stool. “You hunt, Sean?”

  “Never been.”

  “Well, being a wildlife biologist myself—that’s what I studied, the field I worked in before I was a forest ranger—it’s not so much a challenge.”

  “Not a challenge?”

  “Nope, not when you can read the signs and know where to find a buck. But it’s relaxing. Man versus nature and all that. As long as hunters are respectful of the animals, only kill what they can carry and use, I’m good with it. Sometimes I miss it. But fishing? Hell, I still love to fish. I have some great rainbow trout I caught not two weeks ago, packed up in the freezer. Want one? More than enough to feed you two. Just let it thaw naturally, grill it up—I’ll give you my recipe.”

  Sean loved listening to Hank ramble. He must have a thousand stories to tell. “How about you come on over and grill it for us? I have plenty of beer.”

  “It’s your honeymoon. I’m not going to interrupt.”

  “We’ll be here another week. We can share one evening with our neighbor and his dog.”

  “Well,” Hank said with a nod, “maybe I will.”

  “Tomorrow night. I’m taking Lucy into town tonight. There’s some sort of artist preview party, and I nabbed some tickets.”

  “I know the event. You must have friends in high places. They go fast.”

  Sean laughed. “My realtor got them for me.”

  “Right—you use Daphne Lane. Good woman. Been here damn near forever.”

  Sean rinsed his glass and put it in the sink. Hank got up and walked him to the door. Bandit’s head popped up, and Hank told him to lie down. He didn’t, but he stayed on his bed, wagging his tail.

  Hank stepped out onto the deck with Sean. He asked, “Did you hear anything last night?”

  “Like what?”

  “I thought I heard a vehicle, a truck with a bad muffler maybe.” The road that led to Hank and Sean’s properties, and three others farther down, was a dead end. The highway was a mile to the south. “But it didn’t sound like it came from our street. There’s a fire access road to the west, up the mountain about a mile as the crow flies. Runs through federal land, good place to hike, even better view than yours, and that’s saying something. No one’s supposed to be up there, I mean, not with a vehicle. It’s for hiking and whatnot, and fire control. But Bandit was antsy last night, so I was up. Thought there might be some bears around, scavenging before winter. They’re not quite ready to hibernate just yet.”

  “I didn’t hear anything. Do you
want me to check it out? I’m happy to.”

  Hank waved him off. “Naw. I might go up there with Bandit this afternoon. We sometimes get illegal campers ’cuz of the view. I don’t much care. I don’t turn them in unless they’re stupid. We had a dry summer, the weather is still warm, and not everyone is careful with their fires—that’s why there’re designated camp grounds. I take that hike all the time.”

  “If you change your mind, let me know. Lucy and I aren’t leaving until this evening.” Sean started down the stairs and said, “Don’t forgot, tomorrow we’re grilling your trout. Come over around six?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Sean rushed back to his house. He’d been longer than he’d planned, and he wouldn’t blame Lucy for eating without him. He didn’t think she’d be upset that he invited Hank to dinner tomorrow, but he would make the most of their quiet morning.

  Chapter Two

  “You’re quiet,” Sean said late Friday afternoon as he drove Lucy the twenty minutes into Vail. “You’re not upset that I invited Hank over tomorrow night, are you?”

  “Of course not,” Lucy said. “I like Hank.”

  “You’ll have to keep your hands off me. At least for a few hours.”

  She hit him in the arm. “Watch it, or you’ll be sleeping in the guest room tonight.”

  “Ouch,” Sean said. “Kiss it and make it better.”

  “I didn’t hit you that hard.” But there was a lilt to her voice that told Sean she was trying to put whatever was bugging her out of her mind. “I checked my email this afternoon.”

  He frowned. “Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t?”

  “I couldn’t help myself.”

  “Six days—I suppose that’s a record.”