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| "Jessie had parked her unmarked police unit near where Leotis Wilson lived with his common-law wife and the two children he had fathered with her. Wilson was a suspect in the rape and murder of two older women in the South Cobb Drive area... "Jessie heard a woman's scream coming from inside the trailer. She left her unit and ran... With the sun at her back, she crept along beneath a window, hearing for the door. "Bitch!" she heard an angry man's voice shout, followed by sobbing. "Bitch! Get up, bitch.! Then Jessie heard the sound of a hand contacting flesh. She peeked over the windowsill and saw Wilson relentlessly slapping a woman's face. He held her by her hair and hit her alternately with his palm and the back of his hand as she squirmed and sobbed on the stained couch. Blood poured from her nose. Two infants squalled in a playpen across the room. The sheer brutality made her feel ill. "I'll fix yo' ass, bitch," she heard Wilson say, and Jesse quickly ducked down as he walked by the window. She heard his heavy steps inside and then a shotgun blast. She stood and looked in the window, Wilson had blown his wife's head off. Jessie leaned over and vomited. As she wiped her mouth, she was startled by two more shotgun blasts in quick succession. Through the window, she caught a glimpse of the bloodstained playpen. "She jumped at the sound of the door opening...Shotgun in hand, Wilson ran to his beat-up truck, and it roared to life... "As she tailed Wilson, she thought about calling in backup, but questions would arise about why she hadn't tried to arrest him before he left...A hot blush covered her neck as she recalled her fear. Jessie decided to follow him wherever he went and arrest him there..." ~~~ |
A Lost Gun
By Wix Simon
If you like police procedural novels, especially with a crooked cop, you're going to enjoy A Lost Gun by Wix Simon. A dirty cop is an easy villain to hate, isn't he? If you're really a reader for content as I am, you will realize that this cop is nasty...just nasty!
Hey, by the way, check out our villain game now going on March 5-7! If I were allowed to play, I'd surely consider naming this one!
Jessie Sands is the only woman and the newest member of the Homicide Unit. She'd been there for 15 months, yet had not been assigned a partner. That's the way the book begins--and immediately I was irritated! Sounds like either this woman was extremely good coming out of training, or she was being tested or purposely being set up... Interestingly this is not addressed in the book, although the impact of this beginning was what hooked me...
Especially with what happened!
After witnessing a man murdered his wife and
two babies, she had gone after him, worrying
more about how she'd have to handle the interaction with her boss and others, rather
than calling in for backup...
Now you know, I've got to blame her boss
for her being in that situation...
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| "About the time that Jessie Sands shot Leotis Wilson on the Highway 92 bridge, a welcoming ceremony for Jennifer Richards was occurring at Caring Arms of Love...a shelter that served as a haven for teenagers escaping from bad home situations and runaways who felt they had nowhere else to go...Jennifer's eyes misted with joy and relief as she watched John Wright raise his arms above his head and turn his gaze heavenward... "Jennifer, come forth," he called out... "Let us pray for this young woman." His mellow voice rang throughout the sanctuary. "Let us pray that, in her venture, she will have the strength of character to succeed and that the Lord will smile upon her during her time with us..." "Jennifer entered John Wright's small house and walked around all the rooms. She sat on the bed to wait and wondered what might happen when she was alone with him... "I pray that I am worthy." "Oh, I have no doubt you will be," he said... ~~~ |
Wilson turned and saw her, and in rage ran toward her screaming. She had no choice but to fire...but he kept on coming. He was 5 feet away when she fired her last two bullets, shooting at his face.
With the blowback, her face was immediately covered with bits of his brains and her eyes closed, while she reflexively raised her hands to clear her stinging eyes, dropping her gun into the river as well.
Fortunately, she no longer had to worry about Wilson...
That was, really, just the beginning, however...
While the usual Internal Affairs audit took place,
Jessie began to review everything and started taking notes for her own record. She also started her own investigation, though a new man had been
transferred to IA and had been assigned to the review. Bud Prior was in Homicide when he was reassigned. IA needed his investigative skills to work on this and other cases.
And it wasn't very long before he was questioning what was going on. The man assigned to the case was never there and when he was, seemed unwilling to share the files with him...
At the same time, a high-profile missing person's notice was put out. Jessie Sands was the daughter of a prominent local man and he was pressing to have immediate action. She was just 17, very beautiful, and in the back of everybody's minds, there was fear for all that could happen to her...
They were right to be afraid... Jessie had fought once again with her father and had once again left home, but this time, they were worried. She had written a short note to her mother after she had arrived at Caring Arms, but now, with no further contact, they had formally requested help. By the time they went looking for her, however, it was already too late, she had been placed first in a local bar and would then be sold to a Mexican trafficker who would sell her to the highest bidder...
There's lots of action to keep you happy and even a touch of romance as Jessie and Bud realize a mutual attraction, causing them both guilt since Bud's wife is expecting their first baby... Simon takes us into the Internal Affairs department for an in-depth look. Soon the officers slowly realize that there may be more than just one cop involved... Many things are not adding up...
The surprise ending is not what I would have preferred, but is probably much more realistic, perhaps? Ahhhh, Jessie, if only you hadn't dropped your gun... Because you were soon arrested for murder!
Highly recommended! A solid police investigation to follow. Characters you'll enjoy...or love hating...and one that will undoubtedly surprise readers at the end. In fact, for me, I enjoyed watching how the Internal Affairs staff worked, and the interaction of those individuals with the other police who either see them as a necessary or hated group... Check it out soon!
GABixlerReviews
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