Breaker's Reef (Cape Refuge Series)
- Book Review,
by Terri Blackstock
Book Description
In the fourth book of the Cape Refuge Series, a teenage girl is found murdered, and the scene matches one in a book by a famous mystery writer who just moved to the island. This murder has a connection to Hanover House, and the residents there might never be the same.
From the Back Cover
Murder and mystery continue in Book Four of the Cape Refuge series A famous mystery writer has just moved to Cape Refuge when a teenage girl is found murdered. Sheila Caruso–ex-con, mother to Sadie and Caleb, and resident of Hanover House–is working for the writer when she discovers that a scene in one of his novels matches the crime scene. When Police Chief Cade and Blair Owens discover a second dead teenager–mirroring a murder in another of the eccentric writer’s books–Cade is drawn into a web of trickery and deceit. Evidence turns up in Cade’s own truck, and suddenly he becomes the number-one suspect. Cade tries to clear his name, but when eighteen-year-old Sadie Caruso disappears, tensions mount to a fever pitch. Can Cade find the real killer before Sadie winds up dead? Is the novelist a demented killer, or a hapless victim? And what does Sadie’s own mother have to do with the crimes? Secrets are uncovered, while lessons are learned about the sins of the father being visited upon his children. Will the consequences of Sheila’s life be fatal, or is there redemption and mercy for her and her children? "Chief Matthew Cade rarely considered another line of work, but news of the dead teenage girl made him long for a job as an accountant or electrician—some benign vocation that didn’t require him to look into the eyes of grieving parents."
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Breakers Reef
Copyright © 2005 by Terri Blackstock
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blackstock, Terri, 1957
Breakers reef / Terri Blackstock.
p. cm.(Cape Refuge series; bk. 4)
ISBN: 0-310-23595-2
1. Bed and breakfast accommodationsFiction. 2. Detective and mystery
storiesAuthorshipFiction. 3. Teenage girlsCrimes againstFiction.
4. NovelistsFiction. 5. GeorgiaFiction. I. Title.
PS3552.L34285B74 2005
813'.54dc22
2004025174
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-23595-8
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963,
1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc.,
7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.
Interior design by Beth Shagene
Printed in the United States of America
05 06 07 08 09 10 /. DCI/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C H A P T E R 1
Chief Matthew Cade rarely considered
another line of work, but the 4:30 a.m. phone call about
the dead teenage girl made him long for a job as an
accountant or electriciansome benign vocation that
didnt require him to look into the eyes of grieving parents.
He sat on the side of his bed, rubbing his eyes as he
clutched the phone to his ear.
Shes from Cape Refuge, Chief. Myrtle, his night
shift dispatcher, sounded shaken. That new guy, Scott
Crown, just found her floating in a boat on the Tybee side
of the river. Looks like a homicide.
Cade braced himself. Who is it, Myrtle?
Didnt give me a name yet. If they know it, theyre
keeping it off the radio for now. But Chief Grant from
Tybee is hot about how Crown handled things, and he
wanted you to come to the scene as soon as you can.
All right, give me the address. Oswald, Cades cat,
jumped onto his lap, purring for attention as Cade fumbled
for a pen and jotted the address down. The cat stepped
onto the bed table and plopped down on the notepad. So what is
it Crown did?
Im not clear on that, Chief. But hes young. Go easy on him.
He clicked the phone off and thought about the nineteenyear-
old rookie. Crown had joined the force straight out of the
academy; he hadnt even been in Cades department a week. His
zeal to be the best cop in the department had led to a few mishaps
already, but nothing serious. Cade knew he just needed to give the
kid some time to grow into his position. But what had he done to
aggravate the neighboring chief?
He got up, wincing at the arthritic ache he always felt in his
leg first thing in the morning. It had healed from the multiple fractures
hed sustained in an injury a year agoand hed overcome
his limp for the most partbut the mornings always reminded
him how far hed come.
He got dressed and hurried out to his truck. It was cool for
May, but he knew it would warm up to the upper eighties by the
end of the day. Life would go on as it always didmurder or not.
As he drove across the bridge that connected Cape Refuge to
Tybee Island, his mind raced with the faces of teenage girls whod
grown up here. Whoever this girl was, the murder would have a
rippling effect, shattering her family and shaking her friends.
There would be a life-size hole in the heart of the small town.
He found the site and pulled up to the squad cars parked
there. One of the Tybee officers met him as he got out. Oh, its
you, Chief Cade. I didnt recognize you in your truck.
Wheres Chief Grant? he asked.
The man pointed to the riverbank, and Cade saw him with
the medical examiner looking over the body.
As he approached, Cade saw the girl lying on the grass. She
was small, maybe a hundred pounds, and looked as if someone
had carefully laid her down there, her arms out from her body,
her knees together and bent to the side. In the flickering blue light,
he couldnt yet see her face, and her hair was wet, long . . . He
walked closer, and Keith Parker, the medical examiner, looked up
at him. Hey, Cade. You recognize her?
Chief Grant handed him a flashlight, and Cade stooped
down and illuminated her face. His heart plunged. She was Alan
Lawrences girl, Emily. She couldnt be more than sixteen. Cade
didnt think shed even gotten her license yet.
Anger stung his eyes, and he rubbed his jaw. His throat was
tight as he swallowed. Who could have done this? Who would
have wanted to end the life of an innocent, sweet girl whose parents
loved her?
He cleared his throat. Yeah, her names Emily Lawrence.
Her parents are Alan and Marie. He paused, trying to steady his
voice. You know the cause of death?
Gunshot, Grant said. Looks like she was shot in another
location, then apparently brought here and put into that boat.
Your man found her.
Cade stood and looked in the direction Grant nodded. Scott
Crown stood with the other cops, answering questions. His uniform
was wet, and he looked shaken and nervous. Cade felt sorry
for the kid. Odds were he hadnt expected to find a dead girl his
first week on the job.
Unfortunately, the Tybee chief went on, your man compromised
the evidence. Moved the body out of the boat before he
called us. Got her wet trying to get her onto the shore. Who
knows what evidence might have been washed off? I would think
youd train your people better than that.
Cades anger shifted from the faceless killer to the rookie.
What was he even doing over here? He was supposed to be
patrolling Cape Refuge.
He saw the boat floating in the river between the two
islands, saw that someone was in it. Right then he should have
called my department instead of coming onto my turf and handling
the matter himself.
Cade sighed and looked toward the kid again. Hed had
reservations about hiring someone so young right out of the academy,
but Crown was Joe McCormicks nephew. When his detective
vouched for the kid, Cade decided to give him the benefit of
the doubt. But hed recognized Crowns hero complex his first day
on the job. He was something of a loose cannon, and Cade had
wondered if he could trust him to follow the rules.
Apparently, he couldnt.
He crossed the grass toward Crown. The kid turned, saw
him, and burst into his explanation. Chief, I know I did wrong.
It was stupid. I dont even know what I was thinking. But there
were vultures, and I thought there must be a dead animal in the
boat . . . I crossed the bridge and came over here
Your first mistake, Cade said.
But if I hadnt, they might not have found her!
Crown, if you had called Tybee to tell them what you saw,
they would have been there in minutes. Not only did you step outside
of our jurisdiction, but you botched up the evidence.
The kid looked at the cops around him, as if humiliated that
hed been reamed in front of them. I didnt botch it up.
Yes, you did! I know they taught you in the academy never
to move a body. And then you go and wash off the evidence!
In the light of the police cars headlights, he could see the
kids face turning red. Okay, Im sorry! I got out to the boat
and recognized Emily. I wasnt sure she was dead. I was trying
to save her!
You should have checked before you got her out of the boat!
Right. Crowns voice rose as he shot back. So let me get
this straight. Next time I see a girl dying in a boat, Im supposed
to sit on my hands until the right people get there? I thought we
were emergency personnel. I thought it was our job to save lives!
Crown was livid, stepping over his bounds. Clearly, Cade
wasnt going to teach him anything right here in front of his peers.
Besides, there was a dead girl lying thereand a killer to be identified.
He didnt have time to deal with the rookie.
Go back to the station, Crown. Wait for me there.
I dont want to go back. I found her!
Cade stepped nose-to-nose with the kid, speaking through
his teeth. Now, Crown. If I hear one more word, youre fired.
Crown backed down then and, without another word, stormed
off to his car. Cade watched him until he drove away, then breathed
a frustrated sigh and turned back to the body.
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