The three Ravens
There were three rauens sat on a tree,
They were as blacke as they might be. ~ old English folk ballad
Prologue
Extract from J.B. Fletcher's novel
"The Poison in My Heart"
Levinson Thomas was different from any other man she had ever met. There was something about him that intrigued and scared her at the same time. He was as much a man of honor as he was a dark horse. He was as brilliant as he was flawed. But did he kill his business partner to regain control of a company that had once solely belonged to him?
Brenda wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure if she loved him. But the longer she thought about it, the more she knew Levinson Thomas was innocent. There was more to this murder than an issue of competition. There was a whole house full of suspects, each with their very own reason to kill and she was determined to find out who of them was the murderer.
Jessica Fletcher looked the words she had just typed and sighed. She didn't know, if she was happy with her latest project. Sometimes it seemed to hit a bit too close to home. She usually wrote books based on her own experiences with murder, but this was different. In fact everything about the case she was writing about was different. It had affected her more than she was ready to admit.
The idea for her new novel had been born four weeks ago in a cold spring night. It had been a rainy, foggy day and just a few minutes after Seth had left her house, she had heard someone knocking at her front door. It had probably been the very last person she should have expected to see, but truth to be told, she hadn't been very surprised. Her late night visitor had proven to be a very disruptive influence in her life. He always turned up when she didn't expect him, and their encounters were always life altering. They were always shadowed by death and heartache.
The latest murder he had involved her in was still on her mind and only writing about it seemed to help her to get it out of her system. Seth used to call it 'detoxing' and she had to smile about his phrasing, but she knew he was right.
Hours ago Jessica had tried to pick a quote for the beginning of her new book and she had stumbled across a sentence that she couldn't get out of her head ever since. She didn't know who said it, but in the end it didn't matter, because it was true, and truth was, after all, universal.
"There are poisons that blind you, and poisons that open your eyes."
The trick was to know what kind of poison did the right deed.
This is it: my first multi-chapter "Murder, she wrote story". I hope you will enjoy the ride. A big thank you goes to Anne, who's helping me editing this. Any mistakes you may find, are my mistakes, not hers.