Soundkeeper (28 page)

Read Soundkeeper Online

Authors: Michael Hervey

Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Mystery, #Police Procedurals, #Thrillers, #South Carolina, #Pinckney Island, #thriller, #Hall McCormick

Margaret “Peggy” Van Dyke was my writing teacher and has become a trusted friend and advisor. She read the ugly first drafts and exhausted several red markers with corrections, suggestions, and praise. Through it all, Peggy’s encouragement has been unwavering.

When I accompanied Refuge Enforcement Officer Jesse Fielder, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on patrol, he showed me a side of law enforcement that I had never experienced in my twenty-seven years as a police officer. The men and women who protect our natural resources often work alone in isolated territory, miles from back-up officers. They have my respect and admiration.

Jeroen ten Berge designed the book’s cover, and I am grateful for the stunning image he created. I couldn’t have hoped for more.

After working with Carin Siegfried, I have a new appreciation for the valuable services provided by a professional copyeditor. Any author who believes they don’t need a trained and experienced editor is not serious about their writing. I look forward to working with Carin on all my future projects.

There is only one person who has been there from the beginning. She read the bad writing that wasn’t worthy of public consumption, collected the rejection letters that fouled the family mailbox, and dealt with being a writers widow while I flailed away on the computer. When I wanted to quit she wouldn’t allow it, and her tolerance and patience for absurd ideas is superhuman. Thank you Joellen. I love you.

Biography

Michael Hervey has been a police officer for over twenty-seven years and was the former outdoors editor for the Stanly News and Press. He lives with his family in the North Carolina piedmont and enjoys all manner of outdoor recreation in his spare time. Banks, the family’s chocolate lab, says that any resemblance between him and Belker are completely coincidental.

Please visit michaelhervey.com for more information on upcoming releases.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

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