The Fixer (35 page)

Mort reached for her hand. “It’s springtime, Liddy. Time for new beginnings. Can you trust me?”

She thought of her home. The birds. The squirrels rousing from hibernation, darting through her trees. She thought of coffee with Mort, maybe on her deck.

She summoned the strength to squeeze his warm fingers and blinked twice.

These things always start with something like “I have so many people to thank”. I get it now. This book would not have been possible without a cast of supporters I am blessed to call mine. There’s Laurel and Christine from the University of Wisconsin. “No, no, Teri. The book starts here.” Lissa’s editing turned countless swine ears into silk purses. Rosie, Patricia, and Teresa provided the road map when I told them “I can’t figure out how to….”. Barbie, Julie, Cynthia and Judy discussed plot points over hot chocolate and smuggled-in cookies at Wednesday afternoon clubhouse meetings. Kate, Anne, and Suz did the same while we learned about wine sitting next to cozy fires. My wonderful agent, Victoria, bounced so many drafts back that when she finally told me I’d created something great I believed her. David provided the technical expertise and creative panache for my knockout website.

And through it all is my man. I announced, never having discussed it before, that I wanted to write a novel and he asked what I needed to get started. I timidly entered a contest and he told me I’d win first place. (He was right.) I stayed in my office for hours and he’d poke his nose in to ask if I needed more tea. The rapture of waking each morning next to the finest man I’ve ever known has made me fearless.

The Cruelest Cut

Book 2 of the Mort Grant Series

The Seattle crime scene doesn’t stop to let Mort recover from his near-fatal encounter with The Fixer. A serial killer is on a spree and it looks like she’s targeted one of Seattle’s richest and most flamboyant citizens. Mort and his team have plenty of evidence…but they haven’t got a clue. And now the killer has targeted someone Mort loves.

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