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166 pages

English

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Description

This is the story of a family responding to tragedy and caught in the center of the deadly affairs of others. On moving day, Martin Dougherty’s wife is accidentally killed, sending the family into turmoil. Martin and his three children, Kristi, Kim, and Ken must deal with a new city and a new life which becomes complicated by their discovery of information that brings with it murder, presidential bids, and extortion by domestic terrorists weaving Martin and the family through a dangerous gauntlet.
The saga moves in erratic fashion from Denver to Tucson; connects with a small town in South Carolina; and affects national politics in Washington DC exposing them to violent forces threatening them and the teenage girl whom they must save to save themselves.

Sujets

Vie de famille

Relations familiales

The Ring

Fiction

Thriller

General

General officer

Thrillers

Informations

Publié par	AuthorHouse
Date de parution	15 novembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781665575744
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

The Ring

Dirk Dieters

AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: 833-262-8899

© 2022 Dirk Dieters. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/14/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7573-7 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7574-4 (e)

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Plantation House on the photo:
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels

Capitol Building on the Cover
Photo by Alejandro Barba on Unsplash
Contents
Part One
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
Part Two
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
Chapter Forty-six
Chapter Forty-seven
Chapter Forty-eight
Chapter Forty-nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-one
Chapter Fifty-two
Chapter Fifty-three
Chapter Fifty-four
Chapter Fifty-five
Part Three
Chapter Fifty-six
Chapter Fifty-seven
Chapter Fifty-eight
Chapter Fifty-nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-one
Chapter Sixty-two
Suspicion
Chapter One
About the Author
“Thanks to Jan White for her hours of editing and incredible interest; to Kyle Conl ey for her suggestions; and of course, to Moira White for her reading and sup port.”
Part One
Our intellect may be confused but your emotions will never lie to you….
Chapter One
T he vibration of Rodney’s burner phone shook the silent air. Pressing “answer” he took the call knowing who the caller was. There was only one person who could call this phone. He sighed. It was not what he wanted today. The phone had rung just the other day, things were under control and he had no desire to speak to the caller. A voice started lecturing him in a calm, condescending drawl, “You know that we can’t have people poking around. Do I have to ask again if you are going to take care of this…“situation”?” The only sounds for the next thirty seconds were the sounds of crickets. He awaited a response from Rodney that wasn’t going to come–then, “You do what you have to do.” Silence again.
Rodney finally spoke. “I’ve taken care of it,” Rodney assured him.
“I’ve heard that before. This cannot go wrong.” The caller rarely contacted Rodney so any call from him brought urgency. The caller was Rodney’s brother and the junior United States Senator from South Carolina. Something was up. The editor of the paper had called Rodney the day before to let him know that someone seemed to have too much interest in a very sensitive issue and Rodney knew it was his responsibility to deal with it but why was his brother pestering him?
It was always assumed that Rodney would fix it, and he would. He always did–he was the fixer. To call twice about this was sending a message. This issue had to be addressed immediately. Any means would justify the ends so long as it was done without any possibility of them being implicated–that’s how it always was. Rodney also knew that there were more issues than his brother realized but he was okay so long as his brother didn’t know about them and he planned to keep it that way. Rodney had a realistic fear if even some of what he knew ever became known by his brother. Couldn’t risk that. “He shouldn’t have bothered to call,” he thought to himself. “My plan is already in place. I’m Rodney Widman, I don’t have to kiss up to him.”
They had grown up together, Rodney in his brother’s shadow. His brother was an athlete, his brother went to college, his brother was in the national spotlight and Rodney was left giving tours in South Carolina. He couldn’t admit it but he hated his brother. He hated that he was also protected by him and that he relied on him for his livelihood. Without his brother he was no one. With his brother he had power. That he would call insulted him and brought a frown to his face and a knot in his stomach. Why wasn’t he the one in front of the cameras instead of him? Why did he have to live in the obscurity and boredom of a hot, humid Southern town without a decent restaurant, leading tours to the occasional tourist while his brother traveled the country in style? But Rodney had a plan that would give him the last laugh. But today they had a job to do.
It was too bad but the target had screwed up. He actually liked Bobby. Rodney had chosen Bobby for this role and he had played it well–Bobby was scared and obedient but then some people just got in the wrong place at the wrong time—and a strong message had to be sent. Bobby was a nice guy but he never should have contacted the newspaper–for anything. Rodney probably would have let it go but his brother wouldn’t and now he had to deal with it. Bobby didn’t know it but the newspaper he contacted was controlled by Rodney’s brother. There were some topics that simply were too toxic that even looking into them was fatal. Although Rodney didn’t really know yet why Bobby was poking into this taboo subject, a message had to be sent to address this unforgivable sin. He needed to be scared. Using a popular phrase, Bobby has been a “useful idiot” unknowingly playing his part. The fact is, Rodney had a few other people that Thad didn’t know about in similar roles. The power Rodney derived from his brother gave him the ability to use people as he saw fit. He needed the old lady quiet and Bobby had kept her quiet until now and he needed to be reminded of his role. Contacting the newspaper was a mistake. Rodney’s plan was simple. There would be an “accident” that would be enough of a scare to remind Bobby that he was under Rodney’s control. Rodney needed to be reassured that the old lady was under control and, now even more importantly, to get that box.
Rodney could never do it himself. Thanks to an undistinguished time in the military, he had learned to accept his limitations. Fortunately the entire tour was spent next to a person that he knew could pull this off. A person who would ask no questions. Rodney knew him as Thomas. He knew from the desert that he had the nerve that Rodney lacked. Didn’t matter if either of them liked each other, this was business and over the years he had completed other missions successfully. He had already called across the country and the skinny, long-haired, blonde guy that he called was now sitting in the high grass on the side of the road.
Rodney watched the plan unfold from a distance while Thomas prepared the accident. Thomas was wishing to himself that Rodney would go away and leave him there alone. “All he could do is screw this up–but he’s paying.” As Thomas sat on the side of the road the morning mist began to burn off and his mind continued to wander. “It’s going to be hot and muggy–surprise–it always is hot and muggy here which is why I live in the desert.” No wind, just water hanging in the air and starting to bead on his forehead. He laid in the soft grass with sweat building on his shirt, not from stress but from the heat. A light wind began to move some of the air but it was of no help, it merely brought more heat and humidity. Thomas didn’t even want to think about the critters that were crawling around his boots. He awaited the signal alerting him that the target was about to leave his long gravel drive about a half-mile to the south. Rodney had told him that he would probably be coming fast. The plan was to cause him to lose control and swerve into the ditch at which time Rodney would take over. Was it a good plan? Thomas didn’t care. He didn’t tell him what to do; he did what he was told. When the car turned north and accelerated down the tree-lined road Thomas would shoot the right front tire. Thomas had brought with him a partner who was on the other side poised to create the distraction he needed. He had to bring a partner because he didn’t trust Rodney.
The location that was chosen was far enough along the road to allow the vehicle to accelerate. The distraction would provide his opportunity to create an “accident.” That was the end of his mission and he would be gone. His mission was to cause the car to swerve off the road and crash. Rodney wanted to scare the driver–he hadn’t