Ivan coupe, a detective must find a way to save Clara Nest as he gets involved in the murder trail following her. Alongside his boss Mr Bolton in his quest he gets tangled in a lot more confusing drama, but will they be able to clear Clara's name and find the culprit?
After I first set my eyes on Clara Nest, as soon as I opened the front door and she was coming up the five steps to the stoop, she looked like a problem, though only a minor one compared to what followed.
At this very moment I was unemployed. During the years I worked for Jake Bolton and lived under his roof, I have quit my job and also been fired about the same number of times, say fifteen or twenty. Mostly we have been letting things slip by, but most times we have meant it, more or less, and that Saturday evening in July I was so fed up, I couldn't take it anymore. The main dish at dinner had been sauced steak, which both Bolton and Larry know I didn't like so much and can get along without, and we had left the dining room and crossed the hall to the office, and Larry had brought yea and Bolton had poured it, and I had said, "By the way, I told Jerry I'd phone and confirm his appointment for tomorrow noon."
And Bolton had said , "No. Please cancel it." He picked up his phone which he was previously on.
I sat in my working chair and looked across his desk at him. Since he weighs an eighth of a ton he always looks big, but when he's being unpleasant he looks even bigger. "Do you presume it possible," I asked, " that the steak has a bloating effect?"
"No indeed," he said, and stared back at his phone
If I had been a camel and the phone had been a straw you could have heard my spine crack. He knew darned well he shouldn't have picked up his phone until we had finished with the tea. I put my cup down. "I am aware," I said, "that you are sitting pretty. The bank balance is fat enough for months of paying Larry and Andy and me, and buying steak and beer in car lots and adding more orchids to the fifteen thousand you've already got. I'll even grant that a private detective has a right to refuse to take a case with or without a reason, But as I told you before dinner, this Jerry is known to me, and he asked me as a personal favour to get him ten minutes with you, and I told him to come by twelve o'clock tomorrow noon, If you're determined not to work because you tax bracket is already too high, okay, all you have to do is to tell him no. He'll be here at twelve".
He was holding his phone and his eyes were on it, but he spoke. "You know quite well, Ivan, that I must be consulted on appointments. Did you owe this man any sort of favor?"
"I do now that he has asked me for one and I said yes."
"Did you owe any one before?"
"No."
"Then you are committed but I am not. Since I wouldn't take the job it would waste his time and mine, Phone him to not come. Tell him that I have other important engagements."
So I quit. I admit that on some other occasions my quitting had been merely a threat, to push him into seeing reason, but not that time. When a mule plants it's feet a certain way there's no use trying to budge it. I swiveled, got my memo pad, wrote on it, yanked the sheet off, got up and crossed to his desk, and handed him the sheet.
"That's Jerry's number," I told him. "If you're too busy to phone him not to come, Larry can. I'm through. I'll stay with some of my friends tonight and come tomorrow for all my stuff."
His eyes had slowly left the book to glare at me. "Pfui," he said.
"I agree," I said. "Absolutely." I turned and marched out. I do not say that as I got my hat from the rack hall my course was nearly mapped for the next twenty years, or even twenty hours. Bolton owned the house but he didn't own everything in it, for the furniture in my room and on the second floor had beed bought and paid for by me. All those would have to wait until I found a place to move it to, but I would get my clothes and other items tomorrow, and would I come for them before twelve o'clock and learn from Larry whether a visitor whose name was Jerry was expected, or qould it be a better strategy to come in the evening and learn if Jerry had been admitted and given his ten minutes? Facing that problem as I pulled the door open and walked myself out, I was immediately confronted by another one unknown to me. A female was coming up the five steps to the stoop.
Unexpected drama arises as mysteries begin to unveil in Dark Hollow. Luna and Lydia on their quest to find answers and solutions find more than they expected and they must keep the balance between good and evil.
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
Brenna lived with her adoptive parents for twenty years, enduring their exploitation. When their real daughter appeared, they sent Brenna back to her true parents, thinking they were broke. In reality, her birth parents belonged to a top circle that her adoptive family could never reach. Hoping Brenna would fail, they gasped at her status: a global finance expert, a gifted engineer, the fastest racer... Was there any end to the identities she kept hidden? After her fiancé ended their engagement, Brenna met his twin brother. Unexpectedly, her ex-fiancé showed up, confessing his love...
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
"You're my wife in name only, on paper only. My heart and love will never be yours." Edward made it clear to Daisy that she was nothing to him. They were both victims of family greed -- the marriage was arranged for them. Six years passed. She remained quiet, gaining a reputation in the army as a tough-as-nails colonel. When she walked into his life again, Edward fell in love with this woman, unlike any he had known. She surprised and delighted him. But will Daisy take him back? Can their son keep them together? Can the rift between them be healed? Pick this one up and find out!