Title

Incidental Justice

The first guard hadn't hesitated to fire when he'd discovered me. I had no way of knowing how serious Haversham was about keeping the police away from his collection, but the guards seemed to take their duty seriously. For me it didn't matter much, because either way, I needed to be gone immediately if I wanted to avoid shooting anyone.

I looked out both bedroom windows. The yard lights below allowed me to see fairly well, but these second-story windows offered no easy way down. The only option was to jump. If I injured myself in the landing, my goose was cooked. I went into the adjoining bathroom. This window was a lot smaller than the bedroom ones, but not too far down was an old grapevine that might hold my weight, or at least break my fall. I didn't know if I could wiggle through the small opening. I had a momentary vision of the guard walking into the room and seeing my butt wedged tightly in the window. The thought struck me as funny, and I had to work hard to suppress a giggle. I got control of myself, climbed on the edge of the tub, and opened the window. As soon as I got my shoulders through, I was confident the rest of me would fit, but I'd scraped the bullet wound on the jamb and the pain made me dizzy. I took a second to clear my head, reached for the vine, and pulled myself the rest of the way outside. I turned back to make sure I hadn't left any blood on the window. So far nothing had seeped through the rag I'd stuffed under my shirt. The vine was old, thick, and strong, and seemed capable of holding my weight. It was full of dried branches and I was getting scratched up some, but I protected my face and descended. As I inched my way toward the ground, the vine bent away from the wall a foot or two, but I was able to climb down far enough to jump safely to the ground. I pushed the vine back into what I thought was its normal shape and began making my way among the trees in the citrus grove back toward the car.

Incidental Justice

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Eileen Harris

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A Wings ePress, Inc.

Mystery Novel

Wings ePress, Inc.

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Edited by: Jeanne Smith

Copy Edited by: Bev Haynes

Executive Editor: Jeanne Smith

Cover Artist: Trisha FitzGerald-Jung

Image: Midjourney

Excerpt from “Nodes” used with permission of the author.

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Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Wings ePress Books

www.wingsepress.com

ISBN 978-1-59088-631-1

Published In the United States Of America

Wings ePress, Inc.

3000 N. Rock Road

Newton, KS 67114

Dedication

A dedication is long past due to the person who taught me that reading opens up whole new worlds, and that books truly are magic. Thank you, Mom.

The world offers few butterflies

unencumbered by cruel caterpillars.

—from the poem “Nodes” by M. C. Rush