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    Promises to Keep: A Short Story
    Promises to Keep: A Short Story
    Promises to Keep: A Short Story
    Ebook59 pages39 minutes

    Promises to Keep: A Short Story

    By Elizabeth Haynes

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Haunted by a tragic death, Jo finds temporary respite from the all-consuming memories through running; it's the only thing that is keeping her sane. So when she discovers a young boy living rough in the woods, Jo is determined to do everything within her power to keep him safe.

    DS Sam Hollands wants to get her relationship back on track, unsure of how to make things right. But everything changes when she returns from work one night to find a stranger in her home . . .

    This is a stunning, psychologically-rich short story from one of the most authentic and compelling voices in crime fiction.

    Promises to Keep is a short story that includes a sneak peek from Behind Closed Doors by Elizabeth Haynes, the second novel in the Briarstone Crime Series featuring DCI Louisa Smith.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJan 6, 2015
    ISBN9780062363589
    Promises to Keep: A Short Story
    Author

    Elizabeth Haynes

    Elizabeth Haynes is a former police intelligence analyst, a civilian role that involves determining patterns in offending and criminal behavior. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Into the Darkest Corner, Dark Tide, Human Remains, and, most recently, Under a Silent Moon, the first installment of the Briarstone crime series.

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      Book preview

      Promises to Keep - Elizabeth Haynes

      Contents

      Jo

      Sam

      Jo

      Sam

      Jo

      Sam

      Newspaper

      An Excerpt from Behind Closed Doors

      Nothing Is Real but Fear

      Also by Elizabeth Haynes

      Back Ads

      Copyright

      About the Publisher

      Jo

      It usually takes her ten minutes to find her stride. By that time, she’s run the length of the field and has been in the woods for a quarter of a mile. Her breath evens out; her pace becomes hypnotic. Nothing but the smell of the damp, compacted earth pounding under her sneakers. Even Dixie has found his rhythm; he’s given up the sniffing and the scampering from bush to tree, and it’s all about the run for him now, just as it is for her.

      When she gets to this point her mind wanders. Everywhere else in her life her mind is like a city rush hour, exhausting, hot, intense, sometimes it’s like nothing can get through. Here, in the woods, it all unravels like a knotted rope into a single Zen-like thread. Patterns become clear. Conversations play out the way they should have done; there is clarity, calm. Hope.

      This morning, for instance, she sat at the table in the kitchen, hands wrapped around a mug of mint tea.

      You’re up early, Sam says, kissing the top of her head. She drops bread into the toaster.

      Yes. I’m going to the library. Jo can feel Sam gazing at the back of her head. What?

      It’s only six. I’m fairly sure the library won’t be open for a while.

      Her voice is gentle but even so, Jo bristles at it. I wanted to see you off to work.

      You’re not going for a run, are you?

      The toast pops up in the seconds before Jo thinks of her reply. In the end, she settles for the basic lie, No.

      If Sam thinks she’s lying, she manages not to say. That’s good. We can go out together when I get home from work, then.

      The truth is Sam won’t be home until long after it gets dark, because that’s just the way it is. It’s getting dark by five, and Sam hasn’t been home that early since this job started a week ago. It’s a murder investigation, that’s all Jo knows. It’s either that or a kidnapping or a rape. She’ll be lucky if Sam’s home before bedtime. There will be no run this evening.

      Sam eats her toast, and Jo sips her tea, trying to think of something to say. Trying to be bright and happy and positive. She can’t even manage to pretend. The cloud is big today, big and black and overwhelming. For a moment she thinks twice about going for a run, despite Dixie twisting himself around her legs, his tail thumping against the table. She thinks about going back to bed, pulling the duvet over herself and waiting.

      I wish I could stay home with you today, Sam says.

      She’s noticed, then. She usually does.

      I’ll be fine. It’s okay. I’ll be better when I’m out. Jo gets up from the table and washes her mug at the sink, even though it was still a quarter full, to hide the tears that are brimming.

      Sam comes up behind her, slips her arm around her waist, and nuzzles her neck. Jo tries not to flinch. She has no

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