Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

the elephant is there, it's okay for me to go in. If it's not, I should run to a neighbor and call the police."
    She had originally purchased the foot-high Indian elephant because Matt was intrigued by its colorful mosaic tiles. When they moved into the house and saw the wide sill of the picture window, they decided the statue looked very impressive standing guard there. Using it as a part of their code only came to her yesterday.
    She rubbed the top of his head. "Perfect. Okay, that man might not be anyone to worry about but just in case, you stay here while I go speak to him. Watch for my hand signals." Satisfied that he was paying attention, she got out of the car and walked up to the stranger.
    "May I help you?" she asked.
    "If you're Barbara Johnson, you sure can," he answered with a broad smile. "I'm Otis. I deliver the newspaper."
    Now she knew why the van looked familiar. "Oh, yes, of course. I'm Mrs. Johnson."
    "Great. They got some stuff at the Post addressed to you. They asked me to deliver it, but I wasn't sure if I should just leave it—"
    "What kinds of stuff?"
    "Mostly letters but there were some plants and flowers too. It'll only take me a few minutes."
    She waved at Matt to come help then opened the front door. Otis made several trips to the van, bringing back a small bag of mail, two small packages and a number of plants and floral arrangements.
    Barbara had Matt take in the mail but instructed Otis to return the packages unopened. She then carefully inspected each plant and bouquet. Once she saw that there was nothing hidden in an arrangement and that the card was not from Russ, she let Matt take it inside. She was about to relax when Otis set the last two vases on the porch. They both contained beautiful sprays of roses, but one sent a shiver down her spine. She stopped Matt from carrying them inside and hurriedly dug a few dollars out of her purse to give to Otis.
    Though she was fairly certain the bouquet of yellow roses was innocently sent, she read the card just to be sure, then handed the vase to Matt. As he went inside and Otis headed for his van, she carefully searched the bouquet of peach Oceanias—the same variety as the first Russ had cut for her at the Hamilton estate ten years ago. There was nothing within the greenery to frighten her, not even a card to identify the sender, but that didn't mean they weren't from him.
    With trembling fingers she slowly examined one rose stem after another until she found what she was looking for. Just beneath one blossom, where a person might place her fingers when sniffing the rose, was a sharp thorn. If one didn't know better, one would assume that the florist simply missed it in the process of removing all the thorns from the stems.
    But Barbara did know better. That single, hidden thorn had been left on intentionally. It was all the message Russ had to send to cause her stomach to clench.
    She straightened and looked up and down the street. She saw no sign of him, but that meant nothing. He was nearby. She could practically smell the cigarette smoke she had come to associate with him. He might even be watching her that moment from behind a tree or bush in a neighbor's yard.
    She wanted to scream loudly enough to shatter windows. She wanted to go hide under her bed and cry her fears away.
    But more than anything else she wanted someone to explain how an affair that had begun so sweetly had turned into a ten-year-long nightmare....

    See How They Run
    A Sordid Ttale of Romantic Suspense
    by
    Marilyn Campbell
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    See How They Run
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    with and excerpt from Marilyn Campbell's
    Come Into My Parlor
    A Twisted Tale of Romantic Suspense



Excerpt from

    Come Into My Parlor
    A Twisted Tale of Romantic Suspense

    by

    Marilyn Campbell
    USA Today Bestselling Author

"You'll get your money. The gallery just sold another one of the bitch's new paintings. Ya gotta give me more time," Rico Gambini pleaded into the telephone. " Wait . Just listen a minute." He paused as he was the one made to listen. "Okay, okay. Two weeks then. You'll see. I'll get the money out of her. One way or another."
    The "bitch" halted abruptly outside the bedroom door as she heard her husband's voice. Teri Carmichael Gambini had been working in her studio over the garage