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Order IS IT SAFE? <\/strong><\/p>\n Many ways to order:<\/p>\n Amazon: Is It Safe?<\/a><\/p>\n For an electronic copy by Solstice Publishing, go to:\u00a0 Books by Jerol Anderson<\/a> For a signed copy:<\/strong> send request and $19.00 per book (includes taxes and shipping) to: Questions on ordering? \u00a0 Please contact me at: jerol.writer@gmail.com<\/p>\n IS IT SAFE?<\/strong> now\u00a0available locally at these fine stores:<\/p>\n WI – Cambridge – Village Pharmacy & Gifts 109 W. Main St. REVIEWS –\u00a0<\/strong>Coming Soon<\/p>\n EXCERPT:<\/strong><\/p>\n A tuft of wool carpet tickled May\u2019s nose. The scent of Carpet Fresh and something like flesh filled her nostrils. Everything hurt. Her naked body trembled at the wetness on her skin. Her right eye buried in the rug, she dared not move but opened her left eye. Red\u2014all she could see was blood. Slowly she concentrated on the real pain. She took mental inventory of each body part. Only her left shoulder in pain.<\/p>\n Am I shot shot or just bruised from the fall from the bed?<\/p>\n \u201c What\u2019s going on in here?\u201d<\/p>\n A new voice. Strong, kind, and commanding.<\/p>\n May tried to concentrate on the voice. Aldo had taught her to read voices. For hours they would sit in a restaurant or airport, take turns closing their eyes and identifying by voice the type of person talking. Size, stature, even personality traits. They\u2019d honed the voice reading to an art.<\/p>\n This new voice sounded self-assured, not filled with fear like the others.<\/p>\n \u201c U.S. Marshall Charles Durst. Get away from that body; get the coroner in here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Yes, sir, but I think this one\u2019s alive, sir,\u201d the frightened man who smelled like aftershave practically whimpered. \u201cI\u2019ll get the\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c You\u2019ll get the coroner, like I said.\u201d<\/p>\n The officer\u2019s gun belt creaked as he rose beside her.<\/p>\n Brown loafers neared her face. A tan-clothed knee hit the floor.<\/p>\n \u201c Close those eyes and don\u2019t move a muscle. Play dead or you will be,\u201d the kind voice whispered near her ear.<\/p>\n She winced as his hand checked her pulse. He smeared away blood from her right arm and her left thigh as if checking for wounds.<\/p>\n But the officers were here. He said they were the police…<\/p>\n Her eyelids trembled as she tried not to squeeze them too tightly, tried not to move. Her whole body shuddered under her skin.<\/p>\n Her ears rang with the intensity of listening as he stood and walked to the foot of the bed. \u201cWhat are you waiting for?\u201d the gentle voice boomed across the room. \u201cGo with your partner; I\u2019ll watch the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n No, no. It\u2019s like the movie Buried Alive. He\u2019s going to have me zipped into a body bag.<\/p>\n \u201c But what are you going to do with that blanket?\u201d the other frightened voice protested.<\/p>\n \u201c I said, I\u2019ll watch the crime scene, now go.\u201d<\/p>\n A blanket, he\u2019s going to cover my body so they won\u2019t know I\u2019m alive.<\/p>\n \u201c Up, up,\u201d he commanded her.<\/p>\n May lay waiting\u2014waiting to die.<\/p>\n \u201c I don\u2019t think you\u2019re hit. Can you walk? We\u2019ll have to wrap you in this blanket. If you can\u2019t walk, I\u2019ll carry you.\u201d<\/p>\n May rolled to a sitting position and tried to stand. A pool of blood on the bed. She caught a glimpse of a tuft of black curly hair sticking out from under the blood-soaked sheet.<\/p>\n \u201c Aldo,\u201d she gasped, pulling in a deep breath that hurt to the pit of her stomach.<\/p>\n Before she could get the words out, the blanket wrapped around her body and she felt herself being thrown over his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201c No, please, please, I\u2019ll walk.\u201d When he\u2019d said carry, she envisioned being cradled in his arms. Hanging upside down like a sack of potatoes intensified the pain in her head.<\/p>\n \u201c That quilt. We have to take the quilt,\u201d May demanded.<\/p>\n \u201c What quilt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c The blue and white one on the bed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Forget it. It\u2019s all bloody.\u201d He turned to go.<\/p>\n \u201c No.\u201d She struggled to get free. \u201cThe quilt.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Will you cooperate, then?\u201d<\/p>\n She feebly nodded. \u201cWe must take it.\u201d<\/p>\n He grabbed the quilt from the bed and dragged it and her into the hall and around the corner before setting her to her feet. His strong arms held her firmly against his body. \u201cYou sure you can stand?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Then run; there\u2019s a service elevator around the next corner.\u201d<\/p>\n Once in the elevator, he propped her up in a corner, handed her the quilt, and pushed a button labeled B. He pulled out his cell phone and punched a button.<\/p>\n May just watched his firm demeanor, trying to control her breathing, still amazed that she was alive and still standing\u2014well practically.<\/p>\n Trust wasn\u2019t in May\u2019s vocabulary, but she had no choice. She could not escape a man of his strength and size. And every muscle and emotion lay open in pain\u2026she wanted\u2026no needed someone to take care of her.<\/p>\n \u201c I\u2019m going to call my associate to meet us at the house. Just follow all my instructions to a T and we\u2019ll be able to keep you alive. Hopefully there won\u2019t be anyone around when we get to the parking garage.\u201d<\/p>\n It seemed odd but comforting that he explained every move before he made it. She so needed to trust him.<\/p>\n \u201c Who are you?\u201d Her voice quivered, almost afraid to know.<\/p>\n \u201c U.S. Marshall Charles Durst.\u201d He pulled out his badge, like he was on automatic. \u201cDurst to you, because if I can keep you alive for the next twenty-four hours, then we\u2019re going to get to know one another very well.\u201d<\/p>\n May didn\u2019t feel too opposed to that at the moment. She\u2019d liked his voice from the beginning and now had had a nice introduction to his strong arms. But keep her alive?<\/p>\n \u201c What do you mean? Keep me alive?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c I know who you are, May. I know some of what you know and who you\u2019ve been hanging with. The Arcadia Group thinks you\u2019re dead right now. If they suddenly realize you\u2019re alive and kicking and witnessed Aldo Dante\u2019s murder, you will be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Officer Cranston, please,\u201d May heard through a fog minutes later that seemed like hours.<\/p>\n \u201c Rod, Rod, I\u2019ve got May Johnson. Aldo Dante has been whacked, gangland style. Room 1042 in the Hilton Downtown. Get someone in there to seal it off pronto. The two rookie cops, first on the scene, think May died at the scene. But by now the coroner is on the way and the rookies are going bananas because May\u2019s body disappeared. The news has to flash two bodies found. We\u2019re headed for the house.<\/p>\n \u201c Yeah, I\u2019ll call her next and have her meet us there.\u201d<\/p>\n Feeling faint, May dropped into a squat position and rested her face in her hands. This man knew her? Knew Aldo? And the Arcadia Group?<\/p>\n \u201c You okay, May?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Oh, I\u2019m just fine,\u201d she breathed out. \u201cI\u2019m sitting here totally naked, soaked in blood, with a blanket wrapped around me, in a cold steel elevator with a total stranger. No, I\u2019m not okay. My head is splitting.\u201d A trembling crept up her body.<\/p>\n \u201c Control, control, don\u2019t go on me now.\u201d He squatted next to her and his strong arm again wrapped around her waist and he pulled her to him. \u201cStand up and keep the blood flowing evenly. You\u2019re about to go into shock and we have to get to the house first.\u201d<\/p>\n The doors to the elevator rattled open into the parking garage. Cold air and the strong stench of auto exhaust hit her. He helped her hobble through the narrow distance between parked cars.<\/p>\n Pulling out his keys, he pressed the button to unlock the car. He opened the door behind the driver\u2019s side and assisted her gently inside.<\/p>\n \u201c I should put you in the trunk, but I think we\u2019ll be okay if you\u2019ll stay down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Oh great,\u201d May mumbled through the roaring in her head.<\/p>\n \u201c There\u2019s a pillow there if you want to just try and relax.\u201d<\/p>\n The blanket wrapped around her body didn\u2019t offer much warmth. She still shuddered uncontrollably.<\/p>\n \u201c Here, move over.\u201d He slid in next to her feet. She felt his strong hands massaging her thigh, her shoulder and all down her back. \u201cYou going to be okay?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c I think so.\u201d She shivered.<\/p>\n \u201c I\u2019m not so sure. Hold on. I\u2019ve got another blanket in the trunk. Kind of scratchy, but it will offer warmth.\u201d<\/p>\n She wanted the massage to return. The friction of his firm caress created heat.<\/p>\n Time waned for her now. She didn\u2019t know that he had left her side when he returned with the blanket. It smelled like campfire, but the weight on top of the other blanket did afford warmth.<\/p>\n \u201c Could you just stay here a minute?\u201d<\/p>\n What she meant was: could you continue the massage?<\/p>\n As if he read her mind, his muscular hand found its way up and down her legs and arms.<\/p>\n \u201c We gotta go, Lady.\u201d<\/p>\n He slid out of the seat, and opening the driver\u2019s side door, climbed in and started the engine.<\/p>\n \u201c Do not, under any circumstances, lift your head up. You stay lying down until I take you out of the car, understand?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c We don\u2019t want any drive-bys, okay? Besides, you\u2019re dead, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n He picked up his cell phone and punched a speed dial.<\/p>\n \u201c Bev, that you? I know, I know, it\u2019s the middle of the night. Listen, I\u2019ve got May Johnson. Aldo Dante has been slaughtered, gangland. May was in the room; I got her out alive.<\/p>\n \u201c Don\u2019t ask a lot of questions, I just need your help. We\u2019re on the way to the house and you know regulations won\u2019t let me stay with her without a woman present. We can\u2019t let the Arcadia find out she\u2019s alive.<\/p>\n \u201c Just meet me there, would you? I owe you one.\u201d<\/p>\n A moan left May\u2019s heart and found its way out through her breath. Aldo slaughtered? Gangland? They were making love, he\u2019d just returned from Holland. He had a wonderful surprise for her. He had the world by the balls. He\u2019d closed the biggest deal ever. \u201cThe Arcadia,\u201d he\u2019d said, \u201cno one will ever tell us what to do again. We\u2019re free.\u201d<\/p>\n * * * *<\/p>\n May faded in and out. The ride could have taken five to ten minutes, like Durst had told her, or five to ten hours. The only way she was certain of her stay on this earth was the occasional comforting voice poking her with, \u201cYou all right back there, Lady?\u201d<\/p>\n Lady, Aldo had called her lady. She couldn\u2019t think about that now. Again she faded out.<\/p>\n Suddenly the engine of the car halted. She awoke, alert.<\/p>\n \u201c I\u2019m going to go and unlock the place and check it out. You stay low and I\u2019ll fetch you in a few seconds.\u201d And then in reassurance he reached back and patted her left thigh through the blankets.<\/p>\n The hollow click of the locks after he climbed out of the car created the last sound of safety she would know for a very long time.<\/p>\n She waited. It seemed too long and she lifted her head to peek out the side window. The white gabled house with porch surrounded by wrought iron stood out starkly in the moonlight. One by one, lights went on in the windows.<\/p>\n Suddenly car lights turned into the driveway behind her. She ducked down. The shadow of her blanketed head threw across the front seat.<\/p>\n Now I\u2019ve done it. Now the drive-by.<\/p>\n A car door slammed and someone walked by her window, pausing to look in. May gritted her teeth, awaiting the bullet to crash through the window.<\/p>\n The person walked away. She heard voices, the deep, reassuring voice of Durst and a woman talking in the front yard next to the car.<\/p>\n \u201c I\u2019ll get her out. She doesn\u2019t know who you are and surely doesn\u2019t need any more surprises.\u201d<\/p>\n The door unlatched.<\/p>\n May broke into sobs. Uncontrollable sobs that jerked her body convulsively.<\/p>\n \u201c Oh, kiddo, you\u2019ve been through a lot tonight,\u201d Durst\u2019s voice purred. \u201cC\u2019mon, it\u2019s just a short walk and we\u2019ll find you a nice warm bed. Do I need to carry you?\u201d<\/p>\n May remembered the sack of potatoes experience. \u201cNo, no, I can walk.\u201d<\/p>\n Becoming hazy again, and feeling protected by these two people, May felt nearly oblivious as the blanket slipped from around her, exposing her naked, blood-blotched body.<\/p>\n The woman came to the other side of her.<\/p>\n \u201c Here, let me fix that,\u201d the woman offered, wrapping the quilt around May toga style and brusquely tucking it in over her breasts.<\/p>\n Although with each step the blanket fell open to her bare legs, May wrapped her arms across each of their shoulders and they helped her walk up the stoop and into the house.<\/p>\n As she stepped inside, the scent of Aunt Bess\u2019s house wafted into May\u2019s head\u2013old wood cleaned with Lestoil. They led her over to an overstuffed red sofa, looking much like the one Aunt Bess had, only this one was not covered in plastic.<\/p>\n She collapsed onto the sofa and both Durst and the woman wrapped her like a cocoon in the blanket. Durst left the room and May could hear him stripping a bed. He returned with another blanket.<\/p>\n \u201c May, this is Beverly Boyes. She works for the San Francisco Police Department and will be here with us for the next couple of days. One of her many credentials is that she\u2019s been trained as a nurse. You don\u2019t need to worry about anything now. We\u2019ll both take very good care of you during your stay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c What you are feeling right now is the response to shock,\u201d Beverly\u2019s soothing voice crooned. \u201cYour body is throwing you out of control and you will feel cold here for a few minutes; that\u2019s why we have the extra blankets on you. As soon as your body starts to relax again, you can take a nice warm shower and we have a cozy robe for you to curl up in. Tonight, you must just relax. I\u2019m sure after a warm shower your body is going to be so exhausted that you may want something to eat, but definitely will have to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n Durst stroked her blanket-wrapped shoulder. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have any more action here tonight. In the morning, however, there will be people here to question you. You must cooperate with them because we want to prove to them that you are capable and worthy of being put into a witness protection program where you\u2019ll be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c Protection from who?\u201d The words came out in spurts as May\u2019s body convulsed uncontrollably.<\/p>\n Bev and Durst shared a quizzical glance. \u201cWe are part of a task force that has been watching you and Aldo and the entire Arcadia Group very closely for the past couple of years. We will go to great extremes and we will keep you alive. We will also keep the story alive that you are not\u2026that you are dead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Order IS IT SAFE? Many ways to order: Amazon: Is It Safe? For an electronic copy by Solstice Publishing, go to:\u00a0 Books by Jerol Anderson Select book or books you want, and click:\u00a0 Add to Cart For a signed copy: … Continue reading
\nSelect book or books you want, and click:\u00a0 Add to Cart
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nJerol Anderson
\nPO Box 339
\nCambridge, WI 53523<\/p>\n
\nWI – Fort Atkinson – Hometown Pharmacy, 102 S. Main St.
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\nWI – Janesville –\u00a0 Book World of Janesville<\/a>\u00a0 2451 Milton Ave.
\nWI – Lake Mills – The Vintage Flip, 400 N. Main St.
\nWI – Watertown –\u00a0 \u00a0 Literatus & Co.<\/a> 401 E. Main St.
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\nMI – Traverse City – Horizon Books<\/a> 243 E. Front St.
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\nIN – Lafayette – Second Flight Books, 2200 Elmwood Ave D7<\/p>\n