A warm welcome to author Vicki Reese joining us today in honor of her new release “No Tears for Darcy”.

Vicki shares with us an exclusive excerpt of her new release.

Welcome Vicki 🙂

Excerpt from No Tears for Darcy by Vicki Reese

Pete donned gloves and booties, standard gear when investigating, and surveyed the remains of the shop. There wasn’t much left. He stepped through the shattered door. It looked like it had been a nice little store—bright, warm, and homey. He scanned the inventory scattered across the floor. That looked like a bad psychedelic picture. Clothing and costumes strewn everywhere, plants upended and the dirt ground into the carpet. In a small seating area, the once cushioned chairs had been slashed, their stuffing scattered around, the other furniture broken apart, and an urn for coffee or tea toppled. He studied the destruction. To him, it went beyond pure vandalism. This looked more like a search. Or vengeance. This was done by someone full of rage.

The store was small by most standards, even for a town the size of Maple Grove. Besides an area with two chairs and a side table between them, there was a corner area curtained off—or once curtained off—for changing, with the rest given over to display racks, shelves, and tables. So what were they looking for? The owner didn’t look like someone who would deal in something dirty, but then the good ones often didn’t. Though Pete would bet his last paycheck that this Cameron was innocent. He couldn’t base his assumption on anything more than gut instinct, but the feeling was there.

He watched Will study the place, wondering what Will’s connection to the handsome owner was. “Looks like a total loss.”

Will grimaced. “Yeah. I’m going to check upstairs. He just recently moved in.”

“You want me to come with you?” Pete asked.

“Nah. Whoever did this is long gone.”

Pete nodded his agreement. “I’ll get some pictures of everything for you. You seemed friendly. I take it you two know each other?”

“Yeah. We grew up together—neighbors.” He tilted his head to the side. “We’re still friends. He hasn’t had an easy time of it lately. His dad died a few years ago, his mom last spring, and his boyfriend shortly after that. If anyone deserves a break, it’s Cameron. Whoever did this to him… it had to be someone who doesn’t know him.” He shook his head. “You’ll find an evidence kit in the trunk of the car. I’ll be right back.”

Pete studied the room. “Or it’s someone who doesn’t care about his feelings.” He went out to the car and got a camera and several plastic bags, which he stashed in his pocket. The camera was a good one, and he spent several minutes shooting pictures of the scene. He checked the cash register—it was undamaged, the contents untouched.

“That’s odd. Why go to all this trouble and not take the cash?”

His mind wandered to the man sitting next door, his hands wrapped around a mug of cocoa. He had a cap of dark hair that curled softly around his face and hung in a neat tail down to his shoulders. His eyes were a blend of gray and green, unique and mesmerizing. He’d been wearing a crisp white shirt with a bow tie, soft gray trousers, and suspenders. Although he’d been sitting down, he thought Cam might be rather short—maybe five six or seven—and reed slender. Except for the long hair, he looked like he’d stepped off the pages of a 1940s fashion catalog. But it was his eyes that drew Pete. Those eyes had had a haunted look, like the world was crashing down and he had nowhere else to go but down with it. Pete wanted nothing more than to take that look away.

He shook his head to clear it. Where had that thought come from? It wasn’t like him to get dreamy over someone.

 

NO TEARS FOR DARCY by Vicki Reese

Blurb:

Letting love pass them by would be a crime.

Former forensic accountant Cameron’s lost nearly everyone he’s ever loved, and now his vintage clothing shop has been broken into and trashed. When town police chief Will Carson asks an out-of-town cop friend of his for help, Cam takes one look at the dark-haired, blue-eyed detective and knows he’s in real trouble—and it has nothing to do with vandalism or murder.

 

Pete Minchelli is on leave from his job in Philadelphia due to a gunshot wound, but he figures he can help an academy buddy with some light police work. Plus, he’ll have a chance to experience small-town life. He’s tired of the big city and all its corruption. But he quickly discovers that not all the bad stuff happens in cities. What he doesn’t expect to find is death, treachery—or love.

 

Purchase from:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

 

 

Vicki Reese has been married forever to the one person who accepts that she lives in a fantasy world most of the time. She’s even been seen at the beach building worlds for her stories. In addition to creating suspenseful situations or fantasy worlds, she is very good at boring things like writing procedures manuals and continuity spreadsheets, both of which she actually earned money doing. With a master’s in library science, she likes things organized. Okay, so her family thinks having the spice rack alphabetized is a bit much, but she has no problem finding what she needs when she needs it. And just because her extensive library is catalogued and organized by the Dewey Decimal system doesn’t mean she’s obsessive. Honest!

When not writing, Vicki can be found in the kitchen cooking up gluten free/lactose free/allergy free goodies for her family, or just watching the world go by from her front porch swing.

You can find her online at:

Website: http://www.vickireese.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorVictoria

Twitter: @AuthorVictoria