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    The Drive-By Wife, Book 2
    The Drive-By Wife, Book 2
    The Drive-By Wife, Book 2
    Ebook115 pages1 hour

    The Drive-By Wife, Book 2

    By Mike Wells

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    About this ebook

    In this explosive psychological thriller, Allen and Cynthia Hunt are an upper middle-class San Francisco couple who make one small but serious mistake. This momentary lapse in judgement plunges them into an endless nightmare that threatens to destroy not only their marriage, but their very lives.

    From Rabid Readers Reviews:
    The Drive-By Wife is a wonderful psychological thriller in the vein of "Cape Fear" and "Misery." If you like Stephen King, Dennis Lehane and Gillian Flynn, you will like Mike Wells.

    "This book is a gripping, absorbing and disturbing portrayal of domestic strife leading to a violent nightmare." - Emma Hunneyball, Book Reviewers (UK)

    "Excellent character development, plot line is through-the-roof original, and the whole premise is marvelously bizarre and intimidating." - The Word Verve, Alpharetta, GA (USA)

    "If you are into psychological crime thrillers grab this book." - Reviewer CristiAk, Juneau, Alaska

    "I have read most of the great thrillers and this is right at the top with them. Wells does not disappoint." Sheena Jennings, Butte, Montana (USA)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMike Wells
    Release dateFeb 8, 2014
    ISBN9781310571336
    The Drive-By Wife, Book 2
    Author

    Mike Wells

    Mike Wells is an author of both walking and cycling guides. He has been walking long-distance footpaths for 25 years, after a holiday in New Zealand gave him the long-distance walking bug. Within a few years, he had walked the major British trails, enjoying their range of terrain from straightforward downland tracks through to upland paths and challenging mountain routes. He then ventured into France, walking sections of the Grande Randonnee network (including the GR5 through the Alps from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean), and Italy to explore the Dolomites Alta Via routes. Further afield, he has walked in Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Norway and Patagonia. Mike has also been a keen cyclist for over 20 years. After completing various UK Sustrans routes, such as Lon Las Cymru in Wales and the C2C route across northern England, he then moved on to cycling long-distance routes in continental Europe and beyond. These include cycling both the Camino and Ruta de la Plata to Santiago de la Compostela, a traverse of Cuba from end to end, a circumnavigation of Iceland and a trip across Lapland to the North Cape. He has written a series of cycling guides for Cicerone following the great rivers of Europe.

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      Book preview

      The Drive-By Wife, Book 2 - Mike Wells

      The Drive-By Wife

      Book 2

      by

      Mike Wells

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2013 Mike Wells

      http://www.mikewellsbooks.com/

      This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author.

      Book 2

      Chapter 2.1

      Cynthia stayed downstairs in the guest bedroom that night. She alternated between fits of rage, cursing Allen and everyone in his bloodline, and severe crying jags, feeling sorry for herself, for being gullible enough to let her husband manipulate her into this untenable situation.

      She racked her brain for hours, trying to think of one solid piece of evidence she could give the police to prove that Allen had killed the man on the hiking trail—anything. She kept coming to the painful conclusion that Allen was right. He had covered his tracks well. It was her word against his. There was not one grain of evidence of any wrongdoing on his part. She had absolutely nothing concrete to show the police.

      Despite all this, she kept wondering if she went to the police and kept her cool—if she calmly repeated the story over and over again, being consistent with the details—if they would at least send an officer over tomorrow afternoon to hide in the house and wait for Billy to show up. She could talk to Billy in a way that would make him reveal that he was a blackmailer, and they could arrest him.

      The problem with that rather far-fetched scenario was that if she could manage to make at least one law officer believe her, with Allen trying to make her out to be a lunatic all the while, Billy might well find out about it, and then he would not show up at all. Which to the police, would make her appear just as Allen predicted—a bitter, deranged wife who was trying to get her husband in trouble. For all she knew, Billy might be watching the house this very moment and follow her to the police station. Allen had never figured out how Billy had followed him back from the hiking trail, or out to the desert, without being seen. The man was very shrewd.

      In any case, if Billy knew she went to the police, he wouldn’t show up tomorrow night, leaving her looking like an utter idiot waiting for him in that Dolly Parton outfit.

      The end result?

      Billy would eventually show up again, and she and Allen would be right back where they started.

      * * *

      At dawn, Cynthia was sitting on the edge of the bed in the guest room, staring at the wall. She could hear Allen banging around in the kitchen. Probably making breakfast for himself, the pompous bastard, feeling victorious about last night.

      He had her right where he wanted her.

      Well, her selfish, uncaring husband was in for a big surprise.

      Cynthia had finally come to a decision, a course of action that was obvious to her, and one that she’d been toying with in the back of her mind ever since Billy had appeared in their kitchen.

      She quietly picked up her cell phone and called Gale Bartholomew’s home number, pulling the blanket over her head.

      Gale? she said, keeping her voice low. I’m sorry to call you so early in the morning, but I wanted to talk to you about the offer you made to me a while back to help out at the London shop. She paused. Is the offer still open?

      * * *

      When Cynthia hung up the phone, it was hard for her to contain her glee—Ms. Bartholomew had not only agreed, but seemed thrilled that Cynthia was willing to move to London. Gale was also glad to be helping her get out of an unsatisfying marriage.

      It was a brilliant solution to her problems. Billy couldn’t possibly follow her to London, she was sure of it. He obviously drove his truck for a living, and he couldn’t just uproot himself and move to another country. He probably didn’t even have a passport. What a delicious surprise this would be for him. Even if he could afford to move to England, she could only imagine him wandering around London in his snakeskin hat and cowboy boots, a bewildered look on his face, trying to find her. It was so absurd it was comical.

      And not only would this pull the rug out from under Billy, it would pull it out from under Allen, too! She would leave both men in the dust, and the two domineering bastards could fight it out with each other to the death as far as she was concerned.

      Now all she had to do was get past Allen and make it to the airport. That should be relatively easy, she reasoned. She just needed to convince him that he’d won the struggle about her going to the police, that she would spend one night wearing the silly panic button fighting off Billy so that Brad Drake could track him down. Ms. Bartholomew was already ordering the plane tickets from a nearby travel agency. Cynthia would pretend to go to work, as usual, and pick up the tickets. Then, as soon as she was sure Allen was gone, she would come home and pack and then take a taxi to the airport.

      She smiled with delight.

      Allen and Billy wouldn’t know what hit them.

      Chapter 2.2

      Cynthia put on her robe and slippers and went out to the kitchen.

      She found Allen sitting at the dinette table, the chair angled towards the door. She was surprised – he was not dressed for work. He was wearing a pair of casual slacks, a cream shirt, and a blazer, the shirt open at the collar, the way he usually dressed when they went out.

      He was sitting there looking at her as if he was waiting to talk, but wasn’t sure how to start the conversation. He slowly stood up, as if he was about to make some earth-shattering announcement.

      I have something important to say to you, Cynthia.

      She didn’t respond—she was afraid whatever he was going to say would ruin her plans. She just stood there, waiting.

      Please sit down, he said, pointing to one of the dinette chairs.

      Cynthia seated herself, her mind racing. Yes...?

      I’m ready to go to the police.

      She was taken aback. This was the last thing she had expected him to say.

      You were right all along, Allen continued, looking down at the floor. We should have reported that assault as soon as it happened, right there on the hiking trail, like you wanted to do. He glanced up at her. It was a huge mistake on my part. I was wrong. I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted about it, putting you into this horrible, unbearable position. And especially what I suggested you do last night, letting him come back tonight so Drake and I could track him down.

      Cynthia stared, unable to respond.

      I’m surprised you haven’t left me already. I deserve that, I really do.

      Allen waited for her to say something, but she was still too stunned to say a word, trying to take it all in.

      In a strained voice, he said, "How long will it take you to get ready to go to

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