TIL DEATH DO US PART - An Original Novel of Suspense

By: J J Kusnell, Author

About The Story

This is the story of two murders, one new and one old.
The first, a murder of teen-aged passion; the second, twenty-five years later, to cover up the first.

It is a story of power and politics – of one woman’s determination to hide the truth and another’s equal determination to uncover it.

Faced with the unfamiliar world of murder, Alice Carter
turns to Tommy Marshall, a small-town detective, for help in finding her missing husband, only to discover that while searching for one man, she has fallen in love with another.

‘Til Death Do Us Part’ is an action-packed adventure that takes two unlikely heroes Into a world of mid-western corruption and political intrigue.

The Author


Chapter I

Laurie bounced the basketball furiously. He could see she was really upset.

“But why not, Frankie? I want to go. I really do!”

From time to time, Laurie would lose control of the ball and she would dash into the street to retrieve it. This time when she caught up with the ball she turned and, without warning, fired it hard in his direction. Before the startled boy could even react, her left hand shot into the air and deftly deflected the ball away from her friend. Flashing a grin that said she was good and she knew it, she retrieved the ball and taunted the boy.
“Not bad, huh Frankie!”
Frankie Carter was a tall, rangy teenager with unruly blond hair, brown eyes, and a ready smile that made him popular with his friends, but at this moment he wasn’t amused. He had long since become aware of Lurie’s athleticism so what she did with the basketball didn’t surprise him; what it did was to piss him off and it showed in the look he gave her. “Yeah,” he said wearily, “you’re hot stuff Laurie, but I’m still not taking you, so live with it! Okay?”
The fury of her reaction startled him. “No, it’s not fucking okay! I want to go! You have to take me, you have to!”
Frankie stared at his dark-haired neighbor. Ever since the Hebron’s had first moved next door to the Carter’s three years ago, Frankie had been aware that Laurie was different and though he still hadn’t gotten used to these sudden uncontrollable outbursts, he had eventually learned to live with them. Laurie was an athlete who competed with the boys at their own level and who didn’t need any special considerations to do so. Grudgingly she had earned their respect. Of Laurie, they would say, ‘she’s got game’. It was their highest form of compliment.
Considering this shared love of sports and the fact that they were next door neighbors, it was totally predictable that despite their age difference, Frankie and Laurie would become friends, which they did. They became fixtures at the playground, hanging with each other, growing up with each other.
On this day, the two friends were leisurely walking home from school when Frankie broached the subject. “Hey,” he’d said, intercepting her dribble and holding the ball high above his head, teasing her. “Guess what?”
“What,” she asked, lunging for the ball repeatedly until she finally got it back. Frankie shook his head, laughing at her competitiveness. “My prom is coming up soon.” She stopped dribbling and stood here waiting She’d known about the prom for some time and she assumed he was going to ask her to go with him. She was ready to accept. In fact, she was more than ready because she had a big-time crush on Frankie. She didn’t know if he knew it, but she knew everyone else sure as hell did.
Time seemed to stand still until finally she lost patience and prodded him. “Well,” she began dribbling the ball to hide her nervousness, “what about the prom?”
Despite her competitiveness on the ball field, when it came to proms, Laurie was no different than any other teen-age girl – she loved them and she desperately wanted Frankie to ask her.
When he still didn’t say anything, she decided to throw caution to the wind. “You know what, Frankie,” she said grinning, ‘that sounds so fun. We’ll have a great time!”
He looked at her and his surprise was obvious. “What do you mean we?” he said abruptly.
His words took her back. Hadn’t he understood her? She had both hands wrapped around the ball now, and had the ball pulled tightly against her chest with her chin resting on the top. In that position, she looked at him grinning. Had he bothered to notice, Frankie would have seen that Laurie was a very pretty girl, but he didn’t.
She shrugged. “I just meant we’ll have a great time. At the prom, I mean. It’ll be so cool - you and me.”
Slowly a look of understanding came over his face, then embarrassment. “Laurie,” he said softly, “I’m not taking you to my prom.”
She looked at him, stunned by his words. Her chin still rested on top of the ball as tears formed in her eyes. When she could speak, she couldn’t keep the hurt and disappointment from her voice.
“You’re not taking me?” Her voice was so soft he could barely hear her. “Is that what you’re saying, Frankie? You’re not taking me to your prom?”
When he didn’t answer, the hurt suddenly turned to fury. Without warning, she wheeled and fired the ball at his head, as hard as she could. It would have caught him flush in the face but he saw it coming and ducked. Now shocked and angry himself, Frankie turned on her and his words were vicious. “What the fuck you do that for Laurie, you asshole! Are you fucking crazy! You could have hit me in the God-damn face with that fucking thing, you weirdo!”
“I wish I had! I wanted to smash your face! I hate you! I hate you!!!”
He was stunned by the fury of her words. They stood there face to face on the brink of something ugly. It was the first time they had ever quarreled like this and neither of them knew what to do next. At any other time, maybe they might have laughed it off, but not here, not today.
Frankie stood there glaring at her for a moment, then spun around and without a word, stalked across the nearby lawn and retrieved the ball. Turning back toward her, he fired the ball at her head as hard as he could. Anticipating such a reaction, Laura caught the ball deftly and dropped it on the ground. They stood there glaring at one another.
It was Laurie who broke the silence. “You knew I wanted to go with you,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “You knew it and you didn’t care!”
Her tears should have affected him because he knew Laurie was not one to cry easily, but in his present mood, he barely noticed. “Come on, Laurie,” he said still angry but cooling off some, “cut the crap! We’re buds and I don’t want to mess that up with all this other shit! Anyway, I’m seventeen and what are you, fifteen? How the fuck would that look me taking you to my senior prom! It’d look fucking stupid that’s how! Christ, I don’t even think you’d be allowed to stay out that late!”
They had reached a white, two-story single home with a big oak tree in the front yard. It was Laurie’s home. She stood there bouncing the ball rapidly as her anger built again. “I would too! That’s just an excuse! Besides, everyone sees us together all the time anyway so what’s the fucking difference if you take me – “
“Stop it, Lurie! Yea, they see us playing ball and hanging out but that don’t mean anything! That’s not dating!”
Suddenly, his faced sagged. He was weary of the argument. It was just stupid. He wasn’t going to change his mind. He wasn’t going to take her to his prom. He never even thought about it. Anyway, he had already asked somebody else. He decided he might as well tell her.
“Look, Laurie,” he said bluntly, “there’s no use talking about it anymore. I already asked somebody else – “
At his words, her head snapped up and her eyes blazed. Her anger was so intense that he involuntarily took a step backward.
“You did what!” She almost screamed the words.
“I already asked somebody else. I never even thought of taking you. You’re just a sophomore for Christ’s sake!”
“Who! Who did you ask! What’s her name!”
He stared at her unsure of what he should do. He didn’t think she’d really do something terrible but the last thing he needed was to have her accost some poor girl just because he had asked the girl to his prom. He was about to walk away when he suddenly realized it wouldn’t make any difference. Dianne wasn’t exactly a big secret. Lots of people already knew he had asked her to his prom and it was just a matter of time before everyone knew it. Laurie included. It just couldn’t be helped.
He looked at her with a resigned look on his face. “Dianne Parent,” he said quietly, “that’s who I’m taking, Dianne Parent.”
Laurie stood there glaring at him.
“What?” he asked defensively. “What’s wrong with her? No, don’t answer. She’s a nice girl and I like her and I’m taking her to my prom and that’s it!”
She still hadn’t spoken. She stood there with her stomach churning. “Dianne Parent! He’s taking Dianne Parent to his prom instead of me!”
Furious, she whirled around and hurled the ball across her lawn. Then she turned back to him. When she spoke, her words raised the hairs on the back of his neck.
“Fuck her!” she hissed, ”you’re not taking her! If you're not taking me, you’re not taking anybody! You owe me!”
It was the last straw. He had taken all he was going to take from her. “Owe you! What the fuck are you talking about! What do I owe you! We’re friends, got it! We’re friends and that’s all we are! You’re just a kid! I’m a senior, I’m graduating this year! What would I want to take a kid to my senior prom for! It’s all bullshit! I’m taking Dianne Parent and that’s it! Finished! Period! End of fuckin’ story!”
It was one of the few times they had ever quarreled and it was by far, the worst. But there was nothing Frankie could do now. He never had thought of Laurie as anything but a friend and he couldn’t help what she thought. To him, Lurie was one of the guys and he could never think of her any other way.
Standing there, he began to cool down. He felt sorry for his friend. He shrugged, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Laurie, I didn’t mean all that – “
She didn’t let him finish. Involuntarily, the words exploded from deep within her. “I hate you!” she screamed. And with those words, she ran up the walk and into her house, slamming the door behind her. Once inside, she stood leaning against the door panting, the teams streaming down her face.
Frankie stared after his friend. He was totally amazed by what had happened. Slowly, he retraced his steps and made his way home.
At the window, Laurie stood watching him as he cut across her yard. She continued to seethe. “Dianne Parent! He’s taking Dianne Parent to his prom instead of me!”
She sat down heavily on the floor and putting her head in her hands, she sobbed bitterly.
Chapter 2
Tommy Elders who was taking Christine Delano to the prom, had agreed to pick up Dianne and Frankie at Dianne’s house. Since Frankie didn’t have a car and his parents were divorced, the task of getting Frankie to Dianne’s house was left to Mrs. Carter.
It was seven-thirty when they pulled into the Parent driveway, a long-winding affair leading to a big, imposing Tudor which was partially hidden by a wide lawn and an impressive expanse of shrubbery. It was obvious that the house has been professionally landscaped and Fran Carter was suitably impressed. “It’s a beautiful place,” she said appreciatively, “look at all those trees and shrubs. Must have cost a fortune. I’ll bet she’s a lovely girl.”
Frankie looked over at her and grinned. “You can tell that by the shrubbery, Mom?” He laughed and stepped out of the car. “Thanks for the lift,” he said.
“Okay honey, don’t be too late. What time does Dianne have to be home?”
“I don’t know for sure yet but she said somewhere around two o’clock.”
“What happened to those closed-door parties they used to have after proms? Don’t they do that anymore?”
He looked at her, eyebrows raised. “The what, Mom - ?”
She laughed. Am I that old already? You know, the after-prom parties where the kids go in and the doors are locked and they can party until morning but no one is allowed in or out. Don’t they do that anymore?”
He shook his head. “Don’t know about that one, Mom – before my time, I guess. “
He came around to her side and she rolled down the window and kissed him.
“I won’t be late, I promise,” he said.
“Okay, honey, is Tommy driving you home?”
“You got it. Don’t worry, okay?” He kissed her again and watched as she drove off. Then he turned and made his way up the long driveway toward the house.
The tree-lined driveway wended its way past a detached two-car garage and then joined with a pavement that led to the house. Bordering the walkway were bushes and tall shrubs affording the occupants desired privacy. The walk, like the driveway, was lined with night lamps that cast a fairy-like aura over the entire premises.
This was the first time that Frankie had dated Dianne, the first time in fact, that he had ever gotten up the courage to ask her out and when she had accepted, it surprised him no end. He was well aware that Dianne was a very popular girl. As he approached the stone porch, he was taken by surprise as the front door opened and a smiling woman stood there waiting for him. She must have been watching me coming up the walk, he thought.
He nodded nervously. “Good evening, I’m Frankie Carter. I am taking Dianne to the prom.”
The woman reached out her hand. “Come in, Frankie, we were waiting for you,” she said pleasantly, “Dianne is almost ready.” She held the door open and stepped aside as Frankie entered.
“This is a great house,” he said, looking around at the lavish foyer.
She smiled. “Well thank you, Frankie. That’s very nice of you.”
She led him into the reception room where a big man was seated on a recliner, reading a newspaper. He rose as they entered. Mrs. Parent introduced Frankie.
“John, this is Frankie Carter, Dianne’s date. You know his mother, don’t you?”
The man nodded and held out his hand. “Sure do,” he said pleasantly, known her for years. Wonderful woman.”
Frankie was surprised. “You do, sir? Where from?”
Mr. Parent grinned. “Why from the bank, of course. You mother has an account in our bank -–almost everybody in town does – don’t know her personally you understand, but we do run into each other every now and then and exchange pleasantries - that sort of thing.”
At that moment, Dianne entered the room. Frankie stood up. Dianne looked beautiful. She was a tall, well-proportioned girl with shoulder-length blond hair and soft, smiling green eyes and a sweet smile. Frankie has also thought she was attractive around school but now he realized that his date was positively beautiful. He wondered that she had ever agreed to be his prom date but secretly thrilled at the prospect of spending an entire evening with her. Laurie Hebron was the furthermost thing from his mind at that moment.
Mrs. Parent walked over and fussed with Dianne’s dress. :”You look beautiful, my dear,” and turning toward her husband, “doesn’t she look beautiful, John?”
Mr. Parent smiled proudly. “Yes she does, my dear. Doesn’t she look beautiful, Frankie?”
Dianne was embarrassed. She turned toward Frankie before he could answer. “Ready?” she asked him. He nodded and turned to shake hands with Mr. Parent.
“Good night, sir,” he said.
“Good night, young man. Remember, we expect Dianne to be home by two. We don’t like her to be late. We worry.”
“Yes, sir. Don’t worry, sir, I’ll have her home on time.”
“Fine, then you young people go and have a good time. We’ll wait up for our little girl.” He shook hands with Frankie and turned to his daughter and kissed her. “You look beautiful, Princess; be careful and be a good girl, okay?”
She kissed him “Yes, daddy, I will.”
The sound of the doorbell interrupted them and when Mrs. Parent answered it, Tommy was standing there grinning. After exchanging introductions and pleasantries, the three young people took their leave.
Outside, they walked down the long driveway toward the waiting car. As they did, Dianne took Frankie’s arm. “Do you mind,” she said sweetly, “it’s a little dark here and I don’t want to trip in these heels.”
“No problem,” he said surprised and pleased by her directness. She looked at him and smiled again and Frankie was lost.
The prom that year was held at the Lewiston Country Club, and it was a huge success. If Frankie had worried that Dianne wouldn’t have a good time, his fears were groundless. Dianne had a great time. She and Frankie hit it off beautifully. They danced well together, they found they had lots in common, and she was so wonderfully at ease that she relaxed him completely.
By the time the prom was over, Frankie was sure he was in love. He made up his mind to ask Dianne out again and he was confident that she would accept.
In his eyes, It had been a perfect night.
Chapter 3

Laura Hebron was an unusual young woman At fifteen, she was aggressive and competitive to a fault and had acquired the reputation of being a poor loser. So intent on winning was she, that it wasn’t the least bit unusual to see her – this tall, slim girl with the long brown hair pulled back from her lovely face – continuing to battle long after the whistle had been blown. To Laurie, losing was a personal thing and she found it exceedingly difficult to accept defeat. Not that she was trying to be a boy as was often said about her, but she simply hated being told what she could or couldn’t do solely because of her sex and she had no intention of letting others put their limitations on her dreams and aspirations.
By the time Laurie was fifteen, the boys had given her a nickname, they called her, “mad man Laurie”. It was a tribute to her toughness. Rather than get angry, Laurie reveled in the appellation and the boys responded by accepting her as one of their own. So completely was she accepted that the boys completely overlooked the fact that Laurie was a girl and a pretty one at that. To them – as to Frankie Carter – that part of Laurie simply didn’t exist
The night of the prom, Laurie sat home nursing her bruised ego, alternately listening to music and crying. As the evening wore on, her self-pity was replaced by anger and she began to seethe. How dare Frankie take another girl to his prom! He knew she wanted to go with him!
But she was also angry with herself and asked herself over and over why any boy would want to go out with a girl that could beat him at just about any sport. Her honest answer was that he wouldn’t, but that just fueled her self-loathing and made her feel worse.
As the evening wore on, Laurie’s thoughts became more and more focused on Dianne Parent. She hated Frankie for taking Dianne to the prom but she hated Dianne even more for going. She got up and walked to the window. Peering out, she could see it was a cold, dark, moonless night. An urge, an inexplicable, unexpected urge came over her. She wanted to see them together – she wanted to see Dianne and Frankie together to see if Frankie kissed her goodnight – to see if Dianne had taken Frankie from her.
Striding to the closet, she took out a heavy coat and put it on. Then she walked to the door, opened it, and stepped outside closing the door softly behind her.
She glanced at the Carter’s house next door. It was dark. Then she looked up and down her street. The roads were empty. It was obvious that most people were in bed. It was after midnight.
Since Dianne lived five blocks away, Laurie decided to use her bike. She went to the garage, took out the bike, and in moments was on her way. Cycling up to the big stone house lit with a single porch light and the decorative lamps along the driveway, Laura dropped her bicycle out of sight behind a bush and walked carefully up toward the house. It was very dark and she was careful to keep out of sight knowing she would have a hard time explaining what she was doing here if someone saw her. Reaching the dense shrubbery near the entrance to the house, she ducked behind one of the bushes and settled down to wait.
The night dragged on. Laurie was alternately shivering and trembling with the combination of cold and pent-up fury. From time to time, she would cry; then she would wipe the tears away with the back of her hand. But the hurt was something she couldn’t wipe away.
She had dozed off when the sound of a car awakened her. Parting the bushes with her hand, she saw headlights as a car pulled into the lower driveway and came to a stop, its motor still running. Then she heard the sound of car doors opening and closing, followed by the sound of a girl’s laughter.
Peering out from the shrubbery, Laurie saw Frankie. He was standing beside a tall, slim girl holding her hand. The driver’s side window of the car was down and she could hear the couples saying goodbye. Then, as she watched, Frankie and the girl turned and started up the long driveway. The car remained where it was and it was obvious they were waiting for Frankie.
As Frankie and Dianne reached the top of the driveway where the walk turns toward the house and is shielded from the street, Frankie stopped and took Dianne into his arms. They kissed. As she watched, Laurie’s heart sank. She stared in agony as Dianne’s arms came up and circled Frankie’s neck. She was obviously kissing him back. In her heart, Laurie knew this was more than a goodnight kiss. In her heart, she knew she had lost Frankie to this girl.
Her heart started pounding. She began to tremble violently and tears filled her eyes. At that moment, she hated this girl more than anything in the world.
The young couple kissed once again and then started toward the house. They passed so close to Laurie she could have reached out and touched them. “This is fine, Frankie,” Dianne said, stopping only yards from where Laurie was hiding. “I’ll be okay from here. You go ahead, they’re waiting for you. I had a wonderful time. Call me, okay?” And with Laurie watching, her heart broken, they kissed again. Frankie grinned
“You bet I will, Dianne. I had a great time too! Night.” He turned and jogged back down to the waiting car.
Dianne stood where she was, waving to her friends as the car pulled away. Then she turned to go into the house but as she did, something caught her attention in the bushes near the front porch. She was startled. She peered into the darkness.
“Is someone there?” she asked. “Who is it? If someone is there, come into the light so I can see you or I will scream and my father will call the police!”
There was a brief delay then the bushes parted and Laurie Hebron stepped out. “I’m here,” she said softly, “you don’t have to call the police.”
Dianne was shocked. Her first reaction was fright but then, seeing it was a girl and a young girl at that, her courage returned and the fright turned to anger.
“Who the hell are you!” she demanded, “and what are you doing out here in the middle of the night hiding in our bushes! Explain yourself or I will call my father!”
“That’s not needed,” she said softly, “my name is Laurie Hebron. I am a friend of Frankie’s.”
Dianne moved imperceptibly toward the front door. Suddenly this strange girl unnerved her. “A friend of Frankie’s?” she asked, confused. “You mean Frankie Carter, the boy I dated tonight? You are a friend of his?”
“Yes” Laurie said her voice soft with no hint of the emotions that were fueling her actions. “I have to ask you something, then I will go.”
Dianne was still very uncomfortable. What was this girl doing here at this hour? What could she possibly want? But she was also curious. The girl had said she was a friend of Frankie Carter’s and Dianne wanted to know more about that.
Besides, Dianne was not a timid girl. She was young and strong and filled with life and she wasn’t afraid of this girl.
“Okay,” she said, her confidence building, “what is it you want to ask me. Ask and then go away, I want to go to bed. I’m tired.”
“I understand. Are you going to go out with Frankie again?”
Dianne started at her for a moment then started to laugh. “Is that what this is all about?” she said, almost relieved. “Frankie Carter?” Then she suddenly tired of this whole thing. “ Look, this is none of your business anyway, so I suggest you just get lost! Go away!”
Laurie didn’t move. “But are you?” she persisted. “Are you going to date him again? Just tell me!”
Dianne had enough of this nonsense. “I don’t know – maybe – I guess so – but it’s not any of your business anyway. Look, get off my property right now or I am going to call the police and I mean it! Get lost!”
It was a fatal mistake. Laurie was already on edge. Hearing that Dianne intended to take Frankie away from her, and then being ordered to leave, was more than she could take. She snapped. Looking around her, she spotted a section of tree branch lying on the ground. Reaching over, she picked it up and wheeled toward Dianne. Only then did Dianne realize the terrible danger she was in but by then it was too late. Before she could move, the branch came thundering down across her skull. Over and over, Laurie raised and lowered the bloody club striking Dianne across the head and neck until, under the blows, Dianne fell to the ground her life-blood spilling on the ground beneath her.
Even as she fell, Laurie leaned over her, branch in hand, prepared to hit her again. But it wasn’t necessary. Dianne Parent was dead. Dropping the tree branch, Laurie fled. She ran to the bush behind which she had hidden her bike. Grabbing the bike, she raced down the street toward her home and safety.
Behind her, a door opened and had Laurie been closer, she would have heard a terrible scream of agony as Dianne’s Parent’s mother found her daughter lying in a pool of blood, dead on her own doorstep.
Breathless, Laurie reached her house and, dropping her bike where it was, ran up the steps and into the house. Inside, the house was dark; everyone was sleeping. She closed the front door and leaned her body heavily against it trying to catch her breath, trying to slow down her racing pulse. Then when she had recovered sufficiently, she walked into the living room and sat down. Her mind went back over the events of the past hour. No one had seen her on the street. No one even knew that she had been out of the house. If she could control her emotions, act surprised when Frankie called to tell her about Dianne, she could get away with it.
Slowly, she brought her pulse rate down. She was a natural athlete and competitor and she was physically strong so her body was well used to strenuous exertion and it recovered quickly. Now she knew what she had to do. She had to go to bed then get up in the morning and go about her day as if nothing had happened. She had to be cool. Then, when Frankie did call, as she was sure he would, she had to act surprised. No, she had to act shocked. If she could do that, if she could play this right, no one would ever be able to connect her with the murder.
She got up and went upstairs to her room. Climbing into bed, she pulled the covers up over her head and lay there trembling.
Finally, utterly exhausted, she fell into a deep, fitful sleep.

End of excerpt. Amazon.Com @ Copy and Paste to your URL


This and other works at Amazon.com: Copy and paste to your browser:
http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1231617282/ref=sr_pg_1?ie=UTF8&rs=133140011&keywords=J%20J%20Kusnell&rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3AJ%20J%20Kusnell&page=1