"Was it one of them?" asked Paige, referring to Tarista and Devonia.
James thought for a moment and said no. "I don't think so. To be honest, I thought it was Julie."
"Why would you think that?" asked Stasya.
"Because it sounded identical to her."
"Do you still have this recording?" asked Stasya.
James nodded as he clutched his cell phone tightly in his pocket, just to reassure himself he still had it.
"May I listen to it?" asked Stasya looking directly into James' eyes. "What do you fear Inspector? That it was her last phone call before she was brutally murdered?"
"That's a bit excessive don't you think?" Summers said, showing her irritation towards Stasya's lack of consideration for James' feelings.
"Forgive me if I am too blunt, Agent Summers, but no one can help the Inspector understand what truly happened to Julie except for me. Only I know the true voice of Tarista or Devonia."
Paige looked up directly at Stasya. "That's not true. I will never forget the sound of their voices, ever."
Shelton reached over and patted James on the shoulder. "Come on Tommy, we gotta know for sure. If those two are the ones who killed Julie, then at least we have them in custody already. You won't have to wonder anymore."
James returned her affection with his own pat on her shoulder and retrieved the phone from his pocket.
Stasya stood up and crossed to him. "Stand up Inspector and give me your hands a moment." James did as she requested and rose from his chair.
Slowly he placed his hands inside Stasya's hands. She smiled at him and told him it would be okay. She closed her eyes and nodded several times. The others watched her with James quietly from their seats.
"Very good, now please let me hear the message," she said as James handed her the phone.
His hands shook, as he suddenly felt nervous. "You have to press one and it will automatically go to my voicemail."
"It's okay Inspector James, I have a cell phone myself," she said smiling as she pressed the number 1 and listened to the dial. Pressing the phone to her ear, Stasya could hear the sound of the voice on the other end. Her eyes squinted as she replayed the message again. She then became very quiet as she pressed the stop button and handed James back the phone.
"The girl on the phone, her name is Zoë. She's your daughter."
END OF BOOK ONE
Chapter Thirty-Two
Preview From Book II
All Of Them Witches
Summers pressed her cell phone tightly against her ear trying to hear over the gunfire that came from the device's speaker. She crouched in a corner of the mausoleum hiding as James had instructed her to do.
"They're coming Summers! You've got to kill her before she kills you!" pleaded the voice on the other end of the phone. "I was wrong! You can't trust any of them...Oh my god...No! NO!" the voice screamed and then was abruptly silenced. Summers gripped the phone and listened as closely as she could. For a moment she thought the call had been dropped, but then she began to hear crackling and whispers on the other end until a voice returned to the phone. Summers began to panic as she heard the familiar snicker of laughter followed by the loud shrieking scream that sounded like a wild animal.
"I'm gunna git yew!"
END OF PREVIEW
About The Author
Thomas Amo is the author of the 1920's adventure romance, "Silence" and the stage-play of the crazy British farce, "Bob's Your Auntie!" This former full-time theatrical producer and playwright has written over 20 comedies and farces for the live theatre. Outside acting, directing and producing, his first love has always been writing.
An Apple For Zoë ~Book One ~ The Forsaken, marks his debut into horror fiction.
"I've always had a fascination on the subjects of Old Hollywood and True Crime. The best part of writing about these subjects is the interesting places you get to see when doing the research. Spending three hours in The Hollywood Forever Cemetery was an amazing experience!"
"The other thing I absolutely love about being a writer is...you can do this job, from anywhere in the world!"
Thomas Amo lives in California, with his wife, Ashton.