AUSTIN STARR SPILLS THE BEANS

Amateur sleuth Austin talks to her creator Kay Kendall

Freaking out. That’s exactly what I’m doing. Freaking out.

RAINY DAY WOMEN-An Austin Starr Mystery

               Remember how desperate I was when my husband was jailed for a murder he didn’t commit? If it hadn’t been for all the moral support Larissa gave me, I’d never have been able to track down the real killer. I owe her so much.

               Now it’s Larissa herself who’s in big trouble. She just called long distance with the terrible news. She’s a prime suspect in a murder. Good grief, it’s only been a year since David was an accused killer. This is too much. I’ll have to wear a trench coat and fedora—pretend I am a private eye—if I keep getting pulled into these cases on a routine basis.

               Larissa wants me to fly across the continent—all the way to the Pacific coast—to back her up while the police grill her. I'm desperate to help her out, but I don’t see how I can. Believe me, I’d leave tomorrow if I could.

               But what would I do with baby Wyatt? He’s only three months old. Last time I chased a killer—back before I was a mom—I almost died. That kind of scene is no place for an infant.

               But I can’t go by myself and leave Wy at home. David’s facing a big deadline in grad school, and he’ d have a hissy fit if I asked him to babysit. Of course I juggle Wyatt’s child care with my own studies, but that’s expected. After all, I’m the mom. Dads don’t do things like that—not much anyway.

               Here’s another thing—kind of selfish of me, I know. I planned to drive down to Woodstock, New York, this weekend. The big outdoor rock ‘n’ roll concert is happening pretty close by. I figured I'd put Wy in his little carrying sling, and he could enjoy the music with me.

               Still, I cannot leave Larissa in the lurch. She’s the only real friend I’ve made since I pulled up stakes and left my home and family in Texas to join my new husband up here in Ontario, in the Great White North.

Since Larissa left for her summer job, I’ve really missed her. Long distance is too expensive to talk much. When I heard her voice on the phone, I knew something was wrong. We tell each other everything. See, she’s the only one who knows I was trained as a spy by the CIA. That was back before I married David. I could never tell him that. He would not approve, that’s for sure. But Larissa knows and keeps all my secrets.

               Oh gosh, the more I consider this situation, the more I realize I must fly out and back her up during her time of trouble. She’ll call me back in an hour to ask if I’m coming. Guess I’ll have to put a plan in place. I must think of something.  

~~~~~~~           

Author Kay Kendall

Want to read the first 20 pages of Kay Kendall’s second mystery, RANY DAY WOMEN? Go to her website http://www.austinstarr.com/ That book won two awards at the Killer Nashville conference in August 2016—for best mystery/crime and also for best book. Her first novel about Austin Starr‘s sleuthing, DESOLATION ROW, was a finalist for best mystery at Killer Nashville in 2014. Visit Kay on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor