Snippet

THE BODY FROM THE PAST comes out on Tuesday, Sept. 22nd. Jazzi, Ansel, and Jerod have found a grand, old house to flip in a nearby town–Merlot, Indiana. They discover a locked room on the second floor–a young woman’s pink bedroom that hasn’t been disturbed for years. The house holds memories, and many of them aren’t happy. Here’s a snippet from the book. Leesa is Jazzi’s BFF from high school:

Leesa took an audible breath.  “My Brett grew up in Merlot.  That house holds horrible memories for him.  Could you and Ansel come to supper here tomorrow night?  Brett wants to invite his brother and his wife, too, so they can talk to you about it.”

Jazzi frowned at the phone.  “They want to talk about the house?  Are they upset that we’re renovating it?”

“No, nothing like that.”  Another pause.  “You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?”  What was the deal with this house anyway? 

“Jessica Hodgkill lived there.  Before high school graduation, during a party celebrating that she’d been named class valedictorian, she was pushed off the home’s balcony and died.”

Ansel’s expression went as dark as a raven’s wing.  He gave Jazzi a look that said Don’t go there. 

Jazzi took a long breath.  “I’m sorry to hear that.  We found Jessica’s hope chest in her upstairs bedroom.  It was filled with all of her childhood memories.”

“If you look through any of it, you’ll learn that Brett’s brother was her date for the senior prom and the main suspect in her murder.”

A finger of dread slid down Jazzi’s spine.  “Was his name cleared once the cops found her killer?”

“They never did, but they couldn’t prove Damian was guilty.  Trouble was, he couldn’t prove he was innocent either.  It ruined his life.”

Ansel glowered even more.

Jazzi wasn’t sure what to say.  “I’m so sorry.  That had to be awful for the entire family.”

“It was terrible for the whole town.  People took sides.  Brett always stood up for his brother and lost some good friends because of it.”

“Then they weren’t real friends,” Ansel said, joining the conversation for the first time.

“That’s what I told him.  Anyway, can you two come tomorrow?  We’d really appreciate it.”

Jazzi looked at Ansel.  He grimaced but nodded.

“We’ll be there,” Jazzi said.