Hollis County Mysteries Murder in Bella Ridge
Bill Davis
Author Bio
Bill Davis is a born and raised Southerner. He has had a love affair with reading since a small boy, especially mysteries. Many a summer he sat in his grandfather’s cool stone house immersed in every mystery book he could find. After college and the military, Bill owned and operated his own business as well as obtaining an MBA along the way. He has taught college courses part time for over a decade. He has worked in the defense industry for fifteen years. He has a great rescue dog named Jack who is part Catahoula and Lab that you will see in the Hollis County stories. He has been married twenty years to a wonderful woman and their favorite thing to do is put Jack in the car and take off on a short trip looking for quaint small towns and unique Southern oddities. His past writing experience includes human interest, religion, and sports articles for the Huntsville Times and Newhouse News Service and his own blog on Small Town Mysteries, Quirks, and Character(s). He has also hosted his own radio show and is working on the next edition of Hollis County Mysteries with even more unforgettable characters and small town tales.
Description
It started with his car breaking down while Jason McKittrich was traveling north through Hollis County, Tennessee. After three murders, a catnapping, angry crows, and the strangest contest ever, McKittrich comes face-to-face with the mystery that changed his life. Now he is not sure he will ever get out of Hollis County.
Part 1, Murder in Bella Ridge: On his way from Louisiana to Chicago, Jason McKittrich finds himself stranded in Bella Ridge, Tennessee. As Jason waits for his car to be repaired, he hitches a ride with Sheriff Aloysius Jones when he suddenly finds himself involved in the investigation of an attempted burglary at a rural farm house, the killing of an escaped criminal, and the critical shooting of the farm’s owner. Before the investigation is closed, there will be another murder, more suspects, and emotional revelations.
Part 2, Writer’s Block: His car still needing repairs, Jason is pressed into service by the Sheriff to use his skills as a former reporter to help a local romance writer recover a stolen feline. The cat will only be released when chapters of the writer’s new novel are turned over to the catnapper. One murder and an attempted murder later, the cat is home, his car is impounded by law authorities, and Jason’s relationship with Brigitte Morris, the reporter for the local newspaper suddenly takes a new turn.
Part 3, The Crow Plan: Jason still has no car but he does have an offer to stay in Bella Ridge from Brigitte Morris. Suddenly a resident of Hollis County, Jason initiates the strangest contest ever involving protective mother crows, wild or even crazy ways to avoid their attacks, and unexpected results as he becomes involved in a joint state and federal criminal investigation.
Part 4, Missing Laurel: Working at the Hollis County Record, Jason is drawn into a missing person case where he helps a Detective in Illinois solve the mystery that has followed him for over a year from his past life as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune to that of a wanderer traveling from California to Louisiana. Suddenly the answer may be in his grasp and a person he thought to be dead may walk back into his life.
Book excerpt
We continued our leisurely pace when suddenly I saw the Sheriff pick up the radio microphone hanging on his dash. From my vantage point, I couldn’t have heard either end of the radio conversation if I had been wearing the best hearing aid in the world, however, I could see the sheriff become more agitated as he talked. Suddenly, he put the microphone down and turned on the siren. Next to me, Jack stared intently ahead, his ears pricked up, alert to what was coming.
The Sheriff raced down a two-lane highway, ignoring stop signs and other vehicles. At that moment it was apparent that he had completely forgotten that I was in the car. From the scenery that flashed by, I could see the stores, houses, and parked cars transitioning into farms, barns, rolling hills and lots of cows and horses. By the time we turned down a narrow road and pulled up in front of another farmhouse, there were already two police cars and an ambulance parked in adjacent fields. Not saying anything to anyone that might make them notice you is my number one method for not being noticed, so I waited until the sheriff hurried into the house and then I reached to open the door. The only problem was that I had forgotten about Jack. As I turned the knob, I heard a soft growl from the other side of the car. I didn’t think that the dog would bite but he was a Sheriff’s dog in a Sheriff’s car. Thinking quickly, I reached into my bag for the remnants of some cheese and crackers that had made up my breakfast. Showing Jack the crackers, I could see his eyes shift from me to the food and back to me. At the same time I opened the door, I faked throwing the crackers out of the car. Jack bounded over me onto the ground looking all around for the crackers. I stood up slowly and showed Jack the crackers still in my hand. When I was sure I had his attention, I tossed them on the back seat and shut the door behind the pouncing animal. My freedom secured, I turned toward the house and walked past everyone like I was supposed to be there.
The house opened with a small foyer lined with photographs. A round end table held a marble lamp that provided the light for the entranceway. Looking straight down the hall I could see a tiny bedroom with a metal-framed bed, a couple of pillows, and what looked to be a knitted quilt. Five feet into the house, a large open doorway on the left led into a small square living room. Another police officer was kneeling over a prone figure laying half in and half out of an open window. Blood pooled next to the body staining the hardwood floor. The Sheriff stood at the other end of the room talking to a paramedic kneeling over another man. This one must have been still alive because they were lifting him onto a gurney.