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    Dead Things
    Dead Things
    Dead Things
    Ebook33 pages28 minutes

    Dead Things

    By Annie Reed

    ()

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    About this ebook

    For years, Jerry fantasized about killing his wife. The Jerry who lived in his head had no problem smothering, stabbing, or even poisoning his nagging, control-freak of a wife, but real Jerry couldn't bring himself to do so much as disagree with her. Then a freak accident on a rain-slick Oregon highway gives Jerry a chance he never thought he'd get. Only like the old adage says: Be careful what you wish for.

    BONUS: This edition of "Dead Things" includes a free copy of "Strike Two" also by Annie Reed.

    "I've been a fan of Annie Reed's short stories for a long time." –Marcelle Dube, author of THE SHOELESS KID

    "The appearance of a new Annie Reed story is a treat. Try one and you'll be hooked." –Dave Hendrickson, author of CRACKING THE ICE

    "A friend recommended the works of Annie Reed. I was not disappointed. In fact, if her other shorts are as good as this one, I plan to read many more." –Carol Davis Luce, author of NIGHT GAME (reviewing Annie Reed's short story CHANGELING)

    Author Annie Reed is a prolific, award-winning writer whose stories have been published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine as well as in numerous science fiction and fantasy anthologies.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThunder Valley Press
    Release dateJun 9, 2012
    ISBN9781476452784
    Dead Things
    Author

    Annie Reed

    Award-winning author and editor Kristine Kathryn Rusch calls Annie Reed “one of the best writers I’ve come across in years.”Annie’s won recognition for her stellar writing across multiple genres. Her story “The Color of Guilt” originally published in Fiction River: Hidden in Crime, was selected as one of The Best Crime and Mystery Stories 2016. Her story “One Sun, No Waiting” was one of the first science fiction stories honored with a literary fellowship award by the Nevada Arts Foundation, and her novel PRETTY LITTLE HORSES was among the finalists in the Best First Private Eye Novel sponsored by St. Martin’s Press and the Private Eye Writers of America.A frequent contributor to the Fiction River anthologies and Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Annie’s recent work includes the superhero origin novel FASTER, the near-future science fiction short novel IN DREAMS, and UNBROKEN FAMILIAR, a gritty urban fantasy mystery short novel. Annie’s also one of the founding members of the innovative Uncollected Anthology, a quarterly series of themed urban fantasy stories written by some of the best writers working today.Annie’s mystery novels include the Abby Maxon private investigator novels PRETTY LITTLE HORSES and PAPER BULLETS, the Jill Jordan mystery A DEATH IN CUMBERLAND, and the suspense novel SHADOW LIFE, written under the name Kris Sparks, as well as numerous other projects she can’t wait to get to. For more information about Annie, including news about upcoming bundles and publications, go to www.annie-reed.com.

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      Book preview

      Dead Things - Annie Reed

      DEAD THINGS

      Annie Reed

      with complete bonus story

      STRIKE TWO

      DEAD THINGS

      Copyright © 2012 Annie Reed

      STRIKE TWO

      Copyright © 2011 Annie Reed

      Published by Thunder Valley Press at Smashwords

      Cover and layout Copyright © 2012 Thunder Valley Press

      Cover art © 2012 Annie Reed

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      These stories are licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

      Table of Contents

      Dead Things

      Strike Two (Bonus Story)

      Copyright Information

      About the Author

      DEAD THINGS

      The damn trees gave Jerry the creeps.

      Mired in mud along the ugliest stretch of Highway 101 known to man, the dead forest looked like the aftermath of a nuclear blast. Stripped of needles and bark, the massive trunks lay strewn like ancient skeletons across marshy wetlands on the ocean side of the highway. Gnarled branches reached like arthritic fingers toward the sodden Oregon sky. Jerry had a sudden vision of dead things hauling themselves out of all that muck. He gripped the wheel tighter and edged the accelerator down, pushing the car over seventy.

      He could have predicted his wife's reaction.

      Slow down, she said, like he was some stupid little kid who needed scolding. You want to get us both killed?

      Well, maybe not the both of them.

      The wipers beat double time against sheeting rain blown sideways from out over the sullen, gray ocean. It had been raining since Coos Bay. Even running the wipers on high, Jerry could barely see the damn road. His shoulders ached from mile after mile, hour after long hour, of driving when he couldn't really see. It was a wonder he even noticed the damn trees

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