My name is Lottie Stark – Carlotta May Stark to be exact. The Carlotta was after my granny, my mama’s mama and the May was after my daddy’s mama. Kids made a lot of jokes about my name and I got in a lot of tussles because of it. But eventually we all settled on Lottie and that’s who I am.
My daddy, Ben Stark, is a lawman. Well, a former lawman. Thirty-five years in the Texas Rangers and he is one fearsome son-of-a-bitch when it comes to taking down bad guys. I wanted to be him when I was a kid and when I grew up, I did my best to emulate him—I think I’ve done him proud.
My mama, Mary Stark, was a redheaded spitfire with lots of spunk. But she also had the biggest heart of anybody I ever knew. She could make you feel better no matter how down you were and she made the best biscuits in the State of Texas. She was killed when I was twelve and has left its mark on my soul. Ben did the best he could at raising me and my brother Adam, but it was never the same without her.
After Mama died, we moved to Dallas where nothing reminded us of her. Daddy was still a Ranger and I became his junior ranger. We clung to each other in our grief and loss. And I became a pint-sized version of him. Leaving my brother, Adam, kind of out in the cold. It wasn’t intentional but Adam wanted nothing to do with law enforcement and even refused to go to Daddy’s retirement party.
Though now, Ben lives with Adam in Florida with his wife and kids. They get on better. But they never talk about Mama or law enforcement and probably not about me too much either.
After what happened to mama, I took to calling Daddy, Ben. Don’t know why or why he was okay with it but it somehow made things easier. Made me feel stronger and more able to cope with being a motherless child. Ben and I were partners. Equals. He taught me to shoot, hunt, and to read people. All the tools I’d need when I became a cop and eventually an FBI agent.
Adam became a straight A student and won a scholarship to Columbia and ironically, became a lawyer. But one of those corporate kind that doesn’t deal with criminals. I followed Ben into law enforcement, first the Dallas PD and then the FBI and now Chief of Police in a bodunk town in Central California, called Regal Reef.
Being a woman in law enforcement ain’t all that easy – even in this day and age. The men you work with either think you’re a ball buster or a door mat. And the perps figure you for an easy mark. Suffice to say you put up with a lot just to wear a uniform so you can catch some bad guys. Still, it’s worth it and I’m proud, for the most part, of what I’ve done and accomplished.
But as the past is wont to do, it decided to rear up its ugly head and knock me for a loop. Everything I thought I knew about my past is about to shift under my feet. And to be honest with you, I really didn’t see any of it coming…
Get your copy now of this gripping crime thriller now at Amazon
UPDATE: I’M GETTING FEEDBACK THAT THERE MAY BE A PROBLEM WITH THE UNIVERSAL LINKS. THOUGH THE BUTTON SAYS, KINDLE IF YOU CLICK ON IT, IT TAKES YOU TO THE BOOK PAGE, WHERE YOU CAN ALSO GET A PRINT VERSION IF THAT IS YOUR PREFERENCE.
IF YOU PREFER NOT TO USE THE UNIVERSAL LINKS, YOU CAN USE THESE:
DEAD DOG TRILOGY boxed set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GTTSG5S
LET DEAD DOGS LIE, book 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GTXLV3F
EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY, book 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GTSKBPY
DOG IN THE HUNT, book 3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GTR1TKQ
Anita Rodgers Mystery Writer 