Tempest Beach Series Free Chapters,Tempest Beach Series,Tempest Beach

2. Tempest Beach Series Book One
Missing
Kathrine Emrick
COPYRIGHT
First published by South Coast Publishing
in Australia in 2012
Copyright © Kathrine Emrick
2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in
writing of the publisher, nor be circulated in writing of any publisher, nor be otherwise
circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published
without a similar condition including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent
purchaser.

3. Rave Reviews:
“I only meant to read a few pages and before I knew it I was on the back page
and wondering where I can buy the next one.” - Lisa Oliver
“I enjoyed this tale of suspense and intrigue.” - JanS
“After getting the book, I can't put it down and keep on reading and reading till I
tired and fell asleep with my Kindle Fire on my chest.” - Laura White
“This book reads like a James Patterson novel.” - Chuck Gregoire
“I usually like to read a book in a couple of nights. Not so with this one - I
couldn't put it down and finished the whole thing in one sitting! The first chapter
had my heart pounding and I had to keep turning the pages to find out what
happened next.” - Lee Dobbins
On the Amazon UK site:
“I can usually figure out where the story is going but I was taken in by the twists
and turns that the plot has. I read it in one sitting on a Sunday afternoon. Very
enjoyable yarn, well told.” - Ken Jones
“Excellent Plot! We're introduced to a number of interesting characters through
an interesting plot and I really enjoyed the subtle twist in the tail.” - Dr. "John"

4. Would you like a FREE book? You can get 'The Silencer' absolutely free from
KathrineEmrick.com
'The Silencer': When Tommy decides he's had enough of being a hit man he
assumes a new identity and heads to Tempest Beach to begin his new life. There
things take a turn for the interesting when he meets a woman on the beach who
is in dire need of his help.
This short story is NOT available anywhere else. Go to KathrineEmrick.com

5. Acknowledgements
I thank my son Adam for his proofreading skills.
In Memory of my Sister Judy
23rd November 1951 - 20th May 2007
Please Note: This Book is Written in UK English not US English.

6. Prologue
The observer watched the couple exit the house across the street. He watched them
embrace and share a passionate kiss. The lovey, dovey display from the couple was
absolutely sickening. The observer thought he might vomit from the sheer sugary
sweetness of the couple. He watched as the woman waved her lover goodbye and then
she went back inside the house.
It was time to make a move, the observer thought. It would be dawn shortly and he
wanted to get this over-with long before then.
He quietly exited his car and slipped across the road. He entered the yard of the house
and crept around to a side window. The observer watched as the woman cleared up the
room. She was a beautiful young woman and the man could see what the other man saw
in her. But she was a problem. One he needed to deal with, now.
He crept back to the front door and dug a key from his coat pocket. He silently unlocked
the door, eased it open and slipped inside, quietly clicking the door shut. The man stood
for a moment, listening. He could hear the young woman humming a tune. She sounded
happy. Well, that wouldn't last long. Not when he was finished with her.
The observer crept along the passageway of the house. He stopped at the edge of the
living room doorway and carefully peered around the corner to see where the woman
was. He saw her just leaving the room to enter the kitchen.
He slipped stealthily into the living room and with arms folded, stood waiting for the
woman to return. His heart kicked up a notch. It was always the same when he was
about to enter a confrontation. The man didn't have to wait long. He could hear her
coming back as the humming got louder.
She didn't see him immediately upon entering the room and he had the opportunity to
really see her properly for a few seconds. She looked positively radiant. The man felt a
moments guilt at what he was about to do but quickly pushed it away. He had to do this.
It felt like slow motion as he watched her turn and see him. For a second it seemed like
she was frozen and then the glass of water she was holding slipped from her fingers and
shattered on the floor. She screamed.
"Oh my God, what are you doing here?" She looked frightened, with wild eyes flashing at
him.
"I want to talk to you." The observer thought it was amusing that she was so freaked out.
He grinned at her but it came out more like a sly smirk. He moved towards her and she
shrank back away from him until her legs hit the chair and gave out from underneath
her. She plopped down into the chair, staring up at him.
"What do you want to talk about? I don't think we have anything to say to each other."
"Well, really I just want to do the talking and I want you to do the listening."
He thought it was funny that she looked so confused. As she was about to say something
he held up his hand to stop her.
"And when I have said what I have to say, you will do what I tell you to do. No.
Questions. Asked. O.K?" The woman looked terrified. When she didn't answer, the man
got down in her face and yelled, "O.K?"

7. She just nodded her head, too scared to do anything else.
"Great!" The man was very pleased with himself. "Now what I want you to do is very
simple. Very simple indeed."
The man paced back and forth the length of the room. The woman just sat watching him
with wide, terrified eyes. He swung around quickly and stared at her making her jump.
He grinned a little, he was starting to get into this.
"What I want you to do is..."
Chapter One
Rosslyn James stopped the car at the top of the hill and looked down upon the town she
had grown up in. She looked at the town entrance sign and grimaced - Welcome to
Tempest Beach, Home of the Storm Chaser Surf Carnival, Population 5,100 . The town
population had certainly grown since she'd left. She wondered if there would be any one
left that she knew or if they'd all moved on by now.
Tempest Beach was a blip on the Australian coastline and was so named because of the
spectacular storms that were produced there. Today it didn't disappoint as the grey
storm clouds were rolling in fast over the sea. The clouds looked angry and they
appeared to hang heavy in the sky. The ocean was whipped to a frenzy as the wild wind
gusted. That at least hadn't changed.
She hadn't been back here for ten years and hadn't intended to ever come back. The
only reason she was here now was because of the frantic phone call she'd received from
old Mr. Jarvis about her sister, Kerry.
Mr. Jarvis had been their neighbour when growing up and had been very good friends
with her parents. When her parents had died suddenly in a car accident eleven years ago
he'd become like a surrogate father to Rosslyn and Kerry. The girls had only been
nineteen and seventeen, with Rosslyn being the older of the two.
As Kerry was the only one left living in the family home he'd been keeping an eye on her
ever since Rosslyn had been gone. He had been giving Rosslyn occasional updates on the
younger woman for some time now as she and Kerry hadn't been on speaking terms.
They'd had an argument over some trivial, stupid thing that sisters tend to fight about
and hadn't spoken to each other for several months. Each woman had been waiting for
the other to reach out and apologise but pride had kept them from talking.
When he'd rung out of the blue and told Rosslyn that he hadn't seen Kerry for several
days and he was getting worried, she had packed a few things and set out for Tempest
Beach immediately.
As Rosslyn sat gazing down upon the familiar landscape she was overwhelmed with
feelings that she had long thought buried. There'd been a good reason she had left this
town and there was a good reason she hadn't intended to ever return. But now it seemed
that fate had had other ideas.
Rosslyn wasn't sure she could do this. But the thought of her missing sister pushed her to
put the car into gear and propel it down the hill into the town as the first fat raindrops
hit the windscreen.
…................

8. Detective Russell MacCall, or Mac as he was known around town, was having the day
from hell. He'd been out and about all day trying to clean up several petty robberies. He
had his suspicions about who the culprits were but he had no evidence to make an
arrest. It would just be a matter of waiting for the right circumstances to crop up so
that he could catch them at it.
Interview after interview yielded no results. Nobody saw anything, or knew anything and
it was so damn frustrating.
He also had a problem to deal with back at the police station. He'd had several
complaints about his Sergeant, Harry Brandt. It seems that he had gotten a bit slack over
time and was now cutting corners in investigations. That was not a conversation he was
looking forward to. Harry could be a bit fractious at times. You would never know what
mood you might find him in.
Mac decided to call into the local café for a coffee before heading back to the Tempest
Beach Police Station. The longer he could put it off, the better. Feeling a little happier
he turned his vehicle in the direction of the café. The thought of a good cup of coffee
had lifted his spirits. Hell, he might even have one of the café's famous blueberry
muffins to go with it.
…................
As Rosslyn pulled the car into the driveway of her childhood home she thought that the
outside of the house was much the same as she remembered it. Painted white, the
house was a two story structure with a porch that ran the length of the front and around
to one side. She remembered many happy hours spent on that porch as a youngster
playing with her sister and the other neighbourhood kids.
Rosslyn lifted her head upwards to look at the second story window that had once been
her room. Her eyes misted over as she was assaulted with memory after memory of a
great childhood, as well as the not so great memory of her parents untimely death.
Lightning split the sky and thunder rumbled almost immediately after, making her jump.
She wasn't sure what it was in particular, but this place had the ability to turn her into a
bundle of nerves.
And of course, there was the memory of Dennis Armstrong, her first love. She shuddered
at the thought. Love wasn't exactly what they'd shared though. Oh, she'd thought they
were in love but Dennis had other ideas when he'd....
NO! She couldn't go there. It was bad enough being here without her parents or Kerry.
She couldn't face what Dennis had done right now, she had to be strong just to walk
through that front door and face the emptiness of the house.
After several more flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder the storm died down.
Rosslyn nearly jumped out of her skin when someone tapped on her window. She looked
up with startled eyes to see the concerned face of Mr. Jarvis looking back at her. She
opened the car door and quickly climbed out.
"Oh, thank goodness, Ros. I'm so glad you're here." The older man put a hand on her
shoulder in a comforting gesture.
"Oh, Jarvie. It's so good to see you." She launched herself into his arms and he hugged
her close. Ros was embarrassed to find that she was perilously close to tears. She quickly
pulled herself together and leaned back to take a good look at Jarvie. He'd aged quite a
bit in the last ten years and she realised that he was probably well into his seventies by
now.

9. She slowly pulled away from him and turned to shut the car door. She retrieved her
luggage from the trunk of the car and slowly made her way up the steps to the front
door.
Ros was aware of Jarvie following behind her. She was glad of his presence as this was
going to be very difficult.
She slowly inserted the key into the lock and turned it. She felt like she was moving in
slow motion as she put her hand on the door knob. She slowly turned it and the door
creaked open.
Ros looked at Jarvie and he nodded his head towards the opening. Taking this to mean
that she should go inside, she put one foot over the threshold and paused slightly before
bringing the other foot over. She walked a couple of paces forward, leaving just enough
room for Jarvie to follow her in.
Jarvie closed the door and they both stood in the entryway seeming not to know what to
do now.
Ros looked at Jarvie, took a deep breath and then nodded her head, mentally giving
herself a push to keep moving forward. They entered the living room and Ros stopped
short. There on the coffee table was Kerry's laptop, open but asleep, as if waiting for it's
owners return at any moment. Beside the laptop was a pile of papers. There was also a
used plate and cup. It was like Kerry had just stepped out for a moment.
Rosslyn felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. It really hit her that her
sister was missing. That she wasn't there to greet her. She dropped her bag and flopped
down into one of the chairs, dropping her head into her hands. She could feel her
accelerated heart rate and she was breathing much too quick. A panic attack was in the
making and she tried to get herself under control before it could get a hold of her.
She tried breathing deeply to steady herself, like she'd been taught in her counselling
sessions. After a while she felt herself calming down a bit and lifted her head. Jarvie
was looking at her with concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked her with worry lacing his voice.
"I am now. Just a bit of a panic attack. I get them when I'm stressed. And walking in here
seeing Kerry's stuff... well, it just hit me, you know, that she isn't here."
Jarvie nodded, understanding. "So what do we do now?" he asked.
"I'm not too sure. Do you know if the police are investigating or what?"
Jarvie screwed up his face in disgust. "I went and saw Harry Brandt when I realised I
hadn't seen Kerry around for a few days, but he just fobbed me off. Said she was a
grown woman and that I was being a silly old fool."
Ros could feel the anger welling up inside of her. "Really? Well, we'll just see about that,
won't we? I'd like to see him fob me off. I guess visiting the police station will be my first
stop then."
She sat thinking for a moment. "Do you know if Kerry's car is here?"
"No, I don't think it is, but I never checked."
"Right."
She rose from the chair with purpose, picked up her bag and dropped it down into the
chair she'd just vacated.
She strode out of the room and followed the passageway into the kitchen and out the

10. back door. She ran across the back yard to the garage, the wet grass slapping at the legs
of her jeans leaving wet spots in their wake.
She pushed at the door of the garage and found it unlocked. She kept pushing until it
opened wide enough for her to enter.
There was no car.....
To read the rest of the book please go to Amazon.com
Direct Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007YSEFG6
Would you like a FREE book? You can get 'The Silencer' absolutely free from
KathrineEmrick.com
'The Silencer': When Tommy decides he's had enough of being a hit man he
assumes a new identity and heads to Tempest Beach to begin his new life. There
things take a turn for the interesting when he meets a woman on the beach who
is in dire need of his help.
This short story is NOT available anywhere else. Go to KathrineEmrick.com