Each day, I'm going to post a page from my book. They will be
consecutive. This way everyone has a chance to read my book online for
free, since I wrote my book for everyone to enjoy.
If you enjoy supernatural, mystery, and murder, then you should enjoy my book.
I
wrote for you, the readers, so let me hear your thoughts.
ENJOY READING!
Oasis, Florida
Five Years Later
Chapter 1
Linda Bennett was
walking home from her bookstore in the picturesque town of Oasis, daydreaming
about the beautiful fall weather in northern Florida. The leaves were turning those
intriguing shades of orange and red. The trees were beginning to shed their leaves that blew around in the warm breeze. She loved the coastline
of Florida, where each season brought with it a wide range of colors and
foliage in the midst of mildly changing temperatures.
During her stroll down
Main Street, she passed the quaint shops and the grassy town park. Spread out
before her was the tree-lined walkway that ran parallel to the pristine
white-sand beach. Behind her, Main Street continued inland to include a gas
station/auto body shop, a large town hall, a sheriff’s office, a grocery store,
and a white-brick church. Farther inland and accessible only through narrow and
winding side roads, were the charming bed and breakfast and the run-down,
deserted mansion.
Adjacent to the park stood
the Oasis Hotel, which fronted the beach with its large pool, cabana, and
poolside bar. Nestled farther south along the beach was the colorful fishing
village with its colorful marina for docking its small fleet of fishing boats.
Scattered in the small
hills behind the hotel were the
homes of the town’s residents. The tree-lined country
lanes showcased these large houses with their sloping lawns, all
wrapped up in white picket fences.
The wooded hill behind the
town, or what Floridians consider to be a mountain, held the extravagant
homes of the town’s original residents. These palatial homes were
concealed behind tall trees, thick bushes, and metal gates. The older residents
were very wealthy and kept to themselves.
At night these homes woke
up—as if from a long sleep during the day—to loud music, laughter, and colorful
lights. Fancy cars and limousines dropped off guests along the long, hidden driveways.
Linda had never been invited to the private parties, which she knew were being
held behind the huge policed gates.
As she neared her complex
of apartments, she detected
a cacophony of loud voices. It was the sound of her friends
who lived in her building. It was not really a building, but two separate
lines of apartments with curving stairways leading into the beach.
Linda removed her shoes to
walk barefoot in the soft sand. She lifted her face to the late afternoon sun,
whose bright sunshine made the sand sparkle and shine, and the ocean reveal its
varied shades of blue and green. She sat in the sand to watch her friends play
volleyball on the beach.
