We are delighted to welcome back author Daniella Bernett to Omnimystery News.
Last week Daniella visited us with the backstory to her new second in series mystery Deadly Legacy (Black Opal Books; September 2016 trade paperback and ebook formats) and today she has generously provided us with an excerpt from the book to share with our readers, Chapter 22.
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AS THEY EXITED THE M20, THE storm intensified. The wipers were going at a furious pace but seemed to be fighting a losing battle against the relentless onslaught of wind and water. When the ever-increasing flashes of lightning burst through the murky gloom of the car's interior, Emmeline caught glimpses of Ambrose's tense profile. The only movement was the rhythmic fluttering of his eyelashes as he blinked. He hadn't said a word since they left London an hour ago. His white knuckles were gripping the wheel so tightly that she thought he would wrench it out of the steering column. For the last five minutes, his eyes flicked nervously between the windscreen and the rearview mirror. Windscreen. Mirror. Windscreen. Mirror.
She shivered involuntarily. "What's wrong?"
He didn't say anything at first.
"Ambrose?" Her tone telegraphed her urgency.
"I don't want to alarm you, Emmeline."
"Too late for that. From the minute, I stumbled into your…your little intrigue, for want of a better word, I've been alarmed."
He turned his head slightly toward her. She couldn't be sure because of the wind, but she thought he said, "Sorry."
"It's no use being sorry so you might as well tell me what the problem is?"
His eyes returned to the road. "We're being followed."
Emmeline twisted her neck to look over her shoulder. Two steady beams of light were drawing closer. She turned back to face forward. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Do you think it's Gamborelli?" His silence told her more than if he had answered her question. "What are we going to do?" She swallowed hard and tried to keep her voice calm, even though the blood was throbbing against her temples.
"There's not much we can do. This is the only road until we get to Barfrestone. We're not far now." He reached out blindly and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Perhaps a little music will help to soothe our nerves." He fiddled with the radio dial until he found a station playing classical music. "Ah, Vivaldi. That's better, isn't it?"
Emmeline glanced over her shoulder again. The lights appeared to be within a hair's breadth of their tail. "Ambrose."
"I know." He glanced in the rearview mirror again. "If anything happens —"
The jolt was harder than she had anticipated.
Ambrose swerved a little, but managed to regain control quickly. "Listen, Emmeline, if anything happens to me tonight, tell Greg that he was right about the diamonds and Nick. He'll understand. It's all about justice. An eye for an eye. Tell him."
Another bump. This one was stronger than the first. Emmeline's head banged against the window, briefly stunning her. She couldn't see anything except for the lights from the car behind that was trying to run them off the road. There was no one else about.
Well, let's face it, who else would be crazy enough to be out for a drive in the middle of the country on a night like this?
Just as this thought crossed her mind, the car lurched. There was a terrible screeching sound as Ambrose desperately slammed on the brakes. Sheer momentum kept the car hurtling forward into the black abyss. Something shattered the window. Emmeline heard a low moan coming from Ambrose. Boom. Metal crunching. Her head cracked against the dashboard. The roar of a car engine. Pain. Oblivion.
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Photo provided courtesy of
Daniella Bernett
Daniella Bernett is a member of the Mystery Writers of America NY Chapter. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Journalism from St. John's University. In her professional life, she is the research manager for a nationally prominent engineering, architectural and construction management firm.
For more information about the author, please visit her website at DaniellaBernett.com and her author page on Goodreads, or find her on Facebook.
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Deadly Legacy by Daniella Bernett
An Emmeline Kirby/Gregory Longdon Mystery
Publisher: Black Opal Books
A month after her adventures trying to track down the killer of her friend Charles Latimer, Emmeline finds herself in a car that has crashed on a lonely country road in Kent with a dead man as her companion. How did she come to find herself in this predicament?
It all started with a man named Ambrose Trent, the fiancé of her friend Claire Sedgwick. But there's something not quite right about Ambrose. When he ends up dead, Emmeline believes she knows who the killer is. But as new evidence comes to light, she realizes that she's dead wrong — and only Gregory can save her.
— Deadly Legacy by Daniella Bernett
