The Cyrano Game

He stalked his prey for months before he came up with a plan, sitting in a darkened theater while Sarah and Matthew, her new husband, watched the play Cyrano de Bergerac. Of course! He would force the undeserving Matthew to tell him everything about Sarah while discrediting him in her eyes. Intensive planning and building took all of his spare time, but she was worth it, and soon she would come to him.

An ordinary Friday marks the end of everything ordinary in Sarah's life when she finds out her new husband has vanished. Several men appear to be helpful in her quest to find the missing Matthew: Sergeant Massey of the Fort Myers Police Department forces her to examine whether Matthew had an affair, stole money from the bank where he worked, murdered his mistress and possibly committed suicide by jumping off the Skyway Bridge. Ray Webber, another friendly but socially stunted cop, stays stalker-close. He says he needs to protect her, but Sarah wonders if she needs protection from him. Steven Graham, her husband's co-worker, at first seems to pity her for the way Matthew betrayed her, but then he knows her likes and dislikes--things she hasn't told him. Major Hal, Sarah's co-worker delivering mail, is a retired soldier, a Patton-type who has connections that may help her find the truth after all, but at what expense? Matthew wakes up in a room with no exit, drugged and tied to a dentist chair. A voice soon commands him to give details of his life with Sarah. Every attempt to resist and escape fails. He tries to give false advice, which only backfires. He has to find a way to give clues to Sarah through the psycho's actions that will let her know not to trust this man as he gets closer to her. Psycho is doing everything he can to shake Sarah's faith in her missing husband, but finally realizes the only thing that will work is to convince her that he is dead. Then he can swoop in and win her for himself with the knowledge he gleans from Matthew. Maybe the people he has to kill along the way will only make her appreciate him even more.

Linda Rue Quinn lives in Franklin, North Carolina with her very understanding and supportive husband, Bryan and a variety of other relatives. She has two children and three delightful grandchildren. She has written poems and stories since she was very young, but started getting serious about it when she turned forty and looked back at dreams unaccomplished. She has had articles published in magazines, contests, and anthologies in the nonfiction humor, inspirational and fiction mystery/suspense genres.