Heaven Painted as a Cop Car Read online

  She had told the sheriff she had her car and could drive fine, but the sheriff, a man named Martin, insisted a deputy go along with her.

  “Trust me,” he had said. “The area this call came from is not a place you go in alone. Especially with that little overseas thing you drive.”

  Clearly, her red Miata had been noticed, and not in a good way.

  “Besides,” the sheriff had said, “it’s going to be snowing soon and the highway’s going to be slick. You don’t want to be driving after dark out in these woods until you get to know the roads some.”

  She had thanked the sheriff and said she would be waiting in front of her office in ten minutes.

  “Deputy Ralston will be there as quick as he can,” the sheriff had said and hung up.

  So now she stood under the eve of the general store, moving from foot to foot, her hands deep in her ski parka pockets, watching the excitement of Buffalo Jump on a late Thursday afternoon.

  Except for the misting rain, nothing moved.

  Nothing.

  Total and complete silence.

  What the hell had she been thinking coming here?

  Read more in the first Ghost of a Chance book, Heaven Painted as a Poker Chip, available from your favorite bookseller.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith published far more than a hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds of short stories across many genres.

  At the moment he produces novels in several major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the Old West, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, a superhero series starring Poker Boy, and a mystery series featuring the retired detectives of the Cold Poker Gang.

  His monthly magazine, Smith’s Monthly, which consists of only his own fiction, premiered in October 2013 and offers readers more than 70,000 words per issue, including a new and original novel every month.

  During his career, Dean also wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds. Writing with his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch under the name Kathryn Wesley, he wrote the novel for the NBC miniseries The Tenth Kingdom and other books for Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.

  He wrote novels under dozens of pen names in the worlds of comic books and movies, including novelizations of almost a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown.

  Dean also worked as a fiction editor off and on, starting at Pulphouse Publishing, then at VB Tech Journal, then Pocket Books, and now at WMG Publishing, where he and Kristine Kathryn Rusch serve as series editors for the acclaimed Fiction River anthology series.

  For more information about Dean’s books and ongoing projects, please visit his website at www.deanwesleysmith.com and sign up for his newsletter.

  Look for These Other Titles from Dean Wesley Smith

  Ghost of a Chance Series:

  Heaven Painted as a Poker Chip

  Heaven Painted as a Christmas Gift

  Heaven Painted as a Free Meal

  Poker Boy Series:

  The Slots of Saturn

  They’re Back

  Sign up for the WMG Publishing newsletter to receive updates about new releases, bonus content and more at wmgpublishing.com

  Copyright Information

  Heaven Painted as a Cop Car

  Copyright © 2016 by Dean Wesley Smith

  First published in Smith’s Monthly #23, WMG Publishing, August 2015

  Published by WMG Publishing

  Cover and layout copyright © 2016 by WMG Publishing

  Cover design by Allyson Longueira/WMG Publishing

  Cover art copyright © Andrew7726/Dreamstime

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Table of Contents

  PART ONE

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  PART TWO

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  PART THREE

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  PART FOUR

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  Heaven Painted as a Poker Chip sample

  Newsletter Signup

  About the Author

  Look for These Other Titles from Dean Wesley Smith

  Copyright Information