Put yourself in my muddy shit kickers. I’m January Lamont, 26. Imagine me in Midtown, not hiding near this stone quarry adjacent to our neglected, middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania rental.

I had just been chosen account executive over advertising seniors by the darling of the youth fashion industry. Barrett, my young accountant husband, was partner-tracked at a prestigious Manhattan firm. We had been poised for decades of leadership until criminal conspirators trampled our dreams.

Barrett discovered crimes being perpetrated by a coworker. Reporting the cooked books, he was threatened by senior management with ruin or worse. They already knew! And underworld thugs threatened Barrett unless he returned stolen treasures, about which he knew nothing.

Barrett copied the bogus spreadsheets and hid the evidence on thumb drives. He had three choices: blow the whistle, quit, or find a new job. The latter wasn’t possible; his name has been poisoned.

I begged him to quit. I could support us with my burgeoning career. But a jealous senior manager at my agency sabotaged my work, and the owner fired me. The prized client retaliated by dismissing the agency. The owner raged when I objected, overpowering and breaking my arm. We were so unemployed!

We hired a two-for-one young attorney who demanded compensation for me and safeguarded Barrett’s evidence. When our Manhattan apartment was ransacked, we were stalked, and our friends were threatened, our attorney arranged employment in a small rural PA accounting firm. We fled.

Barrett promised we’d return to the city when it’s safe. He found this rent-to-buy a fixer-upper on four acres with a horse barn, the nearest neighbor being that stone quarry. I was aghast! Mid-century hovel was not my dream. Bored, broke, friendless, and uprooted, my salvation would be work. But I was an overqualified outsider. Cracks threaten our once perfect marriage.

Kindly acquaintances suggested pro bono work for nonprofits and free-lance business projects. I dug in for the interim, forming my own sole proprietorship. But publicity would expose our location. That would be stupid!

We thought we’d maintained a low profile, awaiting news of the criminals’ capture. We hear nothing from New York. We relax our guard.

Was it the Biblical “bread cast upon waters” that changed my life? One of my little pro bono projects was to help a kids’ 4H event with their publicity. There I met a brave 12-year-old with a worse enemy than mine—cystic fibrosis. She and her single mom became my new best friends and inspired me to become an alpaca farmer. I am not making this up!

Other nonprofits notice and recruit me. Their board members, who have real corporate jobs, hire me for outsource projects. I’ve overheard myself called “the best.” Suddenly, I have a real business, love and publicize it—a tragic mistake that pinpoints our location for the international crime bosses.

Days pass uneventfully; trouble has not seemed to follow. But then…

New York detectives trace us through our attorney. The DA arranges for Barrett to meets them and surrender the thumb drives. How could some cooked books attract the attention of such high-level cops? We know nothing; the criminals remain at large. What if they task their best operatives to destroy us? And for what?

I am not imagining it—that creepy tingling, like eyes on the back of my skull. Seeing that same, benign car. Black movement against the night sky, snaking through the tree line. Pinpoints of light on our side of the quarry.

Imagine yourself in my boots. Would you fight or flee?

By Rook Or By Crook
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: February 2024
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

The future is limitless for young advertising professional January Lamont and her CPA husband, Barrett, until they are unknowingly sucked into two different crimes. Forced to flee New York City, they hide and re-event themselves in rural Pennsylvania.

Believed to have absconded with priceless antiquities stolen by international thieves, the Lamonts face the battle of their lives. While the perpetrators inch closer, they invest their time and talent in good work and better causes than their former existence.

About the author
Award-winning author Nancy A. Hughes writes character-driven crime-solving mysteries. She followed her dream from journalistic business writing to a life of crime. She is the author of the Trust Mystery Series and The Dying Hour. When Nancy isn’t writing, she is devoted to shade gardening and to volunteering at the Veteran’s Hospital. She is a member of MWA, ITW, Sisters in Crime, and PennWriters. For more information visit hughescribe.com.