A Geek Girl's Guide to Justice (The Geek Girl Mysteries) Read online

  A Geek Girl’s Guide to Justice

  By Julie Anne Lindsey

  Mia Connors finally has this #adulting thing under control. She’s set to launch a massive project at work, her social calendar is filling up and, if you can believe it, she might finally get the guy. But when one of her grandparents’ close friends is discovered floating in the lake—D-E-A-D—all she’s after is justice. And there’s only one person who can make that happen.

  Deputy US Marshal Jake Archer is working undercover when he gets the call about a murder in Horseshoe Falls. The vic may have been close with Mia’s family, but it doesn’t take long for Jake to discover that he had far more enemies than friends.

  Horseshoe Falls is abuzz with news of the murder, and Mia’s determined to get to the bottom of things, despite Jake’s direct order to stand back. Jake didn’t open his heart to the possibility of a future with someone just to let her get herself killed. Now they have to contain the panic within Horseshoe Falls, apprehend the fugitive and figure out how to salvage their relationship—before Mia finds herself in the crosshairs.

  This book is approximately 80,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  This month I’d like to take the opportunity to talk to you about a topic that I’ve been giving serious thought to recently: toilet paper rolls. Should they roll from the top or the bottom? Kidding! In fact, the topic is book reviews. I’m probably not supposed to admit this, but I love book reviews. Even critical or low-star reviews—sometimes those are the books I end up wanting to read the most because the thing the reviewer didn’t like is exactly what I look for in a book (insta-love, too much sex and a bossy hero, for instance)! At Carina Press, we always hope that our books will move you to leave a review, whether on a blog, social media, a retailer’s listing, a review site or elsewhere. Reviews help spread the word to other readers and help increase an author (and publisher’s) visibility in the market. Please consider leaving a review for Carina Press books that you read or have read. We appreciate you!

  Emma thought Avner was going to be a harmless fling. Her life-altering research was meant to save lives. Little did she know she would be drawn into a secret criminal underworld that would threaten her life. Will Avner be the one to fight for her life—and her heart—or will he be the one to put her in the ultimate danger? Don’t Lie to Me by Amber Bardan stands alone from Didn’t I Warn You and Didn’t You Promise, but you’ll want to catch up on Haithem and Angelina’s duology all the same!

  If you loved Lila and Dare in Jade Chandler’s debut, Enough, you can’t miss her next stand-alone novel. If you haven’t read them yet, what are you waiting for? Jade returns with Release, the newest in her erotic motorcycle club contemporary series. Avery wants Rock but not his intimidating motorcycle club, the Jericho Brotherhood. Once she conquers the club, she and Rock must overcome her fears, his secrets and a prejudice that threatens more than their new relationship.

  Mitch Dalton is falling for the drag queen next door in Outside the Lines by A.R. Barley. Chi-Chi Ramirez has his own struggles: getting his degree one class at a time, working too many jobs and performing at a nightclub to make his Broadway dreams come true. A one-night stand, a quick fling—that’s all Chi-Chi can give. But once they finally get a taste of each other, what if Mitch wants more?

  Tienan is an Alpha—a genetically enhanced assassin who escaped from the Ruling Council that controlled him. Silence is a tracker with the Resistance, on the trail of a dangerous stranger. When Tienan kidnaps her, both captor and captive are enthralled with each other, and sexual longing and desire battle with treachery and mistrust. Don’t miss Embracing Silence, first in the erotic futuristic Project Alpha series from N.J. Walters. And watch for books two and three, coming in November and December.

  In the mood for some mystery? Everyone’s favorite geek girl vows to get justice when she finds the body of a family friend in the community lake in A Geek Girl’s Guide to Justice by Julie Anne Lindsey. Previous titles, A Geek Girl’s Guide to Murder and A Geek Girl’s Guide to Arsenic, are on sale now!

  Coming next month: a holiday novella from perennial favorite, Shannon Stacey, as well as romantic suspense, paranormal romance and more!

  And if you missed it in last month’s Dear Reader letter, please make sure to check out our Carina Press Romance Promise!

  As always, until next month, my fellow book lovers, here’s wishing you a wonderful month of books you love, remember and recommend. And review ;)

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Excerpt from Cardiac Arrest by Lisa Q. Mathews

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Julie Anne Lindsey

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “What do you think?” I shifted from foot to foot in a plaid A-line skirt and crimson blouse. “Too much?”

  My best friend, Nate, dragged his reluctant, unseeing gaze from my big screen to me. His thoughts were obviously elsewhere, more specifically in the online kingdom of REIGN, a role playing game we co-owned. A game in desperate need of a project manager to handle promotion, improvements and scheduled updates. A game he’d recently quit an amazing job to run full time. He jostled the leggy blonde on his lap. “This is all you.”

  Fifi slid onto the cushion beside him and clapped. She clapped for everything. I’d hired her as tech support at my day job last fall, and she’d accepted the position as Nate’s girlfriend shortly thereafter. Normally, her enthusiasm was delightful, but an hour before my big date, the clapping wasn’t helping.

  I scooped cast-off wardrobe pieces from my enormous leather sectional and held them to my body. “What about something more casual?” I arranged a short-sleeve black sweater against my blouse and tipped back at the waist so it wouldn’t fall. “This? You think this is better?” I pressed the waistline of my favorite tan pedal pushers against my hips. “We can concentrate on the key pieces. I’m accessorizing with fear and awkward.”

  Fifi tilted her head in deep consideration. “I like the skirt. It’s very you—smart, sassy, fantastic.”

  Nate wrinkled his nose while typing madly on a wireless keyboard. “I liked what you had on when we got here.”

  I closed my eyes and jogged in place. The growl that followed might have been mine. “Please be serious.” I’d had on ten-year-old jeans, toe socks and a Chewbacca T-shirt. “I haven’t seen Jake in two months. It feels like we’re starting all over again, and I can’t take this kind of pressur
e. You know I can’t. I should cancel.” I turned in search of my cell phone. “We should meet for coffee sometime instead. Ease back into things.”

  “No!” Nate and Fifi answered in unison.

  Jake Archer was a Deputy US Marshal and my sort-of-boyfriend who’d spent the past two months undercover. I’d met him ten months ago when he thought I was a cybercriminal and possible murderess. Eventually, I’d cleared my name, and he asked me out. Lots of lead-up, but the relationship hadn’t really taken off. We were too busy.

  Nate crossed his legs and looked my way. “Did Fifi tell you, we decided you guys are our OTP.”

  People who desperately loved a movie, show or book and really wanted two characters to get together called them their OTP. One. True. Pairing. Like Han Solo and Princess Leia or Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I’d never been treated like a fictional character before, but I liked it, and I couldn’t argue. If real thirty-year-old geek girls could fall in love with men who also weren’t fictional, I’d fall hard for Jake. Unfortunately, real-life romance had never been my sweet spot. I excelled more in comic books, technology and trivia.

  “Breathe, Mia.” Fifi pushed onto her feet and headed my way. “What are you most comfortable wearing?”

  “Pajamas.”

  She traded the pedal pushers in my left hand for a pair of white cuffed and pleated shorts. “Lies. Try these with the sweater.”

  “Fine.” I ran down the hall to my room. “These shorts are kind of short,” I hollered through my open door. My newly constructed penthouse apartment was too extravagant for my taste, but I adored the location, so I was adjusting to the super fancy everything. If I could’ve found a one-bedroom furnished with beanbags and surrounded by twenty-foot walls, I would’ve probably opted for that, but beggars can’t be choosy.

  Nate’s low chuckle carried over the drone of REIGN’s background music.

  “What did you say?” I hustled back to my gargantuan living room and struck a no-nonsense pose. A newly setting sun bathed my wall of windows in an array of delightful hues from scarlet to gold. “I heard you laughing.”

  He lifted his palms as if I might actually whack him. “Nothing. I only pointed out that you’re roughly the size of a pixie so nothing can be short on you.”

  I fussed with the sweater hem and adjusted my tortoiseshell glasses. “I’m almost five foot three and you know it.” The price tag on the shorts poked my skin. There was a reason I’d never worn them. They were too short.

  Nate held up a peace sign. “Five-two. Accept your fate. It could be worse. You could be a six-foot brainiac ginger, built for boxing.” He threw some air punches. Fifi clapped.

  “I’m changing the shorts. This whole place smells like pizza rolls and popcorn.” I threw in a secondary complaint for good measure. My mood was on a downward spiral.

  My playlist cut out and my phone rang. Maybe Jake was canceling.

  Nate lunged for my phone before I could reach it. “Mia Connors’s phone.”

  He spoke sweetly for a moment, then pressed the device to his chest. “It’s Grandma.”

  I dropped my head forward and mimed pulling my hair. My family was cuckoo. Extremely codependent, successfully functional, but otherwise bananas. I didn’t have time for whatever Grandma wanted at eight o’clock on a Friday night. I’d seen her twice today, once for lunch and again at the Renaissance Faire. I needed time for my own crisis. “Hello, Grandma.”

  “Mia, can you do me a favor?”

  I lifted my eyes to glare at Nate. “Sure.”

  “Good. Something strange is happening and I want you to check on it for me.”

  “Of course.” I went to my room and kicked off the shorts. I stepped into a pair of vintage gray culottes. “What’s going on?”

  “Do you remember Dante Weiss?”

  “No.” I inhaled the calming scents of my room—soft powders, floral sprays and makeup—then headed back into the living area, where the pungent odor of slightly burnt junk food hung in the air.

  Fifi stopped me with a grotesque expression. She pointed at the culottes and stuck out her tongue. I went back to my room.

  “You remember Dante,” Grandma insisted. “He’s one of my oldest friends. He and your grandfather were like brothers. We did Civil War reenactments together for years. I was a nurse back then.”

  “Aww.” Sometimes I forgot Grandma had a vibrant and colorful life before she became matriarch of our crew. “I’ve always wanted to be a soldier in one of those reenactments. We should do that sometime.”

  “Oh, it’s a hoot. You’d love it.”

  “I’d like to be the drummer. Hey! I think the Battle of Gettysburg is in July. We can make it a getaway weekend, but I don’t want to camp unless we take an RV.”

  “We could rent an RV.”

  I swapped the culottes for the short shorts and tugged the bottoms, hoping they’d get longer. Why’d I even buy these? Eighty-five percent of my thighs were showing. I needed a tan.

  I finger-brushed my waist-length hair and swiped gloss over my lips. “You said you needed something, Grandma?”

  “Oh! Yes. Dante called. He said it was urgent that he see me. He sounded awful, so I told him to come right over, but he never arrived. Dante was the first person to invest in our company. Without his startup funds and advice, your grandpa and I would never have given our dream a chance.”

  Slowly, the name jiggled loose a memory. “Okay. I know now. His personal assistant and I are friends online.”

  Dante might have funded Grandma’s initial line of Guinevere’s Golden Beauty products, but thirty years and the internet had made her semi-famous, at least in the Renaissance Faire world. As the CIO and face of the company, I kept tabs on everything digitally. “Do you think he’s okay?”

  “I don’t know. He sounded frantic when he called. He said he wasn’t far and he’d be here in a few minutes, but he never arrived.”

  “Weird.”

  “Are you busy right now?”

  I pulled handfuls of dark barrel curls over my shoulder and assessed my hopeless wardrobe choice. “I’m getting ready. Jake’s coming over.” I swapped my tortoiseshell glasses for black frames and reevaluated. I barely knew what to say to my coworkers when they came back from vacation. What was I supposed to say to a guy I’d dated a few months before he disappeared? We’d spent more time together during the murder investigations than after.

  Jake was a busy guy. I was no better. Between my responsibilities to Grandma’s company, my day job as IT Manager at the gated community where I lived, and acting co-owner of REIGN, my time was spent before I earned it. Add in all my family’s emergencies and general drama, and it was easy to understand why I was terminally single. I’d resigned myself to that fate until Jake came along and messed it up. Now I was wearing short shorts and too much eye shadow. “I have to go, Grandma. I don’t have anything to wear and I need to freak out.”

  “Fine, but will you check with Bernie about Dante?”

  I made a face at my reflection. “Why not? Maybe by the time I walk to the guard gate and back, I’ll be calm.”

  “Excellent. Let me know what she says.”

  “Sure.” I disconnected and changed back into the plaid skirt and red blouse. I rolled my hair into a classic bun and dusted my palms. If Jake didn’t like it, there was nothing I could do.

  “Guys?” I called, sliding down the hall to my living room on bobby-socked feet.

  Nate laughed when he saw me.

 
Fifi smiled.

  “Grandma wants me to check with Bernie about a guest she’s expecting. You want to come with me?”

  Nate levered himself off the couch and set the keyboard aside. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, but I’ve got nervous energy to burn, so I’m going. While I’m out looking for her friend, I might as well stop by her place and go over some things.”

  Fifi moved into the foyer. “How many square feet is your place?”

  “Twenty-five hundred. Why?”

  “Two bedrooms?”

  “Three.”

  She tipped her head side to side, considering the idea. “Or two plus a really nice-sized closet?”

  “Basically.” I grabbed my keys and slid my feet into black flats. “Let’s hurry. I want to get back before Jake gets here. Should we order Thai? Do you think he’s eaten? Is it rude that we already ate?”

  They followed me onto the elevator and exchanged a look.

  Nate shook his head. “We ate junk food two hours ago. That didn’t count as dinner. Don’t worry about it.”

  Fifi stroked his arm and shot me a remorseful smile. “We made plans for tonight. We assumed you’d want to be alone with Jake.” She leaned into the sharp V of Nate’s side and wrapped her thin arms around his middle. Her Tiffany blue sundress was a perfect match for her eyes.

  “Oh, yeah, of course. You guys go ahead.” I stepped into the evening with enough nervous energy to run a marathon.

  Warm summer air kissed my cheeks and settled my frantic heart. An ethereal lavender dome curved overhead, shocked with lines of apricot and gold. The sweet scent of wildflowers hung in the air. There was no place better than Ohio in June.

  I paced my steps toward the guard gate, thankful Bernie had taken the extra hours when one of the part time co-eds quit.

  Nate’s lanky shadow stretched over mine and Fifi’s. He hung long arms over our shoulders and squeezed himself between us on the narrow sidewalk. “Mia, don’t forget about the meetings we lined up for REIGN. I’ve got the evening meetings. You’re joining in on breakfast and lunch appointments. Right?”