Snow White and the Seven Murders Page 11

  Her mind worked quickly. If he wants to tie me up, he’s going to have to put the gun down.

  I have to make him think I’m weak. I have to make him feel comfortable.

  She scrunched up her face, and willed tears to come. They sprang out onto her cheeks, and she wailed pitifully, “Please, Davis, don’t hurt me! I don't want to die. Please.”

  She sniffed and conjured up more tears.

  They dripped down her cheeks, and Davis smiled. “You’re pretty, even when you cry. It’s a pity you didn’t want to be in my dance videos. You could have been a star.”

  He placed his gun down on the desk, and now managed the length of rope with two hands.

  Sara continued to cry. “Please... please... Davis, don’t tie me up,” she sniffled, until he was close. Then she lifted her knee up and smashed him in the groin with so much force that she was sure he was seeing a few stars of his own.

  “Hows that for a star?” she asked, lowering her leg and then lifting it again.

  After kneeing him in the groin again, she reached both hands up for Davis’s head. Gripping it, she forced it down onto the desk. He was still reeling from her initial attack, and didn’t even defend himself as his head hit the desk with a loud thunk.

  He rolled off of the desk, onto the floor. Sara knelt over him and lifted his limp wrist. He had a pulse, but was unconscious. She rolled him onto his stomach, lifted his arms behind him, and tied his wrists with the length of red rope that had fallen to the floor.

  Next, she stood. Amir’s eyes were closed. She pressed her fingertips into his wrist.

  His pulse was steady and strong, but slow. She felt like crying out with joy at the proof that his heart was still beating. Instead, she shook him again. “Amir, Amir, wake up! It’s me—Sara. Sara White.”

  He did not stir.

  She lifted his shoulders, and propped his unconscious body in the chair. She needed to reach his sternum. She knew that to wake an over-sedated person, one of the best methods was a sternal rub.

  Now that his chest was exposed, she rubbed her hand over it with her knuckles. He was so sound asleep that she worried he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. His pulse was so slow, and his breathing was even slower.

  “Come on Amir!” she said aloud. “Wake up, wake up!”

  He would not wake. Tears streamed down her cheeks in earnest now. She had to get him breathing—fast.

  She leaned over him, and place her lips gently on his. Please, Amir, she thought silently, as she let her lips rest on his. Please. I need you.

  After delivering the kiss, she pulled away.

  Amir’s eyelids fluttered. He moaned softly. Then, with his eyes still closed, he wrapped his arms around Sara. He pulled her in closer, and her lips touched his again.

  This time, he kissed her deeply and passionately. When they parted, he opened his eyes.

  “Sara,” he said dreamily. Then confusion took over. “I...I don’t remember... what are you doing here?”

  “It’s okay,” she said. “You’re going to be okay. You were drugged, Amir... by Davis Smith. He was going to kill you.”

  She pointed to Davis’s unconscious body on the floor. This gave Amir a start.

  “What the hell?” he said.

  “It’s okay,” she repeated. “I found you. I realized what was happening. I found you. I...” Her humble nature would not permit her to go on.

  Amir took over. “You saved me, didn’t you?” he asked.

  Sara nodded. She was still in shock herself. “I—I think I did,” she said.

  He wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her again.

  Epilogue

  “There he is!” Sara said happily to Amir, as she pointed to the back of the restaurant. “That always used to be our favorite booth. I can’t believe he was able to get it for us!”

  “Maybe he called ahead,” Amir said “I doubt it just opened up. This place is packed!”

  It was true; Over Easy was filled to the brim with happy groups of people, gathered for Sunday brunch.

  Sara held Amir’s hand as she led the way to the back booth. “You’re going to love him,” she said, as they neared the booth.

  “If he’s anything like you, I’m sure I will,” Amir said, squeezing her hand. “How is he holding up since the divorce?”

  “Really well,” Sara said. “I think he actually seems happier. Maybe he didn’t love Fiona as much as I thought.”

  “You did the right thing,” Amir said. “I know it was hard for you to tell him about how she was treating you, but I’m glad you did it. You don’t deserve that.”

  “Thank you,” Sara said softly.

  It had been one month since she saved Amir with a kiss, but it felt like so much longer. They’d been practically inseparable since then, and Sara knew without a doubt that she was in love.

  She knew, too, that Amir was deeply in love with her. She saw it in his eyes, heard it in his voice, felt in in his touch.

  He’s going to ask me to marry him, she thought happily as they approached the back booth. And I’m going to say yes. My father is going to walk me down the aisle.

  Ed had the Sunday edition of the Dayton City Newspaper spread out before him. As he caught sight of the happy couple, he stood.

  “Dad!” Sara said, greeting him with a hug. He felt bigger. She gave his arms a squeeze as she pulled away, performing her usual test to see if he was losing muscle mass. His arms felt strong. The treatments were working. His last test had come back cancer free.

  She smiled. “This is Amir,” she said. “Amir, my father, Ed.”

  The two men shook hands.

  “So this is my daughter’s prince in shining armor,” Ed joked, as the three took their seats.

  “Dad!” Sara said, blushing. She knew that Amir didn’t like to bring attention to the fact that he was royalty.

  “She’s my princess in shining armor is more like it,” Amir said. “Your daughter saved my life... in more ways than one.” He looked lovingly at Sara.

  Her blush deepened.

  Humility was a cat that captured her tongue. She never knew what to say when Amir brought up that day at the mine. After he woke up, events had unfolded quickly. Sara called the police to inform them that Davis had threatened her life, along with Amir’s. This time, Davis did not have the luxury of tampering with the security videos. His actions were all caught on film. The police found evidence tying him to the deaths of the seven other mine owners, as well.

  His trial was scheduled for the following month, and Sara was sure that he would be going to jail for a very long time.

  “Is it in there?” Amir asked, motioning his chin to the paper that Ed had spread before him.

  “Sara’s award-winning article?” Ed asked. “You bet. Right here on the first page.”

  He flipped the paper’s pages so that the front page was up, and then swiveled it so it was facing Amir and Sara.

  Sara leaned over it excitedly. She and Amir had been busy walking her new Maltese puppy, Mona, around the neighborhood this morning before brunch, and she’d not yet seen the paper.

  “It looks good!” she said, taking in the layout and her name below the headline “Seven Deaths Attributed to the Mine Murderer”.

  “It looks great,” Amir said, wrapping his arm around Sara’s shoulder, and kissing her forehead. Amir turned to Ed. “Your daughter is brilliant, sir,” he said.

  “She always has been,” Ed said happily, looking lovingly at his daughter. “Sara, your article is excellent. I can see why Dayton University wants to give you a full scholarship. Are you going to accept?”

  Sara smiled as she thought about the scholarship. After the news came out that she’d tracked down the “Mine Murderer”, as Davis was now known, Dayton University reached out and asked if she wanted to be a part of their journalism school.

  “I said yes,” she told her father happily. “It’s going to be a lot of work, but they said that they’ll give me credit for my on-the-job experience.
Hopefully I can have my degree within a year.”

  “Excellent!” Ed said. “You can take that time off from the paper. When you come back, I want you to be Associate Editor.”

  Sara couldn't believe her ears. “But Dad, I thought you gave that spot to Jeremiah!”

  “Temporarily,” Ed said. “And I only did that because you refused. Now I know why you were refusing.” He shook his head, but moved on without saying anything more about Fiona.

  “Won’t Glena be back soon?” Sara asked.

  Ed shook his head. “She informed me that she’s made a choice. She wants to stay home with her baby. She’s transitioning to freelance work. She no longer wants her position at the paper.”

  “And you... you want me to have it?” Sara asked, still stunned.

  “Of course!” Ed said. “You’re the best reporter our paper has seen in years. You deserve it, Snow.”

  “Wow,” Sara said, “Wow—I just...” She tucked her hair behind her ear, and looked down at the menu. Associate Editor. She could become Editor! It was a dream come true. Sitting in the booth, with Amir at her side and her father across from her, with an exciting future full of possibilities before her, she felt happier than she had in years.

  “Yes,” she said filled with joy to accept the offer. She looked up, first at her father, and then at Amir.

  Both men greeted her with excited smiles, and in that moment, Sara felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

  *** The End ***

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed this story! I had so much fun fitting the elements of the traditional tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” into a modern-day cozy. I love puzzles, and this certainly presented me with one!

  Other than this fairy tale retelling (of which I hope to do more), I also write paranormal cozies. So if you like books that involve magic, witches, werewolves, and a vampire or two, please check them out! My series is called “Hillcrest Witch Cozy Mysteries”, and you can grab the full-length prequel for free HERE.

  I’d love to hear from you! You can reach me via email (amorette@amoretteanderson.com) or find me on facebook!

  If you liked the way I re-imagined this fairy tale, please consider leaving a review HERE. It really helps:)

  Thank you,

  Amorette