Gravoria Manent — Jeni Decker

I used to be able to see... But that was before we killed Carla's scumbag child-murdering ex-husband, Laurencio Rios-who now sleeps with the rest of whatever fertilizes an Everglades soil bed once an eight-foot gator has its way with you. That was also before we got mixed up in his embezzlement scheme, before the FBI got involved, before someone tried to set The Meanwhile (my favorite bar) on fire, before Mercedes Sandoval, the ex's former partner, started stalking us and eventually disappeared, and before the explosion in Carla's bathroom, which ultimately led to my possibly-but-not-for-sure blindness. Once upon a time Carla had a husband and they did all the fun stuff people do which eventually results in a kid. But then Carla and Husband got divorced-as forty-nine percent of American couples are wont to do once they get bored, distracted, or homicidal. Eventually Carla remarried one Laurencio Sandoval. Carla and kid live happily ever after with the extorting bastard until Carla catches wind of the shenanigans and calls him on it. Rios-who Carla later learned only married her for her connection to Mark Kerringer, the third business partner-goes off his nut and kills Carla's child in a fit of rage that resulted in some of the most horrifying crime scene photos I've ever had the misfortune to lay eyes upon. Child-killing psychopath goes on the lam, eventually hiding in the Florida Everglades, while Carla changes her name from Lucy Rios to Carla Danning and makes another life in Michigan. She begins stalking the author of a series of crime novels that had been her only distraction in the months following the death of her child. Somehow, Carla ingratiates herself enough to become the assistant, secretary, and all-around ass-chapping presence in said detective-slash-author's life... yadda yadda yadda, we track down Sandoval and feed him to the fishes. Actually it was an alligator, one that had previously spent some quality time chained to the wall of a shack Carla and detective-slash-author were deposited in after being kidnapped by some goons sent by the ex. By way of bringing this sad little train into the station-although I now fear I've given you all the ammunition you need to be way more sympathetic to Carla Danning than she deserves-the extortion had to do with government contracts, FEMA to be precise. Right now, Carla and I have access to all the paperwork necessary to prove Mercedes Sandoval was up to her pretty little titties in the muck. Unfortunately, she isn't the type to let loose ends like that go untied. So that's where we are. Books in the Dex Morneau series: Rigor Mortis Absente Reo Gravoria Manent de Profundis (summer, 2014)