The Truth About Night (The Merci Lanard Files) a Paranormal Mystery by Amanda Arista

The Truth About Night 

by Amanda Arista 

Genre: Paranormal Mystery 

As an investigative journalist, Merci Lanard has an uncanny knack for getting the truth out of people, a talent she uses to expose the real story behind her city’s most gruesome crimes. 

Until one night, when her partner, Ethan, is killed. 

Reeling from shock and grief, Merci vows to track down his murderer. As she starts digging, she meets Ethan’s estranged brother, Rafe, who agrees to work with Merci to find his brother’s killer. She soon discovers Ethan had been hiding things from her, mainly that he was a Shifter and had a whole life in a supernatural world she knew nothing about. 

A Shifter himself, Rafe introduces Merci to magic she never knew existed. As they work together to uncover hidden connections between Ethan's murder and a series of strange dead bodies, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a turf war for the soul of the city. 

If Merci is to have any hope of saving her city, she will have to face the truth about this war, the truth about this new magical world, and the truth about who she truly is. 

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Excerpt 1

Ethan stood over me and shook the remaining ice in his coffee mug nearly drained of its whiskey. “There is a party going on here, Merci. In our honor.”

I couldn’t stop reading the mayor’s deposition the DA’s assistant had faxed me—totally off the record. My anger churned, another storm brewing on my horizon, or perhaps it was only the echoes of this last tempest. “He’s denying Cartwright Construction offered him bribes. I mean, we found proof and he’s still lying.”

Ethan sighed and sat on the corner of my desk, stretching his long legs out before him. “We got Cartwright. The Mayor is three seconds from going down himself. Let the police handle it.”

He snatched the faxed pages from my hand and replaced them with my untouched mug of celebratory whiskey, which had been sitting forgotten on the desk. I studied the navy blue cup that read “World’s Best Partners” and chuckled. The matching set had been a congratulatory gift from Emily, his wife, after we landed our first eight inches above the fold. The Cartwright bribes were just the latest in our long history together.

Which is why I knew that he would understand.

“There are some things learned best in the calm, but most are learned in the storm.”

Ethan rolled his eyes at my Willa Cather. “It’s a party, Merci. Take three seconds to appreciate what you’ve done.”

“Correction: what we’ve done,” I said as I leaned back in my chair. “Without your picture of the mayor’s tan line from his watch, I wouldn’t have thought to even raise a question about his family vacation to Hawaii.”

“But you were the one who cracked the travel agent, got her to admit that Cartwright was the one who booked and paid for it all.”

“And the rest is front page.”

“Above the fold.”

I grinned at that accomplishment and took a whiff of the cheap whiskey our boss had bought for the celebration. “Hayne’s got the good stuff in his office. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s an office party. Isn’t the liquor supposed to be cheap as long as the company is good?” He lifted his mug toward me for a toast. “To staying out of trouble?”

I clinked mine against his. “To staying out of trouble.”

Excerpt two

“She’s lying!”

The words echoed across the parking lot, and everyone turned. They turned because it was a show; it was a spectacle at a funeral. It distracted people from their loss and own sense of mortality.

I turned around because this voice felt like someone sliding a blanket across my skin. The static in my brain rose to greet this new sensation, as did the hairs on the back of my neck.

The man I’d seen fighting with Levi stormed across the parking lot straight toward me. Hayne tried to step between us, but I restrained him with an outstretched hand. I’d never hidden behind Hayne before, I wasn’t about to start now. I would face him as I faced all threats, head on.

When he stopped before me, my skin singed under his teal-blue eyes and the anger that poured off of him. He glared at me, the arch of his eyebrow giving a wicked articulation to a presence that felt bigger than his body. Who was he? What were he and Levi fighting about? Why had he called me a liar? The questions started circling around in my brain and the sizzle to answer them was like Frankenstein’s monster being brought back to life.

“You’re lying about what happened that night.”

My body reanimated with the new electricity running through it. I took my time with my answer as I collected details. The who’s and what’s of the situation. Accent was Scottish. Couldn’t be family. He was smaller than Ethan. The suit was new from the smell of it. And, seriously, those eyes were as deep as an ocean trench.

“I never lie about anything,” I answered, keeping my voice steady and my nerves calm.

He thrust his finger at me. “You got him killed.”

Oh, the game was on now. A smile played across my lips as the current danced around my head, tingling and tightening the hairs at the nape of my neck, “You really want to do this here?”

“Yes. Here.” His glare deepened. “I need to know.”

It was comforting to feel the familiar chill down my spine as I slipped into interrogation mode.

“Did you see the initial police report?” I asked.

“It was a load of shite.”

The police report didn’t have much in it because I didn’t have much to tell. Even now, after three days of reliving it in my head, there was very little I could articulate about what had happened. And I’d never give up Benny as my informant—his ass was mine. “What do you think happened?”

“Ethan was targeted. Either by your stupidity or—” He snapped his mouth shut as the words nearly spilled out of him.

“Or what?” My voice somehow remained calm though I was vibrating on the inside with anticipation, like a high schooler with their first cup of coffee.

Tension filled his jaw and his entire body as he restrained himself from speaking.

I bit my lip to keep the questions inside. Who was this man? Why did he think that Ethan’s death was on me? What did he think happened that night? They were all right there, the questions, beating against the inside of my skull like a swarm of angry bees against a window.

He took another step toward me. I watched his lips, the flush of his cheek as he spoke. “I will find out what happened.”

I didn’t back down. Never backed down. “No, I will. He was my partner.”

His nostrils flared, and his knuckles went white at his sides. “Aye, but he was my brother.”

It was like steel bat to my midsection, and all the air left me in one quick assault.

Ethan never mentioned a brother.

Amanda was born in Illinois, raised in Corpus Christi, lives in Dallas but her heart lies in London. Good thing she loves to travel. 

During the summer after second grade, she read every book in the young adult section of the library, much to the surprise of the local librarian. So she started making up her own stories and hasn’t stopped. 

She has a husband who fights crime, one dog who thinks he’s a real boy, and another who might be a fruit bat in disguise. She recently added a tiny human to the mix who is following in her mother’s footsteps of storytelling. 

Along with her BA in English & Psychology and her MA in Education, Amanda is a graduate of the SMU Creative Writing Program and now teaches other aspiring authors. She has delivered lectures at several writer conferences and loves discussing craft, character, and structure. Her current favorite: Stirring up Trouble with Romantic Subplots. 

She is represented by Kimberly Brower, of Brower Literary & Management. 

Random Facts: 

Amanda is adopted and loves to share that story with others to promote adoption. 

Amanda has a collection of turtle figurines that collects on her travels. 

Amanda has a strange love of cheesy horror movies. She prefers demons and witchcraft to slasher films. 

Amanda is a really good bowler and completely rocks at croquet. 

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Amazon gift card and Merci Lanard swag pack. 

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