Detective Jack Stratton Box Set Read online

  The Case of the Disappearing Diamond

  When an expensive diamond and pearl earrings go missing, was the new maid responsible? Join Finn and Annie as they try to solve the case and discover what really happened!

  The Case of Raining Nails

  When a man files an insurance claim for his broken windshield, Finn and Annie want to believe him but how can they when he swears the damage was caused by raining nails?

  The Case of the Mouse in my Soup

  When a customer at Annie’s friend’s restaurant claims to have found a mouse in her soup, Annie asks Finn to uncover the truth. Was this a case of a rat in the kitchen or a made up tale to earn a quick buck? Join Finn and Annie as they seek to solve the mystery of a mouse in my soup.

  The Case of the Missing Gift

  When customer’s gift cards turn out worthless, suspicion falls onto the store owner. Is it a case of a Grinch stealing the gifts or a greedy store owner pilfering the presents?

  The Case of the Slippery Dog

  When a woman claims to have slipped in a department store, Finn and Annie are brought in to investigate. Did the woman really fall or is her tale a slick con job?

  The Case of Lightning Strikes Twice

  The first time a man’s house was struck by lightning, the insurance company thought it was a case of bad luck. But when the same man’s new vacation home is struck by lightning years later, Finn and Annie start wondering if it’s simply a case of unbelievably bad luck or something more ominous?

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to personally THANK YOU for taking the time to read this story. It was my goal to tell the story of Jack and Replacement and to take you along for the ride. I am so grateful for all the words of encouragement I have received. Thank you for spreading the word via social media on Facebook or Twitter and taking the time to go back and write a great review. Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed Girl Jacked, please consider letting others know; it would make all the difference and I would appreciate it very much. Your efforts give me the encouragement and time to keep writing. I can’t thank YOU enough.

  PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW HERE

  I would also like to thank my wife. She’s the best wife, mother, and my partner in crime. She is an invaluable content editor and I could not do this without her!

  My thanks also go out to: my two awesome kids, my dear mother, my family, my team—Maia McViney and Maia Sepp, my fantastic editors—David Gatewood of Lone Trout Editing, Faith Williams of The Atwater Group, and Karen Lawson and Janet Hitchcock of The Proof is in the Reading. My fabulous proofreader—Charlie Wilson of Landmark Editorial. My unbelievably helpful beta readers, and Stuart and Rachel.

  About The Author

  My name is Christopher Greyson, and I am a storyteller. Since I was a little boy, I have dreamt of what mystery was around the next corner, or what quest lay over the hill. If I couldn’t find an adventure, one usually found me, and now I weave those tales into my stories. I am blessed to have written the bestselling Detective Jack Stratton Mystery-Thriller Series. The collection includes And Then She Was Gone, Girl Jacked, Jack Knifed, Jacks Are Wild, Jack and the Giant Killer, Data Jack, Jack of Hearts and Jack Frost. My latest novel is the psychological thriller, The Girl Who Lived.

  My background is an eclectic mix of degrees in theatre, communications, and computer science. Currently I reside in Tennessee with my lovely wife and two fantastic children. My wife, Katherine Greyson, who is my chief content editor, is an author of her own romance series, Everyone Keeps Secrets.

  My love for tales of mystery and adventure began with my grandfather, a decorated World War I hero. I will never forget being introduced to his friend, a WWI pilot who flew across the skies at the same time as the feared, legendary Red Baron. My love of reading and storytelling eventually led me to write Pure of Heart, a young adult fantasy that I released in 2014.

  I love to hear from my readers. Please go to ChristopherGreyson.com and sign up for my mailing list to receive periodic updates on new book releases. Thank you for reading my novels. I hope my stories have brightened your day.

  Sincerely,

  GIRL JACKED

  Copyright © Greyson Media 2013

  The right of Christopher Greyson to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and didn’t purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at www.ChristopherGreyson.com.

  EBOOK EDITION: 1.1 - 02-25-20

  ISBN: 978-1-68399-022-2

  Contents

  Also by Christopher Greyson

  1. A Fork in the Head

  2. Thanks for Scaring Me

  3. Home

  4. Be a Good One

  5. It Is to Me

  6. Hope Falls

  7. Patty

  8. She Said “IT”

  9. Acta Non Verba

  10. Buttercup

  11. Traveling Circus

  12. My Turn

  13. Tea and a Bath

  14. Complimentary Laundry

  15. The Foreman

  16. The Fiduciary

  17. Nothing to Worry About

  18. The Art Teacher

  19. Drown It

  20. How Did I Get Out of My Clothes?

  21. Can They Get Out?

  22. Steak and Cheese, Baby!

  23. The Widow’s Walk

  24. CHAT

  25. Patty’s Special Day

  26. Just Wondering

  27. Bad Gas

  28. What Are You Selling?

  29. Two Choices

  30. Just a Fish

  31. Warp Speed

  32. Beg

  33. Gracie

  34. Jacked Up

  35. A Piece of Garbage

  36. Damaged Goods

  37. Miss Ultra-Hypocritical

  38. What’s My Name?

  39. I Had a Book

  40. It’s Me

  Epilogue

  The Detective Jack Stratton Mystery-Thriller Series

  The Adventures of Finn & Annie — Mini-Mystery Series

  Acknowledgments

  About The Author

  Also by Christopher Greyson

  The Girl Who Lived: A Thrilling Suspense Novel

  The Detective Jack Stratton Series:

  And Then She Was Gone

  Girl Jacked

  Jack Knifed

  Jacks are Wild

  Jack and the Giant Killer

  Data Jack

  Jack of Hearts

  Jack Frost

  Jack of Diamonds

  Pure of Heart: A Fantasy Adventure

  The Adventures of Finn & Annie: A Mini-Mystery Series

  1

  A Fork in the Head

  Six-year-old Jack Stratton sat at the kitchen table and ate his standard dinner: milk and cereal. As his big brown eyes scanned the maze game on the back of the cereal box, he used his finger to trace the route Tony the Tiger needed to follow to find his way home.

  At the end of the hallway, his mom’s bedroom door creaked open. Jack looked up with anticipation, but it wasn’t her. It was the creepy guy who had come to live with them a week ago. The guy lumbered out and scratched at the fat belly that hung below his dirty white tank top. “The jerk”—as Jack called him—strutted around as if
he owned the place.

  Jack swallowed and kept his head down, trying to focus on Tony the Tiger’s face. He liked Tony. Tall and strong, he was always smiling and giving a big thumbs-up. He was what Jack imagined a dad would be like.

  “What the hell is this?” the jerk snapped.

  Jack slid the cereal box to the side and glanced at the milk spots on the table. “I think I spilled some milk.”

  “You just left it like that?” As the jerk’s arms flung wide, his big belly bounced. “You think I want to live like a pig?”

  Jack scanned the old, run-down kitchen. It had crap everywhere. His mom was never much for keeping things clean. But Jack was a tough little kid; adults rarely intimidated him. Growing up in a whorehouse, he’d learned to be hard, because soft wasn’t an option. He ignored the rant and went back to studying his cereal box.

  The jerk stepped closer and towered over him. “Did you hear me?”

  When Jack didn’t answer, he got a smack across the side of the head. Half-chewed cereal flew out of his mouth, all over Tony the Tiger. Jack started to run, but the man grabbed him by the back of the shirt and flung him to the ground.

  “Punk.” The jerk shoved the chair out of the way. “I’ll teach you some manners.” He pushed Jack into the corner of the kitchen and beat him.

  “STOP!” Jack screamed.

  But he didn’t stop. Each blow hurt more than the one before it. Jack tried to shield himself with his tiny arms as fists slammed into his ribs. Jack struggled to use his legs to kick him off, but it was like toothpicks smashing against a stone wall.

  Suddenly Jack heard his mother cry out, “Don’t touch my son!”

  The jerk whipped around and shoved her into the wall.

  Jack closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he waited for the next blow to come. But it never did. Instead, he heard a strange thunk. Then the guy stumbled back and shrieked like a banshee.

  Jack peeked out of one slitted eye—and saw the oddest sight. The jerk was screaming in the middle of the kitchen, with a fork stuck in the top of his head.

  “Get out of my house!” his mother yelled. She was hurling anything she could get her hands on at him.

  The guy screamed and ran around in a circle with the fork still wobbling on the top of his head. It looked so weird, Jack forgot about the beating he’d just taken and laughed. After a minute of being pelted by kitchen objects—and receiving one direct hit in the face with a glass saltshaker—the man fled out the front door.

  Jack’s mother grabbed the jerk’s jacket and chucked it into the hallway. “Get lost, loser.” Then she slammed the door shut.

  When she turned back around, she looked at Jack with wide eyes. He lifted himself up to a sitting position. She walked over and knelt beside him. She reached out and stroked the side of his face.

  She looked at him tenderly—the way he’d seen other mothers look at their kids. It was nice when she was like this, and she looked pretty, but Jack knew the moment wouldn’t last long.

  “Are you okay?”

  Jack nodded.

  She helped him get up, then saw the cereal that had been dumped in the chaos. “Do you want me to make you some dinner?”

  He nodded again. She hadn’t made him a real dinner in months. But as she opened the cabinets, her faint smile vanished—every cabinet was empty. She shut the last one and stared down for a minute. Jack shifted uncomfortably. Then she turned suddenly and went to the high cabinet above the refrigerator. She pushed some pots around and pulled out a small cardboard box. Her blue eyes sparkled. “What about some mac and cheese?”

  “Yeah. That sounds great, Mommy.”

  Jack ran to get the bowls while she filled a pot with water. He came over and stood beside her while they waited for it to boil.

  She studied his swollen cheek. Her shoulders slumped and her lip trembled. Jack thought she was about to cry, which he’d never seen her do. She turned away from him and dumped the hard, dry pasta into the pot. He touched her arm gently. She looked back at him and smiled.

  As a little cloud of steam rose from the boiling water, Jack got lost looking into the fog . . .

  “Jack?” Replacement knocked on the bathroom door. Her voice snapped him back to reality.

  “Hold on.”

  He got out of the shower and headed for the sink. The mirror was completely fogged up. He cleared a small circle with his hand and stared at his reflection. His deep brown eyes were the same, but it wasn’t a little boy who stared back at him anymore: it was the face of a twenty-six-year-old man. He needed a haircut badly, and there were dark semicircles beneath his eyes. He hadn’t been sleeping well; the nightmares of his childhood had returned full force. And the dark visions had begun to fill his head during the day, too.

  He pushed back his dark-brown hair and rolled his broad shoulders. Most of the time when he looked in the mirror he saw a handsome guy, but not today. Right now, he almost scared himself. He quickly got dressed and glared back at his reflection one more time.

  “Jack?” Replacement knocked again.

  Is she ever gonna take no for an answer?

  He opened the bathroom door and walked past her. “Sorry, I gotta go alone,” he said gruffly. Grabbing his jacket, he headed for the front door.

  “Please?” She jumped in front of him and clasped her hands together.

  “No,” he said sternly. “I don’t want you along. Not on this.”

  When Jack stepped around her and opened the front door, she slipped under his arm and out in front of him. He had to stop short.

  He fought back a grin at the sight of Replacement’s petite five-foot-four frame square in the middle of the hallway, blocking the way. Dressed in a T-shirt, blue jeans, and little fur-trimmed brown boots that matched her brunette ponytail, she smiled up at him. The outfit gave the attractive nineteen-year-old a bit of a country look.

  “You look about as threatening as a puppy,” he joked. But he knew she could hold her own. She’d shown that in spades. And stubborn? Blue ribbon award winner. Like Jack, she’d been through some hard times. She’d had to learn how to fight—and more importantly, how to survive.

  “Please?”

  He exhaled. He looked down at her pouting face and those cute little dimples that melted his heart, and answered, “No.” He pulled the door closed and walked around her. As he stomped down the small hallway, the thin carpet did little to dampen the heavy pounding of his heels.

  “I’ll be good. I can help you!”

  “How many times do I have to say no? I don’t even want to go. Why would I want you to be there?”

  The railing shook as Jack thundered down the stairs. The old door swung open with a creak, and he lowered his head to shield his eyes from the midday sun. As he dashed down the steps, he took two large strides, got out his car keys—and stopped cold. The spot where he’d parked his big, blue, semi-refurbished 1978 Chevy Impala was empty.

  Perplexed, he scanned up and down the street, but it was clearly gone. “Who the hell stole my car?” His hands turned into fists.

  Replacement ran up next to him, panting. “You have two choices: a really long walk to Rockingham, or take me with you and I’ll show you where I hid the car.” She held up his backup set of keys and jingled them.

  Jack looked up at the sky. It had happened again; he was no match for this girl when she turned on her special mix of infuriating yet adorable charm. “Fine, but I’m driving,” he huffed, snatching the keys from her just in case she decided to argue.

  Her smile spread from ear to ear, and she turned and bounded around the corner toward the back of the building. Jack followed, shaking his head, when someone called his name from above.

  Jack stopped and looked up to the second floor. His landlady, Mrs. Stevens, struggled to lean her hefty upper body out an open window.

  “The Dixons finished moving out,” she called down. “I’ll have the downstairs apartment all clean in a day or two, but the painters can’t start until next Monday.
They should be done a few days after that.” Her bright-red mane of hair bobbed as she spoke.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Stevens. I appreciate it.”

  “Give Alice my love.”

  Jack nodded and waved. After he’d found out that Replacement—Alice—was homeless, he asked Mrs. Stevens about moving into the two-bedroom apartment downstairs. It was an odd arrangement, sharing a one-bedroom apartment with a girl he wasn’t dating. He wasn’t sure how his foster mother would feel about his new solution, but luckily, Mrs. Stevens had approved. After he told her his plan, she called him a chivalrous man in a hard world. Jack didn’t think of himself that way; he just couldn’t stand the thought of Alice living in some shelter.