Ghosts on the Phone

The Devil’s Road — CHAPTER 02: AN OKLAHOMA TRIPTYCH

Welcome to Issue #4 of The Devil’s Road, a serial novel following the exploits of Samantha Hart, a Sequoyah County Sheriff, full of vengeance and fury using her badge to hunt down her sister's killer as she uncovers a trail of bloodshed that coats the heartland.

If you are new to the series, I recommend you check out Chapter 1 which you can read or listen to for free here:

The Devil's Road

If you are enjoying this series, please consider sharing it with others, and don’t hoard all the good stories for yourself.

And now, please enjoy the fourth issue and the beginning of chapter 2 of … The Devil’s Road.

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In 2004 an Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations analyst discovered a crime pattern along the Interstate 40 corridor between Oklahoma and Mississippi. Subsequently, The Federal Bureau of Investigations (F.B.I.) started the Highway Serial Killings Initiative. They discovered over 500 bodies of women along the interstate highway system with more than 200 potential suspects, a trail of bloodshed that coats the heartland. The Devil’s Road is a serialized novel based on this horrific discovery.

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When she was little, Samantha Hart’s grandmother would have told her that the uneasy feeling in her gut was due to someone walking over her grave. If that’s so, they’ve been tap dancing there for some time now. Sam, her preferred name, leans against the trunk of her cruiser, looking out over the tall grass of the Oklahoma prairie as it dances in the early morning sun. Her cellphone rings.

She pulls a bulky Nokia brick from her pocket and glances down at the green screen. If it were official, it would have come to her pager first. The screen shows the caller as “Sequoyah County Morgue.” She thumbs the answer button and hears a male voice on the other side immediately begin, “Samantha, please—” She hangs up. Not an official call.