The Rising Sun: Seeking Justice

Brutally assaulted and threatened, Hannah fears for her life. Benlee is out on bail.

From Chaper 1:
Hannah was terrified; her nerves unsettled. That’s why she wore her prettiest jeans and favorite T-shirt to work. Her hair was freshly washed and her make-up put on thick. It had to be thick in order to cover up the bruises. She also smiled too much. It was her effort to hide what was going on inside her, as was her efforts to look good. She needed to look good on the outside as camouflage for what was happening to her on the inside. She knew only too well a troubled woman would draw attention. A brave one would draw admiration. She wanted neither.

What she really wanted was a pistol, a small one she could carry with her and conceal.

“How are ya, Sugar?” Norman asked as he took a seat at the counter.

“Better,” she lied. How would he react if she told him she was going out of her mind with fear with every tick of the clock?

He looked her face over just as he did every morning. She didn’t want him looking in her eyes; he would see too much. She turned her back on him, grabbed the coffee pot, poured him his morning coffee, and handed him extra tubs of cream from her apron pocket. Norman was a regular at the diner, in his forties, sixty pounds overweight, and graying around the edges. He had been married once when he was in his twenties, but not anymore. He and his wife split years before and no one knew exactly why, being they remained friends but never lovers. Neither had remarried. She thought his lack of a wife was why he ate at least one, and sometimes two, meals a day at the diner.