220-A Cowboy's Justice

It's part 2 of sexy cowboy summer! This week we're investigating a 10 year old cold case, and the killer is....maybe who you suspected all along? Tune in for JUSTICE! With a sprinkling of prayer and lots of attempted murder.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hi, I'm Sack and I'm Delaney, and this is book Cold.
Today we're covering a cowboys justice case foul nine two
seven four zero one by Lisa Childs and to deal
with this inspirational cold case romance that's on the title
of the book. By the way, I didn't make that
up myself. We're drinking it's peach, Crown Apple and sprite.

(00:32):
It's pretty good. Obviously, this is another Sydney's on maternity leave,
so Seth and I are continuing our cowboy summer. So
this is Sexy Cowboy Christmas twenty twenty three. And here
is the message Sydney left me this year. Not only
do you get a guy with abs and a cowboy hat,
you also get one who backs the blue. It's truly

(00:54):
your dream man. You're welcome, love Sidney. I don't know
where she got the abs part on this one, by
the way, because there are no apps on the cover.
She just wanted She just believes it. I guess I
don't know, but let's get into it. So Christy, our
main character, is heading back to the private college from

(01:17):
her nightmares because this is a college she like graduated
from or whatever. But I think it was like her
junior year or some shit. Her best friend and roommate
was murdered, which really ruined her college experience obviously, And
she's only back now because she was offered a job
teaching a creative writing class there, which is really right,

(01:37):
really wild, because she's only written one book and so
it's weird. And usually this college only like brings like
big deal people to teach. I forget how exactly they
were't it. But it's not like a permanent placement that
she's doing. It's just like this year, she's doing this
class basically, but it's still like a big deal, and

(01:57):
she's confused but not questioning it because she needs because
she's like pretty broke. So she is back in town.
She hasn't been back since her best you got murdered. Obviously,
she's very nervous. And then she gets on campus and
she's parking and there's just a dude on a horse
just staring at her, and she's like, uh what. And

(02:18):
I think this would throw anyone off because I'm pretty
sure this takes place in Michigan, and I don't really
think of Michigan as cowboy country. I could be wrong,
but like I don't know, but the cowboy it's a rider.
His name is Rider, which I think is a little
too on the nose, but whatever. He's here because he
needs to solve his sister's murder, because his sister was

(02:40):
the one that was murdered, obviously, and he thinks that
Christy knows more than she let on, because Christy was
the one that discovered his sister's body and she's given
an alibi to the guy that Rider thinks did it
because she's like, he was with me the whole night,
and Writer's like, that's suspicious. Why is she covering up?
What does she know? So he wants her to finally
tell the truth so that his sister can be avenged

(03:02):
and he can stop being the head of security for
this random college because like he used to be a
bull rider, like in rodeos and shit, and he like
gave that up to be security here, which I guess whatever.
So back to Christie, She's freaking out in her car
and then some dude like shows up and knocks on
the window and it's he's not the dean of the college,

(03:24):
he's the provost, but I don't know what that means.
So his name is Dean though, so he is the
dean of the college in a way, just not the
traditional way. He is also Writer's like best friend. She
vaguely knows about him because she went When she went
to the college, she took one of his classes because
he was like the hot college professor that all the

(03:45):
girls wanted to take classes with because like he was
hot and they wanted to try and get with him,
and he was like kind of flirty with students, so
it was like ooh, but she can only get into
one of his classes, and now here he is as
her boss, so he like takes her inside. They talk
about the job and everything get kind of caught up.
She obviously doesn't want to talk about her past. He

(04:06):
doesn't bring it up, but he's like excited to have
her teaching at his college. And Writer is literally just
like waiting in the background for this conversation to be
done because he wants to talk to Dean and figure
out like what Christy said, like because he's like, obviously
she knows about this murder. You got to tell me,
like what what did she say? And Dean's like, well,

(04:29):
we obviously didn't bring up the murder for obvious reasons.
But you know, she seems a little suspicious of why
I offered her the job, but like she seems normal,
and writer is like okay, and then writers like I
want to know why she ran away before, and like,
you know, why was she guilty? Like what happened? And
Dean is like, dude, she finished her degree after Mara died.

(04:50):
Mar's the sister obviously, and then he's like, you were
the one that ran off after the murder, and Writer's like,
oh yeah, And I'm like, you fucking hypocrite. That part
like annoyed me so much. Anyways, So Christy she moves
into she gets like an apartment on campus that she's
gonna stay in. It's not dorms, but I don't know.

(05:12):
So she's like moving her stuff from her car into
her apartment. She has a tiny car. She also doesn't
have a lot of stuff because like she grew she
grew up with like her parents were like Christian missionaries,
and so she like moved around a bunch when she
grew up, and so she's used to not having a
lot of items. So like she only has a couple
of boxes and her teeny tiny little car. Because she
also has like it's like a Chevvy Spark or some shit,

(05:33):
which if you know cars, like I know cars, that's
like a tiny car, like the tiny, tiny tiny. Anyways,
she's moving the stuff from her car into her apartment
and she's got like the doors propped open because she
doesn't want to like unlock on, lock on, lock five
hundred times, and so she's bringing the last box into
the apartment and she pushes the door open and her

(05:56):
stuff has been torn through. It's all her boxes are
all over the ground and like on the mirror, which
I don't know where the mirror is, but there's a
mirror and it's on it is written you shouldn't have
come back, so like ooh scary. So she freaks out,
runs out back to her car, calls the campus security
and is like someone broke into my apartment blah blah

(06:18):
blah blah blah, freaking out. Rider comes to investigate because
he's the head of security, and she's like what are
you doing here? And also like she thought she was
hallucinating when she saw him, but she's like you really
are here, okay, and he's like yeah, I'm the head
of security, and she's like oh okay. Well, someone like
rifled through my shit in my apartment, YadA YadA. I

(06:39):
don't know if they're still there, like I ran off.
So he goes in to investigate, and he's just thinking
about how when his sister was murdered, he thought that
her boyfriend Skip did it because her boyfriend was like
obsessed with her and like sent her all these weird,
crazy obsessive texts. I never like they never like read
any of the texts, but I don't know like how crazy

(07:00):
they are. But writer thinks it's crazy enough for him
to have murdered his sister, so like pretty obsessive. So
he's thinking about all that, and about how Christy gave
Skips an alibi for the entire night, and like he
wasn't know why, like why would she do that because
obviously he murdered Mara, so like what the fuck? But
he goes into the apartment to investigate. Christie's outside freaking out,

(07:23):
and then she decides, just like while he's investigating for
an intruder, She's like, I'm gonna go to the campus
church and I'm gonna go pray because that's what she
when she went to This is like a churchy book.
By the way, not super but like she's religious, and
so she when she went to college, she spent a
lot of time in the church, and she like knew
the priest dude whatever, past or whatever he is minister,

(07:46):
I don't know. So she's like, I'm gonna go pray.
So she wanders over to the church and regrets it
immediately because it's nighttime. It's really dark, so she has
to like wander through bushes and stuff to get to
the church because apparently just have a good path to
get there, I don't know. And then she gets there,
but the church is lit up, so she goes inside
because the dude like keeps the lights on the entire

(08:07):
night for in case anyone comes in the middle of
the night. And so she's gonna go pray. And this
is where I explained the missionaries bit that I already
talked about. But like basically, because of her background and everything,
she's like comforted by churches, especially this one. So she
goes inside, she kneels down to pray, and then then
lights turn off. Ooh'scoy and she can hear someone like

(08:28):
walking towards her, and she's like hello, like who is that,
but they don't answer because why would they. Meanwhile, Ryder
found nobody in her apartment, but he's like still calls
and lets the police know because it is suspicious and weird.
And then he goes to like tell Christy all this,
and she's just gone, and he's like what the fuck,

(08:50):
Like where is she? But he remembers his sister saying
that Christie was always like at the church praying when
she was in college, and at the time, he thought
this meant that Christy was a good girl since she
was a church girl. But then, you know, his sister
got murdered and he was like, maybe she's not a
good girl. Maybe she lied about everything. And I know
nothing about this girl, and I'm like, calm down, but okay.

(09:11):
So he goes to the church because he's like, maybe
she went there, and he hears her screaming and the
lights are off and everything. And when he gets to
the church, somebody like runs by him and he's like, oh, Christy.
But then he goes inside and she is on the
floor looking for her glasses because she has glasses. They're
not a big part of the story, but I will
tell you they fall off like fifty times in this

(09:31):
fucking story. It's like a very velma like where are
my glasses? I can't see without my glasses, but they're
always right there, so whatever. Anyways, so she's looking for
her glasses whatever, and then uh whatever, the pastor shows up.
The lights come back on as Writer like comes inside,

(09:53):
and the pastor was like, oh yeah, the lights are
crazy in this place, like it's so old you gotta
flip the switch in the base. Basically it happens all
the time. And then the pastor is like, oh my god, Christy,
welcome back, girl. I was so pumped to hear you'd
be coming back. And Writer is like, suss about this
because previously he had asked the pastor about Christy, like
when Marra died, and the pastor was like, who, I

(10:15):
don't know who fucking Christie is. So now Writer's like,
why do you know her? But like the pastor's just old,
that's it. He's just an old man. He don't remember
shit sometimes. And but anyways, Writer is like, why do
you know her? Now? You said you didn't know her,
and the pastor is like, oh my god, Christy was
always in here. She's a legend. I love Christie. So

(10:35):
I don't know Christy is just like uh. She turns
to Writer and she's like, how did you know I was?
Or she turns to the pastor and she's like, how
did you know I was coming back? And the pastor
is like, oh, the Dean put it in the Dean
put it in the newsletter. Like everyone knew you were
coming back. He was like announced. The whole town knows,
and like it was very exciting. Everyone was like what.

(10:55):
And Writer doesn't like this. He didn't realize that Dean
did this. And he's like, fuck, now everyone knows that
she's here, like you know, everyone anyone could be the
suspect basically, and so he walks her back to her
apartment and he's like, okay, back to this. No one
was in your apartment, but like I still told the
cops and they're still gonna come look at it because
like that is scary. And then she like asks like

(11:18):
about his like radiohistory, and he's like, yeah, I stopped
doing that once my sister died. And then he like
asks like she's like what about yours? He asks about
like her secrets or some shit, and she's like, oh,
I don't have any secrets, Like I told the truth
about the Night of Mars murder. I told everything I
can remember, like whatever, and he can like tell that,

(11:41):
like maybe she was damaged by his sister's murder too,
Like oh my god, maybe she's also suffering. And I'm like,
this man is so self centered, and I'm like, I
get it. Your sister died and that is traumatic. He
has more of a traumatic backstory we'll get into later,
but I'm like, calm the fuck down, Okay. Like this girl,
she's like tiny, little Christian girl with glasses, like we'reing

(12:01):
sweaters and shit, Like she's fucking harmless. It's very obvious,
but whatever. So he he's like kind of staring at
her and stuff, and he's like, okay, well, since the
police are getting involved, like I need an inventory of
all your stuff so we can know if anything was stolen.
And in my mind, I'm like I would not be
able to do that. I got way too much shit.

(12:22):
I would not I don't know everything's missing, nothing's missing,
wouldn't know. But she's able to give that list because,
like I said, she doesn't have a lot of stuff
because she's used to moving and being a missionary child
or whatever. So she gives a whole list about all
that noise, and writer is still thinking about Mars's murder
and he thought that her boyfriend Skip did it because

(12:44):
of the texts and everything, but you know the alibi,
and he wants to know the truth, but she doesn't
know it yet. That comes like this is like a
hundred million times. He's like, why doesn't she remember? What
is she not remembering? What isn't you telling me? So
he moves her into a different apartment because the police
still have to look at the other one, So she's
not allowed to like touch anything. So I don't really

(13:04):
know how she gets their stuff out of there, but whatever.
She can't really sleep for obvious reasons. And also she
has to teach her first class in the morning because
she is a professor, and in the morning she's like
super nervous and stuff. And she goes to the class
and there's not like a whole bunch of students, but
there's a decent amount, and she starts the class just
by staring at them, just saying nothing. There's blank stare

(13:27):
at her fucking students for a couple of minutes, and
then she just starts talking about how like a good
writer really paints the scene for their readers to step
into so they can really like picture it and YadA YadA,
and her students, like a couple of them are like
gonna leave. They were like walking out the door and
then she starts talking and they're like oh okay, and
they like sit down or whatever, so that maybe this

(13:49):
is interesting basically, So her students are like asking her.
They're like, oh, like, do writers make a whole lot
of money? Like they're trying to ask about the money aspect,
and in her mind, she's like, I wrote one book,
it's not popular. I made no money off of it.
But like she doesn't want to tell the students that
because that don't make her look bad, So she just
kind of ignores all the money questions and like just

(14:12):
keeps talking about other topics basically. But the students are
into it. And writer was sitting in on this class
the whole time. She didn't know. He leaves like towards
the end, and he's like impressed, and he also because
of the money questions and how she avoided the money questions,
he thinks that means that she has like so much
money that she's like not even worried about it, And

(14:34):
he's like, how does she have money, and I'm like, bro,
you saw her piece of shit car and her belongings.
You know she does not have money, so I don't.
He's so annoying, honestly. Anyways, so this whatever writer goes
back to Dean's office because he was also sitting in
on the class and he's like, Dean was there because

(14:56):
he's in charge and he needs to check in on
his students obviously, but he's like, why were you? And
Writer was like, I had my concerns and I'm like, bro,
what And the dean is like, okay, well she did
good though, and writer is like, yeah, well you should
fire her because it's not safe for her to be here.
But like Christy walks by and all she hears is
Writer being like, no, you should fire her. So she

(15:19):
is like upset by this, and she's like goes. She
like goes. She runs away immediately, basically, and they see
her run away immediately, so then they're like fuck and
Dean's like, great job, I'll go talk to her. You're useless.
Writer follows anyways, but like goes a different way, but
she like she's hurrying down the hallway and she's like
running down the stairs to leave and then someone pushes

(15:41):
her and she falls down the stairs, conk knocked out, gone,
and since Ryder was going to follow her, he somehow
like Dean was in the stairwell with her, but like
writer gets there like immediately, and like all these students
are like, oh my god, I just called you because
like they were calling him since he's campus security, because
some bitious fell down the stairs. And Christy is just

(16:02):
like laying crumpled on the ground, totally knocked out, and
he tries to wake her up. She's unresponsive. He's worried
she might have like a neck or a spine injury,
and he's done like training on that, so he's like checking,
but he like wakes her up or no, he picks
her up. He doesn't wake her up. He picks her
up and takes her to the campus nurse's office basically,
and she wakes up in there and the doctor is like,

(16:23):
oh my god, you fell down some stairs, but you're
totally fine, and she's like, I have a splitting headache
and I remember someone pushing me down the stairs. And
then because of this, she's like, I gotta solve Mars murder.
I can't like step out now. I gotta really figure
it out. And I'm like, okay, I guess whatever. We
love to hear it. So then Dean shows up to

(16:43):
like check on her, and he's like, hey, how are
you feeling and she's like whatever, and then she's like
I heard writer say that you should fire me, and
Dean is like, okay, well you didn't hear the whole
convo because I didn't want to fire you, like I
want you to say here. Your students really love your
class so far. And she's like, oh, well, I didn't
want to quit anyways. I want to stay here. And
she's like, obviously someone doesn't want me to be here though,

(17:06):
and Deane is like, yeah, they probably think you know
more about that murder and that's why you're back. And
Chrissy's like, well, I don't like I told everything that
I know. I don't really know what people want from me.
I want to stay here, though, so I guess we
got to figure that out. And Deane's like, yeah, I
want you to stay here too, but like she can
tell that he doesn't mean it, and she's she's like what,

(17:26):
and I'm like what, okay, So he ends up calling
Deane ends up calling An ambulance for her because Writer
is like really worried about her, and Writer was like
she was totally knocked out and everything, like I don't
know why you just we just took her to the
campus nurse like she needs a fullless hospital. So he's
like call an ambulance, like he's so scared because of

(17:47):
that head wound. Because she's super dizzy too. She's like
very like she tries to stand up and like falls
to the ground and he's like, oh, you do need
an ambulance, I guess, So he calls her an ambulance
so she can go to a real hospital and like
get a cat scan and shit, and a Writer ends
up going home. She goes to the hospital, or he
goes home and she's there and he's like what the

(18:08):
fuck You're supposed to go to the hospital, and she's like, yeah,
I did go to the hospital and they gave me
a cat skin and I have a concussion, but like
there's not really much you can do about that. So
here I am. I want to solve mars case. It's
the least I can do. And he's like what the
fuck And he's like you've already gotten hurt like a
lot because of this, so like, I don't know about that,
because at this point he like kind of cares about her,

(18:31):
like I don't know, man, they like sneak of romance
in here and I don't get it. But whatever. So
he's like, you don't remember anything from that night, so
how are you gonna be helpful? And she's like, I
don't remember anything from that right that night. You're correct.
He's still suspicious though, He's like, what about Skip? What
about all those messages? Like, but he can't like break

(18:53):
the alibi. No one is willing to investigate Skip because
of the alibi. Basically, they're just like, nope, he's innocent.
He has an album. And I'm like, did the cops
here just suck? Kind of So Christy's like, I'm staying,
you can't make me leave. I'm gonna help solve that case.
So he drives her back her to her apartment and
he's like you should, like, you know, grab some stuff

(19:14):
while while the police are investigator, or because she has
to grab her stuff from the old apartment and move
it to the new apartment because the police are done investigating, basically,
so she moves all her stuff and then she's like,
I am staying and I'm gonna take a nap, and
he's like, okay, well I'm gonna check on you in
like an hour because you have a concussion, so I
don't think you're supposed to nap, but like whatever, She's
got a nap at some point. But when he comes

(19:37):
back to check on her, she's gone. And he kind
of expected this because she seems kind of flighty, and
he did not expect her to go to Skip's house though,
and this is very inconvenient for him because Skip has
a restraining order on him for like being like, you
murdered my sister just like all the time, you know. Reasonable.

(19:57):
So Christy goes over there though, like some dude lets
her in the gate and she's like okay, because it's
like a gated, fancy rich person house, and these two
bitches answered the door, and their bitches she went to
college with, and their names are Gretchen and Amy, and
Amy ended up marrying Skip like two years after Mara died,
and they have a lot to say to Christy about

(20:19):
the murder thing because they're like, you're a shitty friend.
You were too busy trying to steal your best friend's
man while she was being murdered and like, you suck
because she woke up and Skipp's bedrooms. So it's like
everyone's like, oh, you tried to fuck him, and Skip
told everyone like, oh no, I would never fuck her
like she tried, but like not me. I don't know
if I really explained that part, but that's it. I mean,

(20:41):
she woke up in his bedroom, can't remember anything. He
was like, I took care of you. You were throwing
up all night, and she was like, okay, cool because
she went to a party and got drunk. Essentially, I
don't know if I ever explained that, and it's kind
of a big deal, but she doesn't. She doesn't remember,
so she doesn't know. She trusts that's what happened. Basically,
So these bitches are shitting on her for letting her

(21:04):
best friend die. Oh literally, I explain it right here,
because Okay, so she went to the party at Mara's request.
She didn't even want to go, but Mara was really
upset about some stuff, so she went with her, had
one drink, got super drunk, got cared for by Skip,
woke up in his room. Christie's dead. So everyone is like,
it's your fault. For trying to steal your best friend's man,

(21:25):
and she's like, gotta live with that, I guess, even
though that's not what she was trying to do. So
while she's being yelled at by these bitches, Skip comes
home and he's like, oh, hey, Christy, you are literally
always welcome in my house. What up, girl? And then
he's like, come on, let's talk. So she goes into
like his office or whatever, and then he gives her
like a whole rundown of like his memory of the

(21:47):
night that Marra was killed. And she's like, oh, sick
because she's never heard like his point of view and stuff,
so that's nice for her. And also he kind of
insinuates that Rider was not Mara's brother, so she's like,
that's weird because that's never been mentioned to me before.
But that's like sus So she leaves and ah, she

(22:08):
leaves the gate of this fucking house greeted by gunshots.
Her car is shot at, she loses control and drives
into the ditch basically, and maybe she's doubly concussed now
because her airbag goes off and smacks her in the
face and she loses her glasses. I know you saw
that one coming. I'm pretty sure she breaks the glasses
in this instance. No, I'm pretty sure she doesn't break

(22:30):
her I think she breaks her glasses when she falls
down the stairs, so now she has backup glasses, and
somehow the backup glasses do not get broken in the
car crash with the airbag going off, so I don't
really know how that works. But she's in the ditch.
Rider thankfully was in the background watching on his horse
because he's a creeper, and he figured out she was
going there, but like he couldn't go in because of

(22:50):
his restraining order. So he hears the gun shot and
manages to keep his horse under control and like run
over there so he can help. And then there's like
more gunshots at these her out of the car, so
he shoots towards the gun shots, and luckily him and
Christy are like able to get away because the gun
shots stop once he shoots at them, So they head

(23:11):
back to his apartment. I think he calls the cops.
They wait in his apartment and then she's like, yeah,
I was talking to Skip and he mentioned that Mara
wasn't your sister, and he's like, oh, she's my half sister.
We have the same dad. Like I'm eight years older
than her, and she gave me back my hope for
this world. And she's like, wait, what what do you
mean she gave you back your hope for this You

(23:32):
were eight and you had no hope in this world.
And he's like, yeah, let me tell you my tragic backstory.
This very it's just stupid because I was like, why,
why why? And like so when he was like six,
I don't know, when he was a child, he uh

(23:54):
was with his mom and a carjacker came and killed
his mom and then pulled him out of the car
and like held the gun to his forehead but didn't
shoot him and like let him live. And he's all
like I don't know why I got to live that day.
And she's like God wanted you to live. God wanted
you to save other people like me. And she's like,

(24:19):
I'm glad you're alive, even though you have this tragic backstory.
Thank you for saving me. And then she's like, oh, also,
skip did tell me. He like admitted that back in
the day, he was like a spoiled rich boy who
always got what he wants, So like that's why he
was obsessed with Mara because like she didn't give it
end to him, and he was like weird about it,

(24:39):
and also he reminded me. She's like before she got murdered,
maraa had discovered that this guy was stealing ketamine from
the vet and was like gonna tell somebody about it,
and so like, you know, maybe someone wanted to kill
her for that. And writer is like, well, she could

(25:00):
have told like a lot of people like security and
stuff or cops or something, and she's like, well, yeah,
the thief though, was like the son of the head
security guy or like a cop. I don't fully know
what his job was, but essentially like he had an
important daddy. And writers like, okay, well, did you remember
that story or did skip like plant that story in
your head because you know you're concussed and you don't

(25:22):
remember things right now. And she's like, no, like I
don't like remembering that night since you know, I discovered
my best friend's dead body and it was like really
violent and brutal, but like I do remember Mara telling
me that, and I also remember that Mara had been
in love with your best friend Dean aka the college's provost.
Whatever that means, and so I can only get into

(25:45):
like one of his classes, but Mara was in all
of his classes, which was like a big deal because
everyone wanted to be in his classes, So like how'd
she get in all those classes? And like you know,
she was like in love with him, and there were
so many rumors that like he got with like his
students or whatever. And Writer's like, okay, Dean was married
back then, and I'm like, are Dean Writer whoever? You are? Seriously,

(26:09):
like are you this stupid? Like I know he's your
best friend, but like okay, and so Chrissy's like, yeah,
someone reporting him about that probably would have ended his career,
but like look at him now, and like he probably
called you here because you're so convinced that like Skip
did it that you wouldn't look anywhere else. So like
he would never suspect him as a suspect basically, And

(26:33):
so then Writer's gonna take her back to her apartment
and she's all like, hey, I gotta tell you the
whole story of what happened that night, and he can
tell that she still feels like super guilty about something,
and writers like, okay, like tell me that story though,
and so here's here's the whole story. So she's like, yeah,
I had agreed to go to that party because Mara
was super upset about the ketymine thief thing. But like

(26:56):
when they got to the party, like Mara gave her
a drink or whatever, and she just had one drunk
and she got super drunk, super fast, and then apparently
she flirted with Skip at one point, and that's why
Mara had like seen that happen and gotten pissed and
then like left the party. And then Christy had just
woken up in Skipped's room, like wearing his clothes, and

(27:16):
then he was on the floor with a bucket because
she'd been sick all night and he had taken care
of her. And there's like multiple witnesses like Gretchen and
Amy and like some frat bros Or some shit. And
then Skip had walked her home so that like he
could help her apologize tomorrow for like the flirting thing
that didn't really happen. But then Maria was dead, so
like that was her whole story. That's you know, which

(27:38):
I'm like, that seems like exactly what you maybe said before,
but whatever. So he's like, thanks for selling me that
or whatever. I don't think it really helps it all
with anything he's been trying to figure out. But it's something.
But now they're got to figure out why she's being
targeted because they're like, obviously there's something that you're forgetting
and that's why the killer is like after you again.

(27:58):
And I'm also like, I'm I'm sorry. There's been like
how many shootings now or whatever, and there's not a
bunch of cops involved in this. They're just all wandering
around campus like nothing fucking happened. Whatever, Okay, so whatever.
They go back to her apartment and he has to
like drive her there since like, you know, her car

(28:20):
got totaled in the and like she's not even sure.
She's like, I have insurance when my car was a
piece of shit, so like I don't even know if
I'm gonna get money for that. So writer is like, girl,
you really need to leave, and she's like, I will
not leave. And he's like, I feel bad. I got
you this job here and now someone's trying to kill
you and your car's totaled, and she's like, yeah, well
I'm not leaving. But she gets to her apartment, he

(28:42):
like waits outside the apartment like all night or some
shit to make sure that she's safe. And then in
the morning he calls her stepmom. He calls his step mom, Becky,
and Becky he calls her mom because when Mara was born,
he didn't want to call He didn't want he didn't
want his baby sister to be confused. Why he called

(29:03):
her mom Becky, But she called her mom and then
he was like, I'll just call you mom, so it
was like less confusing, which is like cute. And it's
like she like treats him like her own child and everything.
They have a really good relationship. It works. So he's like, hey, Becky,
Christy is here at the college and like you know,
talking to her about like the murder and everything. And

(29:24):
Becky's like, oh my god, Christy, she was such a
nice girl, Like I loved her because obviously she knows
her because it was her daughter's best friend. And then
he's like, yeah, Christy blames herself for Mar's murder because
she got drunk that night and Mar saw her flirt
with Skip and then like Mar got mad and left
and Becky's like, ain't no way that's what happened, Like no,

(29:45):
that's stupid, like Mara would never leave Christie drunk and
alone like that, especially not for something as dumb as that,
or like the first time the bitch has ever drank,
Like no, that would be a terrible friend to do that,
and like no, and she's like Christy was. Also his
mom also knows that Christy was super flirty with Dean,

(30:06):
and she's like, Mara would have told her if like
something had actually happened with him, like he's not suspect
they didn't do anything, like Mara really liked him, but
like nothing happened. And then Writer is like, Okay, well,
what was Mara like as your daughter, because like I've
learned how she was. It's Christie's friend, and I'm trying
to get to know her more than just like as
my dead sister. So like that's kind of nice. They

(30:28):
have like a nice little family moment whatever. Christy meanwhile,
is working and she's told that Dean wants to talk
to her, but then when she gets to his office,
she can hear him and write her talking and Writer
is once again trying to get her to leave. So
he's like, Dean should fire her, and Dean is like, no,
her class is really popular, and I might have her, like,
have another class, because so many kids want in after

(30:50):
that one class. She's not one class and like everyone's
obsessed apparently, so writers like I get that, like I said,
in on a couple of her classes, they are really fun.
That's not why I want her gone, though. But then
the secretary is like, oh, Christy's here, so the boys
shut up. She can't like eavesdrop anymore. And she goes
in there and Deane is like, okay, writer, you can leave,

(31:13):
but Writer's like, nah, I want to ask you some questions,
like what were you doing with my sister? I heard
about the flirting. And then Dean immediately starts yelling like
he's like fuck you, like by by like immediate mad,
and I'm like what and Christy is like whoa, Like
I'm sorry, like this is my fault, like I told

(31:33):
him that Mara had a crush on you. And so
then Dean turns to her and he's like, nah, fuck you.
Maybe I should fire you because he's threatened a fire
rider and he's like I'll fire you, like I'll fire anyone.
And I'm like, bro, what this is the most guilty
shit that you could possibly do, And Writer's like bro
what But then like the secretary is like, m call
for Dean. So they have to like leave and they

(31:55):
leave and they can feel Dean like watching them in
the parking lots. They walk back to the car and
I was like this man murdered her, Like no doubt
that's the man. That's weird. So they go back to
Writer's car and Christy is like he never answered the
question though about him and Maraa, and so they're like oh.

(32:16):
And then Writer is like, Okay, I want to talk
to this guy, Joe. And Joe is the father of
the kid that was stealing the ketemine, and so they're
like we gotta figure out because apparently Dean knew about that,
Like it was a thing that happened like for years
that this kid was stealing ketemine and selling it on campus,
so like kind of a big deal. And he tries
to like leave Christy behind, but she's like no, I

(32:37):
have to come along. Like Joe was really nice to
her after Maura died, like everyone else blamed me for
Maura's death, but not him. So they go to Joe's
house and Joe is like, yeah, I know, my son
was like dealing ketemine. But he definitely wasn't a murderer.
He was not that bad. And this guy, I think
he was a cop back in the day. I don't know,
So he like worked on Mara's case because like he

(33:00):
was the one that insisted that when Christy like went
to the cops the next morning, they insisted that she
got an examination because she couldn't remember shit, So they
were like, we need to make sure nothing happened to
you see, you know, drugs or whatever. But there was
no drugs in her system, no GHB, no roofees, and
no alcohol either. But also it had been like like
she took the test like too late for the drugs

(33:21):
to still be in her system, so it's like it
doesn't rule that out, but they weren't at that moment.
And he also mentions that there was a witness that
night that saw a girl being carried across the campus,
So they're like, we need to talk to that witness
and like figure out like who he saw, what he saw,
et cetera, and like why didn't he talk to the cops?

(33:43):
More kind of deal. So they leave and they're talking
about like how Christy was drugged, which she didn't know,
like she's never heard anything about this or thought about this,
and they're like, you know, you didn't remember anything. You
only had one drink and there's no alcohol in your system.
You were drugged. And so like she gets like a

(34:03):
little relief from that because she's like, it wasn't my fault.
I didn't get super drunk. But she's also like, oh shit,
like that drink wasn't even for me. That drink was
for Maa, like she gave it to me. And so
they're like, oh my god, like who is trying to
drunk Maraa? Basically, so they like arrive at the witnesses place.
I think it's actually like the guy's sons place. I

(34:25):
don't know. There's gunshots, rider's window gets shot out, and
like but nothing happens. It's literally like gunshots rang out,
there's there's glass in everyone's hair. And then it's like
they talk to a trooper when he arrives and he
takes their statements and I'm like what okay, so, and
the trooper is like, why do people keep trying to

(34:45):
kill you? They're like, oh, I remember that girl got
killed ten years ago, and the trooper was like, oh yeah,
I'm from here. I remember that, Like, I hope you
solve the murder, and I'm like, shouldn't you be solving
the murder? Whatever. So the trooper takes Writer with him
so they can like find the witness who's name Tyler,
and like actually like question him. And Writer gets to

(35:07):
go along because he has a degree in criminal justice,
I guess whatever. So Christy agrees to like stay back
for safety, and she also gets a security guard who
doses named Brad, and Brad is gonna like follow her
on and make sure she doesn't get murdered. She takes
this opportunity to meet with Gretchen so she can ask
her about the night of the murder, and so she

(35:29):
meets her in like a coffee shop and Gretchen is like, oh,
you haven't changed at all, and Christy is like, okay,
neither of you. And then Gretchen's like a bitch immediately
about like oh, you let your best friend die. It's
all your fault. And then Christy's like okay. So we're
actually like investigating things, and the cops are going to
interview everyone involved because like there's a witness that saw

(35:51):
someone being carried across campus and also I was drugged,
and Gretchen is like okay, like, yeah, I helped Marra
carry you across campus like whatever, and Christy's like, okay, yeah,
I knew that she wouldn't have left me alone at
that fucking party. And Gretchen is like, okay, well, you
obviously went back to the party and crawled and Skip's
bed and tried to subuse him. But Christie's having none

(36:13):
of that, and she's like, ah, that drink wasn't even
meant for me, like someone wanted to drug Mara. Plus
Amy sure to get with Skip pretty quick after Mara died,
Like that's pretty suspicious. And Gretchen gets so mad that
she like stands up and he's like yeah, right, And
then she gets shot just in the middle of the
coffee shop and Brad is like get down, so he

(36:34):
like grabs her and they're like on the ground and
Gretchen is like, don't leave me. And then so she
gets ambulanced away because like she needs surgery because she
was shot in the chest. And Rider, meanwhile, he wasn't
allowed to like go questions in the witness because the
guy was like on Skip's property, so he's not allowed
because of the restraining. I don't know, I was that
part was stupid. But he gets a text from Brad

(36:56):
saying there was like shooting in the coffee shop no D.
So he runs over there, thinking that Chrissy's gonna be
dead and shot. And when he gets there, Christy's like,
oh hey, and she's like in a blood covered white
sweater and so he thinks it's hers and she's like, oh,
this ain't my blood. It was Gretchen. She like, I
was talking to her and she told me that Mara

(37:17):
helped me. She helped Mara carry me across the campus.
So I was trying to get more info from her,
and then she got shot and writers like, damn, maybe
you should be investigating, like you're getting more info than
anyone else. And then they kiss because he was like
so worried about her, but they like stop kissing, and
she's like, I gotta go pray. I gotta pray for Gretchen.

(37:40):
So they stop kissing and they go to the church
so she could pray for Gretchen, and he prays that
they will find this killer and like solve the case.
And then the lights go out, ooh skimy, But nothing
happens because then like Writer's going home and Dean's waiting

(38:00):
for him at his house. So then like they go inside,
and Dean is like, Okay, Maraa did have a crush
on me, but I didn't do anything with her. But
I also did discourage her crush, so like I know
that was wrong with me. And Writer is like, is
that what you got divorced? And Deane is like, no,
my wife just wanted like someone better than me, and
so then we got divorced and she found someone better

(38:21):
than me, and now they have kids and they're happy
and whatever. But like, I didn't do anything with your sister,
and I definitely did not kill her, so like they
make up. Christy meanwhile goes with Brad to visit Gretchen
in the hospital because she's out of surgery but like
still not awake. I don't think they're not fully sure
if she's gonna survive surprise. Also, I don't think we

(38:43):
ever get to know if Gretchen lives or not. I
don't think it comes back up at the end. We
just like forget about her, I guess. Anyways, she gets
to the hospital and Amy is in the waiting room,
and she gets up and is like, fuck you for
trying to visit my best friend. You're the worst friend.
You got Mara killed, and Christy is like, I am
I am not Gretchen. Tobara carried me home that night,

(39:03):
and Amy is like, Gretchen never told me that, so
I don't believe you. And besides, you still ended up
in Skips bed you homewrecker, and Christy is like, no,
fuck you. Actually you're the girl that moved in on
that immediately. Besides that, a witness came forward and said
he saw me being carried, so we'll find out the
truth pretty soon. And this freaks out Amy, Like Christy

(39:25):
can see that, She's like, ah shit. But she ends
up leaving because she realizes. She's like, I'm not gonna
get to see Gretchen and there's no point in me
being here. So she leaves and she goes back to
like the parking garage where Brad is supposed to be
waiting for her, which I was like, why didn't he
go with her? But okay, And she gets to the
parking garage and it's like silent and Brad is not

(39:47):
waiting for her, and she's like, am I about to
get murdered? Meanwhile riders at the police station and now
they are questioning the witness and I was like okay,
and he's in on it, and this witness he's like,
I don't remember anything from that night that was so
long ago, like I don't know, and writers like bull shit.
He ends up like he was like, my sister was

(40:10):
murdered that night. Everyone remembers. And then he like shows
a picture like from the crime scene of his sister's
dead body, shows this guy that to kind of freak
him out. It works and because then he's like, oh, like,
you know, you live in an awfully nice little condo
that's paid for by the Holden family, which is Skip's family.
He's like, Oh, they pay you pretty well. You work

(40:32):
for them, and he's like he like has some like
odd jobs kind of job with this with their family,
and writers like, oh, that's like really nice that they
pay you so well for those jobs you never do.
And then he's like, what about this girl And he
shows a picture of Christy and the guy's like, yeah,
that was the girl that was like carried across the campus.
But like he like he doesn't say he was like, oh,

(40:56):
that's not who carried her though, essentially saying Mara was
not the one care her. I guess, I don't know.
That's war was a little confusing, but he basically admits
that he's been blackmailing Skip these past ten years, so
that he wouldn't go to the cops about seeing Christy
carried about the across the campus because it would like
ruin his alibi. I don't know. I think they're trying

(41:17):
to say that, like Mara and Gretchen carried her across
campus and then Skip carried her like to their apartment,
and then Skip carried her back to his place, is
what they're saying. So there was like two carrying instances.
It's never I don't think it's explained well, but I
think that's what's happening. And so this guy admits, like, yes,
I've been blackmailing Skips, so I would not go to

(41:38):
the cops about it, and yeah, which I was like,
did the cops like just never like look into him? Okay?
Did they just like forget about this guy because it
seems like he was a good lead. But maybe that's
just me. Maybe I'm a better cop. I don't know. Anyways,
Christie and Brad are back at the church, because he
was not. He was there, just like he fell behind

(42:00):
or something and like just scared her in the parking
garage for no reason. Anyways, they're at the church and
she wants to pray, and then the lights go out
and Brad's like, oh, I'll go flip the breaker. I
actually got married here, so like I know where to go,
and I'm like, okay, I don't care, just whatever, and
so he goes to do that, and she's like sitting

(42:21):
there praying, but he's gone too long, and Christy realizes
he's not coming back, and then Skip shows up and
he's like hey, and she's like, oh hey, Skip, but
she's like freaking out and praying that Ryder shows up
with help. But Skip does what all super villains do.
He just starts talking about what exactly happened, and she

(42:41):
learns that he was obsessed with Mara because like she
wouldn't put out. Essentially, he wanted to fuck she didn't,
and so he was obsessed with her because that was
the one thing he couldn't have. And so basically what
he did was he was gonna drug her so that
he could assault her. And he had like copied a
key to her and Chrissie's apartment so he could like

(43:03):
sneak in and wait for her. But like when she
showed up that night, she was sober, and like, I
guess she must have like dropped off the passed out
Christie and then noticed him, and they just started fighting basically,
and she grabbed a knife to like defend herself, and
so then he killed her, and so he's like it
was self defense because she grabbed a knife and Chrissy

(43:25):
is like, bitch, what that's not how that works? But okay,
And so then he had shot Gretchen to shut her
up because she was gonna say too much and he
didn't trust her to like not talk basically, and he
knows that like Amy's gonna say whatever to protect him
and his family name because Amy cares about money and

(43:46):
family status basically more than she cares about him, and
so she's gonna do whatever she needs to to keep
his name clear. And then he's like, and I how
to take care of you? And then like some shots
rang out, but like a writer manages to get Skip
because Rider shows up and like he tackles Skip or whatever,
and like Skip literally just started firing into the night,

(44:08):
like into the darkness and somehow shoots no one, like
I don't know how many times he shoots, but no
one gets shot, and so yeah, he's got him, and
Brad was okay, he's just like unconscious in the background.
So Skip gets arrested and Christy and Ryder are reunited
and they're like, oh, the cops come over and they're like, yeah,

(44:31):
so Skip's denying everything actually, and he's gonna press charges
on you guys, and Christy's like nah uh because she
had called the like security helpline or whatever, and the
voicemail picked up and it picked up all of Skip's confession,
so they have a recording of his confession because she
had somehow pocket dialed the security office while he was

(44:53):
reading his manifesto. So yay, and Writer was right the
entire time. Skip killed his sister and so now him
and Mara can both like rest easy, even though he's
still alive. And Dina's like, thank god, I told you
it wasn't me. Also, I'm going to offer Christy a
full time position here because her class is so popular

(45:14):
after you know, one week or whatever, and Writer is like,
I'm also going to stay here because I like it here,
but I will go home and visit my family because
I never visit them, I guess. And then he like
goes back to Christy because she's off in a different area,
and he's like, hey, I want to stay a security
here and she's like, oh, that's great. And he's like,

(45:34):
and I want you to leave and she's like, oh, yeah,
that's understandable, blah blah blah, and he's like, no, I
want you to leave for a little while so that
you can come home with me and see my parents
and then we'll ask them if they want to visit
here in the fall so we can get married. And
she's like married and he's like, yeah, by the way,

(45:57):
I'm in love with you, but I understand if you
don't feel the same way. And she's like, no, I
love you too, and then six months later they get married.
The end, when I got to the ending of that,
I was like what, like literally what, I guess, Like

(46:19):
I was wondering where was the romance? They kissed once
and that was it, so okay. Reviews This got of
four point twenty nine stars. But this this only had
ten reviews, and I think nine of them were paid reviews,
So none of these are like fun reviews, but they

(46:40):
were the best ones from what we got. So here's
the first one. This is a great story. I was
pulled into the story very quickly. The brother is seeking justice.
How it solved, how it was solved surprised me. Five stars.

Speaker 2 (46:57):
Cold Cases really interest me for whatever reason, and so
I was excited for this one as it sounded really interesting.
I liked it, but it missed the marks a bit
for me to be one I loved. Still a good read, though.

Speaker 1 (47:11):
That it's four stars. Yeah, they're very repetitive reviews. Cold
Cases really interest me for whatever reason. So wait, is
that the same? That's the same? I didn't even realize
that's the same review. But this one's three stars. There
it is again? Okay, I put the same review three times.

(47:33):
There's okay. I thought they were different, but apparently it's
just the same review over and over again. I think
I messed up there and just didn't realize it. But
you know, what's what's whatever? This didn't have any worthwhile reviews.
Still a good read though, three stars, that's it. I
don't know. Okay, So I did have some questions about

(47:55):
this one that I thought of. So do you also
think that Dean would have been a more fun killer
because I feel like Skip is too obvious, Like yeah,
he's the obsessed boyfriend. It's the most obvious one. But
like when she was like, oh, her and Dean had
like a fling and then they ask him about it

(48:16):
and he just flips out for no fucking reason and
threatens to fire them both, Like, bro, I think you
should be more understanding because this is your best friend
that you know has been lamenting about this murder for
the past ten years. I didn't even mention that, like
he's been begging Dean to like hire on Christy for
like years so that he could like question her about

(48:38):
that night and everything. So then I don't really know
why Dean would be like how dare you suspect me?
Like of course they're gonna uncover shit. Like I just
it was weird, and I feel like he would have
been a way more fun murderer, and especially with the
whole like he just wanted to keep his power or
whatever aspect, like he's basically the head of this college now,
like it worked out for him, and it made sense too,

(49:01):
because how is Skip in Like how did Skip push
her down the stairs? Why was he on campus at
that moment, like Dean was with her then, like he
could have pushed her down the stairs easily. I don't know,
it just seems too obvious which to go with that? Okay,
just like the last one. Do you also think the
ending of this just cleaned up way too nice? Oh yeah,

(49:21):
because that's literally how it was in the book. It's
like the last two pages or like five pages that
it's like, yep, there it is. He admitted to it.
That's it. Like blah blah blah, no trial, no nothing,
which I guess, like, yeah, the trial's the boring part.
But like we this man and his family were essentially
blackmailing multiple people, like not just that one guy. There

(49:43):
was multiple people that were being blackmailed because they realized
that maybe this guy was involved with this murder or whatever.
So his dad was just blackmailing all these people, Like
I just they even thought about blackmailing like uh, Christy
at one point, but SKIP was like I figured you
didn't actually remember anything, so I didn't worry about it
because she didn't. And like his dad was ready to

(50:05):
blackmail her though or pay her off. I guess, not blackmail,
but like still whatever, Okay, Also, I know I said
this a couple of times, but do you also get
the vibe that the cops just did no investigating. Were
the cops paid off? Like I think they need to
go back and look into that, because this was like
two seconds they investigated and solved this.

Speaker 2 (50:24):
Murder they had. Why would they need the cops?

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Why would they They had Rider? And Rider was being crazy.
They said, hey, if he can't solve it, we can't
solve it. Let's wait till he calms down in ten
years and maybe he'll figure it out. But I was like,
he didn't really figure it out. It was just her like.
But I also feel like anyone could have solved that, Like, really,
you're not going to investigate the guy that saw someone

(50:49):
being carried across campus on the night that someone was
murdered on campus. I just I feel like there would
have been a lot more outside sources involved with this one.

Speaker 2 (50:59):
Hey, maybe investigations are done differently in Michigan.

Speaker 1 (51:02):
Maybe maybe everything's different in Michigan as it turns out. Okay,
I thought I had a favorite quote, but it's just
that one. You know what, I'm gonna read it so
he can hear how stupid he sounds. So this one
was on page twenty one. This is when he's like,
she ran off, and he's like, no, she didn't. So

(51:24):
write her side. If she's already suspicious, I need to
bide my time. I don't want her to quit and
run away again. She didn't run away, deed said, she
stayed for another year. She graduated with her bachelor's degree
in literary arts. Writer flinched as guilt jabbed his heart.
He was the one who'd run away, who'd return to
the rodeo after bringing his sister's ashes home to the

(51:45):
ranch in Texas where they'd grown up. He just like leaves,
And then he's like, how dare she leave? She didn't,
she didn't do anything wrong? Whatever, whatever. Anyways, final thoughts
do you have any No? Here are my final thoughts.
This book was dumb. I don't know, like this is

(52:12):
a harlequin wrote romance novel. I guess, I think, and
I don't understand it. No, this is a love inspired one.
I think the next one's a harlequin. But Lisa Childs
writes harlequin novels. Because I looked up for like two seconds,
but like nothing much happens, Like I get a lot happens.
They get shot at like four different times, but then

(52:33):
it's like they got shot at and then the trooper
was there and you know, or the lights went off
and then nothing happened, and I'm like, I just feel
like this could have been made a little better. I
feel like even like, how did Skip never get caught?
Like he's just riding around shooting at people on campus.
I whatever, it was fine. It was a quick read.

(52:56):
It took me longer than it needed to. It's only
like two hundred and thirty pai and it took me
forever for no reason, just because I was like, I guess,
but there it is. If you enjoyed it, good news.
There's over two hundred other episodes that are maybe better
than this one. Who knows. You can be the judge
while you're there, wherever you can find them, wherever you

(53:19):
listen to podcasts, and while you're there, you should give
us a five star review because we're not. You can
also follow us on Instagram at book Cold Podcast, on
TikTok at Cold pod, or online at bookcolpod dot worpress
dot com. Next week to continue on, we'll be reading
the twenty twenty two Christmas special. It is called Hold

(53:41):
Me Cowboy by Mazy Yates, and that one actually has
two books in it, so I'm not sure if I'll
read the second one or if I'll save that for
another episode, but whatever, thanks for listening.

Speaker 2 (53:53):
You're now part of the cult No Takesie's vaccines.

Speaker 1 (53:58):
Especially if you're part of a murder and there's a
boy who wants to find justice, He's never going to
let that go.