Marva Dale is the pen name for author Debra McReynolds.  Retired from the public relations field, Debra now spends her free time indulging in her passion for writing.  "I used to fill my school notebooks with stories," Debra relates, "and then add artwork to go along with them.  My second grade teacher, Mrs. Daley, predicted that I would be a writer one day."
A fan of the mystery genre, she enjoys crafting tales with a twist of suspense, a touch of romance, and a bit of humor. 
Debra and her husband, Dale, make their home in El Paso, Texas, with their dog, cats and rabbits.

Sexy, black lawyer, Liberty Sloane is asked to defend a deaf public relations executive accused of killing a well-known physician. Dr. Daniel Baumgard, known for his philanthropy, just opened a new shelter for abused women, although he also ran a women’s healthcare clinic that offers abortions. Madeline Kime promoted the doctor’s endeavors through her PR agency while harboring deep secrets concerning the Baumgard family, including the doctor’s son, Rhett, a congressman, and his socialite wife, Savannah. So who hated the doctor enough to stab him in the foyer of his own home? Liberty has a number of suspects on her list, including a pro-life group, not to mention the additional crimes of stolen clinic files and a blackmail scheme. To complicate matters, she has to fend off the advances of one-time boyfriend Preston Durrell, a private detective, while entertaining a new romance with the officer on the case, Sergeant Byron Keats. Worse, Liberty planned a Caribbean vacation with her BFFs, but has to postpone it in order to defend her client for murder one.

Not at Liberty

As she waited for Rhett, Liberty went over the events of this morning.So far, her day hadn't gone exactly as she hoped.For one, the judge presiding over Maddy's case would be Douglas Teasdale instead of Judge Rhoades.Teasdale maintained a formidable, no-nonsense presence in the courtroom.Liberty had pleaded two petty theft cases before him and both times he had handed down a harsher sentence than she would have liked, sentencing her clients to some jail time with restitution and a court fine, rather than just restitution and probation.But with murder...Judge Teasdale had to be more tolerant with a defendant's life at stake...she hoped.


Chapter 52