Sunday, October 14, 2018

Sunday Snippet: The Jade Claw

October 14, 2018

Wow, what a difference a week makes. The crisp feeling of fall has definitely arrived and I'm actually a little chilly at the moment. We'll probably have at least one more warm up before we settle into the true briskness of autumn in Ohio. Or… we could have one more nice week and then have a blizzard by Halloween. It's always hard to say. LOL

Got quite a bit of television watched this week. Some shows premiered their new seasons and I'm excited to settle in for the ride.

The Last Ship is crazy good and crazy wild. I'm always stunned when the credits roll because it doesn't seem like an hour should have gone by.

For premieres, I caught the new episodes of The Flash and Riverdale. Gotta say I ended up really enjoying both. Having Nora around could prove pretty interesting. And the whole situation with Archie is way over the top but, honestly, a ton of fun. Can't wait for Arrow this Monday. Also watched Chicago Fire and have mixed feelings on the episode. Maybe more on this next week.

And, of course, the Doctor Who premiere with Thirteen! What a great launch of the new doctor. Can't wait for more. After the disappointment with the last two seasons of Twelve, I'm excited to see where the show goes now.

I continued my rewatch of Babylon 5. The first season is so hit and miss but it also plants a lot of seeds for the following seasons. I'm always finding something new that ties into a future episode.

In other science fiction fare, I watched The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Birds of Prey, Lexx, Wynonna Earp—a Christmas episode, and The Dresden Files. Also caught Luke Cage and Penny Dreadful.

In military fare, I caught another episode of Pensacola Wings of Gold and Strike Back. I'm starting to gel with the new cast of Strike Back and I also need to go back to season two and do some sleuthing. I have a feeling there's a connection that's deeper than I realized. More later on this too.

Caught some mystery shows with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Murdoch Mysteries, and a couple of episodes of Peter Gunn. I started an episode of Midsomer Murders but didn't get to finish it yet.

I also watched episode five of Driven. I'm actually thrilled with this series and I'm so excited for more from Passionflix.

On a final note, I finished up Canal Road and what a satisfying ending. I'll be starting a new Australian series in the very near future. Looking forward to it!

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from The Jade Claw, a novella that brings a cop and a museum curator together over an artifact.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Skyrah Yule is caught in the middle of a paranormal mafia grab for power when several artifacts are stolen from the museum she works for. The agent investigating the break-in, Clay Wellstone, intrigues her, especially when she discovers he's got close familial ties with the suspected culprits.

And a preview snippet…

Clay escorted his witness to an interview room and tried to make her comfortable.
"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?"
She lifted her brows. "You wouldn't happen to have a bottle of ambrosia handy, would you?"
He shot her a grin. "Um, no." He had a feeling a spitfire lurked under the surface of the collected woman. "Can't do that one. Not on the approved list." He considered making an exception with her and fought an urge to dig out the bottle of confiscated liquor Director Teague kept buried in his drawer.
Skyrah sighed. "It oughtta be."
Clay propped a hip on the table. "No argument here."
Skyrah glanced up. "Let's just get this over with. How long before I can start cleaning the mess up?"
Clay chuckled. "I'm supposed to be asking the questions." He settled down in the chair across from her. "Don't know now long, but the ident teams work quickly."
She didn't like his answer, but he couldn't give her an exact timeframe. He had an impression she'd kick the stragglers into gear as soon as she got back to the museum.
He'd love to stick around and watch.
Skyrah rolled her eyes. "Right. Fine." She slouched down in her seat. "What do you need to know?"
"Let's start at the beginning again." He dug out his notebook and prompted. "Your class ran late?"
Skyrah repeated everything she said earlier.
She gave Clay a fairly accurate rundown of everything missing, all Tauric artifacts. She also mentioned she'd been approached by an interested collector—one Helena Cassus—a few weeks prior to the heist.
Clay's back went up and he leaned in. "Wait. You had a visit from Helena Cassus?" He scribbled furiously in his notebook. "You're sure you have it right?" He knew the name well.
He should. Helena Cassus happened to be in his father's inner circle. Didn't that just put Clay's balls in a vice? And the theft now made a sick kind of sense. When had he become an idiot? He should have immediately suspected…
Skyrah frowned and moved forward, so close her forehead almost touched his. "Agent Wellstone, I catalog multiple crates from twelve provinces on a daily basis and teach hundreds of students per semester. I'm very good with names." She met his gaze, her eyes full of challenge.
Clay eased back. Too close. She made him feel boxed in. He couldn't give his suspicions or anything away… not yet.
He gave Skyrah a curt nod. "So noted." He laid his pen on the table and rose from his seat, deciding to end the interview. "We'll track Ms. Cassus down and pull her in for questioning." Walking to the door, he twisted the knob to push it open. "That'll be all I need from you right now."
Skyrah narrowed her eyes, clearly expecting more. "You sure about that?"
Clay nodded. "I have your contact information if we have any other questions."
She stood up and fished her keys out of her pocket, then remembered she didn't drive. "Right. You're my ride." Moving toward the door, she stopped and started to say more then shrugged, exiting into the squad room.
Clay exhaled a deep breath and hoped he had it wrong. Somehow, he doubted he did. And he didn't want to think about the repercussions. Not tonight.
Instead, he watched Skyrah stride toward the exit doors, his lips quirking into a wry grin. Following her out, he blatantly admired the view she presented from behind.

I'm having fun with the cat and mouse angle on this one. Looking forward to finishing up and getting it out there.



That's it for this week.

Cheers!


Skye

No comments:

Post a Comment