It's been a wild
week of big letdowns in my area of the universe. I'm not sure where things will
land but I have decided to launch my side project sooner than expected. More
details to follow in a separate blog post.
I started a new
work project and picked up with one that's been on the back burner. I also tentatively
scheduled three new projects for November. Here's hoping they all pan out.
Had a pretty good
week of viewing. I got most of my current slate of shows watched. But … I also
got distracted by *waves at everything going on right now*.
I caught an episode
of The Batman and rather enjoyed the Green Lantern guest spot. Also
enjoyed having one of Batman's rogues nose his way into the storyline.
Watched another
episode of Classic Rugrats and it was the Rugrat's Kwanzaa. I'll have to
find the other Rugrats holiday episodes and get ready to rewatch.
Enjoyed another
episode of Mr. and Mrs. Murder. It featured a behind-the-scenes look at
a theater show, which is fun for me because my daughter majored in theater for
undergrad.
Caught the first
season finale of London Kills and, wow, some twisty-twists and big turns
happened. Looking forward to a behind-the-scenes special this week.
Watched the season
ten opener of Death in Paradise. I'm still annoyed by DI Parker and sad
to see Ruby no longer with the team. Thrilled to bits to have Florance back.
Looking forward to seeing more.
Started a new two-part
Silent Witness. Terrific guest stars in this episode. I'm very
interested in seeing where this case goes.
Enjoyed most of an Elementary
episode. I'll get it finished up today and start over with a new run of my
current episodes.
That's pretty much
it for this week's life update. Tonight's post is from The Jade Claw, a
paranormal mystery that brings a couple together over a missing artifact.
Here's the
miniblurb:
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…
Agent Wellstone dropped
Skyrah off by her car and she entered the museum through the rear entrance,
passing the ident crew on its way out. She appreciated their attempt at
discretion, but the break in and theft would be all over the wireless with the early
news. She groaned. Good gods, when Glen Bench got a hold of the details, he'd
have a field day. The man considered himself the primo source for bringing
culture to the masses. Thinking of the fodder he'd get for his late-night chat
fest made her head hurt. Didn't help she'd had a brief—very, very brief—hookup
with the guy before seeing his true colors. The man enjoyed digging up sordid
details and parading them all over the airwaves for others to see.
Too bad he rarely got
to the actual truth. She got a little nauseous thinking about the damage he
could do to the museum's reputation. She figured she'd better get everything
cleaned up and back into a semblance of order then ready herself to field phone
calls from the board before she left to teach her afternoon classes.
Almost dawn by the time
she finished, Skyrah got pissed off all over again about the staggering loss.
Most of the artifacts taken had a connection to the Herac conflict. An
important time in the history of the Twelve Provinces, before true unification,
she not only hated to lose the value of the objects but their significance.
She brewed a pot of
strong coffee and grabbed a shower in the bath adjoining the office. Not the
first all-nighter she'd pulled. Too bad it couldn't have been for more a pleasurable
reason … like nonstop sex with a hot guy. An image of Clay Wellstone flashed in
her head, and she shook it off. Figured her brain would go to him. The guy shut
down and locked up tighter than a drum after she mentioned Helena Cassus. When something
piqued her curiosity, her interest rose.
Shrugging into a clean
shirt, she sat behind her desk and opened a browser. She could take a few
minutes and see what the initial reports looked like. Going out into
cyberspace, she scanned the headlines. Romero Lightkin's byline caught her eye.
It didn't surprise her the guy would be right up in the story. The man had a
serious hard-on for the truth and nothing but. It could be a huge benefit or a
complete nightmare, depending on how the board reacted.
Gods … she did not want
to think about the benefactors of the museum, especially since her diplomatic
skills left a lot to be desired. She could play at tact and diplomacy, but
hated how it used up every ounce of her patience. She'd much rather be left
alone to do her work than meet with the six-person committee, especially under
the crappy circumstances.
Shrugging off the
thought, she started a search for information on the way too good-looking to be
with the CDA, Agent Clay Wellstone. Waiting for the results, she poured a mug
of coffee, thinking about the rapid way he shut down. Her gut said he had
something to hide, and she had a powerful urge to find out what it could be.
The contrast between the affable, open agent she started out with didn't match
with the closed-mouth, wary man who dropped her off.
She might enjoy the
challenge of figuring him out. Sipping her coffee, she scanned the search
results. Her eyes narrowed when Clay's named popped in a Romero Lightkin exposé
on the He'ra'cic mob. Skyrah clicked on the detail bar and read through the
seven-part series, which chronicled the more visible, lower-level enforcers who
liked to hang out in Little Heiro speakeasy joints.
The last article had
her sitting up straight, a sick ball of dread in the pit of her stomach. She
finally discovered the reason Agent Wellstone's name showed up in this
particular story. And nowhere close to why she thought it would.
She shook her head. "Shit.
It couldn't be something simple like he'd pulled in a bunch of the gangsters
for questioning." Skyrah's mouth twisted. "Nope. Agent Clay Wellstone
has a very intimate connection with organized crime in Cantor City."
Lightkin didn't go for
sensationalistic journalism. Instead, he relied on using veiled references when
the absolute truth could get him killed. And cold, hard fact made a bitter pill
to swallow. The leader, big boss, man in charge of the He'ra'cic, known mainly
as the Heras … happened to be none other than William Wellstone.
Agent Clay Wellstone's
father.
"Son of a bitch."
And the avid collector
full of questions about the antiquities, Helena Cassus? Lampkin's piece implied
she belonged to the inner sanctum. Rarely seen, she apparently made things
happen behind the scenes. Skyrah didn't need to know what that entailed, her
mind supplied lots of vivid possibilities. No wonder Agent Wellstone shut down
the interview as soon as Skyrah mentioned the name. The woman had probably been
a presence in his life from an early age.
A dull throb started at
the base of Skyrah's skull and bloomed into a full-blown headache. The board
would go beyond insane when they figured out the connection. And they would. It
took her all of thirty minutes with a basic web search. No wonder he'd shuffled
her out and dropped her off in such a hurry.
Agent Wellstone had
some big questions to answer. The biggest being where his loyalties would fall.
She damned well wouldn't lose her job if he attempted to steer the case in any
direction but directly at the mob. Skyrah wouldn't let him try.
Taking a gulp of the
now cold coffee, she picked up the phone and dialed CDA headquarters. No time
like the present to make her position clear.
Skyrah won't be
happy because Clay isn't quite ready to play nice with her yet. But she'll make
sure he comes around.
That's it for this
week.
Cheers!
Skye
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