Sunday Snippet: Ill-Timed Case

Hello, September. Here's hoping you're not as maniacal as August. I'd love for the weather to make up its mind and hold for a while. I don't imagine that will actually happen.

Had a lovely day off to travel to the Hocking Hills area to meet up with my cousins on my mom's side of the family. We're hoping to make it an annual event. I couldn't take the whole weekend, but it was so much fun to spend time with them. Bonus points for being close enough to my daughter's location for grad school that I could take some of the things she forgot.

Still insanely busy with work and I'm happy for the new projects coming my way. Also kind of thrilled they're all a bit different so it's not the same thing for each manuscript.

Had an okay week of viewing. I got to watch a few things when I needed a break from wall-to-wall words. Sometimes it's nice to have a minivacation to reset my brain.

Caught an episode of The Batman and enjoyed it. It's a two-parter so I'm hoping to watch the second half this week.

Enjoyed an episode of Classic Rugrats. I don't really remember this one, but the later seasons of the show weren't watched quite as many times as the earlier ones.

Got an episode of My Life Is Murder watched and loved it. Again, Madison really stole the show. And the wink-wink-nod to Xena at the end was fun and awesome.

Started an episode of Signora Volpe and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when Sylvia's undercover assignment is discovered.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Ill-Timed Case, a novella that brings a couple together for a bit of cat-and-mouse fun.

Here's the miniblurb:

Rex Van Adder, private investigator, has more cases than he can handle. Enter Gracie Lee, along with a dead body, and Rex scrambles to keep his head above water, especially since he knows Gracie is involved but can't figure out how.

And a snippety peek…

The first gray streaks barely lit the sky before Rex ended up back in the alley where his mystery woman disappeared.

After a careful look in the shadowy nooks and crannies, he huffed out a breath. "Think I finally figured out how she disappeared." She had to be using one of the old storefronts as an access to the underground system.

He went back to check more footage to be certain his hunch panned out. "I'll be damned. That's a genius-level move." He got up to pour some coffee, mentally planning how to surveil the city block she'd used as her access point.

He'd narrowed her route to down four stores and wanted to get back to see if she'd left a trail he could pick up.

He started for his desk and got a call. This time from Avery.

He didn't both with pleasantries either. "If you want to see the evidence, you can come down to the precinct. Maybe you can make sense out of some of the things we found."

Rex's lips quirked. "What's wrong, Marlow. The gray skies and rain making it hard for you to concentrate?" A little needling never hurt, especially when Marlow deserved it for dragging Rex out of bed in the wee hours.

Marlow snorted. "More like zero sleep for over twenty-four hours and a dead body with your name on it." He huffed out a sigh. "Seriously, nothing about this murder fits normal parameters. And you always have your nose in weird shit nobody understands."

Yeah. Thanks to his professor dad.

Rex tsked. "Marlow, you're not wrong about that. But why the rush? You've barely had time to get the autopsy results." Not that they'd probably learn anything new.

Marlow grumbled something under his breath before responding. "Look, Rex. Someone got to this guy when pretty much no one was supposed to know he was in the city. Either your information is wrong, or there's a clue we're missing in McGuinness's stuff. Whichever it is, the trail's going cold and not just from the fucking rain." He paused then added. "I'll be here for another hour then I'm being forced to take mandatory downtime for the next twenty-four hours, which means…"

Shit. "Barkerson's taking over until you're back." While Marlow reluctantly worked with Rex and other private detectives, Stu Barkerson absolutely refused to consider anyone outside the twelfth precinct as an ally and regarded all of them with suspicion.

Marlow chuckled. "Yep."

Rex grimaced. "Be there in ten." He ended the call.

Damn. He'd hoped to buy some time to track down the mystery woman. Then again, if he didn't want to deal with his cranky old man on an hourly basis, Rex needed to get a jump ahead on Dougray's case. Except … his mystery woman and McGuinness's murder were connected. And he would find out how.

His gut never steered him wrong.

I'm having such a terrific time writing this one. Rex and Marlow are a hoot, and Rex is nudging me to set Marlow up in a future story. Stay tuned!

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye 

Sunday Snippet: Ill-Timed Case

Greetings, September! I decided to start at least thinking about what to do for holiday shopping this year. I'm fairly certain I've decided the direction I want to go in for the kids and the husband. Possibly even my parental unit. This never happens. I fully expect the world to stop spinning sometime in the near future. Just saying.

Had a super crazy and busy week, but still got some solid viewing in. Granted, I did end up doing the usual marathons of Murder, She Wrote and In the Heat of the Night. I also got a solid block of The Saint in. Also got two episodes of Classic Who watched.

I started Sunday with Midsomer Murders then followed with Babylon 5 and The Sarah Conner Chronicles.

Monday, I caught the Birds of Prey pilot episode. I loved this show so much when it premiered. Tuesday was Pensacola Wings of Gold. Wednesday, I watched another episode of Lexx and on Thursday, I watched Surprised by Love, a Hallmark original. Finally found one I thoroughly enjoyed.

On Friday, I started season five of Strike Back. I got interrupted during the first episode so I'll finish it over the weekend. I did finish Band of Brothers, which is one of my rewatch at any time shows.

Saturday has been a big block of The Saint again. Not sure what else I'll get into but I'm writing the blog post a little early so it's out of the way.

Still behind on Killjoys and Wynonna Earp, but I'll definitely make sure to watch every single episode in the near future.

That's it for this week. Tonight's post is from Ill-Timed Case, a novella that got its start with a scene prompt of welcome to [character A]'s private investigations where [character B] is a prime suspect. Seriously… I love prompts that make vivid images pop up in my head.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Rex Van Adder, private investigator, has more cases than he can handle. Enter Gracie Lee, along with a dead body, and Rex scrambles to keep his head above water, especially since he knows Gracie is involved but can't figure out how.

And a preview snippet…

Rex returned to his office-cum-home away from home. Pouring a drink, he settled behind the desk with the lightning and thunder flashing and booming in the wee hours. He tried to focus on the filmed footage of the crime scene from McGuiness's murder. Thoughts of the beautiful woman kept distracting him.

Downing the liquor in his glass, he shook his head. "Damn, Rex. You're as bad as Marlow, letting your head get turned by a gorgeous female." He poured another round and almost got another gulp in before his phone rang. "Van Adder." Only one person would call this late aside from Avery.

His father's voice boomed. "Rex, what the hell happened to McGuiness?" Irritation and frustration traveled over the connection.

Rex rolled his eyes. "Hey, Dad. Nice weather we're having." Another crash of thunder and flash of lightning split the sky.

Mel Van Adder growled low in his throat. "Dammit, Rex. I don't have time for pleasantries. What. Happened?" A hint of desperation crept into his tone.

Rex sighed. "Look, I'm not sure yet, Dad. The police are working the case." He braced for the angry response.

Mel didn't fail. "Well, what the hell are you going to do? I need the information he had about who wanted the gems and the location of his."

As if Rex didn't know the reason he'd been hired to provide security. The legend of the gemstones and what they could be used for had his father in a lathered frenzy. Mel Van Adder wanted to reclaim the five jewels and keep them under lock and key.

Rex pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Dad, the guy is dead." Meaning they'd have to approach purchasing the stones from a different angle. "But I might have a lead the cops don't know about. I need to do some research and surveillance, but I'll let you know what I discover." If he could get back to viewing the footage.

And keep a certain brunette from intruding on his thoughts.

Mel grumbled his acceptance. "Fine. See that you do." He paused a moment. "And call your mother. You know she worries about you." Because Mel kept putting Rex in dangerous situations.

Rex snorted. "Right, Dad. How about I call her later in the morning.  You know she won't appreciate me waking her up at three am." A not so gentle reminder of the ungodly hour.

Mel signed off. "Fine. Fine. Just don't forget." He cut the call.

Rex shook his head again. "Gee, Dad, thanks for calling."

Sipping his drink, he went back to running the camera footage, hoping to discover where his beautiful lady went.

I have so much fun writing stories with a noir feel. My fondest hope is a new romance subgenre is created for urban noir.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Ill-Timed Case

Argh!!! The Flash, Arrow, and Agents of SHIELD left off at cliffhangery moments. But what awesome episodes!!! I have lots and lots of thoughts, but won't share here for the sake of saving some space. LOL

Haven has one more week and will end on a double episode. I truly hope it ends well, mainly because I've been with the show since the very beginning.

The Librarians and Agent X are still entertaining me. I really enjoyed last week's Agent X and can't wait to see what happens this week. Gotta say the actor playing the foil in last week's episode is making the rounds. He's been on a lot of shows I've been watching.

Looking forward to Agent Carter coming soon. I love the format and the entire cast of characters. Can't wait.

That's it for the TV roundup this week.

Tonight's post is from Ill-Timed Case, a novella where my main characters play a fun game of cat and mouse for a while.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Rex Van Adder, private investigator, has more cases than he can handle. Enter Gracie Lee, along with a dead body, and Rex scrambles to keep his head above water, especially since he knows Gracie is involved but can't figure out how.

And a preview snippet…

Gracie Lee breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "That was too damned close for comfort." She crept through the boarded up store and made her way to the lower level.

She retrieved her data device and typed a quick message to her surrogate father, Sam Baldwin. [Our man betrayed. Yours are on scene. Need a pickup by the fourth street underground]. She tucked the messenger back inside her pocket and headed for the hidden entrance to the underground rail system. She'd be traveling through an abandoned part and shouldn't be spotted by anyone.

Like the man with Avery Marlow. She thanked the heavens for her innate sixth sense. She didn't have to turn to know she'd caught the man's interest because his gaze bored into her back when she walked away from the mid-grade hotel McGuiness summoned her to earlier.

Sadly, she'd arrived too late. Dougray already lay dead in the alley, stabbed through the heart. A brief search didn't turn up the jewel he'd brought for sale and she'd risked going to his room to find it.

She'd come up empty there, too. Dammit. Dougray had to have left a clue or something to indicate where he'd hidden the jewel. Sam would have to pull some strings to get her access to the case file.

The device in her pocket chirped, startling her. She paused in the darkened corridor and checked the message.

[Car is waiting. Come to my location and we'll decide next move].

Heaving another sigh, she picked her way to the fourth street panel door and entered the stations main hub. The dank interior smelled musty with disuse, but she'd grown used to the aroma after using the location so often. Climbing the steps to street level, she quickly entered the waiting vehicle, snuggling into the plush interior to ward off the evening chill. The rain picked up and her mind drifted to the handsome stranger again. Gut instinct indicated she'd be seeing him soon.

And she didn't quite like the thrill of anticipation she got when thinking about him.

Settling in for the ride, she shrugged off the idea. "Sorry, lover boy, I don't have time for romance right now."

I love writing a mix of urban fantasy and noir and this one is a fun blend of both.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Ill-Timed Case - A Van Adder Investigations Short

December 29, 2013

I hope everyone survived the holiday!

My family had a wonderful day—no traveling, just staying home all nice and cozy with our new tech gear and good food. I watched more holiday television episodes and said good-bye to Matt Smith's Doctor. I'm still not quite settled in with the idea of the new actor, but I'll give him a chance.

Looking forward to my fave shows returning. Almost Human, Sleepy Hollow, Arrow, The Tomorrow People, Walking Dead, Sherlock, and probably a few I’m forgetting at the moment. Currently watching a Farscape marathon on Pivot then switching over to some recorded stuff I haven't watched yet.

Tonight's post is from the novella, Ill-Timed Case, a Van Adder Investigations Short. If this turns out the way I hope, I may have a little series with my main characters. J

Here's the tagline:

Rex Van Adder, private investigator, has more cases than he can handle. Enter Gracie Lee, a dead body, and Rex scrambles to keep his head above water, especially since he knows Gracie is involved but can't figure out how.

And a preview snippet…

Rex Van Adder climbed out of his automobile and clamped his fedora securely on his head. The rain changed angle every ten seconds, wind gusts making his trench coat billow out then slap back against his legs. He trudged forward, giving a nod to the beat cop standing vigil by the yellow tape, trying to keep the growing crowd back from the crime scene.

Ducking under the flimsy barricade, Rex continued forward until he reached the side of the detective in charge. "Marlow. Care to tell me why you dragged me out on a shit night like this?"

Avery Marlow held up a white card. "Found this on our victim." He flipped the card over, the drenching downpour making the rectangle soggy, but Van Adder Investigations remained legible. "Any idea who this guy is and why someone wanted him dead?"

Rex slid his gaze sideways, gauging Marlow's mood. He had a tolerable acquaintanceship with the detective and worked with him when a situation warranted the need. Rex doubted they'd ever be true friends—Avery's former fiancé landed in the middle of a messy sting operation Rex had running and got herself shot up trying to defend the ringleader—her piece on the side. Marlow walked away with egg on his face and blamed Rex.

"Van Adder? On a shit night like this, I've got better things to do than stand around and wait on you to answer a simple question."

Rex snorted. "Dougray McGuiness. And his list of enemies would have to be short."

Marlow quirked a brow. "Why?"

The rain let up and slowed to a gentle drizzle. Still wet and soggy, but no longer punishing.

Rex considered how much to reveal. "Just got here. As in yesterday. Very hush hush." He opted for the full truth. "He wanted to broker a sale of a valuable gem and called on me to talk security until the exchange could be arranged."

Avery cocked his head. "How does that make a short list?"

Rex answered. "Only two people were supposed to know he'd arrived."

Avery pursed his lips. "And you, right?"

Rex quirked a half-smile. "And me."

Movement caught his eye. A beautiful brunette exited the rear entrance of the speakeasy and blithely strode down the alley like she owned the street. She didn't spare a glance for the crime scene or try to rubberneck like rest of the growing crowd. A red flag pinged for Rex—she had to be one of the two who knew McGuiness had arrived. She would bear watching. Rex started to move, to follow or find out which direction the woman would head for, but Avery pulled his attention away from the female.

"You're not planning to leave the city any time soon, are you, Van Adder?"

Rex slid his gaze sideways. "No, Marlow. I've got cases in play." He craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the woman. "Vacations are overrated."

Marlow nodded and looked up. "Why leave the glorious gloom of the city, right?" He pinned Rex with his gaze. "Goes without saying if you hear anything…"

Rex waved an acknowledgment. "Yeah, yeah. You'll be my first call." He headed down the alley, hoping he hadn't lost a potential lead.

Ducking around the corner, he glanced both ways and found nothing but an empty stretch of street in either direction.

"Dammit." Rex squinted through the patchy rain. "Where the hell did you go, beautiful?"

~:~

Gracie leads Rex on a merry chase and when he finally catches up with her sparks will fly. Of course. LOL

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye