Each week I use readers’ suggestions and write exactly five
hundred words based on their feedback.
And just to make this interesting, I offer up one of my
novels free to the commenter whose suggestion I use.
Okay…let’s write a story.
(If you haven't read the first
scenes, please click on the link. Otherwise, the story won't make sense. Don’t
worry; there's a link, which will bring you right back.)
Chapter 2 ~ Scene 7
Gino
pushed the food around on his plate. His mind kept returning to the pictures of
his grandfather.
“Ouch!”
He looked across the table at his wife.
Sheila
smiled. “I’m sorry, was that your leg? I didn’t know you were here. I thought I
was eating alone.”
“Funny.”
He looked back down at his food.
“What’s
up? You haven’t said a word since you walked in the house. Well, unless you count
the grunt you uttered.” She rested her hand on his arm. “Talk to me. Is that dream
still bothering you?”
He
exhaled a deep breath and threw his head back. If it were only that easy. How
could he tell his wife he’d been hearing ghost chimes and smelling pipes that weren’t
there. She’d think he was insane. He was starting to wonder himself.
Gino
tapped his thumb on the table then stopped himself. He’d been trying to break
the nervous gesture. He couldn’t question a suspect with a tick that’d give him
away if he were trying to convince them he had evidence when he didn’t.
“Not
exactly.” He couldn’t lie to Sheila; she’d see right through him. They’d been married
five years, and he swore she knew him better than he knew himself. He ran his hand
across his mouth. “There was a double homicide last night.”
“Here?”
Her eyes widened, as she pulled her hand to her mouth.
“No.
Brooksworth.”
Her
hand fell to her lap. “So, why are you involved?”
“Their
deaths mirrored my grandparents’”
“But
I thought—”
“Yeah,
me too,” he interrupted her. “It just doesn’t make sense. I’m having all these
crazy dreams, and then suddenly Captain takes me aside to tell me about a homicide
that matches my grandparents’ death, and that he’d always thought theirs was suspicious—”
“He
said that,” she cut in.
Gino
nodded his head. “Yeah, but that’s not the worst part. When I got to the crime scene,
I found a photo album of an old football team from the fifties. And when I checked
it out, there were several pictures missing. But even stranger, my grandfather
was on the team.”
Sheila
leaned forward as if not understanding. “Your grandfather’s pictures were at
the crime scene?”
He
nodded. “Exactly. Wait a second.” Gino jumped from the table and ran upstairs. He
pulled down the attic stairs and climbed up. Walking carefully, stepping only
on the beams, he made his way to the back of the attic. He’d moved all his grandparents’
items up here when he’d moved in. The idea of throwing away their personal stuff
just didn’t seem right. After all, it was their house.
A
box of old photo albums sat in the corner, covered with years of dust. He knelt
down beside it and sorted through the years his grandmother had marked on the
side.
There
it was. 1957. He flipped through a few pages until he saw the name he was looking
for. He’d just spoken with him this morning. Smitty.
Okay, friends,
what happens next? If you’ve been following along, we now have a suspect. Heck,
some might say we have two. Is Smitty involved? Hmm…Can’t wait to see what you
guys have in store for us. J
Please feel free
to jump in by leaving your comments below.
About me:
I write
modern-day fairytales filled with romance, mystery, suspense, and of course,
tragedy. After all, what would a fairytale be without a tragic event setting
the stage? All of my novels are sensual, but not erotic, gripping but not
graphic and will hopefully make you cry, laugh, love, and hope.
I love talking
about all things books, so please connect with me via one of the links below.
Books available:
When
two strangers have nothing left but their dreams, they must forge a
relationship in Nantahala, North Carolina, a small town known as Land of the
Noonday Sun.
After
secrets and a mysterious background leave a wife’s life hanging by a thread, a
husband must look for answers in the only place he knows—the past.
Now available at:
Hmm....so we have Gino finding out about the murder at the place his grandfather used to take him as a child. Evidently at some point he stopped. He runs into his Smitty, who appears to be an old friend with history with his grandfather. His grandfather is linked to the dead couple...what should happen next?
ReplyDeleteGino's cop instincts take over. After awakening again from the dream (which this time has a new element), he leaves his sleeping wife in bed and drives to Smitty's home. It's long past midnight, but the old man's lights are still on. He observes him walking out with a trash bag. Who takes out their trash at 2am? He grabs the bag, no public property since the can sits at the curb, and goes home. Upon a search, he discovers pictures dated the same time as the ones found at the scene and in his grandparents attic. The only difference...the comments marked on the back....Hope this helps!