THE PIT STOP, a FREE mini mystery with a paranormal edge, is now available at Amazon US and UK and iTunes too!
When
what seems like a normal pit stop turns to more than just gas and food, a lost
couple finds themselves searching for the truth of a twenty-year-old mystery
that may cost them their life.
Enjoy
this brief prologue and then follow the links for your free copy.
Prologue
The
ancient train-car looked innocent enough, but the lack of surrounding cars gave
Gino Canale pause as he opened the door of his silver rental. The GPS Sheila
and he had been using had directed them off the highway in search of gas. But
there were no gas stations around, just this one structure in the outskirts of
this Northern California town.
Sheila
opened her door, but he waved her off. “Stay in the car. Let me check this
place out.”
As
usual, she did what she wanted and jumped out anyway. “I have to go. I’ve had
to go since that last exit you ignored.”
“Fine,”
Gino replied, walking toward the entrance, Sheila on his heels. He listened for sounds, but heard nothing.
“What do you think?”
“I
think I need a bathroom—bad!”
Gino
reached for the knob, but before he could turn the handle, the door screeched
open as if the wind had pushed it. A faint sound of bells on the door sounded
over his head. “Hello?” he called. His voice faded into the stillness of the
store. The only noise came from the creaking of the wood planks below the new Crocs
his wife had talked him into buying. “Is anyone here?” he called again.
A
crackling sound started up behind the counter. Someone had turned on an old AM
radio. The music that emanated was reminiscent of old 50’s style music his
grandfather loved.
“Afternoon,”
a man called out in a hoarse voice, popping up from behind the register. “You
kids aren’t from around here, are ya?”
“Uh,
no, sir,” Gino stuttered, not sure why he couldn’t find his voice. “We’re
heading to a wedding, and we just ran low on gas and were wondering if there
was a gas station around here.”
The
man chuckled. “Son, you don’t need gas. You got a full tank.”
Gino
shook his head. “Excuse me, how would—” Sheila tugged on his arm and gave him
the look he knew all too well; they’d stopped a hundred times on this trip.
“Sir, is there a restroom my wife could use?”
“Round
back, but she doesn’t have to go.”
“Joe?”
An older woman stepped through a doorway on the other side of the room.
Gino
gasped and grabbed Sheila’s hand, pulling her toward the door. “Let’s get out
of here.”
“But—”
“Trust
me. Something isn’t right.”
The
old man stepped around the counter. “Just a couple of lost souls, Martha.” As
the man moved toward them, Gino could feel beads of sweat dampen his forehead,
but the man just opened the door, allowing them to leave. “We’ll see yens back
here soon.” He lowered his head and looked Gino deep in the eyes. “Don’t you
recognize me, son?”
Gino
pushed Sheila through the doorway toward their vehicle.
“What
the heck are you doing, Gino?”
Gino’s
heart pounded in his chest. “That was my Grandpa Joe. He died twenty years
ago.”
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