Chapter 17: Ghostly Intuition

Blackhorse parked in the first space he could. The gray car followed suit, quickly pulling into a spot three cars behind him. He sat staring into his rearview mirror, waiting to see if the driver would get out. The day had heated up and he was feeling worse by the minute. A mild headache had intensified, until the blood was […]

Chapter 12: Double Dealer

Back at his desk, Detective Hernandez pulled the file folder of invoices towards him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to be gleaned. Looking through them with fresh eyes, he noticed that there were more questionable invoices for the Schauman auction house than for other businesses. Hernandez went online and found the company website. He sat scrolling […]

Chapter 13: Back to Basics

Officer Schneider roughly brushed past Detective Blackhorse and stalked out of the police precinct. Blackhorse stood watched his hasty retreat for a few gleeful moments, before turning his attention to the toxicology reports on the victims. Analysis of their blood and urine showed the presence of atropine. Blood concentrations were consistent with an overdose. Detective Blackhorse surmised that it was […]

Chapter 60: Something Unexpected

I turned and frantically tried to go back into the building. Somebody had to help Hiromi! The door was locked from the inside. Plum went to a dumpster, fished out a wad of plastic bags, used them to wrest the dagger from my hand and tossed the whole thing into the dumpster, concealing it beneath an overflowing trash bag. From […]

Chapter 61: On a Wing and a Prayer

Sage latched onto the outer edge of the hole in the ruined wall, resisting Marko’s attempt to bring him out the antiquities vault. The gravitational pull of the whirling vortex aiding him in his resistance. Janet and Andrea rushed to pry his fingers loose. In his exhausted state, Sage did not have the strength put up much of a fight. […]

Chapter 11: Face Off

Detective Hernandez was slipping the last of the paperwork from murder victim Liam Anderson into a file, when he heard the spouse Carter Stanfield’s raised voice out in the bullpen. One of the other detectives…it sounded like Clemons was trying and failing to be placating. Hernandez sat in the interview room a few moments longer, enjoying the show. There were […]

Chapter 12: Into the Fire

Completely alone for the first time since her abduction, Deidra let down her guard and surrendered to grief. Great heaving sobs racked her body, until the well of tears ran dry. Gradually, the crying jag subsided. She quieted down enough to hear footsteps enter the sitting room, on the other side of the wall. Were they looking for her already? […]

Chapter 9: Bloody Omen

It was morning when Dylan came to, still sprawled on the floor. He opened bleary eyes and lay motionless for several moments staring up at the ceiling. His head was pounding, but his mind was blank. What happened last night? The last thing Dylan recalled was standing by the window and watching the cops leave. He sat up slowly, trying […]

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