The third installment in the Marice Houston Mysteries is finally there! There's a little twist, which will be noticed by those who have read Room 103 and Room 203, but no spoilers. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!
Marice
is back. Like always, trouble seems to follow her around, especially
when she gets around her friend, Todd. He's trying to move on, after
the incident with Orson Roberts a year or so ago, but finding it
hard. Fortunately, he's found a lady friend to help him, Emily.
Unfortunately, she's got secrets, which catch up with her. When on
their first date, Emily is shot, and Todd's up to his ears in freaky
intrigue once more. With the help of Marice and friends, he's doing
his best to muddle through and find out what went wrong in Room 303.
Excerpt from Room 303
The plaza was full
of bright lights and uniformed officers. There were several plain
clothes detectives around and it didn't take long to spot the
dazzling blonde head they were looking for. Detective Darla Scrivener
was standing under a spotlight, speaking to another detective. He was
a man that Todd didn't know, so he concluded he was probably from the
state police. He knew the local detectives, at least by sight. She
saw him and beckoned him over.
"I didn't
expect to see you again, under such dire circumstances. How is she?"
"Alive,"
he reported her injuries.
"She's lucky.
How do you know Ms. Snowden?"
To the best of his
ability, he explained. "She asked me to come tonight. I'd never
seen the movie.... I'm sorry." He took a deep breath to stop the
babbling that wanted to bubble up from inside. As precisely as he
could, in great detail, he described what he'd seen. Closing his
eyes, he could visualize it again as it unfolded.
"Did you hear
the report of a weapon?"
"No. She
gasped and fell against me. When I realized she was bleeding, I
assumed she'd been shot."
"Why?"
"The way her
body hit mine. And the fact that no one else was close enough to stab
her. I yelled for someone to call the EMTs, and did what I could to
slow the bleeding."
"Do you think
there was a report from the weapon?"
"The movie
was loud enough, I'm not sure I'd have heard it. But no one else
reacted, so I don't think so. You know when a gun fires, people run
and panic. There was none of that, until I called for help."
She nodded, making
notes on her pad. "Do you know who might want to hurt Ms.
Snowden?"
"We don't
really know one another that well. I've been working with her for the
past three months, doing forensics videos for a course. It's been
work related. She didn't seem to have difficulty with the staff.
Except...."
The officers
perked up, including Marice.
"I don't like
to say, because it's probably nothing. But the guy I do the videos
for—for his class, Borchers? He called me, all pissed off, because
he thought she was giving me his job."
"Is she?"
He shook his head.
"She asked me yesterday if I wanted it, pending his retirement.
I said I'd think about it. It was by no means a done deal. I'm not
sure I have time for that, not with the motel. The videos don't take
that much out of my month to prepare and tape, so I'm good with that.
But everything involved in doing a class? Not sure I want that
hassle. It's been eleven years since I was in a classroom. The idea
is intimidating as hell."
"Understandable."
"Do we have
trajectory?" He looked around, trying to spot someone working on
it. "We were standing just over there." He pointed three
yards away. His chairs were still there, spattered with blood. "The
shot came from over that way." He pointed to the northeast.
"Could have been anywhere."
Marice walked over
to where Emily had fallen and judged the lay of the bullet in the
ground. Siting along her arm, she pointed to a likely building. "Have
you checked up there?"
"Not yet. We
didn't have any idea where the shot came from. It was at a
surprisingly shallow angle."
Todd joined Marice
and frowned at the building in question. "Her office is in that
building. Room three oh three, on this side. Could someone have taken
a shot at her—from her office?"
"Darla, you
need to secure that," Marice said, only to find the detective
was already doing so.
"May I go?"
Todd asked.
"I really
can't let you," Darla replied. "But Marice, if you'd like
to go, I'd like your eyes on scene."
"Happy to.
You'll be okay?" she asked Todd.
"I'll look
out for him," Darla promised. "You want a coffee or
something?" she asked him.
"I'd really
like to sit."
"Sure."
She led him to a nearby bench, sitting next to him, giving him a good
looking over for the first time. "What on earth are you
wearing?"
"Scrubs. I
had—blood—all over." He gulped, shaking hand running through
his hair. He noticed spots on his glasses and realized it was blood
spatter. He tried to clean them on his shirt, but they smeared.
Darla took them
away, blew over them and rubbed with a tissue until they were clean.
"Thanks.
Didn't think to clean them when I showered."
"Tell me more
about Borchers."
He told her what
he knew of the man, which was precious little. He knew only slightly
more about Emily.
"I feel like
I'm completely useless. It all happened so fast."
"You've
remembered remarkably well. Just relax."
©2020 Dellani Oakes
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