The following is another excerpt from my work in progress, The Throuple Private Eye—Business is Booming, a Jen McDowell Series. This is the second draft. I’m at 40k words now. If you want to catch up, order the novella The Throuple Private Eye—Hate Crimes, on Amazon ($2.99). The link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084LTTHGN. I found a major error in Chapter 9 and had to rewrite it. Here it is:
CHAPTER 9
The next day, Jen got a call from Special Agent Malcolm Andrews. He had worked with Jen when she infiltrated the hate group, The High Priests of Phinehas. “I want to talk with you about finding out who put out the contracts on you and Molly,” he said.
“How do we do that?” Jen asked. “Pete said he couldn’t trace the contract.”
“That’s partially true,” Malcolm answered. “When someone shows POD that the hit was made, we can trace the payment.”
“What’s POD mean?” Jen asked.
“Normally it means Payable on Death, but in this case it means Proof of Death,” Malcolm answered.
“So, when Molly and I are killed, you’ll be able to arrest our killers?”
Malcolm laughed. “Something like that. We want to fake your deaths and show POD so whoever put out the contract will pay us. Then we can trace it and make the arrest.”
“So, you want to kill us?”
Malcolm laughed again. “Yeah. It must look real. POD is a photograph and or a newspaper article. Easy-peasy.”
“Okay,” Jen said. “Let’s do it.”
A few days later, Malcolm came to Jen’s home to discuss the details of the fake assassination. The FBI would us Ms. Camille Kousoulas, an FBI makeup expert, to create real looking wounds on Jen and Molly. Cam, the name she prefers, worked with Jen when she went undercover as an old woman. The FBI would create a video that looks like a security video from a front door. They would release the video and photographs to the local newspapers. Once the hit is on the news, Pete can go on the dark web to complete the deal. Once the payment is made, the FBI can figure out who set the contract.
A few days later, Cam came over and made masks of Jen and Molly. A week later, Agent Malcolm came over with the video. The FBI used professional actors. The video appeared to be from a door security camera. Malcolm explained that the FBI would release the video to the press who would then air it on the news. The video showed a car parked at a curb when a gunman walked up and fired four shots through the window. The gunman wore a hoodie and a mask making it difficult to recognize him.
The plan was simple enough. The FBI would stage then shooting. An agent dressed like the gunman would fire four shots into the driver side window and then escape. Someone, anyone would call 911 and the police would come along with an ambulance. An anonymous tip would bring the news. The ambulance would be manned by FBI agents. They would remove the two dummies that look very much like Jen and Molly with serious head wounds. The FBI would provide the video to the news stations. The shooting would make the morning news. This would provide the proof of death needed to fulfil the contracts.
The FBI would then send in the video copied from the news along with a newspaper clipping to the dark web under a fictious name to claim the contract. The FBI put Jen and Molly in a safehouse until the sting was over. It didn’t take long.
After a couple of days, Malcolm called Jen at the safehouse. “We got him,” Malcolm said.
“What? So soon?” Jen asked. “Who was it?”
“His name is William Pasternak,” Malcom answered. “Does that name ring a bell?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Jen answered.
“You probably knew him as Speer McGarry,” Malcolm suggested.
“Oh, yeah,” Jen replied. “He was the computer geek at the alt-right boot camp. He was into ID theft and fraud, I believe. I thought he was already in prison.”
“He was out on bail waiting his trial,” Malcolm answered. “He put out the contracts on you and Molly. It figures. He wasn’t the type to get his hands dirty. He had to hire someone.”
Jen and Molly left the safe house and returned to their office in Jen’s house. The next day Jen and Molly went to the police station to work with a sketch artist to see if they could come up with a picture of the driver who forced them into the pond.
CHAPTER 9
The next day, Jen got a call from Special Agent Malcolm Andrews. He had worked with Jen when she infiltrated the hate group, The High Priests of Phinehas. “I want to talk with you about finding out who put out the contracts on you and Molly,” he said.
“How do we do that?” Jen asked. “Pete said he couldn’t trace the contract.”
“That’s partially true,” Malcolm answered. “When someone shows POD that the hit was made, we can trace the payment.”
“What’s POD mean?” Jen asked.
“Normally it means Payable on Death, but in this case it means Proof of Death,” Malcolm answered.
“So, when Molly and I are killed, you’ll be able to arrest our killers?”
Malcolm laughed. “Something like that. We want to fake your deaths and show POD so whoever put out the contract will pay us. Then we can trace it and make the arrest.”
“So, you want to kill us?”
Malcolm laughed again. “Yeah. It must look real. POD is a photograph and or a newspaper article. Easy-peasy.”
“Okay,” Jen said. “Let’s do it.”
A few days later, Malcolm came to Jen’s home to discuss the details of the fake assassination. The FBI would us Ms. Camille Kousoulas, an FBI makeup expert, to create real looking wounds on Jen and Molly. Cam, the name she prefers, worked with Jen when she went undercover as an old woman. The FBI would create a video that looks like a security video from a front door. They would release the video and photographs to the local newspapers. Once the hit is on the news, Pete can go on the dark web to complete the deal. Once the payment is made, the FBI can figure out who set the contract.
A few days later, Cam came over and made masks of Jen and Molly. A week later, Agent Malcolm came over with the video. The FBI used professional actors. The video appeared to be from a door security camera. Malcolm explained that the FBI would release the video to the press who would then air it on the news. The video showed a car parked at a curb when a gunman walked up and fired four shots through the window. The gunman wore a hoodie and a mask making it difficult to recognize him.
The plan was simple enough. The FBI would stage then shooting. An agent dressed like the gunman would fire four shots into the driver side window and then escape. Someone, anyone would call 911 and the police would come along with an ambulance. An anonymous tip would bring the news. The ambulance would be manned by FBI agents. They would remove the two dummies that look very much like Jen and Molly with serious head wounds. The FBI would provide the video to the news stations. The shooting would make the morning news. This would provide the proof of death needed to fulfil the contracts.
The FBI would then send in the video copied from the news along with a newspaper clipping to the dark web under a fictious name to claim the contract. The FBI put Jen and Molly in a safehouse until the sting was over. It didn’t take long.
After a couple of days, Malcolm called Jen at the safehouse. “We got him,” Malcolm said.
“What? So soon?” Jen asked. “Who was it?”
“His name is William Pasternak,” Malcom answered. “Does that name ring a bell?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Jen answered.
“You probably knew him as Speer McGarry,” Malcolm suggested.
“Oh, yeah,” Jen replied. “He was the computer geek at the alt-right boot camp. He was into ID theft and fraud, I believe. I thought he was already in prison.”
“He was out on bail waiting his trial,” Malcolm answered. “He put out the contracts on you and Molly. It figures. He wasn’t the type to get his hands dirty. He had to hire someone.”
Jen and Molly left the safe house and returned to their office in Jen’s house. The next day Jen and Molly went to the police station to work with a sketch artist to see if they could come up with a picture of the driver who forced them into the pond.
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