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 made few changes to Chapter 8 for this second draft. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 8  (Cont.)
 
Jen immediately called Molly to let her know what she had learned from Pervert Pete. “So that rattle snack wasn’t a prank?”
 
“I think not,” Jen answered.
 
The next day Jen and Molly pulled into the driveway in a rented car. Jen took out her house keys and opened her door. “Shit,” she said.

“What happened?” Molly asked.

“I dropped my keys on the floor.” Just as Jen bent down to retrieve her keys, a bullet smashed the rear window, passed over her head by inches and exited out the front windshield. Both women ducked down as far as possible as a second bullet whizzed through the car, sending glass flying over the two.

“Who the fuck is shooting?” Molly yelled.

“The hell if I know,” Jen answered. “We need to get out of the car and into the house.”

“How fast can you run in prosthetics?” Molly asked without waiting for an answer. “I’m not moving until the police show up. Molly pulled out her cellphone and tried to dial. Her hands shook so much that she missed dialed twice. Jen grabbed the phone out of her hands and dialed 911.

The police arrived quickly, one patrol car followed a few minutes later by three more. One of them was Johan. They searched the neighborhood and once satisfied that the danger had passed, escorted shaking Jen and Molly inside the house. The incident triggered Molly’s PTSD. Jen held her tight and tried in vain to calm her down. It took nearly thirty minutes.

“Okay, this time the attacker was more professional,” Johan said. “We find the spot from where he fired. It was a roof top of a house that is for sale. It was nearly four hundred yards. Probably a high-powered rifle with a scope. The sniper picked up his brass, so we don’t know the caliber. We’ll know more when we find the bullet.”

When things quieted down, Molly told Jen, “I’m going to get a gun.”

“Molly, you have PTSD,” replied Jen. “You can’t legally buy a gun.”

“I know a guy,” Molly said.

The next day, an old pickup truck drove into the driveway. Hoyt Goodrich, the commander of The High Priests of Phinehas, a violent hate group, and the ex-lover of Molly, stepped out holding a small box. Jen saw him in their security monitor. “This is the guy you called?” she said to Molly.
Molly stood up and grabbed her cane. “Hell, yeah. I knew he could help me get an unregistered weapon.”

“Molly, it’s illegal,” Jen protested. “We could lose our license.”

“Shut up,” Molly snapped as she headed for the front door. “You’ve got one.”

Jen did shut up. Molly was right. In spite of the law and the protests of her boyfriends, she did have a gun. She opened her top desk drawer and pulled out the .38 and followed Molly. At least, she could have Molly’s back.

Hoyt didn’t come toward the front door. He just stood by his truck. Molly approached him. “Is that it?” she asked as she pointed at the small box in Hoyt’s hand.

“Yeah. The serial number has been filed off, and it hasn’t been used in a crime. It’s clean.”

Molly took the box and opened it, revealing a pistol. “A Glock 9mm. You couldn’t get a10mm automatic?”

Hoyt shook his head. “come on, Molly. I’m risking my parole as it is.”

“I know,” Molly said. “Thanks. I owe you one.” She kissed Hoyt on the cheek. Then she kissed him again on the lips. “I missed you, you know.”

“Yeah, I missed you too,” Hoyt said. “It wasn’t all bad, you know. Even though you did lie and used me.”

Molly chuckled. “I did. Then I was nearly killed.”

“I know,” Hoyt replied. “I felt really bad about that. I tried to find the Symths after what they did. I would have killed them.”

Molly smiled. “All things considered: the sex was great.”

Hoyt laughed. “It was that.”

Molly stared into Hoyt’s eyes and then reached out and touched his arm. Jen was watching from the front porch and came flying off into the front yard. “No, no, no,” she yelled. She reached the two and pulled Molly back. “We’re not going through this again,” she yelled at Hoyt. “You get out of my year or I’ll call the police. You shouldn’t be doing this. You’re a felon.”

Hoyt held up his hand in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. I’m going.”

At that moment, Jen realized that she had been waving her own illegal gun at Hoyt. She looked around and saw her neighbor across the street looking out her window. As Hoyt drove off, she grabbed Molly by the elbow and led her toward the house. “What the hell were you thinking?” she asked Molly.

“Come on, Jen,” Molly answered, “I have had any cock since I got out of the hospital. I thought we could hook up.”
​
“Not with that guy,” Jen replied. “He’s a racist, and you know it.”

​Extinct Creatures from 2020

I read with interest about the animals that are nearly extinct. The article listed the top ten. Lest we forget, there are other things that are either extinct of endangered. Here’s a list:

Honest Politicians. This species isn’t extinct but is considered endangered. It has been spotted on rare occasions. Sometimes reported sightings later proved to be false. Optimistic politician watchers are hoping for a comeback in 2021. They are difficult to capture, because dishonest politicians can lie their way out of most situations making voters believe that they are honest.  

Good Grammar. It’s unclear when this species began to become extinct, but sightings have been few and far between. It’s certainly endangered and may go extinct in 2021.

Misogyny Bosses. This species is most certainly in decline and is endangered even though there are still many out there. They exist in hostile work environments and are considered sexist. They are easily provoked and respond with sexual harassment and sexual assault. They once numbered in the thousands if not the millions. They are being hunted in the wild to extinction. Once in captivity, they appear in court and are soon eliminated. They are considered an invasive species and every attempt is made to eradicate them. They aren’t hard to find because they can’t resist exposing themselves (pun intended).

A Wall with Mexico. The species has not been sighted in 2017 or 2018. Wall watchers predict that there may be one found in 2020, but nothing is certain. What is certain is that Mexico won’t pay for it.

Balanced Budgets. This species is considered extinct at this date. The last one was spotted in 2001. Many budget watchers doubt we will ever see another balanced budget. They don’t survive in captivity and soon die if not cared for properly.

Free Trade. This species was last spotted in 2017 and has not been seen since. Most free trade watchers attribute this to the growth of free trade’s natural predator, tariffs. They are difficult to capture and escape easily.

Civility. Civility isn’t extinct, but it is endangered. The growth of social media has reduced the natural habitat of civility to the point that sighting of civility are becoming rare. It is hoped that it may make a comeback in 2021.

Common Sense. This species is another one that is endangered. While it used to roam across the continent, it is rarely seen in the Washington D.C. area and less frequently in other states.

Conspiracy Theories. This is another invasive species that has experienced unlimited growth. All efforts to eradiate conspiracy theories have usually backfired. The first sighting of this species isn’t known but was sighted with the sinking of the battleship Maine in 1898. This species is now well established and flourishing. Its numbers grew unabated during the Cold War. Subspecies include Watergate, the moon-landing, climate change, vaccinations and UFOs.

Real News. Real news, identified by objective and unbiased journalism, is endangered. It’s difficult to spot real news. It’s cousin, Fake News, is often mistake for Real News, but the two are very different. Real news is also often confused with its cousin, Conspiracy Theories.

Bipartisan Congressional Bills. This species was last spotted in 2017. It hasn’t been seen since and is feared extinct. Its rarity is compounded, because it takes two very different parents to mate in spite of their hatred of each other.

​There are, of course, many other critters that are endangered, but this list should help to identify the most endangered ones. 

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 38k 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 made few changes to Chapter 8 for this second draft. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 8
 
The next day was a rainy day in Georgia. Jen and Molly headed for their weekly PTSD group session. Jen was driving the Audie that Doc had given her for her last birthday. As they were passing a retention pond, the car behind them sped up alongside of Jen.

“What the Fuck, lady,” Jen yelled. “This is a no passing zone.”

Suddenly, the passing car swerved to the right, colliding with Jen’s car and force it off the road. The car slid down a small embankment and toward the retention pond. Jen braked to no avail as the car slide into the pond and began to sink. Jen and Molly both started screaming as water started to fill up the car. Both women stopped scream and arched their necks to keep their heads above the rising water.

Finally, Jen asked, “Molly, are you okay?”

“You mean am I dead?” Molly replied. “No, I’m still here.”

“I don’t think the car is sinking anymore,” Jen said. “I think this pond is only three or four feet deep. We can get out.” Slowly, both women forced their doors open and exited the vehicle. On the bank were a couple of people shouting and asking if they were injured. Jen recognized one person as a woman from their PSTD group therapy.

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Molly yelled. “We just picked a bad spot to have an accident.”

The woman waited as Jen and Molly walked out of the water. “That was no accident,” the woman said. “I saw the driver. She passed me to get to you and then tried to run you off the road. It was deliberate.”

“She?” Jen asked.

“Yeah,” answered the woman. “I saw her as she drove by me. It was a woman. I got part of the license plate. I already called 911. The police should be here any minute.”

The police arrived and took statements from both women. The offending driver didn’t stop. The police took a description from the witnesses who saw the incident. An ambulance arrived and started checking Jen and Molly to ensure they were okay. They wrapped them in warm blankets and had them sit in the ambulance as they took their vitals. A tow truck arrived and soon had Jen’s car out of the pond. Jen and Molly were retrieving their purses as Jonah pulled up with his partner, Ji-Su Lee,  a short Korean man. Jonah introduced him as Jessie Lee.

“Ms. McDowell, please retrieve the registration from your car, and I’ll initiate a BOLO for it,” Jessie said. “We’ll also start canvasing repair shops. The car that hit yours will be damaged by the looks of the damage done to your car. It looks like it was a blue car based on the color that scraped off onto your fender.”

“That’s correct, detective,” the witness said. “I saw it. It was a four-door sedan. I think it was a Toyoda. I also have a partial license plate.” She handed a slip of paper to Jessie.

“Great. Thanks,” Jessie said. “I’ll take care of the BOLO. Jonah, you want to start getting statements?” Jonah nodded.

As Jessie walked back to their car, Jonah whispered to Jen and Molly. “Jessie likes to think he’s in charge. Nice guy though.”

“Is he from Korea?” Jen asked. “He has a Southern accent.”

“Nope. Born and raised here in Atlanta,” answered Jonah. “I think he’s third or fourth generation. You should see him interrogate people. He acts and talks like he just got off the boat. It fools people and it work well for him.” Jen and Molly laughed.

Jonah decided he could get statements from Jen and Molly at home. He talked to the witnesses and took their statements. When he was finished, he arranged for a ride for the women so he could get to work on this case.
​
A few hours later, Jonah called to say they found the car. It had been stolen and then abandoned.
Later that evening, Jen got a call from detective Pete Barrett in vice. His job was to pose as a young teen on his computer and trap pedophiles. He uses the dark web to contact the pedophiles. His job earned him the nickname of Pervert Pete, that plus the way he leered at female cops.
 
“Jen, I hate to tell you this, but that incident was no accident,” Pete started. “You and Molly were targeted. Someone was trying to kill you.”

“What do you mean?” Jen asked.
 
“You know in my job I monitor the dark web. There’s a place there where people can post contracts for hits. Someone has put out a contract on you. I already informed the FBI. You’ll probably hear from Special Agent Andrews.”
 
Jen was shocked. “Why? Why me?”
 
“Well, think about it,” Pete said. “You went undercover and brought the FBI down on a far-right boot camp. You also were instrumental stopping a hate group bomber and sniper from killing a bunch of people here in Atlanta. That’s the why. That’d the easy part. The who is the big question.”
 
“Are people still mad about that?”
 
Pete went silent for a minute. Finally, he said, “At least you still have your sense of humor.”
 
“You can’t figure out who posted the hit?” Jen asked.
 
“No,” answered Pete. “Not yet. I can’t trace it on the dark web.”
 
“What do you mean, not yet?” asked Jen.
 
“The contract is open ended, meaning anyone can attempt to claim it,” Pete continued. “The attempt today was strictly amateurish. A professional would have checked out that pond to make sure it was deep enough. Next time you may not be so lucky.”
 
“How much is the contract?” Jen asked.
 
“$10,000,” Pete answered.
 
“For Molly and me?” Jen asked.
 
“No,” answered Pete. “It’s $10,000 each.”

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 37k 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 made few changes to Chapter 7 for this second draft. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 7
 
The weather had turned warmer in Georgia. There was no need for a coat. Jen and Molly were in their office, working. How do you want to start with Charlize’s case?” Molly asked Jen.

“Let’s retrace the route that Charlize and Maury took and see what we come up with,” Jen answered. “We’ll go to the parking garage first and start there.”

They drove to the parking garage at the address that Charlize gave them and found the two parking spots that Mr. Richards used. There was the BMW. The Honda was missing. Jen got out and placed a tracker on the car.  “I’ve got an idea,” Molly said. “Let’s go to the garage office. Jen drove to the office on the ground floor. Molly walked over to the window were an African American sat behind thick glass. “Pardon me, sir,” she said. The man looked up. “Could you tell me who is renting parking space 395?”

The man frowned. “Why?”

“Well, I’m not too steady on my feet because I have these prothesis, and I stumbled against his car and I think I may have scratched it.”

The man shook his head and looked at his computer. After a moment or two he printed out a page and handed it to Molly. On the paper was a copy of a driver’s license with a telephone number. “Just so you know,” the man said. “the garage assumes no responsibility for any damage that occurs while parking here.” It was a well-rehearsed line.

Molly got back into Jen car and handed her the printout. Jen looked at it and said, “What the fuck? His name isn’t Jimmy Richards, it’s Jimmy Richardson.”

“The license looks real,” Molly added. “It’s one of those new upgraded ones that are hard to forge. I’ll check it out when we get back to the office.”

After a few minutes at the office, Molly turned to Jen. “The name appears to be correct and so does the address.”

“So, this guy married Biju under a false name.” Jen said.

“It looks like it,” Molly answered. “We can check that out. It would be helpful if we knew Biju’s real name. They must have a marriage license on file.”

Jen and Molly searched all the records of marriages in Atlanta and surrounding villages and towns as well as wedding announcements in the papers. Nothing popped up.

“If they didn’t get married here, where would they go to get married?” Jen asked.

They both answered, “Vegas!”

After searching for a couple of hours, Jen and Molly located a marriage license for Jimmy Richards and Biju Huang. Biju’s birthplace as listed as Hong Kong, China. They were also able to locate the chapel where they were married. On a hunch, Jen asked if the chapel took pictures for the brides and grooms. They did. Soon Jen and Molly had copies of the photograph of the happy couple. Biju appeared to be in her twenties.

Jen and Molly went over what they found out so far. They put the pictures on the white board with magnets. Molly stood back and looked at the pictures for a minute. “No one has reported Biju missing. No body has turned up. How does an old fart like Jimmy find a young, beautiful bride like Biju?”

“Money and mail order,” Jen suggested.

“I thought that was illegal,” replied Molly. “Isn’t that sex trafficking?”

“No,” Jen answered. “It’s only sex trafficking when the brides are kidnapped or underage.”

“Okay,” said Molly. “She’s a mail order bride from Hong Kong. Jimmy paid her way and married her. She must have a green card. Right?”

“You’re right. The immigration bureau would have, but they won’t let us have a copy. I don’t think we need it. She may not have connected with Jimmy on her own. She probably went through some type of network or organization. I’ve seen those ads that say Asian brides looking for husbands. Maybe we can find out the middle-man that hooked Jimmy and Biju up.”

“Why do we need that?” Molly asked.
​
“I think we need to try and contact Biju’s family and find out what they know.”

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 36k 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 made few changes to Chapter 6 for this second draft. Here’s the second half of Chapter 6. Enjoy.
​
CHAPTER 6 (2nd half)
 
Molly turned to Jen. “That’s the same time as when the murder took place.”
 
“Well. If I was you,” Jen suggested. “I’d check out Frank’s alibi.”
 
“Can you give us his address?” Jen asked.  “HR hasn’t been very cooperative.”
 
“No sweat,” Milly answered as she pulled up a file on her computer and printed it out.
 
After a few more questions, Jen and Molly left. Once in the car, Jen asked, “What was that perfume that reeked in there?”
 
“I think it was Versace,” Molly answered. “I used to use it before I deployed.”
 
“Why did you stop using it?” Jen asked.
 
“Are you kidding?” Molly asked with a laugh. “I didn’t need it in Afghanistan. The men were so horny, they didn’t care if I used WD-40. And what was with that push up bra? Who does she think she’s kidding?”
 
Jen and Molly called Frank’s cell phone. He said he couldn’t talk right then, but he had a lunch break in thirty minutes and would gladly talk then. Jen used her GPS to locate the work site that Frank gave her—a construction site.
 
After asking around, Jen and Molly found Frank as he sat down on a pile of lumber to eat his sack lunch. The women introduced themselves and said they were investigating Ken wife’s murder. Jen was surprised when Frank seems nonchalant about it.
 
“I thought the police would get around to me eventually” Frank said.
 
“We’re not the police,” Jen replied. “We’re private investigators. We’ve been hired to look into this case. Our client doesn’t believe Ken rice killed his wife.”
 
“Oh, okay.” replied Frank. “So, anything I say is off the record?”
 
“You could say that,” Molly replied.
 
“I did say that.” Frank shot back. “It’s okay. Ask away.”
 
Jen started, “We understand that he fired you. Did that upset you?”
 
“What the hell do you think?” Frank answered. “Of course, it upset me. But in retrospect, I should thank Ken. It was the best thing that could have happened to me.”
 
“Why do you say that?” Molly asked.                 
 
“I had anger issues. Have had for years. I got into a few fights because of it. When Mr. Shader fired me, my union rep convinced me to get some anger management training. It was the best thing I ever did. I was having problems in my marriage, and the training helped. Ken did me a favor.”
 
“So, you didn’t kill him?” Molly asked point blank.
 
Frank laughed. “I thought that this was all about that. No. I didn’t kill her. Like I said, I should thank him.”
 
“Did Ken have any enemies?” Molly asked.
 
“I couldn’t say,” Frank answered. “I mean he was my boss, but I just stuck to my business and never really talked to him. I can’t think of anyone who’d want to kill his wife.”
 
As Jen and Molly walked back to their car, Molly said, “Well, that was a bust. He was our best suspect. Now what?”
 
“I don’t know,” Jen answered. “I guess we need to widen our circle of possible suspects. Maybe you need to follow up on whether Ken had any other affairs. You may want to start with that secretary, Mrs. Alexander.”

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 32k 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 made few changes to Chapter 6 for this second draft. Actually, I made a mistake because I miss-numbered the chapters.  Here’s the second half of Chapter 6. Enjoy.
​
CHAPTER 6
 
After lunch Jen and Molly started to head for the hospital. Molly folded up her walker and leaned it against the wall and grabbed her cane.
 
“Whoa,” Jen said. “What do think you’re doing?”
 
Molly smiled. “I thought I’d just use my cane. The walker just slows me down.”
 
“I think that’s the idea,” said Jen.  “Did the doctor approve this?”
 
“Screw him. I’m using the cane today,” Molly shot back.
 
“Okay, okay,” Jen replied throwing her hands up in mock surrender. “But let’s just throw the walker in the back seat just in case.” She folded up the walker and the two of them headed outside.
 
Once at the hospital, they both donned facemasks and started inside. A hospital employee met them at the door. After verifying that they had an appointment and talking their temperature, they were allowed inside. The HR office was on the first floor.
 
The meeting with HR didn’t go well. The HR Director cited confidentiality, and said she gave all the pertinent information to the police already. She did say that the hospital hadn’t replaced Ken yet, and they are currently doing interviews. However, she did take Jen and Molly to Ken’s office to talk with his secretary, Mrs. Alexander.
 
Mrs. Alexander was executive secretary for the Environmental Services Department. She was a slightly plumb woman in her mid-thirties. Her too tight blouse was bursting at the seams, exposing an ample breast with a red push-up bra. Her perfume filled the air of the small office.
 
After introductions, the secretary invited the women to sit in Ken’s office while they talked. Jen noticed all the documents posted on Ken’s walls. There were his college diplomas and  various certifications from various engineering organization. With Mrs. Alexandra’s permission, Molly took a picture of them with her cellphone.
 
“As you can see,” Mrs. Alexandria said, “Ken was a very smart man.” She pointed at his college diploma. He has a degree in engineering from Georgia University.” She pointed out other certifications. “He’s a Certified Plant and Maintenance Manager and a few months ago, he was certified as a Facility Engineer. That’s a hard one to get. You must pass a four-hour exam.”
 
“Who does the certifying?” Jen asked.
 
“Ken went to the AFE conference in Tampa for that,” Mrs. Alexandra answered.
 
“AFE?” Molly asked.
 
“Oh, sorry,” apologized Mrs. Alexandra. “It stands for the Association for Facility Engineering. I’m so glad to see someone is investigating Sandra’s murder. I just know Ken didn’t do it. He couldn’t have.”
 
“Why do you say that Mrs. Alexandra?” asked Jen.
 
“Call me Milly, please. Ken was the nicest boss. He always talked about his wife--never a bad word.”
 
“Didn’t the police get a statement from you?” asked Jen.
 
“Oh heavens, no,” answered Milly. “No one from the police came here.”
 
“Was there anything that seems odd or out of place with Ken?” asked Molly.
 
“What do you mean?” asked Milly.
 
“Do think he was having an affair? Did he have any enemies that you know of?”
 
“You mean is there a jealous husband that might want him dead? No, of course not. I don’t know if he had enemies here at work. Although…”

What?” asked Jen. “what were you doing to say?”
 
“Well. It’s not my place to say, but there was one employee that Ken had to fire recently. He might have held a grudge.”
 
“Who might that be?” Molly asked. “What happened?”
 
“His name is Frank Bean, one of the maintenance guys. Ken fired him for misusing overtime. Frank was always a hothead. He and Ken had words when Ken fired him, and I think Frank threatened Ken.”
 
“You said this Frank was a hothead. Was he violent?” Jen pressed Milly.
 
“Yeah,” answered Milly. “He got into a few fights, and I don’t mean arguments. He hit some of the other employees. No one ever pressed charges, but most people stay clear of Frank.”
 
“So why was he fired?” Molly asked.
 
“We use a time clock here. Frank is scheduled to work from 7 am to 3 pm. He always clocked in on time, but he was clocking out 15 minutes late every day. We pay time and a half over time, so it adds up. It’s okay if he was working on a work order, but he would just sit in the break room for 15 minutes. We have it on video. So, Ken fired him.”
 
“When was that?” asked Jen.
 
“Let’s see,” answered Milly. “It was a couple of weeks ago.”

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 31k 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 made few changes to Chapter 6 for this second draft and posted the first half. Here’s the first half of Chapter 6. Enjoy.

Another Excerpt from my WIP (10)

CHAPTER 6
 
On Friday, Jen and Molly worked all day inside their office, doing research on their computers.
 
Finally, late in the afternoon, Molly stood up and said, “Let’s go out. We need to unwind.”
 
Jen looked up. “Okay, I’ll see if the boys want to come.”

“No,” Molly said. “Girls night out. Just you and me.”

“And do what?” Jen asked.

“Well, it’s Friday. My VFW post has an all you can eat fish fry every Friday and also a country band. For an extra $2 you can add shrimp.”

“I don’t know,” Jen replied. “Do you want tom hang out with a bunch of old folks?”

“Wait a minute,” Molly cautioned. “I hang out there. On Fridays, the older vets come for the fish. The young vets come for the band and to dance. Besides, most of the fish is take out.”

“How do they have a dance during the pandemic?” Jen asked.

“Well, they can only allow a certain number of guests inside, something like 25 or 50 percent,” Molly answered. “Then in a large room they placed marks six feet apart in rows. They only allow line dancing, and everyone stays follows social distancing and wears masks.”

“I haven’t tried dancing in my prothesis yet,” Jen said. “I don’t know if I can.”

“We don’t have to dance,” Molly suggested. “We can listen to the music and drink beer. Besides, we can watch some of those young guys dance. Some of them are hot.”

Jen finally relented and volunteered to drive. Jen decided that Molly was right; some of the guys were hot, the band was good, and the beer was cold. The fish was white fish, bit there was plenty of it. After an hour, a guy walked over to Molly. “Hello, my name is Marty Hennessey. Would you like to dance?” he asked through his facemask.

Molly shook her and pulled up her pant legs to reveal her two protheses. Marty pulled up his to reveal a major protheses on his left leg, extending down from just below his hip.

“Okay,” Molly conceded. “You got me beat, but I haven’t danced since I got these.”

“No problem,” Marty answered. “I’ll show you how.”

“No, no, no,” protested Molly. “I don’t think so.”

Marty bend down and leaned on the table. “What was your rank when you got discharged from the military?”

Molly was taken back by the question. “I was a staff sergeant.”

Marty straightened up. “Well, I was a captain and I’m giving you a direct order to get your ass out on the dance floor, sergeant.” Reluctantly, Molly stood up. Marty half led-half pulled Molly to the dance floor. All the dances were line dances, and Molly struggled to keep up. She did stumble a couple of times, but Marty caught her. Jen was certain the last fall was fake. Marty stood behind Molly and held her waist to steady her. Molly moved his arms tighter around her. After a few minutes, Molly mastered the steps without falling. No one objected to them not social distancing since several other couple did the same.

As the next line dance started, Molly and Marty walked and pulled a protesting Jen onto the dance floor. Molly stood on one side holding Jen’s hand while Marty held her other hand. It was awkward at first, but soon Jen was keeping up without falling. Once she got the hang of it, she resumed social distancing. After a few dances, Jen headed back to her table, turning down a couple of offers to dance on the way.

When the band took a break, Molly walked over to Jen. “Don’t worry about driving me home. Marty said he’d give me a ride.” She winked at Jen. “I might go over to his place for a nightcap.”

Jen sternly asked, “Molly do your panties fall off every time you meet a good-looking guy?”

Molly smiled. “What panties?”

Jen laughed. “Sorry, for a minute I forgot who I was talking to. Okay, but send me a text or call so I’ll know where to go to claim the body.”

Marty walked over with another young man. “Ladies, this Navada Lucas, my best friend. He still has both legs, but he’s okay.” Marty made introductions all around. The four of them danced a few more times.
​
Finally, Jen said, “Folks, I’m not use to this, and my legs are killing me, so I need to sit down.”

I actually forgot to post something on my blog this morning, so this is late. 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 31k 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 made few changes to Chapter 5 for this second draft and posted the first half. Here’s the second half of Chapter 5. Enjoy.
Another Excerpt from my WIP (9)
“And in spite of all this evidence, Keira Shader, the sister of the vic, claims Ken is innocent,” Molly said. “I wonder why.”
 
“That’s a good question.,” Jen answered. “Read the file first and then we’ll get to work.”
 
After an hour. Molly had caught up on the police file on the Ken Rice case. Jen updated Molly on the additional information she gleaned from Jonah. Then she rolled a white board over in front of Molly’s desk.
 
Molly walked over to the white board with a marker. “Let’s write down the timeline according to the police report.” Jen agreed. Molly talked as she wrote. “According to Ken, his wife was always the first one awake. She had to be to work by 0700 hours. Ken didn’t start work until nine. Sandra usually got up at 0500 hours and left for work by 0630 hours.”
 
Jen picked up from there. “The police report said they got the 911 call at 0712. They arrived at 0724 hours. Ken met them at the door. He had blood on his clothes. After Sandra was declared dead at the scene, the police said they found that the security system was turned off at 0613 hours. Ken said that was usually, Sandra would turn it off on her way out the door around 0630 hours. The police found the rear patio door open but no forced entry. A search of the kitchen didn’t reveal any fingerprints other than Ken’s and Sandra’s. The police said they found no footprints in the back yard. They even brought in K-9 units but found nothing.”
 
“According to Jonah’s notes,” Jen interjected. “he thinks Ken turned off the alarm at 0613 just before killing his wife. He thinks Ken staged the whole thing to look as if Sandra let someone in through the patio door. The crime scene looked staged to Jonah.”
 
Molly continued, “Ken told the police that he heard a scream and woke up. He went downstairs and checked the security system and saw it was off. He’s certain that he set it before going to bed. He then went to the closet and removed a golf club to use as a weapon. He went into the kitchen and found his wife on the floor with a knife in her chest. He didn’t see anyone else. He started CPR and that accounts for the blood on him. While doing CPR, he touched the knife which accounts for his prints on the knife. Suspects?”
 
Molly wrote down Ken Rice name at the top center of the white board and his wife’s name underneath. She connected the two with a solid line. Then she wrote Keira Shader’s name to one side and connected it with a dotted line to Ken Rice. “Let’s brainstorm possible suspects,” she suggested. “That’ll help guide us.” Once she was done, she turned to Jen.
 
“According to the statement that Ken gave the police,” Jen began. “He speculates that she might have turned off the security system and went into the kitchen. He believes she may have let someone inside through the rear patio doors. That unknown suspect grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter and stabbed her. So, we have an intruder. Could it be a robbery gone bad?”
 
“Not likely,” answered Molly. “The police found nothing taken, and Sandra’s purse was on the kitchen table. Her cell phone and car keys too.”
 
Jen started listing hypothetical suspects as Molly wrote them down. “Ken may have had a lover who wanted his wife dead so she could marry him. Maybe Ken had an enemy at work or somewhere outside of work.”
 
“It had to be someone Sandra knew,” Molly said. “Not a stranger. That eliminates a robbery gone bad. At the same time, maybe she turned off the alarm, because she was expecting someone. Could be a lover. Then they quarreled, and her lover killed her.” Molly wrote lover with a line connected to Sandra.
 
“The problem with that theory,” said Jen “is there was only one stab wound. A spurned lover usually stabs multiple times. Still… You never know.” She wrote another ‘lover’ with a dotted line connecting Ken. “Let’s not forget the employee in maintenance.” Jen wrote ‘employee’ to one side.
 
“That’s a good start,” Molly said. “I’ll start with Ken’s place of work. I’ll see if we can meet with the HR director or with someone from the Environmental Services Department.” After a few phone calls, Molly announced, “We have a meeting with the HR Director after lunch. Why don’t you come with me?” Jen agreed.
 

​Sorry, I didn’t post anything yesterday. I had to take a road trip. I won’t post an excerpt from my WIP, The Throuple Private Eye, because I’m doing a major rewrite. I’ll post this instead:
 
A few years ago, I read on my news feed the 7 Signs You’re Drinking Too Much Coffee. The article listed these symptoms: you feel anxious, your stomach hurts, your heart is racing, you have diarrhea, you can’t sleep, you've got the jitters and you get headaches. I think the article barely scratched the surface of a coffee drinking problem. Since I also suffer from drinking too much coffee, I thought I would post the additional symptoms of a coffee drinking problem. Here’s what the list omitted:
​
You buy coffee colors shirts, so the stains don’t show.
You plant coffee beans in your garden.
Your Starbuck’s bill is more than your electric bill.
You sprinkle ground coffee on your omelets.
You start carrying instant coffee and spoon for a quick pick-me-up instead of a snack.
You start looking for coffee flavoring in all your food.
You can smell a coffee shop one mile away.
Your teeth turn brown.
Use start using a needle to inject the coffee directly into your blood stream.
You think hospital coffee tastes good.

If you have any of these symptoms, you may need an intervention.

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 going to embrace the pandemic in my story. I’m at 29k 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 made few changes to Chapter 4 for this second draft. Here’s the first half of Chapter 5. Enjoy.
 
An excerpt from The Throuple Private Eye—Business is Booming (WIP8)
 
CHAPTER 5

To help Molly with her case, Jen decided she would need a copy of the police file, and she knew that Jonah had access to it. He would put up a fuss, but in the end, he’d do it. Jen called Doc and asked to switch dinner cooking duties with him for tonight. The three of them alternated responsibility for preparing supper and it was Doc’s turn. She also knew that pot roast with potatoes always put Jonah in a good mood; that and whatever she could do in bed that night. Doc agreed to switch, and Jen prepared the pot roast.

Jen, Doc and Jonah had agreed that whenever possible they would sit down together for dinner. It wasn’t easy with Jonah often on a stake out and Doc on call for emergencies. Tonight, everyone was home. Jen brought out the pot roast with potatoes.

“Oh, no,” Jonah started in. “What do you want?” he raised his voice.

“I don’t know what you mean, honey,” Jen said while playing innocent.

Jonah pushed back from the table. “You only serve pot roast when you want something from me. What is it?”

“You are a suspicious soul,” Jen replied, innocently.

“No, no, no, Jen” Jonah continued. “You’re after something. What?”

Doc chuckled and started serving himself. “Never mind him, Jen. I’ll eat his. It smells delicious.” Jen sat down and took the platter from Doc.

Jonah finally sat back at the table. “Well, it does smell delicious. I guess you’ll tell sooner or later.”
After some small talk, Jen finally said, “I got a new client today. Her name is Keira Shader. Does that name ring a bell?”

Jonah chuckled. “Yeah. I know who she is. She’s the sister to Sandra Rice. I was on that case. We arrested Ken Rice for murder. I spoke to Keira, got her statement. So that’s it, huh?” Jonah asked. “You want me to copy the police file on Ken Rice. Jen, that case is technically still open. He hasn’t been convicted yet. You ask too much. I could get fired.”
​
“Please,” Jen pleaded. “She hired me to investigate. She thinks he’s innocent. You know I’ll find out anyway. It’ll save me a lot of time. Please.”
 
“I worked that case,” Jonah replied. “He’s as guilty as sin. You can’t keep asking me to put my career on the line all the time.”
 
“Okay, this will be the last time. I promise’” Jen waited for Jonah’s reaction. “I’m wearing that thong you like.”
 
Doc perked up. “That thin red one?”
 
Jen nodded her head. Jonah sighed. “Okay,’ he said. “but this has to be the last time.”
 
Jen turned to Doc. “Ken worked at the hospital. Did you know him?”
 
“Not really,” Doc answered. “I mean, I knew who he was, but I never spoke to him. His wife, Sandra, was one of the nurses. I knew her, but she worked in a different department.”
 
“Did you ever hear any rumors about him having an affair?”
 
“There’s always rumors in a hospital,” Doc answered. “I never pay them any attention, but whenever I went to visit my patients in ICU, she always seemed to be flirting with a male nurse there. I don’t know his name.”
 
The next night Jonah came home with a copy of the complete file on the Ken Rice murder case. It looked a little thin to Jen. “Is this all?” she asked.
 
“I left out the pictures,” answered Jonah.
 
Jen spent the night going through the file. The next day she gave it to Molly for her to read. “Can you give me a summary?” Molly asked.
 
“Sure,” replied Jen. “It all started with a 911 call. A neighbor out walking her dog thought she heard a scream from the Rice house. The police arrived in less than five minutes and knocked on the door. Ken answered the door covered in blood. The police found his wife on the kitchen floor dead from a knife to her chest.”
 
“So, he had her blood all over himself and still pleaded innocent?” Molly asked.
 
“Correct,” Jen answered. “He said he was sleeping when he heard a noise downstairs. He came down and found his wife on the floor with a knife in her chest.”
 
“How did he explain the blood?”
 
“He said he was trying to revive her with CPR. He also said he touched the knife. That explains his fingerprints on the knife. The autopsy showed that she had no defensive wound, so the ME determined that she must have known her attacker. The detectives also discovered that he had purchased a million-dollar life insurance policy on his wife two week before.”