Three Word Wednesday

It is that time again! Today's prompt words are: Lucid, Righteous and Salvage. I continued last week's story line with this week's words.

A week later, I was still no closer to finding out who killed Marie Francis O’Malley. Her friends and neighbors all loved her. She was a sweet Irish Catholic girl who always had a kind word, did volunteer work at the homeless shelter and the animal rescue shelter, was attending classes at the local community college and wanted to be a kindergarten teacher.

She was so sweet, it made my teeth hurt. Her parents and siblings – all fourteen of them – had descended on me time and time again, but there was nothing else I could tell them.

Lurch, I mean, the coroner, had found that cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation. She fought though, and the traces of hair and skin under her nails, and the semen inside her had been sent for a DNA profile.

The phone rang and I jumped. “Detective’s Squad.”

“I need to speak with Detective Luna.” The connection was horrible. I could barely make out the caller’s words under the static.

“This is Luna.” For a moment there was only the pops and hisses on the line.

“I have some information about Marie O’Malley.”

I ripped off the top sheet of my notepad, quickly discarding my distracted doodling, and switched into interrogation mode. “What’s your name?”

“Uh…It’s Paul. Paul Smith.”

Sure. Whatever. “Okay, Paul, what information do you have about Miss O’Malley?”
The connection worsened and I couldn’t make out his words. “Paul, can you still hear me?”

“Yeah, I can hear ya’.” His voice sounded tinny and far away.

“Can we meet?” I was sick of trying to decode his words.

“I don’t know if that would be a good idea.”

“If your info’s good, there may be something in it for your, Paulie.”

“Fine. Meet me at Sabine’s in an hour.”

“How will I know who you are, Paul?”

“I know who you are. I’ll wait for you.”

Sabine’s was one of the city’s newest hotspots. Everyone who was anyone wanted in, so the line stretched down the sidewalk for over half a block. I scanned the crowd with cop eyes, knowing instinctively which ones were doing drugs, selling drugs or had something heavy in their jacket pocket or ruining the line of their clothes. I wasn’t here for that tonight, but I’d definitely give vice a head’s up – if I could salvage my own case.

I thought briefly about standing in line, but hell, I have a badge, and what fun is it to have if you don’t use it? The spike heels on my black leather boots sounded like gunshots as I strode past all of the vacant stares and hostile voices, right up to the bouncer guarding the entrance.

“Sorry lady. Back of the line.” He crossed his arms – or attempted to cross his arms – over his massive chest. “You gotta wait like everybody else.”

He turned away, clearly dismissing me until I shoved my badge in his face. “I think I’ll just go on in, unless you have a problem with that?”

“Listen, I don’t want no trouble. I’m just doin’ my job.” His voice was so deep it almost hurt to hear.

“I’m not trying to wad you up, Tiny. I’m meeting someone.” He looked at me for a few more seconds before motioning me past. I flashed him a quick grin when I heard all of the moans from the waiting crowd.

The music smashed into me. Hard. It felt like a heartbeat throbbing all over my body. I stopped just inside the door and let my eyes adjust to the dim light and overpowering strobe lights.

The dance floor was packed and around the outskirts were tables overflowing with people. In a single sweep of the room I counted seven different drug deals and at least ten times as many underage drinkers. I could only pray my Paul Smith was lucid enough to tell me anything, and that he had something good.

If not I was going to shoot him. And, by God, it would be a righteous shoot. No one makes me miss Monday night football with my dad.


Head over to 3WW to check out what everyone else is writing today!

On a personal note... We had our final adoption hearing on Monday, and Aaron is officially ours now! Big family happiness!

Theme Thursday and Thursday 13

So, I'm going to try my hand at two new prompts this week. What I came up with are two entries that are polar opposites.

This week, Theme Thursday's prompt is Red.

Red:

The blush stole across her cheeks as I plied her with nonsense endearments and frothy fruity drinks. Too easy. She’s a little…curvy for my taste, but I don’t want to be alone tonight. In a few days I won’t even remember her so her size doesn’t really matter.

I glance at her in the passenger seat to avoid the splashes of color the headlights flash in my eyes. Almost there. Almost home. I don’t want to waste money on a cheap hotel room. I’ll call a cab and have it waiting in an hour. She’ll probably cry when she realizes I don’t want her to stay. Oh, well.

She stumbled through the door in those fire engine fuck me pumps. Who does she think she is wearing shoes that sexy? She didn’t even notice how fast I pulled off her shirt to see what she had hidden under there. Not bad. Not bad at all.

No? She thinks she can tell me no? I paid for her drinks all night. She should be thrilled I even looked at her. She’s begging for it with those damn shoes.

No! How the hell did she get the knife out of the butcher block so fast? Oh, Christ. I’m sorry! Please!

I’m cold. I need to get to the phone. Why is the floor so slick? Oh, God. I’m going to die. Someone is outside honking. Maybe I can make it out the door. They’ll help me.

Don’t leave me like this! I’m going to die and the last thing I’ll ever see is those fucking shoes inching backward to stay out of the pool of blood leaking out of me.

Skip over to Theme Thursday to see more fabulous writing from this prompt.

And here is what I wrote for Thursday 13.

Thirteen things:
1. I love the way my baby boy’s eyes look first thing in the morning – sleepy and happy to see mommy.
2. I love the way my husband smells right where his shoulder meets his neck – warm and male and mine.
3. I love the way my mother says she’s proud of me – sweet smiles and happy tears.
4. I love the way my dad shows he loves me – strong and silent.
5. I love the way my friends encourage my writing – harsh critique and demanding expectations.
6. I love the way my dog trusts me no matter what – wagging tail and soulful eyes.
7. I love the way cold mornings feel on my skin – fresh and exhilarating.
8. I love the way the sheets feel when I first slide into bed – cool and clean.
9. I love the way it feels to get my hair cut – out with the old and in with the new.
10. I love the way it feels when my cat curls up in my arms – heavy warmth and deep purring.
11. I love the way my husband slips his fingers through mine – secure and loved.
12. I love the way my sweet son hugs me – sticky fingers in my hair and love you whispered in my ear.
13. I love the way my heart feels when I look at my family – full of love and leaping with joy.

For more 13's, head on over to Thursday 13.

Hope you enjoyed!

3 Word Wednesday

Today's words over at 3WW are: frantic, lurch and odor. Head on over to 3WW and check out all the others.

“The maintenance man noticed it first. Said he thought 3B’s fridge was on the fritz and the food inside spoiled.”

I nodded to the uniform standing in front of me, not really listening – I’d already heard the story from the two uni’s outside and the maintenance man himself. “So, who actually found the body?”

“Well, see Detective, that’s kinda a funny story - .”

“Oddly enough, I’m not here for the comedy hour, officer. Who the fuck found the body?” I managed to keep my voice low and not scream in the face of the newbie shuffling around in front of me.

“Sorry, ma’am. The next door neighbor’s dog found the body.”

“What? The dog?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’d just busted in the door to the apartment when the old woman next door opened her door to see what all the noise was and her yappy little dog ran out and straight into our crime scene, and right onto the body.”

“And nobody thought to stop the dog?” I could feel the blood rushing in my ears and a headache made itself known behind my right eye.

“Well, ma’am, he was fast.”

“Whatever.” I left him sputtering to a stop in the middle of the dingy hallway.

Two steps from the victim’s door, the odor hit me like a sledgehammer to the face. Jesus, whoever’s in there is frickin’ ripe.

“Well, hello, Detective.”

To my left stood the coroner - six and a half feet of skin and bones with a freakishly large nose. “Got any idea of when this one bit it?”

“I’d say about a week. Thermostat’s turned way up, so that sped up decomp. And then there was an unfortunate incident with the neighbor’s dog.” He gestured to a place on the vic’s cheek that had a chunk missing. “Guess the little pooch was hungry.”

I turned and slowly surveyed the room. Someone had trashed the place. “Maybe an interrupted burglary?”

“Maybe.” I could hear the frantic yipping of the neighbor’s dog through the thin apartment walls. “Or, maybe she offed herself. Couldn’t stand listening to that damn mutt any longer.”

“Doubt it. She was strangled.”

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to go on. When he didn’t, I counted to ten and reminded myself to breathe. “So, got anything else for me?”

He looked up from the body and leered at me. There really was no other word for it, other than creepy and disgusting. “Honey, I sure do have something else for you.”

I spun on my heel and walked away when he grabbed his crotch. “Fuck off, Lurch.”

His laughter followed me into the hallway. Just another fun filled Monday morning.

Two Sentence Tuesday

Hey everyone! It’s Tuesday, so that means it’s time for another two sentence Tuesday.

I entered a contest at http://cornelldeville.blogspot.com and voting ends today at noon, so if you can find it in your heart, I need all the votes I can get. I’m entry 41. Check it out!

Here are two lines from that entry:

She looked closer to a lonely college kid hiding behind heavy eyeliner, purple nail polish and a bad attitude. At least she hadn’t colored her long blond hair an unnatural shade of black.

The last two lines I read were from Nicholas Sparks’ Dear John. I don’t have the book with me, I finished it early yesterday. I know better than to read his books. I cry and then I’m angry about the end. Always. It is a form of self torture for me to read them.

Oh, well. Head on over to the Women of Mystery for more Two Sentence Tuesday! (And thanks for any votes you swing my way!)

Two Line Tuesday

Things are super busy right now. We are about to open a huge exhibit at work, the final adoption hearing is on February 8, and school is really busy for hubby right now. That said, the only interesting thing I've written lately is a short article for our international newsletter. I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. Think good thoughts that our opening on Friday night goes well!!

Here are the last two lines I read, from Lynne Viehl's Night Lost:
"It is the new communion," Leary said, nodding. "To partake of ruined flesh, turn polluted blood into wine. It is fed to those in rapture so that they might know the power and glory of the lord. Sometimes I am permitted to watch."

And here are a couple of lines from my most recent article:
Coke lived during the age of the oxcart, horse and buggy, the horseless carriage, the atom bomb and the beginning of the space program. He never drove a car, but was an accomplished “back seat” driver. He may not have intended to enter the horse business, but fate had other ideas for him.

For more Two Sentence Tuesday, head over the the Women of Mystery. Have a wonderful day!

Two Sentence Tuesday

Hi all! I'm back! Life has been crazy busy lately. For all interested Aaron is doing really well. He is adjusting beautifully (better than I am some days). He is starting to have a few night terrors, but we are trying to work through them. It is hard because he still has difficulty communicating sometimes. His speech therapy is going really well, and in the three months he's been with us, he's gone from having a vocabulary of 10-15 words to 100s, and he talks constantly. Our newest game is to read a book to him one time, and then he "reads" it to us. It is amazing what he can remember.

Right now his favorite song is the theme song from Cops. You know the one, "Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you." He walks around singing that all the time, except he changed the lyrics. For him the song goes, "Bad dog, bad dog, what you do, what you do."

For only being two, he amazes me. Okay, enough about my personal life, on to the writing. I am participating in NaNoWriMo. It is only a few days in, and I am behind. Not a lot, but behind none the less. I'm really trying to catch up though.

I am reading Charlaine Harris' Dead Until Dark again. And the last two lines I read were:

Not knowing what to think, I went home to find that Andy Bellefleur had been roused by his pager. he'd left me a note telling me that, and nothing else. Later on, I found that he'd actually been in the hospital while I was there, and waited until I was gone out of consideration for me before he'd handcuffed Jason to the bed.

From my NaNo project:

Within minutes Monica Blake had been pushed to the back corner of his mind. Not forgotten, not completely, but not his sole focus any longer. Too many deaths crowded his days.

Take a trip over to the Women of Mystery to check out more Two Sentence Tuesday fun!

3 Word Wednesday

The prompts at 3WW today are: luster, threat, and glare.

Terror begins to overwhelm me.
Headaches, nausea, aches and pains.
The luster of happiness cracked under stress.
With no way to defend myself,
I tremble in the face of the threat.
It feels like I am under hot lights,
Sweating through their glare.
Fear and loathing coats my skin,
Leaving an oily stain on my soul.


We found out last night that there may be some issues with us adopting our son. Think good thoughts for us, January can't come soon enough.