Category: Continuation
-
Signature Required
Kathy pulled into the parking lot of Janice’s Diner, dust flying over her new 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra. It drove like a luxury vehicle, unlike Jack’s Studebaker. The cloth seats felt like butter compared to the pseudo-pleather of the Studebaker. All electric controls meant she could roll down the passenger window. It wasn’t a convertible…
-
Ground Zero: Melton’s Plan
Zander Melton wasn’t the brightest student in law school. He wasn’t as adept as his classmates at retaining information. And what he lacked in actual intelligence, he more than made up for in his ability to see where the pieces on the board were moving. Zander was a strategist, and a good one, at that.…
-
The EPA, PFAS, and Jim’s Cow
“Doc, you sure this ain’t all that serious?” Jim watched Doc move strategically around the sick bovine, using a stethoscope to hear for anything abnormal. “I got more than 6,000 head needin’ to be well enough to sell some. I can’t very well go to market and not talk about what this old gal has.…
-
Moloski’s Take-Over
“Twenty-one days, Jim,” Gerald whined. “Twenty-one days I’ve had to listen to alcoholics talk about getting clean, getting sober. And for what?” Jim didn’t see him pull out the cigarette or light it. But there he was, the former President and CEO, smoking a cheap cigarette. “All so I can prove to everyone that I’m…
-
Considering Retirement
“Kathy!” Janice’s shrill voice echoed through the diner from the kitchen. The Presbyterian church let out a few minutes before 11:30 a.m., hunger setting in. Church people knew Janice’s breakfast foods would be hot and ready to go in minutes. Janice knew well that a few of these ‘holy rollers,’ as she called them, would…
-
Emulsion Plastics is Hiring
Cole Wilkes wasn’t comfortable in small towns in Middle America. Emulsion Plastics employed him as the Global Human Resources Director for new production facilities. Hiring and training new employees was his only job. Only after all the staff was hired and consistent production levels were achieved could Cole move on. His latest assignment was the…
-
Bad News for Moloski
“What do you mean leaking?” Gerald looked down to Dr. Charles Kirchoff, one of the senior scientists in charge of maintaining RDF Plastics policies and procedures. A short, mousey man, Dr. Kirchoff was a stickler for following the rules, towing the line, and ensuring everyone complied with company policy. Kirchoff was the first to inform…
-
Kathy’s Second Job
“I heard they is gonna be openin’ a factory just up the road. Some kind of assembly work is what I hear,” Beatrice whispered, even though the number of people inside Janice’s Diner numbered less than five, not including the staff. Betty and Beatrice sat at the third booth from the door. Doc and Jim…
-
Detective Barry Lawson
“So. You two drove this guy here. All the way from Iowa?” Lawson shook his head, yawning. “Get any sleep?” “Get any sleep?” Detective Adam Murray’s tone dripped with sarcasm, his eyes narrowing. “You are a piece of . . .” Murray lunged at Lawson, ready to beat the snot out of him. “Knock it…
-
Rin Zaterelli
“Get down!” A black, unmarked, unlicensed car pulled up next to Zaterelli’s limousine, automatic machine guns firing into the limo. Reinforced Kevlar plating, bulletproof glass, and insulated rubber tires made the limo the perfect vehicle to keep the crime boss safe. Rin Zaterelli and two of his goons were finishing up a quick visit at…
-
The Zaterelli Family
“Mr. Zaterelli? There’s a Zander Melton here to see you?” The voice on the other end of the office intercom was silent. “Melton? Zander Melton?” Rin Zaterelli looked at the two goons on either side of his mahogany desk, puzzled. Both men stood in unison, ready to bum-rush the door. Zaterelli hired them as bodyguards…
-
Protective Custody
A black Cadillac Escalade drove up to Floyd’s small farmhouse with a wraparound covered porch. The distance from the highway to the house was far enough away that you could see in every direction from the second floor. Floyd didn’t have much to do these days, so he sat in a rocker by the front…
-
The Patterson Homestead
“I’ll drive,” Doc told Jim, opening the passenger door for him. Jim eyed Doc’s truck. The eight-inch scratch showed signs of rust. Jim shook his head, no. “You’ve been tryin’ to drive us places ever since you put that gash in the passenger side door. I remember. Ya almost killed me. I told you once,…
-
Janice’s Diner
“Janice, I cannot believe you can cook all this good food and still have time to chew the fat. How is that, anyway?” Pastor Theodore finished the last of his food, his third plate. Every Saturday morning, he came into the diner and ate. Always the same food. Bacon. Pancakes. Sausage. Crispy brown toast. Hash…
-
Prescott and Murray
“Because. It’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said to me, that’s why.” Detective Prescott slid into the unmarked black Cadillac Escalade. The SUV still had that new car smell. “Sometimes I cannot believe you ever made it through the academy.” “Why is that, Prescott? Because I could kick your butt on the range?” The…
