Leaving Starhold
I woke slowly to a sweet, soft, hazy quiet. Sunday mornings have a particular quietness about them. Unless I'm on a case that can't wait (not many of those, contrary to television cop shows), my alarm is off, no church to go to, no friends for brunch....
Bear Before Blini
So it was that I found myself ensconced in the guest bedroom, seated in a comfortable chair, since sitting on the bed was just way too strange for me to handle. I had given a brief thought to being on the bed when Dmitri came in, patting the space...
New Year's Day
Lorita, this is tristan black wolf." in these modern times, one is unsure quite what the protocols might be for greeting anyone, but perhaps particularly a spouse.
Reunion, Part 5
I wasn't sure that Andy was in any fit state to drive, but he pulled back into traffic and made his way toward the hotel. I asked Quinn if we should tell Errol what we were doing, and he shook his head. "When it's done, I'll tell him. We'll tell...
Reunion, Part 4
"Selina," I managed to say. "Let me try," Quinn said quickly, getting out his own phone. "She knows my number." I looked to Andy. "What do we do now?" "We need to track Hasslermund." "Phone GPS?" "We don't have..." I could see the 'coon mentally...
Engineering, Part 2
While still at the table in the Amore Bistro, I took out my common-use cell and made contact with Ignacio Santos. He seemed reluctant to meet with me again so soon, until I told him that I might have some clue about what had happened to Shelby Greiner....
Engineering, Part 1
I'm partial neither to bars nor alcohol, although the occasional _aperitif_can be welcome. Properly, the word refers to a dry or fizzy alcoholic beverage (a Sloe Gin Fizz is a good example), although the word has come to mean any alcoholic beverage...
Ennui Go
_For Sam Hurt and the One True Hank_ "Of course, there's nothing I can do about it, Dr. Leitner, because it's just what happens to me. The world is what it is, and it's not my fault that everything is that way. I've done all I can, and I...
Breaking Down
Darkstar's deft deflection helped to keep the rest of the dinner conversation away from me personally, yet the conversation didn't seem the least bit stilted. I had the impression that my hosts felt that they had made me uncomfortable and, as one, they...
Breaking Bread
Darkstar and I padded back to the staircase with no one else in sight. It occurred to me that more than one wicker hamper might be making a trip down the dumbwaiter tonight. I felt as if I should make some sort of conversation, but he didn't start one,...
Breaking Through
My eyes opened, not suddenly, not from any stimulus that I was aware of. I had no sense of time, and the quiet seemed absolute. Either the room was very well soundproofed, or the rain had stopped. I became more aware of my body, realizing that I had...
Of Mice and Menace
I'm not one of those hardcore city dwellers who doesn't like the country. My relief in returning to the city was exclusively that of feeling that I had escaped a physical threat. Rationally, I knew that the response was entirely out of proportion to...