Happy Valentine's Day. I hope you're munching on chocolate and enjoying the sweet aroma of the flowers your special person sent you. I'm not, but that's because I'm trying to lose weight and my husband and I had an argument one year about his buying me flowers from a grocery store. Since then, I haven't gotten any. *lol* Oh well...he shows his love in so many other way, I guess I'll just have to pretend Tom Selleck is here with my special Valentine card and on bended knee asking for my hand. He can have all of me, if he can handle it. *lol*
Anyhow..I thought it fitting to share an excerpt from "The Pendant", since it starts with a Valentine's Day Murder and progresses from there. Hope you enjoy:
Joseph
Flaherty wriggled his nose at the musty odor of the old antique shop. The poor lighting caused him to squint. He
sneezed when he opened a cookie jar and sent a cloud of dust spiraling upward. The lack of cleanliness repulsed him. He almost left the establishment, but behind
the hazy glass of a display case, an antique necklace caught his eye. He turned his gaze to the clerk across the
room. “How much for the neck piece there?”
He pointed.
The
clerk ceased his meager attempt at cleaning and walked closer. His bulbous nose protruded from between beady
eyes. Dandruff flakes speckled his
shoulders and the part in his dark, greasy hair. “Oh, that necklace.” His bushy brows
knitted into one beneath a crease. “There’s a history to that one, ya know?”
Joseph
straightened and pulled his wallet from his pocket. “Well, do tell, man. This would
make a perfect Valentine gift for my wife.”
Laying
his cloth aside, the clerk unlocked the display case and removed the silver
neckpiece. “I bought this at a Catholic bazaar
about a year ago. I frequent antique
shows and happened upon the fundraiser they were having. The nun in the booth told me a troubled woman
left this piece in the confessional, claiming the necklace held some sort of
curse. According to the priest there that night, the lady muttered something
about murder.”
He
handed the pendant over the counter. “There was a picture of a man inside
who was purported to be the victim, but I discarded it. After all, one never knows the validity of
such tales.” He chuckled.
Flaherty
laughed. “My wife threatens to kill me at least
once a week—last
time for tracking up her clean floor. I’m thinking this might soften her
heart, since she often complains I do nothing for her anymore. How much do you want to make a woman happy?”
“Seventy-five dollars.”
“Make it seventy and you have yourself a deal.”
“Fair enough.” The clerk held out
his open palm. “We’re good, then.”
Joseph
withdrew a hundred-dollar bill and handed it across the counter.
You can find all my books on Amazon. After you check out my novella, which is only 99 cents, then hop over to my friends and check out their posts today. See you next week.
http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/ (Juliet Waldron)
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