Sunday Snippet: The Baracas File

Yeesh. We're already halfway through the month and I have barely scratched the surface on holiday stuff. In all fairness, I'm not really feeling it this year. There's just too much terrible going on from mass shootings to the kidnapping of people off the streets. Good will toward man doesn't seem to be a thing anymore … unless it's a specific type of man.

Ohio is super cold and snowy right now. We got about six inches last night and the temperature plummeted down to single digits. It's in the teens at the moment. Won't last long. We're supposed to be in the mid-fifties by Thursday. Seriously.

Work projects are moving along. I'm finishing up a proofread and working on a copy edit. I have another new project getting ready to start soon and another copy edit coming next week. I also have the memoir that I'm reviewing as the author makes changes.

I got a few of my regular shows watched this week. I'm still in a blah place and haven't been able to dedicate the time to viewing. I did get a good bit of my mountain of laundry completed, which is a huge accomplishment. I have a new hanging rack I want to get set up but can't until I get the backlog of clothes cleared.

I did finish up Foyle's War and will be starting a new season this week. The next one only has two episodes, which means they might be a little longer. If that's the case, I might be breaking the episodes into two chunks.

I also got the season finale of Beyond Paradise in. I wanted to get it watched before the holiday special and I got it done. Really hope there's some good stuff around the corner for Esther and Archie. My fingers are crossed. Also … Martha and Humphrey are really great foster parents. It hurts my heart every time they send one of their fosters back.

In an odd twist, I caught a holiday episode of Poirot. Thoroughly enjoyed the mystery even without Hastings and Miss Lemon or Inspector Japp. Gotta say the Egyptian prince being a complete prat ended up being fun to watch. I would not have blamed Poirot if he lost his calm and thwacked that guy on the head.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from The Baracas File, a novella that takes the main characters on a twisty journey to find justice. This is a tie-in to the Furlough 99 universe.

Here's the miniblurb:

Briggs Felderzon, an investigative reporter, will stop at nothing to discover what's in the Baracas File, the contents of which results in his brother's death. Myrrh Golz, his brother's partner in the Inter-Stellar Police, decides to help him … but Briggs isn't sure he trusts her.

And a sneaky peek…

Briggs let the ISP handle the arrangements for his brother's death. No … not death. Murder. The ceremony and wake would take place later today.

And Briggs had research to do, if he wanted to get answers.

But putting his current workload on the back burner pissed his boss off.

Briggs cut into his editor's tirade. "Fuck off, Andy. You do remember I just lost my brother, right?" Asshole behavior wouldn't get the guy a story … not when a bigger one took up every inch of Briggs's brain.

Andy's breath hissed out. "Shit. Yeah. Yeah, you're right." He paused and heaved a sigh. "Take whatever time you need. I'll move the trafficking story over to Carson."

Briggs shook his head. "Andy? Do me a favor. Leave it with me…" A huge ask but…

Andy all but salivated over the phone line. "You've got a feeling, don't you?"

Briggs couldn't explain his reticence—gut instinct, a weird vibe, or just sheer ego—but, yeah, something made him reluctant to let the thread go. "I don't know what the fuck I have. Yet. Give me some leeway and if nothing pans out, I'll send my notes to Carson." The other reporter would do an adequate job … if necessary.

Andy grunted. "Yeah, okay. And listen, my apologies for being a dick. I'm sorry about your brother." He signed off after extending his condolences again.

Briggs leaned back and let a little of the grief slide in. He'd been out of touch with Zell for weeks, but they'd been close. Briggs chased down stories about corruption and greed; Zell chased criminals that committed major crimes. Sometimes their professional paths crossed, but often they didn't have time to make personal connections.

The weight of that fact settled over Briggs. "Who did this to you, Zell?" And you need to keep watch for Myrrh…

Sitting up, Briggs grabbed his laptop and started digging for information on his brother's partner.

Two hours later, he had the basic details any cursory search would come up with … and quite a bit more the general public wouldn't be able to get their hands on.

Closing his computer, he exhaled on a long, slow breath. "Looks like I need to have a chat with Myrrh Golz. And she better have some good answers for my questions."

Starting with whether she killed my brother…

This one might end up going in a direction I didn't expect, but I love it when that happens.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye