by Ann Aptaker
I aim the .45 at Sig. My hand is suddenly warm and supple as my finger wraps around the trigger. Vengeance has melted the ice in my veins. I’m warm all over.
Even my name comes at me on warm breath. “Cantor.” It’s Rosie. Her hand is on my gun arm. “That’s a suicide play.”
Sig doesn’t move. Neither does my aim. But Rosie’s pressing down on my arm. Her touch is insistent, stubborn with concern for me. Slowly, I lower my gun.
Sig motions to the trucker and the guy with the bloody hand to get into the Lincoln. They make it snappy across the pier, get into the car. Sig, still looking at me, calls out, “Thank you, Cantor! You did well! You found Opal’s killer. I am in your debt and I will pay you. I always pay my debts.” He starts to get back into the car but stops and calls to me, “I understand you have been looking for a woman named Sophie.” Then he gets into the Lincoln. Celeste’s killer drives the car away.
I stare at the Lincoln until the red glow of its taillights is gone, until there’s nothing to see except the darkening glow of New York’s skyline in the thin gray dawn over the river.
“C’mon,” Rosie says. Her arm is around my waist and she’s tugging me gently. Her arm is warm and strong. But I slip through her grasp as I fall to my knees beside the woman who’s cold and pale and dead. I cry my eyes out for Celeste Copley.
About the Author
Native New Yorker Ann Aptaker has earned a reputation as a respected if cheeky exhibition designer and curator of art during her career in museums and galleries. Taking the approach that what art authorities find uncomfortable the public would likely enjoy, exhibitions Ann has curated have garnered favorable reviews in the New York Times, Art in America, American Art Review, and other publications.
She brings the same attitude and philosophy to her first love: writing, especially a tangy variety of historical crime fiction. Ann’s short stories have appeared in two editions (2003 and 2004) of the noir crime anthology Fedora. Her flash fiction story, “A Night In Town,” appeared in the online zine Punk Soul Poet. In addition to curating and designing art exhibitions and writing crime stories, Ann is also an art writer and an adjunct professor of art history at the New York Institute of Technology.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
Courtship by Carsen Taite. Love and Justice—a lethal mix or a perfect match? (978-1-62639-210-6)
Against Doctor’s Orders by Radclyffe. Corporate financier Presley Worth wants to shut down Argyle Community Hospital, but Dr. Harper Rivers will fight her every step of the way, if she can also fight their growing attraction. (978-1-62639-211-3)
A Spark of Heavenly Fire by Kathleen Knowles. Kerry and Beth are building their life together, but unexpected circumstances could destroy their happiness. (978-1-62639-212-0)
Never Too Late by Julie Blair. When Dr. Jamie Hammond is forced to hire a new office manager, she’s shocked to come face-to-face with Carla Grant and memories from her past. (978-1-62639-213-7)
Widow by Martha Miller. Judge Bertha Brannon must solve the murder of her lover, a policewoman she thought she’d grow old with. As more bodies pile up, the murdered start coming for her. (978-1-62639-214-4)
Twisted Echoes by Sheri Lewis Wohl. What’s a woman to do when she realizes the voices in her head are real? (978-1-62639-215-1)
Criminal Gold by Ann Aptaker. Through a dangerous night in New York in 1949, Cantor Gold, dapper dyke-about-town, smuggler of fine art, is forced by a crime lord to be his instrument of vengeance. (978-1-62639-216-8)
Because of You by Julie Cannon. What would you do for the woman you were forced to leave behind? (978-1-62639-199-4)
The Job by Jove Belle. Sera always dreamed that she would one day reunite with Tor. She just didn’t think it would involve terrorists, firearms, and hostages. (978-1-62639-200-7)
Making Time by C.J. Harte. Two women going in different directions meet after fifteen years and struggle to reconnect in spite of the past that separated them. (978-1-62639-201-4)
Once The Clouds Have Gone by KE Payne. Overwhelmed by the dark clouds of her past, Tag Grainger is lost until the intriguing and spirited Freddie Metcalfe unexpectedly forces her to reevaluate her life. (978-1-62639-202-1)
The Acquittal by Anne Laughlin. Chicago private investigator Josie Harper searches for the real killer of a woman whose lover has been acquitted of the crime. (978-1-62639-203-8)
An American Queer: The Amazon Trail by Lee Lynch. Lee Lynch’s heartening and heart-rending history of gay life from the turbulence of the late 1900s to the triumphs of the early 2000s are recorded in this selection of her columns. (978-1-62639-204-5)
Stick McLaughlin by CF Frizzell. Corruption in 1918 cost Stick her lover, her freedom, and her identity, but a very special flapper and the family bond of her own gang could help win them back—even if it means outwitting the Boston Mob. (978-1-62639-205-2)
Rest Home Runaways by Clifford Henderson. Baby boomer Morgan Ronzio’s troubled marriage is the least of her worries when she gets the call that her addled, eighty-six-year-old, half-blind dad has escaped the rest home. (978-1-62639-169-7)
Charm City by Mason Dixon. Raq Overstreet’s loyalty to her drug kingpin boss is put to the test when she begins to fall for Bathsheba Morris, the undercover cop assigned to bring him down. (978-1-62639-198-7)
Edge of Awareness by C.A. Popovich. When Maria, a woman in the middle of her third divorce, meets Dana, an out lesbian, awareness of her feelings brings up reservations about the teachings of her church. (978-1-62639-188-8)
Taken by Storm by Kim Baldwin. Lives depend on two women when a train derails high in the remote Alps, but an unforgiving mountain, avalanches, crevasses, and other perils stand between them and safety. (978-1-62639-189-5)
The Common Thread by Jaime Maddox. Dr. Nicole Coussart’s life is falling apart, but fortunately, DEA Attorney Rae Rhodes is there to pick up the pieces and help Nic put them back together. (978-1-62639-190-1)
Jolt by Kris Bryant. Mystery writer Bethany Lange wasn’t prepared for the twisting emotions that left her breathless the moment she laid eyes on folk singer sensation Ali Hart. (978-1-62639-191-8)
Searching For Forever by Emily Smith. Dr. Natalie Jenner’s life has always been about saving others, until young paramedic Charlie Thompson comes along and shows her maybe she’s the one who needs saving. (978-1-62639-186-4)
Blindsided by Karis Walsh. Blindsided by love, guide dog trainer Lenae McIntyre and media personality Cara Bradley learn to trust what they see with their hearts. (978-1-62639-078-2)
Blue Water Dreams by Dena Hankins. Lania Marchiol keeps her wary sailor’s gaze trained on the horizon until Oly Rassmussen, a wickedly handsome trans man, sends her trusty compass spinning off course. (978-1-62639-192-5)
Let the Lover Be by Sheree Greer. Kiana Lewis, a functional alcoholic on the verge of destruction, finally faces the demons of her past while finding love and earning redemption in New Orleans. (978-1-62639-077-5)
About Face by VK Powell. Forensic artist Macy Sheridan and Detective Leigh Monroe work on a case that has troubled them both for years, but they’re hampered by the past and their unlikely yet undeniable attraction. (978-1-62639-079-9)
Blackstone by Shea Godfrey. For Darry and Jessa, the chance at a life of freedom is stolen by the arrival of war and an ancient prophecy that just might destroy their love. (978-1-62639-080-5)
Out of This World by Maggie Morton. Iris decided to cross an ocean to get over her ex. But instead, she ends up traveling much farther, all the way to another world. Once she’s there, only a mysterious, sexy, and magical woman can help her return home. (978-1-62639-083-6)
Kiss The Girl by Melissa Brayden. Sleeping with the enemy has never been so complicated. Brooklyn Campbell and Jessica Lennox face off in love and advertising in fast-paced New York City. (978-1-62639-071-3)
Taking Fire: A First Responders Novel by Radclyffe. Hunted by extremists and under siege by nature’s most virulent weapons, Navy medic Max de Milles and Red Cros
s worker Rachel Winslow join forces to survive and discover something far more lasting. (978-1-62639-072-0)
First Tango in Paris by Shelley Thrasher. When French law student Eva Laroche meets American call girl Brigitte Green in 1970s Paris, they have no idea how their pasts and futures will intersect. (978-1-62639-073-7)