Comparing my handmade calendar to the new pocket calendar, I was satisfied to notice that my calculations of today’s date were correct. When I made my own calendar, I remembered to add a leap year every four years until a century year, which would not be a leap year. Useless information, really, but it’s something that I had learned and I hold on to those little bits of information like my life depends on it.
I woke my little angel and had her eat breakfast before we continued to walk down the broken path toward anything and nothing. I needed water and if the weather was going to cooperate, I would have my canteens filled by nightfall.
Our days consisted of avoiding people, not that that was hard. There weren’t too many of them to avoid. Searching for food and water, making sure our stockpile was full enough to get us through at least three days, but there was never much luck finding anything new to eat.
Food was harder to find in recent months. After so many years had gone by, most of the stored food was now going bad, or already taken. The Flash killed quite a bit of the livestock, leaving only a few stray cats and dogs running around. Soon, the food would become scarcer, and the only way to continue living would be to hunt wild game.
Lucky for me, even though I was a girl, one of my foster parents had taught me a thing or two about hunting. We would do fine enough on our own. For tonight though, finding shelter to sleep in, out of the rain, was my main priority.
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Ding Dong!! Is She Dead?
Book #1 A Nova Ladies Adventure
By Alathia Paris Morgan
Jennifer stepped out the back door of the bar carrying bags of trash to the dumpster. Throwing them inside, she closed the lid.
Sighing deeply, she rolled her shoulders to release some of the tension from a hectic night of work. Turning to go inside, she stopped when she heard hushed voices.
“Joe, lift it higher.”
“Shut the crap up, Freddie. I’ve got the heavy side, you only have the feet.”
Peeking around the dumpster, she saw two men trying to lift a man into the back of a black Lincoln Town Car. She watched with growing horror as they struggled to place what she thought was a lifeless body into the trunk.
Freddie tried to slam the trunk shut, only to have the lid pop up again when it hit a protruding shoe.
She ducked back behind the dumpster as the two men went into the building across the way.
Memorizing the license plate number and car model, she looked around to make sure no one was around as she crept back inside the bar, out of harm’s way.
Rushing to finish up with her closing duties, she grabbed her bag and waited by the front door for Ted, the bouncer, to close up and make sure no one waiting outside to harass her.
“Ted, I’m ready to leave.”
“Sure. Let me turn out the rest of the lights.”
With only the light from the street shining through the door, Jennifer jumped when Ted walked up behind her with his keys in hand.
“Jeesh, you startled me. Don’t sneak up on a girl like that,” she laughed, playfully hitting his arm. “Ready?”
Ted grunted his response as Jennifer held the door open.
Looking in both directions to make sure no one was hanging around, Ted locked the door.
“Bye, Jennifer. See you tomorrow.” Ted headed in the opposite direction.
She waited until he was out of sight before making her way to the police station down the street.
At the precinct’s front desk, the sergeant on duty wasn’t very helpful. “Sir, I need to report a crime.”
Looking her over in her bar attire, he snickered, “Sure, lady. Have a seat and someone will be with you in a little while.” He pointed to the bench filled with handcuffed drunks.
Preferring to stand by the wall, downwind of the drunks, she waited for over an hour before returning to the desk. “I was wondering if someone would be able to take my statement about a crime I witnessed.”
“Just wait over there by the wall and we’ll get to you when we can.” He turned to answer the phone, dismissing her, again.
Using the wall to hold her weight, she waited for another frustrating thirty minutes, but decided she would give the police one more chance.
“Excuse me! Can someone help me out? I need to report a crime, if you’re not too busy to solve one, that is,” she shouted, waving a hand in the air to get the attention of anyone within earshot.
A passing detective heard her and stopped to offer some assistance. “Miss, why don’t you come over here to the desk and you can explain what’s going on.” Looking to the desk sergeant, he informed, “I’ve got this.
Following the detective through a maze of desks, Jennifer stopped as he cleaned out a chair.
“Hi, I’m Detective Reagan. What can I do for you Ms.?” He introduced himself while holding out his hand.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Jennifer Smith. This place sure is a crazy on Saturday nights, huh?” Reaching out to shake his offered hand, she continued. “I think someone was murdered.”
“You said you have a crime to report and now it’s a murder?” He looks at her intently, trying to decide if she was just another crazy lady or if she truly had witnessed a crime being committed.
“I understand you probably hear all sorts of stories, especially this late at night, but I was taking the trash out from the bar as we were closing when I heard angry voices.”
“Which bar would that be?”
“The Tiger’s Bar over on Suffolk Street, between East Houston and Stanton. This was in the alley behind the bar.” Detective Reagan motioned for her to continue. “I glanced around the dumpster, not sure if I should get involved, when two men walked to the trunk of a car carrying a body between them.”
“A body? You’re sure about that?”
“Yes, sir. It certainly looked like a body. When it hit the back of the trunk with a thud, they tried to close the lid, only it wouldn’t shut because a shoe was sticking out.”
Smiling tightly, she goes on. “Kind of hard to believe, I know. I thought it was funny at the time, a joke maybe, but I decided that it needed to be reported, just in case.”
“Did you see anything else?” The detective needed a little more information. “Their heights, ages, race?”
“No, but the guy named Freddie was carrying the feet. Joe had the heavy end. I didn’t see anything else because they went inside the back door across from the dumpster.”
Watching the detective glance around, she quickly interjected, “I also have the license plate number and car model if that helps.” Seeing a post-it notepad on his desk, she grabbed it and a pen to write the number down.
“Is that all?”
“I believe so. I don’t remember anything else. I was hiding so they couldn’t see me and put me in the trunk as well,” she said half-jokingly.
“All right, Miss. If you will write your name and information on this card for me, I’ll look into it.”
Filling out the card, she passed it across the desk and asked, “So, what happens now?”
“We will run the plate and check out the place you said they went into against the two names you mentioned. Go home and get some sleep. If we have any questions, we’ll call you.”
Standing up, the detective dismissed her. “Thank you for reporting this, and we will take care of it. Have a good night.”
Jennifer wondered if it was just her imagination as she made her way home. Had there really been a body in the trunk? Shrugging, she decided to let it go. She did the right thing, no matter the outcome. On
e thing she did know was that she really needed a good night’s sleep after spending so many hours on her feet.
~~~~~~
Awakened at six in the morning to someone pounding on her door, Jennifer opened her bleary eyes before making her way to the door to peer through the peephole. Two people were standing in the hallway holding up a badge.
“What can I do you for?” Jennifer asked through the door.
“We’re looking for Jennifer Smith? We need to talk her,” the gentleman in the suit answered.
“Can I call someone to verify who you are?” She picked up the phone from the counter, along with the card the detective had given her the night before.
“Detective Reagan suggested you give him a call if you had any questions,” the woman assured.
Dialing, she hoped the detective was still on duty. “Yes, may I speak with Detective Reagan please? Detective Reagan? Sir, I have two people outside my door who said you sent them here to talk to me.” She listened to his reply, then shouted, “The FBI…what? Why?” She looked at the door and her eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you saying they’re here to protect me?” He went on, and with no other options, she agreed. “All right, I’ll make sure they are the ones you sent over. Yes, sir. I’ll see you shortly. Bye.”
She looked again through the peephole and asked, “Can you tell me your names please?”
“Agents Tomb and Riley, Miss. We need to get you somewhere safe.” Neither were smiling as she opened the door to let them inside.
“I’ll only need a few minutes to get dressed. Is that all right?”
“Certainly. I just need to make sure you are the only person here.” Agent Riley did a sweep of every room before announcing, “All clear.” Looking to Jennifer, she said, “Go ahead and get dressed now. I’ll be just outside this door, waiting for you.”
“Yeah, o-okay,” she stuttered, a little disturbed by how serious they were.
Going into her bedroom, she found Agent Tomb standing in her closet, pulling clothes out and placing them into a bag on the bed. “What are you doing with my stuff?” Jennifer marched over and closed the suitcase.
“We have been told to take you to a safe place and to pack a bag as you might not be returning.”
“So it was a body? Someone was murdered? Who was it?” Jennifer sank to the bed as the reality of what she had seen sank in.
“We are not sure exactly what is happening, but we were told to have you pack a suitcase.”
Placing her head in her hands, Jennifer mumbled, “This can’t be happening. I mean, I went to work yesterday, just like any other day, and now I’m leaving my home with two FBI agents for my protection?”
Several days later, Jennifer was signing the paperwork that would change her life forever…
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Ding-Dong-She-Dead-Adventures-ebook/dp/B012EK0P4E/
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Alathia-Paris-Morgan/e/B00O8HUORU/
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/alathiamg
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Death by Poison?
Book #2 A Nova Ladies Adventure
By Alathia Paris Morgan
The Present
Needing to rest, Megan realized she only had half an hour until the school bus would bring Sally home. She decided to take a break from cleaning the cabin, and poured herself a glass of tea before going out to sit on the porch swing.
Enjoying the brief rest during the hot August day, Megan quickly drank her tea and went back inside for a refill. Trying to relax into her new life hadn’t been too difficult. Being with Sally made every moment worth all the trouble that her ex-husband Mike had ever put her through.
Sitting back on the swing, Megan had trouble relaxing in the stifling 102 degree heat. Feeling that something was wrong, Megan picked up her phone to dial G.G., but she had trouble focusing on the screen. Turning to put the glass down on the table next to her, she turned too fast and lost her balance. The glass dropped to the table, hitting the edge and tumbling to the ground where it shattered. Megan tried to stop the swing from moving, but fell to the ground as well. Her phone flew from her hand across the porch, and out of reach.
Megan didn’t know what was wrong with her body or if someone else was trying to finish the task her ex-husband had started when he tried to kill her. She was glad that Sally wasn’t home to witness her mother’s illness. The fact that she had been receiving notes all summer had made her cautious, but she hadn’t planned to die because of them.
She was thankful that she and Sally had a family that accepted them. They could take care of Sally since what was happening to her right now seemed to be serious. Megan slipped into unconsciousness; her last thoughts of her daughter.
Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Poison-Nova-Ladies-Adventure-ebook/dp/B00Y3NV7BG/
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Alathia-Paris-Morgan/e/B00O8HUORU/
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Infected Waters: A Titanic Disaster Page 17