A pair of private detectives find themselves neck deep in 1980s style murder, lust,political and business corruption.
In the year 1988, black private detective Ellis Mason finds himself swept into a wave of big time trouble. What started as a routine case of tailing an ex-con's wayward girl friend turns into something much more sinister.
When the girl friend is murdered, and the ex-con is charged, Ellis reluctantly sets out to clear him. Ellis soon finds himself investigating a young and sexy exec secretary that's having an affair with a married congressman running for re-election, and is living far beyond her means. He creates an uneasy alliance with Brad Royce, the son of the owner of a top flight detective agency.
Ellis targets Andrea Newsome, a clever and alluring political consultant that knows a lot more about shady business deals and political corruption than she'll ever admit. Ellis and Royce
must sniff out the right clues, and dodge the last bullets before the case is solved.
88 Ways to Die is a complex case, steamy sexuality, and sudden violence that brings
things to a boil.
Excerpt
Ellis entered the bar and made a sharp evaluation. It seemed to be a cross between a typical blue-collar neighborhood bar and a singles and couples hang out. Over twenty-one to fifty type couples were scatterd about the tables and counter. Unescorted men and women were also present.
Ellis had raised the black population of the bar to exactly one. From the stares he was getting reaching number one wasn’t exactly an every day occurrence. He ignored the attention and moved to table in a far corner.
Francine was seated at the bar on a stool nursing a drink. She obviously was in a down cast mood. She finished the drink before her in one big gulp, and then asked for another.
Ten minutes passed before a waitress wandered over to Ellis’ table. He rewarded her by ordering their cheapest size of beer. By then one man had made his sway to the counter next to Francine. He was quickly shot down and sent packing.
After six minutes Ellis’ beer was delivered to him. He sipped from it and watched another guy take a shot at Francine. The second guy was repelled faster than the first.
Francine downed three more shots of bourbon. Ellis was worried about her going to the john and deciding to hurt herself. He would have a hard time explaining why he had to go rushing into the ladies room.
It became a moot point when Francine paid her tab. With a lost expression on her face, she slowly trekked toward the door.
Instinctively Ellis made the snap decision to go after her and make contact. Tell her who he was and why he was shadowing her. Anything to break her mood. Anything to get her home safely, or to a friend she could talk to.
Ellis made it to the ten to twelve foot vestibule that led to the bar just as Francine was stepping outside. He heard a pair of popping sounds followed by the screech of car tires. He raced forward, blasting through the door into the street. He saw Francine lying on the sidewalk. Keyed on the dark blue late model Chevy as it thundered to the end of the block and made a sharp left turn. He ran after the car trying to get a good look at the license plate. No such luck.
Ellis returned to Francine. She was lying on her back with her arms outstretched. The angle of her head was turned mostly to the left. The damage had been done to the right side of her face. A bullet had ripped through it, sending blood and chunks of flesh flying. Her right eye had been jolted from its socket. He didn’t bother to check for vital signs. He knew she was dead.
“Jesus have mercy.” Ellis moved to the door and opened it. “Hey Somebody’s been shot. Call the police. Call the police ”
The bar’s burly bartender came on the scene. “My God What the hell happened?”
“She was hit in a drive by.”
“The police are on the way. Gee, shouldn’t we cover her up or something?”
“Not until the police get here. Do you know her?”
“No.”
Over half the patrons from the bar stepped out and viewed the horrific murder scene before scurrying away. Ellis saw no reason to try and stop them. The typical group of morbidly curious onlookers arrived on the scene. Ellis and the bartender did their best to keep them clear of the crime location.
Standing on the street, after glancing over at the body, it dawned on Ellis that not only was life unfair, but so was death. You get gunned down in the street. And then you have to lay there with your face erased while a bunch of strangers gawked at you.
All Carson Reno Mystery Series Books are standalone novels. It is not necessary to read them in any particular order.
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