My Books!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Saturday Sample: Blue 52


Welcome to Saturday Sample. For the past few weeks I've been sharing samples from Blue 52. So far we've learned that President Richard Lovinggood was murdered by his wife who then committed suicide. Their son Hank was raised by his grandfather Senator Henry Lovinggood. A new high speed train is coming through the cemetery where President Lovinggood is buried, and Hank has made plans to open the coffins once they are disinterred so he can see his parents. He was only 3 when they died, and he doesn't really remember them. His grandmother is totally against his plan and has just told him so in no uncertain terms. Shaken, his grandfather told him that his father took after his grandmother, and his volatile personality caused the Senator a lot of problems. Last week the senator revealed that he suspected President Lovinggood's vice president, Josh Stanton, might be responsible for the murders and not the first lady.

“Grandpa, lots of people have arguments. It doesn’t mean Stanton killed him.”

“Of course not, but I know Stanton wasn’t pleased with the direction in which your father was moving his administration.” A ghost of a smile chased across the old senator’s face. “I wasn’t totally pleased with it either. The mood of the country was decidedly conservative in 2016. To get elected, your father successfully concealed a few liberal beliefs. Stanton was so far to the right I think you could safely call him a reactionary. There was bound to be friction between them.”

“That still doesn’t prove his guilt.”

“Spoken like a lawyer,” Senator Lovinggood opined with a small, brief grin. “I know, Hank, but if I had it to do over, I’d put Stanton under a microscope and see what I could find.”

As a lawyer I deal in hard evidence and facts, not wild speculation. I appreciate Grandpa’s efforts on Mother’s behalf, but if the case came to court today, I’d think she was guilty. Unless every single person present that day lied, she had to be the one who did it.

Hank’s conclusion shocked him so much he gulped the last of his bourbon, coughed, and went back for another. It had taken him thirty years to admit to himself that his mother murdered his father and then committed suicide. He wondered how his grandparents could stand the sight of him. Yes, he was Richard’s son, but he was also Elizabeth’s son, and Elizabeth had killed their beloved Richard.

Senator Lovinggood finished his bourbon and set his glass on the coffee table. “I think I’ll go and find your grandmother. If I don’t eat a little humble pie, she won’t have dinner, and she needs to eat.”

“Sure, Grandpa. That’ll give me time to get a shower.”

Hank set his own glass on the bar and jogged up the stairs. His head buzzed and felt strangely disconnected from his body. He wished he knew what his father had done to his mother, but at this late date they’d never know for sure. Frankly though, it didn’t matter what his father had done. Nothing justified murder. Nothing.

Of course, the senator who had known his mother well always staunchly defended her. Still... Why bother to even think about it? Nothing could change the past now. 

Blue 52 is available at http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com and at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

No comments:

Post a Comment