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. My heroine Kathryn Sinclair learned about this plan from her uncle who is the director of the funeral home where the president's body will go. Her employer tells her to set up a meeting with Hank after he sees his parents. Last week she said she hoped it went well so she could be in the history books and have the satisfaction of righting a terrible wrong. We're picking up where I left off last week.

*** *
God, I’ve had an awful day. Hank slung his briefcase into the backseat and ripped off his tie. From the moment he’d gotten out of bed this morning, things had gone wrong. At times like this he wondered why he had ever wanted to be a lawyer anyway, especially a prosecutor. He had felt confident of a conviction, but at the last minute the defense blindsided him, and the slime ball had walked. Some lawyer I turned out to be.

He entered the flow of late afternoon traffic and turned his car toward home. I hope I’ll have time for a good, long soak in the tub before dinner. I need it to get the kinks out of my shoulders and back.
Hank knew he’d have to wait for his bath the minute he opened the front door. His grandmother and grandfather shouted so loudly at each other that the pictures almost danced on the walls. He heard his own name mentioned more than once. His shoulders knotted again. He had a good idea why.

“I heard the two of you yelling several blocks from here,” he reproached as he entered the living room.

His grandmother whirled around so fast she almost lost her balance and coldly attacked. “The Sinclair Mortuary called today. They left a message for you.”

“Oh?”

Her face turned cherry red. “You can drop the innocent act with me, young man! Have you totally lost your wits? Your mother and father died thirty years ago! Do you think you can pop the coffin lids and see them as they were in life?”

“Grandma...”

“Don’t interrupt me. This is crazy. You don’t need to see...” She broke off for a moment as a spasm of grief contorted her face. “This is all your doing, Henry. You raised Richard to be a hawk, but you’ve raised Hank to be a damned mourning dove!” 

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