Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release.
A new year and new efforts. After an almost five month hiatus, I'm back. Once again, life got in the way of doing what I want to do. Hopefully, I can follow through sharing snippets this year. As I wrote in another blog post, I'll do the best I can and accept when I can't.
I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. After a deputy arrested Alex's groom, Nick Palzetti, at the altar, the police chief, Dan Hoesen, interviews the family, starting with Alex. The lawyer, Hans Bogardus, tries to keep her from giving away too much information and/or shooting off her mouth.
Snippet:
The chief cleared his throat. “When did
Nick leave the apartment to go to the bachelor party?”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask—” I
stopped remembering Hans’s caution.
“Who should I ask?” Dan slanted a glance at
Hans. “She can tell me that.”
When Hans nodded, I said, “Jim, Jim Matthews.
And Pop, uh, Frank O’Hara.”
“I know your dad.” Dan's lips curved into a sort-of smile--the first since this mess began--then
scribbled a note on his legal pad. “After you got home from your party, when
did Palzetti leave?”
And a little more:
“It must have been around midnight, since
his mother came up to the apartment and said she’d dismissed the driver. She
told Nick he had to drive her home.”
Dan made another note. “What time did he
return?”
“Three-oh-five.”
He eyed me with a raised eyebrow. “And you
know the exact time because . . .”
“Because he woke me up when he crawled into
bed.” Heat flooded my cheeks. “I looked at the clock. His mother said he
couldn’t—”
“Alex?”
I ignored Hans’s caution. “I want to
explain. His mother said it was bad luck for him to see me on my wedding day.
But he came back anyway.”
“And you say he came back at three
o’clock.”
“Three-oh-five.”
Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay healthy and have a great week.
I wonder if her answers will help or hurt the situation. Can't wait to see what happens!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kate. Hopefully, the lawyer will keep her in tow.
DeleteWelcome home to your fellow scribblers! I LOVE this story and this snippet pulls me right back in with these characters. MORE!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy. I'm writing again on this story and feeling pretty good about it.
DeleteIt sure looks like Nick's mom was right about the bad luck! I do like her correcting him at the end. One should be precise in murder investigations. Loved the snippet. Tweeted.
ReplyDeleteLove your comment, Jenna.
DeleteI hope Alex's tendency to give more than bare minimum answers doesn't cause any problems. What a thing to happen on their wedding day!
ReplyDeleteGood thing the lawyer is there to keep her from blurting out everything.
DeleteWelcome back - I've missed your snippets! Glad you're picking up the threads again on this story, enjoyed the back and forth and the tension of wanting to answer the questions but remembering the interrogator is a cop...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Veronica. I've missed you guys, too. Too often she forgets he is a cop. Small town.
Deletehappy New Year! I like her stating the precise time.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you, too, Aurora.
DeleteGreat snippet.
ReplyDeleteI think being kind to ourselves is a good goal for the new year.
It's hard to do. We tend to take care of others before ourselves.
DeleteIt's amazing when someone can write a cozy mystery! It's like math--having the brains to make it sound and feel good. Great snippet and I'm loving the WeWriWa! I'm heading over to check them out! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun way to share what we're doing. (Or should be doing.) A way to keep accountable.
DeleteI love how she stands up to the questions, and I chuckled at her embarrasment.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Viviana. Glad you stopped by.
DeleteShe is so precise on that time! I love this snippet. Alex is written just right--her need to explain, and her embarrassment. Niceley done!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Teresa.
Delete