Moments for the Heart

Hey there, Weekend Writing Warriors!! We are back for another exciting week of snippet sharing. I must begin with a shout out to my daughter, Audrey, who celebrates her 12th birthday on Sunday. It is special because she is the youngest of our brood and it will be the last year we will have a child in our home. Next year she will be a teenager… heaven help me and my wife, well me mostly. I can still remember her red curls bouncing around the living room to the Fresh Beat Band. Now she likes to straighten her natural curly hair and dance to the Git Up song… my how time flies.

But I digress. You came here to find out what happens next. Although, should a boy get any ideas with my little girl, he may find himself in one of my novels. And I’m not talking about Grady, Masters, or Lawson. Anyhoo, speaking of this trio, let’s get back to the action. We left you in the middle of Clarke and Ryan’s recounting of events. Lawson had ordered them inside while he went to check on the truck in back.

Here’s a bit from last week:

By the time Lawson had arrived, the man who didn’t want to be named said the screaming had stopped for about five minutes. The man also reported to hearing a loud truck pulling up to the rear of the complex. He pointed out that there was a back entrance that only residents could get in with a key. Lawson got that far with the witness when Clarke and Ryan pulled up. He sent them inside while he went around back to check out the truck.

SYNOPSIS:
Lieutenant Daniel Masters is a 27-year veteran Savannah Georgia Major Crimes Detective. He has seen many crime scenes like the one he saw last February. Little did he know this one would change his life. Grady, the newest addition to his team, is the first to see the abnormalities, but will the rest of the team listen in time. There is a serial murder on the loose in South Georgia, and for some reason the killer leaves their final victim alive right before committing suicide. But why? Masters and Grady must find out before its too late and the next killer strikes again.

SNIPPET:
Clarke ran point and headed up the stairs minding the creaking each step made, but it made no difference, the noise above drowned out every step they made. A terrible verbal chanting, neither officer could make out what was being said. Lawson made sure to record that in his notes, not even a guess or a vernacular representation, it was complete gibberish to the two officers.

There was no doubt which door it was coming from. Ryan expressed his apprehension of what they should have done next. They had discussed knocking first or just announcing their presence and busting in. They had no idea what stood behind the door. With the statement from the witness there was obviously someone seriously injured, possibly fatally, behind the door, they needed to act quickly.

***Well Fellow Warriors that is this week’s ten. But here is a bit more, let’s really get into it…**

Clarke wanted to bust in; surprise was the best element they had. Catch him off guard. If they go in softly, it may give the perp an opportunity to get his weapon or in a position to attack. Ryan felt the softer approach of talking him down would be best if there was a hostage. It turned out they would need neither approach, as a voice called out to them from behind the closed door.

“If you want him to live, you will get the hell in here right now,” the voice bellowed.

“He called to you?” Masters interrupted.

“Yes, sir,” Clarke said. “It was the darnedest thing. Never had that happen before.” 

“Go on,” Lawson said, flipping the page of his notepad, “what happened next.”

They both just stared at each other for a moment, almost daring the other to reach for the knob.

The voice shouted a few obscenities appealing to their manhood.

They both shook their heads and laughed it off. Clarke took a step toward the door and turned the knob, as the nervousness returned to his stomach. His eyes met Ryan’s and they revealed that he wasn’t the only one anxious about their situation. Silently, they both agreed which way each would go and how they would face this criminal together, it was what they were trained for.

Clarke opened the door and went high right; Ryan low left, both weapons drawn, fixed on their target. The tattooed criminal sat on a chair with a cigarette in his mouth. Mr. Nelson was laying on a coffee table next to him, unconscious, bleeding from lacerations to his arms and legs, he was half naked, wearing only his boxers and a blood soaked t-shirt.

The tattooed man blew a series of circles into the air. He smiled through his dark handlebar mustache and said, “He’s got about twelve minutes, so I hope you have EMS on their way, I don’t have much time.”

Well there is part two of three of this scene. As promised, we are well into this one. I really hope I am capturing it the way my mind has it written, if that makes sense. The back and forth has me a bit nervous, like the last snippet of getting the reader lost. We will have the final part of this scene as the chapter draws to its conclusion next week. All feedback is welcome.

Moments of the Heart is not just this website. I have a Facebook page that has something going on everyday of the week. Come on over, follow, and interact with my page to check it out! Here is what you can expect to find there.

Monday is Memory Monday – I share an important event that occurred on that Monday or sometime that particular week.
Tuesday is Talk About it Tuesday – I post a weekly video where I cover a topic that has meant something to me over the past week.
Wednesday is when I post my blog for the week.
Thursday is This or That Thursday – A weekly two option poll that raises the question, do you like this, or do you prefer that?
Friday is Fun Fact Friday – I find and share an interesting or obscure fact.
Saturday is for Weekend Writing Warriors – This is when I post my 8 Sentence Snippet from a current or past work.

I really am trying to make it fun and engaging. Something that people look forward to visiting. It has been something that has been on my heart (no pun intended) for a long time and I am now acting on it. I would love your support!!

– Little Reminders of Who I Am is now available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.

–The Five Barred Gate is still available on Amazon in Hardback, Paperback, and Kindle versions.

–You can purchase TFBG direct from me on my Home Page. The benefit of buying direct is you will receive a personalized signed copy!!

–My Children’s books, Elissa the Curious Snail are also on Amazon. There are 4 books about an adorable snail teaching children about prayer and believing in themselves.

–Finally you can see all updates regarding the progress of this current Untitled work in progress.

Fellow Warriors, I also have have a weekly blog that is posted in between these snippets. I would love to hear your thoughts.

AND if you have little warriors running around I now have many of my Children’s Short Stories on this website. They were originally on my Elissa the Curious Snail publisher’s website, but I now control that domain and have moved that content here. There are many stories for your little reader. These are great bedtime or anytime short stories.

In His Exciting Service,

Jeff S. Bray

Little Reminders of Who I Am

The Five Barred Gate

Elissa the Curious Snail Series

Check out amazing established and emerging writers at Weekend Writing Warriors. Each week we post new snippets from either published works or works in progress for each other to comment on. Gain insight of how the mind of a writer works and a behind the scenes look at works before they hit book stands everywhere.