Tuesday Tales — step inside! Here is where you’ll find cool excerpts produced during smiles, tears, and hours of keyboard pounding. These are unedited snippets by a group of hard-working writers, based on word and picture prompts. You can see our works in progress unfold week by week. The current word prompt is slowly. Make sure to visit the other talented authors of Tuesday Tales.
Curtis Upshaw’s voice took on a note of irritation. “You’re wasting your time with these bullcrap questions. You should get your nose out of it and let the cops handle it.” He slipped his phone into a back pocket. “Sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got business on the other side of town.”
I stepped in front of him. “My stepsister is moldering in jail, Curtis. I can’t hang around and do nothing, even though we haven’t been close, at least not like…” I broke off, not wanting to go there.
“Not like you and your brother Johnny? He wasn’t a blood brother either, was he?”
My chest tightened. “Johnny was blood, my half-brother, my father’s son and not my mother’s. You know that very well.”
A half laugh escaped his thin lips. “Don’t flare up at me, Peridot. Step, half, full blood, whatever. I don’t keep up with everybody’s family snarls in Glisten.”
I refused to give him the satisfaction of getting under my skin. “You have to admit you don’t seem very broken up by Kitty’s murder.”
“Why should I be? We went out a couple of times, that’s all. Maybe you should talk to ole Bill Lofton. She was after him, last I knew.”
That was news I wasn’t expecting. “She and Bill dated?”
He shrugged. “So I’ve heard. Secondhand of course. I didn’t exactly keep tabs on her.”
“Hmmm. Who else do you think I should talk to?”
His eyes bored into mine, and he spoke slowly. “What you should do is let Deason and the others do their job. Maybe they’ve got the right person locked up. Ever stop to consider that?”
Each of his words came at me with a faint whiff of licorice, which I detest. “Debra had no reason to kill Kitty, much less bash in her head like that.” I folded my arms against a shiver.
“Everybody knows how much she hated Kitty. It was broadcast all over town. You’re wrestling with a frayed rope, Peri. You should be looking at your own kin for this. Either her or Dulcy Tolliver.”
I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the word prompt slowly. Thanks for stopping by. Read the other amazing excerpts at Tuesday Tales.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories
All rights reserved, copyright @ 2020 Flossie Benton Rogers
Twisty twisty! I love it
Thanks, Cathy!
Excellent way to add information, but I wouldn’t dismiss that guy. Casting blame to get it off himself maybe? Well done!
Thank you for the feedback, Susanne!
Oh, I don’t like him. I kind of want to punch him. I think he did it. He definitely isn’t being sympathetic to Peri. Jerk. Great job with this!
Thank you for the feedback, Tricia! He IS being rather a jerk.
Love the word moldering! And I am with her. A whiff of licorice. Ugh. What a smell. 🙂 Well done as always! Jillian
Thanks for the feedback, Jillian!
Love that line “you’re wrestling with a frayed rope.” Always your writing is superb. Why is he trying to talk her out of her mission to find the real killer? I’m suspicious. Well done.
I’m glad you like the frayed rope line. Thank you for the feedback!
Great scene!
But, OMG….”You’re wrestling with a frayed rope, Peri. ” What a GREAT line!
I so admire how you weave words together.
Thanks, Trisha! Glad you liked the line.