Here's an excerpt from Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delaney.
Set-up. Molly Smith is a young, enthusiastic Constable with the Trafalgar City Police. She reported that she had seen a fireplace at a scene in question. Unfortunately she didn't notice that it was a gas fireplace, and her Sergeant, John Winters, arrived with a full forensic team and backup all ready to search through the ashes. They have driven back to the police station in silence. Winters prepares to get out of the car.
“I need to go back to the B&B and ask very politely if I can check Williams’ room. That will now be somewhat awkward. Ron Gavin came out on his day off because he’s a good officer. Also because he owes me one. We’ll both consider that debt to have been paid. The Horseman who followed Ray will make sure everyone back at the station gets a good laugh hearing about how I screwed up.” Horseman, Smith knew, meant a Mountie. Winters opened the car door. Unfortunately he wasn’t finished. “And this will be my screw up, Constable Smith. Eventually to become a story spread far and wide for the amusement of police officers everywhere. I’ll wear it, because I will not embarrass myself, or the Trafalgar City Police, by trying to set the story straight.”
She ground her teeth and fought back tears. Shut the door. Just shut up and shut the door.
“I will, however, be required to give a full, and honest, report to the Chief Constable.”
The door slammed shut.
“I need to go back to the B&B and ask very politely if I can check Williams’ room. That will now be somewhat awkward. Ron Gavin came out on his day off because he’s a good officer. Also because he owes me one. We’ll both consider that debt to have been paid. The Horseman who followed Ray will make sure everyone back at the station gets a good laugh hearing about how I screwed up.” Horseman, Smith knew, meant a Mountie. Winters opened the car door. Unfortunately he wasn’t finished. “And this will be my screw up, Constable Smith. Eventually to become a story spread far and wide for the amusement of police officers everywhere. I’ll wear it, because I will not embarrass myself, or the Trafalgar City Police, by trying to set the story straight.”
She ground her teeth and fought back tears. Shut the door. Just shut up and shut the door.
“I will, however, be required to give a full, and honest, report to the Chief Constable.”
The door slammed shut.
Vicki Delany’s newest novel, Winter of Secrets, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which said, “she uses…artistry as sturdy and restrained as a Shaker chair.” Vicki writes everything from standalone novels of suspense (Burden of Memory) to the Constable Molly Smith series, a traditional village/police procedural series set in the B.C. Interior (In the Shadow of the Glacier, Winter of Secrets), to a light-hearted historical series (Gold Digger) set in the raucous heyday of the Klondike Gold Rush. Vicki lives in rural Prince Edward County, Ontario, where she rarely wears a watch. Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com. She blogs with five other mystery writers at http://typem4murder.blogspot.com and about the writing life, as she lives it, at http://klondikeandtrafalgar.blogspot.com
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1 comment:
Thanks very much for this Chris. Much appreciated.
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