By Debra Purdy Kong
Chapter One
Security guard Evan
Dunstan pedaled faster. He didn’t have to check his watch. He knew he was
behind schedule thanks to Jenson Freakin’ Morlee, the world’s biggest
supervisory douche bag. What in holy hell had he done to piss Jenson off this
time? Or was the moron so bored that he thought it would be fun to make the
bike patroller ride across Southwest Trades & Technology’s entire campus
just to unlock a damn door for the janitors? The foot patrol guard in this zone
could have handled the request. Judging from the radio silence, the newbie
hadn’t had a busy shift.
Evan raced down the
walkway next to the stream that ran along the eastern perimeter of campus. It
had rained an hour ago then stopped. But the April night air still felt so damp
and heavy that Evan figured the sky would crack open and dump on him any
second. Thank god his shift was nearly over.
He’d almost reached
the footbridge when a large dark blob in the stream caught his attention. Shit.
When would people stop dumping bags of garbage in the damn water? With a new
subdivision being built north of campus, a light industrial area to the west,
plus six crowded dorms on the premises, the culprit could be anyone. Evan skidded
to a stop and frowned. Although floodlights from the engineering building cast
some light on the narrow stream, it was too dark to clearly see the bag. Wait a
sec. Something was off. What was that white stuff protruding from the bag?
Propping the kickstand,
Evan removed the small flashlight attached to his belt then stepped nearer the
water. Oh shit! It was a hand! A freakin’ hand! And legs! He moved the
flashlight up the body until he spotted the grey fringe circling a bald head
that glowed like a moon. Evan shivered. Was the guy alive? He wouldn’t have to
perform CPR, would he? That first-aid course last year didn’t go so well after
he broke that manikin.
“Hey!” Evan called
out. “Can you hear me?”
No response. Sweat
broke out on Evan’s back. He glanced around for help but no one was around.
Where the hell was the foot patrol guy anyway? He was supposed to help monitor
water levels whenever it rained. On his knees, Evan extended his arm and
touched the wrist. Oh, man. Ice cold.
BIO:
Debra has published more than one hundred short
stories, essays, and articles for publications including Chicken Soup for the Bride’s Soul, B.C. Parent Magazine, and The
Vancouver Sun. Her criminology studies and experience as a patrol and
communications officer in security, provided inspiration for her Casey Holland
mysteries and Evan Dunstan novella, Dead Man Floating.
BACK COVER BLURB:
One
wrong decision…
Security
guard Evan Dunstan didn’t expect to find a body floating in a campus stream. An
empty vodka bottle nearby suggests that the highly despised George Krenn, head
of the plumbing department, had drunkenly fallen in. Refusing to let the death
of a vile man ruin his romantic plans, Evan decides to leave the body for the
next shift to find.
One
friend in trouble…
When
it’s discovered that Krenn was murdered, Evan has a lot of explaining to do. So
does his friend Sully, Krenn’s least favourite student. Evan uses his hacking
skills and campus knowledge to keep them both out of jail, but the
investigation forces him to question Sully’s innocence.
One
mystery to solve…
Uncovering
the truth proves to be more than challenging. It may cost Evan his job, his
friendship, and his woman. Will Evan find the killer, or will the killer find
him first?
DEADMAN FLOATING is
on sale for $.99 from April 17-23rd!
Available from: