tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88752612067666784272024-02-19T01:52:50.121-08:00Alexander Steele Murder Mystery - The Deadly GambleLarry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-32648160603663900402017-08-10T10:59:00.001-07:002017-08-10T10:59:57.389-07:00The Deadly Gamble Suspects List<a href="https://animoto.com/play/5aVr1YFvhCHpLR0HT7MRsg">The Deadly Gamble Suspects List</a>Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-90858375757616945142014-11-09T07:07:00.001-08:002014-11-09T07:07:48.522-08:00The Deadly Gamble - An Alexander Steele Murder Mystery<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eqdNjlCMZD0" width="480"></iframe>Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-6216038825289581902014-10-11T10:08:00.002-07:002014-10-11T10:08:23.999-07:00Death on the Delaware - Excerpt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjbPPfewgqxBjBtKaNTTiUY4cEwKYA-oild0TX5i6RRhEOhp3PeSmjx4wWzajxk3uEOU8EOoLnWsuNsCIHOr32FVZOiqPps_0jUv5tMGoYOytrvpt85DhmNTfRJAU3ptSY5Sjsq2_4RmP/s1600/Death+on+the+Delaware+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjbPPfewgqxBjBtKaNTTiUY4cEwKYA-oild0TX5i6RRhEOhp3PeSmjx4wWzajxk3uEOU8EOoLnWsuNsCIHOr32FVZOiqPps_0jUv5tMGoYOytrvpt85DhmNTfRJAU3ptSY5Sjsq2_4RmP/s1600/Death+on+the+Delaware+banner.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">The
KYW news radio theme played from her kitchen counter top radio while she put on
her red plaid jacket, burgundy scarf with matching ear muffs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">At
6:00 a.m. she donned her knitted gray cap and headed outdoors to take her
poodle Gladys for her daily walk along side the <st1:place w:st="on">Delaware
River</st1:place>. The gray haired
retiree had no idea that she would soon feel another chill, one that she would
never forget. As she walked along the
frozen dirt path Gladys began to bark.
Mrs. Ferguson looked in the same direction as the little black dog. Dawn was breaking. It was difficult to see. She squinted as she peered towards the
water. Gladys tugged on her lease
causing her master to leave the path and tread closer to the river. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Mrs.
Ferguson caught a glimpse of something floating in the murky water. An old rotten log she though. The elderly woman’s curiosity had gotten the
better of her. She inched closer to get
a better look. Seconds later Mrs.
Ferguson screamed so loud she could have woke up the dead……….well almost. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><a href="http://j.mp/1wbMckg" target="_blank">Death on the Delaware Chapter One</a></span></div>
Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-33225163130649784042014-10-10T09:27:00.000-07:002014-10-10T09:42:08.260-07:00Death on the Delaware Chapter One <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16.0pt;">An
Alexander Steele Murder Mystery<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16.0pt;">By
Larry J.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Steele-Mystery-Trilogy-%C2%A0Legacy-ebook/dp/B00HZVJY1I/ref=sr_1_28?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1412958307&sr=1-28&keywords=Legacy+of+death" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjbPPfewgqxBjBtKaNTTiUY4cEwKYA-oild0TX5i6RRhEOhp3PeSmjx4wWzajxk3uEOU8EOoLnWsuNsCIHOr32FVZOiqPps_0jUv5tMGoYOytrvpt85DhmNTfRJAU3ptSY5Sjsq2_4RmP/s1600/Death+on+the+Delaware+banner.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">February
in Philly is always cold, but the polar vortex had made it colder than usual. The bone chilling deep freeze didn’t deter
Mrs. Ferguson from her morning routine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
KYW news radio theme played from her kitchen counter top radio while she put on
her red plaid jacket, burgundy scarf with matching ear muffs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At
6:00 a.m. she donned her knitted gray cap and headed outdoors to take her
poodle Gladys for her daily walk along side the <st1:place w:st="on">Delaware
River</st1:place>. The gray haired
retiree had no idea that she would soon feel another chill, one that she would
never forget. As she walked along the
frozen dirt path Gladys began to bark.
Mrs. Ferguson looked in the same direction as the little black dog. Dawn was breaking. It was difficult to see. She squinted as she peered towards the
water. Gladys tugged on her lease
causing her master to leave the path and tread closer to the river. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mrs.
Ferguson caught a glimpse of something floating in the murky water. An old rotten log she though. The elderly woman’s curiosity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">had
gotten the better of her. She inched
closer to get a better look. Seconds
later Mrs. Ferguson screamed so loud she could have woke up the dead……….well
almost. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Twenty
minutes later two officers in a police boat fished the lifeless body out of the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Delaware</st1:state></st1:place>. It was clear from their expressions that this
was no ordinary corpse. Anyone who
followed politics or has watched the local news would have instantly recognized
that face. The body fished out of the
river was none other than <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:state></st1:place>’s
controversial congressman Earnest Holloway.
Everyone has skeletons locked away in the closet, but politicos usually
find a way to keep them locked away better than most. Congressman Holloway had more than his fair
share of enemies. His death was sure to
reveal more than a few dark nasty secrets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">News
of the Congressman’s death spread like wildfire. Soon reporters from across the country had
converged on the banks of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Delaware</st1:state></st1:place>
where his body was discovered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Across
town Alexander Steele was unaware of the Congressman’s demise. His dilemma was of the domestic nature. After loosing a bet to his girlfriend Shakia
Steele had just finished whipping up breakfast for two consisting of shrimp and
grits with waffles and coffee. Shakia
smiled as she took her seat at the table.
Still in her green night gown Shakia examined the food. “Very good Alex, I always knew you were good
with your hands. I should bet you more
often. After breakfast you can make good
on the second half of your bet.” Steele
was about to speak when the doorbell rang.
It was 8:45 a.m. on a Friday morning.
Normally Alexander Steele would be at his night club. Steele tightened up the belt on his tan robe
as he walked to the door. Shakia was
even more surprised when Steele opened the door and saw her sister standing in
the doorway. Shakia got up from the
table at her sister entered the living room “Naomi what are you doing
here? Is Mom alright? Is everything okay?” Shakia rushed over and gave her younger
sister a warm hug. “Mom’s fine, everyone
is fine. How have you two been?” Steele looked at Shakia then turned to Naomi
as she gently rubbed Steel’s shoulder, we’re great. What brings you to our neck of the
woods? Aren’t you supposed to be in
DC? Naomi looked puzzled. Haven’t you guys been watching the news? Steele picked up the remote from the sofa and
turned to MSNBC. Naomi was too impatient
to wait so she just blurted it out.
Congressman Holloway has been murdered.
She gestured to the TV. They pulled him out the river a couple of hours
ago. The three stood in the living floor
as they watched the footage of the Congressman’s lifeless body being pulled
onto the boat like fisherman hauling in a large tuna. Shakia put her hand to her mouth; oh that’s
terrible who would do such a thing?
Steele snickered, ha, really, take your pick. That guy had more enemies that Saddam
Hussein. Naomi turned from the TV to
Steele. Alex can I talk to you for a minute
…….alone? Shakia perked up when she
heard the words alone. “Well that’s not
the least bit suspicious at all sis.
What do you have to say to him that you don’t want me to hear? Realizing that it was a bad move Naomi
conceded the point and agreed to include her sister in the conversation. The three sat on the couch and Naomi began
making her pitch. You guys know that I
am the Senator’s assistant. Well you
probably also know that Congressman Holloway is; well was changeling my boss
for his senate seat in November. That’s
gonna move him to the top of the suspect list.
This is going to be a distraction to my boss Senator Green so he wants
to hire you to find out who murdered the Congressman. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Senator had a fundraiser diner
at the Four Season Hotel last night that is why I am in town. After dinner he drove back to <st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place>. There is no way he could have murdered the Congressman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shakia tapped Steele on the arm and
tilted her head toward the kitchen.
“Alex can I see you in the kitchen for a minute” Naomi seemed even more
nervous than before. She strained to
hear what was being said in the kitchen but could only hear whispers. Shakia was beside herself. Alex, she’s lying. I could always tell. When she was 9 she broke a saucer in Mom’s
china closet and glued it back together without saying a word. I almost got blamed but my parents knew that
whenever she wiggled or tapped her foot she was hiding something. It’s a dead giveaway. Steele was about to confront Shakia’s sister
when her cell phone rang. Naomi reached
inside her right coat pocket and pulled out a black cell phone but didn’t
brother to look at the number, she simple turned the ringer off. Steele stroked the ends of his mustache and
sat next to his girlfriend. “That was
the Senator wasn’t it?” Naomi glanced down at her phone. “Yes, how did you
know?” Steele smiled, “that’s a $20.00 phone.
A woman in your position, your salary wouldn’t rely on a cheap phone
like that. I’m sure your other phone is
somewhere inside your handbag. My guess
is he’s the only one who has that number that’s why you didn’t brother to look
to see who the caller was. If I were a
betting man, Steele paused long enough to look over at Shakia; I would say that
you and the Senator are having an affair.
That’s why you were so sure he didn’t commit the murder. You two spent the night at the hotel
together. How am I doing so far?” Shakia shook her head and sighed as she
starred at her sister, “Lord Jesus what have you done. That’s why you didn’t want me in the room
when you and Alex talked. Please tell me
it’s not true. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Shakia it’s not what you think. I knew you wouldn’t approve.” Naomi struggled to find the right words. After a moment of fidgeting in her seat she
held up both hands and blurted out “it’s complicated. Can we focus on the murder for now? I promise I will explain everything to you
once this mess is over.” Shakia crossed
her arms, leaned back on the couch and starred at her sister. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“You bet your ass we will”
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele was equally put out by Shakia’s sister act of
deception. “Naomi, you know me so I’m
gonna be blunt. Tell me everything, no
hedging. If you lie to me again you’re
on your own and let’s be clear about one thing.
If the Senator murdered Holloway he’s going down.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After an apology to Steele and Shakia Naomi began explaining
how she rented the hotel suite where the fundraiser was held. She told Steele that she and the Senator had
spent the night together and that he was driving back to Washington because he
would have been recognized it he had taken Amtrak. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shakia took one look at Steele and knew it didn’t look good
for Naomi or the Senator. “Alex, its bad
isn’t it? Steele shook his head. “Yes, but it we move fast enough we can keep
it from getting worse.” He asked Naomi
who checked out of the hotel. She
explained that the Senator always left first and that she would wait 15 minutes
before leaving. Since the hotel has
automatic checkout she just dropped the key off and left.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele rushed to the phone and called his friend Stan. It didn’t take a detective to realize that
the voice on the other end of the call was not his best friend/computer
hacker. “Who am I speaking too” “Oh this is Christine who is this?” This is Steele, baby I’m in kinda of a rush,
can you put Stan on?” Minutes later a
groggy sounding man spoke into the receiver “Steele man do you know what time
it is?” “Yeah it’s time to get your ass
up. It’s after nine. I need you to get over to the Four Seasons
hotel. I need to know what areas their
surveillance cameras monitor.” Stan
yawned into the phone. “I don’t need to. I was just there last month. They only have cameras in the main lobby and
all the entrances and exits.” Steele
could hear Christine’s voice in the background “last month, why were you at a
hotel last month. Mr. you got some
explaining to do.” The sleepy voice on
the other end spoke again.” Thanks Steele”.
There was a sudden click and the line went dead. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele instructed Naomi to contact the Senator. “Tell him to be honest for a change and tell
the truth about him staying at the hotel and when he left. Just leave out the part about you being there
with him. The surveillance cameras will
verify him leaving. Once they see him
leaving the hotel they won’t need to watch the rest of the footage. They aren’t looking for you so they will
assume that he was alone.” Naomi looked
worried, “but he won’t have an alibi Steele.
Staying alone in a hotel in the same city won’t prove his
innocence.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele motioned for her to calm down. “Baby steps, this is the murder of a
Congressman we’re talking about her. That
means a lot of rocks are gonna be turned over and a lot of dirt will come
out. If your boyfriend is driving a
government car then it is equipped with a GPS not to mention the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Easy</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Pass</st1:placetype></st1:place>
monitor that keeps a record of every time he goes through a toll. We’re not just talking about lying to the
local cops; we are talking about the FBI, a grand jury and possibly a judge. Sooner or later they will want a statement
from you but since you are near the bottom of the food chain hopefully that
won’t be for a while. In the meantime
you need to lay low. Stay with your
sister until I figure who the killer is.
Naomi looked over at an angry Shakia then back at Steele. “Do I have too? Can’t I stay here with you? Steele laughed and went to get dressed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;">Part Two will be posted Tuesday</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Chapter #2 </span><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Sex Drugs and Politics </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Want more Alexander Steele</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Case of the Death Dealer</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Case of the Deadly Ring</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Legacy of Death</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Alexander Steele Murder Mystery Trilogy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Author Larry J</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The Alexander Steele Murder Mystery series consist of the first three short stories set in Philadelphia. Philly native Lawrence Johnson </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">aka Larry J. takes you into Philly's neighborhoods by way of his fictional,suave,detective Alexander Steele. The semi retired PI is the proud owner of the Mount Airy hot spot known as the Inner Sanctum. Steele has a problem. He just can't seem to put his past life of crime solving behind him. A seemly endless stream of new clients come to his club each with tempting new cases for the ever inquisitive private investigator.<br /><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/apple" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">#apple</a><br />Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.<br /><br /><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fj.mp%2F1sncUH2&h=8AQFay9T2&enc=AZPylVULfYmKSi-qcbE_v4x4c-CNZvxml5hdQBHetFJbKcioMWPlgmM9iRnYNfdpaVC-tvr2li9LofLn9sbDrg6gAeimEsZSLh13LHViyjq-esxO1sVlQgAe0i_608oKA0-NbCyNIpQ9fDNytLvIzFwu&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s initial initial; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.3s initial initial;" target="_blank">http://j.mp/1sncUH2</a></span></div>
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</iframe>Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-34765119814666396072014-09-05T10:01:00.001-07:002014-09-07T12:41:52.651-07:00The Deadly Gamble Recap - Official Trailers for Chapters One, Two, Three, Four and Five<a href="http://alexandersteelemurdermysteries.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-deadly-gamble-alexander-steele.html" target="_blank">The Deadly Gamble Recap</a><br />
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<a href="http://alexandersteelemurdermysteries.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-deadly-gamble-alexander-steele.html" target="_blank">Watch the trailer for each chapter.</a><br />
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<a href="http://alexandersteelemurdermysteries.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-deadly-gamble-alexander-steele.html" target="_blank">The Deadly Gamble Chapter #1</a><br />
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<a href="http://alexandersteelemurdermysteries.blogspot.com/2014/08/chapter-2-gamblers-anonymous-steele.html" target="_blank">The Deadly Gamble Chapter #2</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kK7r-ACzHIY?rel=0" width="853"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://alexandersteelemurdermysteries.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-deadly-gamble-chapter-3-secrets.html" target="_blank">The Deadly Gamble Chapter #3</a><br />
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<a href="http://alexandersteelemurdermysteries.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-deadly-gamble-chapter-4-vanished.html" target="_blank">The Deadly Gamble Chapter #4</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MjhnjXKCNss?rel=0" width="853"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://alexandersteelemurdermysteries.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-deadly-gamble-chapter-five.html" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://alexandersteelemurdermysteries.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-deadly-gamble-chapter-five.html" target="_blank">The Deadly Gamble Chapter #5</a><br />
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<br />Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-13620639775043725462014-09-01T12:11:00.000-07:002017-06-09T11:41:53.512-07:00Who is Alexander Steele?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="http://amzn.to/2sLwIZo" target="_blank">Alexander Steele on Audio Books</a></div>
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<span class="m_-3196132518220975900gmail-userContent" style="background: inherit !important; box-sizing: border-box;">Who is Alexander Steele?</span></div>
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<span class="m_-3196132518220975900gmail-userContent" style="background: inherit !important; box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="background: inherit !important;" />Alexander Steele is a fictitious, street savvy, African American detective who grew up on the rough streets of Philly. Forget everything you know about gritty, skirt cashing, chain-smoking, broke detectives of the <span class="m_-3196132518220975900gmail-text_exposed_show" style="background: inherit !important; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline;">past. Steele (as his friends like to call him) is a unique breed of detective. When he's in the danger zone Steele fly’s solo but behind the scenes, he often relies on the computer expertise of his best friend/hacker Stan. With Stan’s assistance Steele has solved dozens of cases from Montreal to Mexico.<br style="background: inherit !important;" /><br style="background: inherit !important;" />After years of car chases and matching wits, bullets and verbal jabs with drug kingpins, murderers, and terrorist the thirty-something private investigator is being prodded by his longtime girlfriend to "get out of the business before its too late."<br style="background: inherit !important;" /><br style="background: inherit !important;" />As difficult as it has been the handsome P.I. has stayed true to his choice of committing to a monogamous relationship with interior decorator Shakia. In an attempt trade in his lifestyle of danger for a profession with a much lower causality rate, Steele opened a posh member’s only club in the Mt. Airy section of Philly. It was an unusual choice for a man who doesn't drink or smoke. Steele’s quirky, hefty; childhood friend Sugar Bear is the club manager. Sugar Bear competence as manager has never been an issue but his attraction to astrology and conspiracy theories often annoys Steele.<br style="background: inherit !important;" /><br style="background: inherit !important;" />Shakia’s relief has quickly turned to frustration because the back booth at Steele’s popular club has turned into his new base of operation. Steele is approached by a never-ending stream of potential murder mysteries clients, some too good to pass up. It becomes apparent that his reputation will not die as quickly as the enemies he has put in the local cemeteries. </span></span></div>
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<span class="m_-3196132518220975900gmail-userContent" style="background: inherit !important; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="m_-3196132518220975900gmail-text_exposed_show" style="background: inherit !important; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline;">The series consist of six short stories and one novel with more n the way. </span></span></div>
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<span class="userContent"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Philly detective Alexander Steele is hired to solve a double murder inside a mansion full of suspects. The victims were found inside a shed locked from the inside. The only thing he knows for sure is that the butler didn't do it. </span><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><a class="yt-uix-servicelink " data-servicelink="CDwQ6TgYACITCKDhovqLu9ECFcl7Tgod0lwLzSj4HQ" data-target-new-window="True" data-url="http://amzn.to/29LUptj" href="http://amzn.to/29LUptj" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #167ac6; cursor: pointer; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/29LUptj</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><a class="yt-uix-servicelink " data-servicelink="CDwQ6TgYACITCKDhovqLu9ECFcl7Tgod0lwLzSj4HQ" data-target-new-window="True" data-url="http://amzn.to/29LU4a7" href="http://amzn.to/29LU4a7" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #167ac6; cursor: pointer; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/29LU4a7</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><a class="yt-uix-servicelink " data-servicelink="CDwQ6TgYACITCKDhovqLu9ECFcl7Tgod0lwLzSj4HQ" data-target-new-window="True" data-url="http://amzn.to/29FyEIT" href="http://amzn.to/29FyEIT" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #167ac6; cursor: pointer; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/29FyEIT</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.</span><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><a class="yt-uix-servicelink " data-servicelink="CDwQ6TgYACITCKDhovqLu9ECFcl7Tgod0lwLzSj4HQ" data-target-new-window="True" data-url="http://j.mp/1sncUH2" href="http://j.mp/1sncUH2" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #167ac6; cursor: pointer; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://j.mp/1sncUH2</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Smashwords</span><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><a class="yt-uix-servicelink " data-servicelink="CDwQ6TgYACITCKDhovqLu9ECFcl7Tgod0lwLzSj4HQ" data-target-new-window="True" data-url="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lawrencejohnson" href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lawrencejohnson" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #167ac6; cursor: pointer; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...</a></span><br />
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Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-90651454882608315032014-08-15T08:16:00.001-07:002014-08-18T06:09:09.215-07:00Alexander Steele Murder Mystery Excerpts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tg-L3RePFZ4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Excerpt from Death Dealer</strong></em></span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 24.336000442504883px; margin-bottom: 5px; min-height: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Later that morning Steele drove down to North Philly to an area known by the locals as </span></em></span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the Badlands to meet Trench in his office hidden behind a restaurant aptly named the Greasy</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Spoon. It was a bright sunny day outside but it was clear from the grime on the front window</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">that the sun’s attempt to brighten the inside was a lost cause.</span></em></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 24.336000442504883px; margin-bottom: 5px; min-height: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">From the moment Steele walked in the door it was evident that whoever was</span></em></span><br />
<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">responsible for cleaning the place had taken the last five years off. The dingy red and white</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">sign in the corner read special, 2 eggs, hash browns, and coffee $1.50. Knowing that it </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">was a front for Trench’s illegal activities in the back Steele shook his head as he entered. </span></em><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He murmured, “They should change the sign to leave your taste buds at the door.”</span></em></span><br />
<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></em></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 24.336000442504883px; margin-bottom: 5px; min-height: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The half dozen zombie-like patrons didn’t bother to look up when he walked in. The</span></em></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">decor was early seventies with duck taped stools but the balding; cigarette smoking man in</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">front of the grill was defiantly a product of the fifties.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Never taking the cigarette from his mouth the sweaty cook turned around holding</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></em><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a spatula in one hand and plate of eggs and hash browns in the other. “What can</em> I get you</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">young blood?”</span></em></span></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 24.336000442504883px; margin-bottom: 5px; min-height: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Steele chuckled as he thought, "Coffee, hash browns and eggs $1.50. Cigarette</span></em></span><br />
<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ashes? No charge. Does that come with a side of Pepto Bismol? This place would be</span></em></span><br />
<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a health inspector’s dream if one was ever bold enough to come through those doors."</span></em></span><br />
<span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Steele took notice of the bulge near the cook’s waistline under his dirty apron.</span></em></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"That ain’t no fanny pack," he thought, this guy was definitely packing heat. The cook </span></em></span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">was doing double duty as Trench’s first line of defense; too bad he didn't do windows. </span></em><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Steele glanced at the plate of food and waved him off, “No thanks.” He pointed to </span></em><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the dark brown door all the way in the back. The man set the plate on the counter in front of</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the customer. Hanging directly over head was a swirly strip of fly paper that had done its job</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></em><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">all too well.</span></em></span></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 24.336000442504883px; margin-bottom: 5px; min-height: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You Steele?” he asked.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When Steele nodded the cook reached under the counter and buzzed him in. Steele</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">passed by an assortment of boxes containing counterfeit merchandise from Trench’s</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">suppliers. They lined the walls of his office in the back of the rundown greasy spoon diner.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="font-size-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 14pt !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He counted three body guards plus the hired help.</span></span></em></div>
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The Deadly Gamble an Alexander Steele Murder Mystery<br />
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Posted <abbr class="time published" itemprop="datePublished" style="border: none; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" title="2014-08-12T14:43:00.000Z">3 days ago</abbr> by <a class="url fn" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036" itemprop="author" rel="author" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #009eb8; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.3s;">Larry Johnson</a></div>
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Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-3930155854053721872014-08-11T11:16:00.000-07:002014-09-11T09:05:54.361-07:00The Deadly Gamble Chapter Two<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Gamblers Anonymous</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Steele fully anticipated being stonewalled
by the staff. <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> believed that
their “Ding dong the witch is dead” attitude would not bode well for
Steele’s investigation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Tara</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> had to get back to work but refused
to leave until Steele revealed how the victims were killed. Steele
walked her back over to the crime scene. Once they entered the small room
he picked up the old, galvanized steel, bucket from the corner and held it to her
nose. <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> winched and
immediately recoiled as she stepped away from the repulsive odor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“That smells awful Steele. What the
hell is it?" Steele placed the bucket back in the corner. “It’s the
murder weapon, well what’s left of it. The killer must have waited until they
were asleep or passed out from the booze before mixing bleach and ammonia
together. He or she could have also added the pool chlorine to the mix,
probably poured it over some old rags in that bucket. The two mixed
together produce extremely toxic vapors. A while back some guy tried
unclogging his toilet with bleach and ammonia mixed with drain cleaner, well
let’s just say it didn't end well for him. Whoever did this closed the
window after they left the shed the first time. In a small area like this it
didn't take much time for the toxic fumes to build up. The killer waited
until the deed was done then came back to remove the evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 18pt;">Bleach and ammonia separately, no problem
but when you mix them together especially in a tiny room like this."
Steele shook his head slowly. "The vapors are lethal so
if I'm right the coroners’ report should come back with toxic shock as the
cause of death. The shed is old and has
lots of cracks so by the time the police got inside most of the order had
dissipated. I guess the murderer was in
a hurry to get out so whoever it was either forgot or </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">didn't</span><span style="line-height: 18pt;"> think it was
necessary to take the bucket with them."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Tara</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> was blown away at how clever and
resourceful the killer was. Steele walked her to her car and watched her
drive off before going back to the house to confront the staff.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The code of silence he encountered turned
out to be more of a strategy of evasion. Because of the murders Mr.
Matthews had given the staff the day off but since the suspects lived on the
property they really didn't have anywhere else to go. Steele felt as if he had
entered a house full of deaf-mutes, suddenly everyone was far too busy to talk,
everyone except the cook. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Antonio was a heavyset man in his late
fifties. His gray hair and mustache made him look older. Antonio’s
official title was cook but unofficially he was the mansions version of KYW
news. It turned out that Antonio was more like the cook/town gossip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">He was about to prepare supper when Steele
entered the kitchen. The cook smiled when Steele walked in. Antonio
was Italian but it wasn't necessary for him to tell anyone because his accent
was a dead giveaway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Ah Mr. Steele, I wondered when you would
get around to visiting me. How can I help you?" The men shook
hands then talked for over an hour. Antonio was a wealth of
information. Steele wasn't sure if gabbing was just in his nature or if
it was the bottle of vino he sipped on every five minutes or so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You know Mr. Steele if you scratch just
beneath the surface you will be surprised at what secrets you will uncover
around here. Did you know that Pablo the grounds keeper owed Mrs.
Matthews a lot of money and that she threatened to fire him if he didn’t pay
up? It’s true. He likes to bet on the horses but he’s not the only
gambler in the house.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Audrey, the maid, she plays the Powerball,
never misses a week." A lot of what Antonio talked about was idle gossip
but what Steele found interesting was the cook’s mention of the horse racing
and lottery tickets. Steele pulled out his cell phone and scrolled to the
contents of the trash can inside the shed. Two of the items in the trash
were lottery tickets and a racing form. When Steele asked about any
recent change in staff members’ behavior Antonio perked up. “You know Mr.
Steele now that you mentioned it there was a change. Yesterday Audrey the
maid was on cloud nine, she was singing and smiling all day long but today she
seemed really depressed like the dog just died you know. Maybe it was
because of the murders. Now today Pablo is the one who’s happy as a
clam. I bet it’s because he doesn't have to pay all that money back to
Mrs. Matthews.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Steele asked the tipsy chef about the mud
on his shoes. Antonio paused as he glanced down. “Oh, ah, I have an
herb garden behind the house. I did some planting earlier, must have
forgotten to wipe my feet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">On his way to the car Steele took a side
trip to Antonio’s herb garden behind the kitchen. There were no fresh
footprints so at that point the talkative cook moved up a notch on Steele’s
suspect list. Why did the chef lie? Steele also wondered why Antonio was
so eager to throw his co-workers under bus. Since Pablo was the
groundskeeper Steele understood why his racing form would be found inside the
shed but whose lottery tickets were in the trash? Could they have been
the maids?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Steele was always thorough. Before heading
to the club Steele drove downtown to 16<sup>th</sup> and Spruce. He
wanted to check out the apartment of Sam the deceased pool boy. He didn't
expect to find much of anything but sometimes the smallest of clues could break
a case wide open. The buildings landlady was a middle aged woman who had
heard about the murders on the evening news. She was obviously shaken.
Her voice trembled slightly when she talked about her tenant who was
found murdered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> “Sam was a good kid, well he wasn't
really a kid but he looked young for his age. He was quite the ladies man
if you know what I mean. He seemed excited this morning before he left
for work. I never did find out what he was so jazzed about. You are the first person to come by
today. I expected the cops but they
never came.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Steele explained that since the murder
took place outside the city limits that the township police would probably have
to go through the Philadelphia Police department before they would come. He asked if she would show him Sam’s
apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The woman paused as she fumbled around
inside the large pockets on her flowered, blue smock. Seconds later she
pulled out a bronze ring of keys and searched for the one labeled 2C. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 18pt;">“Well I guess it doesn't really matter now
does it? I suppose you're here to search the room for clues. Since he </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">wasn't</span><span style="line-height: 18pt;"> killed here and since nobody
told me not to let you in the apartment I guess its okay as long as you don’t
tell nobody.” Steele was about to answer when the phone rang. The
landlady took the call then handed Steele the key. “This is going to take
a while. Sam didn't have a lot so there ain't much up there to steal and
besides you have an honest face.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The two things that caught Steele’s
attention when he entered the small apartment’s bedroom were the open window
and the jewelry, lots of expensive jewelry including a Rolex watch.
Clothes were strewn over the bed and chair. There was a beige suitcase on
the floor between the bed and the nightstand. When Steele reached down to
pick up the suitcase he felt a wave of searing pain in the back of his head
then suddenly everything went dark. The next thing he remembered was the superintendent
standing over him with a glass of water. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Hey mister you alright?” Steele
reached for the back of his head as he sat up on the floor next to the
bed. He winched as he gingerly rubbed the back of his head. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“That’s a nasty bump you got there Mr. Steele.
What the hell’s going on here? Who was that woman and where did all this
jewelry come from?" Still recovering from the whack on head Steele
tried to focus. He managed to sit on the bed and take a few sips of
water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“What woman” The super seemed surprised by
his question “The women who busted you upside your head a couple of minutes
ago, that woman. It had to have been her. She flew past me in the lobby
faster than Usain Bolt."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Steele got a description of the women from
the landlady. “She was blonde maybe in her mid thirties. I couldn't
see her eyes because she wore dark glasses and she kept her head turned away
from me but she had on a red Phillies baseball cap.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Steele thanked her for helping him.
He never answered her about the jewelry because he didn't have one. Steele was
just as curious as she was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">One of the advantages of owning your own
club is that you get to make or in this case break the rules whenever it suits
you. Getting blindsided in what was supposed to be an empty apartment did
not put the detective/club owner in the mood for socializing with guest. So
instead of going to the club Steele headed home with a huge headache and a ton
of unanswered questions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Who was the woman who clocked him?
What was the burglar looking for in Sam’s apartment and why did she leave everything
including the jewelry?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Steele’s best friend Stan wouldn't be back
from New York until tomorrow night so any cyber data mining info Stan
could dig up on the suspects would have to wait. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">All the news was not bad, Steele’s job was
not to solve the murders it was to clear <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>’s
uncle. As long as the killer had no more targets Steele had the luxury of
time on his side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">If the murderer got cold feet and decided to
take off overnight Steele’s job would become a lot easier. At least this
way he would know who the killer was.
All he would have to do is track him down instead of whittling down the hefty
list of suspect at the mansion. On his
way home he received a call from <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Steele, I wanted you to hear this from me
before you found out yourself. This isn't easy for me to admit but I
caught my Uncle in a lie. Earlier he told me and the police that he was
at a board meeting this morning. Well there was supposed to be a
meeting but it was postponed because the CFO had appendicitis and needed to be
rushed to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:placename></st1:place> for emergency
surgery. When I confronted him he admitted he lied. He spent most of
the morning at the roulette wheel in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Atlantic
City</st1:place></st1:city>. He didn't want his wife to know he was
gambling so he used the meeting as a cover. The problem is he’s a high
roller and uses the VIP entrance where there are no cameras.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Listening to <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> was
changeling. For Steele focusing on <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>’s
revelation was not easy. The drum beat of pain in Steele’s head was stiff
competition for what <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> had to
say. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Steele, are you listening to me?
This doesn't mean Uncle Kevin is a murder it just means he’s a bad liar.”
Steele gently rubbed his head, “okay <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>,
point taken. I’m gonna need to talk to him anyway. The staff has
decided to take a code of silence. The only one willing to talk is the
chef, in fact it kinda hard to shut him up. If your uncle doesn't loosen
a few tongues this is going to be an uphill battle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Tara</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> sighed into the receiver, “don’t
worry about it Steele. He wants me to have dinner with him this
evening. I'll talk to him about it then.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Besides Steele’s mom Shakia was the only
living soul on the planet who could tell when he was lying. When he
didn't go to the club she showed up at his house armed with the evening’s Daily
News. Rather than confront her boyfriend about the photo Shakia set the
paper down on the coffee table making sure Steele could see the headlines.
There it was right on the front page beneath the fold a photo of him
embracing his attractive friend and now client Tara. The caption
read <i>Private investigator consoles niece of murder victim. </i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In spite of his pain he was still
observant enough to see what Shakia had done. Steele felt the need to
explain. “Hey look baby, I can ….” Shakia kissed Steele softly on
the lips. She began speaking in a tone that was all too familiar to the
observant detective. It was that kind of voice she used when she was
about to leave him to hang out to dry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 18pt;">“Oh baby, you know I trust you…….it’s not
me you have to worry about but </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">I'm</span><span style="line-height: 18pt;"> sure </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">you'll</span><span style="line-height: 18pt;"> be getting a call from my Mom
soon.” Shakia began to laugh but when she saw drops of blood on Steele’s
shoulder her mood turned serious. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Alex is that your blood?" She moved
in for a closer look. Steele didn't want to make a big deal of the
attack. He knew how much Shakia worried about him. After explaining what
happened at the apartment Shakia played nurse tending to his wound, bringing
him Tylenol and an ice pack to ease the throbbing inside his head. Later
that evening Shakia provided her patient with a little special TLC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>Please recommend this story to friends and family by clicking the link below. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>Thank you</i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="http://j.mp/1thOyyC" target="_blank">Chapter #3<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="http://j.mp/1thOyyC" target="_blank">Secrets </a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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ALSO:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Alexander Steele Murder Mystery Trilogy</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Author Larry J</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The Alexander Steele Murder Mystery series consist of the first three short stories set in Philadelphia. Philly native Lawrence Johnson </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">aka Larry J. takes you into Philly's neighborhoods by way of his fictional,suave,detective Alexander Steele. The semi retired PI is the proud owner of the Mount Airy hot spot known as the Inner Sanctum. Steele has a problem. He just can't seem to put his past life of crime solving behind him. A seemly endless stream of new clients come to his club each with tempting new cases for the ever inquisitive private investigator.<br /><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/apple" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">#apple</a><br />Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.<br /><br /><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fj.mp%2F1sncUH2&h=8AQFay9T2&enc=AZPylVULfYmKSi-qcbE_v4x4c-CNZvxml5hdQBHetFJbKcioMWPlgmM9iRnYNfdpaVC-tvr2li9LofLn9sbDrg6gAeimEsZSLh13LHViyjq-esxO1sVlQgAe0i_608oKA0-NbCyNIpQ9fDNytLvIzFwu&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://j.mp/1sncUH2</a></span></div>
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<br />Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-62725570059587269412014-08-06T06:33:00.002-07:002014-09-11T09:05:30.113-07:00The Deadly Gamble Chapter OneAlexander Steele - The Deadly Gamble<br />
(A short story)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Chapter #1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Deadly Love Shack<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After a long, harsh winter
Alexander Steele was anxious to re-open the rooftop lounge above his popular
Philly nightclub. Just as the workmen
finished installing the large blue canopy Steele received a phone call from his
friend Tara. Her sobbing made it
difficult for Steele to fully understand what was going on. <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> was a
tough reporter who didn't usually get frazzled.
Today Steele saw a different side
of his feisty friend. Her plea for help
was one that Steele could not ignore. Once
he was able to calm her down Steele jotted down the address and headed to the
stately mansion in <st1:placename w:st="on">Springfield</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Township</st1:placetype> just outside of <st1:city w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:city>.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele had no idea what mystery awaited
him beyond the tall black wrought iron gates leading up to the mansion. At the time he didn't realize Tara’s call for
help would lead him into a murder investigation with more twist and turns than
a <st1:city w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:city>
soft pretzel. Steele inched his jag
through the half dozen reporters and cameramen at the front gates. Eager to get the scoop one of the men shouted
“hey Steele what’s going on in there?” The over zealous reporters were kept at
bay by two hefty, security guards wearing dark suits. Steele smiled and shook his head. “Hey fellas sorry I can't help you out on
this one. You probably know as much as I do.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Waiting patiently on the other side
of the gate was <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>. Once she motioned for the guards to let him
through Steele drove the forty feet through the gates and on to the
grounds. He quickly got out of his jag but
as he began walking towards her <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> rushed
over, gave Steele a kiss on the cheek and held him tight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Needing something to print in the
evening papers the paparazzi seized the opportunity by snapping photos of their
embrace. Even with the cameras clicking
away his presence seemed to have a calming effect on her. Steele could see
police activity further up the long oval, brick driveway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“You mind telling me what’s going
on <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>?”
The reporters were within earshot.
<st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> gave them a look but didn't
speak. She got into Steele’s car and
motioned for him to drive to the house. As
they rode towards the entrance to the main house Steele was able to get a better
look the scene. A black van with big
white letter that read coroner was parked in between an old shed and the pool
house. Several uniformed police milled
around outside the shed. Three Police
cars were parked next to a silver Rolls Royce, a red Ferrari and two other
expensive cars in front of the mansion.
Steele parked next to a brown Lamborghini, got out and opened the door
for Tara who was now more talkative. She
pointed in the direction of the old, weather beaten, shed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Earlier this afternoon my Aunt
Melissa and Sam the pool boy were found murdered. The police think Uncle Kevin killed them but
I know he’s innocent. I need you to
prove it. I don't have a lot of money
Steele but I will borrow it if I have to.
As a reporter I've covered a lot of murder cases but this one is
different, it’s tailor made for you.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele was intrigued by her
comment. “What do you mean tailor made
for me?” <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>
wrapped her arm around his and began leading him down the driveway to the shed
as she began to explain. “The door was
locked from the inside and there were no footprints outside. It’s a deadbolt lock Steele. There’s only one
window and one door to the shed." <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> could tell from Steele’s expression that she had
gotten his attention. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Everyone who knew Steele knows he loves a good mystery and the best way to draw him out of retirement was to
hand him a big, juicy, murder mystery to solve.
Like a fish on a hook <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> slowly
reeled him in. This was not just a
murder but a double murder involving infidelity, wealth and mystery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As they reached the old, gray shed
the coroner and his assistant rolled the silver gurney over to the back of
the van. <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>
introduced Steele to police Chief Patterson. "This is Alexander Steele a private detective I hired to work on the case."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The three walked over to the black
body bag. Steele motioned to the corpse
as he looked over at the chief “do you mind?” Patterson gave him the nod to
view the corpse. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele gently zipped back the bag
to take a look at the first victim. The
scantily clad Mrs. Matthews wore only a black bra and panties. Steele was
careful not to touch the body. He was
surprised at how young she was. She
looked peaceful, there didn't appear to be any strangulation marks. From his initial once over he could see no
signs of blood or skin under the fingertips.
He gave the body a quick top to
bottom look. No stab or gunshot wounds
or blunt force markings were visible from the front. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He turned to the Chef. “Who discovered the bodies?” <span style="line-height: 150%;">The chef turned on his Ipad and
scanned his notes.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> "</span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Err that would be Mr.
Matthews sister Kitty.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">According to her
Mrs. Matthews was supposed to sign for the delivery of an expensive gift for
her brother.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Apparently he has a
birthday coming up and likes collecting rare guns.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">She got in late so she asked her sister in
law to sign.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">When the maid couldn't
locate her she woke Kitty to sign for the package.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Afterwards Kitty went looking for Mrs. Matthews
and found her here.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">She said she could
see the two of them through the large crack in the old door frame.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">She knocked and called out to them and when
there was no response she knew there was something amiss.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele listened intently, nodded
occasionally and waited until the chief was through before asking his next
question.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“What was the cause of death?” The Chief hunched his shoulders and waved
his arms. “Ya got me Mr. Steele. They weren't shot, stabbed, strangled or
bludgeoned to death. We'll just have to
wait and see what the coroner comes up with. “</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele put on a pair of gloves,
ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and entered the shed. Using his camera phone he took photos of
everything including the pool boy whose nude body was still lying on the blue, inflatable
bed in the corner. <span style="line-height: 150%;">One of Steele’s least favorite jobs
while working a case was picking through trash.
He carefully laid out the contents of the trash can on top of the
workbench. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One can of Franks black cherry
wishniak soda </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Eight Pennsylvania Lottery tickets</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One empty bottle of Jim beam bourbon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One racing form </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Four condom wrappers</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Like everyone else Steele was
intrigued by how someone entered the shed, committed the murders and left with
the door being locked from the inside. It rained the night before. If
they had entered through the window there would have been footprints on the wet ground below the window. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele was told that police broke
the lock to gain entry to the building. Under normal circumstances the old work
shed would not be locked but when the wife hooks up with the pool boy locks
are a necessity. When Steele examined
the area outside the shed window. On the side of the building he noticed fresh, faint
scraping on the bottom of the windowsill.
The window was closed but not locked.
Last nights rain had left much of the grounds soft and muddy. The seasoned detective was baffled by the
absence of footprints.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once he was satisfied he had the
information he needed Steele rejoined <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> on
the other side of the tape. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st1:place style="line-height: 150%;" w:st="on">Tara</st1:place><span style="line-height: 150%;">
looked hopeful, “What did you find Steele?
Anything that could help clear my Uncle?” Steele ignored the question. He had a few of his own questions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Your Uncle made millions from his
internet software company. His face has
been splashed all over the papers for years.
His wife has to be as least twenty years younger. It must take a large staff to run a place
this size. Why do the police believe
your Uncle offed his wife and why haven't you shown any sympathy for your
deceased aunt?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>’s <span style="line-height: 150%;">hopeful look turned to one of
bitterness. She scoffed and briefly
looked at the sky before answering the questions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“My aunt was a slutty, gold digging,
whore. She never gave a damn about my
Uncle and she certainly didn't love him.”
Steele waited for an answer to his first question. When it became obvious that Tara wasn't about
to give one without some prodding Steele looked at <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>
and waited patiently until she reluctantly continued. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Come on Steele, you owe me. I saved your life in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bahamas</st1:country-region>” Steele
waved his hand. “Whoa, I've already
decided to take the case but I need you to be straight with me baby girl. I need to know what the hell I'm getting
myself into.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>
explained how two years ago her Uncle Kevin caught his wife in bed with another
man. He shot the man but he survived. The incident was covered up. "It’s a small township; my uncle donates
heavily to a lot of local organizations including the homeless shelter and the
Police and Firefighters fund. It took a
little persuading and a lot of cash for my aunt’s lover not to press
charges. The revised story was that he
was a house guest that wandered into the dimly lit bedroom and that Uncle Kevin
though he was a bugler. After the
shooting he vowed to kill her if he ever caught her with another man."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele shook his head and looked at
his cell phone. “It doesn't look good <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>. Your uncle
sure as hell had motive and if his story about being at a meeting this morning doesn't
hold up then he also had opportunity.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele and Tara started walking back to the house. <span style="line-height: 150%;">“Okay, if your Uncle didn’t murder
those two then who else could have done it?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> laughed
mocking at Steele. “Anyone, everyone,
everybody who lives or works here had motive, the maid, the cook, the groundskeeper, the driver, even my aunt. <span style="line-height: 150%;">For a year and a half Melissa had
been pressuring my uncle to move to </span><st1:city style="line-height: 150%;" w:st="on">Miami</st1:city><span style="line-height: 150%;">. Well he finally caved last week. They spent the entire weekend house hunting
in Coconut Grove and </span><st1:city style="line-height: 150%;" w:st="on">Coral Gables</st1:city><span style="line-height: 150%;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The staff is freaking out and they aren't the
only ones. Aunt Kitty was born and
raised in Philly, all her friends are here.
There’s no way she’s gonna move, nobody wants to move. With Melissa dead I’m sure the move will be called
off and everybody’s job is safe. I wouldn't
be surprised if the staff got together and threw a party. <span style="line-height: 150%;">They hated her more than I did so
it’s a win, win for everybody here……well except the pool boy. It wasn't always that way, she use to get
along with most of them especially the cook, she even use to give some of her
old clothes to the maid.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele and Tara passed the two golden
pillars with white globes on the steps leading to the front doors. They ran into Kevin Matthews and his
attorney. Once <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>
made the introductions Steele offered his condolences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><br /></st1:place>
<st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> gave
her uncle a hug. <span style="line-height: 150%;">“How are you holding up Uncle
Kevin?" He thought for a moment then
looked out towards the shed. “Well </span><st1:place style="line-height: 150%;" w:st="on">Tara</st1:place><span style="line-height: 150%;">, to be honest I’m conflicted. There’s only one reason why someone would put
a bed in a shed and lock the door.” </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Clearly he had not visited the crime scene and seen the bodies. He
turned to Steele. “You don’t need to be
a detective to figure that part out.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Matthews gave Steele carte
blanche. “Mr. Steele you have my full
cooperation. Feel free to question all of
my staff. You have full access to the
entire property, nothing is off limits. If
I can help in any way just say the word.”
Mr. Matthews turned his attention to his niece. “I wouldn't dream of burdening my niece with
paying for your services. Once you have
completed your investigation send me the bill.
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been asked to go down to the
station and make a statement. I have no
idea how long this is going to take.
I’ll check in with you later.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steele was taken aback by Matthews
take charge attitude. It was as if he
didn't know that he was the number one suspect.
After Matthews left Steele reminded <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>
that her uncle was under suspicion and that she, not her uncle was his
client. <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> led
Steele into the study on the right side of the main hall.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Well <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place> I
have to admit I'm really curious how the killer got in the shed without leaving
any footprints.” <st1:place w:st="on">Tara</st1:place>
watched as Steele took a seat behind a polished cherry wood desk. “Aren't you forgetting something Steele? Aren't you the least bit curious about how
they were murdered?” Steele calmly shook
his head as he leaned back in the brown leather chair. “That’s not a mystery to me anymore. I know how they were murdered.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="http://j.mp/1sVDarY" target="_blank">Chapter #2<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<a href="http://j.mp/1sVDarY" target="_blank"><br /></a>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="http://j.mp/1sVDarY" target="_blank">Gamblers Anonymous </a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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ALSO:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Alexander Steele Murder Mystery Trilogy</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Author Larry J</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The Alexander Steele Murder Mystery series consist of the first three short stories set in Philadelphia. Philly native Lawrence Johnson </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">aka Larry J. takes you into Philly's neighborhoods by way of his fictional,suave,detective Alexander Steele. The semi retired PI is the proud owner of the Mount Airy hot spot known as the Inner Sanctum. Steele has a problem. He just can't seem to put his past life of crime solving behind him. A seemly endless stream of new clients come to his club each with tempting new cases for the ever inquisitive private investigator.<br /><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/apple" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">#apple</a><br />Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.<br /><br /><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fj.mp%2F1sncUH2&h=8AQFay9T2&enc=AZPylVULfYmKSi-qcbE_v4x4c-CNZvxml5hdQBHetFJbKcioMWPlgmM9iRnYNfdpaVC-tvr2li9LofLn9sbDrg6gAeimEsZSLh13LHViyjq-esxO1sVlQgAe0i_608oKA0-NbCyNIpQ9fDNytLvIzFwu&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://j.mp/1sncUH2</a></span></div>
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<br />Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8875261206766678427.post-48217192061218476032014-08-04T12:46:00.003-07:002014-08-04T13:36:10.801-07:00The Deadly Gamble - an Internet Murder MysteryAlexander Steele - The Deadly Gamble<br />
(A short story)<br />
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Stop by every Wednesday to read the latest chapter here on this blog. There is nothing to buy or download. <br />
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Follow Philly detective Alexander Steele as he searches for clues to unravel this latest mystery. <br />
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Trailer One<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YDnyZGPV-Bc?rel=0" width="853"></iframe>
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<br />Larry Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04455586996926649036noreply@blogger.com0