Categotry Archives: Suzie’s House
Suzie’s House 529 : What Comes to Hand
It took over fifteen minutes for Vin to free his hands from the rope Petrovich had tied him up with. It would have been even less time if not for all the lurching as the pick up maneuvered through Madison. That or the distraction of Petrovich’s previous victim rolling around on the floor of the camper. As soon as he could, Vin slapped first one, then the other hip pocket. No phone. He checked his shirt pocket. Nothing. He didn’t […]
Suzie’s House 528 : A Puddle in a Parking Lot
Drew, Suzie, and Miranda stood in a circle around a suspicious puddle in the store parking lot a few feet from where they found Vin’s car. “It might not be related,” Suzie said hopefully, though she knew full well the odds were against it. “This was his phone.” Miranda shook the broken and crushed fragments of a phone in her hand. She picked through the shards until she found a sticker of a heart on black casing. “I put this […]
Suzie’s House 527 : Voice of Reason
“What’s going on?” Suzie left the groceries on the kitchen counter to find out what had people stomping up and down the staircase. “Vin is missing.” Drew opened the cabinet in the den and took out his holster. He slapped a hand on the empty thing, muttered under his breath about government permits and threw the holster back in the cabinet. “What do you mean his missing? Isn’t he just at the store?”
Suzie’s House 526 : Where’s Vin 2
Vin’s head hurt like the devil when he came to. In the dim confines of the camper, the first thing he recognized was a growing pool of blood on linoleum floor, and the roar of a pick-up engine coming to life. In other words, though the crack at the back of his head had done some damage, but he hadn’t been unconscious for long. He tried to push himself upright to find his hands had been bound behind his back. […]
Suzie’s House 525 : Where’s Vin?
“Miranda, where’s Vin?” Drew barely waited for her to open the door to the room she shared with Vin before asking. “What? You think I’m his social secretary or something?” She stepped into the hallway. “He isn’t here.” In truth, she’d been worried about him for a while now. He was working the kind of scary case that had once lead a pair of killers right to their door. Only way back then it had been Drew’s case and Drew […]
Suzie’s House 524 : Clean and Clear
“Well? Well?! What do your think?” Drew could hardly contain himself as he put the last glass down among a forest of glasses on the kitchen table. In the course of half an hour he’d swallowed a dozen different concoctions. He’d done some weird yoga things too and some other stuff that Sonoma said would set him off if he wasn’t a hundred percent yet. If he’d had a melt down, he’d totally missed it. He’d been watching the clock, […]
Suzie’s House 523 : Shoes
“How much longer are they going to be here?” Miranda glared into the hall through which the old couple had exited minutes before. “As long as it takes.” Suzie pulled a roll of cookie dough out of the refrigerator and started slicing. “Takes for what? To worm they way into the house as permanent honorary members?” Suzie didn’t bother to respond, which only made Miranda all the more insecure. She knew she wasn’t exactly being generous, but she felt like […]
Suzie’s House 522 : Another Degree of Separation
Drew eyed the thick, green brew in a teacup with some misgivings. Although Sonoma did her best to make the stuff taste good, she didn’t always succeed. Since he’d never been a fan of slimy food, he suspected this was going to be particularly vile. “Just hold your nose and down it as fast as you can. But don’t throw up! You are not allowed to throw up.” Sonoma returned his glare with stubborn insistence.
Suzie’s House 521 : Degree of Separation
Beth slid into her seat with her head ducked down in deference to the teacher. Five minutes late for class wasn’t really that long, but it seemed like a lot when every one else was already sitting. Except Emma, of course. Because Emma had been out in the hall, singing. Wow. Just… wow.
Suzie’s House 520: Hall Concert
Justin heard Emma’s voice from two floors down when he stepped into the stairwell. He checked the time on his phone. Now? When class was about to start? She’d start a riot! He raced up the stairs and burst into the hall to see Emma and Bruce in the T intersection surrounded by a dozen students. She had on a mask. Bruce had his keyboard out and tried to play with one hand. Justin kept himself from running over mostly […]
Suzie’s House 519 : C’est Moi
Emma suffered one of those heart-stopping moments when she knew with absolute certitude she was going to do something stupid. A part of her was terrified what Berth would think of Bruce, or – worse – what Bruce would think of Emma for making a friend outside the band. But she had to do something. Beth was looking at Bruce with half hero worship and half confusion; and Bruce was looking at Beth with that fake bemusement he got when […]
Suzie’s House 517 : Head Cases
Vin dragged himself into the house in utter exhaustion. He’d subcontracted with the FBI to work on a serial killer case that had covered five states so far. Although the part of the work that he was responsible for was supposed to be confined to Wisconsin, he’d gone to a meeting in Chicago, an only now gotten back. It was late. Maybe he should sleep in Miranada’s “shoe room” rather than risk waking her up. She wasn’t exactly easy to […]
Suzie’s House 516 : No Excuses
“Please tell me the tea you’ve been feeding me isn’t actually toxic.” Drew made himself stay upright though he felt like he’d been sucker punched. He forced his feet into the den where Trent and Sonoma had been arguing. But as soon as he drew even with the straight back chair against the wall, he slumped into it. “Even water is toxic if you get enough of it.” Trent said. “You would say that.” If it had been Sonoma saying […]
Suzie’s House 515 : Cause No Harm
Much to Sonoma’s relief, Drew walked into the house under his own steam. There had been a few times back when he lived under her roof when they had brought him into the house on a dolly. His muscles would lock up and keep him as still as a statue for painfully long minutes, sometimes even hours. This gave her heart. The fact he could move now meant she was on to something.
Suzie’s House 514 : It’s Alright My Boy, You’re Here Now
The cars whizzing past trailed streamers of light like a high budget art movie. Sunlight in the air put brilliant gold on every speck of dust and time became a relative thing. As far as flashbacks went, this one was both much better and much worse than the average. Better simply from the sheer beauty of Madison Wisconsin in the early Fall. Most trees still shone green, and a clear, powder-blue sky loomed overhead. The hoards of high school kids […]
