Happy Saturday. David and I are at the bar (David was here first) and we are ready to enjoy a cold beverage, a little break from the rigors of retirement, and a go at Linda’s prompt for the week.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ends with ‘itch.’” Find a word that ends with “itch” or use the word “itch.” Enjoy!
SoCS—Linda G. Hill
Linda didn’t warn us, but we won’t go anywhere Cheryl wouldn’t want us to go.
If we were having a beer, you’d be impatient.
“Good afternoon, Cheryl. Is Dan here yet, or did he start his break already?”
“I’m not my customers keeper, David. Can I get you a John Howell’s Special?”
“Yeaaaaaaah, but…”
“You’d rather know that Dan is coming to pay for it.”
“No, it’s just I’m not sure I’m staying if he doesn’t show up.”
“I see. So, my company is insufficient?”
“No! That’s not what I meant. Oh, hell. It was the buying thing. I should have left it alone at that. Now I look like a jerk.”
“My thoughts, exactly.”
“Hi Cheryl. Hi David. How are you guys today?”
“Where’ve you been, Dan? You’re late and you got me in trouble with Cheryl.”
“David, it’s three-o-one. I am precisely one minute late, and we’re having a beer, I’m not catching a train.”
“Hi Dan. David just had to yank his foot out of his mouth. He’ll be okay, now that he knows you’re here to pay. Can I get you a Modelo?”
“A nice cold Modelo will be fine, Cheryl. David, why did you think I wouldn’t be here?”
“I couldn’t remember when you were starting your break.”
“Next week.”
“But you’ll be gone for two weeks.”
“Well, two weekends, but not really two weeks.”
“Still, two weeks away from the bar.”
“You can always come hang out with Cheryl.”
“Don’t go there, Dan. That’s how he got his ten-and-a-half lodged in his kisser to begin with.”
“Now I wish I had arrived earlier. I would have liked to see that.”
“If you had been on time, there would have been nothing to see.”
“Actually, I was here. I stayed in the parking lot to read what I thought was an important email.”
“From whom? I mean what could be more important than a cold beer?”
“The email was from AT-and-T. The subject line said something about ‘Important Account Information’ so I took a look.”
“Apologizing for the data breach? Are they giving you a credit or something?”
“You would think that’s where they were going, wouldn’t you.”
“Not where they went?”
“No. They were telling me that my account will cost an extra ten dollars a month, beginning in August.”
“Wait, they allow the world’s largest data breach ever and their response is to raise your rates?”
“Yes. Not much to say after that, is there?”
“Maybe they need the extra money to block the spam calls you’re going to be getting because every bad actor in the world has your phone number now.”
“There’s a certain logic in that, David. It’s twisted, but it might be what they’re thinking.”
“Except, if they wanted to block spam calls, they could already be doing it.”
“Hey guys, you’re here to relax. I say you change the subject.”
“We’re just chitchatting about the way the customer service has gone to, well, the place things usually go in a handbasket.”
“Well, it seems to be getting you both worked into a lather. If I were you, I’d focus on a place where customer service is impeccable.”
“You make a good point, Cheryl. How about an order of Teagan’s Mushrooms and another round.”
“That’s better, Dan.”
Pittsburgh reporter Rachael Todd has a hard deadline — and it’s personal. Her friend is a murder suspect. He knew the victim. He has a strong motive and a weak alibi. Rachael’s certain he is being framed, and she’ll have to live up to her nickname “Rascal” to clear him. Rascal sees a connection to an earlier crime. The clock is ticking as she digs through multiple layers of legal and bureaucratic misdeeds, crimes, and evidence that the police ignored.
Is a crime solved when the criminals are identified, or only after they are brought to justice? This is a mystery born from that question. The story includes many twists and turns, even after the crime is solved. It features characters, including the bad guys, that grow in ways that might surprise you, and well-researched circumstances that will take you from delight to frustration while moving you close to the edge of your seat—sound interesting? If it does, this book is for you.
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