“Did you put this on my desk?” Folds of skin appeared around her eyes as she narrowed her gaze, focusing on the small object grasped between his middle and index fingers. “What is it?” “Key to a storage locker,” Sly replied. “U-Store Storage Facility, right down the road here.” The afternoon began just like most others over the last eighteen months for Detective Mark Slydecker. Pick up his daughter from school, share a few tense words with his ex-wife, and then head back to the office for the remainder of his shift. Rote routine in the wake of the divorce, uprooting him from his life in Nashville and transporting him to the other side of the state, working for the Sevier County Sheriff’s Department. A new life replete with a daily list of unexpected challenges, none bigger than returning to the office to find a plain manilla envelope sitting on his desk. Inside, a key to a nearby storage facility containing a single item. An album, detailing the handiwork of a killer who has already claimed five victims. Arranged chronologically, also included is a sixth page with today’s date neatly transcribed in the margin. Flinging himself headlong into the investigation, the day ends not with an arrest, but with another blank page. And then another. Meticulously orchestrated murders, each revealing a small piece in a larger puzzle. A complete picture reaching further in time and distance than he ever thought possible...
Author
I originally hail from the midwest, growing up in the heart of farm country, and still consider it, along with West Tennessee, my co-home. Between the two, I have a firm belief that football is the greatest of all past-times, sweet tea is really the only acceptable beverage for any occasion, there is not an event on earth that either gym shorts or boots can't be worn to, and that Dairy Queen is the best restaurant on the planet. Further, southern accents are a highly likeable feature on most everybody, English bulldogs sit atop the critter hierarchy, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Saturday night spent catfishing at the lake. Since leaving the midwest I've been to college in New England, grad school in the Rockies, and lived in over a dozen different cities ranging from DC to Honolulu along the way. Each and every one of these experiences has shaped who I am at this point, a fact I hope is expressed in my writing. I have developed enormous affinity for locales and people of every size and shape, and even if I never figure out a way to properly convey them on paper, I am very much grateful for their presence in my life. To sum it up, I asked a very good friend recently how they would describe me for something like this. Their response: "Plagued by realism and trained by experiences/education to be a pessimist, you somehow remain above all else an active dreamer." While I can't say those are the exact words I would choose, I can't say they're wrong. I travel, live in different places, try new foods, meet all kinds of different people, and above all else stay curious to a fault. Here's hoping it continues to provide us all with some pretty good stories...
