Spring 2018
MY EYES FLICKERED OPEN, HEART POUNDING THROUGH THE BLACK SILENCE THAT SURROUNDED ME. I turned onto my left side and switched on the bedside lamp. Squinting, I looked away from the glaring beam of artificial light. My path of vision landed on the blood red lettering encased in the dingy yellowing white plastic, which indicated it was 2:30am.
"Like clockwork." I whispered to myself.
I'd had insomnia for weeks. Rolling out of bed, I stood. My current sleeping pattern felt as unhelpful as my bed sheets. A corner of the mattress sheet had come loose, curling its way to the centre of the bed after my bodily exit. Sighing defeat, I shuffled to the bathroom to pee. After flushing, I took a long hard look in the mirror. My crow's feet stared back. I scowled, grabbed my version of hope in a jar, and headed to the living room.
I curled up on my royal blue crushed velvet sofa and turned on the television. It was tuned to the 24-hour local news station. I stared at images of blinking emergency vehicles camped out at the latest tragic scene while gently applying moisture-rich eye cream all around my delicate eye area. Police cars closed the streets to vehicular traffic. Yellow police tape was erected and an assortment of officials blocked the area from pedestrians. Nearby, bleary-eyed neighbours looked on as the authorities processed the scene. The close-knit community of Cabbagetown appeared to be under siege. According to the reporter, human remains had been discovered and police suspected the remains were of female origin, and belonging to the unlucky homeowner's mother who disappeared two decades earlier.
"Sounds like a proper mystery." I mumbled to no one.
Sleepily, I flipped off the television and trotted back to bed. When I arrived, I noticed a white fluffy creature had taken up residence on my side of the bed. Frowning, I crawled onto the opposite side, not bothering to fix the fitted sheet. I reached over the purring mound and turned off the light.
YOU ARE READING
The Dominant Motive: An Alex Goldfinger Mystery
Mystery / ThrillerThe Dominant Motive is the first novel in the Alex Goldfinger mystery series written by Jack D. Kelly. Alex Goldfinger is an office manager/private investigator-in-training that inherits her boss's private investigation firm. Overnight she goes from...
