The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.
The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it a chapter a day over the next few weeks.
Yesterday, when I was driving away from Club Eden, I had called 911 and reported Gina missing. In a few minutes, I was called by the Etowah County Sheriff’s Department. I quickly had filled them in on what was going on and provided a description of James’ vehicle. All throughout the day as I drove around looking for Gina I talked with Sgt. Williams. He told me that he had put out a BOLO on the car and that police departments from Boaz, Sardis, Albertville, Guntersville, and Arab were all involved in the search, as was the Etowah and Marshall County Sheriff’s Departments. Unfortunately, as the sun was going down, no one had spotted James’ 2017 Chevrolet Impala.
Last night I had met with Sheriff Scott Walls and Detective Darden Clarke of Marshall County and their counterparts, Sheriff Belton Saunders and Detective Pete Morrow of Etowah County. From the moment we all sat down at my conference room table, I could feel their doubts of my story through their stone-cold stares. Apparently, they all remembered the search of my office and Hickory Hollow only four months ago that had spawned from John Ericson’s disappearance. But, it was Detective Morrow who reminded the other three that Gina Tillman was one of the four cheerleaders who had given false testimony against me during my trial almost fifty years ago. Things went downhill from there.
Sheriff Walls told me that it looked like I was pulling their strings. He shared how within twenty minutes of my call to 911, State Troopers had created roadblocks at every State highway within a 25-mile circle of Aurora Lake, and that Sheriff’s deputies from Etowah, Marshall, Blount, Dekalb, St. Clair, and Cherokee Counties had done the same for County roads. Walls also said that two helicopters from the Alabama Bureau of Investigation had spent nearly five hours in the air combing nearly every spot where there wasn’t a roadblock. Walls concluded his speech by telling me that if this was a hoax that I would be criminally charged and held responsible for the entire cost of the search.
After Wall’s speech, Detective Morrow said, “Tanner, why don’t you just tell us the truth. The only evidence you have given us that James Adams and husband Wade Tillman abducted Gina is a diamond ring. I suspect our deputies who are pursuing that lead will come up dry. They have not been able to locate Gina’s mother. Although Judith Ericson said it looked like Gina’s ring, she did so from a photograph. She’s in Palm Beach for a week.”
I again told Morrow and the others that I was Gina’s attorney. I even showed them her legal file. Morrow said, “that means nothing, actually it could be just part of your plan to dispose of Gina.” I went into detail describing how Gina had been securing information about Wade’s finances. I showed them copies of bank statements and transcripts from her audio-recorder. I retold them every word that Gina had told me over the phone while she was in the trunk of James’ car. When I finally realized they were not hearing a thing I was saying, I stood up and said, “don’t you get it, Wade and James discovered that Gina knew enough to send them both to prison. Can’t you see they have a perfect motive to get rid of her?”
Before either of them responded, Sheriff Walls received a call from one of his deputies telling him that James and Wade had just driven up at Wade’s house. Walls continued to talk for five minutes or so. When he hung up he told us his deputy said James and Wade had been golfing and fishing all day and had stayed out on Guntersville Lake talking and just hanging out until nearly 8:30 p.m. Then, they had driven James’ boat back to Alred Marina. Gina wasn’t with them and, after a search of James’ car, which he volunteered, deputies found nothing suspicious. Walls also reported that Wade had asked where Gina was, saying that her car was gone.
Detective Morrow spoke up and said, “Tanner, it looks like Gina could have simply packed a bag and driven off. You have been telling us that was her plan, to leave Wade, right?”
After a few more minutes of meaningless talk, the four of them left and I stayed. After calling Karla and updating her, I made a pot of coffee and pondered everything Gina had discovered since she hired me. Other than Wade and James, I was the only one who knew what they had done to Gina. And, I only knew that they had abducted her. I felt sure they had also killed her and disposed of her body. One thing I will give them credit for, they sure played their hand well. Once again, around daylight, I had that same feeling I seemed to be getting every few days now. My body almost convulsed with terror. As panic set in and sweat poured from my head and hands the revelation came to mind that once again I was going to be set-up by the Flaming Five, well, what was left of them.
The Pencil-Driven Life 