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 Stenographer, written in 2018, is my fourth novel. I'll post a chapter a day over the next few weeks.
Book Blurb
Walt Shepherd, a 35 year veteran of the White House’s stenographic team, is fired by President Andrew Kane for refusing to lie.
Walt returns to his hometown of Boaz, Alabama and renews his relationship with Regina Gillan, his high school sweetheart, who he had ditched right before graduation to marry the daughter of a prominent local businessman. Regina has recently moved back to Boaz after forty years in Chicago working at the Tribune. She is now editor of the Sand Mountain Reporter, a local newspaper.
Walt and Regina’s relationship transforms into a once in life love at the same time they are being immersed in a growing local and national divide between Democrats and traditional Republicans, and extremist Republicans (known as Kanites) who are becoming more dogmatic about the revolution that began during President Kanes campaign.
Walt accepts two part-time jobs. One as a stenography instructor at Snead State Community College in Boaz, and one as an itinerant stenographer with Rains & Associates out of Birmingham.
Walt later learns the owner of Rains & Associates is also one of five men who created the Constitution Foundation and is involved in a sinister plot to destroy President Kane, but is using an unorthodox method to achieve its objective. The Foundation is doing everything it can to prevent President Kane from being reelected in 2020, and is scheming to initiate a civil war that will hopefully restore allegiance to the U.S. Constitution.
While Walt is writing a book, The Coming Civil War, he is, unwittingly, gathering key information for the Constitution Foundation.
Will Walt discover a connection between the Foundation and the deaths of three U.S. Congressmen in time to save his relationship with Regina, prevent President Kane from being reelected as the defacto head of a Christian theocracy, and the eruption of a civil war that could destroy the Nation ?
Chapter 67
I tried calling Regina until 1:45 a.m. this morning. I was surprised this didn’t trouble me. I guess the shock of her deception had slithered so deep into my subconsciousness that it had her tagged as a lost cause. I wasn’t going to give up that easily. I loved Regina and still consciously hung on to the idea that there was an innocent explanation, or even a semi-evil justification that I could accept.
It was now 7:15 a.m. and I had to leave her another message. I sat down at the bar with a cup of coffee with the horrible image of Vann’s face, eyes open, blood pouring out of his mouth, smothering my mind. The way his eyes were tilted up at me made me think he was someway wanting and trying to tell me something.
This is what made me recall our conversation as we rode in my truck to Regina’s house late yesterday afternoon. He had told me he had spent several hours with Pastor Tillman and that he and Club Eden were not involved in Kip Brewer’s murder. The fact Vann had said this certainly didn’t mean Tillman and his group were innocent. Vann had said they were directly involved in the 2016 Russian plot to manipulate the Presidential election and had tripled the extent of the number of states that would be hacked in 2020. I had asked Vann why he believed Tillman and friends had nothing to do with the Brewer assassination.
Vann’s words, his initial response still rang in Walt’s ears.
“Coincidence. It happens.” Vann had gone on to describe how Professor Romanov had been at Club Eden and had participated in the target shooting. Tillman had said that he and the Professor were together that entire week, all the way until two days after the shooting. Tillman had also said he believed there was someone, more likely a group of people, who were manipulating the media and therefore the public into thinking it was the President behind all the killings. It looked like he had the best motivation for killing Congressmen who were opposed to him. Vann said he deeply believed that President Kane would never authorize or approve murder, he was too honorable for that.
What Vann had said right before we arrived at Regina’s was now as troubling, or nearly so, as what was going on in our relationship. Vann said he thought it was odd that the last three times he had gone to First Baptist Church of Christ to meet with Pastor Tillman, that he has seen Felicia Shea coming out of his office. Each meeting had been scheduled for late Tuesday evening, after dark, around 6:30 p.m. Vann’s words, right as I turned into the driveway to head up the steep hill, still rang in my ears, “I think they are having an affair. It wouldn’t surprise me.
Warren has always liked younger women.”
I now would give anything to be able to talk to Vann about this. I would ask him a ton of questions. What was Felicia wearing? What was the expression on her face? How was she wearing her hair? Was she carrying her Bible? Was anything else in her hands? What was I doing? Was I a psychologist? Did I believe I could have discerned anything if I had been in Vann’s shoes? Whatever I had decided would have been acting like a Kane supporter, reaching a conclusion without sufficient evidence. I now, for sure, couldn’t afford that. My life was in a hell of a mess. As I pondered this thought, for the first time I realized that my life might be in danger. For months, murders had occurred in the periphery of my life, Kip Brewer, Kyle Turner in Tifton, Georgia, Sarah Donaldson and Brian Steel here in Boaz. And now, as close to my home as one could get without killing Regina or me, Vann was dead. He was laying at Regina’s in a pool of blood. If that weren’t bad enough, his killer had seen my truck as he was escaping the murder scene.
I don’t know how long my phone had been vibrating. I don’t even know how I heard a thing. It was like I had been hypnotized. I first thought it was the steady ripple from the out-of-balance ceiling fan in Regina’s den. Finally, I came back to reality and realized it was my phone over on the end table by my chair in the den. By the time I reached it, the call had ended. I picked up the phone and was walking back to the bar when it again vibrated. It was DeeDee.
“What’s up?”
“Is Regina with you?”
“No, she’s in Chicago. Why are you asking?”
“There’s something going on at her house on the brow. I drove up the back way, Cox Gap Road, as I often do. When I rounded the last curve before reaching the top of the mountain I drove right into a road block. It was the Etowah County Sheriff. He checked my ID and asked where I was heading. He asked if I knew who lived in the big house jutting out over the valley. After I answered his questions he let me pass but before I did I asked him what was going on. He said they were investigating a crime at the Gillan home.”
“That’s odd, Regina, like I said, is in Chicago, and Belinda and their mother are in Gulf Shores. There’s nobody at home.” I said feeling my nausea coming back.
“Might be a burglary or something.”
“Listen sis, I’ve got to run. By the way, where are you headed?” I asked.
“To a meeting with the Governor. He’s in town this weekend.”
“Oh. For a moment I forgot that my sister is a big wig.”
“You better never forget that. Talk later, bye.” DeeDee said ending our call.
I immediately dialed Regina. This time, she picked up on the second ring. “Walt, I’m so sorry not to have answered your calls. I’m just now getting out of the all-night conference.”
“I’m just glad you are out of town. Listen, I’ve just learned something has happened at your house. DeeDee was coming up the mountain and ran across a road block. The deputy said something about investigating a crime at your place. Can you call Delton and see if he can find out anything?” I said.
“What the hell could it be? You know mom is not there. No one is there this whole weekend.”
“I’m glad of that but I think we need to find out.” I said.
“I’ll call Delton and will call you back as soon as I know something. By the way, I miss you.”
“I miss and love you. Take care and we’ll talk later.”
Sandi was scratching at the door when I got off the phone with Regina. I pulled on my walking shoes and went outside to sunshine and a clear blue sky. I was glad the fog and the drizzle had left town. Just after starting our second walk around the pond my phone vibrated in my back pocket. It wasn’t Regina. It wasn’t from a contact, but from a number I didn’t recognize.
“Hello.”
“Walt, this is Delton, Regina’s crime reporter. She asked that I call you. She said to tell you she was making arrangement for a return flight.”
“What has happened? Did you find out anything about what’s going on at her house?” I asked.
“I made a call to a friend of mine with The Gadsden Times. He made a call to his contact in the Etowah County Sheriff’s Department. Prepare yourself for some very bad news. You might want to sit down.” Delton instructed.
“What is it? Tell me?”
“There has been a murder at Regina’s house. It is Vann Elkins.
It’s your best friend according to Regina.”
“Oh no. How could this be? Are you saying Vann was at Regina’s? He was killed at Regina’s house?”
“That’s the way I’m hearing it. Walt, I’m very sorry. My contact didn’t have any answers. All he had was questions.”
“Now I know why Vann didn’t show up. He was supposed to be here at 8:00 to work on our book.”
“Walt, please do not say anything to anybody about this. I am not supposed to know this. Vann’s wife hasn’t even been contacted.
Promise me you will keep this under wraps for now.”
“I understand fully. I assume it’s okay to talk with Regina about it. She knows, doesn’t she?” I asked.
“Of course. That’s why she is flying home just as soon as she can. Again, Walt, I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“Thank-you Delton. I appreciate you calling.”
After the call ended I walked out to the end of the pier, recognizing that my life would never be the same. I also realized how easy it had seemed to lie and to deceive. What was happening to me?
The Pencil Driven Life 