Plot Busters – A Sneak Peak at Lakeview Novel #3, Scream

Posted by Stacey on May 13, 2015 in excerpts, Inspiration, Lakeview Novels, life, Scream, Teaser, writing | 0 comments

Murder on a ferry boat… – Plausible

Last night I had the opportunity to walk the car decks of the ferry that I wrote about in chapter three of Scream and let me tell you, this could totally happen.

What do you think?

Happy reading – S

Not wanting to head back to the girls’ booth to listen to whatever Izzy had discovered while on her phone, Alex headed for the car deck. He liked checking out what people drove. No one ever stayed down on the car deck during the hour-and-forty-minute crossing from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, giving him the perfect opportunity to explore and dream.

He jogged down the steps, the wind nipping at his exposed neck, and flipped up the hood of his gray sweatshirt, fumbling with the zipper until it reached the top of its track. His longer-than-usual hair whipped his eyes; he needed a haircut. The school would most likely insist he cut it to what they deemed appropriate for their male students. Alex always hated that the school dictated how they could wear their hair, but then again, he understood their rules, for the most part. Still, he couldn’t wait to get to university and start doing what he wanted for a change. Not that he would go wild but he liked his hair on the longer side, and he wanted a tattoo, something small, Greek maybe, showing off his heritage.

Alex’s parents had promised to get him a car for graduation if he kept his grades up. He had applied for rowing scholarships at the University of Washington and Princeton but wouldn’t hear from them regarding the status of his application for another month or so. His top choice was the UW, with their winning record and five national championships in the past six years. He’d be close to home, a definite perk. If he got in, it might help his chances at getting the car he wanted, too. Maybe something like that, he thought, walking up to a beautiful black vintage muscle car.

“Damn,” Alex hummed, peeking inside the front passenger window of the Impala. The red vinyl seats looked in mint condition, and the dashboard still had all its original components. “Someone loves you,” he said, gently stroking the roof of the car.

Alex shivered as the wind picked up. In the distance, a car alarm sounded. He turned the corner and headed back toward the stern of the ship, hugging the inside lane next to the engine rooms where the temperature felt a little warmer. Three lanes away a car door opened. Surprised, he turned to watch.

A short man with coarse black hair, wearing a dark, striped fleece muffler, unfolded from behind the wheel of a black sedan and walked over to meet a tall, bulky man, who stood at the outside railing, next to his car, looking out. The larger guy wore a heavy Carhartt work coat and a stocking cap. Nothing but two thick metal poles and a low painted wall separated them from the icy water rushing by below. The man in the scarf spoke first, but Alex couldn’t hear what he said, for the wind stole his words, pushing them into the darkness shadows beyond the ferry.

“You left me there to rot, you son of a bitch. Five long years in a Florida prison isn’t my idea of a good time!”

“What did you want me to do, Nico? If I didn’t run, the cops that set up the sting would have taken our shit. Because of me we still got it.”

“All of it?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I want half.”

“No! That wasn’t the deal.”

“Screw the deal. I went to jail for you. I deserve half and more.”

“Like hell you do. I’m the one who got the shit through the border. I’m the one who’s kept it safe.”

“You ran. I had a hell of a time even finding you. I want what’s mine or I’m turning you over to the DEA. You deserve to be behind bars. I bet that hot little wife of yours would even keep me company while you were locked away. What do you think? You giving me what I want or am I telling the feds how I found you?”

The taller of the two men looked out across the water while the other motioned to his chest.

“I want my money!”

A sense of unease crawled down Alex’s spine. Something about the bigger man struck him as familiar, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d seen the giant before.

Still unable to decipher the fighting men’s words, Alex ducked down behind the hood of a dark red Prius to try and get a better view of their faces. The big guy looked a lot like the school cook, Mr. Rivero, but from this angle it was hard to tell.

“You get what I say you get!” bellowed the large, familiar-looking man, slamming his fist down on the top of the other man’s car while lifting him into the air with his left hand.

A strong gust combined with the roll of the ferry pushed Alex against a white BMW parked in front of the Prius, setting off the luxury car’s alarm. Alex dropped to his knees as both men turned his way.

Seeing nothing, their argument escalated.

Worried that the two were going to come to blows, Alex began crawling away from them, down the narrow lane between the rows of cars, heading for the stairway leading back up to the cabin. If these guys were going to get into a fight, he should probably alert a deckhand.

Bang! Alex’s ears rang, and the sound of a gunshot echoed through the deserted car deck.

Shit! Alex stopped in his tracks. His heart hammered against his rib cage. His arms and legs refused to move. Hide or run? No time! Panicking, Alex slid under the pickup truck he was next to.

From beneath the truck, Alex could see two sets of shoes. Muddied work boots were dragging suede loafers toward the low white railing. The loafers disappeared from sight, and Alex swore he heard a splash over the heavy throbbing of the ferry’s diesel engines.

Burrowing his head in the crook of his elbow, Alex held his breath. The work boots paced the length of opening overlooking the water and then quickly made their way down the deck, away from the stairwell. Alex counted to fifty, then rolled from his hiding spot and sprinted up the stairs to the cabin.

Happy Reading- S