15 Nov 2016

NaNo 2016 - Sneak Peek!

Here we area at the halfway point through NaNoWriMo.  A proper update is coming, but enjoy this snippet of dba LTV Paranormalists in the meantime.  Note that the bit has not yet gone through editing and fact-checking and is subject to change later.  But, still, enjoy!



Three weeks ago
Ayel tracked Kristi down inside the $Paterson lecture hall.  The blonde sat down beside the brunette, placing the manila envelope on Kristi's lap.  "I'm in."

Kristi's face brightened.  "Great!"

Ayel held up a hand.  "But I looked into the legalities."

"Legalities?"  Kristi's face fell a little.

"We're skirting the laws on private investigation here.  I know I don't have a P.I. license.  Do you?"

"I might know someone.  But if all we're doing is research, even for someone else, then how are we private investigators?  We do research all the time here."  Kristy shrugged, her tawny curls bouncing.  "At least I do."

Ayel shrugged out of her leather jacket.  "That's why I said 'skirting'.  As long as we don't investigate someone living, we should be good.  But if you know someone with a license, that'll help."

Kristi nodded.  "I'll talk to him.  Oh, I got someone else to help, too.  We're going to need detectors and she has a few ideas."

-**-

April
Ayel started walking back to her minivan.  "Better get that thing out of the rain.  Kieu will kill you if you get it wet."

Kristi shoved her electronic gadget into her pocket.  "She's not going to kill me.  Kieu likes me, in her own way."

"Then she'll kill me as a proxy for killing you.  And then grumble about having to fix her device.  No thanks."

"You just have to give her a chance, Ayel."

"I've done nothing to her."  The blonde hit the electronic lock to start the van once she was in range.

Kristi took one last look over her shoulder.  "I think that's too big to be a cat.  And it's standing all wrong."

Ayel rolled her eyes.  "Then it's a raccoon.  This used to be a farmer's field.  I'm pretty sure there was a barn around here ages ago.  And if it is a raccoon, we really have to get going, before a sinkhole swallows the van."

Kristi stopped mid-stride.  "Wait, what?"

"You didn't know?"  Ayel continued walking, leaving the brunette in the rain.  "Raccoons are a harbinger of sinkholes."

"Since when?"  Kristi dashed to catch up to the blonde.

Ayel reached the van, its dark blue getting lost in the grey of the rain.  "The summer.  Were you in town?"

Kristi opened the passenger door to get in.  "I was back home.  What happened?"

"It was big news here."  Ayel slipped in on the driver's side, shaking out her umbrella before closing it.  "A raccoon showed up at the construction site, then a sinkhole appeared three days later.  That's why we have to get going."

"Because of a sinkhole?"

Ayel grinned as she started the van's engine.  "Didn't you know?  We fill sinkholes with minivans here in Ottawa."

Kristi buckled up as Ayel put the van into gear.  "And you thought I was weird?"

2 comments:

  1. I see what you mean about editing - Kristy snuck in there. And how does 'three weeks ago' relate to 'April'? The two of them seem to have decent chemistry in those pieces though, Ayel comes across as the practical one, if a bit superstitious, what Kristi has the connections. Also, racoons strike again!

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    1. Thanks. Changed it in the master file. It appeared a few more times, which is odd since one of the original gags I had involved the spelling of her name. I'll have to work out the time tags on edit; April is meant to be the "now", but it doesn't work as a snippet. They do play off each other well, and Ayel mellowed a bit from her original concept.

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