SteeleSentences

THE ROMAN LEE SERIES   "CRIMSON ROWS"     Twenty-Seven 1:30PM The speeding ticket was held by a Starbucks magnet to the refrigerator in the one bedroom apartment.   Instructions on the back were either to pay the required fine for the civil infraction or make an appearance before the magistrate to plead her case. A decision had to be made soon because failure to do so would result in a bench warrant.   As a redshirt freshmen on the University basketball team Brandi Jones had overslept one morning making her late for an early practice. Only a mile away from the Huron fieldhouse she didn’t see the Kirkwood Patrol unit until it was too late.   He had been parked in between a pair of used cars for sale on a vacant lot.   The officer had pulled out of the space closing the distance on her within a quarter mile turning on his lights.   Stopped for exceeding the posted speed limit by 20 mph the patrolman gave her a break by only ...

THE ROMAN LEE SERIES   TWO GREAT TITLES     Enjoy these while I continue writing the third installment of the series.   Ned Harris is an Apex Predator and Huron University offers him an ideal landscape in which to stalk his prey. But no one is flawless. His ego has caused him to trespass over a line of perfection and into the crosshairs of Detective Roman Lee.     Beneath Devil's Lake           An International Medical Tourism syndicate has found its way inside the city limits of Kirkwood. Roman Lee pursues a trail of evidence uncovering a conspiracy at Memorial Hospital and an organization of unspeakable evil.     The Harvest Scar     

THE ROMAN LEE SERIES   "CRIMSON ROWS"     Five 6:30AM The unmistakable jarring of something heavy hitting the front of the late model Chevrolet Impala caused the windshield to crack in multiple directions.   The same way you would see ice underneath your feet crack if the stress of the weight were too much.   Forty-eight year old Burt Stiles had been laid off for seven month after working at the same electrical company for more than a decade.   His unexpected financial situation had been compounded with problems at the unemployment office.   They had mishandled his claim documents delaying payment causing most of his bills to go further past due.   He pleaded with the water department to avoid shutting off his water which had bought him a little more time.   His wife of twenty-five years had surprised him with an unexpected pregnancy just a month before.   They had been empty nesters only briefly as their you...

THE ROMAN LEE SERIES   "CRIMSON ROWS"     Twenty-four 12:00PM The lunch crowd left Tribeca Coney Island packed.   A table in the rear section of Canal Street opened up which was quickly cleared and wiped down.   Saul Anagnostopolous owned Tribeca’s and was a proud New York transplant.   He looked eager to seat us.   Lonnie was just about his favorite customer. On his wall of memorabilia was a more recent picture of Derek Jeter.   Saul noticed me looking at it. “That was his last bat as a Yankee.   The Captain autographed it for me.” “How are they doing without him now?” “Not worth a shit if you ask me.   Never going to find another like him.   But enough of that you guys must be starving.   Your table is ready.” I peered over the menu.   Lonnie sat studying his for a moment.   I never understood why because he always ordered the same thing.   The house special whic...

THE ROMAN LEE SERIES   "THE HARVEST SCAR"         The gentle ocean breeze had breached our bungalow with a hint of sea salt.   I woke hearing the small waves clapping underneath us.   Bora Bora and St. Regis were Monica’s idea.   We had spent the last two weeks on the island resort doing any and everything it could offer.   Our last night had been spent at a five-star restaurant followed with a trip to a local club.   We had to be to the airport by 1:00 PM to catch our flight to Atlanta.   I slipped out of bed accidentally pulling the sheets from Monica’s beautifully toned body.   The Pacific sun had turned her skin into a beautiful bronze color with only a hint of a tan line. Foreigners were constantly snapping pics of her with their phones and even asking for selfies because they thought she was a model from the United States.   I covered her back up and kissed her gently on the cheek.   The statio...

THE ROMAN LEE SERIES   "CRIMSON ROWS"     Four 6:00AM The human like screams were still unsettling although he was growing accustomed to them.   But these were quite different.   Unlike anything he had ever heard before.   Jonas Paez looked out of his large glass window from the top floor.   A troop of marauding chimpanzees had made a surprising invasion during the early morning hours upon their neighbors.   Small trees shook violently as branches cracked loudly taking their bright green leaves with them as dark hairy bodies fell to the ground.   After a ferocious battle, it had ended.   Almost as if the entire ecosystem waited on the outcome from the confrontation nothing moved in the jungle until a winner was declared among its new residents.   When it was over the sounds within the dense foliage of the Amazon along its vast river resumed its harmonious symphony. The two troops of chimps had been purch...

THE ROMAN LEE SERIES   "CRIMSON ROWS"     Eighteen 8:30AM Dr. Marlene Scott leaned against the door frame with her shoulder and arms crossed staring into the room.   The machinery had been removed several hours ago along with the bedding.   Riley Olk was not coming out of the coma and was being sent to another facility.   Two more cases had already been confirmed now with the possibility of a few more since her admission.   She had been up most of the night on the Internet reading every article she could find regarding Tambo.   Having maintained her NEJM subscription through medical school they along with the CDC & WHO had the best up to date information about Tambo and others.   The Zika virus was similar in some ways like this strain of Tambo.   Zika had virtually lied in obscurity for seventy plus years before jumping continents.   A lone rhesus monkey left alone in the forest of Uganda was the fi...