American
Specter
Rasheedah
Prioleau
Genre:
Paranormal Mystery
Date
of Publication: Feb, 2014
ISBN:
978-0692226582
ASIN:
B00IOWGVZY
Number
of pages: 248
Word
Count: 72,000
Cover
Artist: Roger Raymond
Book
Description:
FBI
Agent Audra Wheeler has been haunted for the last thirteen years by a
paranormal attack that left her sister, Kendra, in a coma. Mentored
by FBI Assistant Director Jonathan Cordero to investigate crimes
committed by specters, Audra believes she is on the trail of a
‘serial killer’ specter with a MO very similar to her sister’s
attacker.
The
investigation takes her to a small town of Specter, Georgia; a haven
for ghosts who exist among the living.
Available
at Amazon
Excerpt:
CHAPTER
ONE
It
was half past noon on Monday when Special Agent Audra Wheeler of the
FBI stepped into the apartment of Gwyneth Miller. She’d been in
Savannah the prior week but, as a native New Yorker, she was sure
that she would never get used to the stifling Georgia heat. She noted
that the air conditioner was not on as she walked across the living
room, listening to the muffled sounds of country cops inevitably
messing up Gwyneth’s room that was now an official FBI crime scene.
Gwyneth
Miller was the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer of the
specter variety, who had a thing for dark haired, dark eyed women
sleeping alone. As she stepped into the crime scene, Audra activated
the specter shield she wore around her left wrist to block any
specters from getting within five feet of her.
She’d
spent nearly four years on special assignments with the FBI
investigating specter crimes and bringing them to justice. The
biggest problem with catching a criminal specter was that they never
left any physical evidence, no DNA, no fingerprints, no calling card,
no expository note, and no obvious motive.
In
this particular case, all of the hunches that Audra had to go off of
were of a personal nature that she was still not entirely comfortable
sharing. To her knowledge, this would be the first and only specter
that had crossed the line into murder and then into serial killing.
This particular specter had taken her from Boston to New Jersey, then
Charlotte, Savannah, and finally the small town of Specter, Georgia.
She
walked into Gwyneth Miller’s bedroom and immediately noted the
scent of candles and perfume. Audra suspected that maybe this woman
had, in fact, had a visitor the night before and, perhaps, this would
not fit the profile of her four previous cases.
She
quickly scanned the room and made note of the cheap, feminine décor.
Audra cringed, turning her attention to the body of the victim.
Gwyneth was lying in bed, on her side with her hands near her throat,
which was singed with strange burn marks. Her fingernails had
scratched at her throat as well, peeling away some of the skin. These
were the telltale signs of the specter that she was following but,
most disturbingly, this victim, like all the others, looked a lot
like her sister.
“Shit,”
Audra said. She looked over at the side table and took in a large
purple candle. “What is this?” She leaned in close.
“A
candle from the Daylight Candle Shop.”
Hearing
his voice, Audra took a shallow breath before quickly letting it out.
She turned as he strolled through Gwyneth Miller’s bedroom door and
walked towards her. He wore laid back local Southern clothes; faded
jeans with a slightly tattered t-shirt and baseball cap, but there
was no mistaking the city attitude in his walk.
When
Audra had received the initial fax of a possible fifth victim, she’d
read Ethan Cole’s name on top of the report file with disbelief.
Now, in front of her, she was wary. His New York City swagger was
enough to make a nun forget her vows just long enough to break them
four or five times. Audra quickly contemplated the precious few times
she’d crossed the line with her ex-partner before he’d been
transferred to the American South.
He
was six-foot two and maybe two hundred pounds of muscle. Audra
remembered the feel of his baby-smooth chocolate skin and the taste
of his beautifully full lips. He was six years older than her
twenty-seven, but it looked good on him.
She
turned her attention away from his large hazel eyes back to the
candle and examined the tiny instruction card next to it.
“May
love’s embrace meet me at dawn’s face.” She snorted as she
became painfully aware of how close Ethan was standing next to her.
She had to mentally and physically resist the draw of his cologne as
it invited her to lean into him. “The Daylight Candle Shop,” she
confirmed.
She
had already known there would be no evidence of the killer at the
scene, but she’d asked for nothing to be touched, not even the
body, before she arrived and took a look around. Audra listened to
the coroner’s report; the victim had died of asphyxiation from a
suspected crushed esophagus, somewhere near dawn of the previous day,
Sunday. She said a prayer for Gwyneth and then left without another
word to anyone.
Ethan
followed her out of the apartment building.
“Hey,
Audra. Wait up.”
She
turned as she stepped outside, and he closed the space between them.
She ignored the oppressive heat for a moment to address him.
“I’m
going to go over to the library and question the people she worked
with.”
“I
already did that,” he said.
“Well,
I’m going to do it as well,” she said, making it clear that the
investigation was now hers to control.
“Okay,
but listen. This town is full of – ”
“Specters?
Yeah, I know.” Audra rolled her eyes at the thought of an entire
town, in southern America of all places, which was home to people who
had passed away. Ethan placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to
walk to her car, pulling away from his touch in the process, shutting
out the wave of feelings that screamed for her attention.
“Don’t
worry, I won’t go around zapping your ghostly citizens.” Her
specter zapper was safely tucked away in her gun belt, just to the
rear of her handgun. “But, you might want to warn the Daylight
Candle Shop that they’re next on my list.”
About
the Author:
Rasheedah
Prioleau is a southern African American writer with an eclectic range
of writing and ghostwriting credits. After a few years in the
corporate world she started over from the bottom as an unpaid intern
for a literary manager and never looked back.
"I
love to write because there are no limits. All it takes is a finite
space of time and I can create a story from infinite possibilities."
Writers
who have influenced her include: Judy Bloom, Jude Deveraux, V.C.
Andrews, Octavia Butler, Stephanie Meyer, Charlaine Harris, Joss
Whedon, William Nicholson, Shonda Rhimes, Quentin Tarantino, Tyler
Perry, Mike Kelley, and J.J. Abrams... just to name a few.
Website:
www.rasheedahprioleau
Twitter:
@prioleaura
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