Tuesday Tales: From the Word SWIM

Welcome to the first post Tuesday Tales post for the month of May. Tuesday Tales’ authors share their ongoing writing work with you, but eventually, a book gets too close to the end and they have to pull it not to give too much away. Because of that, this will be the last post from The White Dahlia. The book will be available this month.

Here’s your last peek. Enjoy!

Beth took a deep breath to steady herself. She’d watched Rob, Trevor, and Chad all conduct meetings like this. The key was to give everyone time to talk, but to make sure only one person spoke at a time. Everybody’s input was important, and a seemingly random observation often led to a breakthrough.

She reached for her laptop, connected it to the Smartboard, and called up the file she’d updated earlier. The spreadsheet was now several pages thick, and she’d added a timeline and a flowchart as well as a page devoted to the Jack Ogden murders and another to Adam Colchester’s escape. At the moment, both were limited to the bare bones of the cases, not because she didn’t have enough information, but because she was swimming in it, not knowing where the information was sound or where it devolved into figurative sharks ready to pounce and destroy the few real leads she had.

The door opened and Rob, Morelli, and Agatha entered. She should probably call him Vince, but Morelli just seemed to come easier. They’d just settled in chairs with their coffee in hand when Sam wheeled himself into the room. She’d forgotten to mention that to Al. Sam had his limitations, but he was the best damn computer guru the FBI had, although Serena and Troy, the last to arrive, could probably give him a run for his money.

Once everyone was seated, Beth stood and came around her desk. Al took the last seat at the table, moving closer to Agatha to give Sam space.

“Thank you all for agreeing to be volunteered for this case,” she began. “Earlier, Lisa provided you with an update on Adam Colchester’s escape from jail and the connection among the various branches of this case. Chad will be here tonight. He needs to stop in Washington to speak to a couple of people. Hopefully, he’ll have more for us then. I’ll take you quickly through what we have now. If you have anything to add, don’t hesitate.” Knowing the information was critical, she took her time. When she’d finished, she dropped into her chair. “Any questions?”

“I’ve got one,” Rob said. “If Michael and Rafe are running the show, we know they aren’t doing this alone. The brother-in-law is probably in it as well as the nephew, but they aren’t disposable. So they need Enforcers—a steady supply of them with the way bodies are dropping. So who’s helping them? Have they found Pierce’s former trainees?”

That’s it. Next week, I’ll have something new. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales