The A to Z Challenge Blog: the Letter R

Hello again. Well, Mother Nature continues to be poopy. It’s still cool, and the rain is expected to start again at any time. On a positive note, the grass is greening and some of the trees are getting ready to grow leaves which means the pollen count is high. Hello runny nose and itchy eyes.

Today’s letter is the letter R. I my books, the letter R stands for repetition. Most of the time, repeating the same word or starting several sentences the same way is a no-no, especially when in close proximity to one another. Struggling to avoid the use of the he or she sentence is the same paragraph can be difficult, but it’s up to the writer to make are there are a good variety of sentences, not simply repeating the same thing each time.

Occasionally, repetition is used for effect. How many times were you told to “never, ever, ever” do something again? Never would’ve been enough, but Mom or Dad didn’t agree and doubled up on it.

Sometimes, stories are based on characters repeating an action. For example, in Desert Deception, the heroine returns to her hometown, even though she’s convinced nothing good will come of it. But, in life as in fiction, confronting your demons is necessary. Have a look at the opening scene.

Casey Stevens turned off the Apache Trail, also known as Highway 88, onto the Skansen Mine Road and headed into Fortune, slowing her hot pink and black Harley-Davidson motorcycle, careful to stay under the speed limit. Back in the day, there’d always been a deputy, hiding just up ahead behind the billboard or one of the abandoned buildings, waiting to nail some unsuspecting tourist who’d failed to slow down to the town’s ridiculously low speed limit. This might be her new toy’s first major road trip, but that didn’t mean she wanted a ticket as a souvenir.

The joys of the open road had stopped her from dwelling on her cases, but nothing could ease the disquiet she felt about returning to the town and the memories she’d avoided for fifteen years, and the closer she got to home, the more unsettled she became. Coming back to the scene of the crime, as it were, was a mistake, and she knew it. Nothing good would come of this, but Mom had insisted, and here she was.

The Bluetooth attached to her helmet buzzed startling her out of her reverie, providing further proof that leaving Santa Fe now had been a colossal error. Ken, the second chair on her current case, had called four times since she’d left her apartment this morning. Considering it was only a seven-hour-drive, that was three times too many.

Knowing she needed to answer the call, not wanting to ride while she was distracted, especially if they argued as they had two hours ago, Casey cautiously steered the bike onto the unpaved shoulder and stopped less than ten feet from the sign in front of her. Welcome to Fortune. Population: 26,847

“What are they counting, jackalopes?” she mumbled aloud. When she’d left, there hadn’t been fifteen thousand people in town. That had to be one hell of a population explosion.

The Bluetooth sounded again. Dismounting, she pulled off her helmet, shaking her head, sending her ponytail swaying back and forth. Pulling the smartphone out of the zippered pocket of her leather jacket, she answered the call. “Don’t worry about anything. I’m heading back. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Hello to you, too, Red,” a man said and chuckled. “Someone rattling your chain?”

Closing her eyes, she smothered a groan. “Hi, Ryan,” she said, recognizing the voice. “Sorry about that. I thought you were his highness calling again.”

Ryan chuckled. “Baby Boss giving you a hard time?”

“You could say that. He can’t seem to find anything. I swear he would lose his head if it wasn’t attached.” Pulling a bottle out of the insulated pouch on her tank bag, she squirted cold water into her mouth.

“Probably, but someone’s always picking up after him, so he’s never had to stand on his own two feet before. Now, where is it you’re headed back to on this lovely Friday afternoon?”

“Santa Fe,” she said huffing out the word. “This was a mistake. I don’t know what made me think that incompetent ass could manage anything as complicated as filing papers on his own.”

Ryan’s laughter filled her ears. “I can believe that, but you aren’t coming back here until your vacation is over.”

“I have to. I’ve worked too hard to see it all go down the toilet.” She wanted to stomp her foot, but what good would it do? Pacing up and down the soft shoulder, she fought to contain her annoyance.

“Listen, Cassandra,” Ryan said, using her full name, knowing it would irritate her.

“Bite me.”

“Love to, babe, but it didn’t work when we tried it before, and Sally would have my nuts for breakfast. Call Wanda. Wonder Woman can babysit Baby Boss for a few days. If you don’t want to stay the two weeks you’d planned, fine, but the woman I know is no coward.”

“But—”

“No buts,” he interrupted. “If I find you back in Santa Fe before Labor Day, I’ll personally drag you and your cute, little ass back to your mother’s house. And you know you can’t hide from me. I’m the best gumshoe in the business.”

“Damn you. Fine, but if I lose my job because of this, you’ll be supporting me.”

He chuckled. “I could start my own harem. Listen, before we get completely off-track, I called to tell you I found the guy who filled the order for the building supplies.”

“Get out of here! So is he going to help us or not?”

“Help, big time.”

“Where was he?

“Someone paid him to take an overseas vacation, but his mother and the fear of God convinced him to tell the truth.”

“And you didn’t help persuade him?” she asked, knowing he had probably scared the dickens out of the young man in question.

“Let’s just say I showed him the error of his ways, and before you ask, I didn’t lay a finger on him.” He laughed. “I didn’t have to. My bark is worse than my bite.”

“When you put it that way, this should be all we need to get the case thrown out. How can I ever thank you?”

“By enjoying your time with your family. Hell, go hiking in those spooky mountains of yours … who knows you might stumble on that missing gold mine.”

Casey laughed. “Like that’s ever going to happen. If no one’s found the Lost Dutchman by now, it doesn’t exist.”

“Well, the legend says the man had gold under his bed when he died.”

“Right, and the Apache claim the doorway to hell is there, too, but so far, no one’s found that either.”

“You know what they say: where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Call me if things live down to your lowest expectations, and you need a laugh. Otherwise, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

“I will, and thanks, Ryan. You always come through, don’t you?”

“What can I say? I’m gifted.”

Come back tomorrow for the Letter S. See more R posts here. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nuoAOJ-BUAXE1Yl2yIArhUHInj902PHVX6_gL4oKiSo/edit#gid=1195767304