Tuesday Tales: From the Word SILLY

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. It’s been a weird January, filled with unusual, record breaking weather. Hopefully, Mother Nature doesn’t have any more unpleasant surprises for us. I have my pre-surgery information session this week, so things are moving along as expected.

This week, our word prompt is SILLY. I’m continuing with And Justice For All, my latest Romance Suspense in the Protecting the Innocent series. Enjoy.

Harry nodded. He’d always admired her wit, but this time, facts and logic wouldn’t be enough.

“You’re right, but the fanatics don’t see it that way. They believe it’s a white man’s world and see themselves as the master race, the one God intended to rule, and to hell with anyone who deviates in any way from their beliefs. They misinterpret the Bible to support their cause and bastardize Christianity to prove their point. When it comes to women, well, they blame them for taking their jobs, or in the case of the involuntarily celibate, the incels, for denying them the sexual gratification they feel is their due. And it isn’t only the women they hate, it’s the guys who get the girls as well—the jocks, the actors, the damn letter carrier if he’s in the least bit attractive to women. The fact that many of the incels are just supercilious assholes with an axe to grind doesn’t seem to factor into it. And then, there are those who belong to the LGBTQ+ contingent. We have to consider they may be targets, too.”

Maggie shook her head, her chin thrust out in defiance.

“For God’s sake. People are shallow, I agree, and there is a lot of hate out there, but it can’t possibly have devolved to this level. Most of the silly threats are just bravado. The mouthpieces who spout them are schoolyard bullies. When someone stands up to them, they run away with their tails tucked between their legs. Have you found anything to support your inane theory?”

“It’s not a theory, Maggie. Some things have come to light that are disturbing, and I’ll share all that with you later, but for now, I need to know more about your partner.” He focused on her face. “Is it possible that Cliff stepped on the wrong pair of toes? This is a border community, and the multinational crossing is a busy one. But we also know that many … let’s call them goods … go back and forth across the border over what you might call indirect channels. They don’t call it the mighty St Lawrence for nothing. It’s impossible to monitor the entire river in this area twenty-four hours a day.” He put up his hand to stop her from interrupting him. “That’s always been the case, I get it, but it just isn’t a matter of traditional rights anymore.”

Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.