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Writing History & Mysteries

When I'm not delving into historical research, I'm planning a character's demise.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

The Milk Carton Murders 13

Set Up:
The girls all went missing in the month of April, the same month the Friends of Foster Families had their annual northeastern awards banquet. Dave tries to remember what was going on in Lamont during 1985 and '86 when the other two girls went missing. He was getting ready to leave for college but there is one other thing of importance that happened in the late 80s--the disappearance of a Lamont Weekly Times reporter, where Dave now works. Dave is in Sheriff Clayton Nazzaro’s office along with Investigator Pepper Black.
“We already have some of our investigators working on that,” said Clayton, “looking to see if there were any marital squabbles involving children, any child molestation charges, and property trespassing reports—things along those lines in that time range, especially the month of April.”

“I can see that helping with Rachael from Cuba, New York and possibly the girl from Albany, but what about the girl from Pennsylvania?” asked Pepper. “Unless one parent abducted the child and moved in around here somewhere.”

“I checked our microfilm archives by the way,” Dave offered. “Here are some copies on Rachael McKenzie’s abduction, but nothing on the other two. Inky Dalton covered Rachael McKenzie’s case rather closely.”

“Who's Inky Dalton?” Pepper asked.

Ignatius Dalton, our only unsolved murder—technically missing person, I should say,” said Clayton. “He was an old coot, but a hell of a reporter huh, Dave?”

***
The link to the other Weekend Writing Warriors is here. You're bound to find something to pique your interest.

The Sunday Snippet writer's on Facebook are here. Between the two there is something for everyone.

*** 
BLURB:
When three small coffins are unearthed near the Wiscoy Creek during a routine dredging operation, it’s the last thing DAVE ROBERTSON, of the Lamont Weekly Times, expected. Pinned to the skeleton’s clothing are pictures from milk cartons of missing girls.

Dave is stunned to find that one of the girls is Sally―a foster child his parents had cared for through the Friends of Foster Families (FFF) program. Cold case files reveal the girls disappeared over 20 years ago. Knowing his house was the last place he saw Sally alive, he can’t help but suspect his dad.

How can he write the biggest story of his career if his father turns out to be the killer? If the voice in his head would shut up and let him remember, he might figure it out before he loses his mind and his dad is charged with murder.

Full blurb and snippet recap here.

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39 comments:

  1. Hmmm. So Inky went missing, too? The milk is beginning to curdle as the plot thickens!

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  2. Inky Dalton, Pepper Black -- You have a knack for naming characters! :)

    Yeah, when the reporters go missing, something's going on . . . .

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  3. What a great twist, Inky's missing too! And how telling that Clayton thinks of it as a murder case.

    I bumped a little at this sentence: "Inky Dalton covered Rachael McKenzie’s case rather closely" only because I'm used to seeing "covered the case extensively" or "followed the case closely." That's pretty minor though. Really looking forward to see how Inky's tied in with the murdered girls!

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  4. Yes, that does need a reword, doesn't it? I'll figure a way to switch it around so it's in Dave speak.:) Thanks Owllady.

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  5. So what happened to Inky? Did he become too close to finding out the truth? Interesting.

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  6. Oh now they also have a missing reporter, could it be that he knew too much about the girls and was killed for it?

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  7. Recent murder of a reporter? Ooooh. Sounds like the bad guy doesn't want much more digging going on. Love where this is going, Cindy. :)

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  8. Love the name Inky Dalton. This story is getting good.

    BTW---I think "whose" should be "who's" as in "who is". :)

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  9. Thanks Violet! Fixed it. Sigh.. I do know the difference. I did this a little too quick this morning (woke up late) so I didn't go over it very well. That will teach me to post on Saturday night. :)

    Inky went missing in the late 90s. Good figuring you guys that he is somehow connected to the case.

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  10. I love the names of your characters. So curious to learn what Inky will add to this mystery.

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  11. Great snippet! I love the drama built around the missing girls!

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  12. That is a great 8. I wonder if your MC can investigate the case impartially if he suspects his own father was involved. The missing reporter adds a different layer of tension too.

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  13. Thank you for the complements on my names everyone. I never have problems with that. It is easy to mix and match first and last names I like as I'm a historian by occupation and we have hundreds of family files at work, not to mention names I come across doing research in the old stuff.

    My oldest son came up with Pepper Black. I told him I need a really cool, kick ass name for my lady Investigator. He picked up the black pepper can off the microwave and said, "How about Pepper Black.?" Perfect!

    Dave Robertson's name is average on purpose. A seemingly average guy with deep routed issues. My brother's name is Dave and Robertson Road is the first street he lived on after he was married. He's always been supportive of my writing.

    Clayton Nazzaro I made up off the top of my head as I was writing.

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  14. Oh, now Inky's missing too. Nicely done.

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  15. AnonymousMay 26, 2013

    A very intriguing set-up there.

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  16. I think maybe Inky (great nickname and certainly easier to live with than Ignatius) went missing because of something he learned about the disappearing girls.

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  17. This is such a fascinating story already and now the new twist of the missing reporter! Excellent excerpt, can't wait to learn more.

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  18. Nice twist to throw in a missing reporter - wonder what all the reporter had/has in his research files. Good #8

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  19. This is a great story, Cindy. I'm enjoying it tremendously. Your characters feel very real.

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  20. I just love your writing. Now we hear that one of the abductions was covered in depth and that the reporter who dug into it disappeared. Of course, we can't have deep investigative reporting. I wonder who this one and not the others?

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  21. Thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying it! Whew!

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  22. AnonymousMay 27, 2013

    Love all the twists and turns here, keeps the reader guessing *and turning the pages*

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  23. Oooh, nice one this week. The plot thickens. Sorry I didn't get to this yesterday. A friend dropped by the house yesterday...unexpectedly...and pretty much took up all my day. Again, nice one. Love a good mystery.

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  24. Intriguing premise! Love the name Inky! Great 8! :D

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  25. I just went back and reread every entry. I am so invested in this story. Is it available for purchase? If not, will it be soon?

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  26. AnonymousMay 27, 2013

    Intriguing story. Very nice.

    Had a little problem with "Rachael from Cuba, New York and possibly the girl from Albany, " Perhaps re-word: "the two girls from New York"

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  27. This is exciting, can't wait to read what unfolds!

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  28. Love how the plot is thickening with more disappearances, but I can't help missing the voice in Dave's head in this snippet. It's become a character in its own right. ;-)

    ~Joyce Scarbrough

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  29. AnonymousMay 27, 2013

    Well done. An intriguing beginning and scary.

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  30. I agree with Sarah W--such a knack for naming characters! I can hardly wait for this to be available to read, Cindy! Awesome snippet! :-)

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  31. I'm doing WWW as I'm editing. I'll publish it one way or another, just not sure which avenue to go. Lots of books out there you know?

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  32. Love the name, Inky. Very interesting twist, too. Great story!

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  33. Nice snippet. Can't wait to see what happens. And I know I probably say this every week, but I still love your blog layout.

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  34. Thanks Kayci. :) Thanks everyone for your comments.

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  35. So intriguing and now a missing reporter too! Also love the character's names. Great excerpt.

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  36. AnonymousMay 28, 2013

    Always intriguing--love how there are so many parts to the mystery.

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  37. A reporter goes missing after being closely involved with Rachel's case... Hm, this makes me wonder what the hell the police were doing. Wouldn't that make them extremely suspicious? Like maybe that reporter had gotten too close to the killer. If so, wouldn't it be in their best interest to track down this reporter? Makes me suspicious of the police. Lots of questions. Nice snippet!

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  38. Well, after one excerpt I'm a fan! Love the dialogue! Also, Ignatius is a fantastic name. :D Great work!

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  39. I love a good mystery. Nice snippet.

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