Mark’s parents made a shrine out of his room.
All of his writing awards and achievements were framed on the wall.
They put his favorite pen on the shelf. He stopped using it when his hands shook too much to write with it.
His last keyboard was next to it.
He switched to voice recognition, but he lost his power of speech soon after.
Next to his microphone was the NeuroCap which picked up his thoughts and translated them into his final two novels.
The last words of the novel were: I love you.
But they might not have been.
Author: R.
The Case of the Amber Rose of the Amazon – Part 24
“Good Mr. Adams I mean no slander. When all is heard you must be the judge of your grandmother’s virtue. Facts are facts and time may indeed lessen the force of the blow, but Miss Grant a blow did strike and its fruits may be your untimely end.”
It was Mr. Hill’s will his daughter Charity Hill be married to Maxus Ford and his son Solomon Hill to marry Temperance Ford. An affront to the Grants only appeased by a promise that their grandson would marry, producing a heir to their empire which locked the three powerful families as one
The Duke
We found bullets, knives, and poison in the old duke’s body. Each was the weapon of choice of one of his sons:
Heinrich, the eldest, was proficient with a gun.
Brutus was an expert with the blade.
And Claus, the youngest, preferred to work with toxins.
So it was a surprise to all when the judge ordered Hilda, the Duke’s daughter, to be executed.
“She shot, stabbed, and poisoned him to implicate her brothers,” said the judge. “Take her away.”
The sons laughed as they threw their sister from the tower to her death.
She landed on the corrupt judge.
The Case of the Amber Rose of the Amazon – Part 23
It is the story of three Oxford men who at the turn of the century, theirs not ours, set out on a great gamble to make their fortunes. Armed with Pascal’s excellent advice on gaming “Be the House,” they set out to corner the market on the tools of gambling.
Hill Grand and Ford formed a triumvirate though equal in wealth and responsibility, Mr. Hill exerted the greatest control in their financial endeavors. Your namesake was quite comfortable with this arrangement, but Jedidiah Grant planted seeds of resentment that took full bloom in his daughter your grandmother.
“Thread lightly sir.”
The Drinker
“Why don’t you believe in me?” asked God.
I put down my drink and thought about my answer for a moment.
I mean, it’s God. And He’s drunk.
But then, I don’t believe in Him, so why worry?
So, I turned to my right…
He was gone.
I asked the bartender where God went.
He shrugged and put the tab in front of me.
Holy crap! God sure can drink, and He has good taste in what He drinks. Expensive, too.
As I pulled out my wallet, God pulled out his credit card.
“I was in the bathroom,” He said.
The Case of the Amber Rose of the Amazon – Part 22
Holmes handed Adams the red and white ribbon and a stillness crossed his visage that drew down a sorrow so deep it even moved the stone hearted detective.
“I’m sorry for your loss. You are in grave danger.
“How?”
“In the commission of an unsuccessful murder attempt.”
“Impossible, Hasid is Sufi.”
“But steadfastly loyal to at least one in your firm who proved less loyal to him.”
“I do not understand.”
“If I may I would tell the tale of your family tree that wound about the roots of The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards like constricting ivy.”
Tolerance
After I broke my arm and underwent surgery to rebuild it, I was given Vicodin for the pain, and it worked. It kept the pain at bay when I took it regularly.
Forty minutes after taking a pill, I felt the rush and it felt good.
But over time, as I healed, the pain subsided. I built up a tolerance to Vicodin, and the rush stopped coming.
Take more? No. That leads to addiction.
Instead, ease off the drugs, and switch to Tylenol.
And then, when I’m better, and my tolerance subsides…
I hope I didn’t sell off my stash.
The Case of the Amber Rose of the Amazon – Part 21
“I do not wish to hurry that moment. I love my Grandmother dearly; hope many more years are hers. Our firm is quite guarded in the identity of our office staff your ability proceed you, but alarming all the same. I fear you know us all a good deal deeper that we wish, but of course that is why you’re here.”
“Yes its my purpose to prove you killer or one who draws the killer to them.”
“Holmes. Lightly”
“No need Dr Watson; I expect the rigorous of tests.”
“Would it shock you the Turk lies expired on my ottoman?”
Sir Hugo Daft
Sir Hugo Daft’s compositions are the product of a musical genius and a bloodthirsty sociopath.
Refusing to limit himself to traditional instruments such as the cello or the flute, he dabbles with police sirens, car screeches, women screaming for help, and other noises meant to frighten and distract listeners.
He is just as proud of his seven Grammy awards as he is of his lifetime ban from terrestrial and satellite radio.
“You’re causing dozens of accidents a day with your music!” said the FCC Commissioner.
Daft smiled, accepted the ban, and waited for the Pentagon to buy his weaponized compositions.
The Case of the Amber Rose of the Amazon – Part 20
A door opens, light pours into the black. A man in his mid 20s beckons the doctor and the detective into the foyer up the staircase to the upper floor. Watson carefully took in the framed playing cards, all the ace of spades. The pressures of Mycroft’s words rang in his ears.
“It is the custom for each Master of our firm to have his image placed in the center of the ace of spades. This is my grandmother,” explained Mr. Adams.
“This last frame is empty,” stated Holmes, “the next master would be Mr. Grant the first vice president?”