Tuesday, April 29, 2014

PitchSlam #1: The Problem with Ray, Adult Mystery

Genre:  Adult Mystery
Title:  The Problem with Ray
Word Count:  73,000

Song: Everywhere I go – Lissie

Pitch: A man goes missing and nobody cares. When his body appears in a tote filled with bloody fish, single mom Jules vows to uncover the truth, hopefully without ending up in a fish tote herself. 

First 250 words: Jules cleaned up the trail of blood leading to the freezer. Pink-tinged water splashed on the floor as she plunged the mop into the pail.   She glanced at the clock.  Almost midnight and still no Ray.

A metallic tang of blood hung in the air as water lapped gently against the pier.  The night was calm and clear but it felt as if something dark lurked beneath the stillness. 

Jules turned as she heard a rumbling sound.  She saw two bright headlights heading down the wooden dock towards her.  She backed up.  The truck continued slowly forward, the muffled thump of music coming from inside the cab. It stopped a couple of feet in front of her. 

She heard the whirr of a power window then saw a glimmer of light reflecting off the shiny metal object thrust through the open window.

“About time,” she said, taking the Lucky Lager. 

“Why, you’re very welcome.  Cleaning up the scene of the crime I see.”

“Yeah, well, mass murder does leave the nastiest stains.  Thank God for Blind Eye Bleach.  Not even the lab boys will know what I’ve been up to.”

“Handy, since you work in a dungeon of death.”

“Most people call it a fish plant J.C. And I’m lucky to have the work. Of course, my idea of a good job is anything that doesn’t involve a drive-in window.  But seriously, I think something might be wrong.  Ray never showed up.”  

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

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