The Gold in Their Eyes
Marco Flynn Mysteries Book 3
by Christopher Clouser
Genre: Mystery
Marco Flynn has returned to his home town for a fresh start. Now he’s a full-time parent to a pre-teen son, Jacob, and has asked Tara to marry him. He tries to start over by getting a normal nine-to-five gig.
Marco accepts a job working in the administration for the newly-elected mayor of Indianapolis. Before the ink dries on the contract, a new drug fills the streets . Along with that, a series of murders sweep through the city with the ringleader making a personal threat toward Marco’s family. Marco takes it as a personal challenge to solve the crime even if it compromises his new job, or his life
Marco attempts to protect his family no matter the costs. Even if that means harm will come to him, either physical or emotional. He will do anything to prevent a repeat of the tragedies he has seen over the last few months repeat itself. His sacrifice is worthwhile if it means his family, and the city, are safe.
**Releases on 6/13/23!!**
The Young & The Wicked
Marco Flynn Mysteries Book 2
From the start of the trip, Marco makes life miserable for the bad guys. During the flight, Marco breaks up a kidnapping. Then, once he reaches Seattle, is drawn into a child abduction case as a contractor for the FBI, his former employers. When Marco begins his investigation, he finds the kidnapper may be related to his ex-wife’s boyfriend, talk about a tough conversation. It becomes apparent that something is amiss at the Bureau as Marco unravels the mystery.
Marco attempts to keep his professional and personal lives separate as he goes between his ex and his girlfriend, while developing a deeper relationship with his son. Then every parent’s worst nightmare occurs and the case turns into a race against the clock as Marco Flynn tries to track down his prey in a city he does not know.
As The City Burns
Marco Flynn Mysteries Book 1
Marco Flynn is working to make his home town of Indianapolis safe. In the process he stumbles across a dead body. The problem is she has been dead for two years and Marco attended her funeral. At the same time Marco's brother drops another case on him that implicates the Mayor in some illegal activities. The more Marco investigates he finds the two crimes have much more in common and may be linked to something even more dangerous. All of this as the city deals with increased protests and violence. Marco must decide if he wants to walk away or try to save the city he loves before it all falls down around him.
After riding the elevator up to my floor, I walked past the closed offices while the hint of air freshener and bad sushi filled the air. When I reached my door, an awful odor hit me with a left jab to the olfactory senses. I first thought of spoiled food, but this scent made three-day-old tuna comparable to a field of wildflowers and questioned myself on what I left in the office during my last visit a few weeks prior. The unlocked door waved another red flag when I grabbed the knob. All the warning signs screamed danger, and I was a sitting duck without my handgun.
“I’m coming in! Don’t shoot!” Like an idiot, I rushed in without calling security. I played the odds, assuming they would have shot me when I walked up to the door if they were going to kill me.
I barged through and found a naked body on the floor. No one else greeted me and I called 9-1-1 to request IMPD before checking out the body. From this distance, the rigid and unclean corpse showed no blood stains or wounds. Unsure if the decay or defecation smelled worse, I opened a window and wondered how a body ended up in my old office.
No scuff marks from the body being dragged appeared when I examined the hallway. Unless a weightlifter delivered the body, one person did not carry this horse of a man. The guy on my office floor weighed roughly 350 pounds with just socks and a trench coat resembling torn cellophane around a twinkie. Logically, the body arrived after 5 pm, or the culprit risked being seen by some of the other office building tenants. I just missed them.
My brain formed a theory of how the body got into my office; prompting me to visit the freight elevator and hit the call button. The elevator car arrived and opened to reveal several marks and smears on the floor. The material left behind was for the crime lab to determine, but my brain speculated on its disgusting origin. The faint sound of my office phone ringing from this distance pierced the silence, and I ran back to catch it on the fifth ring.
“Hello.”
A pause rose from the other end. Then my mystery caller opened his yap. “I assume you got my congratulatory gift for the new opportunity.” The disguised voice hinted at a Latino accent behind an audible technical deception.
I put the call on speaker and hit the record feature on my cell. “And who are you? I should thank you for the bag of shit you left on my doorstep.”
The person laughed with a snort at the end. “You don’t mince words. I’ll make this quick to prevent tracking this call. This city offers much fuel for my fire, and that gentleman is a sample of the coming flame, Mr. Flynn. Get ready.”
The line went dead. I dialed *69, and it gave me nothing. After I hung up, I returned to examine the body. As I leaned over the corpse, a familiar voice called from the hallway: IMPD’s Lieutenant Gus Stein, my best friend and future best man at my wedding.
“Jesus, Marco. You haven’t even got your first paycheck and you’re already turnin’ over dead bodies.”
Considering we had been friends since our college baseball days, he received some leeway. I replied, “Did the security guy check you in?”
“Of course.”
“Get a copy of his log before you leave. The register might have the fake name of whoever brought this dead fish up here.”
Gus leaned over the man. “Ripe. I’ll give him that.”
“Why are you here?”
“Just heard the report and recognized the address as your office. The crime lab will be here momentarily.”
On cue, the crime lab folks left the elevator and walked down the hall. The lead tech yelled, “Touch nothing!”
Christopher Clouser lives in the Indianapolis, Indiana area and pursues writing speculative fiction in his free time. His family consists of his wife, two children, and one grandchild. He has written sixteen books that include fantasy, science-fiction, mystery, and sports history while contributing to several others, along with multiple articles. He also has spoken to many local and national organizations on creative writing and the career of Perry Maxwell, a noted American golf course architect.
Thanks for posting about the book.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome!
DeleteI just love your cover and excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bridgett!
DeleteI like the cover. Looks good. Sounds like a good story.
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