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Vincent D’Agosta lifted his liripiped blue cowl and adjusted his crow mask, straining to see the twin dials of his silver Rolex in the shade of the staircase. Seven-thirty-five, on the dot. Then, with meticulous, anxious consideration he checked the watch-face again, this time gauging it against the elegant french baroque grandmother clock ticking away demurely in the corner near the stairs. Where was he? Pendergast was supposed to have come down thirty minutes ago with Viola on his arm! Oberon and Titania...right. Something was up. Well, either that or the scrawny bastard was going...   read more »

The blow came from above. It was relatively painless, at first, more a physical shock than pain. Pain came later; right on the heels of it, actually, as if my head needed a moment to accept it was being assaulted. I was not totally surprised by the attack; I had been warned after all.

As the pavement rose toward my face, all I could think was, “Well, hell.”



The call came on a Saturday, around 11:30. I had just finished my last set and was in my dressing room removing my make-up when the phone rang. I paused, washcloth to my chin. No one knew that number except my agent, Tommy, and the owner of the club. I had just seen Tommy not ten minutes before, and Derek was on the floor. I looked into the mirror and met my own eyes. The anxiety might never pass. Several years prior, I had been... involved in a drug running case while passing through New Orleans. It had not been a good time in the Big Easy, and despite constant reassurances from the agent in charge of the case, I had been fairly certain I would end up dead or in prison. If...   read more »

Sophia desperately wished he would say or do something. The sexual tension in the rose-colored sitting room was overwhelming, as she stood face-to-face with Pendergast. His smooth skin and rigid posture made him seem like a statue wearing a black suit. A shudder of pleasure quaked through her body when at last he placed a pale hand on the small of her back and pulled her a few inches closer to him. She looked into his unusual eyes and saw a battle between reason and passion being waged. One long finger found its way to her full lips and gently traced their outline. She moaned when his mouth finally descended to hers. His kiss was tender and lingering. Pendergast lost control of himself for the first time in her presence, when she responded by pressing her whole body against him. His barriers broke, and passion won the war against reason.

Aloysius deepened the kiss and it became almost savage. Sophia was glad his arms were supporting her; she would have collapsed from the sudden weakness in her legs otherwise. Her hands wandered to his chest and began removing his jacket. The garment slid to the floor and was quickly followed by...   read more »

She is lying in the warm, swirling water of the oversized whirlpool tub which is sunken in the middle of the bathroom floor in the Pendergast Dakota apartment. Her long, brown curls are pinned up, and she is drowsing from the heat of the water and the delicious swirls enveloping her body. The steam carries a faint fragrance of lavender from the soap she has used. She hears the door open softly but hears no footsteps padding across the room which is bathed in deep amber from the glow of the dimmed lighting. Presently, she hears a deep Southern purr asking, “Would you care for some company, my dear?” “Mmmmmmm,” she murmurs, “that would be nice. That would be very nice.” A small smile of expectation blossoms as she hears Aloysius step down into the tub and feels him gently lay next to her in the golden-rippled water. She opens her eyes, smiles into the face of the man she loves, and tenderly brushes aside the lock of platinum hair that seems to be forever falling over his forehead. Aloysius slides an arm beneath her shoulders and with the other hand unpins her hair letting its soft waves fall slowly...   read more »

The air was close and rank as the small cluster of soldiers crept across the steamy jungle. Under the black grease paint, their faces were grim. Earlier that evening, they had made the gristly discovery that the 6th infantry division, their compatriots and friends had been massacred as they ate. It was a sickening sight, bodies everywhere. Some of the men had already turned in for the night only to become trapped in an infinite slumber, others contorted in agony, mouths agape in a silent scream. The smell of blood mixed with the smell of dinner, still bubbling on the hearth, creating a macabre effect.

The seven young soldiers that had managed to escape the me^le'e returned from the surrounding foliage arms laden with firewood. They were the youngest members and therefore always received the “grunt work” chores. The solders pushed through the brush talking and laughing until they became aware of the eerie silence coming from the once lively encampment. The laughter froze on their slack jawed faces as they surveyed all that lay before them. Upon realizing the scene, their chore was immediately forgotten, twigs and branches dropped in sheer horror. Several of the men leaned over and retched...   read more »

Catlike, he lets himself in.

I had been warned to expect an unusual client, and I am not disappointed. I’ve never worked under conditions like these before, and I am still not entirely pleased about the situation, despite the payment — three times my usual fee — already directly deposited into my account. Most especially I’m unsure of conducting the first session in my own home. But everything about this case promises to be out of the ordinary, and the client insisted it could be done no other way.

What is more important, this client represents a challenge. I get few enough of those, these days. People are distressing in the quotidian similarity of their problems. See enough of them and you realize that everyone is more or less the same, and even deviants deviate in a small number of predictable ways. This client’s complaint, similar at first blush to so many others, has upon digging deeper revealed aspects that seem unique.

So, admittedly intrigued,...   read more »

By three o’clock in the afternoon, Special Agent Pendergast had been working with Special Agent Anna Cady for approximately seven hours. He had found her to be an instinctive investigator, gifted and perhaps even brilliant. But she gave him pause. “Her methods are a bit unorthodox.” Pendergast sat on the park bench and chose his words with care as he watched the joggers and rollerbladers pass back and forth before him on the path several yards away. “Beyond the gadgets and the wide assortment of weapons she carries, her entire demeanor is unusual.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the connection. “Pendergast,” Mike Decker said somewhat dryly, “You are not the only unusual agent with unorthodox methods in this office. You are not the only one whose behavior elicits complaints. And you are also not the only one I find myself having to, shall we say, shield from time to time.” He sighed. “Okay. The Cliff Notes on Anna, if you want them, include a tendency to be a loner, a tendency to do things her way, and a strong tendency to come out of left field from time to time. She finished law school...   read more »

1. You make SIM characters and try to recreate the books.
2. You have a pet with a characters name that you got after you read BRIMSTONE.
3. Fan girl is a compliment.
4. You read/write more fan fiction than you change your skivvies.
5. You have a stuffed cat named Aloysius.
6. You think DOD should be made into a video game on the Wii.
7. You dream events of the books.
8. Your friends tell you to get off the message board and to do your homework.
9. Diogenes might be something you’ll name your firstborn.
10. You want to smack Viola (among of things)....   read more »