Security Audit

A couple of years ago, I logged into my KDP portal and explored the system, searching for a way to retrieve a manuscript. I needed to do that because I’d lost it a long time ago. Thankfully, my search proved useful, and I scrapped the contents of the kindle edition several pages at a time. However, instead of trying to create a hardcover edition, the grammatical and structural issues looming over me depressed me. At that moment, I knew I needed to redraft the book, but I didn’t know how I was going to accomplish that, so it languished in the back of my mind for some time.

However, all that changed when I stumbled into a webinar aimed at helping people write and then publish whatever they yearned to write. Without missing a beat, they told me I could skip the first half of the course and move right into the editing and publication process. From that moment on, aside from the required moments dedicated to my patrons, the new edition sucked up the bulk of my free time. And now I’ve come to the end of the main journey and the paperback edition is available to buy on numerous platforms, including Amazon and Barnes & Nobel.

Despite carrying that extra burden, I plan to have all three stories for September published. While I pulled the results of the pool late, several storylines popped into my head, including the requested crime caper. With this tale, I wanted to highlight the crime from a different perspective, namely from an investigator’s perspective. As a result, I used Kyle Rickman to explore a theft from a private gallery. Halfway through the initial draft, this narrative’s ending altered, causing me to dismiss the original concept I’d planned for the mystery (but more on that later).

So grab a chair and join me as we witness Kyle uncovering the theft of a priceless work of art.

Hired to audit the security of a private gallery, Kyle Rickman meanders through it, examining the pieces and the equipment used to secure them when he finds a problem…

“Haven’t you finished your audit yet?” A gruff voice asked as a pair of thick fingers dug into the investigator’s back.

With a sigh, Kyle Rickman straightened and turned away from the painting. He touched the delicate wooden frame with his fingertips before returning his gaze to the intruding security guard. After a tense silence, he stepped forward and shoved his face next to the overweight man’s. Kyle let the palpable silence linger another moment before he jerked his thumb at the work of art. “How long have you been guarding your employer’s private gallery?”

“I’ve been here nearly ten years.”

The investigator stepped around the heavyset man and wrapped a lithe arm around the guard’s shoulders. “Zachary, when did your boss add this piece to his eclectic collection?”

Zachary swatted Kyle’s hand off as he faced him. “That’s been here longer than me.”

“The original was,” Kyle said as he slapped the guard’s back. “However, a keen observer can isolate several details, which suggest it’s no more than a few weeks old, rather than the age typical for a Monet.”