When I completed Who’s Leading and Repeated Pattern finished, I turned my attention to the last story for my patrons, a thriller. Just like with this month’s mystery, I didn’t know what kind of story I wanted to tell. Aside from rediscovering Detective Ryan Graves with a recent release of Eloquent Tales & Blues, I needed some inspiration. Unfortunately, as with the mystery, ChatGPT failed to give me anything solid to use as a starting point. However, with a little extra thought, I developed a seed for this tale. I planted it in the depths of my mind and gave it room to grow. And after a little time, the tale began taking shape.
As it grew, I pruned some tangents that, while they could be fun to explore, wouldn’t help me craft this bit of flash fiction. While they were interesting, I shelved those concepts for later exploration and focused on the issue at hand. As an engineer by trade, it’s far too easy for me to make things more complicated. So while I knew I needed to whittle things down, it proved difficult at first. However, I’m far too determined to let little things like my innate desire to complicate everything get in my way.
As Detective Graves reviews his cases, he finds one having been changed by someone with information regarding Lisa Eams’ kidnapping…
As Detective Ryan Graves thumbed through the file, he peered past its contents to study the building towering over him. Despite pulling the lever beside the wheel to clean the windshield, it still looked decrepit. When a sharp series of chirps shattered the silence filling the vehicle, he retrieved the phone and answered it. He pinned it to his ear with a shoulder as he resumed skimming through the papers. “What can I do for you, Henry?”
“Your ideas are always terrible.”
The detective shook his head as he adjusted his tie. After a few seconds of silence, Ryan turned off the idling engine. Instantly, a fresh stillness settled about him. The investigator closed his file, dropping it into the passenger seat. “Henry, you’re punchier than normal. You should learn how to relax.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I am.” Ryan drew his pistol and checked the chamber before re-holstering the weapon. “Besides, you’re not the one about to explore a dilapidated building.”
“Hence the original question!”
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