Sunday Snippet: Next Year Same Time

A lovely week with warmer temperatures and some rain. Excited to see some spring weather rolling in. It's supposed to be in the high fifties and sixties this week and I'm totally down with that, even if it gets chilly at night.

Not a bad week for writing either. I played catch-up on a few more manuscripts and fleshed out some plot bunnies. The sages are on a roll right now and I'm not sure what prompted their creativity. I won't complain though.

Good week of television also. I watched a couple of movies starting with Enola Holmes, which I ended up really enjoying. Glad to hear there will be another one at some point. I also watched a total favorite of mine, Grease 2. This is one of those cases where I loved the sequel more than the original. Seriously.

I restarted my watch of Picard, picking up with episode six. Wow, a lot to unpack in that episode. I'm excited to see what happens next.

I finally started Chicago Med. I've been waiting to see the first season and ended up getting access. Enjoyed the first episode.

Caught two episodes of Peak Practice. I ended the second season and started the third. Both were good episodes.

Watched another episode of No Offence. I like the overarching storyline for the new season and the wrap-up of the previous season's fallout. I'll be honest and admit I'm not keen on the new supervisor but I'll reserve judgment for now.

Finished up the second part of Silent Witness and it was as twisty as I thought it would be. Enjoyed the two-parter.

Started season fifteen of Classic Who. Pretty decent opening arc the lighthouse setting. Interestingly, it ties into one of those unsolved mysteries of the unexplained and I love it when the show does that kind of thing.

Caught another episode of UFOs: The Lost Evidence. This one focused on Area 52 and what might or might not be going on there.

Two more episodes of The Muppet Show are complete. I'd forgotten about Harry the mad bomber. He made an appearance and blew some stuff up.

That's about it for television and this week's wrap-up. Tonight's post is from Next Year Same Time, a novella where crazy circumstances spark a romantic interest.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Lita Vonn is a store owner who gets caught up in a bank robbery and makes a connection with the negotiator, Saber Reyes. Saber questions her desire to get together and offers an alternative suggestion—next year, same time, they'll meet at the coffee shop across the street.

And a snippety peek…

Saber Reyes dialed the bank number and hoped someone responded. He'd worked hostage situations but never as the lead. He'd find out today if he had the stones to run a team on his own.

"Hello … I'm supposed to ask who I'm talking to and let you know I'll be speaking for the man in charge in here."

Saber blinked. "Okay. I'm Detective Reyes. You can call me Saber. Are you allowed to tell me your name?" A muffled conversation followed.

"Lita Vonn and I'm putting you on speaker but you're only to address me."

Saber frowned. Definitely not what he usually dealt with. Made things more challenging.

He agreed to the terms. "Fine, Lita. Is everyone okay? What does the man in charge want?"

One of the sheriff's deputies waved to get his attention. "Boss, I'm not sure what's going on, but can you hear this?"

A rapid staccato beat in steady increments could be heard in the background. Saber's eyes widened. Holy shit. Someone knew Morse code and decided to send a message.

He muted the phone. "Can you isolate that on this screen? It's Morse code." He glanced up. "Anyone familiar with Morse code? I need someone to translate while I'm on the call."

"Saber, the man in charge wants to know how much authority you have." Lita's voice came through the phone.

The series of beats stopped.

Saber shifted focus back to the current situation. "I'm fully authorized to negotiate and resolve this situation. What are his demands?"

Lita responded, "The man in charge wants a signed release from Judge Sharnell, stating the defendant in case number CR-1557895 is free to go and does not have to report to the holding center tomorrow." She paused and started again. "He also wants a plane ticket and safe passage to the airport. He'll have all the funds he needs from the bank."

Saber frowned again. "I'll get to work on the release, but the judge is in court. I might not be able to reach him right away." He definitely could, but he needed to buy some time.

Lita had a whispered conversation then replied. "You've got three hours. The ticket can be for anywhere that doesn't have an extradition agreement with the US."

Saber blew out a breath. "All right. I'll find the next available flight and arrange for transportation." He waited a moment. "Is there anything else?"

Lita responded quickly. "Stay on the line. And keep your snipers off the roofs if you don't want dead hostages."

Saber bit back an expletive. "All right. Done." He motioned the commander of the tactical team to pull his men back.

Then he waved the man over and gave him the order to put his sniper teams in the upper floors of the neighboring buildings. Not ideal, but workable. He shifted his gaze to the computer screen and Morse code translations.

MiC is Chuck Barnaby. Armed with semi-auto rifle. Strapped with explosives. Very jumpy and erratic.

Damn. Solid information. Combined with the docket number, Saber should be able to put a good profile together for their man in charge.

He gave the order to contact Judge Sharnell to apprise him of the situation and keep the man informed. He pulled up the case and reviewed the charges and the judge's orders. This wouldn't end well for Barnaby. Unless he gave himself up, which Saber's gut said wouldn't happen.

He went back to the call. "Lita, you've been very helpful so far. Keep up the good work." He hoped she understood his loosely coded message. "Let's do our best to keep everyone calm and comfortable for now. I'll be in touch soon about the plane ticket."

I love the adventure angle of this story. Saber will be halfway in love with Lita before he meets her face-to-face.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin