Island Surprise

Thanks for stopping by and reading another installment of Island Surprise. This week's writing prompt is chase.

            Claire stood still in the middle of the lobby, oblivious to the people walking around here as she watched the couple disappear into the crowd.  How was it possible the wife was still alive? Nancy, just as stunned stood beside her.

            “I can’t explain it,” Claire shook her head in disbelief.

            “I can explain it,” said Sam. “The woman’s not dead. I hate to say this, but you were mistaken at what you saw or think you saw.”

            And just like that Sam was back in the dog house after just returning. She couldn’t believe he would doubt her.

            “I know blood when I see it, and I saw blood and plenty of it.” Claire responded trying not to raise her voice, after all they were in the middle of the lobby.

            Nancy jumped in between them. “Well guys maybe we can discuss this later. We have to take our spots for the book fair.”

            “I’m not signing at this one. I’ll be at my publisher’s book sale tomorrow,” said Sam. I’m just going to walk around say hi to those I know, and maybe sit with Claire if she’ll let me.” He flashed a shy smile with dark glistening eyes. She couldn’t resist.

            “Yeah, okay. I’ll be sitting in there somewhere. I don’t know where they put me.” Even though she didn’t like that he doubted her, she was always a sucker for his dark brown eyes and smooth voice.

            The three of them walked towards the hotel’s Ballroom which was set up for the book fair. The massive room was arranged with rows of long tables with mountains of books on them and signs with author’s names. Nancy left Claire and Sam to find her table. Claire went off in the other direction, searching for her table. Sam waved to familiar faces while quietly chasing after the woman he came there to be with.

**** 

Dan Roberts lead Lacy, his wife of four days, through the crowded hotel lobby. As they walked hand in hand, the crowd seemed to part for them as though they were royalty. Along the way, hotel workers nodded or smiled acknowledging them. To the locals, Lacy was considered island royalty. Her father was the prominent real estate mogul, J.D. Hunter, known as the Donald Trump of Hawaii.  J.D. built dozens of luxury apartment buildings and hotels, including the one his daughter was honeymooning in. Dan was a partner in a boutique architecture firm that did many jobs for J.D. To secure his rise to the top, he swept J.D.’s daughter off her feet while he wooing her father’s business. He was now leading the team for the expansion of the Royal Continental Hotel, on the neighboring smaller island.

            As Dan and Lacy walked towards the restaurant, they passed an easel in the lobby advertising the Book Fair, which was open to the public. Dan remembered the pen. He would have to pay Nancy Wells a visit. He wanted to see the woman he needed to stop. He wanted to know if she could identify him. Did she get a good enough look at him on the island, or is he jumping the gun on assuming that she did?

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Island Surprise

The following is an excerpt from Island Surprise, where Claire recalls her history with Sam. Picture prompt - Rustic Stone Arch in Central Park, New York City.

  

Claire felt the fallen leaves crunch under her sneakers as she and Sam hiked through the Ramble in Central Park. They were taking a break from planning their novel, and also doing research, since the park was prominently featured in their story.

The terrain grew more challenging, and Sam reached a hand out to Claire who gladly gripped it. They leaped from rock to rock, Sam in the lead and Claire laughing behind him. They made their way towards the Rustic Stone Arch, which was always a favorite spot for Claire. Sam led her through the narrow walkway, guiding her with a hand on the back of her waist as they walked under the arch.

While walking through Claire looked around. “Isn’t this beautiful?”  

            “Yes, beautiful,” agreed Sam admiring Claire as he said it. He led her to the path next to the arch heading towards Bank Rock Bridge and stood facing her. With one hand resting on her shoulder, his lifted her chin up with his other hand before she could object. He bent down to meet her, and Claire was conscious of the moment.

She felt the breeze around them settle as if time stood still, she overheard the conversation of the birds in the trees, which sounded like a lovers spat. Sam’s lips lightly touched hers. Then together they deepened the kiss, as she tasted the remnants of the mocha latté and mints they shared at Starbucks. This wasn’t part of the scene they were writing, this was real life and she was enjoying it. She was attracted to Sam at the start and was glad he made the first move. She ran a hand through his curly hair, ignoring the apprehension she felt of getting involved with a writing partner.

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Island Surprise

Writing Prompt – Finger

Welcome to this week’s installment of my Tuesday Tales story Island Surprise. Thank you for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment.  

            Nancy reached out and grabbed the bed post. She felt light headed and needed to sit. 
            Claire looked over and saw her friend’s reaction, and stopped talking to Sam. “What’s up Nance? Who was on the phone?”

            “It was a message for me. Someone’s telling me to forget what I saw on the island, and they’ll forget about me,” her face turned pale as she recalled the words.

            “What? You didn’t see anything on the island to forget about. Why would they be calling you?”

            “I don’t know how he got my name. But I don’t want him to know my name. I just want him to forget me, and I’ll forget him.”

            Claire went to the phone and replayed the message, and then the color from her face drained as she sat down on the opposite bed. “I’m not even sure what I saw, but this has to be related to it. Why would someone call you? I wish he would forget about it too. I’d like to forget the whole thing, but I can’t, especially now”

            “But how can you forget when you don’t even know what you really saw?” Nancy was shaking her head in wonder.

            They were both oblivious to Sam standing there watching them like he’d just turned on a TV drama he’d never watched before trying to play catch-up. “Hey girls, what’s going on? Whatever you’re trying to forget, don’t forget to tell me first. I want to know.”

            Claire looked up at Sam and quickly recanted the morning’s events to him. He sat on the bed next to Claire. “We really don’t know what you saw. There could be a logical explanation, and there usually is. But I don’t get why someone is now harassing Nancy. Why use her to get to you?”

            “Right, and I didn’t think he got a look at me while I was on the island. If he did it must’ve been when I was rowing away. But how could he see me from that far distance.” Claire started rubbing her hands and cracking her knuckles, something she did when she was nervous. She made attempts in the past to curb this habit, as a writer the last thing she needed was hand joint problems. But she was cracking them now. She looked at Sam. “So what do you think?”

            He reached over and gently put a hand over her hands, causing her to stop the cracking. He held her hand rubbing his thumb softly over her fingers.  In a manner of seconds he felt her nervous energy fade away, and the warmth emanating from his hand spread to the rest of his body. Boy if she only knew what this touch was doing to him. He enjoyed it, but now he needed to help her, and he needed all his senses. Sam slowly released her hand, restoring his ability to think clearly. He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t think you have enough to get the police involved.”

            Nancy picked up her conference tote bag and stood up. “Maybe be we could do a little snooping on our own and find out who the honeymoon couple is. See if it looks like they’ve checked out. If he did anything to her, why would he still be here? Wouldn’t he want to check out and get out of here fast?”

             Nancy walked over to her suitcase and pulled out a box of her pens. “I’m going to be signing at the book fair for Arrow Publishing this afternoon, so I need my pens.” She gave a pen to Sam.

            “Thanks,” he looked at the pen. “Ah Midnight Rising, I’ll come by and buy one from you. I remember when this story first started to take shape.”

            “Thanks, Sam. The story changed again since you last read it. I’m so glad it’s finally out.”

            Claire picked up her bag and Nancy waved a pen at her. “I have one from yesterday. I don’t want you to run out.”

            “Oh, I don’t think I’ll run out. I always over-buy.”

            Sam followed the women out the room, closing the door behind him, checking to see that it locked.

            The three of them got the elevator and walked towards the grand lobby. No matter how stressed Claire was the island trees and plants decorating the lobby always managed to take her breath away and calm her down. Nature was always a good de-stressor for her, coming in close behind having her hand held by Mr. Sam Stewart. Even though she didn’t verbalize it upstairs, there’s no doubt the affect this man had on her. Not only did she need to look out for a possible killer, she needed to watch herself around Sam. Claire didn’t want to get swept away again. The last time was too painful for her. She knew she was smarter this time.

            As they walked through the lobby towards the conference center, a couple crossed the lobby in front of them. Claire's pressure shot up. Oh my god, it’s him. The honeymooner! He and his new wife just walked across the lobby hand in hand, just like… well, just like regular newlyweds. Claire was dumbfounded and Nancy shot her a look, but kept her mouth closed. They watched as the couple headed towards a restaurant on the other side of the lobby.

            “What happened? What did I miss?” Sam felt the tension between the two women.

            “That was them. The man and his wife,” Claire raised her hands, and held them in a tight fist, fighting the urge to indulge herself.

            “So she’s not dead,” Sam looked after the couple.

“Then why is he harassing me?” Asked Nancy quietly as a wave of conference goers walked around them headed for the book fair. 

Writing Prompt - Flower

When Claire rowed the boat up to the beach, she was exhausted. She prided herself for being in good shape, but nothing could prepare her for the strenuous rowing expedition she just pulled off. She worked harder than the brief time she had a fitness trainer yelling at her, another get-in-shape-fast scheme that didn’t fare well. Nothing made you move faster than when you thought you were running for life, away from a murderous honeymooner. She jumped out the boat, her bag over her body crisscrossed, so she wouldn't lose it this time. She spotted Nancy on the beach coming toward her.

           

            "I've never been so glad to see someone I know," Claire blurted out as she hugged her friend almost knocking them down on the sand.

            "What happened? This better be good, Tess O’Neal's workshop on police procedurals is about to start in a few minutes. I wanted to go to that."

            "I could've been killed, Nance. You can order the cd later. I might be involved in a real police procedural. Real, as in real life." She stomped off toward the hotel with Nancy on her heels.

            "Well are you going to tell me what happened?"

            Claire stopped in her tracks and looked around.  "I don't want anyone overhearing me. I think I might've walked in a murder."

            "What? What did you see and who was killed?"

            "You know the honeymoon couple at the hotel..." Claire recanted her encounter on the island in a low voice to Nancy.

            The two picked up the pace and walked into the plush hotel. The inside was just as beautifully decorated as the outside grounds. The spacious lobby and surrounding walkways were layered with island trees, native sculptures and wood carved furnishings that looked as though were designed for royalty. The two women walked through the busy lobby towards the elevator bank. Claire saw a few familiar faces in the crowd, and would normally join them, but instead she ducked into an elevator hoping they didn't see her. She needed time to unwind and process what had happened. Nancy was right beside her, too stunned to say anything.

            Nancy had her card key in hand when they reached the door and quickly swiped it open. Claire walked into the room and knew exactly what she wanted, she went to small refrigerator they requested for their room and pulled out the bottle of red wine, half full from the night before.

"I don't care if it's before noon, its four o'clock somewhere in the world. After all that, blood…I need a drink to relax."

            "Don’t' close that," Nancy reached for the bottled before Claire re-corked it. "After hearing that story, I could use a drink too."

            The two discussed what they should do next. Claire was afraid she'd been seen, and didn't want to do anything to put herself in danger. While Nancy protested that she didn't really know what she saw. She needed proof before she could do anything.

            A knock at the door startled them both, and then Nancy laughed walking to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw what appeared to be a man holding a bouquet of exotic island flowers in front of his face.

            "Who is it?" Asked Claire, sloshing her wine around in the plastic wine glass.

            "I don't know. Someone's holding flowers. Who is it?" Nancy asked from behind the closed door.

            “Special delivery for Claire.”

            Claire heard the voice from the hall and almost dropped her glass. "Oh no, it's Sam. Just what I need to complicate things." She went to the door, and looked through the peep hole. She saw the flowers hiding his face, but his well-toned body was in full view. She recognized the fashionable black jeans he sported like a uniform, and wore so well she didn't mind seeing them every day. But not today.

She opened the door, and he extended the flowers to her, "A peace offering before you resume the last fight we had," he said as he strolled in the room as if he owned it.  He reached over to plant a small kiss on Claire cheek.

            "Thank you, they're beautiful." He quickly kissed the other cheek before she had a chance to object. "What did you do, just get back from France or something?"

            "No, your cheek just called out to me."

            Sam Stewart a successful author of thrillers and spy novels. He and Claire met at a writer’s group, critiqued each other’s work and even collaborated on a couple of stories together while on their road to publication. Along the way they also had a brief relationship, which Sam thought ended a little too soon.

            While Sam and Claire got caught up, Nancy noticed a message light on the room phone on the night table. She picked up the receiver to hear the message. “This message is for Nancy Wells,” said a muffled voice with wind in the background. “Whatever you think you saw on the little island today, you’re mistaken, so just please go about your business and forget about it, and I’ll forget about you.” The call ended and she almost dropped the phone.

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Island Surprise Continues

Tuesday Tales story using car, limo as writing prompt

Claire stood behind the lush tropical trees, held her breath and watched the bridegroom as he finally walked away in the opposite direction. Great, Claire thought. Hopefully she could get back to the boat without being seen. She retraced her steps and hurried back to the beach.

While she ran through the jungle, her bag strap caught on a branch, drawing Claire and her bag back like a sling shot. Her bag turned upside down, fell and spilled most of its contents. She reached down, tossed her lunch and notebook back in the bag as quickly as she could. She rose to her feet and continued on her way back to the beach. But wait a minute. Things didn’t look quite the way she remembered. She stopped again, breathing deeply from running and tried to get her bearings. She got turned around when she picked up her things. Claire tried her best to remember which direction she came from. Did she make a right turn?  She hoped this was the correct way. All of a sudden she came upon a banana tree she recalled seeing earlier, and practically wanted to reach around and hug it.

A few yards later she was at the beach and saw the little row boat waiting for her. She dragged the boat in the water, and bruised her legs a bit as she jumped in. She threw her canvas messenger bag down next to her, picked up the oars and rowed as fast as she could away from the island headed towards the big island. After she was more than what she estimated shooting distance to be from the island, she put one of the oars down and fished her smart phone out of her bag. Thrilled to see signal bars, she speed dialed Nancy her friend and roommate for the conference.

            “Hey, where are you? You’re missing a great buffet. The workshops are going to start soon,” Nancy cell yelled over the phone with loads of ambient sound in the background.

            “I’m in a row boat, making my way back to the shore. I think I’m running for my life. Can you meet me in a few minutes at the beach behind the hotel?” Claire continued to row with the phone cradled between her chin and shoulder.

            “Sure, I’ll meet you. What do mean running for your life? Did they have cocktails at that island, because you sound a bit strange?”

            “No, there were no cocktails, at least not for me. I might be exaggerating a little, because I’m very excited. I saw something that scared me to death.”

            “All right, I’ll be there soon. Relax, you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. I was hoping this conference could act as a mini vacation for us.”

            “Yeah me too, till I think I might’ve walked in on a murder.”

            “A what? Oh, come on out here in paradise. I’ll be there soon.”

            Claire said bye, tapped end call and tossed her phone in her bag and continued on her way.

            As Claire paddled on, she recalled the last time she saw the newlywed couple. Last night as she, Nancy and Barbara Reynolds another writing buddy, were entering the hotel, the couple were leaving in a limo. She recalled it must be nice traveling first class on your honeymoon. She thought they were probably going out on the town for dinner since they had no luggage.

****

             Back on the little island, Dan Roberts stood the beach with the towel around his neck. He watched as the small white row boat raced across the inlet to the other shore. He marveled at how fast the woman was traveling.

He was totally unaware that she was on the island, and wondered what she saw. He reached in his pocket, and pulled out the pen he found on the ground on his way to the beach. It was a purple ball point pen with flashy black and blue stars, the copy on the pen read Nancy Wells, paranormal romance with a twist, Midnight Rising. She must be here for that writer’s conference.

“I’ll be seeing you, Nancy.” Dan put the pen in his pocket as he watched the tiny boat disappear.

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Island Surprise

Writing using a picture prompt - 300 words.

Claire Jenkins, mystery author, stepped out of the rustic rowboat as it neared the beach, then pulled it ashore. Taking a break during a writer’s conference in Hawaii, she was off to explore the smaller island across the shore. She grabbed her tote bag, which held snacks and a notebook, just in case inspiration struck.

This place is too beautiful to be uninhabited, but she hoped it was. She walked the beach, marveling at the tropical landscape, and then slipped through a path parting the trees. She stopped in her tracks, when she saw an elegantly set table for two in the tropical woods, with a bottle of wine. Claire thought she had walked in on a romantic getaway, she didn’t want to intrude.

Through the trees she was stunned to see a man, wiping what appeared to be blood off his hands, with a wet towel. He was stomping out red liquid drops in the dirt ground, unaware of her presence.  Claire stood still watching him, giant green leaves concealing her.

He finally turned around. "Ohh..." she put her hand over her mouth, shocked to see the handsome man who was half of the newlywed couple staying in their hotel’s honeymoon suit. She and her friends saw them several times in the dining room, and even spoke to them. Where was his wife, and what was he doing? Claire couldn’t help it, her wild writer’s imagination filled in the blanks for what she didn't know. All the news stories of husbands killing their wives played in her mind. Chills ran up her spine, almost paralyzing her. Calm down, you don’t really know what’s going on here. She wondered if she could get back to her boat and off the island without being discovered. But how?

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