Magnolia Blooms & Sakura Petals
By
Rebecca Anna Coleman

-4-
Who is Heather Elizabeth Croft?

A few days ago I think I had an epiphany. I think I decided on a whim that my real name was not “William Alexander Croft” but instead it was “Heather Elizabeth Croft.” A revelation I'd not dared to share with anyone in fear of being laughed at or at worst being put aboard a south bound train to Chamberlain Hunt, a private military school that was located in Port Gibson, Mississippi. Some one hundred and fourteen miles south of Greenville, Mississippi.

Agreed. The relationship must remain exactly what the opening presents it as: lifelong friendship. The reader should discover everything else naturally.

Kev Williams and James Ashbourne have been inseparable since they were fifteen—two village boys united by rugby, motorsport, gaming and an apparently limitless ability to torment one another.

But Kev has been carrying a secret that could change everything.

Magnolia Blooms & Sakura Petals
By
Rebecca Anna Coleman

-2-
Chocolate Sunde

I took a deep breath. According to the army green wrist watch I always wore on my wrist the time was around two thirty in the afternoon. I'd been mowing grass, pulling weeds, and pruning bushes for a good five hours now. It was now in the hottest part of the day and I was thankfully I'd just finished the job. Dripping sweat I took a shallow breath and sat down upon the concrete steps of our front porch and peered out at the sun drenched vista that spread out in front of me.

The Ghost of Tomorrow

Chapter 3: Coming Out

I don’t remember what we had for dinner that night. I know I needed
to tell mum and dad my story after we’d finished the dishes, but my
heart was pounding in my chest all through the meal. After dinner, Mum
and Dad had moved to the Lounge to watch TV while their dishwashers
cleaned up after the meal.

Chapter 31 - Dénouement

I stepped to where Millie was huddled over Arthur, to check for any sign of life. “She… he is still breathing” I was able to report. The former was pressing a wad of material against her lover’s side. The pad was slowly darkening.

Gloria, tears coursing down her cheeks, fetched bandages and together with Millie, they bound the wounds more tightly, while I looked on helplessly. Guy found the phone and called for an ambulance and then the police. He covered the dead bodies each with a throw from the sofas.

Chapter 29 – On the trail

The following morning, I was woken by my hostess entering the bedroom carrying a laden tray.

“You’re awake at last. I’ve brought us breakfast and most importantly coffee. You must have been exhausted, darling. Last night you fell asleep in my arms.” These words were accompanied by a reproachful moue of disappointment across her lovely features.

“What?”

Chapter 27 – Caught

Hastily I threw the keys into their place in the desk drawer and slammed it shut. I had just time to retrieve my tray and restore the smoky glass to its position on top of the paper when the office door was flung open to herald the entrance of one formidable woman. More than ever, I needed to have my wits about me and all the luck in the world if I was to get myself and the intelligence I’d gleaned away in one piece.

“What on earth… what are you doing here?” she vociferated.

As I pulled the convertible into a parking space near Doctor Hartwell’s clinic, I began to wonder if I should have asked Lauren along after all. Somehow the overpass seemed taller, the shadows longer, and the alleyways between the buildings darker.

Chapter 19 – Dressing the part

Gloria was all excitement. “Now let me see. Something formal. A little black dress will be the ideal” she decided, “and of course you must wear something elegant underneath. That will do wonders for your morale!”

Chapter 16 – The list

At the cursory glance which was all I had the opportunity to make I could see that there were no marks upon the dead woman’s face or arms and no sign of a struggle anywhere. She looked as peaceful as if she had indeed died naturally in her sleep, but there was no way anyone could be sure.

“How sad!” I exclaimed, and I meant it. In the brief interview I’d had with Flora her forthright personality had made a strong impression upon me. We would never continue that conversation now.

Chapter 13 – Horse country

I walked across to where my two-seater was parked and turned to wave goodbye, but the ex-agent had already disappeared inside the office.

Chapter 10 – The cook

When I reached the office Guy was already there, engaged on his new case. I was not unduly surprised to find that he had anticipated the course of action I’d planned for mine.